I led Leroy into the Gloom Mist Forest, heading for a spot that wasn’t too far from Sturm Hill Hall. If Leroy gained any insight from my demonstration, and started to form his dantian as a result, I didn’t want us to go too far from the mana gathering formation I put down.
I also made sure to head away from Corie, who was cultivating, to avoid distracting her.
As we walked through the dimly lit Gloom Mist Forest, the ever present mist that coated the forest floor swirled around us, forming tendrils. These tendrils seemed to caress us like a lover. Most people would find the mist cool, clammy, and disturbing. I found it relaxing, thanks to the Water mana in the mist.
I stopped when I found an appropriate spot. There were plenty of trees around us that I could use as targets, as well as a boulder.
‘I’m about to show Leroy some uses of sword mana,’ I said to Aurora. ‘Do you want to watch?”
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bother asking. Aurora could see the world around us well enough on her own from inside me. However, at the moment, she was still lazing about inside my dantian. I couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not.
Sure, Aurora said with a yawn. I’m still new to cultivation, so it’s interesting to see all of the weird things you can do.
I let out a chuckle, before I drew my sword. Leroy stood far enough away so I wouldn’t accidentally hit him, but close enough so that he could still observe what I did.
With an effort of will, I coated my sword with sword mana. Unlike sword intent, sword mana wasn’t invisible to the naked eye. Since I had a violet dantian and an affinity for Air, Water, and Lightning, my sword mana was a whitish-violet color.
“You know how dantians differ in quality, depending on their color?” I asked Leroy. It was a rhetorical question, since that information was in the primer I gave him a while back. “Your elemental affinities and the color and quality of your dantian will determine the color and strength of your sword mana. You can get a general sense of a sword cultivator’s strength by looking at their cultivation level and the color of their sword mana. To hide their true strength, some sword cultivators kept their sword mana hidden until the last possible moment.”
Leroy didn’t respond, but nodded to indicate that he understood. He stared at my sword mana, studying it with an almost frightening intensity.
Yep, he was meant to be a sword cultivator.
As he watched, I walked up to a nearby tree and swung my sword at it. I relied only on my raw physical strength, rather than using mana to enhance my body. My sword sliced through the tree with ease. While it wasn’t quite like a hot knife through butter, it was close. I pushed the tree so it fell away from us. It hit the forest floor with a heavy thud, stirring up the mist.
“After you form your dantian, study this tree stump,” I called back. “It will make for a good visual aid guide for you.”
“Yes, young master.”
Ooh, Aurora said, sounding eager. Can you cut through solid stone with this sword mana?
‘Not quite,’ I said, slicing at the boulder to demonstrate. My sword cut into the boulder, but didn’t cleave all the way through it. ‘I’ll need to get stronger to do that. Likely at the peak of the Energy Condensation stage at the earliest.’
Once I reached the Foundation Establishment stage, I would be strong enough to punch boulders to pieces. Cutting through them with sword mana would be child’s play at that point.
“Now, let me show you how to attack at range with sword mana,” I said, glancing back at Leroy. “I know that’s one of your biggest weaknesses.”
He grimaced. As an Earth wizard who focused on internal magic, he had great martial skill and physical strength. However, he had no options to attack opponents from a distance. Well, he could pick stuff up and throw them at his opponent like he did when the Black Wolf Gang attacked the caravan. That was always an option, I supposed.
I chose a tree some distance away and took a stance. After a moment, I swung my sword, sending an arc of sword mana towards it. The whitish-violet crescent sped towards the tree and cut right through it. Not only that, the crescent cut through the tree behind it before dissipating. The cut trees fell to the ground.
Oops. In my excitement to show off, I miscalculated and put too much power into that attack. I kept a nonchalant expression on my face.
“As you can see,” I said, pretending that this was intentional. “Using sword mana to attack at range is similar to the Wind Blade spell. It’s slower, but much more powerful.”
Leroy looked at the two tree stumps with his eyebrows raised.
“Is it possible to use both the Wind Blade spell and sword mana together?” he asked.
I pursed my lips.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “While I know a lot about cultivation magical theory, I’m not as well versed in wizardry magical theory. I believe so, since it’s possible to combine cultivation spells with sword mana, but I would need to experiment to know for sure. While wizardry and cultivation are similar, and can achieve similar effects, they’re based on different laws and principles.” I paused. “In short, maybe.”
Leroy raised an eyebrow at me.
“I’m surprised that you would admit to ignorance, young master,” he said in a dry voice. “You always act as if you know everything.”
