Clouded Soul Vol 1 Outline Pt 2 (Patreon)

This was done over a day ago but was waiting for editor before sharing. The last 3rd of the book should be the easiest to outline since I pretty much covered all the beats in Miao's character outline and the rest will just be expanding on that.

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Wufei Ren

• We cut elsewhere, on the sea approaching Little Haven through the main entrance through the glass pillars. A man is having a nap on a shitty little one person boat. He's scruffy, yet dressed in exceedingly fancy golden robes. The waves stir him to awaken and he groggily sits up and lifts a gourd to his mouth. It's empty. He grumbles and shakes it, and suddenly it's full again. He smiles. Just my luck. He lazily drinks from it, letting it fall down his chin.
• Once he's had his fill, which takes a long time, the man lights a pipe and stares at the island in the distance. He still can't believe he's heading to this little backwater island, but it's been a long time since fortune has given him such clear direction. Still, might as well check one last time. He pulls out a set of dice and asks for a specific outcome if he's really supposed to come here. The dice glow gold and give him the outcome. He checks again, and again.
• He switches to cards. Then coin flips. Then he gives up, sighing and submitting himself to the whims of fortune. He supposes there might be something fun to discover if he turns over the right rock. Wonders how strong the average guy even is here. It's described very casually, but he drowns the entire island in his spiritual awareness. Subtly so no one knows that he's doing it, but he's able to pick out the exact number of refiners. There's only one Clear Initiate, a couple of scattered Clear Beginners, and about thirty Clouded Masters. He's like wow things are worse out here than I even thought. Do these people even know how to live?
• The man takes a deep intake of his pipe. Some slight insight into his thoughts. He really does hope he finds some entertainment here despite the odds. It's been too long since he'd felt anything- the stagnation has set in and he'd do anything to relieve it. He lazily droops his hand out of the side of his boat and splashes the surface of the water, creating a massive explosion of water below him that launches his boat far off into the distant beaches of Glimmering Bay. He stands up mid flight, cracks his neck, and the boat crashes onto land. He stands completely upright, no worse for the wear.
• This terrifies some fishermen who were nearby and the man smiles, reassuring them in a laid back way and offering them a drink stronger than anything they've ever tasted before. Internally, he can't blame them for their reactions. They've probably never seen someone of his level, after all.
• Cut to Jun some indeterminate time later. It's raining heavily, and he's not having the best of days. Hard to find any good food around on days like this, and it was even harder to move his body when the ground was slick with mud. He was huddled in an alley with a makeshift shelter he’d made with a few boxes, planks of wood and a discarded tarp, wishing he had something to read.
• As his stomach rumbles, he starts to question his stubbornness.  Maybe the rain would never let up and he’ll get sick again, or he wouldn’t be able to find any food. He’d been fine with submitting himself to the will of the world, but a man’s principles were usually the first thing to go in times of desperation. It wasn’t getting any easier. It’d only been a year of life like this, but Jun hopes the world makes up its mind on what to do with him sooner than later.
• He’s meditating to help him get through this, though he can’t hone his soul like others would when doing so.
• Jun starts thinking a little bit deeper, wondering if he really is okay with dying on the streets like this. He doesn’t want to rely on anyone else, but he can’t help but think of his family at times and know they wouldn’t want him to live like this. They’d want him to cling to life and rely on the kindness of others, and if he really thought about it, maybe this stubbornness of his was a mask for his true intentions.
• Jun wonders if he wants to die but is too afraid. He’d personally never seen any proof, but it’s widely agreed that if his candle were to be blown out he’d get another shot at things and reincarnate elsewhere until one of his subsequent selves ends up ascending to godhood, the true goal of any soul refiner. He muses on this a little bit. How that’s yet another facet of this unfair world. Suffer in this life to hopefully suffer less in the next until eventually one of your subsequent selves makes it all the way to godhood, the true goal of any soul refiner.
• Jun thinks it’s stupid. Someone should remove the suffering and root out the evil in this world- evil like the Sasei clan. Jun darkens as he thinks about how they’re still out and about doing who knows what while he’s hungry in an alley covered in rain. The more he thinks about the Sasei clan, the more his heart burns with conviction. Literally. He hurts a bit from the feeling, but he explores the feeling more.
• Jun doesn’t want to die, and he doesn’t want to reincarnate. He wants things to be better, now. He now knows that for sure the only reason he’s clinging is for the small chance the heavens might bless him with an opportunity. Jun begins reconsidering his actions, wondering if he should alter his actions now that he knows explicitly what he wants. It is rough to think about accepting help again, but maybe that's what's best?
