“So it’s true?” Yu asked after sipping her tea.

“It is,” her master confirmed over his own tea cup. “It pleases me that you knew before I told you. Your faction is finally starting to become useful to you. It took you long enough.”

Yu ignored the comment because there was no point in starting another disagreement over the purpose of her faction. Yu wanted to treat them like they were her clan at the sect, which to her meant mutual respect, resources, and responsibility. On the other hand, her master thought the reason she had a faction was so they could serve, suffer, and sacrifice on her behalf.

Then he stared hard at her. “Onto important things,” he said in a different language.

Yu recognized it immediately. It was the language of one of the two foreign empires sending participants into the spirit realm.

“Yes, master,” Yu responded in the same language.

“Your accent is still terrible, but I suppose it will have to do,” I said, maintaining his use of the other dialect. “We have a few matters to discuss before we depart for the tournament in a few weeks. First, despite it having taken you many times as long as it should have, you have improved stepping to the point that your voids are both stable and hidden while using other affinities. So you should be able to create them freely in the spirit realm and simply claim you used another affinity’s movement skill.”

“Second, your last session with our ancestor in the clan crystal confirms that you are as prepared as you can be for creating your own spatial pocket acceptably. I expect you to wait until after you enter the Consolidation Stage to do so though. Observe closely during and after creation to determine if any additional capabilities are exposed. I will be disappointed if we have waited all this time for nothing.

Yu simply nodded at those two comments. They had gone over that plan multiple times over the last months and she saw no reason to speak to him about it. Especially when his complaining about her was obviously still to come.

Then he changed languages into the third empire’s. “I assume she also prepared you for when your compression will allow for you to move and resize your voids?”

“Yes master,” she said, mirroring this new tongue.

Ran was the only other person she personally knew who was fluent in all three languages, which made sense as his clan was responsible for foreign affairs in the empire.

“Good. Third, due to your ineptitude, your gravity manipulation is still pathetic. I cannot fathom how you bumble through such a basic skillset despite my direct involvement. And you are even worse on your active use of foresight. Utterly disappointing.” He rubbed his eyes he sighed. “I suppose I must simply accept your repeated failures as it is too close to our departure for the spirit realm for me to take your training in another direction. Obviously I waited too long, assuming you would demonstrate at least a modicum of competence.”

Yu bit back her response. She was quite bitter about his training methods for gravity and there was no point in reminding him that her natural affinity with gravity was low. On the other hand, foresight was the most difficult Spatial affinity skill to proactively use of all the sub-affinities. It still pinged her once in a long while with a tingle of attention or warning, but that was passive and seemingly random. Active use of the skill was out of her capabilities at the current time and her master training her in it was impossible since he himself did not have foresight.

But mentioning any of that was a waste of energy. He would simply ignore her or accuse her of making excuses. So she said nothing in hopes he would simply move on.

Thankfully, he did.

“Now, there are some logistics we must discuss in regards to the tournament and spirit realm. Those participating in the former from the sect will arrive as a group. You will not be joining them. Rather, you will stay with me and you will not leave my side unless I explicitly direct you to do so.”

Yu blinked at him. That was… unexpected. She had figured she would be dumped in with her fellows from the sect or stuffed away somewhere so he didn’t have to deal with her. Instead, it sounded like she would be personally escorted by her master, the sect leader of one the most prominent sects in the empire.

“I see your confusion. In some ways I agree. I certainly have many better things to do than walking around with a child at an event I couldn’t care less about, while surrounded by people who bother me regularly and repeatedly with things I find even less relevant. Unfortunately, the forms must be followed. As much as I would prefer to simply end all the self-aggrandizing peacocks of this empire who believe themselves superior, there are many of them and they serve a purpose, mainly to keep even more annoying people away. Plus, the other headmasters of our equivalent sects are not as weak as most of the pompous blowhards here and it would be time-consuming and a bother. I am rather busy after all. Thus, I reluctantly allow them to interact with me on occasion. Hence, we must attend to the political side of things.”

Yu said nothing, because what does one say to the comment that the only reason the man doesn’t wipe out an entire empire is because it would be a bother. She also did not know if it was true. Nor did it matter really.

“As such, I will be escorting you as your master and you as my disciple. I am rather well known for both my strength and the madman mask I wear in public; thus you must be prepared to act in accordance. You are young, weak, and rather pathetic-looking. Despite that and all of my mostly-failed efforts to fix your flaws, you are my disciple, thus you must give off the impression of confidence and power, even if they are lies.”

Yu glared at him, but did so silently. He proceeded to ignore her and continued.

