I walk to a side chamber, letting the servants and members of the household manage the waves of destruction that had passed through. As I walked, I saw a couple bow to me with murmured gestures of ‘greetings my lord’ and it took me a moment to realise it was the insignia the Lord had given to me. I’d tied it at my waist without thinking much of it, but this made the realisation hit me quite hard that I was a Lord now. Not a proper lord, merely a baron whose child could not inherit the name. But still a noble nonetheless.
It took me some time to adjust to the change in behaviour, and the new monicker of Lord Jie. Zhou Fang helped, guiding me on how to behave properly but the proud filled body language still raised my hackles. I couldn’t bear the stiffness. A part of me had wanted to stay behind and watch the work of cultivators, given what I had watched had been rather rapid. With earth walls quickly being raised and carved with Qi instantly. Magic truly made life so much easier.
But I had a task to do, and so I brought my focus back on it. Within every person in the room, I could sense the presence of the First Law. The knowledge of the truth of the Heavens resonated with my own Chi, as it lingered in each of their spirits, waiting to be acted upon. My eyes drifted to Yin, a Mortal, and even from her spirit, I could feel the Law. There was something there, something within this moment that I knew hid another truth about the Heavens and our world, but everything in its own due time.
Tension filled the chamber, Zhou Fang’s brows furrowed with concern. No one had expected this level of power, or the degree of this truth. But it was here now, and it was time to act upon it.
“I know this is all a lot to take in. Trust me, I really do. Even with my spirit aligned in a way that allowed me to walk this path more naturally than others, it still took effort to understand and accept everything. So I will not ask of you do that. Not today, and not so quickly,” I glanced around once to meet everyone’s eyes. “But I will ask you this. What Path do you intend to walk, now that you know the truth?”
I could feel the Qi in their cores stirring. Yan Yun glanced around, meeting Zhang’s eyes, and then Zhou Fang’s. To my surprise, it wasn’t Labby that jumped in first, but Zhang instead.
“Brother Jie, I have sworn my life to you. To be the weapon that can protect you, and repay the debt I owe to you for saving my life. Whatever Path you intend to walk, I will walk it with you.”
The words were cheesy, like something straight out of a shounen manga, but I couldn’t help smiling when Zhang said them nonetheless.
“Labby too!” Labby chimed in with a crackle. “Labby will follow her Master,” she said, then looked at Zhang with a competitive glare. I held back a laugh at the sight. Perhaps she felt threatened that Zhang would overtake her, huh?
“I… do not understand all of this,” Yin said, in a quiet whisper. “This has all been… so much. I don’t think I should even be here. Such grand topics, and talks of the fate of the empire and truths of the Heavens. I’m… I’m just some mortal girl.”
“That’s not true, Yin. Not anymore,” I said, looking at her. “You’re a key part of my em—“ I caught myself. “My plan. The first mortal alchemist, the first person to have achieved what no other mortal had ever even dreamt of doing.”
“A Path is not limited merely to cultivation either. It is, quite literally, the Path we embark upon to achieve our destiny, and find our way in life. Though it may not manifest in Qi, you too, walk a Path,” Zhou Fang said, and I nodded at his words.
“In… that case. Me too. I-I would like to follow you too, Lu Jie,” Yin said, clutching her clothes as she looked down.
I smiled, happy at her proclaimation, before my gaze went to Yan Yun. The girl averted her eyes for a moment. Her core was still empty, devoid of any cultivation within it. Even when someone lost a Path, they could quite quickly chose to embark upon a new one. It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t unheard of either, especially in younger and more immature cultivators who had made a mistake in a step early on and were forced to fix it. The fact that she hadn’t done it yet meant she had consciously chosen not to.
“I don’t know,” Yan Yun said, looking up at me. I saw her clenched fists, and the tension in her back as she spoke. “To tell you the truth. I do not think I can, even if I wanted to. I have tried to cultivate. Once. The mere act had left me senseless and immobile from agony within my core. That day… before I came to you. I cut ties with my grandfather. That very same day, I also lost the reason why I had ever cultivated in the first place. Until I find a reason to cultivate once more, I don’t think I can embark upon this Path.”
