Chapter 28: Meridian Tempering

Uzman and Fatima made their way back to the training camp elated but disappointed. Unlike their friends, they had only managed to spend one night in the forest. However, they had also managed a more impressive haul from their foraging. A rank three core, several rank two cores, and the Alcoca leaves were more lucrative than what Kenzo and Jurdur had managed on their foray.

Uzman had managed to heal the wounds on his body but the meridian channels were still raw and painful. He could not channel Chi through them without crying out in pain. His use of the lightning shield had strained his meridians as he had channeled more power than they could comfortably handle.

On arrival at the camp, they found Jurdur training against the golem while Kenzo was sitting cross-legged silently watching him. Uzman and Fatima joined Kenzo on the ground. They were shortly joined by Jurdur curious about their early return. Fatima relayed the fight with the Blue and Red Oni embellishing the details to make the encounter seem more gallant and dangerous.

“You always find the best fights, I should go with you,” Jurdur wailed, his eyes round.

You defeated a rank three beast, that is incredible,” Kenzo added in amazement.

“We were only able to prevail due to Fatima; her arrows provided the time needed to come up with a working strategy,” Uzman tried to downplay the incident. Uzman did not get into the details of how they had won or his meridian injuries. He was hoping that Master Khalid would have a solution.

“Anyway, I suggest that we go foraging in teams of three and only leave one person in camp. Even though I am not sure how that will help if we encounter a strong rank three beast,” Uzman added remembering their engagement with the Oni.

Kenzo and Jurdur had made great strides in their martial path having overcome the adept golem settings. They were now fighting at the advanced level albeit losing almost all engagements.

“Once I try to catch you in one aspect you just have to improve another,” Fatima grumbled good-naturedly.

“Don’t worry, the martial path is one person-wide,” Kenzo stated philosophically.

Uzman settled down to sleep and meditate for the rest of the night. His need for sleep seemed to reduce as he ascended the cultivation ranks. Even without cultivating, he could still continue investigating the martial path by seeking truths about himself.

In the morning, Kenzo, Jurdur, and Fatima left to go foraging while hoping to encounter challenges that would test their fighting strength. Uzman had engineered this outcome hoping to be left alone in the camp to continue his training undisturbed.

On waking, Uzman retrieved his soul book and consulted with Master Khalid about his predicament.

“Master, I fought a rank three Blue Oni and faced grave injuries after threading earth, fire, and air to create lighting. I have healed from the wounds but my meridians are still sore.”

‘Hahaha! Emerging victorious against a Blue Oni is no mean feat, especially at your level. Those buggers could be tricky from what I remember- Wait, you said a rank three? That shouldn’t be possible unless the formations are finally failing.

‘Hmm, what to do? Let us start by examining your meridians’

Uzman placed a drop of his blood on the book and placed it on his navel, as he lay on his back. A glowing white light suffused his body passing through all of his meridians and body. Once the light faded, Uzman sat down and opened the book.

‘Could have been worse, the damage is located inside your main meridians. From my assessment, you have come a long way from the sickly excuse of a cultivator you once were. Whereas the tempering of your body has proceeded apace, your meridians have remained slightly weak.

‘The tempering stage is not about the accumulation of energy but making a vessel capable of using more energy as you ascend through cultivation ranks. At the elemental manipulation rank, your body needs to withstand the use of strong techniques that use a lot of Chi. In this case, you used more Chi than your meridians were prepared for.’

‘Thanks for the lecture grandpa, what do I do to heal them?’ Uzman asked in an annoyed tone.

‘Don’t be fresh with me wizardling, this is the outcome of running before you can walk; and yet, run you must. This creates an opportunity for you to temper your meridians and bring you to the late tempering stage of your advancement. However, it may be a painful process given that your meridians are already hurt.’

‘Remind me again, when have you suggested a course of action that wasn’t painful?’ Uzman asked ruefully.

‘Pain is transient but strength is permanent. I’m sure you have heard that the path of power involves challenging the heavens, reaching beyond your established position, and using powers that alter the natural state of nature. Power easily gained is not cherished or deserved.’

‘Okay,’ Uzman answered elongating the syllables to convey his feelings towards the impromptu lessons. Not that the lesson was not important or warranted, but that he was more concerned with healing his meridians.

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‘You are lucky that you came across Alcoca leaves, they will serve to dull your pain. In the pendant, there is a rank three meridian firming pill. It must be taken together with a grade 1 healing pill, as well as, the red tempering pill. Some of these items were to be used during your blood awakening. However, they will serve a similar purpose just without the blood ritual.

‘You will take the meridian firming and tempering pills together. This will create an explosion of high-density Chi in your core; force it through your meridians. As the pain increases, take the Alcoca leaves and the healing pill. Take another healing pill when the effect of the Chi starts to fade to complete the process. Try as much as you can to remain conscious to perfuse the Chi throughout your body. Start from the meridians, and internal organs, and finish with the external organs. Make sure you are well rested before starting the process.” Master Khalid advised.

Uzman spent the day meditating, swimming, and lazing around. He had tried to fight the golem without using any affinity and could not win even at the adept level. As the slanting rays of the sun suffused the sky with a tinge of orange sinking below the horizon, Uzman decided that he was rested enough to begin tempering his meridians.