“I am still surprised that I have received a number of offers of alliance through marriage to you, but then again, they do not know of your incompetence. Even so, I expect to receive more while there. As you and I have a prior agreement on this topic, and you have handled it quite well on your own both here at the sect and back at your home with your father, I will continue to decline those offers for the time being.”

You better decline them! Like I’d allow you to choose my husband for me. Who knows who’d end up being picked anyway? Damn lunatic.

“Yes well, I would refuse them either way. You will be much more valuable after your strength reaches the fourth stage or later. No matter what, nothing will happen until you return from the spirit realm, assuming you use the opportunities I have provided to grow in strength. And survive it, of course. Which leads to our next topic, advanced cultivation stages.”

Finally! Yu thought bitterly.

“I have been preventing you from learning about the advanced cultivation stages in your classes and from the sect elders. I am aware of your displeasure on this topic, and while I do not particularly care about your opinion, I have decided that now is the time to discuss it.”

Yu couldn’t help herself but smile in excitement. She hid it behind her tea cup though.

“We have discussed the Consolidation stage before, so I will move through it quickly. The third stage is, as I have stated, when you compress your Qi from its current gaseous form into liquid. You will enter the third stage when you first accomplish this. It takes a great deal of time and Qi. But you knew all that.

“Here is the new information about advancing through the third stage. You must continue to liquify your Qi until there is no more gaseous Qi and only liquid Qi. Thus, you might expect that one completes the third stage when all of your Qi is liquid.

“This, however, is not the case. As with all of cultivation, things are not that simple. Yes, liquification is required, but what is not widely discussed is the last step in the transition from the third to fourth stage. You have heard of the term domain, have you not?”

Yu nodded.

“Do you understand what it is?”

“Not really, master. I just know broadly that it is about expanding the area of Qi control.”

“As expected, your knowledge is pathetic.” He shook his head in disappointment.

You’re the one whose kept me from learning this you… Ugh!!!

“You are well aware that compressed Qi allows one to seize the Qi of another. They do this through a pseudo-domain. An area around the cultivator that expands their awareness and control of Qi.”

Yu could feel the hatred of that action on her own face and saw her fingers tighten on her teacup, causing it to creak. She viewed it as a foul practice that was far too open to abuse.

“I understand your hatred for seizing Qi given your past, but it does serve a purpose. It trains the cultivator to begin the process of observing, assessing, and controlling the Qi of a domain. It starts very small and widens slowly over time as the amount of liquified Qi increases. So the liquified Qi is pressurized and that pressure pushes outward, expanding the area of this control in a pseudo-domain. Remember, that the amount of Qi one has is dictated by the number of meridians they have access to, as well as its purity. Do you have any questions so far?”

“So the more meridians, the more Qi. The more pure Qi, the larger the domain?” Yu asked. That obviously had a lot of potential impact on her with her meridian count and her near perfect purity.

“Larger and stronger, yes. And, like with Qi pool growth, it is not linear, but multiplicative.”

Seeing Yu’s expression of surprise and awe, he nodded.

“I see you are beginning to understand. Now, here is the key to advancing from the Consolidation to Qi Manifestation Stage. Once every bit of Qi is liquified, the cultivator must absorb that pressure back into themselves causing something of a buildup to occur. I’ll stop the details there, because one should not know the final process until the time is close. What is most important for you is to recognize that it is quite difficult and can take a great deal of time, effort, and – for those that can afford outside assistance – resources.

“Now, I obviously do not expect you to liquify one hundred percent of your Qi and reach the fourth stage while in the spirit realm. There is simply not even close to sufficient time as that pocket will remain spatially stable for no more than four years according to our estimates and you will take substantially longer than that. So why am I brining this up? Because it is time for you understand how you compare to the rest of the cultivation world and to your future competitors both in the spirit realm and the wider world.”

Yu felt her eyebrows rise in surprise. Her master rarely compared her to anyone or anything except his expectations, which she always fails to meet.

“Now, the Gui empire, contrary to what you might believe, is only moderately above average for cultivation on this content. The reason for this are many, but mostly it has to do with the density of Qi in the area in which empire was founded. In fact, this empire and its equivalents have only survived being conquered by a greater force for two reasons.

“The first is, as I said, the lower density of Qi. Who would want the land? Second, numbers. While the quality, which we will discuss in a moment, of the cultivators in this so-called empire is far below what one can find in areas of greater density besides the capital itself, they make up for it with numbers. Tens of billions of cultivators is quite a lot and the cost of defeating that many is simply not worth the gain of mediocre territory. The capital, the imperial palace specifically, is built upon a peak heavenly Qi well, thus those who reside near it are drenched in Qi from the moment they are conceived. Outside of that however, this empire is not superior. In fact, the capital, and the saturated cultivators it creates, are the only reason the Gui Empire still exists. So yes, surprising as it might sound to you, this empire, as a whole, is only average or slightly above in power on this continent.”

