Homes and businesses were constructed up to the northernmost border, filling every available space. As Kai walked through the last neighborhood, he smelled the smoke and noted the fading sunlight reflected off the placard of the Jade Bazaar. Houses were built into the gray stone wall, which rose and fell along the peaks and valleys.
He walked through the gates, marching in a column with a group of black-robed cultivators. They left the city and stepped onto a well-worn stone path dusty with snow. Traveling at the speed of their slowest cultivator and hemmed in by mortals in crowded streets, the group had been walking from the Lotus Pavillion near the city center for a quarter of the day.
Kai turned to look back at the city. To him, the buttressed wall looked like an armored snake trying to constrict Arcadia. He looked over to the team he’d met, the Iceheart clan.
To his frustration, it had taken minutes to convince the leader of the team that he was, in fact, the cultivator they were looking for. They were looking for a group of experts, not a child prodigy. He could only convince them by exposing his soul light. Once they started treating him seriously, he learned who they were. The Iceheart clan was not immediately hostile, not most of them. He hadn’t expected that. Now he was following them to see the clan patriarch.
During the walk, Kai spent a long time examining the cultivation of each of them. The leader was not Meilin’s father. He had a solid heart core; Kai interpreted this to mean Core Formation Realm, advanced rank. Two others were of the same rank and realm as Kai. One he thought of as the sad one because his eyes were watery and his face downcast. The other he thought of as the angry one. The entire march out of the city, the angry one had glared hatefully at him, swearing under his breath.
The other seven cultivators were beneath him. That was an odd thought. Evaluating each person’s cultivation and trying to emulate the custom of not deferring to lesser cultivators changed Kai’s perception. Kai grimaced with the observation.
One of the distinctive qualities of Long Yuan was the objective reality behind one’s social status. It wasn’t like in his previous life, where an untalented person might rise to a position of undue influence. If you were a Core Foundation Realm cultivator, you had a higher social status than someone lower. It was concrete and based on observable and measurable facts. He imagined scenarios where there may be exceptions to this. The scion of a powerful dynasty might command a higher standing, based on the power of his family, instead of his personal might, but in the end, it was all the same. The greater your strength, the greater your status. It was simple, elegant, and savage.
Kai reflected on how to calculate strength. While cultivation level was an objective starting point for determining strength, it wasn’t sufficient. There were multiple contributing factors. With his perception, he could determine the rank and realm of a cultivator, at least up to his level. Beyond that, he could also evaluate the cultivation quality. All of the Iceheart clan cultivators had imperfect cultivations. Meridians were damaged or incomplete, cores were partially filled, bodies were imperfectly refined, and injuries and deviations were unhealed. Every single one had these issues.
Why does that irritate me? Kai understood the challenge; cultivators were forced into difficult decisions. Lack of resources, enemies or rivals, or sudden opportunities made it hard to complete any stage perfectly. Still, it irritated him. They were doing it wrong. He frowned at that thought.
Kai couldn’t qualify the relative importance quality had on strength. How significant was the difference? Intuitively he knew that building anything on weak foundations meant that you could only build up so high before you could go no further. The Iceheart clan would never reach the peak of cultivation; they had laid poor foundations.
Once past the crowded lines entering Arcadia, they picked up the pace. He looked ahead; halfway up the mountain, the road narrowed to a stony mountain pass. Kai followed along without speaking, returning his thoughts to the strength calculation.
Personal cultivation strength was only one factor. There was also group strength and wealth. With a strong family or sect, one could borrow the power from the family's stronger experts to suppress enemies beyond one’s personal strength. A good reason to be polite to everyone. If he offended a lesser cultivator, might he incur the wrath of more powerful clan members? He rolled his eyes. He was in that situation right now.
With enough wealth, one could purchase life-saving talismans, spiritual weapons, and better cultivation methods. You could hire tutors. You could buy your way into a powerful clan. Wealth was the great equalizer - provided you could hold onto it.
Kai considered what running a clan with limited resources might be like. Constantly deciding which cultivators to nurture and which not. Would two imperfect cultivators be better in some cases than one perfect cultivator? He could imagine a scenario where that was the case. They may not be doing it wrong.
Kai evaluated his own strength. He had a perfect foundation and no bottlenecks to further progress, but he was only one cultivator. He had no clan or sect to call on if he offended someone stronger. He also had limited wealth. He could not afford a spiritual spatial treasure, but four Iceheart cultivators had one. He eyed them jealously. An individual was severely disadvantaged in wealth accumulation compared to an established clan.
The math was basic. Kai concluded he was not stronger than this group.