I nodded to Yan Yun. The sight on the girl’s face made me want to give her a hug. As I wrestled with the feeling I noted Yin holding Yan Yun’s hand, and the girl’s expression lightened a little.
“I, too, am not certain. It… it is what my father asked you to do, Lu Jie. And a more filial child would’ve said yes But my Path… I do not know if I can do this.”
“I understand. The path that we say, to take upon Gu alongside Qi, to unite the two within a single cycle is a Path that goes against this Empire. In some ways, it is akin to treason itself.”
Zhou Fang looked up at me, before returning a nod. “All my life, I have been preparing to inherit my father’s position and become the lord of the seventh Peak. To walk this Path could mean forsaking that. I… don’t think I am ready to.”
I nodded once more.
“Very well. It is something to think upon, and I will always be there to guide and help you, if you change your mind,” I said, before glancing at Zhang. “I’ll start with you first, Zhang. Given that you were the first to come up. Could the rest you leave the chamber, and call Elder Tian Feng? Tell him it’s urgent.
The people in the chamber nodded, leaving one by one. Labby hung around, standing next to me as if it was the most natural thing, until I rustled her head. “You too, Labby.”
“B-but Labby wants to stay!” she exclaimed, pouting.
“You’ll get your turn, but right now it is Zhang’s. Be a good girl, okay?” I said, and Labby crackled with purple sparks that danced across her gray hair, before nodding.
“Good girl,” I said, patting her head once more, before she walked out of the chamber with a sullen look.
Zhang stood next to me, spear by his side. I’d expect some more nerves from him, but instead a calm expression covered his face.
“Is Silvelight with you?” I asked.
In response, the little silver lilly manifested on Zhang’s shoulder with a ‘Sii!’
“You’ll need to go through this trial with Zhang. The two of you are tied together, and cultivate as one. So when Zhang will awaken, you’ll have to guide him. Do you understand”
“Sii!” Silverlight exclaimed, patting her chest as she nodded.
“Good,” I said with a smile.
A moment later, Elder Tian Feng reached the chamber, a frown upon his face. “What is the matter?”
“Is it fine if there’s another tribulation? I’m pretty sure awakening Chi will end up bringing up. Or will that be too much? This one shouldn’t be too dangerous.”
“Go outside to the backyard,” Elder Tian Feng said in a few curt words, before stepping away.
“I guess that’s a yes,” I said, glancing back at Zhang.
The two of us made our way out, heading to the backyard. A servant found us wandering aimlessly and guided us to the open grounds, where already a few talismans and Qi filled herbs commonly used during breakthroughs had been placed. A rain storm was brewing outside, and winds were howling from the tribulation we’d had prior even now, but the two of us walked ahead anyway, before entering the circle of talismans that barred the worst of it from reaching us.
In the centre of the talismans, I took a seat, and Zhang followed in front of me.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“Yes,” Zhang replied, his spear placed upon his lap.
I extended my Chi outwards, letting it form the ward to drown out sound that I’d seen many times before. It took me a moment to figure it out, and it was far from perfect, but I managed.
“Very well, then the very first step is to draw upon your Qi. Take a breath, let it soak into your dantian and flow into your pathways.”
Zhang followed my instruction, drawing upon the Qi around him and cycling it.
“Now, as you cycle the Qi, extended your senses beneath you, into the earth you sit on. Feel the death that permeates it, the insects, the plants, that which forms the soil and fuels live, feel the bones of creatures from centuries ago that have turned to rocks. Feel the envelop of the earth, and the energy it holds.”
Zhang frowned, and Silverlight frowned with him. It took a moment, but soon, I saw something stir in his spirit. The way he cycled his Qi change, as a sliver of something else began to enter.
“Draw upon this death now, let it soak into you. Do not resist it. It’s merely a part of life, a part of the cycle that exists in our world. Let it forge your body, and harness it in your core.”
The thunder clouds rumbled furiously once again, as golden lightning began to gather in the skies. Zhang continued, and a moment later, I sensed the Gu begin to flow into his body.
The dark miasma flowed through his pathways, turning them black. I sensed the Qi burning him, dark oozing miasma rising from his body.
