After they were shown their individual housing for the next two years, they were given till the evening to get accustomed and settle down. About an hour before sun down, they were all once again gathered in the central area of the valley.
There were various buildings of the sect that ranged from their general administrative building to various shops, food stalls and even a restaurant that is opened during festive occasions. There was even a public library, but entry is strictly restricted. Apart from these, there were numerous unofficial stalls held by the residents of the valley ranging from food, pills, herbs and even beast materials that were gathered from the forest area in the valley, a place disciples were allowed to ‘hunt’ at.
All of the new candidates were gathered and were briefly introduced on how things work in the valley and were handed a small, sturdy cloth sack that contained a pair of outfits fit for those in the valley, simple supplies like soap etc and most importantly, 5 common grade body enhancement pills along with a basic body strengthening art.
After that, they were led into the sect owned restaurant that had been converted to temporarily serve food to the larger than usual group of candidates. They were served a nice hot meal and before leaving, they were given an opportunity to pick from foods laid in baskets for later. Finlay took the free opportunity and chose food that was easy to preserve amongst the food leftover by his turn, only picking fresh fruit and vegetables for the next 2 days worth. This is because he knew that avoiding the outside and silently improving his strength is vital in the coming days. He noticed that plenty of the newly joined didn’t seem to catch on to that point as they chose the nicer foods. He made sure to advise his fellow brother though. Big or small, he had helped him before after all.
After they were dismissed, everyone began to walk back to the area of the valley that has their lodgings. Half way through, Finlay’s fears came true. There were groups of older residents of the valley who showed up and demanded part of their bag’s contents as tribute. Once someone started running, everybody quickly figured out the situation and did the same in small groups.
“You lot better stop! We’re your seniors, how do you weaklings expect to run away from us? Haha! You better give up some tribute for protection.”
Finlay didn’t stop at those words, none did, but they were true. These ‘seniors’ had clearly practised some level of body cultivation already and if he had to guess, were probably 2 year seniors who resided in a different part of the valley who still hadn’t yet completed their body transformation stage, and so their primary targets are the pills in the hands of the newbie kids.
“Senior brother, this way! Let’s go with these two. They are our neighbours. Let’s stick together for now.”
After some intense running, hiding between buildings, they almost made it to their place. They regrouped in one of the back streets to discuss the situation now that they seem to have lost their pursuers.
“Haa..haaa…haaa…Wha- what was that?!”
One of the neighbours couldn’t help voice his question between gasps.
“Yeah how come those ‘seniors’ are allowed to run so rampant in such a great sect?”
The other expressed the same but clearly he wasn’t as out of breath. In this group of four, FInlay had the strongest natural body and hence the least tired of all. He even pulled along and helped his brother a lot along the way, who was seemingly the least fit.
“One- Haaaa…haaa….haaaaa- one minute.”
The three silently gave Lu Bao a minute to catch his breath.
After catching his breath, he couldn't help but show a bitter smile.
“What do you mean by how? This whole place is part of the testing. Even though they have given us separate lodgings from those seniors, they are still clearly allowed to enter our area and they probably turn a blind eye to this so-called ‘tribute’.”
Finlay suspected something similar ahead of time so wasn’t particularly surprised but the other 2 were clearly confused but Lu Bao didn’t wait for them to speak and continued.
“Otherwise, how are the candidates who failed still supposed to serve the sect and obtain the pills to become a Qi cultivating honorary member of the sect? The sect probably considers this as an obstacle for us to overcome. Like they say, talent isn’t everything, we need our wits to survive here as well.”
“I suspect this will be a recurring event every month and the surrounding areas to the central zone were safe today only because this was our first time.”
The four fell into contemplation for a few moments and before someone broke the silence, it was broken for them.
“Hey! You brats stay where you are. Brothers, there are a few here!”
They were spotted by a senior who started running towards them as he shouted for others to come.
Finlay was quick to come to his senses. There was only one person running towards them right now.
“Let’s split!”
Even as he said those words, he grabbed Lu Bao and ran and the other two didn’t sit still either.
“Okay! Let’s meet back up later!”
Fortunately for Finlay, their group was left alone and he used his full speed to half drag Lu Bao like a rag doll to get back to their housing and locked the doors. Lu Bao was a bit shaken and slightly bruised from the rough pulling but otherwise okay. After he calmed down for a few minutes, he came back to his senses.
“Thank you Senior brother Ming. I don’t think I would have been able to escape today without you.”