Heavens. That’s… I had no idea. So we’re just a bit above average? That’s kind of… humbling I suppose.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“So you know, there are close to one hundred equivalent empires, kingdoms, groups, and the like that occupy more or less geographic land and population as the one we are currently in. I tell you this so you understand that what I am about to say speaks to the average that you will eventually face as you move beyond this mediocre place and into the wider world.”

Again, Yu felt overwhelmed by what he was saying. It had honestly never occurred to her that she would move beyond the Gui empire. Why would she? Her home was here.

But he seemed convinced she would.

“Just to review, there are seven stages of cultivation as you understand them. In this empire, the average stage for cultivators is the one you are currently in, the second.”

Yu blinked in surprise. “That’s it?”

“Indeed. But that number is somewhat deceiving by itself, so let me expand it out. Of the billions of cultivators, two thirds never have nor will they reach the third stage. This is primarily because of how difficult it is to compress Qi without external resources, which the overwhelming majority of cultivators do not have access to.”

While surprising at first, upon reflection, Yu figured this made sense given what she had been told of how challenging it was to compress Qi.

“Of the remaining third,” her master continued, “three quarters will never reach the fourth stage. Of those remaining – which remember is one quarter of one third of all cultivators – only one in a thousand will advance to the fifth stage. Of those few who do, only one in a hundred thousand will reach the sixth. It is generally unknown how many on the continent have reached true immortality and nobody is stupid enough to try to find out.”

“Wow. Those numbers feel so… low,” Yu said, surprised.

“They are indeed. Your parents are in fact, outliers. As young and, frankly, poor they are, to have already reached the peak of the four stage is an accomplishment worth noting. The only reason they have not broken through to the fifth is not for lack of power, but resources.

It felt like the surprises just kept coming to Yu. She had always known that her father and mother were powerful, but being so strong compared to most cultivators their age, only between three and four centuries, was, as he said, quite an achievement.

“At this sect, most of those you call ‘elders’ are at the fourth stage, although many are at its peak. Very few are at the fifth, which is a requirement to lead a sect level, and only one is in the sixth, but she is a healer, not a combatant.”

Yu digested that information for a few breaths. All she could think to say was, “That’s it?” again.

“What is most interesting – or disturbing, depending on how you look at it – is that having so many at only the Qi Manifestation Stage in one place is astonishing. This sect and those like it are widely praised for having so many ‘powerful’ elders.”

His tone was rather sarcastic at the end, but Yu couldn’t help but ignore it and just shake her head in astonishment. She had not realized that the fourth stage was considered so impressive among the wider cultivation community.

“Yes, fourth stage is considered quite accomplished. The reasons for this are many, but in the end the answer is that advancing stages is very difficult. And not just because of resources, although that matters a lot. Let me help you understand the difficulty with the jump from the third to fourth stages. Why is it so difficult beyond resources? Because in order to pull in all that power of the pseudo domain I was speaking about, a minimum amount of strength is required. There is no firm number and this is rounded for ease of conversation, but it is generally agreed upon that anyone with less than fifty to sixty meridians cannot do it and never will, no matter how many resources they throw at themselves.”

“Fifty is the minimum to reach fourth stage? That’s… Isn’t the average meridian count outside of the central imperial nobles like thirty-five or forty?” Yu could hear the shock in own voice.

“Give or take, yes. Yet another reason why those in power stay that way. They are the true masters of this world and remain so because their children generally inherit their strengths. Strength grants wealth, wealth grants resources, resources grant strength… you can understand the cycle of the strong staying strong, yes?”

Yu distractedly confirmed she did. This whole discussion was just so eye-opening she was struggling to process it all.

“Put thoughts on leadership aside for now, though. You are not powerful enough yet to be bothered with it. The important thing is to recognize is that each stage increases the physical demand to advance. So if fourth stage required fifty to sixty meridians, how many do you think the fifth requires, never mind the sixth? Now do you begin to grasp how rare both you and the opportunities that have been granted to you are?”

Yu couldn’t help but nod. Ever since she had been healed, she was told how important her meridian count was. More than having seven affinities, even more than having access to all three Qi types, her meridians were what everyone would fear and why she was in such danger.