He’d been through this before, but back then, there had barely been any Qi in his body, nothing but a hollow husk, soaked in spirit herbs to be incapable of feeling the pain.
This time, there was nothing to protect him as the Gu flowed through his body, and poured into him.
“Let it gather in your core, and accept it as a part of you,” I said, letting Chi soak my words and gather.
Silverlight frowned, her petals glowing a bright light, as her Qi held itself back from vanquishing the Gu. Dark edges creeped within the silver lilly, her skin cracking in places, and I felt a pain in my gut, watching them go through this.
But this too was a part of the trial, and after they’d gone through this, they would come out the other end.
As the Gu flowed into Zhang, and began to erupt in his core, the two energies swirling, and waiting to be released, I closed my eyes. There had been a thought I’d had for a long time, regarding the nature of Qi, how varied it could be, and just what aspect it could truly take on.
Today, I would be finding out.
“Before we proceed, tell me. What is your Path? What ambitions drive you, what hunger lurks within you that pushes you so much?”
Zhang opened his eyes, a darkness creeping in on one as his body transformed from the Gu.
“To… be your weapon,” he spoke with effort. “To be… a protective blade.”
“Very well. Zhang, let me tell you something I have not explained yet. You may remember a long time ago, I had talked about the four fundamental forces of the world, and the fifth one in this world being Cultivation. I’m about to tell you an insight, that one of the smartest mans to have ever lived had discovered. About gravity,” I said, feeling the Qi around me vibrate. I felt the energies in Zhang’s core ready to burst out. Cracks formed on his skin, light glowing underneath them as the energy leaked from pores. I continued.
“Gravity is the force that keeps us tied to this earth. It is the force that forms the world, the sun, the moon, the tides. Our world, and everything in and beyond it would not exist without gravity. It is what gives things their weight, and it is what I will you teach you about,” I said, as golden thunder crackled within the skies.
I continued to tell Zhang about Isaac Newton. About the discovery of gravity, the planets, the solar system, galaxies, super clusters, milkyway, the very universe itself and the sheer vastness that it exists in, where we are a mere blip held together by this strange force. I told him of black holes, of the death most powerful within the universe that left a hole in reality itself that nothing could escape from.
Hours passed by, as I taught Zhang in all the ways I could. I spoke, and I spoke fast. His mind was sharp, sharper now than it would be even normally as the energies of Gu and Qi roiled in his core, flooding his spirit.
As my words came close to an end, I watched Zhang. His skin was dark, half his teeth now fangs. Talons grew from his body as cracks broke through his skin, leaking miasma an Qi outside. He held on, but by a thread. Many would’ve given in by now, the pain was overwhelming, and each passing second I could feel it as I watched the boy fight the Qi and Gu’s roaring tides.
But he did not even let out an eep.
And that is why I continued.
As my words ended, and I let out a breath, Zhang looked up at me. Though his body was breaking down, and he fought to keep the energy in his cores in check, there was a fire in his eyes now. Slowly, he bowed his head, and I could feel the new insight shaking his spirit, as his world was expanded and changed forever.
“Let the Gu and Qi merge, and accept the tribulation,” I said at last, and Zhang nodded, looking up at the skies.
“I refuse your Path,” he proclaimed, his voice was calm, yet it carried through the entire manor, shaking the very air itself.
The Heavens roared, as I watched a bright pillar of golden lightning strike. My breath rose and fell, as I sat with baited anticipation. A brilliant crack had echoed as I felt his core cracking, and I rushed ahead to check on him.
Rushing to Zhang, I grabbed his wrist, and checked his pulse. Burns marred him, but he still breathed, and I turned around. “Get the Old Man!” I shouted, as the servents rushed out.
Picking Zhang up, and putting the unconscious Silverlight on my shoulder I rushed inside.
“This way, Lu Jie. Bring the boy inside,” the Old Man guided me, and I followed along, placing Zhang on the bed. Quickly, the old man ran his hand over the boy’s body, before starting to take out some herbs.
I stood, feeling a heavy weight on my chest, as I watched Zhang sleeping. I could not sense his core, neither Qi, nor Gu existed within it in this moment.
And there was nothing I could do but wait.
