For the next several weeks, as Lin Liqiu finished healing, Tomo began instructing them in physics. Explaining the different forms of energy, examples of how it can change from one form to another, and discussing it's tendency to flow from areas with high energy to areas with low energy. As the students internalized this knowledge they could feel their cultivation realms rising in real time, even without the need to meditate.
For Ming Jia Ying, who had spent the last year focused on feeling the elements around her rather than cultivating, this sudden increase was surprising, but not unexpected. As for Ku Wei and Tsubame, two individuals that were new to cultivation and had never meditated before, this feeling was pleasant and they were captivated by the experience.
However, for the Lin twins, a pair with over a decade of cultivation experience, this rate of progress was unheard of, even when compared to people they'd met with proper training. Lin Liqin couldn't help but voice his shock, “I've been focused on relearning the basics and I can still feel my realm increasing faster than it has in the last few years of bitter meditation. How is this possible? I thought there were no short cuts in cultivation?”
“It's true that there are no short cuts, but there are more efficient paths. There's no need to worry, all of these gains are the result of your hard work at understanding the material I've presented,” Tomo agreed. “Let me ask you, what is the point of meditation? When did you notice advancements in your chi cultivation or ki refinement?”
“The point of meditation is to contemplate your understanding of chi or ki, how to best utilize it to achieve the desired results. My advancements came when I achieved enlightenment and deepened my understanding of them...” Lin Liqin trailed off.
As realization dawned on Lin Liqin, Tomo nodded, “Meditation is just intense focus, a type of self guided study. During these classes we have been engaged in a type of group meditation. We focus on a specific topic, I lecture, you all ask questions, I answer them, and together we are enlightened and deepen our understanding. When I started cultivating, my teacher told me 'Cultivation is like climbing a mountain. A good teacher tells you how to climb. A great teacher shows you the best path. But the best teacher throws you a rope from the summit.' Sometimes, the longer, harder path is just a waste of time and energy.”
Looking at the youthful faces around him, Tomo beamed with pride, but there was also a hint of regret. “It is time,” he said solemnly. Looking at Lin Liqiu's face, he paused. The now healed scar twisting her expression into a permanent and exaggerated smirk. “Liqiu has fully recovered. We need to continue making our preparations to face the empire. If you wish to join us you are more than welcome to stay, but if not... I'm afraid it is time to part ways.”
Lin Liqin and Tsubame exchanged glances before staring at Lin Liqiu. It was obvious they were leaving the decision up to her. She let out a long sigh before answering, “I feel indebted to you and Wei for treating my injuries, but you've made it clear you want a partnership not indentured workers. For Liqin and Tsu you're a once in a life time teacher and that opportunity may well be worth facing off against the Gaians. But what can you offer me? I'm more interested in my craft than cultivation. My current realm allows me to control the temperature of my furnace and that's good enough for me.”
“Interesting! You definitely live up to your reputation as a shrewd businesswoman,” Tomo laughed as he tapped his cane on the floor. In response to the sound Schrodinger came prancing up to Tomo with a small metal block floating in tow.
While it appeared to be steel at a glance, from the way Tomo was casually holding it Lin Liqiu could tell it was much lighter, “Are you offering to supply me with materials? I would expect you to do that for any commissioned work, regardless of our partnership.”
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“Materials are just the beginning. I was an engineer on my world, I'm aware of metals and alloys you've never heard of. Not only can I help you acquire them, but I can help you choose which is best for a given project.” Lin Liqiu felt the page in her pocket vibrate as Tomo waved his hand before continuing, “While you technically have access to all this information through your Encyclopedia page, if you don't know what to ask for how are you supposed to find the answer? Also, a lot of this information is in Old Gaian short hand, so you'll need me to translate.”
Looking at her page, Lin Liqiu saw the inky substance beneath the surface take on the shape of a grid. The left column was being filled in with the names of metals, some she recognized, but most were foreign. The headers of the other columns had abbreviations listed. She wasn't sure what these were, but guessed they were some sort of trait associated with each metal as the spaces below each header were filled with numbers.
While Lin Liqiu continued to inspect the list of metals, Tomo continued his pitch, “I know it's a bargaining technique to devalue the oppositions services, but aren't you selling yourself a bit short too? Why settle for controlling the temperature of your furnace?” The metal cube started floating before Tomo. With a wave of his hand the metal began to glow. While the metal was obviously heating up the room felt oddly cold. Tomo continued to move his hands as the block became a sphere and then began to stretch into a tapered cylinder. A knob took shape at the narrowest end. Suddenly the glow ceased as a layer of frost spread across the surface of the metal and the warmth returned to the room.
Lin Liqiu was flabbergasted. She'd never seen anyone forge without a furnace or tools, it broke all common sense. Tomo presented the object for Lin Liqiu's inspection, but Tsubame's curiosity got the better of her and she raced to accept it for her. Swinging the metal bat around she giggled, “This club feels so sturdy, but it's so light. I'd be tempted to trade in my daggers for something like this.”
“Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea,” pondered Tomo. “Consider it a gift. Look up elastic collisions with your Encyclopedia page when you get the chance. If you can enhance that effect with your chi a blunt weapon would be a good complement to your cultivation.”
While Tsubame was jumping for joy Lin Liqiu finally got a hold of the bat. It was just as Tsubame had described, surprisingly light. Tomo took this opportunity to introduce the material, “That's aluminum. It has it's strengths and weaknesses, but as you can tell it is comparable to steel, but significantly lighter.”
“I think you're burying the lead. It is an impressive material, but we both know I'm more interested in how you were able to forge without a furnace,” Lin Liqiu grinned, her scar giving her a certain impish quality.
“The principle behind it is fairly basic, in fact we covered it in one of my earlier lectures. However, I'm afraid in practice it is quite difficult to master. Of course, if you were to join us I would be more than happy to help you learn,” Tomo smiled back mischievously.
“Seems I'm not the only one with a good head for business. We'll join your little group.” Lin Liqiu shook Tomo's hand to seal the deal before pressing him for details, “So, what were the principles behind furnaceless forging?”
A light chuckle escaped Tomo as he wondered if he had the same obsessive look in his eyes as Lin Liqiu when doing his research. “Do you recall the first law of thermodynamics?”
“Energy can move and change forms, but it can't be created or destroyed.”
“Very good! I imagine you noticed the temperature of the room falling as I heated the metal. That's because I was moving energy from the surroundings into the metal. The real tricky part is preventing the energy from leaving as you force more into the object,” explained Tomo enthusiastically as he began a deep dive into how heat played a roll in the resistance of energy transfer.
Ku Wei and Ming Jia Ying took some time to officially welcome Lin Liqin and Tsubame as new disciples before the four took their seats so they could benefit from Tomo's latest impromptu lecture.
True to his word that science and cultivation were connected, Tomo brought it back with, “...and this is why I think Fire and Ice Cultivators' realm often lags behind other disciplines. They focus too much on wanting to manifest their element, creating a fireball or a chunk of ice, instead of focusing on the transfer of heat energy. In fact I believe they are actually one single discipline that is viewed as two, similar to Wei's Life and Death elements...”