The next day the morning had barely begun but the men in his barracks began getting up and preparing for the day. Dahe got up and followed the rest to the dining area, grabbing a bowl, and receiving a bowl of savory porridge. He looked around, before shrugging his shoulders and sitting down at a table with some empty chairs. He nodded to the men, and they nodded back, then they began to eat.

Dahe kept his ears open but there wasn’t much conversation this early in the morning. They all finished about the same time, and then Dahe finally received the attention of the others. “You new?” one spoke up. “Yes,” said Dahe. “got here yesterday.” “Got a plan yet?” asked another. Dahe shook his head. “Well, most of us do some farming, it gets done easier and quicker with more people. You can try it for a day.” Dahe had no better ideas, so he nodded and followed along with the men.

Past the sparring fields, were farming fields. “The sheds are over here.” Di Yi De said. He was the first to speak to Dahe this morning. Dahe followed Di Yi’s finger. There were a few small sheds off to the side. Once inside he saw various tools. “We’ll be using hoes,” said Di Yi. Dahe grabbed a hoe and followed the group to a field.

“First step is churning the earth. Get ready!” Di Yi shouted, everyone was lined up and held their hoe high. “Go!” With a united thud the men sunk their hoes into the ground and then began churning it up as they walked backwards. Dahe did what he could while trying to copy the other men. He fell behind, but not too far. Finally it was time to go. The lunch bell rang.

“Hey, good job Dahe. especially for your first time!” Di Yi seemed to be in good spirits. “What’s next?” Dahe asked. “What’s next? Lunch! Let’s go!” Di Er Ce spoke up. Grins all around, the group strolled out of the fields and towards the dining area.

Once they were seated, Dahe spoke. “I can’t believe those fields can feed everybody.”

Di Er spoke up. “We have people whose jobs are providing the plants with energy, this helps them grow faster, and we need fewer fields. Plus the fact that we can store food for a long time, so any surplus simply goes into storage.” After finishing their food, they walked by the task window to inform the people there that Dahe Feng Ji had worked in the fields for half a day. Then they turned back around and went to the sparring fields. “You’re still new so you’ll go to the basics lectures, it’s for those who are just beginning or who want to firm up their basics.” Di Yi guided Dahe to the sparring fields.

There were already a group of people gathering in the basics class. One man stood directly in front of all of them, with a few people off to the side. “That’s Zao Qi Jiao. he teaches the basics class. He even spars with his students, using only basics. And he never loses.”

“Alright listen up, today we’re reviewing stances. Everyone get in a ready stance.” Dahe separated from his workmates and stood in a stance he was comfortable with. “I will now look at your stances.” Zao Qi Jiao then began walking up and down the rows, occasionally moving an arm or leg, or giving the person a little shake. Dahe began to hear more and more as Zao Qi Jiao got closer. “A general guard needs an arm ready to intercept. This leg will buckle under pressure. Good, good.” finally he got to Dahe.

“New are you?” Dahe nodded. “Fine. well, your stance is rough, but not bad altogether. Bend your limbs a bit, keep in mind how you are facing your opponent.” his hands started positioning Dahe bit by bit. “There.” Dahe nodded, “thank you Jiao Shi.” using the term Shi for teacher. “You’re welcome. Remember, the most basic lesson I will impart to you, is to defend yourself.”

Dahe smiled at that. Then he focused on memorizing the stance that Jiao put him in. Jiao came back around during a second pass, and found Dahe exactly as he left him. “That’s good that you’re maintaining the stance. But you also need to be able to fall into your stance quickly. Stand straight, then go into your stance.” Dahe did so, then went right into the correct stance. Jiao’s eyes widened. “I’ve never met anyone who could retain the stance so quickly.” Dahe’s mouth twitched upwards, “I have a very good memory.” Jiao nodded, “indeed you must, to have learned so quickly.” Zao Qi Jiao moved back to the front. “Very well, we’re going to start running through some punches. Slowly. Everyone punch through your target. Focus on the first two knuckles of your hand. Keep your wrist straight.”

Once again Jiao moved through the ranks, occasionally stopping and correcting someone. And once again, he found that Dahe would take correction easily and be able to reproduce the correct form, instantly. Impressed, Jiao decided to keep an eye on the young man.

After having corrected those that needed correcting, and running everyone through stances and punches at the same time, Jiao Shi decided it was time to spar. “Everyone, time to spar! Go to your circle!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

People started drifting, some towards Jiao and some away in other directions. When he saw this Dahe asked Di Yi about it. “Well, not everyone is on the same level. We all have different abilities. Some of us don’t have the ability to collect energy. So we are unable to fight against those who do. At least, not for very long.”

Dahe looked at Di Yi with a furrowed brow. “So there are people in the sect who can’t collect energy?”