• I'll delve into this more in the actual writing and make sure the revelation is natural.
• The heavens work in strange ways, sometimes. Some say your thoughts can shape the world, or that sheer desire and fixation is enough to reach the gods and make them twist fate in your favor. The chance he was hoping for never came for Jun because he was lost in his self-pity. Now that he knew what he wanted, the heavens delivered. Or maybe fate. Or he was just in the right time at the right place. Who can really say, but today was his lucky day.
• Jun hears groaning and grumbling from outside his alley and opens his eyes. He sees a drunken man in ridiculous golden robes dragging himself down the street. He'd heard whispers of an eccentric stranger wandering around town for a few weeks now but he hadn't personally run into them until now. He's confident that this is the guy, and Jun feels embarrassed for his sake.
• The man slips on mud and falls asleep in the middle of the road. Some people pass him by and no one helps him. This doesn't sit right with Jun and after a moment of observation he takes a deep breath and stands up, walking out of the alley. He tries to nudge Ren awake so that he doesn't have to actually drag him, knowing how hard that would be on his body. Ren mumbles some shit drunkenly and Jun is annoyed that he has to do this, but no one else is. He struggles to lift the man and it hurts drastically but Jun manages to bring him into the alley.
• There's not much room for both of them in his shelter, but he takes pity on the man and lets Ren have the shelter. Stressful, but it feels good when Jun does the right thing and helps others. He wonders how the man ended up in his situation aloud.
• Pov shift/cut. We get a detailed run down of Ren's time in Glimmering Bay until now. He's been on a bender since arriving and the town had grown to both love and hate the man. Where Ren went, gold and trouble poured from the heavens in equal measure. He'd sampled the finest foods, the finest drinks (not saying much) and the finest women he could get his hands on. He'd cleaned out any gambling den he'd visited and things have just been wild.
• He's been getting annoyed though. No matter what method of checking his fortune he tried, everything kept telling him to stick around here for some gods forsaken reason he couldn't determine. There was nothing to do here that he couldn't do elsewhere. No misadventures to get into, no rival immortals who might provide a challenge, nothing. He was starting to think lingering wasn't worth it, but his mantra had not provided him such clear guidance in... well, it'd been a while. If there really was some reason he should be here, it was important for his advancement that he put up with it until Fortune delivered him to his fated destination or started telling him something new.
• Which led to today's circumstances, seeing him drinking from the moment he woke up and getting kicked out of an tgeatre for being an obnoxious douchebag. He was drunkenly pointing out historical inaccuracies in the story as if he'd been there himself, which to be fair, he had. A lot could be said of Wufei Ren, but at the very least he wasn't the sort of refiner to flaunt his strength or act superior just because he's a sage. He bowed out less than respectfully when asked to leave, and was on the way back to his current lodging before his alcohol got the most of him.
• Now he stirred awake and his head was pounding. This isn't something that should happen to a sage but that'll be addressed below. He sees Jun and looks at his surroundings, guessing he went and made a mess of himself didn't he. Jun confirms and asks if the man is alright. He could put any of the town's drunkards to shame, he's unsure if he'd ever seen someone so drunk before in his life. Ren brags that he's not the type to do things half-heartedly, and that applies to all things in life.
• Jun thinks that's a nice way to live and is envious, and Ren comments I suppose you would be. Interesting soul you got there, kid. Jun is surprised at the sudden comment and asks how he can tell, asks what level of soul refiner he is. Ren only says he's pretty high up there at first. He wants to get the story straight. You helped me in here and gave me your shelter even though it must've hurt like hell? Why?
• Jun says it was the right thing to do and no one else was helping the man so it might as well be him. Ren is amused, says he's found himself a do-gooder type. Not his personal favorite kind of bedfellow but it's always an amusing distraction to hear those types out. He asks Jun for his story. How'd he end up like this. He lists some potential causes comedically. Some arrogant young master? Attacked by a chaos spirit? Drink a faulty elixir?
• Jun tells him the abridged life story and Ren doesn't really feel swayed one way or another. When you've been alive as long as he has, you've heard a thousand such stories. It's sad, sure, but none of his business. He asks a leading question, believing Jun to just be another of the kind of guy he's met. If you were cured you'd probably devote your life to vengeance on those assholes, huh? Getting even? Maybe do a little bloodline purge?