I returned his raised eyebrow with one of my own.
Oi. Everyone was getting cheeky with me these days.
“I know more than most,” I said. “But I never claimed to know everything. Pretending to be more knowledgeable than I am will only hurt me in the long run. Remember, I lived for thousands of years back on my original home world. I’ve only lived on Lumina for seventeen years and some months.”
Leroy conceded the point.
His question did give me an idea, however. I needed to correct my lack of knowledge in wizardry. While I probably could get back into the Solarian Imperial Academy, especially if Annabelle kept House Thorne from interfering, the idea didn’t appeal to me.
While the Solarian Imperial Academy was a distinguished institution of learning, it was basically a private high school for spoiled rich kids. Before I regained my memories, I fit in perfectly. Not anymore.
Instead, I planned on studying at the Tower of Magic. As long as I demonstrated enough skill and knowledge in wizardry, I could get in. The biggest obstacle was paying the tuition fees. Studying at the Tower of Magic wasn’t cheap.
Scholarships existed for the academically gifted. However, those tended to go to people who had the smarts but not the means to study at the Tower of Magic. Assuming Lord Icefall’s boasts proved true, his daughter, Lady Calla, qualified.
As a scion of a middling, but not minor, House, I didn’t. I also didn’t think I had enough knowledge to study at the Tower of Magic at all, let alone qualify for a scholarship. I would need to do some independent studying before I gave that idea a shot.
In the meantime, I would focus on getting more powerful. That mattered the most right now.
“All right, that’s enough of the basics,” I said. “Let me show you some of the more advanced stuff.”
Leroy snapped to attention, and he focused on me like a laser.
Hmm, of the two sword techniques I could use at the Energy Condensation stage, which one should I start with? Rain of Blows. It was the easier of the two to use, and put less strain on my mind.
I picked a tree to use as target practice and took a stance.
[Sword Arts: Rain of Blows]
In the blink of an eye, I slashed out ten times, sending out ten crescents of whitish-violet sword mana. The crescents cut the tree into neat little pieces.
That was amazing! Aurora said. Do it again. I want to see more.
I grinned and glanced at Leroy. He wore an expression on his face that I recognized. He was on the verge of a breakthrough gained through insight. In his case, that meant forming his dantian. This would be a great boon for him.
The Soul of the Mountain technique was an Indigo-technique, so he was guaranteed to form an indigo dantian. However, with these insights, he had a high chance of forming a violet dantian.
Good thing I made preparations beforehand.
“That was the first level of Rain of Blows,” I said. “One of the sword techniques I know. It scales up from there in multiples of ten, with no upper limit. With enough power, it is possible to send out an infinite number of arcs. Almost like an Unlimited Bladewo-…”
I paused. Right. Anime wasn’t a thing on Lumina. He wouldn’t get the reference. More importantly, Rain of Blows and that particular power had nothing in common. I resisted the urge to sigh in disappointment.
That said, it was entirely possible to recreate that particular power. It wouldn’t even be that hard, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage. That was when cultivators could create illusory realms, imposing their own internal worlds over reality. Fill that illusory realm with an unlimited number of blades created with sword mana, and boom. Done.
Okay, focus on the present, Gabriel. Daydream about anime later.
“Let me show you the second level,” I said.
Using the second level of Rain of Blow was pushing my limit, but I could do it.
I picked another tree, and took the same stance as before.
[Sword Arts: Rain of Blows]
This time, instead of ten crescents of sword mana, I sent out one hundred crescents in the blink of an eye. The tree exploded into small chunks as my attack hit it.
Aurora laughed in my mind, sounding like a little kid watching a show. It amused me to see a former divine being, who likely lived for countless millennia, acting like a child. Well, to be fair, I wasn’t much better in terms of maturity. At least one of us was feeling good.
Using the second level of Rain of Blows took quite a lot out of me. My cultivation base was running low, and sweat broke out on my brow. I felt like I had just gone through an intense workout. I sat down and circulated my cultivation base. Not to increase my realm, but regain the energy I had just expended.
I stopped after a few minutes, when I had enough mana to use Lotus Blade Dance, and looked at Leroy.
He was right on the precipice of breaking through. I saw it in his eyes. Not only that, but I could feel it in the air. It was more noticeable with my divine sense. The mana around us coiled around him, as if waiting for him to take it. He just needed one last push.
“Let’s go back to Sturm Hill Hall,” I said.