I walk to a side chamber, letting the servants and members of the household manage the waves of destruction that had passed through. As I walked, I saw a couple bow to me with murmured gestures of ‘greetings my lord’ and it took me a moment to realise it was the insignia the Lord had given to me. I’d tied it at my waist without thinking much of it, but this made the realisation hit me quite hard that I was a Lord now. Not a proper lord, merely a baron whose child could not inherit the name. But still a noble nonetheless.
It took me some time to adjust to the change in behaviour, and the new monicker of Lord Jie. Zhou Fang helped, guiding me on how to behave properly but the proud filled body language still raised my hackles. I couldn’t bear the stiffness. A part of me had wanted to stay behind and watch the work of cultivators, given what I had watched had been rather rapid. With earth walls quickly being raised and carved with Qi instantly. Magic truly made life so much easier.
But I had a task to do, and so I brought my focus back on it. Within every person in the room, I could sense the presence of the First Law. The knowledge of the truth of the Heavens resonated with my own Chi, as it lingered in each of their spirits, waiting to be acted upon. My eyes drifted to Yin, a Mortal, and even from her spirit, I could feel the Law. There was something there, something within this moment that I knew hid another truth about the Heavens and our world, but everything in its own due time.
Tension filled the chamber, Zhou Fang’s brows furrowed with concern. No one had expected this level of power, or the degree of this truth. But it was here now, and it was time to act upon it.
“I know this is all a lot to take in. Trust me, I really do. Even with my spirit aligned in a way that allowed me to walk this path more naturally than others, it still took effort to understand and accept everything. So I will not ask of you do that. Not today, and not so quickly,” I glanced around once to meet everyone’s eyes. “But I will ask you this. What Path do you intend to walk, now that you know the truth?”
I could feel the Qi in their cores stirring. Yan Yun glanced around, meeting Zhang’s eyes, and then Zhou Fang’s. To my surprise, it wasn’t Labby that jumped in first, but Zhang instead.
“Brother Jie, I have sworn my life to you. To be the weapon that can protect you, and repay the debt I owe to you for saving my life. Whatever Path you intend to walk, I will walk it with you.”
The words were cheesy, like something straight out of a shounen manga, but I couldn’t help smiling when Zhang said them nonetheless.
“Labby too!” Labby chimed in with a crackle. “Labby will follow her Master,” she said, then looked at Zhang with a competitive glare. I held back a laugh at the sight. Perhaps she felt threatened that Zhang would overtake her, huh?
“I… do not understand all of this,” Yin said, in a quiet whisper. “This has all been… so much. I don’t think I should even be here. Such grand topics, and talks of the fate of the empire and truths of the Heavens. I’m… I’m just some mortal girl.”
“That’s not true, Yin. Not anymore,” I said, looking at her. “You’re a key part of my em—“ I caught myself. “My plan. The first mortal alchemist, the first person to have achieved what no other mortal had ever even dreamt of doing.”
“A Path is not limited merely to cultivation either. It is, quite literally, the Path we embark upon to achieve our destiny, and find our way in life. Though it may not manifest in Qi, you too, walk a Path,” Zhou Fang said, and I nodded at his words.
“In… that case. Me too. I-I would like to follow you too, Lu Jie,” Yin said, clutching her clothes as she looked down.
I smiled, happy at her proclaimation, before my gaze went to Yan Yun. The girl averted her eyes for a moment. Her core was still empty, devoid of any cultivation within it. Even when someone lost a Path, they could quite quickly chose to embark upon a new one. It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t unheard of either, especially in younger and more immature cultivators who had made a mistake in a step early on and were forced to fix it. The fact that she hadn’t done it yet meant she had consciously chosen not to.
“I don’t know,” Yan Yun said, looking up at me. I saw her clenched fists, and the tension in her back as she spoke. “To tell you the truth. I do not think I can, even if I wanted to. I have tried to cultivate. Once. The mere act had left me senseless and immobile from agony within my core. That day… before I came to you. I cut ties with my grandfather. That very same day, I also lost the reason why I had ever cultivated in the first place. Until I find a reason to cultivate once more, I don’t think I can embark upon this Path.”
