The new form that his formation studies took left Xu Long feeling quite ambivalent about the whole thing. On the one hand he was ecstatic and grateful that he was no longer having to study formations proper, soul crushing as that experience was, on the other hand this new path was certainly equal if not exceeding the previous when it came to monotony. He spent the entire day taking in the formations that appeared and then pressing the section he felt something from, over and over again. Even more disheartening was when his mother told him just how slow any progress was going to be, this was going to be an exercise in patience.
None of that bothered Xu Long though, not today, because today Old Wu would be back and his martial training would continue. He exited his room with a spring in his step and when he saw Old Wu in the courtyard waiting for him he couldn’t help but put on a goofy smile.
“Miss me, did you kid?”
Xu Long answered with a genuine smile. “I did.”
Old Wu took a beat, apparently thrown off by the candid answer. “Alright, I take it that means you are eager to begin?”
Receiving enthusiastic nodding in reply. Old Wu continued. “Good, I have consulted with a close friend who, let's just say, knows a lot more about the sword than I do, on the best way to train in the sword before one enters the Body Refinement realm, and he has provided me with a comprehensive training regime for you and assured me that I am more than qualified to teach you for now.”
“This training regime begins with the foundational sword forms. All of them. There will be no sparring, no anything, until you have mastered each and every foundational sword form separately. Once that is complete then you will have to master them together, that will involve working on your transitions and flow until you can switch from any of the forms to any other interchangeably and smoothly. Then finally the sparring will begin, where you will be pitted against every weapon that I can wield sufficiently, equipped only with the foundational sword forms and your creativity”
Seeing the look of barely contained glee on Xu Long’s face, Old Wu smiled. “So kid, shall we begin?”
Xu Long’s heart was singing as he lay in the grass of the forest just outside his room looking up at the midday sky. The last day and a half of training with Old Wu had been utterly intoxicating. If before he had an inkling that he loved swordsmanship, now it was solidified, the thought of going back to any of the weapons he had previously trained in was not only unappealing, it just felt wrong deep in his core…he couldn’t explain it very well.
“My my, I wonder if you will be able to concentrate on our lesson today with your head so far in the clouds, Long’er.”
His head snapped to the side, completely taken by surprise, there he saw his mother standing under the shade of a tree right beside him.
“Sorry Mother, looks like I lost track of time.” He replied with a sheepish grin as he got up and brushed himself off.
His mother smiled in return. “It’s fine, Long'er.” Having a quick look around. “This is as nice a spot as any, shall we have our lesson here?”
That got a raised eyebrow from Xu Long, he couldn’t remember a single instance that he had been with his mother for any great amount of time and her not having her tea set up at hand. Of course his confusion was short lived as his mother waved her hand over the patch of grass that he had been using as a bed and an ornate looking set of table and a couple of chairs appeared complete with teapot and a cup at the ready.
He had to shake his head as he sat down at the newly materialized table and waited patiently for his mother to start the lesson, curious about which of the topics she mentioned earlier they would start with first, he knew which one he was hoping for.
Looking at her patiently waiting son a smile crept onto her face like she could read his thoughts. “I imagine that you want to start with an explanation of the world outside of our little valley?”
Looking at her a little incredulously, trying to decide if she could in fact read his mind. In the end he was undecided on the matter and just nodded his head.
Letting out a small laugh at her son's antics, she began. “Firstly I suppose we should begin with the big picture. I told you briefly about the Immortal Realm and by extension implied that we currently live in the Mortal Realm, that is not the entire story. We don’t live in the Mortal Realm, we live in a Mortal Realm. Only the denizens of the Immortal Realm truly know how many such Mortal Realms there are, all I know is that the number is not small.”
Taking a beat so that her shocked looking son could absorb the information and compose himself, she continued. “Every Mortal Realm is administered by a single Immortal, however, when I say administered it should not be construed as managed, there are a few foundational tenets that they enforce but they are otherwise disinterested in the goings on of the realm. And in return, denizens of this realm largely ignore them, if they even know who they are or that they exist at all, those who do know ensure that they and those associated with them do not run afoul of said tenets.
“Ignoring the Immortal Realm, this realm's cultivation society as a whole is, for the most part, controlled by two groups, The clans and the sects. The clans are essentially powerful families of cultivators, usually with a long and storied history and the accumulated resources, both material and martial, to show for it. The sects, however, are akin to schools for cultivators, they tend to administer large swaths of mortal lands and recruit the talented and willful from among them. In a broad generalization, the clans focus on quality and the sects on quantity.