But they don’t know that.
A mid-rank core foundation realm soulforger, with seven cores at seven years old? Wouldn’t the most plausible explanation be that he was the favored scion of a great power? How could they conclude he was a solitary cultivator without resources or backing? Only if I expose myself.
Even still, Kai was counting on the soul of Meilin being worth something. So even if I totally blunder, I still have a bargaining chip. It was a risk, a large one.
He frowned, affecting a displeased disposition. For my survival here, I need to commit to playing the part of the young master. Kai’s heart beat faster, and he felt a cold sweat under his collar. He was in danger. The realization of his situation and his acute awareness of his lack of skill created a momentary panic.
I’m not an actor. How am I going to pull this off? He breathed deeply, methodically slowing his pulse, before thinking about a solution. He slowed his perception, stretching out the time between footsteps before spawning threads of thought dedicated to solving the problem. When the thoughts began returning, he assembled the pieces until a complete solution was formed.
A smile formed on his lips at the thought of the ludicrous solution. He suppressed a laugh and closed his eyes. He needed an acting coach, someone to feed him lines. Kai checked Relay’s availability, slipping quickly to his soul space. The Eternal was occupied with the others. On my own, then.
The idea was simple. Given the persona of the young master he was trying to emulate, he could dedicate a few threads of thought to considering his situation and coming up with the most appropriate response. He could then send that response to his soul space, process it, and overlay it on his senses, creating a virtual acting coach. He was sure he could do it, but should he?
Kai frowned at the realization that he only needed to be deceptive because he still lacked sufficient personal strength. That was precisely what Nova Ahja said, in different words. Lies were only necessary for the weak.
But he was weak; he might always be vulnerable as a solo cultivator. That fact was evident in his mind and further fueled his resolve to grow stronger. He spawned some young master persona threads and quickly visited his soul space to handle the input and output. When everything was wired and ready, he began a basic test.
A full-sized version of him appeared, walking beside him. Kai almost missed a step, watching his doppelganger and analyzing his blank inscrutable expression. His virtual coach looked schooled and controlled. He tried to mimic it with some success. Too big - it will get in the way of reality. He shrank his acting coach, but the smaller version was comical. Sure, he could see the exact expression and hear the correct words, but he was convinced it would make him laugh.
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These self-imposed hallucinations are wrong. He considered it momentarily and concluded it was all unnecessary; audio and video are entirely superfluous. Instead, he could simply assign control of his reactions directly to his young master threads. He didn’t need to send any data to his soul space. Kai made the mental adjustments, and his face perfectly became inscrutable and schooled. Let the young master beta test begin.
Kai turned his attention back to the leader, further examining his core. The energy in his heart core seemed solid; paradoxically, the more dense a source of energy, the more responsive and effective it was. While that was interesting, what fascinated Kai was the apparition of a blue crystal sword suspended in the center of his core, a tapered double edge blade with a short handle.
The group rounded a ridge, and the city of Arcadia disappeared behind the mountain range.
“You dare touch a hair on her head!” the angry man spat and lunged towards Kai.
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I slow my perception and shift my weight to pivot aside. I watch the furious punch go by and feel the cold energy emanate from his fist. Is the energy they cultivate related to the slow concept? That feels right. A lightning cultivator would no doubt be faster.
In any case, this cultivator can only hit me if I let him. Did I want to let him? No. His cultivation was poor, his meridians blocked in several areas by unhealed damage, and his skin and bones partially unrefined. I can’t think of a good reason why you would leave your skin and bones incomplete. Was it the nature of the energy? That didn’t make sense to me.
I open my eyes and unbind my soul light. A blue aura springs up around his body in my vision. He continues passed me. I reach out and grip his soul by the arm and yank hard. His soul stretches around his body, clinging to it like a viscous substance. I pull harder, freeing his soul’s arm first, then his shoulder, neck, and head. He screams as I split him from his body.
As his torso pulls free, I release my grip on his arm. Desperate blue tethers spring from his soul like coagulated threads that grope around, feeling for his body. Finding it, they quickly pull him back together. I see his soul settle in place and watch as he falls to the stone path. The fight has gone from his eyes. The rage is instantly suppressed by confusion. He opens his mouth to say something. Instead, I watch as he slowly empties his stomach onto the road.
“Trash.”
I say the word slowly so they can understand it. The young master persona is working. I am ashamed to admit that the cultivator elitist part of me agrees with the sentiment.
The leader who did nothing when I was attacked steps forward, a blue sword materializing in his hand. It matches the image in his core. This is good information. My cultivation knowledge consists of a day of basic tutoring, what I can figure out independently, and what I can glean from the Lunar Temple cultivators.
