After the parade marking the official arrival of the imperial princess was over, the elders of the Great Wind Sect led the disciples back to the temple and then disappeared. Idly, Verus wandered away from the chattering crowds and went to his favourite training ground. Instead of actually practicing anything though, he simply stared off into the distance.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the imperial princess. The image of her face and the feeling of her golden aura haunted him. He felt like he should know her, and the threads of devotion ki within his core still hummed with echo of the power from before. He wanted to serve her. He wanted to fight for the empire. That was what everyone should do! How could he have ever doubted it? He’d never feel out of place again if he simply gave her his everything.
The emotion cascading through Verus faltered for a moment and he hesitated. Was he thinking properly? Sure, he felt wonderful, but maybe something was affecting him, like devotion ki. He had sensed quite a lot of it… Should he use the Faithful Soul Ward to repel foreign influences? No, that probably wasn’t necessary. How could he doubt that the ki was helping him? He was full of purpose and drive now! It felt great. Everyone should be boosted by devotion ki all the time! He would be getting so much done if he could simply stop thinking about the princess…
A sudden sharp pain that flared across Verus’s cheek, violently breaking his chain of thought. He stumbled back, confused and alarmed, only to look up and see Elder Caligo glaring at him. Had he been slapped? How rude.
“Greet your master properly when he graces you with his presence! Don’t ignore him and stare at nothing like a drooling idiot or a walking corpse,” the dark-haired elder told him.
“Sorry, master,” Verus quickly replied as he gave a formal bow. “I apologize for my lack of proper respect.”
Had he really not noticed the elder approach and greet him? He must have really been out of it. Well, his mind was much clearer now, even if his cheek hurt. Ugh, couldn’t the elder simply have poked his shoulder or something? What an obnoxious jerk!
“I came to see what you thought of the parade and update you on our plans, but it seems you had other things on your mind. Honestly, I’m disappointed that your will is so weak. You’ve shown remarkable determination and self-control before, but some devotion technique meant to awe normal citizens completely overwhelmed you. I thought you were made of sterner stuff.”
Verus frowned. Upon reflection, his asshole master wasn’t completely wrong. It was obvious that he’d been completely overcome by the devotion ki at the parade. The technique had been far more powerful than any he’d ever encountered before. It had to have been created by a large group of Lightbringers working in unison, and it had hit him while he’d been distracted by the princess, so he’d utterly failed to put up any resistance.
His lack of control was frightening. The Lightbringers had even managed to put words in his head and make him speak them like a puppet. He hadn’t known that was possible. What must it have been like for the mortals in the city? They would have been helpless to resist. Devotion ki was supposed to be nothing but helpful, but almost anything was abusable. Perhaps Fang had been right about the empire using devotion ki to control people. It was for their own good though, wasn’t it?
“Apologies, master. I simply let my guard down. It was the princess. Her aura affected me deeply for some reason.”
The elder gave him a pitying look. “Ah, so that’s what happened. I suppose your weakness to a pretty young face is understandable, having been raised in a temple with only other boys around. You’re going to have to do better though. Some of your competition will be young attractive women.”
Verus bit his tongue. That wasn’t what he’d meant! He was an ascetic, damn it. The princess’s spirit was what had fascinated him, not her body! Although the slim yet curvy figure beneath her dress had been undeniably beautiful…
Elder Caligo gave him a thoughtful look. “Maybe I should take you into the city and pay a courtesan to familiarize you with women and their wiles.”
Red-faced, Verus stared at his master. He was at a lose for words. What kind of elder was this man? Silently, the young disciple cursed the terrible fortune that had landed him with this drunken letch as his master. This was not how you reached enlightenment! No wonder the man’s cultivation had stagnated.
“It would also help you forget the princess,” the elder continued to Verus’s growing horror. “She was personally selected by the Council of Saints and awakened to the power of the Archon himself. Women like her are carefully managed weapons of the empire. Discard any adolescent thoughts you have of her now.”
He had not been thinking about sleeping with the princess! Desperately, Verus tried to change the subject. “Since you’re here, I’d like to show you what I’ve learnt of void ki and get your advice.”
“I suppose I should. It’s the sort of thing a master does, and you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
Immediately, Verus took up a martial arts stance and began cycling his ki through his body. There was a fist-sized rock nearby, so he targeted it with an Empty Grasp and it flew into his open palm.
Elder Caligo frowned as Verus glanced his way. “That’s all you’ve got? I was expecting more from a young genius user of void ki.”
“It’s the only thing I have that’s currently useable in a fight.”
“Useable is a matter of opinion apparently,” the man said with a sigh.
“Developing techniques for a completely unknown form of ki is difficult, but perhaps in your wisdom you have some suggestions,” Verus replied with a glare. The elder’s attitude was getting annoying fast.
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“What about conjuring void essence? Have you had any luck with that?”
“Conjuring essence outside my body is very different than doing so in my core. I’m making progress but I need more practice.”
“That’s too bad. I have to admit I’m curious about what void essence is like,” the elder said with a sigh. “Let me see what you’ve figured out. Go through that pulling technique again while explaining every step along the way. Leave nothing out.”
Verus did as he was told and performed another Empty Grasp while explaining how he controlled the collapse of a stream of void ki to create the pulling force. He then started listing off all the characteristics of void ki that he’d noticed so far. To finish off, the young disciple then showed the elder his wrists and the effect of the tattoos on the ki channels leading to his palms.
