Old Wu charged with a domineering spear thrust at the blind young man in front of him, fully expecting for his thrust to be handled in some inconceivable way for a mortal young man who could not see. It had been a solid six months since the last time he had used a weapon other than the spear in their spars, the handicap of suppressing himself so that he was fighting on somewhat equal terms with Xu Long had finally caught up with him. It was now at the point that he could no longer keep up with the kid unless he used the weapon that he was actually proficient in, and that was after he had loosened his suppression to a rather embarrassing degree in order to keep utilizing weapons that he only had a passing familiarity with, all the while hoping the little prodigy wouldn’t notice. He did, but said nothing, he just seemed happy for the challenge and did not seem to care how unfair the match up was.

He had to admit though that he had thoroughly enjoyed the last six months, it must have been at least several thousand years since he had last sparred with just his spear, no qi, no outlandish strength, just a man, his spear, and his wits. Even though he was enjoying himself he had to admit that the trend of the spars was not going in a positive direction for him, in the last few weeks a threshold had been passed, he was now losing more spars than he won against the kid.

As the thrust charged forward there was no need for Old Wu to adjust the angle of attack at all as the kid was standing perfectly still, at the last possible moment the sword came up to meet the spear, but in a new way that Old Wu had not seen before. He shouldn’t be surprised, novel solutions were a pretty standard affair for the kid. Old Wu watched as the tip of the sword came to meet the tip of the spear, he tried to change the direction of the spear slightly but only seemed to play into the kid’s hands. The sword slightly offset from the spear started running down the tip, and then the haft, all the while spinning around the spear and introducing a wobble that was fatal to the thrust that was originally intended.

Even being suppressed as he was, Old Wu was still a Dao Seeking expert, something that didn’t always play to his advantage in these spars, like right now as he had to watch incredulously in slow motion and minute detail just what the kid was doing. ‘Show Off’. Knowing that the original thrust was a lost cause, Old Wu pivoted, he pushed down with the hand further back on his spear to kick the end out and head for the kids knee, he also timed it so that the sword was on the outer edge of it’s rotation of his spear when did so, hoping to knock the sword outwards at the same time.

Almost like he knew what Old Wu was going to do before he did it, the kid angled his sword to dissipate any of the force from the tip of the spear suddenly flying outwards as he stepped into Old Wu’s guard on the opposite side that the other end of the spear was moving to. The sword in his hand moved gracefully to his opposite side, tip pointed towards the ground as it lightly brushed past the spear haft and redirected the substantial force of the attempted blow, spinning his body with the considerable momentum generated by the haft of Old Wu’s spear, the kid continued with another step to place himself completely in Old Wu’s guard, not a good place to find your opponent for a spear wielder.

They both stood completely still, Old Wu’s spear at a disadvantageous angle, tip pointed towards the sky over his shoulder, haft extending out past the kid, Xu Long’s sword resting against the side of Old Wu’s abdomen, his body at an angle ready to deal with the spear should it begin to move in his direction again. Of course Xu Long did not actually need to stop his attack short of Old Wu, the Dao Seeking expert's skin would shrug off any blow from him with almost comical ease, but Xu Long did it anyway, he felt it better to be in control, and it was a new challenge.

The old man sighed. “Well this is getting depressingly common.”

They both separated a few steps, Old Wu was watching Xu Long with a critical eye, the kid was strangely silent. Then he had an idea and manipulated a little bit of qi off to his right. The kid's head snapped in that direction almost immediately. Shaking his head, Old Wu started walking out of the grove, as he did he called out to Xu Long, “let’s call it a day kid, I would say we are approaching the end of the usefulness of these spars to you anyway.” Xu Long snapped out of his trance and removed his blind fold only to see Old Wu’s back as he was walking out of the grove.

As Old Wu made for Li’s garden, he couldn’t help mumbling to himself along the way, shaking his head. “Just like puberty, it is like his relentless will to cultivate is pushing his entire being to quicken the pace of his growth.”

He took casual strides and yet seemed to speed through the valley, arriving in under a minute. As he arrived at the boundary path of the garden he stopped and looked at the woman who was sitting in the lotus position at the center of the convergent paths. A few seconds after he arrived she opened her eyes which briefly flashed with a purple light and looked his way, waiting for him to speak.

“It’s time Li.”

A look of consternation appeared on her face. “He is barely 15 Zhong.”

Wu Zhong had a helpless look as he replied. “He is ready, but more important than that, he needs a proper teacher Li. It has been apparent to me since he was a child that I am unqualified to teach him, now it is to the point that it has become blindingly obvious, even he can see it now.”