“But like I said, that is a broad generalization, there are old and powerful sects that do not recruit from the mortal lands, but from the other sects themselves, all but a few of the clans fear these sects. You should also not construe the situation as being a case of the clans versus the sects, it is far messier than that. There are sects that are aligned, there are sects that are bitter enemies, the same can be said for the clans. There are also clans that have deep relations with sects or outright control them from the shadows. All in all it is a rich tapestry of drama, intrigue and posturing.”
Xu Long looked at his mother with a raised eyebrow. “Where do these people find the time to cultivate?”
That got a chuckle out of her. “To answer that Long’er, you have to understand that not everyone, in fact very few in the grand scheme of things, have the ability and the will to continue walking down the path that is cultivation. Some abandon the path entirely, some just move down the path so slowly that their will is eroded, some even, are injured to the point that they cannot continue. Regardless of the reason, the consequence is that there is a substantial population of extremely powerful and long lived people who have a lot of time on their hands and a need to fill that time with a purpose that is anything but their cultivation.
“Now that did come across as rather cynical, I know, those kinds of cultivators absolutely exist and they are numerous, but there are perhaps just as many who continue walking their path yet take the time to involve themselves with the goings on in the world around them, whether that be to teach the next generation, administer their family holdings or sects, settle disputes etc.etc.”
“Raise their children.” Xu Long interjected with a smile.
Giving her son a slight nod and returning his smile, she concurred. “Raise their children.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Seeing that there was a pause in the lecture Xu Long decided to ask a question he was curious about. “Mother, before you mentioned ‘the mortal lands’, what are those?”
“Very simply, they are portions of the realm where the natural qi is sparse, which in turn means that the spirit beast population will be sparse and relatively weak. These conditions provide a sanctuary of sorts that large swaths of mortals inhabit.”
“How large are these portions?”
“Large. I would estimate that about a third of the realm is habitable to mortals.”
Looking more than a little shocked, Xu Long exclaimed. “That much?”
Nodding her head in response. “Hmm, it occurs to me that I have never given you a perspective on the size and scope of the world outside of the valley. The mortal lands are not what I would describe as densely populated, a good portion of it is farmland and forests, and yet, the mortal population is estimated to be around 20 billion.”
Xu Long’s eyes went wide with shock. “How many cultivators are there?”
“Mortals outnumber cultivators about 1000 to 1, possibly more.”
Xu Long’s face turned from shocked to baffled. “Why doesn't everyone cultivate?”
His mother put a finger to her lips as she considered the best way to answer that question. “That is a complicated question, Long’er. But in broad strokes, they absolutely can, in fact that is one of tenets that is enforced by the Immortal Realm, namely, the gatekeeping of cultivation is forbidden. That being said, this tenet is codified but rarely if ever has to be enforced, for the simple reason that the foundational cultivation techniques are so ubiquitous to the point that it is impossible to stop anyone from cultivating.
“What actually hinders inhabitants of the mortal lands from pursuing cultivation is the very thing that acts as a shield for their continued survival, the sparse natural qi of the mortal lands. To cultivate in the mortal lands is an excruciatingly slow endeavor, many don’t bother, many do, but those who truly have the will to become cultivators train their bodies at a young age and attempt to be recruited by a sect.”
“You're talking about the Body Refinement Realm?”
Shaking her head, “no Long’er, not for most anyway, the medicine and supplements that facilitate advancement in the Body Refinement Realm, while common in the cultivation world, still require alchemists to create, thus they are not widely available in the mortals lands, save for the extremely wealthy. That being said, even if it were more available and more reasonably priced, not many would waste their families money on a process that is entirely optional to cultivation.”
Xu Long felt a little bad when he heard that, and had a slight frown on his face. “So Body Refinement is used as a tool for the privileged to get a leg up on those not born to wealth?”
His mother looked back at him with a serious look on her face. “That’s correct, for the most part. But it is not so dire as you are insinuating. I believe I told you that the Body Refinement Realm is a pseudo realm and a luxury. Every child of a cultivator, or even child with a cultivator in their family can acquire the resources to attempt Body Refinement with little effort on the part of said cultivators, but a not insubstantial percentage of those who attempt, don’t succeed, and more than you would imagine who have the opportunity, don’t even bother attempting. Body Refinement, after all, is a lot of pain and perseverance for a result that while advantageous can certainly be made up for when one starts their cultivation journey proper.”
Looking at his mother a little apologetically. “Sorry Mother, when I heard that I was receiving special privileges denied to others who no doubt want to cultivate as much as I do, it left a bad taste in my mouth.”