I nodded to Yan Yun. The sight on the girl’s face made me want to give her a hug. As I wrestled with the feeling I noted Yin holding Yan Yun’s hand, and the girl’s expression lightened a little.
“I, too, am not certain. It… it is what my father asked you to do, Lu Jie. And a more filial child would’ve said yes But my Path… I do not know if I can do this.”
“I understand. The path that we say, to take upon Gu alongside Qi, to unite the two within a single cycle is a Path that goes against this Empire. In some ways, it is akin to treason itself.”
Zhou Fang looked up at me, before returning a nod. “All my life, I have been preparing to inherit my father’s position and become the lord of the seventh Peak. To walk this Path could mean forsaking that. I… don’t think I am ready to.”
I nodded once more.
“Very well. It is something to think upon, and I will always be there to guide and help you, if you change your mind,” I said, before glancing at Zhang. “I’ll start with you first, Zhang. Given that you were the first to come up. Could the rest you leave the chamber, and call Elder Tian Feng? Tell him it’s urgent.
The people in the chamber nodded, leaving one by one. Labby hung around, standing next to me as if it was the most natural thing, until I rustled her head. “You too, Labby.”
“B-but Labby wants to stay!” she exclaimed, pouting.
“You’ll get your turn, but right now it is Zhang’s. Be a good girl, okay?” I said, and Labby crackled with purple sparks that danced across her gray hair, before nodding.
“Good girl,” I said, patting her head once more, before she walked out of the chamber with a sullen look.
Zhang stood next to me, spear by his side. I’d expect some more nerves from him, but instead a calm expression covered his face.
“Is Silvelight with you?” I asked.
In response, the little silver lilly manifested on Zhang’s shoulder with a ‘Sii!’
“You’ll need to go through this trial with Zhang. The two of you are tied together, and cultivate as one. So when Zhang will awaken, you’ll have to guide him. Do you understand”
“Sii!” Silverlight exclaimed, patting her chest as she nodded.
“Good,” I said with a smile.
A moment later, Elder Tian Feng reached the chamber, a frown upon his face. “What is the matter?”
“Is it fine if there’s another tribulation? I’m pretty sure awakening Chi will end up bringing up. Or will that be too much? This one shouldn’t be too dangerous.”
“Go outside to the backyard,” Elder Tian Feng said in a few curt words, before stepping away.
“I guess that’s a yes,” I said, glancing back at Zhang.
The two of us made our way out, heading to the backyard. A servant found us wandering aimlessly and guided us to the open grounds, where already a few talismans and Qi filled herbs commonly used during breakthroughs had been placed. A rain storm was brewing outside, and winds were howling from the tribulation we’d had prior even now, but the two of us walked ahead anyway, before entering the circle of talismans that barred the worst of it from reaching us.
In the centre of the talismans, I took a seat, and Zhang followed in front of me.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“Yes,” Zhang replied, his spear placed upon his lap.
I extended my Chi outwards, letting it form the ward to drown out sound that I’d seen many times before. It took me a moment to figure it out, and it was far from perfect, but I managed.
“Very well, then the very first step is to draw upon your Qi. Take a breath, let it soak into your dantian and flow into your pathways.”
Zhang followed my instruction, drawing upon the Qi around him and cycling it.
“Now, as you cycle the Qi, extended your senses beneath you, into the earth you sit on. Feel the death that permeates it, the insects, the plants, that which forms the soil and fuels live, feel the bones of creatures from centuries ago that have turned to rocks. Feel the envelop of the earth, and the energy it holds.”
Zhang frowned, and Silverlight frowned with him. It took a moment, but soon, I saw something stir in his spirit. The way he cycled his Qi change, as a sliver of something else began to enter.
“Draw upon this death now, let it soak into you. Do not resist it. It’s merely a part of life, a part of the cycle that exists in our world. Let it forge your body, and harness it in your core.”
The thunder clouds rumbled furiously once again, as golden lightning began to gather in the skies. Zhang continued, and a moment later, I sensed the Gu begin to flow into his body.
The dark miasma flowed through his pathways, turning them black. I sensed the Qi burning him, dark oozing miasma rising from his body.