Previously, she had thought it was related to the amount of Qi she would have access to. And while that was definitely true, that was not the heart of it. It turned out that the threat she posed was because she literally had no ceiling for growth. And as each stage seemed to increase a cultivator’s power and capabilities many times over, she could become… well…

How am I supposed to process all of this? What am I supposed to think? Or do?

“Indeed. I can see you understand, at least some. Your future aside, should you survive to reach it, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that growth requirements are also why battling beasts and cultivators above one’s own stage is difficult, and only gets more so the higher one reaches in the stages. Someone with a domain could almost literally not be hurt by someone without one, unless that person without a domain had a tremendous advantage in the amount of Qi they had. In the case of a third stage cultivator defeating a fourth, that fourth stage cultivator would have to be caught unawares, be unskilled at using their domain, or be a truly weak cultivator having just barely made it to the fourth stage.”

Then he leaned forward, looked directly in her eyes and spoke slowly. “Except for you.”

Those three words hung in the air until he continued. “Because of what you are and if you live to fulfill your potential, your body will be stronger, your pools will be deeper, your compressions tighter, your domain wider, your variety greater… The pure power at your disposal when you are near or at peak of each stage will be superior to most in the middle or even near peak of the next stage. Even now you are fighting above yourself by a full stage. Imagine when you are at the fifth. This empire could be at your feet unless they joined hands. When you are the sixth, your Qi pool will effectively be endless. And when you achieve immortality, well…” His eyes closed and a smile formed on his face then. “The realm itself may shudder and everything the cultivation world knows will fall apart around them.” His black eyes opened and he stared directly in hers, glowing silver. “That is the threat you pose.”

Yu’s mind was blank. It was too much. Just… too much.

But her master was relentless. “It is also why you must grow. For all the menace you have been to this point, it was but children’s games in an empire of inferiors. One day your true strength will be exposed, and when that day comes, you had better be strong enough. For eventually every eye on the continent will be pointed toward you.”

Yu leaned back only to find herself shaking slightly.

How am I supposed to react? I’m just a girl. What do I do with… all that?

“You are fortunate, therefore, that I have a plan.”

Yu released a breath she did not realize she had been holding in a massive sudden exhale. Her whole body slumped and a weight, if not lifted, was at least reduced.

“Thankfully for both of us, those days are many decades or centuries ahead of you. Again, if you survive. Because, as you were once told, you are but a grain of sand on a beach. So for now, we continue as we have been. Well, hopefully faster and better than you have demonstrated to this point, but you will grow strong.”

Yes. Yes, I will.

Then she looked at her master over the teacup.

And where will you be in this? Can you protect me, and for how long? Just how strong are you, I wonder. What stage are you at? Are you really as powerful as you claim? Could you really kill everyone in this empire? And are you at the peak of sixth or actually in the seventh stage? Are you an immortal, never to age again, only to die at the hands of another? How do you compare to the wider world you say is so much stronger than I understand?

He smirked at Yu, likely knowing where her thoughts had taken her.

“You will know one day, my disciple. But not today,” he told her softly. Then he continued in his normal superior tone. “So, you understand that when you exit the spirit realm, if you exit it, you will be stronger than two-thirds of this empire and beyond.”

Yu nodded, grasping what it would mean if she went home even having accomplished reaching third stage. She would be stronger than almost everyone in her city, except maybe the clan leaders and her parents and uncles.

“However,” he said with a raised finger, “it is obviously not those two-thirds with whom you nor I should be concerned. Average cultivators are not worth either of our time beyond what they can offer us. No, what we are concerned about at the moment are those who will be joining you in the spirit realm. When we meet again, we will discuss these individuals as well as close out our preparations for what to expect from the other empires you will be interacting with.

“As we have already run over our time together, I will end this evening’s session with three items of note. The first is that an… acquaintance stopped by. She made a request of me and we came to an agreement and exchange. My acquiescence on this matter finally fulfills my debt to you from years ago. You will find the result of that agreement awaiting you in your room.

“I know you will ask, so the second item of note is that I will consent to moving your tri-annual visit with your family to before we depart for the tournament, despite it being too early.”

Yu beamed at him but he held up a finger.

“There will of course be a price. Nothing is free in in this world. As I said, you and I will act as a separate entity from the sect and its participants for the purpose of the tournament and spirit realm, thus we will be stepping there rather than transporting via beast. Unfortunately, as I am a person of note, I am expected to arrive a few days early to play the games of power. That aside, since you will not be spending two to three weeks getting there via transport, you have those weeks to prepare effectively.”