“Yes, sometimes they come to make connections and gain skills. Even the occasional sparring against an energy collector does wonders for a man’s fighting ability. That way, when they go back out into the world, they are able to be hired as the best mortal warriors. Which pays well.”

“What does the sect get in return?”

“Well, it’s part of the sect’s philosophy. The Great Flow, things happen, and the only thing we can control is how we deal with them. However, your actions can affect how others perceive and deal with you. And if someone who was trained as a mortal warrior goes out into the world and finds someone able to collect energy, wouldn’t they be more likely to send them to a sect they had good feelings for and association with?”

Dahe nodded. “You and you. No genitals or eyes. To submission.” Jiao Shi had just pointed to him and someone close by. “What?” he felt a hand push him forward into the circle that had formed. “It’s your turn to spar. Go,” Di Yi said.

Dahe stepped forward. He was going to have to get used to this. Fighting was part of the world. Even if he avoided it, there would be situations he could not avoid. So he put his hands in front of him and fell into a stance.

His opponent did as well. He must have noticed that Dahe had no intention to attack, so he leaped towards Dahe himself.

Dahe tried to get into a fighting mindset, and stepped back. Maintaining his distance was important. The other man was throwing a few punches, testing his reactions. Dahe was thinking, if only he had watched more martial arts.

Dahe could only keep moving away, but in a circle. He expected the opponent to get frustrated, but his opponent kept calm. Dahe could only think to return fire. He waited until his opponent got into range, and punched quickly. He thought it was called a jab. It only connected with his opponent’s forearm.

Dahe knew he had to find a rhythm. ‘I’ve got my fighting skills! Of course!’ the information unfolded in his mind. His problem was that he was not that practiced with those abilities. He would have to unpack them slowly.

He switched to attacking. A few jabs, then a straight. Back and forth. But his opponent seemed to be able to slip his punches. The only thing he could think was to kick. He tried a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s side. But it barely grazed as the opponent dodged back.

Dahe felt stupid, a slight light of panic must’ve appeared in his eyes, because his opponent charged forward. This time, Dahe was kicked. Hard.

He rolled over on the ground before getting back to his feet. His opponent hadn’t taken advantage of the opportunity. There was confidence in his eyes. Dahe hated that. That someone was confident in beating him.

He decided to be aggressive. He moved forward, aiming his punches towards his opponent’s body. He would land a few, but the opponent was able to back away while angling his body.

Dahe decided to press in. keeping his hands near his face, and crouching more, he moved into his opponent. He began following his opponent while delivering body blows. But his opponent would return with head blows. When he punched out and left his head unguarded, his opponent would attack. Which left his opponent’s chin unguarded. That would be his moment.

The moment arrived. The opponent swung down, and pushing up with his legs, Dahe swung an uppercut towards his opponent’s chin. However, just as he’s about to connect, the opponent dodges. His head moves away and he grabs Dahe’s arm. A moment later, Dahe is on the ground and his opponent has him pinned. Dahe is wondering what happened.

“Ye Ge Dui is the winner. Get up both of you.” Jiao says. Dahe and Ye Ge Dui get up, bow to each other, and then walk back to their places. Jiao then went to the center of the circle. “Remember that. If you sense a rhythm in your opponent’s attacks, it might be there on purpose. Don’t forget you might be the sucker.” Dahe felt a bit embarrassed, but remembered, he had never fought anyone in his past life.

The sparring continued for a while, Jiao would call out a few pairs of people to spar, and point out any mistakes. Then he broke up the circle and told everyone to spar against whoever they wished.

Di Er and Di Yi took Dahe under their wing and practiced together, until it was time for dinner.

Walking back they showered first, before heading to the dining area. The meals were more sizable, and had variety. This was appreciated by those who had just been exercising and sparring. Dahe’s focus was solely on his food, his arm making quick trips from his bowl to his mouth and back.

When they were all full, and had repeatedly patted their stuffed bellies, they dispersed to their own activities. This was a study period. Now that their bodies had been tired out, it was the best time to use their brains. Each of them had something that they wanted to improve on, which required study.

Dahe went back to the library. He wanted to review what the rules of the sect were and the tasks that could be accomplished. Also, seeing what herbs were requested and what they were used for. His forestry had the use of herbs for simple things, some cooking, some first aid. But the usage of various herbs wasn’t normally covered under most educations.

After checking through the tasks list, it seemed he could do well just by hunting and herb gathering. Although, he did want to help out in the various trades to see which one was his talent. He put aside the task book and began looking around for other books on things he didn’t know. He had a rather thorough education. And while he had gone over it on his walk through the forest, he hadn’t gone in depth. He felt that the more he used the knowledge, the more his level of comprehension would deepen.

Finally having a plan, he put his books away and went to the dining area to have supper. Before returning to the barracks for the night.