“To become a cultivator, to become immortal, is to defy Heaven's wishes. They want us to be mortal. Death then, must take issue with this,” - Unknown Philosopher

The collected thoughts of cultivation, by Akito Muira, year 587

Taking a lotus pose outside, he sat behind the bar that served as he and his friends' home. The town's alchemist shop stood in front of him. He didn't appear to be in the usual state of meditation; instead, he appeared gaunt. Although he lived on the streets, Aki appeared to be in his forties, even though he was only in his twenties. His hair was long and black, pulled back into a ponytail. He had a black beard. His eyes were shielded by sunglasses, and a wooden cane lay across his knees. It seemed like a little more than a thick stick, and it was on the man, just above waist height.

His black outer robes and gray inner were wrinkled and filthy, he hadn't seen soap in weeks. They matched his body. They were threadbare and looked older than they were. His skin was rough, not the unnaturally smooth young skin most cultivators had. Cultivators were the term for people like Aki. Those who cultivated an element and the world's power to reach immortality Most of them looked young because of this. The theory was that you could be hundreds of years old and still be in your thirties.

Elias Zhao, the patriarch of the Zhao clan, was reputed to be the oldest person on Earth. The oldest known human, anyway. Aki had seen him once before, he appeared to be in his forties. But if the stories about his age were accurate, the man was well over a century old. They stated he had advanced the farthest on his cultivation route among everyone. Nobody has yet ascended to the summit of the peak. There has never been a celestial who attained immortality—what they referred to as the pinnacle of training.

None of this was Aki, though. He was a man who had seen battles and seen what years of living on the streets could do to someone. He didn't sit in some fancy school or sect somewhere secluded off. Or, like Elias, living off the Emperor’s pay, staying in the capital and living in the emperor’s own manor. Of course, he could stay pretty, with flawless skin and without blemishes.

Aki smirked, thinking how different his life might have been if anyone else had picked him up. If someone other than the old man had taken him in. He had his own small sort of sect who didn't chase immortality or power. This sect was focused more on bringing truth to the world, the truth about the heavens, and the Kami that ruled them. There was more power to be had than most people could even dream of. There were more than just the basic five elements most cultivators knew about and practiced.

There were five elements found here in the world a cultivator could cultivate; water, fire, earth, metal, and wood. People didn’t know that each of the Kami had reign over another element. If you were lucky enough to find the right tools, you could cultivate those powers as well. There was knowledge, death, shadow, wind, lightning, ice, and then illusion.

The world was young, though. It could be forgiven. What couldn't be forgiven was that the sect and school heads fervently withheld the information they knew. They were scared that if too many people took in the Kami’s powers, that they might lose their positions. Who needed sect heads to learn from, if you were learning right from a kami?

The wind picked up around Aki, swirling around his crouching form. Aki shook off the thoughts of what could have been and refocused. After all, if someone else had picked him up, he most likely would not be a wind artist. Wind suited him, it suited this life of his. The wind was always blowing, always moving, powerful but silent. Aki shook his head once more and felt the surrounding aura, bringing it into his body, channeling it through his mana channels.

The old man didn't tell him precisely how to trigger the transformation, how to trigger his advance into the spiritual realm of power. He just said something that sounded old and all-wise. That was all the advice the man gave his student, something the student didn't even understand. Still, Aki cycled his mana, bringing the almost see-through liquid, if not for the slight blue tint, running through him.

He brought the liquid into his core, right in his gut, behind his navel. The budding cultivator forced the already full core to accept more of the mana, forcing it to condense inside of him. Sweat beaded on his brow, and he gave a soft grunt as he continued to push and hold it. The pain in his stomach and the channels all along his body felt like they were going to burst. Aki yelled out, a loud guttural and primal yell.

Then all around him, the wind burst out away from him, the gale of wind exploded away from him, rocking the building he was facing. He heard windows explode and shouts coming from the alchemist. No doubt the man knew what was happening, though. He was old and had lived next to the old man for a long time. He had seen more than just Aki reach the spiritual realm. The pressure in his body lessened, and Aki stopped yelling.

His mind raced. Did he fail? With the explosion of power outwards, did that mean he didn't advance? He didn't even have time to finish the thought. The direction of the power reversed and amplified, and the wind rushed back towards Aki. He could feel the wind aura getting pulled inside of him. The mana in his core condensed and became thicker, where it used to be almost see-through. It now had more body to it. It was weird, though, to think of the wind with a body. The hint of blue was still there, but now there was also a soft glowing white to it. Then the aura covered his body like a shell, and this was what the old man prepared Aki for.

Now Aki could change little things about his body. Most cultivators made themselves look more beautiful or gave themselves stronger muscles, vain things. Aki went in a different direction. He embraced his title as a beggar. He gave his beard and hair a little gray. Not much. He didn't want to look like an old man, just someone who has been living on the streets a little longer. His skin got a little more scarred and rough. Other than that, there wasn't much he thought about changing about himself that he could. All he cared about was doing his job, getting information, and spreading the word of the Kami.