He’d been through this before, but back then, there had barely been any Qi in his body, nothing but a hollow husk, soaked in spirit herbs to be incapable of feeling the pain.
This time, there was nothing to protect him as the Gu flowed through his body, and poured into him.
“Let it gather in your core, and accept it as a part of you,” I said, letting Chi soak my words and gather.
Silverlight frowned, her petals glowing a bright light, as her Qi held itself back from vanquishing the Gu. Dark edges creeped within the silver lilly, her skin cracking in places, and I felt a pain in my gut, watching them go through this.
But this too was a part of the trial, and after they’d gone through this, they would come out the other end.
As the Gu flowed into Zhang, and began to erupt in his core, the two energies swirling, and waiting to be released, I closed my eyes. There had been a thought I’d had for a long time, regarding the nature of Qi, how varied it could be, and just what aspect it could truly take on.
Today, I would be finding out.
“Before we proceed, tell me. What is your Path? What ambitions drive you, what hunger lurks within you that pushes you so much?”
Zhang opened his eyes, a darkness creeping in on one as his body transformed from the Gu.
“To… be your weapon,” he spoke with effort. “To be… a protective blade.”
“Very well. Zhang, let me tell you something I have not explained yet. You may remember a long time ago, I had talked about the four fundamental forces of the world, and the fifth one in this world being Cultivation. I’m about to tell you an insight, that one of the smartest mans to have ever lived had discovered. About gravity,” I said, feeling the Qi around me vibrate. I felt the energies in Zhang’s core ready to burst out. Cracks formed on his skin, light glowing underneath them as the energy leaked from pores. I continued.
“Gravity is the force that keeps us tied to this earth. It is the force that forms the world, the sun, the moon, the tides. Our world, and everything in and beyond it would not exist without gravity. It is what gives things their weight, and it is what I will you teach you about,” I said, as golden thunder crackled within the skies.
I continued to tell Zhang about Isaac Newton. About the discovery of gravity, the planets, the solar system, galaxies, super clusters, milkyway, the very universe itself and the sheer vastness that it exists in, where we are a mere blip held together by this strange force. I told him of black holes, of the death most powerful within the universe that left a hole in reality itself that nothing could escape from.
Hours passed by, as I taught Zhang in all the ways I could. I spoke, and I spoke fast. His mind was sharp, sharper now than it would be even normally as the energies of Gu and Qi roiled in his core, flooding his spirit.
As my words came close to an end, I watched Zhang. His skin was dark, half his teeth now fangs. Talons grew from his body as cracks broke through his skin, leaking miasma an Qi outside. He held on, but by a thread. Many would’ve given in by now, the pain was overwhelming, and each passing second I could feel it as I watched the boy fight the Qi and Gu’s roaring tides.
But he did not even let out an eep.
And that is why I continued.
As my words ended, and I let out a breath, Zhang looked up at me. Though his body was breaking down, and he fought to keep the energy in his cores in check, there was a fire in his eyes now. Slowly, he bowed his head, and I could feel the new insight shaking his spirit, as his world was expanded and changed forever.
“Let the Gu and Qi merge, and accept the tribulation,” I said at last, and Zhang nodded, looking up at the skies.
“I refuse your Path,” he proclaimed, his voice was calm, yet it carried through the entire manor, shaking the very air itself.
The Heavens roared, as I watched a bright pillar of golden lightning strike. My breath rose and fell, as I sat with baited anticipation. A brilliant crack had echoed as I felt his core cracking, and I rushed ahead to check on him.
Rushing to Zhang, I grabbed his wrist, and checked his pulse. Burns marred him, but he still breathed, and I turned around. “Get the Old Man!” I shouted, as the servents rushed out.
Picking Zhang up, and putting the unconscious Silverlight on my shoulder I rushed inside.
“This way, Lu Jie. Bring the boy inside,” the Old Man guided me, and I followed along, placing Zhang on the bed. Quickly, the old man ran his hand over the boy’s body, before starting to take out some herbs.
I stood, feeling a heavy weight on my chest, as I watched Zhang sleeping. I could not sense his core, neither Qi, nor Gu existed within it in this moment.
And there was nothing I could do but wait.