Elder Caligo stared silently at Verus’s wrists for a few moments as he idly scratched his chin. “There’s little I can tell you about void ki. You’re just going to have to keep experimenting for now. Anything I tell you might put you on the wrong path, since you’re the one who has undergone true tempering and received enlightenment on the nature of void ki. You need to call forth those insights and use them use to aid in your creation of new techniques. Preferably, something far more impressive than the limp stuff you’ve shown me so far.”
“So, you’re saying that you can’t help me at all?” Verus asked as he glared at his useless master. This situation felt familiar.
“I have such a needy disciple,” Elder Caligo replied as he shook his head as if in sorrow. “Ha, as if you’re in any position to doubt me. While I can’t instruct you on the direct usage of void ki, I can help you in other areas. For instance, your mutation is interesting. I can see the shadow of your future Way within it. It seems that at the moment the special ability of your core to devour ki is limited mostly by the toughness and width of your ki channels. If you want to strengthen this ability, you will need to develop your ki channels beyond those of other cultivators.”
“How would I do that?” Verus asked skeptically.
“Hmm, I don’t want to seem to be helping you too much, but you have a fair number of shards. Purchase two library tokens, go to the outer archives, and take out a manuscript on body conditioning. The librarian should be able to help you find a proper method that focuses on expanding your ki channels.”
Verus frowned. A new body conditioning method… He’d been practicing his current body conditioning method for so long that he’d forgotten he was doing it. All the temple wards back at the mountain temple had been taught a basic ki cycling method that helped them develop their body and spirit over time while they exercised, the Mind and Body Empowerment Method. It was simple and very generalized, but still effective. A method that focused on developing his channels would certainly be useful, but it would slow his growth in other areas.
“Why do I need two library tokens?” he asked.
“While you’re there, you should also pick up a martial arts manuscript, something that compliments your new ki and techniques. The basic combat style you were taught is no longer the best fit for you. I suggest getting a style that can take advantage of your pulling technique and absorption ability, something with more grappling in it perhaps.”
“That’s a good idea,” Verus admitted. He’d actually been thinking something similar.
“Of course it is. I’m an elder of the Great Wind Sect. That’s the only type of idea I have,” his master huffed before taking a drink of alcohol from his canteen. Verus eyed him skeptically. He could only disagree in silence.
Since Elder Caligo had nothing more to say, he soon left Verus alone at the training ground. The young disciple had come there to train his void ki, but now that he’d received his master’s advice, he thought his time would be better spent by going to the library.
First, he went to the requisition office to trade in some of his shards for two passes, and then he walked across the outer disciple area to reach the outer archive. Walking up the stairs that led to the towering stone structure, he pulled the doors open and stepped inside.
Looking across the entrance foyer, Verus took a moment to study the statues and rows of bookshelves he could see on the higher floors, before heading over to the front desk where a librarian was sitting. It was a different person this time, a middle-aged man with glasses, although he was wearing a similar grey uniform.
After handing the man his tokens and returning his book on channelling, Verus was pointed in the direction of the books he was after. This time, he made sure to get a guide construct before entering the shelves, and the glowing ball of light guided him right to the books he was looking for. For both his body conditioning method and martial style, there were several options to choose from, but he picked out the ones he wanted after an hour or so of browsing.
The Endless Road Method was designed for cultivators who used huge ki emission attacks, which wasn’t quite what Verus wanted it for, but it would toughen and widen his ki channels and it didn’t have any obvious drawbacks. Some methods had weaknesses or were utterly focused on one thing, but Verus didn’t want to have to juggle several different techniques or have any way to counteract any weaknesses he developed, so he stuck with a more general method that would still improve the rest of his body. This method could also be done with human ki, so everyone could use it.
His other choice, the Constricting Coils Style was a martial art developed around baiting an opponent forward and locking them down with grappling and choking techniques. It wasn’t the most renowned or advanced style he could have learned, but it was exactly what he needed to compliment the striking skills he already had, and he could learn the basics of it before the selection exam.
Together, these two arts would allow him to bring out the most from his new ki and cultivation technique.
Smiling, Verus ordered the library construct to guide him out of the rows of shadowy shelves and then checked the books out. Once back in his room, he sat at his small desk next to the room’s only window and began reading. That was how he spent the rest of the day. Neither book was particularly long, but the information in them was complex and hard to memorize.
Ove the next few days, Verus worked hard. He had a lot of practice and training to do. Not only did he have two new arts, but he still had to learn how to properly use void ki techniques. That was a journey of a lifetime by itself.
He began each day with a series of warmup exercises, followed by martial arts forms from the Shifting Serpent Style. He worked up a sweat and fought phantom opponents while practicing the ki cycling patterns from the Endless Road Method. That was how body conditioning techniques worked. By cycling the ki through his body as he exerted himself, it boosted the development of his body and spirit. The pattern was complex and required him to control the ki flow throughout his entire body at the same time, so it took him a while to get used to it. He kept instinctually trying to use his old method.
After his warmups and martial arts practice, Verus either went to class or began experimenting with his void ki. There had to be other ways he could use it in a fight. He just needed to figure them out. During the group physical training that took place after class was another time Verus could use his new body conditioning method. He ignored everyone else there and went through the exercises, which were designed to push a cultivator’s body to the limit.
Verus also had to go to the devotary for worship the end of the week, but that didn’t take much time, and he could go straight back to practice after it was over.
Eventually, Verus mastered the basic moves of his new martial art and exhausted what he could practice alone. That meant he had to move on to practicing with another person, so he went to see Escora.