In the Instructor Hall of Far Lantern Peak.
Instructor Zhao put away some equipment and sized Liu Yuming up with a smile. "Good, good. As expected of such a talent, you've already finished Marrow Tempering!"
Yuming thanked Instructor Zhao for examining him, and was outwardly happy. Inwardly, he wasn't satisfied. He knew of five children in his cohort who had already completed Marrow Tempering. There was Liu Yufeng, who had a high-grade spirit root, and Liu Yujin, who had received guidance from Liu Tianjue. After them came Liu Yiyi and Liu Yitong, who were both talented, and finally Liu Zhong, who wasn't even from a main branch. None had his talent, yet all were faster than him.
He didn't have a psychological need to always be first, he just felt he wasn't doing his best. Besides, they were going to start combat training soon, and he didn't feel like getting beaten up.
The Liu Family believed that combat training at too young an age was generally counterproductive; without proper physical control bad habits would be formed. Young children were to devote their time to tempering their bodies. But, it had already been nearly four years since he and his cohort had arrived at the Peak, and the time for combat was drawing closer.
….
The next morning, before the sun had fully climbed over Far Lantern Peak, Liu Yuming left his courtyard.
He didn't bring much—only a water gourd, a plain cloth, and a small packet of bitter herbal powder meant to calm the flesh after body cultivation.
The path upward was familiar but not welcoming. A few mortals were already sweeping fallen leaves from the stone steps, and somewhere in the distance an Instructor's bell rang out.
Yuming kept his breathing steady as he climbed. The higher he went, the more the air changed. It grew cooler, thinner, and cleaner. After nearly an hour, the trees parted, and Yuming arrived at his destination. A small pond lay hidden in a pad of dark stone, its surface smooth as glass. The water was so clear it seemed unreal, reflecting the sky without distortion. Around it, pale green reeds bent gently, and faint ripples spread from small insects touching down and vanishing.
But what struck Yuming most was the qi. The air in Far Lantern Courtyard certainly had spiritual qi, but it was nothing compared to this. Compared to here, that air felt dirty, making him wish he could stay here forever.
At the pond's edge, several children were already seated in a semicircle. Their robes were cleaner than his, with fine hairpins. A few glanced his way and smiled, then closed their eyes again.
When he was a child, Yuming had heard legends of Immortals, who danced amongst the clouds and flew on swords. When he first found out he had a spiritual root he was excited to be able to witness the scene.
What he'd experienced these past years didn't match his prior expectations. The peaks he'd seen were clean, certainly nicer than most of the mortal world, but nothing felt mystical in the way he'd expected. He spent his time mostly doing martial arts training and clerking at a library. Before he'd gotten the library job he'd occasionally need to clean manure.
But this… this scene was far closer to what Yuming had imagined. Disciples sitting by the pond amongst nature, the faint sound of a waterfall in the distance, yet with perfectly clean clothes and hands, and with steady temperament.
He found an open seat in the semicircle amongst the children. He recognized a few of them, including Liu Yufeng—who was frowning slightly with his eyes closed—and Liu Yiyi—who wore a pink ribbon in her hair.
Wealthy cultivators generally began to practice a dedicated technique at the Meridian Unblocking stage. Liu Yuming's Unbroken Ledger True Sutra, for instance, began at this stage. Thus, cultivating from here on out was generally self-study with occasional help from mentors or masters. There was no Instructor Zhao yelling at children to keep up.
Technically speaking, any mortal could reach the peak of Marrow Tempering, it would just take far longer. Some martial artists did, and were generally no weaker than the lowest-level cultivators. But Meridian Unblocking was impossible for them. Now, Liu Yuming would begin the process of shedding his mortality.
Mortal world, mortal world… Liu Yuming thought to himself. What a pity.
The previous night, Yuming had reviewed his Unbroken Ledger True Sutra. Most cultivation techniques emphasized first unblocking the twelve primary meridians—better techniques had less damaging and faster methods to achieve this. The True Sutra, however, chose to begin with the opening of the Ren and Du meridians, which was harder—they were usually opened with help from the first twelve.
The author of the True Sutra argued that opening the twelve first was blasphemous, writing that it was like "shoveling canals without a river." Yuming thought about it, and then realized that the True Sutra would have him just shovel a river.
Regardless, whoever could write a Dao Imprint level cultivation technique was far more knowledgeable than him, so he didn't doubt the logic.
The first channel to open was the Ren Meridian. Yuming learned in the True Sutra that the Ren Meridian signified acceptance, and that he must turn it into a receiving gate for spiritual qi. Most importantly, the True Sutra demands that Ren be opened through "non-resistance." The cultivator must not seize or reject qi, they must allow it to arrive and depart without disturbance. Liu Yuming recalled this as he inhaled briefly, then exhaled deeply.