Sighing, and then looking off into the distance for a moment, she looked back and asked. “When is the next enrollment?”

“5 Months, but I think we should leave after 3, give him some experience in the forest before the Academy.”

“3 months…They grow up too fast.” As her melancholy was hovering over her like a dark cloud she looked over and saw Wu Zhong’s stoic face looking back at her, and snapped out of it. “I apologize Zhong, that was incredibly insensitive.”

“It’s alright Li. Just remember to be grateful when they grow up at all.”

She nodded her head. He was right, she knew she had much to be grateful for. Still, it did not make it any less difficult to think about him leaving the valley. Every thought, every moment of the last 15 years, was focused on her son, now she was facing a significant stretch of time not even being able to see him. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she pulled a little power from the garden around her, felt it permeate her, then released the breath and let it flow back out of her, back into the garden, she felt calm.

A short while later she opened her eyes to see Wu Zhong still standing there as calm as an ocean. “You will watch over him while I am unable to, won’t you?”

He smiled at her in return. “Even if you didn’t ask me, Li.”

Sighing one last time, she stood up and started walking towards Wu Zhong, a look of determination in her eyes. “Shall we go and tell that son of mine that it is finally time for the day that he has been not so patiently waiting for.”

Wu Zhong let go of a chuckle at that, then shook his head. “I will leave that to you Li, I have a very old favor to cash in, the kid’s going to need a sword fit for a Sword Immortal after all. I will return in 3 months to pick him up, take this time and spend it with your son, just the two of you, well and your mischievous little adopted daughter.”

Smiling in response to Wu Zhong’s plan, knowing that he didn’t need to be gone for anywhere close to 3 months. “Thank you Zhong.” Then when she processed the first part of his plan and realized who he was going to for the sword, she raised an eyebrow. “You're not talking about going to visit that crazy old coot are you?”

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Wu Zhong smiled and nodded his head. “He is not that crazy Li. Besides I am certain it is just a mask he wears so people don’t ask him to do things too often. Well…fairly certain.” He finished with a laugh. While he was busy laughing he felt himself embraced in a tight hug full of love and gratitude.

“Thank you for everything Zhong, I know that you agreed, all those years ago, for his sake, but Long’er would not be the young man he is today without you. I am eternally grateful.”

Wu Zhong looked down at the head that was resting on his chest, smiled and hugged her back. “Li, I may have agreed in the beginning because of Master, but now it is much more than that. He will be very proud of both of you when you are reunited, I have no doubt in either of you succeeding. I should rephrase that, of you I have no doubt, of Xu Long I have even less doubt.” Chuckling to himself he continued. “In fact, knowing him, you will have to work hard to make sure you get there before he does.”

Releasing her grip on him, she gave him a playful punch on the arm. “Psh, you have so little faith in me Zhong?”

He just smiled and shook his head. “The opposite Li, I am in awe of your son. He will surpass us all, including Master.”

She looked a little shocked at his proclamation. “I know that he is exceptional, Zhong, but there are no guarantees in life, and the path of a Sword Immortal is anything but easy.”

He smiled and placed one of large bear-like hands on her shoulder. “I feel it Li, it’s guaranteed.”

When he saw the unimpressed face he received in reply he burst out into a hearty laugh before removing his hand from her shoulder and then starting to make his way to the entrance of the valley. He waved goodbye over his shoulder as his voice drifted over. “See you in 3 months Li.”

She stood there, watching his back as he walked off, shaking her head and talking quietly to herself. “What Old Wu, you still act like a child half the time…”

Sighing, she then turned her head to look in the direction of her son’s grove, a small smile appeared on her face as she pictured the look on his when she told him the news.

“First things first though, I better retrieve the little fox, lest she stay in there all day.”

…

Xu Long was more than a little confused as he watched Old Wu walk out of the grove and then seemingly disappear into the forest. On the surface it looked like he was upset over having lost, but Xu Long dismissed that almost immediately. For starters he knew that Old Wu was not that petty, as he had beaten him many times before and it usually only prompted a laugh from the old man. Secondly, Xu Long could tell that although Old Wu was a master of the spear, that was in the context of qi usage and arts, he had probably spent very little time, if any at all, until recently, fighting like a mortal spear wielder. He could tell when they fought, and he was certain that Old Wu knew that he could tell. There was no shame whatsoever in losing to him in such a specific circumstance.

