Fu Kong gestured for him to join her near the cave entrance. “Come here for a moment. Before we start your first lesson, there is something we’ll need to do if you wish to have power like mine. And if the heavens allow it, you will never face tragedy again.”
Slowly he backed away from the ledge before making his way to his feet. “I was always told that cultivation came down to improving your mind and body.”
“While they aren’t completely wrong, there is a reason that the highest level anyone in your village could achieve was the bottleneck between realms.”
She had a puzzled look as she tried to find the right words. Mareus had to admit, it was funny seeing her perfect face twist in confusion. She gave off the impression of both a sagely matriarch and a young woman who had little experience of the world beyond interacting with her servants.
“You could look at what they were able to achieve as more of an infancy, and they did well in their own way. With their lack of resources and proper education. True cultivation, however, begins in the next realm after that bottleneck.”
It was likely that was as polite as she could put that. Mareus didn’t protest though, it wasn’t his place to tell an immortal to watch what they said.
“You mean the realm of immortals then? I don’t think anyone has ever advanced that far in my village. And if it wasn’t for you, I’m not sure I would have believed it even existed.”
Fu Kong put her hand up to stop him. “Let’s not put the cart before the horse.”
Of course. He was hoping for too much. What gave him the right to expect that she could overcome the condition of his meridians.
“First we will need to test your affinity.”
“My affinity?”
Maybe. Mareus hoped as he fiddled with the ends of his furs.
“It helps to determine the inherent abilities and traits of someone so that they can start on the most beneficial path from the beginning. I doubt your people had a practice for this, but most places in the outside world have some form of test.”
Mareus couldn’t sit still after hearing that, “So how do we test my affinity? Can I learn that cloud technique you used? Or maybe I could use a flying sword. Traveling in the sky would be so much better than walking everywhere!”
“Perhaps one day,” She patted his head. “For now we will focus on building a strong foundation. There are a few options on how to test your affinity. But, the method we will use has a second purpose.”
She held up her forefinger on both hands, before pointing at a rock for him to sit down.
“This method will teach you how to draw out and control your own power. And from there we can examine its properties.”
He looked down and quietly asked. “Do I even have enough power to do that?”
“You do, this method requires more skill than raw power. Many ancient texts and studies on cultivation claim that a being's internal energy has an innate connection to the Dao, the way of things. So your own energy naturally wants to connect to it.”
Mareus launched to his feet. “What do I need to do?”
“Firstly, you’ll need to sit in the lotus position and begin meditating.”
Without any hesitation he dropped right there and crossed his legs. Mareus closed his eyes and tried to imitate the warriors he spied on when he was younger. From his memories he recalled them sitting completely still and focusing their breathing.
He wasn’t sure how he needed to breathe so he started breathing the same way his grandmother had taught him seven years ago.
“That’s not a bad start, I’m surprised.”
He had to stifle a smile because the feeling below his stomach started to fade as he filled with pride.
“Good, it looks like I won’t have to remind you to maintain your focus. Next you’ll draw that focus inward and follow the flow of your own energy. For now, just get accustomed to the natural flow.”
Mareus settled deeper into his breathing and cleared his mind. Focusing entirely on a faint line of energy weaving into existence from the nothingness of his inner world. Every time he would put the full weight of his attention on the thread it would unravel, as if it was trying to avoid him.
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“Don’t put too much focus directly on the flow. You’re not trying to control it yet. It’s similar to watching something without looking at it.” She corrected him.
His mind pulled back slightly. Now he could see the whole stream, the faint light flowed in a complex working of lines that forked and twisted in hundreds of different ways.
All of the different paths made him dizzy to the point of nauseousness and the image in his mind slowly dimmed. It took Mareus another ten minutes to find the right state of mind again, then another hour for him to adjust the balance between focus and clearing his mind.
Until a faint sphere at the center of his being was the only thing that remained.
Fu Kong continued, “Once you are able to draw out your power, I’ll examine its shape, stability, and color. Looking at each of those will help to determine the best path to start you on.”
He continued to concentrate on his center as she spoke, her voice slipping further and further away. As he fell deeper into his own consciousness he could feel a pricking sensation in his hands and feet. He couldn’t tell if the numb tingling was because he was succeeding or if they fell asleep. Despite the discomfort, he decided that since it was bearable he would keep going.