Finlay took a good look at the exhausted and weak looking Lu Bao and couldn’t help but think back to the surprisingly good deduction skills he showed earlier.
‘I always suspected he had a good head but almost dismissed the thought when he chose stupid food but I guess it’s just because he just grew up with a silver spoon and is too young to have basic emotions not affect his judgement. I’m sure he will develop into a fine cultivator if he has a chance to grow up.’
“Brother Lu Bao, there is no need to thank me. We’re all roommates. You have always shown an attitude of helping me and of course I have to take care of you in return when I can.”
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Finlay had a sudden realisation and after thinking about how the fellow brother before him seemed much more knowledgeable than his peers, he decided to ask him.
“I missed it earlier but why were there no young girls amongst the candidates? I thought they also lived in a part of this valley. Also, it seems the number of female candidates was surprisingly lower than one would expect?”
Lu Bao stared for a bit at the sudden change of topic but answered anyway.
“That is a good question, Senior brother. Considering spiritual roots are equally common in women, there should be more female candidates but don’t forget how we were all chosen. It’s impossible for the sect to check the spiritual roots of all the denizens of its thousands of kilometre expansive territory. The candidates are normally chosen based on previously recommended one’s who had been pre tested like me or those the cultivators encounter in the streets and decide to check their aptitude.”
Finlay nodded along, indicating to continue.
“As for the first method, after hearing the horrible stories associated with female cultivators’ troubles, very few would willingly offer their daughters even if they have spiritual roots.”
“Regarding the other method, it’s even more straightforward, the number of women who go out and wander around are much smaller than men in our society and even those who do go out either finish their tasks quickly and return indoors or work in safe areas away from the crowd to avoid troubles. The esteemed cultivators can’t be bothered to go seek out individual female candidates and simply walk in the most crowded areas when looking for candidates.”
Finlay had to give a big nod in realisation and had to admit the reasoning was pretty simple and fit very well with the circumstances. He couldn’t help giving a much better re-evaluation to the fellow brother.
“Of course, there are always exceptions, orphans are more willing to become cultivators, some desperate parents or even cultivators who are seeking to specially recruit females, etc.”
“Brother Lu, you really have a good head. I hope you can take care of answering my future questions.”
“Senior brother, Please call me Bao. No need to use my surname and increase the distance. And you can always ask anything I will of course answer with the measurely knowledge I possess.”
“Haha! I’m trying. Give me some time to get used to it. Okay let’s not waste time, the priority is to get stronger quickly and not be so helpless for the next month.”
After that, the two entered their rooms to start their cultivation.
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Finlay first took out all the pills and the book he got. The book gave basic instructions on cultivation exercises for observing, influencing and controlling world Qi followed by a basic body cultivation art for the five elements. Finlay gave the first part a quick read before chucking it to a corner of the room since he already has the cultivation arts for both body strengthening and spiritual cultivation till the Qi condensation realm.
The pills associated also provide a nurturing medicinal effect for the five elements of Metal, Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. This also covers the normal non elemental body type and the rare Five Element Body type that Finlay currently possesses. Of course Finlay also has affinity to Void (both Yin or Yang compatible) and Lighting attributes but those body types are very rare and he wouldn’t expect them to put them in the valley and be provided with special resources and teachings.
Finlay had to hold back from cultivating till he reached this point to not arouse suspicions by others, especially to avoid attention from the system implemented in this world. Now that he finally joined a sect and obtained resources from them, he no longer has a reason to hold back and can start his cultivation journey without too much suspicion, at worst, others would assume he came across some secret legacy at some point acquiring his unique cultivation technique.
He took his first pill and entered the now familiar meditation stance and began by observing the Qi in the surroundings.
Finlay immediately noticed the sheer density of the Qi around him compared to the hill near Yellow Rock town. The colourful motes of light that is Qi, danced around him and he could interact with them much easier, but at the same time, he noticed that his control has actually reduced a notch due to the increase in load. Nevertheless, he had trained his Qi control significantly in the past year and he easily directed the Qi towards various parts of his body according to his cultivation technique. At the same time, he also urged the medicinal power in his stomach to spread to the rest of his body quickly, by using the small amount of Qi present in it to control it.
Initially, the various coloured motes of light very quickly started assimilating into his body, quickly strengthening it but only a minute passed and they began to slow down and eventually stopped completely and no matter how much Qi he gathered from the surroundings and the medicinal power he expended, the body simply could not absorb any more. He stopped his meditation once he expended about 10% of the medicinal power of the pill.