The problem came about because although Xu Long could dismiss that theory with ease, he could not for the life of him come up with a replacement. The more he wracked his brain the more he came up empty. Unable to divine the motives of Old Wu’s behavior, Xu Long resorted to his old faithful when he was at a loss. He closed his eyes and felt the sword in his hand, and then began his foundational sword form routine, or as Old Wu liked to call it his sword dance.

Like every time that he let himself sink into his sword dance, he was completely oblivious to time, often he just finished when he felt it was right to, or like in this case when he felt someone arrive in his vicinity. The someone this time was almost certainly his mother and Xu Xing, he let his current spin and downward chop finish before transitioning into a sheath of his sword, before opening his eyes to see his mother standing under the shade of a nearby tree, the precocious Xu Xing standing on her shoulder looking a little antsy and keen to hop over to him, no doubt to demand pets.

He smiled as she jumped off his mother’s shoulder and made for him with deceptive speed and then pounced into his offered hand. HIs continued bout of pubescent growth over the last two years had rendered Xu Xing once again in the position of appearing smaller to him, despite her continued incremental growth. He quickly placed her in the front of his robe and scratched her behind the ear as he watched his mother walk over to him, smiling at him lovingly.

“Mother, is something going on? Old Wu left quite abruptly in the middle of our sparring session.”

She continued to smile reassuringly at him. “Something is indeed going on, Long'er. Wu Zhong has left the valley and will not return for 3 months. More importantly for you though, the day that you have been waiting for has finally arrived.”

Xu Long’s world stopped, he was shocked when he heard how long Old Wu would be gone for, he had never left for longer than a couple of days at a time the entire time he had known him. But then when he heard his mother’s next sentence he just stood there like a statue, his mouth hanging open, he had even stopped petting Xu Xing mid scritch, much to her annoyance.

Finally breaking free of the paralysis of his shock as the realization washed over him, he stammered out. “You mean?...”

Stifling a laugh at her son’s antics and just wearing a grin on her face. “Indeed it is time for you to step onto the path of cultivation proper. It is time for your Awakening.”

Xu Long felt elation, like he was subsumed in an endless sea of joy, laughing with unbridled happiness he grabbed his mother, who was by now at least a head shorter than him, into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet and spinning around in circles.

He had maybe made a full revolution in his spinning before the woman held in his arms suddenly disappeared and he had to right his momentum to keep from falling over due to the sudden loss of weight he was spinning with. By the time he had righted himself and found his bearings, he looked up to see his mother standing exactly where she had been when he grabbed her, looking a mix of perturbed and exasperated at the antics of her son.

“Long’er don’t manhandle your mother like that, no matter how excited you are.”

Xu Long had a big grin on his face as he answered. “No deal, next time you won’t be able to escape so easily.”

To which she could only sigh and massage the bridge of her nose. “Now, to finish what I was going to add before I was so unceremoniously interrupted.” She paused to squint her eyes slightly at her still grinning son. “Allowing you to undergo your awakening at 15 comes with a single condition, it will not be difficult, to the point that I suspect you would have done it anyway, but I want your word regardless.”

Xu Long looked his mother in the eyes and put on his serious face. “You have my word.” Then his mask broke and he was again grinning.

Looking at her son, whose excitement was pouring out of him like he was a child again, she could only shake her head before taking a step closer to him then reaching up and giving his forehead a flick, a proper one, one that he would feel.

Holding his head that smarted quite a bit, Xu Long looked down at his mother whose whole demeanor was telling him to take this seriously. “Long’er, listen to the condition, then give me your word. Understood?”

He simply nodded his head, a hand rubbing his forehead.

“I want you to take your time in the Qi Condensation Realm, especially as you are getting ready to flood your body with qi between each minor realm. When you get to the point that you feel you can’t expand your meridians or your dantian and your qi is as refined as you can get it in your current minor realm, I want you to stop and wait at least a week, preferably two, and be sure that that is as far as you can go.

“This will both ensure that your foundations will be perfect and stable and that any of the last of the growing that you have left to do is given as much time as possible to complete before the qi that you flood into your system starts slowing the process permanently.

“So, do we have an agreement?”

He finished rubbing his head as his mother finished talking. “You have my word, Mother.”

“Good”

“Just out of curiosity Mother, does this method apply to future Realms of cultivation?”

“The principal remains, but this method only applies to Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment, and in Foundation Establishment the time spent waiting should be extended to a month or two.

“Remember Long’er, once you step foot on your cultivation journey there will be no Wu Zhong or I there to temper your excitement and urge patience. Your word to me just now will be your last guard rail and you could just as easily choose to ignore it.

“Ultimately, the path that you walk is up to you.”