Stormy Mountain Sect Chapter 10 (Patreon)

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

Two chapters today, but this is my last full Stormy Mountain Sect chapter written right now. Might put some time into it this week.

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

"Okay, just got to insert my Qi," I said, holding up one of the two tablets. "Not sure which is which, so, eh." I started to cultivate, getting into the meditative state required to access my Qi. I really hope that I’ll eventually be able to do this faster. Two minutes to get into the right frame of mind is too much. Once I was meditating, I felt the tiny reserve of Qi that drifted through my muscles. With a thought, I moved some of it out my hand and into the green stone.

The tablet began to glow softly, and writing appeared on it. “Schedule, useful,” I said. “Breakfast at second bell, then cultivation lesson in Mackenzie Hall. Uh, where is that?” I mumbled to myself. Immediately after I asked the question, the writing changed to a map of the nearest buildings. A blinking dot in domicile thirty-seven read ‘You.’ Down the path past the administration building, Makenzie Hall was highlighted with a blue outline.

“Okay, so I’ll have to take this with me,” I said. “Back to schedule?” The tablet obediently returned, and I read through it. “Nothing else required tomorrow besides meals. What other classes are available?”

The list exploded, or at least that’s what if felt like. Hundreds of options appeared, with at least ten per bell from first bell through four after sundown. I reached out and tapped one on ‘Advanced Alchemy’ at sixth bell. “Oh, that one costs a hundred points and requires an invitation from Elder (name). Uh, schedule thingy, can you show me all the ones that are free and don’t require invitations or special permission to attend?”

The list shrank drastically, leaving only three other possible options. “Introduction to Herbology,” I read aloud. “Eighth bell. I can go to that. With lunch available starting at sixth bell, I’ll have some free time for the morning.” I thought for a second. “I guess I could go see what I can buy with my points. Now, onto the rules.”

Reading the rules took over an hour, each specific section going down into minutia that I often had trouble understanding. Mainly, they boiled down to ‘Don’t maim or kill your sect members. Do not steal from the sect. Listen to Seniors, Elders, and Heads.’ I spent a lot of my time focused on the dueling rules. Five mandatory challenges a week, I thought. Healing is generally free, though if I’m crippled in a duel the opponent has to pay for healing. So don’t cripple my opponent, got it. If I am challenged I can set the stakes, though all duels have to have a minimum stake of five points. You only cannot turn down a duel if they use a mandatory challenge and they are a level above you or less. So I don’t have to be too worried about getting significantly hurt. Alright, I’m ready for tomorrow.

First bell woke me up, the single ring seeming to echo in my room. I got up and yawned, stretching my hands over my head. I went and splashed some water on my face, then filled a small cup I found and went outside. My lily was sitting next to the pathway and cultivation mat. Kneeling on the mat, I leaned over and dripped some water onto the soil. Afterwards, I poked the dirt and nodded. “Good for now,” I told it, then moved to a lotus position. Deep breaths let me fall into meditation, and I began to cultivate. The Qi in the air was denser than it had been in the forest, letting me advance faster than normal.

While cultivating this time, I was focused on pushing the Qi into my tendons. My muscles and skin absorbed a tiny bit, storing it for use later, while the majority starting to adapt the rest of my body to make full use of the Qi. It hurt some, each Qi ball feeling like I was stretching that particular tendon just a bit too far, but I knew cultivation hurt and would continue to hurt. Power is worth it, I thought, get strong enough that I will be able to protect mom and give my sisters a better life.

I lost myself in cultivating after that thought, making sure to share the Qi flow with the lily. It growing boosted the Growth Qi around, letting me use it for myself even as it took some of the Wood Qi. The Qi inside the plant was slowly getting denser, even as it grew larger. I wish Elder Li Mei had told me how long it’d take to have the plant grow. Maybe Herbology will help me learn about it?

The second bell tolled through the compound, and I stopped cultivating. I stood smoothly, my muscles not cramped from the hour of sitting, one of the many signs I’d gotten stronger from my two advancements. Feng, Cian, and my fourth roommate were all getting up from cultivating as well. “Good morning,” I said, giving them all a short bow.

“Good morning,” Cian said, nodding his head. Feng cupped his hands and bowed to me, while the other young man just rolled his eyes and went back into his room. “Don’t feel bad,” Cian said. “It took me nearly two months to get Andrew to tell me his name. He’s not a bad guy, he just doesn’t like people.”

I nodded, “Are you headed to breakfast?” I asked.

“Nah. I have a small cook stone, so I made my morning food before cultivating,” he answered. “I have a class that is fairly far away at third bell.”

“I am,” Feng said.

“Good,” I grinned. We headed out. I waved to Cian, who turned left and began to run off.

There were dozens of people walking in each direction. Everyone looked younger than twenty. Roughly half the people walking away from the Meal Hall, as it was labeled on the map, were carrying weapons, from swords to kusarigami. Only a third heading towards breakfast had weapons. “Should we have brought our weapons?” I asked Feng.

“I do not believe so,” he answered, also looking around.