• Jun is taken aback by the strangeness of Ren and his questioning but he starts to express some of his more complex thoughts. He doesn't want vengeance, he wants justice. Ren personally hates justice type guys, because in his view it's just assholes looking to justify their brutal revenge under the pretense of still being good people. Boring. Messing with these types is always fun and Ren poses a once in a life time opportunity to Jun.
• Convince me it's worth doing and I'll stitch your soul back together in the blink of an eye. Jun is quiet before outright laughing at the offer. He gets that this guy is some rich soul refiner, but doesn't believe for a second that it's within in his capabilities. Ren is mock offended and says he's being serious. He doesn't really intend to heal him, but offering the chance might prove amusing if nothing else, and Ren did occasionally have a soft spot from time to time so Jun's chances weren't 0.
• Ren asks is it really so hard to believe you might've just had a fortuitous meeting with the person you've been waiting for your entire life? Jun says he has it on good authority that only someone past the mortal realm of refinement could heal him- someone on a sage's level at the bear minimum. Ren asks what about a Greater sage? Jun is still amused by all of this, wondering how much booze it takes to get a man this absolutely trashed. He'd heard from books that alcohol has almost no effect on sages and that they'd have to voluntarily let it poison themselves to get drunk.
• Ren counters is it that hard for Jun to imagine that even sages go through rough patches? Just because you're immortal it doesn't make drinking any less fun if you don't want it to. Jun is still dismissive, but Ren takes a single breath and purges the alcohol from his system. He visibly looks quite different in the matter of seconds, going from looking like a man on a multi-week bender to one of the most handsome men Jun has ever seen- in a scraggy, scruffy way. His clothes still look dirty as hell though.
• Ren tells Jun to assume that he really is a sage. Points out he has nothing to lose from trying to convince him he's worth saving. If Jun is right and he's not a sage, his life continues on as normal. If Jun's wrong and he manages to convince Ren, well... he might have just made a powerful ally.
• Pov shift back to Jun.
• Jun doesn't know what to make of this man. He's more than he appears, that much is clear. Jun doesn't like how he's treating his condition as something that could be swatted away if only Jun could convince this man to care, and gets the impression that Ren is kind of a scumbag. It reinforces his belief that most soul refiners are just selfish and cruel, eager to taunt and toy with those below them, but...
• If he really is a sage... then this is indeed the moment he was waiting for. He can't afford not to play Ren's game. Jun starts off simply, saying if he was cured he would become a soul refiner like he's always wanted. Ren points out that it'd almost be worthless. You lost out on your childhood, which is where a big part of your foundation comes from. It'd be like trying to build a sand castle with dry sand and he'd be unlikely to ever become as strong as the top people on this island.
• Jun knows that but he would still try. He lists some folk lore examples of people who'd been in similar situations as him and they all became sages or beyond. Ren says sure that's possible but meeting a sage and getting cured might be using up all the luck you've got. You want two miracles on top of each other? Not very likely but he admires the optimism.
• Jun goes into detail about how his condition used to be so bad that it was only ever expected he could take a few steps out of bed at most. He built on that with nothing but his determination to not have to shit his pants every day of his life and regained much more mobility than was ever thought possible. Ren laughs, believing that's as good a motivation as any. Admits Jun has spunk and Ren doesn't entirely dislike that, but he's more worried about what Jun would do with that power if he ever managed to accrue any. You call it justice, but you just want revenge on this Sasei clan, don't you?
• Jun reiterates his justice stance but concedes that there is a personal motive behind it. He was wronged. His family was wronged. He wants fairness for that, yes, but am I going to march into their complex and slaughter every man woman and child? No. His enemy is Sasei Li first and foremost, along with whoever murdered his sister, and if others come in between me and them I'll have to judge them on an individual basis.
• Ren isn't impressed. Jun at least sounds a lot more sensible than other types like this he's dealt with, but they never have an answer for the next part. Let's say you do all that and get your personal justice. What comes next for you? What do you do with the rest of your life?
• Surprisingly, Jun doesn't have to think long to come up with his answer. He's speaking from the heart. He expresses some of the thoughts he's gained from a life as a cripple, his musings on fairness and the lack of it in the world, the guaranteed suffering of living and how no one is doing anything about it. If it was possible, Jun would like to become strong enough to be the one to do something about all of this.