….
Another two weeks passed.
Yuming had engrossed himself in cultivation by the pond whenever it was available, unfortunately finding that he had less time to work at the Pavillion. He decided to spend three of his spirit stones on a "meridian warmth needle," which warmed the opening of his Ren meridian and helped with guiding qi inside, improving the speed of his cultivation.
He and his cohort finally started combat training. All of the children did exercises together—led by Instructor Qiao, a middle-aged woman with a shy personality, unlike what Yuming had expected from a combat instructor.
Most of the first week was devoted to stance training and posturing to ensure that the little ones didn't trip over themselves as soon as they swung a sword. Fortunately, they had already received a fair amount of stance training during the Body Tempering stage, so progress was fast. Besides, a number of the children were already at the Marrow Tempering or Meridian Unblocking stage, meaning their dexterity and coordination far surpassed most adults.
Instructor Qiao placed heavy emphasis on "reaction training" in order to teach timing. Instructor Qiao's philosophy was that combat was—in essence—about timing, and so the children played hand tag and did stick to hand drills.
Instructor Qiao particularly loved "mirror steps," where one person would have to directly copy the person in front of them. She'd choose a leader and have the rest of the children follow, with the group moving like a discombobulated row of ducklings. Instructor Zhao would help teach this activity, whacking the children with a bamboo rod whenever they messed up.
Every child—Yuming included—was eager to get their hands on real combat techniques they could use. Before that was allowed, they started by learning basic striking forms.
Yuming, Yiling, and Yuren would often practice together. Yiling, despite having the slowest cultivation speed, was clearly the most gifted at combat, evidenced by the fact that she'd never been hit by Instructor Zhao.
"You're better because you're older," Yuming reminded her, which Yuren affirmed with a nod.
"We've been practicing for the same amount of time. And you know what Instructor Qiao called me?" Yiling paused for a moment, hoping that Yuming and Yuren would shout, "What? What did she tell you!" But they both just looked blankly.
"...She told me my movement was like flowing water!"
"What does 'flowing water' even mean?" Yuren yawned.
"It means that— well, I move really well!" Yiling confidently replied.
Yuming shook his head and laughed. Still, he had to admit that she was clearly more skilled than him. Even with his slightly higher cultivation, she was still probably stronger at this point. "Lingling, let's spar again," Yuming said.
Yiling's eyes lit up. Yuren would never fight with her, but Yuming constantly signed up to take beatings. She picked up a bamboo rod and threw another to him.
Yiling didn't wait for him to settle his stance. The moment Yuming's fingers closed around the bamboo rod, she stepped in—light as a cat—her tip flicking toward his wrist.
Tap.
Pain flared. Yuming gritted his teeth and retreated half a step, lifting his rod to a guard position. "Too slow," Yiling sang.
She flowed forward again. Her rod traced a shallow arc, cutting for his ribs. Yuming dropped his elbow, catching the strike with a sharp crack. The impact rattled up his forearm. Before he could reset, she snapped the tip down toward his knee.
Yuming twisted, barely avoiding it. He countered with a straight thrust at her chest, exactly as Instructor Zhao drilled. Yiling didn't block. She slid aside as if his rod, then struck the back of his hand with.
Another tap.
His grip loosened for an instant. Yuming forced it closed and drove forward, stepping on the angle, trying to take her space. He brought his rod down in a heavy strike meant to pin her weapon.
Yiling met it with the middle of her bamboo, but instead of resisting, she yielded in order to let his force sink, then rolled her wrists. His rod slipped off, and her tip jolted towards his upper body.
Three taps.
Yuming snarled, backing away, breath tight. "Again," he said.
Yuming wasn't a masochist who loved getting beaten up, but he did enjoy the feeling of improving each day. He wasn't too discouraged by Yiling's superior skill; besides natural talent, a family member of hers would sometimes visit to teach her, but Yuming decided not to point that out, letting her enjoy the win.
The next day, the children began controlled sparring matches. Yuming was paired with a short girl named Liu Qinghe, who was nearing completion of the Marrow Tempering stage. She was clearly quite intimidated by the Earth-grade root Yuming, as she showed a troubled expression when she found out they were matched.
They stood facing each other within the chalk circle, bamboo rods held at waist height. Instructor Qiao's voice cut through the courtyard. "Three points. Clean touches only."
The bell rang. Qinghe flinched first, her feet shifting back. Yuming didn't chase, instead stepping forward slowly, letting the distance shrink an inch at a time. When her guard rose too high, he flicked the rod towards her forearm.
Tap. "One," Instructor Qiao called.
Qinghe's cheeks reddened. This time she attacked, rushing in with an awkward overhead strike. Yuming slid aside and tapped her shoulder before her rod finished falling.
Tap. "Two."