The pins spread through his limbs as if he was submerging them and settled just below his navel. The pale light patiently bouncing back and forth from what he assumed was his core to his soles, before returning to his core and then out to his palms and back. With each pass the light grew more intense and solid.
Fu Kong began circling Mareus as she spoke. “Mortals often have a harder time connecting to their soul than the other immortal races, and in fact many are never able to in their entire lives.”
The wind at the entrance to the cave picked up now. His hair flowing around him and the furs on his clothes swaying in time.
“But, this is not a perfect seal.” She continued, her hair and robes perfectly still despite the torrent forming around them.
“There are cracks that allow for some of the energy to leak through and integrate with your body as you live your life.”
The threads of invisible energy took on a blue-white glow in his minds eye that helped him notice miniature balls of light break free from the current and seep into his muscles and bones.
“Good, it feels like you have a good grasp on that energy. Now you must will it to the center of your palms and push it forth from there. It helps to imagine some physical representation of your energy pouring from your hands into the world.”
Fu Kong put her own hands together and a mass of black energy grew between them before she dismissed it.
“Some imagine streams, others spheres, or even gas. You can use any number of mental im-”
A small, impossibly dense, sphere of light appeared between his hands. Far more stable than she would have guessed it should have been for a novice. Leaning forward, she noticed powerfully swirling currents of energy orbiting one another and dancing around the sphere. They alternated between sinking and returning to the surface as they rotated.
Well that’s unique. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like this. She thought.
On the edge of the sphere was a black corona that appeared to swallow it whole. And the more she focused on it the less of the internal storm she was able to see.
With his eyes still closed Mareus spoke up. “Mistress, I’m not sure if I’m doing this right. It’s getting harder to control the energy.” Sweat beaded up on his face as he contorted it into several ridiculous expressions.
“You can open your eyes,” She urged her student. “You’ve succeeded and it is stable enough. Even if you cut off the energy supplying its form.”
He lit up again as he looked at the dumpling sized orb floating between his palms. He leapt from his seat and pranced around the cliff as he waved the light around as if to show it off to the world.
“I’ve done it. I can’t believe it. I’m actually a cultivator.”
His toothy grin filled his face while presenting his success to his master with both hands. He looked just like any other child his age showing off to his teacher.
“Congratulations, though that hair makes you seem more like a wild hermit than a cultivator.” Fu Kong used her sleeve to cover her chuckle.
Mareus almost forgot the ball of energy as he ran a hand through the matted mess.
Blushing, he gingerly held it out to her. “Mistress! So, uh, what does it say about my affinity?”
She already observed everything she needed to in order to determine his soul's nature. But to satisfy her new student, she looked closely at it and watched as it swirled and changed. She nodded and held her sleeve against her chin as if she were deep in thought.
“Hmm, I see.” After a few minutes she confidently announced. “You have an affinity for the Law of Darkness.”
His eyes grew. “Does that mean that I could use the same power as you!”
If he was lucky enough to have the same affinity as his would be master then it was as if the heavens had blessed him to atone for the loss of his home. It was like he was fated to right the wrongs committed by those experts who came out of nowhere.
Fu Kong chuckled, “Yes, but not only that, it means that it would be easier for you to learn the power of darkness than any other Law. Though, mortals have the ability to choose the Law they wish to master.”
He wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but what he did know is that he could learn her techniques. His heart was pounding against his chest hard enough that he was convinced she could hear it.
Can you see this grandmother? He quietly prayed.
“It is for this reason,” She continued. “That some schools will train initiates to open themselves up to all of the elements until they are able to connect to one of them. Though in my opinion it is much better to focus and train for one discipline rather than spreading yourself too thin.”
Mareus was absorbed by the fading light in his hands as she spoke, moving his hands around to watch as no matter the direction he looked at it he couldn’t focus on the black ring surrounding the chaotic energy.
“Does that mean you’ll be teaching me your path?” He asked.
“Not exactly my path, you will be on a variation of my path that I developed as I learned more about cultivation and the Dao through my travels. In other words you will be learning a perfected version of my path.”
A perfected version of her path. He repeated in his mind.
He stood in silence as the light finally faded from his hands. They fell limply to the side when the energy finally disappeared.