• Now Ren is amused as hell. That's loftier than most of the do-gooders he's chatted up have ever aspired to, and all this coming from a cripple, no less. But Ren starts to change his mind when he sees how serious Jun is. He pushes him on these thoughts, trying to loosen Jun's determination and prove he's just talking a big game and get him to admit how impossible what he wants to accomplish he really is. To truly impact the world on that level, you'd need to rise even higher than Sage. You'd need to become a god.
• That's not even something I've figured out, kid. You think you're better than me?
• Jun quips how he thinks they're around the same level. Both of them are in a crappy alley filled with trash and wearing dirty clothes- Ren's clothes just happen to be a little nicer. This bit of unexpected humor warms Ren a little further to Jun as he can't really dispute that. Still, he reiterates just how impossible it would be to make a difference in this world. It's huge. This crappy island of yours is a pebble compared to the giant stage of the wider world, and the suffering you've experienced isn't even a drop in the bucket.
• Jun explains his vision of a world where the weak are provided for, where people like him are given the help they need, tragedies are prevented before they can even begin, and the wicked are punished appropriately for their crimes.
• Ren has a near spiritual moment here akin to a sermon listener being converted by the preacher. All the stuff this kid is saying is stupid. Childish. Unimaginable and totally unrealistic. The sort of righteous shit that Ren would laugh and roll his eyes at- and yet he wasn't laughing. He was actually sort of... rooting for the kid.
• Ren had spent hundreds and hundreds of years chasing his own interests and if he'd ever made anyone's life better, it was either incidental or because he'd had something to gain from it. And yet this crippled kid despite his life of suffering has still made it here with not only a heart- but a big one, at that. Maybe bigger than Ren had ever seen.
• He's still a cynic. He doesn't think any of it will come to pass, but part of him wants to at least see what would happen if this kid had a shot at all the crazy things he wants to make happen. Whether his justice would consume him like it does others, or if he could remain true to himself and strive to build an ideal world.
• Ren has to admit, seeing what came of it would be pretty entertaining one way or another.
• He shrugs and unceremoniously says well alright you got me. Jun, still not taking him seriously despite the change in attitude, smiles and relaxes. Cool. Guess this is the part where you heal me, then. Ren casually touches his finger to Jun's chest and congratulates him.
• Jun doesn't feel anything which is unsurprising since he didn't get his hopes up, but Ren just tells him to wait for a second, and then it hits him all at once. It's described as fragments of his heart coming back together and reinforcing themselves, weaving tight and strong. It hurts as its happening. Pulses of chi course through his body and he can feel his own chi for the first time. Faintly, he was never trained to do it, but it's there. it's actually cycling through him like it's supposed to.
• Jun looks at Ren in disbelief, who is smiling smugly. Jun can't believe it- and with only a brief touch of his finger, at that. He remembered how much effort Jileng Wen put into trying to heal him, as well as all the others. This was the power of a sage. Ren says skepticism is healthy, but sometimes people really are who they say they are.
• The reality starts to settle in, and Jun stands up and actually tests it once his heart settles down. He's able to move completely fine, he can run, jump, and he even tries out some of the martial arts moves he was doing back as a kid in the first chapter. Ren comments on how sloppy they are and how he's got a long way to go. Maybe if he works as hard as he says he will he'll reach Clouded Initiate in a decade or so.
• Jun is incredibly thankful and goes full stop praising him and so on, to the point that it makes Ren embarrassed. He isn't used to doing good things out of the kindness of his heart, but this feeling wasn't a bad one. Still, Ren tries to leave the conversation saying maybe they'll meet again if Ren ever feels like it's worth the effort of checking in on him again someday, but Jun stops him before he can go.
• Jun circles the conversation backwards. Reminds Ren that he said it would take a second miracle to ever catch up to others. Ren worries about where this is going, but he inquires further. Jun wishes to beg for a second miracle- to be trained by a sage.

Ren Accepts/Sasei Stuff

• Ren is not having it, but he is amused by the balls it took to ask. He puts it clear that he's not the taking on disciples type and he's more of the float around looking for any sort of entertainment he can squeak out of existence type. He's no teacher and Jun would be better off looking for some local sect. Soak up what you can of the basics, and then ditch them. Sects just lead to weakness in the long run. Not much room for true innovation surrounded by people hyperfocused on one thing.