“Do you have the cultivation class at third bell?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “And then I will be taking an alchemy course at seventh bell.”

“Neat,” I said. “Herbology at eighth bell, give me a bit of time after lunch to cultivate.”

“Good,” he gave me a grin that vanished back into a stoic face almost instantly. It was the most emotion I’d seen him emote yet. “I look forward to working with you then.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Alchemists often partner with Herbalists to source their herbs,” Feng said. “So I will be able to take the herbs and plants you grow and make them into potions, powders, and pills to strengthen their effects. Of course, I would share with you anything made that way.”

“Interesting,” I told him. Looking away from where I was walking turned out to be a problem, as a guy walking near us slammed his shoulder into my side, knocking me sprawling. The weed was taller than me, built strong and fat, with a brutish face, crooked nose, and sandy blonde hair.

“Watch where you are going newbie!” He yelled. “I challenge you!”

I glared up at him, then saw a pin of some kind of fish made of granite. “What level are you?” I asked.

“Tendon Refinement, can you not tell?” He asked, incredulous.

“Nope,” I said. “Brand new to this, unlike you. Though, your talent must be garbage if you are still at Tendon Refinement even with your knowledge.”

“I am going to crush you,” he screamed, his piggy eyes squinting in rage.

“Sure thing, fifth bell?” I asked. “Weapons. Surrender or incapacitation.”

He paused as I rattled off my conditions. “Fifth bell works,” he said, suddenly less confident of himself. “Twenty credits.”

I nodded, then waved both hands at him. “Now shoo,” I said, turning towards Feng.  “Why do you want to be an alchemist, given your affinities?” I asked him.

“With my affinities, I will naturally be a good fighter,” he said. “But the thought of Alchemy intrigues me. I’ve been told it is harder to create pills if you do not have an affinity for Fire, but that just makes me want to try harder. I do not intend to neglect martial training, indeed it will be my main focus, but …” he trailed off.

“But you just want to,” I said to him. “Don’t the stories say that cultivation is the ultimate expression of yourself over the world? So doing things because you want to is more valid than anything else, I think.”

He looked thoughtful for a second. “That is an interesting observation,” he said. I felt something from him, like a wavering of the world, but it passed almost instantly. “Thank you.”

“Uh, you’re welcome,” I said. We finished the walk in silence, and weren’t accosted by any more thugs of the Stone Sharks. Somehow, we ended up talking about growing plants, as every time I tried to ask Feng about his town or family he deflected to ask about mine

After breakfast, we followed the map to Mackenzie Hall. The flood of outer disciples was much larger, with at least two hundred people walking up the path. I saw Nuan talking with, or rather at, Aisling and another girl. “Come on,” I told Feng, and cut over towards them.

“Marc,” Nuan said happily.

I stopped short of her and gave her a short bow, sensing she didn’t want a hug right then. “My lady,” I said, grinning at her.

“We all have cultivation instruction at third bell,” Nuan said.

“We do as well,” Feng added, looking uncomfortable.

“Good!” She exclaimed, gesturing at her side. “So, you’ve met Aisling.” I nodded at the shy girl, and she gave me a slight smile back. “This is Melody.”

“Hello,” she said. She was a bit over five and a half feet tall, with wavy black hair and bright green eyes. Her grin was confident, and her voice melodious.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, giving her a small bow. “I am Marc, and this is Feng.”

“It is nice to meet you, Feng,” she answered. “And to finally meet you, Marc. Nuan won’t stop talking about you.” Nuan blushed and looked away from me.

“Well, that’s either great or bad, so I’m going to default to great,” I gave her a wink.

Everyone burst out laughing except Nuan, who just gave me a look. I smiled sheepishly at her, then shrugged. She rolled her eyes at me, then pulled me into a side hug. “Aww!” Melody said, causing both of us to blush.

“So, what classes are you planning on taking?” I asked Nuan.

“Introductory Alchemy at seventh bell,” she said. “I talked with Elder Li Mei, and she recommended it based upon both my affinity for Fire and my merchant background. I’m going to get so good I’ll make tons of points, and so will you.”

“Uh, hopefully I’ll be able to grow enough herbs to support both you and Feng,” I said.

“If you cannot,” Feng said, “You should prioritize Miss Nuan. I will suffice.”

“I’m going to be a gatherer,” Melody said. “I’ll be taking the Introduction to Herbology class at seventh bell, but I want to go find them in the wilderness and not grow them.”

“Then I look forward to working with you as well,” Feng said, giving her a slight bow as well.

“Elder Chao did say that the best pill ingredients are only found, not grown,” she said.

“That’s interesting,” I said. “I’ll have to explore around too.”

“We all will,” Nuan said. “There’s supposed to be dozens of location on the mountain that only we can find.” I gave her a confused look. “I mean, those of us who just joined. We’ve got a year to take advantage of the mountain,”

“Where’d you hear that?” I asked.

“From Grainne, our roommate,” she answered. “She got her last year, and was complaining that she had to give up her favorite cultivation area to us, but didn’t want to pay the points for access to others. I offered to buy the location from her, but she refused. Said it was against the rules. Bah.”

