Chapter 5: Foundations of Cultivation

Uzman woke an hour before sunrise as he had conditioned himself. A few minutes after waking, the first bell rang heralding a new day for all students. He prepared himself slowly and then set out to the kitchen building that was located around 50 meters away from his room. Most students had woken early due to the excitement and curiosity about what the day would bring.

Uzman felt that he was probably the most ill-informed of all members of the first cohort being a commoner and from a distant secluded village. He was surprised and elated when Lady Tameria and the Northerners shortly joined him at the breakfast table he had chosen.

“Are you guys excited about starting our lessons?” Tameria asked exuberantly. Uzman could not reconcile how different she seemed from the expectations he had of the nobility.

“Some of us are here as a formality. We have been trained in the ways of cultivation by our families. We could have still remained in our Clans and continued our growth in the Martial Path," Kenzo answered.

Fatima and Jurdur nodded their heads in agreement. As Uzman had suspected, he had the least knowledge about cultivation among the students.

After breakfast, Uzman went to his room to pick up the books that had been provided for lessons and hurried to the class halls. Uzman sat near the back of the room, with Jurdur, Fatima, and Kenzo. The Northerners seemed to have adopted him into their clique after the altercation with Prazard. It was apparent that there was no love lost between them and the Silicians.

“Morning everybody?” An eerie voice seemed to come from every direction making the class quiet instantly.

The students looked around trying to find the source of the voice. Uzman espied a woman slowly drifting towards the dais at the front while flying over the students. Uzman had heard about the feats that cultivators were capable of and he watched awestruck as she finally stood in front of the class.

"I am Instructor Shelmith. I have been tasked with the duty of guiding you through the foundations of cultivation. Now, who can tell us why I used the word guide and not teach?" She asked.

A dozen hands shot up. “Because cultivation is unique to a person. It cannot be taught as each person is unique,” a short boy was selected and answered.

“Very correct. I know that for some of you, this class is superfluous as you have been exposed to cultivators all your lives. For some of you, your parents are masters. However, for the sake of those who are new, we will need to recap the basics.

“Cultivation is the manipulation of heavenly energies known as Chi. People on the cultivation path are referred to as mages and become more powerful as they move along the Dao.

"Can anyone tell me the main steps of the Dao?" The instructor asked.

More than half the hands in the class were raised. This time, the instructor selected Kenzo.

“The first step involves forming the core or Dantian that serves as a repository of Chi. The second step involves body tempering followed by elemental manipulation while the fourth step involves Mastery.”

“Ah, I am not surprised that a Northerner would be knowledgeable given the strength of their mage warriors. For the rest of the lesson, all of the students who have formed their cores are free to leave while we will use the remaining time to help all of you start on the journey of cultivation.”

More than half of the students streamed outside including all of my new friends. Only 35 students were left in the class.

“I want all of you to come here. I am not surprised that most of you are minor nobles and do not have family cultivation techniques. Don’t worry we will easily redress that issue. I am going to give each of you a foundational cultivation method based on your affinity. You can switch to a more powerful technique when you can afford it. The method I will grant you is only useful for the lower levels and may not be useful past the body tempering stage. Each of you sit in the lotus position and begin meditating, I and three of my assistants will shortly help you.”

When Instructor Shelmith came to assist Uzman, she found him struggling to meditate as he did not have a clue how to access or interact with his core.

“What is your affinity?" She asked.

“The test did not reveal an affinity. The Master who tested me said it would manifest in time,” Uzman answered.

“This is highly irregular, without an affinity, I do not know what cultivation technique to suggest. A cultivation technique helps a person completely attune the core with their affinity thus compressing it from its gaseous form into a tangible construct. To interact with the world you need an anchor, your attuned meridians project your Chi from your Core giving purpose to your intentions and will. It is therefore impossible to cultivate without an affinity,” the teacher lectured.

“So, what do you suggest I do?” Uzman asked.

“I think I will release you and confer with the Headmaster before making a binding decision.”

Uzman left the class hall dejected as he expected the gap between him and his peers to continue growing if he did not start quickly on his cultivation journey.

For the rest of the day, Uzman spent his time in the library reading about the relationship between cultivation and attunement. What he realized was that it seemed impossible to become a cultivator without an attunement. When Uzman returned to the residency halls, he found Kenzo and Lady Tameria seated on a bench just outside the training pavilion watching some students who were sparring.

“Just the people I was looking for, I wanted to talk to one or both of you,” he said. The two girls turned, giving him their undivided attention.

Uzman leaned closer, “I do not have an attunement. This is making it hard to get a cultivation technique. Since both of you are more knowledgeable, I would be happy for your counsel,” Uzman said humbly bowing to the ladies.