‘I have to be doing something wrong. It was supposed to be much faster and smoother to cultivate with my body than an average person. Did I overlook something obvious in the Nine’s teachings.’
Finlay pondered for a while but couldn’t come up with anything. So, he exited his room and sat in the living room to see if he could ask his roommate once he exited his room. Soon, he heard a loud bang on the door.
‘uhh... It’s not like I can just go out to ask one of the teachers about this cultivation technique and even if I could, I doubt it’s safe out there right now. Let’s just see how it goes for brother Lu. Maybe I can get an insight hearing about his experience.’
“Who is it? Open the door junior. We’re your seniors, here to make friends.”
Finlay immediately knew who these ‘seniors’ were and promptly ignored it, even as their words got harsher and intimidating. After nearly an hour of persistence, the ‘seniors’ finally left the door alone but he didn’t dare open it yet. He simply waited for Lu Bao to come out as he made some tea from the meagre amounts of tea leaves Lu Bao had bought from home.
After 6 hours, Lu Bao finally exited the room, with fatigue clearly evident in his eyes. He didn’t even acknowledge Finlay and just took a seat by the table and closed his eyes as his hands held onto his head.
Finlay used the boiling water to quickly make some more tea and offered it to Lu Bao who was startled to notice Finlay beside him with tea. He carefully accepted it.
“You really live up to your title of Senior brother. Not only do you not look tired but you also look almost bored. You must have finished your cultivation long ago, unlike someone less talented like me.”
Finlay couldn't help but show a bitter expression hearing that.
“Brother Bao, you overpraise me and undermine yourself too much. I actually couldn’t even cultivate for more than a few minutes. I encountered a small problem. I was hoping to hear your experience and see what I did wrong.”
Lu Bao was silent from surprise, as if he didn’t expect to hear such words from his senior brother. He recovered soon and explained his experience.
“...and that’s how I kept cultivating for the next 2 hours but I was already tired 1 hour into it, but the medicinal effects weren't even a quarter of the way used up. I tried to persist so as not to waste the precious pills but it’s simply impossible to continue anymore. So I had to stop. I suppose the remaining 2/3rd of this pill will be wasted. The problem is, even in my best state, I don’t think I can cultivate for longer than 3 hours, wouldn’t that mean I waste a lot of the medicine?”
Hearing his experience, Finlay first decided to point out the issues in his approach and provide some advice.
“You don’t actually have to waste the medicine. At least not as much. The pills are also imbued with a small amount of Qi which is too small to absorb but I suspect you are supposed to use it to control the flow of the medicine. You can just hold it from dissipating from your stomach. Similarly, you can use the control to spread it better when cultivating.”
“But you shouldn't have started cultivating with the pills yet. I think you lack good control over the surrounding Qi since you just started practising. I recommend you alternate between meditating with Qi exercises and body cultivating without the pills for at least a week.”
Lu Bao stared at Finlay wide eyed. He was silent for a minute before he spoke.
“As expected of Senior brother! Senior brother, you’re a genius! I thought I would have so much trouble with these pills. Your solution is simply genius! Now I no longer have to brave a trip to one of the sect teachers to clear my doubts!”
Finlay couldn’t help but cough a couple times from embarrassment. He himself knew that he simply had a year longer and much better knowledge base to work with.
“Although, senior brother, I wonder what has got you bogged down, even you.”
Finlay promptly explained his situation.
“It’s like this….”
“I’m a little confused as well brother. I did the same but the colourful motes of light simply did not slow down till I stopped. Although…”
“What is it brother Bao? Please speak.”
Lu Bao hesitated for a moment before speaking his mind.
“When the Senior Brother was checked, did the Elder say anything about a special body constitution?”
Finlay was stunned. He did indeed possess the five element body constitution and was trying to cultivate the same but he wasn’t sure what that has got to do with the issue at hand.
“...My body constitution?”
“Yes Senior Brother! In one of the special notes of the book, it was mentioned that those with an elemental type body constitution will have to only absorb the specific type of elements Qi from the surroundings.”
“Ohh..OH!!!….I see what I did wrong. Thank you brother Bao! Please relax with the tea and the food I prepared. I will go back to my room for now. Don’t open the door no matter who it is without asking me first.”
Finlay finally found the mistake he made.
‘Back then the words I was taught were exactly ‘Absorbing the elemental Qi is the way to strengthen the element in one’s body’ It was so stupid of me to not realise that it is saying it as a restriction and not a minimum requirement.’
Hence, Finlay went back to his room with renewed vigour to get back to his cultivation.
To be continued