After settling in a comfortable lotus position where each foot rested on the opposite thigh, Uzman ingested the meridian and tempering pills. At first, nothing happened. He turned his awareness inwards delving into his Dantian as he waited for the pills to take effect.

The pills hit the Dantian like a meteor having been attracted by his Chi. As Uzman watched, the Chi grew gradually spinning in spirals. Before long, the Dantian was full to bursting and still, the Chi continued increasing at an alarming rate. Uzman directed the Chi to the meridian openings; the sore and bruised meridians, that connected the Dantian to the rest of the body. finding an avenue of escape, the Chi forced itself into the meridians building on the momentum developed in the core.

Pain racked through all his body. He started to quiver and tremble as the raw meridians were assaulted by the Chi, it was like putting acid on an open wound. Uzman gritted his teeth biting his lips until they bled. His trembling hands reached for the alcoca leaves before he could pass out. The trials and tribulations that he had faced had inured him to pain; he had developed a strong willpower necessitated by the need to survive. In this case, every shred of his willpower was needed to move the leaves to his mouth.

The alcoca leaves acted quickly are reduced the severity of the pain enabling Uzman to remain lucid. He took the healing pill and watched it start the process of healing his body. The tempering and meridian-firming pills were widening and strengthening his body after tearing through it. The reconstruction was performed systematically after the destruction.

Any part of his body that could not support the energy channeling through him was modified and strengthened. This process, of course, involved first removing any bits that were incompatible with the needs of the body. The Alcoca leaves served to dull the pain, but as Uzman continued to perfuse his body with Chi, he felt as if white-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin.

Uzman clung to consciousness by the skin of his teeth knowing that any lapse would waste the pain he had endured. After what felt like an eternity, the Chi had suffused every part of his body, strengthening and remolding the body to withstand higher concentrations of Chi. He took a second healing pill and finally allowed himself to succumb to oblivion.

The sun was already high when Uzman woke up. He was covered in blood and sludge from his meridian tempering ordeal. He staggered upright and shambled to the river nearby to bathe.

After taking a much-needed bath, Uzman sat down to cultivate. He turned his awareness inwards as he started passively cultivating. He had improved his ability to split his focus such that he did not have to concentrate on the breathing systems needed for cultivation. He could easily concentrate on assessing his meridians and Dantian while continuing to cultivate.

The effects of the meridian firming were immediately apparent. He could channel more Chi through them without any strain. Uzman noted another surprising outcome of the ordeal; his Chi was now mainly made of small crystals that smoothly moved sequentially rotating around his core as if with a life of their own. Even without actively cultivating, the crystals were pulling energy into the core. Uzman could instinctually feel that he needed a small push to move to the elemental realm. However, he had been advised by Master Khalid to wait for his blood awakening before trying for Rank 3.

After filling his Chi, Uzman set the golem at the mastery level. Today was the day he became a master of martial arts. He started his training using unarmed combat. This approach, he had found, allowed him to warm up before using weapons.

Uzman started with earth. The slow forms were cathartic and created a foundation for building into the other movements. He quickly went through all the primary forms and then started a second round, this time, including transitions. In his previous engagements, Uzman had not won a single bout at the master level. This time, he could keep up. His body was faster and stronger. His shields sprang up quickly to block and dangerous strikes that he failed to parry or dodge.

After he was adequately warmed up, Uzman started to try various combinations using three elements. This time, his meridians were strong and wide enough to support threading three elements. He tried the lightning shield that had saved his life against the Blue Oni. To his elated surprise, the shield snapped into place without straining his meridians. Using this form made his movements erratic but too fast for even the master settings of the golem. However, he could not control his movements and crashed into the golem when attempting a lunge.

“Ha-ha!” Uzman chuckled. He recognized the power that threading three forms could put at his disposal. He could cast bolts of lightning as he learned to project his Chi, he could create hardened earth shards and create metallic spikes, or use earth water and air to heal or grow crops. As he continued training, he recognized that the greatest challenge would be determining the correct ratio of elements to use when threading.

“Ughh,” He sighed, this would take a lot of time to master.

For the rest of the day, Uzman experimented with different shield forms, threading three elements together. His body had been strengthened by ascending to the final stage of tempering. As a result, his Chi refilled faster than ever, and he could channel wider threads thus increasing the power and resilience of his shields. He had allowed the golem to hit him when using different shield designs to assess their strengths and how his body reacted under different situations.

Uzman decided to take a rest and eat some of the food he had carried from Mama’s Second Helping. Another perk of his increasing growth on the cultivation path was that he did not frequently have to eat. At the higher ranks, a cultivator could go months without the need for food as the ambient energy could be used for all functions of the body.

“Run! A voice shrieked just as Uzman sat down to enjoy his meal.

Uzman’s head snapped up to see a bloody and disheveled Kenzo burst into the camp. Behind him around 50 meters away, Uzman could see men running after Kenzo. They were wearing some sort of uniforms. Instinctively, He knew that these were Imperial soldiers. A time of reckoning had arrived.