"I have never heard of a person with no attunement. Your attunement dictates your cultivation approach since you are trying to harness the ambient Chi into your core. Air practitioners, like myself, harness Air Chi and use Air techniques. Even the crafters who have multiple alignments use cultivation methods specifically tailored for their affinities,” Lady Tameria Stated.

Kenzo had a thoughtful look as she considered the issue. “I think your best approach is to start by trying to sense your core. Normal meditation techniques should help. Once you still your mind, look inwards and try to sense everything about your body. It may help in unlocking your affinity.”

That was the best advice that Uzman had heard so far and promised to try it out. He went to his house with a noticeably lighter tread, his hope rekindled.

After taking supper, Uzman went to his house determined to unlock the mysteries of his core through meditation. He picked a Zafu mat and sat on a lotus position on the floor and started the breathing exercises that had become familiar. He took a deep inhale using his nose and held it for three seconds and then slowly exhaled through the mouth. He continued to take deeper breaths rhythmically alternating between using the nose and mouth for inhales and exhales until he achieved a state of Zen.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

With his focus sharpened and mind stilled, he delved deeper into his body trying to seek the center of his power. He could feel his heart and lungs as they coordinated to process the air he was inhaling. Time lost all meaning as he sank deeper into himself. Sometimes his concentration would lapse and Uzman would have to start the process all over again.

Uzman was woken up by the breakfast bell having missed the first bell. He realized that he had fallen asleep on his meditation mat when he had finally managed to glimpse the roiling mass of golden power under his ribcage. He hurried to the kitchen for breakfast excited by his success. On sharing the joyous news with his friends, he was brought back to earth when he was reminded that he would need to have a cultivation technique in order to interact with Chi and form the core.

After breakfast, the 16 members of the first cohort gathered in the training pavilion for their first physical improvement exercise. Master Jones stalked into the pavilion wearing his dour expression.

“Some of you may be wondering why we need physical conditioning when we can command the gifts of the heavens. Who can tell me why we need physical conditioning and martial arts when we can just use a fireball or water spear to obliterate an enemy?” Master Jones pointed at Uzman.

Uzman did not respond since he did not want to embarrass himself with his ignorance.

“I should not have expected much from someone of your station. I don’t even know what you are doing in this Academy leave alone this cohort,” he snorted.

"Prazard?"

“Our bodies are vessels, the strength of the body impacts the strength of Chi attacks. Additionally, it helps with tempering the body which is part of the second rank of cultivation. Martial skills are necessary as the Chi a person can channel is finite. It is necessary to have another way of defense or attack,” Prazard elaborated.

“Thank you. I could not have put it better. You will meet here every day at the first bell. You will then run through the gate using the Crimson Tears route to Minto hill and back before breakfast. Please note that you do not have to do this. But failure to conform will allow me to boot you from my lessons. Start running,” Master Jones commanded.

Some of the students must have known about the Crimson Tears path as they started running immediately. I followed the other students trying to keep in the middle of the pack. After the first mile, Uzman noticed that he was falling behind and was at the back of the pack. Uzman was not slow and had developed his stamina on his way north from Kolcita. However, he was still unfit when compared to the nobles who had spent their lives in preparation for joining the academy.

By the 7th mile, only four students were running with Uzman at the back of the pack. Uzman concentrated on his breathing, forcing one leg in front of the other. He decided to pace himself and ensure that he at least completed the task. On the return journey, Uzman fell further behind and arrived last to find Prazard sneering. Some of the students were not even sweating while others were lying on the floor trying to catch their breath.

“I hope you have learned an important lesson. Those who have formed their cores can use Chi to reduce fatigue and can also run faster and longer," Master Jones lectured.

Uzman spent the week trying to form his core. He had even borrowed an Air-based cultivation technique hoping to forcefully attune his core. However, it just remained a roiling amorphous mass of golden light. He could, however, see it easily. He was also the only person in the entire class who had not awakened his core and was always last by a wide margin on the morning runs. Master Jones and all the noble students who were beholden to Silicia made his life a living hell, shoving him at every opportunity. He dreaded the sparring sessions since he was weaker, less skilled, and slower than the other students.

“Today we are going to test your fighting skills. I want to introduce you to how challenges will be working once allowed,” Master Jones said. “All of you were awarded 1,000 points in your tokens for purchasing resources. In this contest, losers will give 100 points to the winner.”

All the students sat around the fighting ring at the center of the training pavilion. Uzman sat despondently in trepidation, resigned to the beating he was going to endure. During the sparring sessions, he had learned to take the hits and dodge as much as his skills permitted. He knew that unless he activated his core, he would always be at a disadvantage and may be forced to leave the Academy. He had grown withdrawn, distancing himself from his friends in silent acceptance of his predicament.