Leroy opened his mouth to speak up, no doubt to protest, but I held up a hand to forestall him.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I will continue the demonstration. The only reason I came out here was so I could send out sword mana without breaking something important. With the next technique I will show you, this won’t be an issue.”
Leroy nodded.
The two of us headed back to Sturm Hill Hall. I would send servants to collect the fallen trees at a later time. Once they dried out, I could make carvings out of them. This wasn’t necessary, but I figured that since I was out here, I might as well make use of the trees I cut down. Waste not, want not.
When we arrived back at Sturm Hill Hall, Lorelei and Corie were outside as well. They must have taken a break from cultivating. I didn’t know if this was a coincidence, or fate at work. Regardless, it would do them good to witness Leroy forming his dantian and stepping into the Energy Condensation stage. The experience would help them when it was their turn.
“Master,” Lorelei called out with a smile. “I was about to bake some honeyed almond treats. Would you like any?”
“Trust me,” Corie said. “Lorrie doesn’t bake them often, but they are to die for.”
“Maybe after,” I said with a smile. “We can eat them in celebration.”
“Celebration for what?” Corie asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“You’ll see.” I pointed to the mana gathering formation I had set up earlier. It had accumulated quite a bit of mana. Perfect. “Sit there, Leroy. You’re going to need it.”
Leroy nodded and sat in the middle of the formation. He looked ready to cultivate.
“When it comes to cultivation, insight and understanding is just as important as gathering mana enough,” I said, for the benefit of everyone there. “Sometimes more so. As you will see, one little bit of insight can be enough to propel you forward and allow you to take that next step. Watch closely.”
My disciples, realizing the importance of what was about to happen, sat down and watched.
I took a stance and closed my eyes, though I remained aware of my surroundings thanks to my divine sense.
[Sword Arts: Lotus Blade Dance]
An illusory lotus flower, which was the same whitish-violet color as my sword mana, appeared, with me in the center. Its petals were closed, though it looked ready to blossom. A moment later, the lotus bloomed and opened up. The petals condensed into three blades made from sword mana. While three was a low number, especially since the technique could be used to create over a thousand blades at the highest level, that was my limit. With time, that would change.
With my eyes closed, I went through the forms of the Celestial Sword Style, or a variation of it at least. This variation, called the Celestial Lotus Sword Dance, incorporated the additional blades created by the Lotus Blade Dance technique. As the name suggested, it looked like a beautiful, but deadly, dance.
The Lotus Blade Dance was one of the Blossoming Lotus Sect’s signature techniques. The other peaks of the sect found ways to incorporate it into their own combat styles.
While my body went through the forms of the dance, I controlled the three blades of sword mana with my mind, moving them as extensions of my will. I could only imagine what I looked like to Leroy and my disciples.
I remembered what it felt like to watch the dance when I first saw Celestial Blade demonstrate it for me. Instead of a piddling three blades, he created the full thousand. Of course, he had been at a higher level than the Energy Condensation stage when he demonstrated it to me.
In fact, his level had been so high, I never actually found out how powerful he or his wife, Celestial Weaver, were. They disappeared before I could accurately gauge their strength with my spirit sense.
Even so, Celestial Blade’s demonstration was a beautiful and mesmerizing display that left me enchanted. I even gained an insight from the experience, one that led to me a breakthrough. Doing the same thing for others put a smile on my face.
When I finished, I opened my eyes and focused my attention on Leroy. I saw the exact moment when he gleaned the insight he needed. He closed his eyes and began cultivating. I silently signaled for Lorelei and Corie to watch him.
As Leroy cultivated, I observed him with my divine sense. The mana he collected gathered inside his dantian region, forming into a lake. As I watched, the lake of mana inside Leroy grew bigger and bigger. It started to roil and writhe. However, Leroy kept it under control. It bucked against his will, like a wild stallion, but he maintained a firm grip on things.
Leroy soon reached the point of no return. The lake of mana inside him spiraled inward and condensed. As it grew smaller, the mana changed color. It became violet. I let out a grin. Good for Leroy. I knew he had it in him.
The lake of mana continued to condense, until it resembled a pool. It wasn’t long before Leroy’s dantian ignited and power surged through him. As his dantian formed, it connected with his Circles. I watched as violet mana coursed throughout his entire being. This mana corrected imperfections it found, and Leroy’s body expelled foul smelling impurities. My disciples wrinkled their noses when the stench from the impurities reached them.
Throughout the entire process, Leroy remained cool, collected, and steadfast. Not once did he falter. Many cultivators panicked when they formed their dantian, which was why their masters stood nearby, to intervene should anything go wrong. Assuming they had a master to watch over them. When I formed my dantian, I didn’t. I was a self-taught loose cultivator until I joined the Blossoming Lotus Sect.
