Typer’s room: Hello guys. Sorry for the delay, but here is the chapter!
Today we see me trying (and probably failing miserably) to make an interesting and comprehensible Qi system to this world. I do know that I’m probably screwing myself over with the way I did it, but… Oh well.
As I said before, this is VASTLY a work in progress, and wasn’t made to be posted initially, so there might be some inconsistencies. If so, please do tell me, as I want to make it an enjoyable read ^^
May your reading be enjoyable.
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It was the following day after I received my hammer from father. After following father up to his workshop, I quickly gave my goodbyes to him before walking towards Tian’s house. On the way there I managed to get myself a couple of the strange candies as a freebie.
After almost losing my way due to the unknown territory, I arrived at the mansion a bit later than what I originally planned. Still, it shouldn’t be any later than eight o’clock or something, so It should still be fine.
Once I got to the front door, I saw a couple of guards standing on each side of the main gate, as soon as I got close to them, they sent me a quick gaze before widening their eyes.
“Are you the one called Lia?” He asked surprised, and I nodded confused. “Then you may come in. Master Roshi is at the back of the garden waiting for you.” He said while making a signal.
A guard on the other side of the gate opened it and gave me passage. I thanked them briefly before turning my attention to the path I would have to take to reach Master Roshi, but I still managed to hear the guards saying.
“When miss Ping said that all I had to do was to look for one of the cutest girl around, I thought she was joking.”
I felt a smile creeping up my face, but I couldn’t be sure whether it was a proud or an awkward one. As much as I like abusing my cuteness, it still feel a bit strange to hear other refer to me as a cute ‘girl’.
I quickly shook my head to remove the thought. Even if I started to mull over it like I had been doing some years ago there’s nothing else I can do about it, so let’s go back into doing something a bit more productive with that.
Let’s abuse my cute looks to get more freebies!
Nodding to myself in agreement, I sensed as Tian’s and Roshi’s spirit entered my range, so I quickly hastened my steps and reached them, finding the two in the same position as I found them on the previous day. Both sitting on the ground in front of each other.
As soon as I approached them, Master Roshi turned his gaze towards me and smiled, which soon led into Tian opening her eyes and turning to me.
“Cute plebeian! So you have finally come!” Tian said with a satisfied smile.
“Am I late?” I asked while sitting besides her.
“We didn’t really give you a time to arrive, so no, you are not.” Roshi said while shaking his head. “But it would be beneficial if you were to arrive a bit earlier, as training is more easily done during the early hours.”
As he said that I nodded a bit weakly. That might be a bit difficult to me, since I only arrive at the city together with father around this time, and I really don’t want to start hurrying him up just for me. But then, I will start living here soon enough, so no need to worry too much.
And I won’t say something like: ‘After that everything will go well!’ I’m not a fool to go and jinx everything with that phrase.
“Well, should we begin then?” Roshi asked me, so I nodded quickly. “Lady Tian, you may continue with your training meanwhile.” Tian nodded at his words before closing her eyes. Was she still doing that energy sensing training? Should be. “Now, Young Lia. Yesterday I took my time to think of a possible training schedule for you, but I found it a bit difficult to do so when all I knew was that you had talent, but had no idea of what you could actually do.” As he said that, I nodded slightly
“Then, what do I do?” I asked him slightly anxious.
“Right now I want you to tell me anything you have related to your spirit, and if you had any breakthrough in your life.”
“Breakthrough?” I tilted my head confused.
“Breakthrough is what happens when someone raises a rank as a spiritualist.” Roshi explained briefly. “If I had to explain it, it’s something akin to having your mind suddenly becoming unclouded and your body cleansed.”
I stopped to think about what he said, trying to remember if I felt like that any time in my life, but after some time I shook my head. From what I remember, I never had that sensation before.
Roshi nodded while looking in deep thoughts, but for a moment I swore that he had a slight relieved look in his face. Afterwards I also told him that I could somehow control my energy within me, and this made him widen his eyes in surprise for a moment.
“That’s great news!” He said with a satisfied nod. “That step, along with sensing is one of the hardest to take for a beginner. It’s almost like you were born ready to be a spiritualist!” He said satisfied, making me look at him in wonder.
Well, I couldn’t really tell him that i’ve been training to move my energy around since I was one year old or something like that, can I? Hiding my dilemma behind a smile, I nodded at him.
“So, have you reached the step of melding your spirit into qi?” He asked me after taking some time to think, but this time his words left me confused, so I tilted my head. He nodded satisfied. “It seems like I will need to start with some theory.”
I nodded in accordance while making sure to hear what he was about to say, listening intently to his words.