With all of that finished, the wind died. Aki was left sitting there panting and sweaty. He gave a soft groan and inspected his channels, running his vision through them. He didn't seem that much different. His channels were a little stronger, and the mana in his core was brighter, thicker, and more powerful. Overall, though, he felt about the same as he ever had.

Not that anyone else would know. Other cultivators could reach out with their spirit and get a sense of another's power. They could find out the very basics of Aki if they searched. What element he cultivated, and then they might tell if he was still in the body cultivation stages or if he had progressed into the spiritual realm. For a deeper spiritual scan, to really get a sense of another cultivator. You either had to be much more powerful than the person you wanted to scan, or the person would have to let you.

Aki frowned, but shrugged and stood. He lifted the cane and slung it over his shoulder, walking around the building and into the bar. The old man sat there waiting for him. He was, as his title suggested, an old man, wearing old gray robes and a conical straw hat that he kept back on his head so he could see. He was sitting there at the bar, smiling and tugging on his thin white beard, a bad habit that he had picked up from Aki. The old man laughed and gave him a toothy grin.

"Go well, did it?" he asked Aki.

Aki grunted and nodded his head. "Yeah, but the change isn't as dramatic as I thought it'd be."

The old man nodded his head in understanding. "Well, Aki, you're only in the onyx realm. Not much about you has changed. Now you just have teeth."

The Master was referring to Aki’s new stage in cultivation. Onyx was the first stage in the spiritual stage of cultivation. He could now use outward attacks with his spirit. The name came because his spirit was still dirty, or blackened. As you cleansed your spirit, you raised to Jade and then to Opal, growing power about tenfold with each rank. In the first stages, the body development stages, you could only control the mana in your body. It was still useful for healing and reinforcing your body, but it was a lot less flashy.

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This was all, of course, after forming the mana channels in your body and growing your core. Forming your channels also wasn’t quite right a term. Even non cultivators had the ‘channels’ in their body as meridians. They just weren’t used for cultivation. Cultivators just cleaned them and pushed the toxins from them to open them up so they could use them as channels for their mana.

Aki stared at the old man with a deadpan expression. He had begun to say something, but the old man held up his hand.

"Aki, with everything going on here, I think it's time we go elsewhere. Kio and William are spreading the word here about everything. I'm sending you West." The old man was sitting on a stool in the tavern, looking at Aki standing behind the bar. Aki set about pouring them rice wine from a bottle below the counter.

"The West? Why in the world would I go to the Western Islands? I'm needed here. There's the shadow spirit or whatever that attacked that village." Aki looked at the old man from behind the dark glasses he wore.

Where Aki's hair was all black, the old man's was white, and his robes were a faded gray, but they were clean. He sat there holding the staff he used to walk with. He smiled at Aki with the soft, grandfatherly smile The Elder was known for.

"Not the Western Islands. They already know about cultivation. You're going past that. All the way to the west." The Elder said and smiled as he looked at Aki.

Aki paused with a cup raised to his lips mid-sip of the rice wine they were drinking. He lowered the cup down and stared at The Elder. "There's nothing out there."

"Well, no, there's people out there. They don't believe in the Kami, however, nor do they believe in cultivation, but if you were to teach them, it may help things here. The Elders of the Schools and Sects have been trying to keep everything a secret for too long. You going and teaching may sway more people to help." This was going about how The Elder expected. No one wanted to go west. Beyond the Western Islands was a rather lawless wasteland of miscreants and outlaws. He took a sip of his own rice wine.

"You already have the perfect cover." The Elder continued a moment after he took a sip.

Aki still frowned and stared at The Elder, not believing what he was being ordered to do. "How about I go down to Kyoto and you send William to the West? At least he's pale."

The Elder chuckled and nodded his head, conceding the point. "Yes, that is true, but he's already down there at the School of the Jade Mountains with Kio. Magnus went north with his father to visit... someone or something." The Elder shrugged.

"You're the only one I have here in order to do this, Aki. I think it's something we need to do. Go west. I think there's going to be a lot of trouble coming this way. If this attack on Kyoto proves to be more than a simple incident, like I think it will." The Elder continued. "See some fresh sights, maybe learn some new techniques. Who knows?" The Elder shrugged.

Aki stood there listening to The Elder, looking at him from behind his glasses. He sipped at his wine and sighed. "You and I both know I will not learn any techniques if I go west. Do they even practice martial arts? Or do they just swing swords at each other, or try to clobber each other with big hammers?"

The Elder closed his eyes and lowered his head with a grin. He even gave a little chuckle before he looked back at Aki. "Well, Aki, I can't make you, but I'm asking you to go, as a personal favor to me. Take the night if you'd like, take a shower and get some rest. We'll talk in the morning."

The Elder raised his cup one last time and finished his wine before sitting the cup back on the counter upside down. He then reached out and patted Aki's hand, which was resting on the bar counter. "There's room upstairs for you. Take your pick. No one else is here at the moment." The Elder then climbed to his feet and walked with the staff to the right of the bar, where there was an opening to go to the rooms.