Since Leroy technically didn’t have a master, I figured I’d fill in the role for him. However, it turned out to be unnecessary. To be fair, as a Second Circle wizard, Leroy had many advantages that most new cultivators didn’t. Having a Second Circle gave him superb control over his mana.
Soon, Leroy finished forming his dantian.
“Continue cycling your cultivation base,” I murmured to him when it looked like he would open his eyes. “Stabilize your new realm.”
Leroy listened to me and continued to circulate his cultivation base. I watched over him the entire time. So did my disciples, even though they couldn’t sense the finer details with their limited spirit sense.
As Leroy circulated his cultivation base, I saw his mana smooth out minute flaws within his Circles. The same thing had happened to me. However, it affected both of Leroy’s Circles, not just his original mana veins. Interesting.
After about two hours, Leroy stopped circulating his cultivation base and opened his eyes. I recognized the look in his eyes, as he gazed about the world with wide-eyed wonder.
He saw the world through different eyes. Everything was more vivid, more real to him now. It was as if he had been reborn, which wasn’t an inaccurate way to view things. His senses, his body, everything about him had been improved to the peak of mortal perfection. As he grew stronger, he would move beyond mortal limits altogether and become a cultivator in truth.
“How do you feel?” I asked Leroy.
“I feel…” he trailed off, as if he didn’t have the words to describe what he experienced. “I feel amazing. I can’t think of any other way to put it.”
I grinned at him.
“Congratulations, Leroy,” I said to him. “You’re a cultivator now.”
Leroy nodded, accepting my congratulations, before he looked at his body and grimaced. He was covered in black sludge.
“Here,” I said, using my new cleaning technique.
Leroy almost jumped into the air when the cleaning technique hit him. The impurities covering him disappeared.
“Young master,” he said, giving me a baleful look. “Please warn me before you do something like that again. I felt like I lost a layer of skin.”
“But you’re clean now, right?”
“I…” He sighed. “Yes, I am, young master.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
I looked at Lorelei and Corie.
“As Leroy just demonstrated, keeping calm and collected is imperative when forming your dantian. While things might get difficult, as long as you don’t panic, you’ll be fine.”
Both my disciples nodded, before looking at Leroy.
“Congratulations, Mr. Leroy,” Lorelei said.
“Pfft, I don’t see what the big deal is,” Corie said. “I’m going to form my own dantian in no time.” Lorelei elbowed her. “I mean, congratulations.”
Leroy accepted their congratulations with a nod.
“Now,” I said, looking at Lorelei. “About those honeyed almond treats…”
----------------------------------------
Later on that day, after the four of us enjoyed the honeyed almond treats that Lorelei baked, I brought Leroy back out to the impromptu training yard. There were two ways to get used to a new realm. The first was training, as one pushed one’s body to its new limits. The second was through sparring.
What better way to test one’s limits than through combat?
Leroy and I faced off against each other. Neither of us wielded any weapons. The whole point of this spar was to get Leroy used to his new physique. Using weapons would diminish that. Instead, we would fight unarmed.
Lorelei and Corie tagged along to observe, since this would give them a better idea of what they would be capable of when they formed their own dantians. As a fist fighter herself, Lorelei would also benefit from watching us fight unarmed.
“Now,” I said. “Remember, don’t use your internal magic. The whole point of this is to help you get used to your new limits. Using internal magic would defeat the whole purpose of this. Just use your own strength.”
Leroy nodded and took up a stance. I took up my own stance. Since I was at a higher realm than him, and had a lot more experience to draw upon, I would have to hold back by a lot. Otherwise, I would end up hurting Leroy more than I intended.
The two of us stared at each other for several long seconds, before we both struck out at the same time. We clashed, with neither of us gaining an advantage in the beginning. I was leaner and more nimble than Leroy, but he was taller and had longer reach. Our innate advantages canceled each other out at first. However, it wasn’t long before I started to overpower him.
Not because I was stronger or because I had more experience with fighting, or at least the memories of someone who had more experience with fighting. I kept my strength to the same level as Leroy’s. The reason why I started to win was because Leroy held himself back. He was still fighting at the same strength he had before he formed his dantian. While he had been strong, stronger than most, it was far below what he was now capable of.
I tricked Leroy with a feint, before I kicked him in the gut. Lorelei and Corie both sucked in breaths when they saw this.