I did not know that a solid core could manifest as a weapon. That concerns me because, based on my theory, his energy must be more potent than mine. His blade should be able to do real damage to my body. I want to avoid testing this theory.
He moves fast, much faster than the angry cultivator. His blade slices towards the hand that pulled on the angry man. I have enough time to slide my hand out of the trajectory of his cut, but only partially. His sword passes through half my wrist, blood spraying over the stone path. Pain races up my arm, my nerves screaming loudly. My face contours into a grimace, and my hand flops uselessly. I feel the profound blue energy penetrating my flesh. I have enough time to grip my wrist, securing it before it freezes solid.
I accept the wound and step back warily. I begin to siphon the residual blue energy, but the work is hard. The energy resists my efforts to absorb it, and I struggle. I could supersaturate my body with energy, flooding every cell and increasing my speed and resilience, but I don’t. I do not want to be naked, and I like this robe. It suits me. Clothing at this stage is a genuine inconvenience.
Instead, I step out of his range and hold my wrist in my other hand. He makes no effort to pursue me. I continue to cycle his energy away; I am making progress, but it's slow. Should I fully empower, I would overmatch him, but I am not interested in testing this right now.
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“There will be no more incidents like that,” the blue sword vanished with the sound of ice fracturing. He looked down at the sick cultivator, who could not stand, frowned but said nothing more.
Kai grimaced as he cracked the ice surrounding his wrist. The cold energy bit deep into his hand, but he crushed it, breaking most of it free. It clattered onto the road, shattering into tiny bloodstained crystals. Once done, he continued to refine what little ice remained. With the bulk of the dense spiritual energy gone, he could measure the task in minutes instead of hours.
“Keep your people in line unless you want me to deal with them,” Kai growled, holding his wrist in his hand. His flesh had already knit together where the energy had been removed; the healing there nearly complete.
“He is Meilin’s betrothed,” the leader’s jaw clenched, a crease forming between his eyes as he glared at Kai. “Was.”
“This trash? Then you should be grateful I spared her from such a fate,” Kai spat. Inside he cringed at the words.
The leader’s nostrils flared at that, and for a moment, Kai wondered if he’d gone too far. But after a moment, he released a long breath and turned to help his friend to stand. The group started moving as soon as Meilin’s betrothed could walk, but the going was slow, giving Kai time to consider the battle.
The first thing that struck him was how different the two cultivators reacted to soul separation. Meilin’s soul had barely resisted and certainly didn’t try to rejoin her body after separation. The second was the qualitative difference in energy between ranks. The leader’s spiritual power was much more powerful than his. His flesh put up a token resistance, but not much more than mortal flesh would against ordinary steel.
When they got to a small path leading away from the main mountain pass, the leader turned and glared at Kai. “We’ll see how long your arrogance last in front of my father.”
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As Ai and Bao crossed the threshold of the Songbird Retreat, they were greeted by a comforting simplicity. The interior was humble, devoid of opulence but rich in warmth and hospitality. Yunfie and Song stepped in, leaving the bustle of Arcadia behind.
A hint of sandalwood lingered in the air, carrying a gentle fragrance that wafted from a single incense stick smoldering on a nearby wooden altar. Soft, muted lanterns adorned the walls, casting a warm and cozy glow that illuminated the space and dancing shadows upon the worn but well-maintained wooden floor.
A soft melody floated through the air. The tranquil notes of a simple flute blended with the serene surroundings, whispering songs of simpler times. Relay looked up from his perch on Bao’s shoulder.
The lobby of the Songbird Retreat exuded a welcoming aura. Sparse seating areas adorned with soft earthy tones cushions invited the Lunar Temple cultivators to rest. The worn but sturdy furniture spoke of countless stories and conversations among guests over the years.
“Honourable guests,” a woman appeared in the lobby from behind the counter. She wore a simple blue silk robe, her long black hair pulled up and fixed on her head. “Are you here for Azurewing’s Dance?”
“Ah, no,” Ai scratched the back of her head. “Business mostly.” It was unlucky that they arrived around the time of the city protector’s celebration, which meant prices would be higher, and options would be fewer.
“Do you have two rooms, nothing fancy, just basic sleeping rooms?” Ai asked.
“Kai won’t be joining us tonight, I think,” the golden ferrox said. The innkeeper’s eyes went wide.
“Uh, just one, then?” Ai looked at the golden ferrox, who nodded to them.
“Let this one see what we can do for our esteemed guest.”