“For us, spiritualist, there are three main types of spirits we must always keep in mind.” He lifted his hand and raised one of his fingers. “The first is what we call the Inner spirit. This is the spirit we find within ourselves, the one that defines whether we are spiritualists or not, and what defines to which of the four elements lies our affinities. This spirit is present within all beings, be them human, plants, animals or even Spirit beasts.” That term again, I really should ask what it means… “This type of spirit is extremely resilient and resistant to changes. That’s why one usually have to spend such a long time to reach his desired affinity, but this also makes it extremely predictable and practical once you learn how to control it.”
“The second type of spirit is what we call the Worldly spirit.” He said raising his finger up to the air. “This is the spirit that’s nowhere. It’s the one you feel flying freely in the air, going and doing whatever it so well pleases. Compared to the Inner spirit, this one is much more whimsical, does not have any type of affinity whatsoever and can easily be altered with but a thought. That is, if you can control it.” He smirked slightly at the words. “Also, the worldly spirit is just as likely to be controlled by you as it is likely to be controlled by the adversaries, even if you were the first one to reach for it. This make them extremely difficult to be used on real situations where you have an adversary. In comparison, it is infinite, which is a great advantage compared to the limited Inner spirit.”
At these last words of his, I felt as something clinked within me, taking me back to when I was about to reach my first full year of life. Mother, who kept doing something with her vast spirit that slowly led to her losing almost half of it over the time.
“Then...” I somehow managed to hide my worried tone. “Does this Inner spirit deplete if used too much?”
“Yes.” Roshi nodded satisfied with my curiosity. “But usually, one only need a few good nights of sleep to recover it completely.”
“Even if I had a looot of spirit?” I asked while spreading my arms wide to make my point.
“Yes. Even then.” Roshi said with a nod. “The more one trains his spirit vessel, the faster it starts to recover, so usually the time doesn’t change all that much.” He stopped to think for a moment before continuing. “From what I remember, Master Tong Yian, the one leader of the Crane Clan and the owner of the largest spirit vessel spent all of his Inner spirit in an training routine, but after a week he was already back in full shape.”
This… Was strange. If one week was all that took, then why did mother run away during that day. And from what I could feel, her spirit wasn’t even regenerating at all. Frowning when I thought about this, I looked back at master Roshi, doubtful Whether I should make the question or not.
If I became too insistent on this topic, it might arouse some suspicion, and i’d rather not cause an commotion if possible. But this might be my best chance at finding out why mother left us....
“Is there any way to empty your Inner Spirit then?” I asked after noticing that the doubt would consume me if I didn’t make the question.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Well...” Roshi looked a bit at loss with my last words. “There are a few occasions...” He stopped himself by shaking his head. “Before that, you need to learn about the last type of spirit. The one we call Essence Spirit. Or, as some other likes to call it, Qi. This one, different from both the Inner and the worldly spirit as it is not found on nature itself.”
“We can’t find it on nature?” I asked confused making him nod. “Then, how do we get it.”
“Good question.” Roshi said with a nod. “Qi is generated once a spiritualist, or someone who aspires to be one mingles his own Inner spirit with the Worldly spirit around him. This way he can use the advantages of both spirits with almost none of the downsides.” He said proudly. “This one is the mostly used by Spiritualists due to its versatility, practicality and ease of use. Due to how widespread its usage is, most of the non-practitioners end up confusing it with the Inner spirit, as both are stored within the body of the spiritualist.”
I widened my eyes briefly in surprise before nodding in accordance. This whole spirit talk was surprisingly more profound than what I had originally thought. While I slowly digested this information, I saw as Roshi smiled wryly.
“And I really am speaking all of this to a four years old...” He gave a long sigh as if he couldn’t believe what he was doing. “Sometimes I completely forget your age thanks to how easily you get all this information…” He shook his head with a wry smile briefly before continuing. “When one is creating Qi, there are a few different techniques one can use, each with its own merits and demerits. For beginners like the two of you, usually all you need is to let the two mingle naturally, but once you travel further through your path, you will start to use more specific refining techniques. Some of them, might even bring about grave side effects.” His face suddenly became grim. “For example, there’s a technique that was said to be lost hundreds of years ago called ‘Field of three thousand blossoms’,” Whaa! What a corny name! “and the little records we have from that technique says that it leave one’s spirit vessel unusable according to the amount refined.”
“And why would someone do such barbarity!” The one who asked angrily wasn’t me, but Tian who suddenly opened her eyes before blushing slightly and notice that she was being unsightly.
“Because, Miss Tian.” Roshi said with a gentle smile. “Sometimes, normal refining methods aren’t enough to reach the desired result. Comparing a basic refining method to one of these high-grade methods is like comparing a piece of glass with a piece of diamond. Even if they look the same, the result is completely different.”
Then, for some reason mother needed a much more refined qi than the one that other techniques could generate? Is that why her energy started to dwindle? But why? As I felt that more questions were added to the mystery that was the disappearance of my mother.