My kick would have seriously injured a regular mortal, or a wizard who didn’t use Earth internal magic. It just sent Leroy flying back. While it no doubt hurt, it hadn’t injured him that much.
To Leroy’s credit, he rolled when he hit the ground and used the momentum to help him get back on his feet. He started to charge towards me, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Stop holding back,” I said to Leroy. “You’re more than human now.” I tapped my temple. “You’re letting the shackles in your mind hinder you. Break those shackles and free yourself. Let loose.” I grinned at him. “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t use Earth internal magic, I’ll be fine. Without it, I’m much stronger than you.”
Leroy nodded, a gleam in his eye.
“Now, come at me.”
Leroy charged at me, moving faster than any mortal was capable of. Good, he listened. When we next clashed, I could feel the difference right away. It started out small, but soon Leroy stopped holding himself back. He hit harder, moved faster, and pushed himself to his limits. He fought like a cultivator, albeit one that just stepped into the Energy Condensation stage.
The sound of our blows filled the air, ringing out like gunshots. From the corner of my eye, I saw Lorelei watch us spar with barely contained excitement. She literally sat at the edge of her seat.
Corie looked just as intrigued, though for a different reason I imagined. She kept staring at Leroy with an odd look on her face.
That moment of inattention almost cost me the match. After that, I ignored everything else and gave Leroy my full attention.
In the end, I won the spar. While I kept myself to the same level of strength as Leroy, I had more experience fighting as a cultivator. That was more than enough for me to secure the victory. However, judging by the smile on his face, I doubted that Leroy cared.
He laid on the ground, panting and covered in bruises, but he looked like he was on top of the world.
“Young master,” he said. “If it’s not too late, I am willing to become your disciple now.”
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Why the change of heart?” I asked. “Why didn’t you accept when I first asked you?”
“At the time, my loyalties were with House Sturm as a whole,” he explained. “Not just you.” He paused. “Besides, if I had accepted you as my master, you would have told me not to tell your parents about your activities.”
I mean, he was right. That’s exactly what I would have done.
“And now things have changed?”
“Yes.” Leroy pushed himself to his feet, wincing as he did so. “While I am still loyal to House Sturm, my primary loyalty lies with you. Rather, I offer it to you.”
For the first time since I met him, Leroy looked nervous. I understood why. I had already offered to become his master before, but he rejected me. There was a chance that I would reject him now, or so he thought.
“Please,” I said, waving off his concern. “As if I haven’t been acting as your master this entire time. Now I can stop pretending otherwise.” I pointed a finger at him. “However, because you accepted me as your master so late, you won’t get the starting kit I gave to Lorelei and Corie.”
Leroy nodded. Despite my words a smile spread across his face.
“Good,” I said. “Now, I believe you know what to do.”
We went through the acceptance ceremony as Leroy kowtowed to me three times and formally accepted me as his master. Hmm, I would have to get him an acceptable gift. Just because he missed out on the starting kit didn’t mean I would be stingy with him.
I grimaced as I realized that there would only be one acceptable gift. Damn it. I didn’t want to give up the Fire jian. Maybe I could find another sword to give to him, or maybe a set of magical armor.
If I didn’t find anything suitable after a certain amount of time, then I would give him the Fire jian. Until then, I would keep it.
“Hmm,” I said, pinching my chin. “You’ll need a good cultivation name. Celestial Blade is already taken, so I can’t call you that.”
While my first masters were likely long dead at this point, that didn’t mean I wanted to give their names to anyone. If nothing else, anyone I gave those names to would likely inherit my first masters’ karma. Since they disappeared without a trace, this wasn’t a good thing.
That said, there were similar names I could give him.
“From here on out,” I said. “You will be Celestial Sword.”
“Thank you, Master Celestial Thunder,” my latest disciple said.
My other disciples congratulated Leroy. Lorelei, who practically vibrated with excitement, then turned to me.
“Can we spar, Master?” she asked. “Watching you two made me realize that the two of us never fought. You’ve only put me and Corie through training.”
“You have a point,” I said. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Me too!” Corie said. “I need to brush up on my hand to hand skills.”
I sighed. I hadn’t planned on hosting a series of sparring sessions, but I would be a generous master and indulge my disciples.
“Very well,” I said. “We can spar next.” I looked at Lorelei. “Don’t worry about holding back. Even with your Earth internal magic, you won’t be able to beat me.”
Lorelei took that as a challenge.
“We’ll see about that,” she said.
The four of us ended up having a lot of fun that day. Of course, I won all three of the sparring matches.