CHAPTER 17: MANIPULATING NATURE

Dan Valyon, a Qi Refining stage cultivator, sat on a comfortable cushion in his library, skimming through a stack of manuals sat on his table.

If there was a key theme amongst them, it was that they were all qi manipulating techniques, and had little or nothing to do with weapons.

After coming out of his chambers, Dan had half a mind to spend the remaining coin in his pouch and immediately head back into cultivation. But his rationality won out.

There was no purpose to increasing his level if he couldn’t do anything with it. Dan hadn’t the slightest idea when it came to fighting techniques or spells.

His only real exposure was being struck with the tail-end of a blast of, as he now knew it to be, qi-fuelled flames. His life should have ended right then and there, and probably would have if his father didn’t have his back. If he didn’t run away when he did, Dan would be dead.

He searched for a similar technique. Nature couldn’t burn, not as far as Dan knew, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t battle with his qi.

The text was difficult to read, likely a copy of the real manual that was made in a rushed scrawl, but Dan was glad to have anything at all. Especially considering he’d yet to give anything in return, and he’s already reached the Qi Refining stage.

The manuals were very basic and straightforward. Dan guessed that anything uniquely powerful might have been in the vault he’d visited the day before.

He wasn’t too picky and selected three techniques. He wanted to learn them all.

For attack – wooden spikes. His qi could instantaneously stimulate the growth of wooden spikes from trees or roots and control their flight without necessitating touch.

For defence – natural shield. Utilizing nature qi, he could similarly control greenery to grow and warp into a barrier. It didn’t have to be any specific material, but weeds would only be so thick, even reinforced with qi.

For the third technique… Truthfully, Dan was torn. He was still deciding.

He was weary of overspecializing in his aspect. What if he was forced to fight for his life in a city? It’d practically happened to him once already.

Dan stared hard between two different manuals.

One of them was a weapon’s manual. If he had to choose, he’d learn the spear – it would mitigate most of an adult’s advantage. He might be too young to be competitive with a weapon just yet, but starting early would be a good idea.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

It sounded like something his father had said once or twice, but he might’ve been talking about meditation.

The other manual was more in the here-and-now. The title was written just as hastily as all the other manuals; Manipulating Nature.

It was a basic manual, as they all were, but this one was about taming beasts. It only worked on fierce beasts, which were those that had yet to form a beast core. Fierce beasts were equivalent to a mortal at the lowest level and scraped the boundary of a beginner Channel Building stage immortal at the highest level.

Even if he tamed a beast, it wouldn’t be immediately helpful. Dan tapped the manual thoughtfully, skimming the pages for the third or fourth time.

It had little information about the steps to be taken after taming, which itself was a complex application of nature energy. Dan was confident he could do it, of course, considering his nature energy had already transformed into nature aspected qi. It simplified the process. It was his, and easier to control than his previous energy.

He could raise the beast afterward. It wasn’t a problem for it to breakthrough and reach the ranks of demonic beasts after it’d already been tamed.

But that would be a long road. By the time a beast could pass a stage, wouldn’t Dan, at his current pace, cross several?

There was just one thing holding him back from picking the sane option.

It would be so. Damned. Cool.

Dan already envisioned riding a white demonic tiger into battle, sweeping aside all adversaries, throwing spears with a swing of his fingers, and smoothly routing all his opponents. In style.

He also pictured training a demonic bloodhound and tracking down his father.

He even contemplated learning both techniques and stretching himself to accommodate all four. But he didn’t want to spend too much time…

Spikes, Natural Shield, and Manipulating Nature. Three basic, simple techniques.

Dan’s qi pulsed, eager to show its might.

…

Dan’s qi flagged, freshly exercised. His sandals squelched against wet grass and mud as he kneeled by the river.

Within his grasp, a small hawk trilled and rubbed its beak against his palm. In the slowly flowing river, a grass-woven wall slowly capsized. Planted by his side, a handful of spears jutted from the mud.

Dan had no issues following the manuals. They were short, concise, and required little but some practice. It wasn’t the first time he’d manipulated a little nature with his qi anyway, though it’d been spirit energy back then.

He stood and raised his hands. With a soft squeal, the young hawk leapt from his fingers and took to the air. In the back of his mind, Dan felt a meagre connection between the two of them, but he couldn’t seem to do much with it.

Dan clasped his hands, connecting a simple circuit between the meridians in his palms, and turned to the spears tucked into the earth.

They rose slowly into the air, rotating under his satisfied gaze. Dan spurred his remaining qi, and the wooden spears happily darted into the river, to be carried off who-knows-where by the current.

He stomped his bare foot into the soil and joined the soles of his feet through detritus in the earth with a liberal application of qi. A thicket of spongey weed sprung from the mud, enhanced and thickened by nature qi.

It still looked like it would fall over if someone pushed it. If only he had an earth aspect, Dan lamented, turning to leave.

He was satisfied that, at minimum, he could try to fight if he had to. He’d be no match for his father, but nor was he strong enough to concern himself with that yet anyway.

He’d not travelled far from the walls. Dan passed through one of many gates without triggering wards this time around, and he finally took to exploring the vast city. He was unsure when he would start at his new job, so he was in a hurry.

Dan needed herbs.