“Prazard and Uzman get in the ring,” Master Jones thundered.

As Uzman entered the ring, he could see the fearful expressions in the eyes of his friends. He had always tried to pair up with one of the Northerners who did not try to hurt him while training.

“I think it is time to put you in your place,” Prazard whispered maliciously. “I am going to enjoy breaking you. When you are expelled, I will have guards waiting for you outside to conscript you into our army. You will rue the day you crossed the ruling house of Silicia.”

Uzman felt a calm resignation wash over him. He remembered the fall of Kolcita, the streets awash with blood, and decided that irrespective of the outcome he would at least try to fight.

Prazard started the fight by circling him smiling widely like a cat playing with a mouse. He feinted a hit and then stepped back smiling when Uzman flinched.

“Nowhere to run little mouse,” Prazard whispered.

Uzman allowed the rage and helplessness to wash away and concentrated on the task at hand. He remembered his grandfather’s words in the few lessons they had in the Vinaya forest.

'It is always in the shoulders, the eyes can lie. But the body will always telegraph intentions'

He watched Prazard closely and realized he could spot his intentions. When Prazard committed with a right hook, Uzman slid right, moving his head back to allow the punch to pass harmlessly. At the same time, he used the left hand for an inward block stepped forward with his left leg, pivoted, and smashed his right elbow into Prazards nose. He was surprised at the outcome but elated at the surprised shouts from the spectators. He could feel Prazard’s fury and knew that he was now in serious danger.

Prazard stopped holding back and used his superior speed to corner Uzman throwing a combination of punches and kicks. Uzman blocked some and tried to dodge and move back. But Prazard was just too fast. A rising uppercut and a left cross knocked Uzman to the ground. Instead of stopping, Prazard Smashed his foot on Uzman’s face and he knew no more.

“I think you should expel him. At least, he should not engage in physical conditioning until he can form his core. His continued presence puts his life at risk and is slowing the progress of other students.”

Uzman heard Master Jones speaking to someone through the fog in his pain. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying in a bed surrounded by Master Jones, the Headmaster, and another woman.

“I see you are back. That was some nasty beating. You were unconscious for 14 hours. It took a lot to heal you completely.” The woman said. “I am Healer Jezub, you should take some time to get back your strength as you lost a lot of blood before you were brought to me. However, I believe you will make a full recovery.”

Uzman was released from the infirmary and ordered to report to the Headmaster’s office on the next day.

Uzman reported to the Headmaster as required and found himself facing a panel of three masters. In the room, the Headmaster was sitting in the central chair flanked by Master Jones and Instructor Shelmith.

“Good morning Uzman, I hope your recovery is progressing well?” He asked. “I am fully healed, sir. I believe that I can resume training” Uzman answered politely.

“Actually we are here to consider the challenges you have been facing.” The Headmaster started. “Your masters in herbology and bestiary tell me that you are very knowledgeable and a credit to the institution. However, we must consider that in this Academy, we teach warriors to safeguard our people. As a result, the most important aspect is Chi manipulation to augment fighting. Your skills in herbology can only be useful if you have the strength to go into the forests and forage. Additionally, you are an Imperial student whose learning is subsidized by the empire for future services. Do you have any reason to believe you will attain success in this institution without cultivation?”

“I will do my best sir.”

The Headmaster studied Uzman for a few moments quietly then said.

“I will give you two more weeks due to the strength and purity of your core. If you manage to awaken it you will be a very strong warrior. However, the Academy must balance your needs and those of all involved parties. Additionally, you will only attend classes where Chi manipulation is not needed so that you concentrate on forming your core."

Uzman sat on his bed dejected, he had been trying for the whole week to manipulate his Chi but failed. He had camped at the library looking for scraps of information to facilitate his breakthrough to no avail. All his plans were failing, his chance of avenging his village was gone, and he would not become strong enough to survive in the harsh world of Tanga. Uzman had even started avoiding his friend uncomfortably due to the pity in their eyes. He felt tears pool in his eyes and angrily pushed them back.

Like he had done a thousand times before, his hand strayed to the pendant at his neck idly strumming it. This action had always calmed him as if establishing a connection with his grandfather and his heritage. To his surprise, he felt a tingling in his arms and hastily dropped the pendant. He steeled himself and removed it from his neck using the silver chain and slowly scrutinized it. He felt drawn inward as if in a meditative state and found his consciousness in a room. He was startled, panicking he dropped the pendant back on the bed. Immediately, the room vanished and he was back in his room seated on the bed.