I shook my head at her disgust. Then we all thought about the thought of special cultivation areas for a second. “So, exploration will be super important over the next week,” I said. “Are the sites locked to the first person who finds them, or are they available to anyone who can find them?”

“No idea,” Nuan said. “Hopefully we find out soon.” Everyone nodded, even Aisling who kept looking at the ground rather than us.

“Maybe we’ll find out something here,” I said, then gestured at the large building we were all walking towards. The building was a massive eight-sided pagoda that stretched eight stories into the sky. I’m sure there’s meaning there, I thought after realizing that.

Inside, the first level was a short hallway that led to a flight of stairs and a massive auditorium. Signs were placed at several points telling us to go to the auditorium. The room we entered could easily fit a thousand people, and we all filtered down to the first three rows.

I ended up sitting in the eisle seat in the third row down from the third stairway to the right, as Nuan led us down. She waited, hooking my arm and holding me still. Everyone else filed into the row, and then Nuan followed Aisling through, sitting next to the shy girl and leaving me the last seat.

Only a minute after I found my chair, Elder Li Mei walked out onto the stage at the center of the aisles, standing above everyone except the few who’d sat in the last two rows. The doors we’d all walked through to reach the auditorium slammed shut. “Welcome to the Stormy Mountain Sect,” she said, her voice ringing like a sweet bell across the auditorium. “I am Elder Li Mei, and will be instructing you in the basics of cultivation for the next few weeks. Tardiness will not be tolerated. If you miss one class, do not bother to attend the next. Tell your domicile partners when you return that tomorrow is the only reprieve they have on this. If they are not here on time tomorrow, ever lesson after that will be barred to them. This will not bode well for their membership in the outer sect.” She looked sternly out over all of us.

She continued, “Each of you was given a scroll upon recruitment to the sect. This will guide you in a breathing technique to advance yourself through the Body Refinement levels. Now, use your technique to reach a meditative trance.”

The sound of breathing filled the hall. I focused on keeping my breath even, sensing the Qi around and within me as my mind opened. “Good,” Elder Li Mei’s voice echoed around me. “Now, move your consciousness throughout your body. Sense your Qi, where it has penetrated and refined your body.”

I followed her directions, or I tried to. It was weird, almost like seeing my body as a cave to hike through. After a few minutes of stumbling around, I started to see where Qi lit parts of me up. My skin glowed brightly, every square inch of it fortified and refined. My muscles were mostly done, but there were a few tiny gaps, especially in my core. Need to fix that, next time I cultivate, I thought.

“Your work is adequate,” Elder Li Mei told me. Again it seemed like she was speaking directly into my ear. “Much better than I would have expected for a single carriage ride. Now, move your focus to your skin. Try to project the Qi around you, push it outward. You will not be able to control it, but it will let you sense what level other people are, in relation to your own level.”

I nodded, still keeping my breathing deep and even. Ten minutes of pushing, prodding, and yanking on the Qi in my skin only resulted in various swirls that traveled along my body, but never beyond it. Occasionally an eddy would meet a second one, causing slight burning or stretching sensations that were distinctly uncomfortable. Why isn’t this working? I thought.

Elder Li Mei announced to the group, “Remember, your affinity will both strengthen and limit you, especially during the first two realms.”

Wood and Growth, I thought. I pictured my body glowing, with the Qi in it growing out of me like shoots of wheat. The resistance I’d faced with each attempt at getting the Qi to project vanished, and almost all of my Qi shot out of me, enveloping an area about five feet in radius from me.

I felt Nuan’s cultivation, a feeling of evenness, of a wheat plant the same height as mine. The person behind me felt like a small bush, lesser than me, while a young man sitting diagonally in front of me gave off the feeling of a mighty tree, overshadowing the plants that made up my cultivation. A mountain showed up, and then vanished from my senses, as Elder Li Mei walked up beside me. “Good,” she said, in person this time.

I beamed at her, and she grinned at me. “Now, cultivate your Qi back, and try again. See if you can focus in a single direction. Remember, you will only be able to tell where someone is in relation to you, and the farther from your cultivation level they are the less accurate you will be.”

“Ma’am, uh, is this how everyone detects what level others are?” I asked.

“No, but it is a good introductory technique to learn, and is all that you will be capable of doing until you open your dantian. Now, focus, I have other students to attend.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said, bowing in my seat. The rest of the hour passed quickly, with Elder Li Mei offering individual insight and collective instruction equally. Somehow, she was able to speak to almost all of us at once, as I saw multiple people nodding or frowning at unheard words at the same time. Finally, at the end of class, I’d successfully sent a single probe, visualized as a vine creeping out of my forehead, that was able to compare Nuan’s cultivation to mine. Again, it came back as ‘the same’ since we were both in the Tendon Refinement level of the Body Refinement tier.

“That is enough for today,” Elder Li Mei announced the end of the class. “I will see you all in three day’s time, unless you have a different class that I am instructing as well.”

“Thank you, Elder Li Mei,” the class intoned, all of us bowing to her at the same time.