His mother gave him a knowing smile. “I imagine there are not many out there that want to cultivate as much as you do, Long’er.” Chuckling at her own joke.
He smiled back at her.
“Something that you should keep in mind, that is germane to this topic, there are quite a substantial number of cultivators that have transcended or are in the later realms of cultivation who began their life in the mortal lands. Facing adversity early in life, while not desirable, can often have the unintended benefit of hardening the will of those who experience it. While the opposite is also a possibility for those who are handed everything.”
“I understand.” Xu Long replied, a determined look etched on his face.
His mother smiled at him. “That wasn’t directed at you Long’er, if anything I think it far more likely that I will have trouble trying to get you to slow down and be patient rather than having to stop you from squandering your opportunities. That being said, compared to most of the inhabitants of the mortal lands, you do live a privileged life, so I believe it better for you to understand the pitfalls that are often obstacles to your peers, and for you to keep it in the back of your mind.”
After receiving a nod from her son and taking a brief pause, she clapped her hands. “Now, where were we?” Pondering for a moment, before snapping back into her teaching mode rather abruptly. ”Ah, yes, the makeup of the mortal lands. I have already described their scope, and the fact that they are administered by many different sects who recruit from their areas of control. There is one more factor to add to the mix before you have a clear, if very simple, understanding of the mortal lands.
“Namely, the cultivators who live amongst the mortals. I mentioned before the prevalence of cultivators who give up on their path and turn to ‘drama, intrigue and posturing’ to fill their time or obtain power through social clout. Well this only applies to cultivators who give up when they have reached a respectable level in their cultivation. They are substantially outnumbered by those who give up in Qi Condensation or Formation Establishment, and a great number of these cultivators elect to spend the rest of their lives in the mortal lands.
“Now, there are many motivating factors that could drive a cultivator to live in the mortal lands, but the two most prevalent are power and peace. Peace is very simple and is what the majority of those seeking refuge in the mortal lands are looking for, they range from those that open schools to train mortals that want to pursue cultivation to simple farmers or hermits in remote villages and everything in between.
“Power, however, is a little more complex, not the motivation, that is simple, they seek refuge from living amongst those that are far more powerful than them to someplace where they are far more powerful than everyone else. The complexity comes from the different paths that this cohort often choose, the intelligent ones with a modicum of competence seek out positions of authority from the sect that runs the area they wish to reside in. In return for their service they get to be the big fish in the small pond with a powerful backing, who as long as they do their job satisfactorily will not bother with them. The less intelligent, who want to revel in their power and baser instincts but don’t seek authority from the sects tend to both do the most damage and last the shortest amount of time, as they are usually quickly killed by the sects.
“It should also be noted that most of what I just described, excluding those who seek authority from the sects, involve cultivators at the Qi Condensation Realm. Anyone at Foundation Establishment who wants to live in the mortal lands both seeks permission from the sect in charge and ensures they are not seen as causing trouble, as they are given far more scrutiny and far less leeway and can be killed for minor incidents.
“The reason for this increased scrutiny and zero tolerance mindset is twofold. The first is simply one of protecting their interests, the sects and even most of the clans view the mortal lands as a resource out of which they pluck talented cultivators that can increase their organizations power. The second, however, is more subtle and has to do with a tenet set by the Immortal Realm that forbids the slaughter of mortals. On the surface this tenet may seem black and white, but in practice is far more gray. Many inhabitants of the mortal lands enter Qi Condensation at some point in their lives even if the process is slow, and the number of Qi Condensation cultivators who used to belong to sects is substantial. Therefore there is some, but not a lot, of leeway for Qi Condensation cultivators to evade this tenet. Once you start talking about Foundation Establishment cultivators though, things start becoming a lot less gray and sects can quickly find themselves under scrutiny if they allow Foundation Establishment cultivators to do as they please.”
“What about Core Formation and higher realms?” Xu Long asked, a curious look on his face.
“Death. Not that this has ever been tested in recorded history, I am inclined to think it an impossibility. Any cultivator petty enough or with a deep enough grudge to want specific mortals killed would just hire a proxy to do it for them. And no one so mentally unstable as to want to oppose the Immortal Realm in order to meaninglessly slaughter mortals would be able to cultivate to a high enough realm to carry it out or even avoid divination before they attempted.”
Looking rather intrigued, Xu Long asked. “Avoid divination?”
His mother smirked at his instant pounce on her slip up into a subject she did not intend to broach. “That topic is far beyond the scope of your education and will be for quite some time. Just know that you will never have to worry about divination being used against you in your lifetime.”
Now Xu Long was just confused. “Why not?”
“Because you know me.”