Aki watched him go, still frowning. After returning from his own mission, he had been looking at what the bandits were doing in the Wastelands. He had even joined them for a short time, waiting to see if their leader had showed up. He didn't, of course, and then he received word to come back to Mudpass. Aki finished his wine and sent the mug flying across the tavern into a wall.

He grunted and manipulated the aura of the air with a bit of mana, and slowed the glass before it shattered against the wall. Another small use of mana, and he even cushioned the glass before it fell to the ground. He didn't want to sweep up the mess. Instead, he went and cleaned himself up and went to bed.

The next morning, he woke early and got dressed. He grabbed the cane he used and walked around with and put the dark glasses on. It was all an act, of course, part of his beggar cover. He could see just fine, but people didn't tend to worry about a wandering blind man who may venture somewhere he wasn't supposed to go.

He didn't see The Elder on his way out of the tavern, but there was a wagon with someone who lived in the town in the driver's seat. "The Old Man said you needed a ride to Jinhou. Hop onto the back of the wagon. I'm heading in to take some produce to sell at the markets."

Aki knew the man, sort of. He was someone who fell under the protection of The Elder and was a lower-level body cultivator. The entire village was filled with people who knew the truth about the Kami and that there were more elements than the base five that everyone knew of. They all banded together in this small town under the protection of The Elder and took care of each other.

Aki smiled up at the man and nodded. "You got it, thank you." Aki gave a small bow to the man and hopped in the back of the wagon with lettuce and different vegetables.

The pair made small talk on the ride to the coastal town where Aki could find a ride to the west. They spoke of Aki's mission and how it was important that Itachi kept his farm up for the townspeople. The Elder relied on people like him to take care of the elders and children. Itachi thanked Aki for the words but expressed how he wished he could get stronger. Aki just clapped the man on the shoulder and assured him it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

When they got to Jinhou, the city guards waved Itachi to go to the market and then waved him in which direction to go. Itachi waved back and thanked the guards and pulled on the reins to the horse, leading it through the town. When Itachi reached the markets and went to wish Aki well, Aki was already gone. Itachi saw the blind beggar across the market, though, and smirked as he set up his stall.

The market was a small but bustling area. There were vendors who sold all kinds of things, from butchered meats to regular vegetables. Some had handcrafted jewelry, while others had weapons and armor. There was even a stall that was smaller than most but sold items cultivators would be interested in. Aki inspected that one while he passed by and lamented how his work didn't pay anything in the monetary sense. He had always wanted his own spiritual storage ring so he could hold things in it.

Aki wandered around the market, waving his cane back and forth, pretending like he was feeling the area out. Most of the people gave him a wide berth as he headed down to the docks. He'd stop here and there and ask and make sure he was going in the right direction, but he was left alone. He made his way up and down the docks, fighting through the crowds, looking for a captain.

In front of each ship, there was a crew member charged with looking for passengers. None of them paid Aki much attention. Why would they bother with a blind beggar wandering around on the docks? He was probably looking for handouts. This worked for Aki. Most of the ships stayed pretty local, and he didn't want to bother wasting anyone's time.

At the end, he found a ship where there was no crew member standing at the end of the dock. It was full of people working and loading the ship with crates. The name of the vessel was simply ‘The Explorer.’ It was a larger, sturdy vessel, and judging from the number of crates being loaded, Aki figured they might be looking for a longer journey. Even the crew worked quietly and with a sense of great urgency.

Aki walked up to the vessel, watching the sailors work. It hardened the men wearing the typical sailor uniforms, with long black leather coats and plain clothing that had been hardened by years at sea. Aki did his best to stay out of the way of the workers trying to load the ship. Before he could make it all the way, an older man with short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and a matching beard walked up to Aki and held out his hand.

Aki walked into the hand, and his cane knocked the man into the boot before Aki stepped back a couple of feet and bowed his head. "Sorry, sir, forgiveness."

"We don't have any handouts for you, beggar," the man spoke sternly.

"No, no, of course not." Aki smiled up at the man through his beard. "I'm looking for a vessel. I'm heading west."

The man sighed. "We aren't a passenger vessel, and I'm sure there are many ships around here going to the Western Islands. Get off our dock while we're trying to work." He then turned and walked away.

"No, sir, forgiveness. I mean to go past the Western Islands. All the way to the West. To the next continent," Aki yelled out before the man walked away. "I have gold!"

The man stopped short and then turned to look back. Aki was standing there, standing tall and holding his cane with a smug smile. "Just take my gold and let me board. I can even help defend your ship if it comes to it."

The man laughed and shook his head. "Yes, I'm sure you could. Alright then, how much gold do you have?"

Aki rummaged through his robes and pulled a small sack that made a slight clinking noise. There was a small fortune of gold in the sack. "You are the Captain, yes?" he asked him after dangling the pouch.

"I am Captain Wes, yes. We are heading to the continent of Mesai to trade." The captain walked back over to Aki and took the bag of gold. "You still have to sleep with the crew. We don't have any extra private quarters, but you can sail with us."

Aki pressed his palms together and bowed. "Thank you, Captain Wes. It is much appreciated."

Captain Wes gave a soft grunt. "You won't think that when you get there. Get on board and get out of the way. Go below deck."