“Does that answer your question?” Roshi asked me, and I nodded.
“Yes. I think that’s all.” I said seriously.
“Good.” Roshi said with a nod. “Well, lastly I will tell you the relation of Qi and breakthroughs. You see, a person’s body can only hold a certain amount of Qi at any certain time. This amount is limited both by the Spirit vessel of a person, as well as how many breakthroughs each person has gone through. That’s why it’s important to train not only your Vessel, but also aim to constantly achieve breakthroughs.”
“Are breakthroughs difficult?” I asked noticing how much he was emphasizing that fact. He smiled slightly for a moment before shaking his head.
“The earlier ones, no. To achieve your first breakthrough, all you need is to fill your body with Qi for the first time.” He said in a gentle tone. “However, once you start to reach higher levels, you might need some more specific methods, like meditating in specific places or using another method.”
“I see...” I said while nodding. “Then, all I need to do is pull a lot of… Worldly spirit within me?” I asked.
“Exactly. Easy, right?” He said, and I nodded.
“But… How do I do it?” I asked after some time thinking.
“Well, that’s where your training begins.” Roshi said with a nod. “Since your sense is so sharp, I think it will be better for me to simply show you instead of trying to explain, so try to copy what I do, okay?”
As he said that, I nodded and closed my eyes so that I could better focus on the spirits around me. Soon after, I felt as master Roshi’s Inner spirit started that routine of converting a small part of it into a thin tornado-like vortex and gently reach out towards the worldly spirit outside.
Watching carefully, I made sure to try and decorate every step he took. First he would separate slightly a piece of his spirit and start spinning it around slowly. This made it thin out before he guided it outwardly.
“Why do you make it so thin?” I asked while feeling a bit confused. Mother did the same, but wouldn’t reaching out with more spirit make it easier to mingle with the worldly one?
“The answer for that is actually simple.” Roshi said with a smile, and just as the vortex was about to reach the energy around him, he stopped the spin around it, and soon it expanded out.
And all the worldly spirit around it quickly moved away from his spirit.
“This may be the easiest step after sensing and moving your spirit, but it doesn’t mean that you can do it without some guidance, you know?” Roshi said and I felt as his spirit receded into his body and he started the process anew. “Both energies repulse each other when in large amounts. That’s why we have to produce Qi on our own, and don’t find it around the nature.” As he extended his spirit out once again, his Spirit and the worldly spirit touched each other, and soon he began pulling it back into his body. “But the moment they touch each other, a small amount of Qi is formed immediately, and this Qi can pull the worldly spirit with itself. This is why we can attract it back to ourselves. Now try yourself.”
I nodded as he gave me the task, and soon started to focus on my own spirit. Firstly, I started to move around my energy within my body, trying to form a vortex just like Roshi did himself. Firstly I separated a part of the energy within me only enough so that I could start the vortex.
It took me a few tries before I finally got it right and managed to form the small vortex within my arm. Feeling as it moved around within my body, I slowly started to move it away towards the edge of my hand.
Then, it reached my skin.
“Hmm...” I frowned a little as the usual feeling assaulted me. “Neeh, master Roshi.” I asked while opening my eyes. He opened his own eyes and looked at me in curiosity. “How do I make the spirit pass my skin?” I asked confused.
After all, ever since I started fiddling around with my energy, I never really managed to get it any further than my skin level. I thought that maybe by making the vortex as he had showed I would be able to pass that level, but…
“What do you mean?” He asked me confused.
“Well… I can’t make my spirit go any further than my skin. Is there any trick to this?” I asked.
But all I got was a confused face from Roshi.
“I… Never heard of that before.” He said frowning. “You can’t make your spirit pass through your skin?” He asked me, and once again nodded.
However, he only looked even more confused than before and started to look at me for a long time, as if trying to understand my words. After some time he finally shook his head and gave up.
“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you are speaking.” He said with a confused face. “That… Just doesn’t make sense. Skin? Stopping Spirit?” He started to stroke his beard for a few moments before once again looking at me and standing up. He put his hand on my forehead and once again focused himself. “Show me what’s happening.”
I nodded and quickly repeated the process I made previously, and I felt as the spirit clashed against my skin, unable to pass through. As soon as it happened, Roshi’s spirit seemed to flicker for a moment.
“This… Doesn’t make sense...” He said while frowning. “Why would something like this happen at all?”
I shrugged in confusion and quickly dispersed the energy while looking at Roshi. He opened his eyes and looked around with clear grief in his face.
“This...” He said with a sad tone. “I have no idea what is happening, but if we don’t find some way to fix this… You might be unable to practice Spiritualism.”
Both me and Tian stared at him in shock for a time after the words left his mouth.
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Typer’s room (Too): I bet most of you didn't see that coming?