Her eyes showed both fear and frustration. She tightened her grip, steadied herself, and actually parried Yuming's first strike. Then Yuming shifted his foot, leaned sideways, and hit her ribs.
Tap. "Three. Match."
"Thank you for the guidance, Junior Sister," Yuming said with a slight bow. Liu Qinghe awkwardly returned the gesture before quickly walking off into the distance.
Yuren wabbled over and gave Yuming two pats on the chest. "Haha! Great job vanquishing demons and upholding the Orthodox Dao!"
Yuming glanced towards the barely four foot tall Liu Qinghe. "Some demon…"
After the sparring matches, the most exciting part of the day came: picking out a martial arts technique. None of the children had made significant progress in unblocking meridians or opening their spiritual sense, so the techniques weren't truly immortal combat techniques—rather similar to what martial arts grandmasters would wield.
Five technique choices were presented to all of the children. There was Stone-Sinking Root Stance Art, a defensive technique. Hollow-Reed Guard, an extremely simple technique that calmed the mind while in action. Cicada-Shell Shedding Art focused on misdirection and diversion, and Thread-Pulling Hand was a joint-control technique that had a penchant for humiliating opponents.
Yuming didn't have much interest in any of those, however, not when "Mirror-Current Steps" was available.
Mirror-Current steps was not a killing technique, it was for movement, emphasizing timing and instant weight transfer through the body, increasing swiftness and control in the lower body. What stuck out most to Yuming was a line in the introduction of the technique:
Don't overcommit. Receive the opponent's rhythm, and let your movements be a continuation of their motion.
Yuming was currently opening the Ren Meridian, which acted as a "receiving gate" in the Unbroken Ledger True Sutra. The philosophies of both techniques aligned. Yuming estimated that when he opened his Ren Meridian, the technique would undergo a qualitative change, allowing him to mirror the opponent's "current" and accurately predict their path.
This is great, I'm getting a real cultivation combat art for the price of a mortal martial art!
….
Another month passed.
Yuming sat beside the pond again, surrounded by children from his cohort. The water reflected the sky in broken pieces. Yuming watched two kui in the pond curl and then dash apart. Yuming looked up from the pond and observed the scene around him. His eyes betrayed a hint of frustration.
Too many people, there's way too many people here.
Over the past two months, more children from his cohort had completed Marrow Tempering and went to cultivate at the pond. Furthermore, Liu Yufeng and Liu Yiyi had both unblocked multiple meridians, which greatly increased the amount of spiritual qi they consumed. As a result, the spiritual density of the pond was rapidly depleting.
The bright side was that he and his cohort had just gained access to the "Mission Board," which functioned exactly how it sounded. He could apply for missions and earn free cultivation time.
Yuming's long term goal had always been to find an independent source of wealth, to have his own venture. At this point, however, both his capital and age were insufficient. He could only grit his teeth and continue being a diligent clog in the system.
Yuming had practiced his Mirror-Current Steps diligently and was confident in his ability to hold his own in basic combat. He looked for openings to go down the Mountain and slay a demon that was causing problems in the mortal world. For one, these daring missions generally had the most lucrative rewards. Also, he just wanted to find an opportunity to leave Zhenyuan.
After returning to the Far Lantern Courtyard, he sized up the latest addition of the Mission Board. Escort, herb gathering… this was really just a children's version of the Merit Hall! The Merit Hall would probably be better, he was just restricted due to his probation.
Then, his eyes held for a moment.
Mortal disturbance — suspected weak demon.
Location: Qingshui Basin, West Xia Prefecture, two villages along the reed ponds.
Reward: cultivation time
Note: demon shows aversion to direct confrontation; attacks occur at night.
A demon. Demons, also known as 'Yao Beasts,' were, fundamentally, animals that could cultivate. Yuming didn't know much about how they cultivated, he just understood that it was instinctual at the early stages and relied on bloodline. Yuming had heard that more powerful demons would gain sentience and could even shift in human form, but this "weak" demon certainly didn't have that capability.
He felt the familiar lift in his chest, equal parts hunger and calculation. A daring mission was a risk, but it was also a way out of the pond's crowding, a way to earn without waiting for older hands to open.
As he was pondering, another shadow fell over the board.
Liu Yujin's presence was obvious even before his voice; he carried himself like someone used to being seen. He was a year older than Yuming, taller, with a piercing gaze. "You're applying?" Yujin asked.
Yuming kept his eyes on the paper. "I'm considering."
Yujin gave a quiet scoff. "Then apply. It's a weak demon. We kill it, take the reward, return."
Yuming sized him up. "You're in a hurry. Trying to get the cultivation pond to yourself?"
Yujin rolled his eyes, as if it wasn't obvious. "Naturally."
They descended the mountain the next morning.