“This condition involves the first and third items of note. I will speak of the last first, however. It is of little relevance to me, but I would imagine great importance to you. Each individual entering the spirit realm has some sort of sponsorship. That will be greater or smaller, depending on the wealth and power of the sponsor, but everyone will be supported in some way. Your fellows in the outer sect will be provided limited sponsorship by the outer sect itself for example.”

Yu had not known about that, but she supposed it made sense. Anyone with over eighty meridians, the minimum accepted to enter, almost certainly had some sort of clan or sect support.

“You, being my disciple, will receive sponsorship from me. That involves two things: The first is the first item of note I mentioned earlier. The second is what I am about discuss. Remember that no spatial pockets that support compression such as storage rings will be permitted through the entry void. That means only uncompressed space with time alternation can be carried in. Thus, I have prepared for you a pack you can carry on your back and it will have within it all I believe you will need on your sojourn.”

Yu paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “This isn’t one of those, ‘I’m telling you I’ll give you everything you need and then you give me five items I won’t have any idea how to use and have to figure everything else out,’ is it?”

Yu realized she might sound paranoid to most, but it had actually happened to her before, so she was a bit distrustful. And it wasn’t like the madman across from her had earned much trust.

With that thought, she immediately began a mental catalogue of all the things she would need to purchase in preparation for the trip.

Surprisingly, he shook his head, but she could see a smirk that encouraged her to finish her mental shopping plans.

“No, though I compliment your paranoia. In this case, I cannot get away with giving you lesser because both you and your bag will be searched publicly, and me being seen giving you less than required would harm me politically and negatively affect my plans.”

Yu was absolutely sure her surprise showed on her face when he smirked at her expression.

“Yes, well, I concede that I occasionally have given you cause for concern, but in this case, it would be too damaging.” Then his expression firmed. “I understand from the Enchanters’ Hall that you have successfully used an identification plate?”

Yu nodded hesitantly. “Yes, master. I’m successful almost all of the time on Novice enchantments and half on Initiate, but only occasionally on Adept. That’s as high I’ve been able to go. As for creation, I’m currently working on Novice rune structures for talismans, but obviously, I can only make the earliest and easiest so far.”

“Well, as poor as that is considering you’ve been an enchanter for over two years, it is acceptable enough for this. With your travel pack, you will find standard camping gear, including a tent and the like, limited equipment to support you in various environs, a more advanced dressing kit made of material capable of butchering most high grade 4 beasts, a number of non-spatially compressed jade preservation containers, and any number of small things you may need to survive and thrive.

Woah. He’s actually serious. This isn’t some test or something.

“Those might be expected, these will not. You will find a bag of food that will almost certainly be unfamiliar to you called Ration Pills. These can act as nutrition for a single day each. They should hold you over as you establish yourself.

“Additionally, we do not know what you might find in there. As such, I am also including an Adept level identification plate with a small bag of a variety of lower grade beast cores to power it. Be mindful of how delicate this item is. I find it unlikely to survive your time in the realm, but use it while it lasts.”

Yu’s jaw dropped.

Is he serious? All that is really costly. And those plates are so expense that we’re threatened with tens of thousands of points in fines if we even scratch one – and that’s just for a scratch. Now he’s just giving it away, knowing it’ll likely get broken?

“Good to know you recognize my generosity. Now, because almost all the powerful sponsors will be providing these and the lack will be noticed, I reluctantly must do the same. You will find at the bottom of your pack, skill scrolls. These are all grade 3 and will grant skills that require compressed Qi to use. I will, however, tell you nothing of them in advance as that will be an interesting experience for you. You will have access to their details of each once you are able to use them.”

What in the nine hells is going on with him? Giving things? Not demanding an insanely impossible task in return? Is the world ending tomorrow?

“Two more things. One unpleasant, the other not. First, you must grant authority to two friends permission to advance in stage.”

For a moment, Yu did not have a clue what he was talking about. Then it hit her. “Li and Lu? I have to tell them they can advance?”

“Indeed. Enslaved cultivators can advance only with their master’s permission.”

Yu grit her teeth. “They’re not slaves!”

“Ignore facts all you like, your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. You now know your responsibility. Moving on, I am lifting the ban I placed on you more than two years ago. You now are free to purchase any enchanted item, weapon, armor, shield, or tool you wish. You are not permitted to purchase any Qi skills from the Skills Library that require liquified Qi, as I have provided them for you. I do recommend you go to your room to review what is there before spending any contribution points though.”

Then he stood.

“And with that we are done for the day. Farewell.”

Still a bit angry, confused, and overwhelmed, she silently created a void and stepped through it into her room.