• Jun can't let this chance slip from his grasp. He will never get another chance to be trained by a sage, and doing so would make up for lost time and then some. Jun tries to argue that he might find it fun. He's never done it before so maybe you might be missing out? Ren finds that unlikely. His attention span is fleeting and unlikely to be rooted in one spot for too long. Jun says then he should make it entertaining, then.
• Push me as far as you like, and if I bend or break we can call the whole thing off. Ren's imagination starts to consider the possibilities. That might actually be fun if he thought of Jun as less of a disciple and more of an entertaining experiment. A blank canvas to see how far he can push things in an attempt to catch this kid up to speed. Still, Ren forces himself to dismiss the idea and says he's still not into it and that Jun should be grateful he did as much for him as he already did.
• As Ren makes to leave, he stops before taking the first step. He gets a bad feeling about leaving and becomes suspicious, hoping this doesn't mean what he thinks it means. Jun watches as Ren goes through multiple fortune telling methods in front of him, but to him it just looks like he's doing a bunch of nonsense. Each one makes Ren increasingly frustrated as they all provide the same answer.
• Ren says he may have been a little hasty. Jun doesn't understand the change of heart but is very grateful, already addressing him as master. Ren is like nope, no, none of that and tries to make this a lot more informal. I'm not training you, I'm just going to look after you until I get bored of it, you make it to clouded initiate, or you break. Whichever comes first, got that? Jun is more than okay with these terms but Ren is still disgruntled.
• Jun tries to ask why he's agreed if he doesn't want to do it, and Ren explains that on the path of soul refinement you'll end up hitting a lot of roadblocks, especially the longer you live. Some last longer than others, and it feels like you'll be stuck where you're at forever. Everyone's different, and sometimes the road you have to take isn't always the one you want to. Jun asks if he's saying that hanging around him will help Ren advance but gets a vague answer about fortune being a really shitty post to hitch yourself to. Will this one individual thing get me out of my rut? No, probably not, but who knows how cause and effect will play out.
• Whatever the reason, Ren knows one thing. Jun's a lot luckier than Ren is right now. He asks if he's got anything in this shitheap he needs to bring along, anyone he wants to say goodbye to, Jun says no. Good, we're wasting enough time as it is. When Jun asks where they're going, Ren makes a meta joke about this island probably having some large uninhabited plains/wilderness, yeah? Places like that are the gold standard when you're just starting out, so let's get going.
• He summons a flying cloud which Jun marvels at but Ren dismisses as not a big deal and he doesn't have to make a big thing about it. Ren hops up and extends his hand to Jun, which he takes with determination. This is his chance, and he aims to squeeze this sage for all he can get.
• Cut to Shan pov. He and a lot of other Sasei clan are at the base of a cave, Frostflow Peak visible in the far distance. His pet green snake is coiled around his arm during this entire scene, and she seems more aware than your typical animal and will react to the conversation at times. (note, I will be going back and making sure this snake is drawn attention to when Shan appears as a child in chapter 1 as well).
• Things have picked up lately thanks to a new alliance Li had managed to secure, some sect of anger/fire users. Sect of the Raging Flame, perhaps. Long time rivals of the Jileng clan. Li had been courting them for years and they were unimpressed, but after Li's breakthrough to Clear Initiate, that impressed them enough to enter into a formal alliance.
• Shan doesn't like any of this. He doesn't care for their new allies, and he doesn't care for the changes going on with his father. It started before his advancement, but it's only gotten worse. He's keeping to himself for days at a time locked up alone, emerging only to share new details of his schemes, order people around, and meet with their allies.
• This is one such meeting. The head of the sect leads them into the cave and it's revealed that this place is something they've been working on for a very long time. Their elders have secretly veiled themselves and melted a path straight into the heart of the mountain right behind the Jileng territory. Li is quite impressed, they indeed have quite a trump card. Physically he looks more evil, wearing a hood that obscures his face and his voice sounds darker than it used to.
• Shan speaks his concern, asking if the Jileng truly didn't notice the tunnel's construction. The counterpoint is pretty fair. Why wouldn't the Jileng have stopped them if they were aware an enemy was digging straight into their home? Shan can think of a few good reasons but doesn't voice them. Li simply says his son is cautious, as any man should be. Launching a two pronged ambush attack on the mountain should be feasible in perhaps half a year, Li thinks.
• Shan thinks about this, if he's really ready for what all that entails. He wants to please his father, but the Jileng clan have never personally wronged him, and he knows they need the Cave of Silent Souls to gain recognition from the main clan, but he still has tons of reservations. Li is only a clear beginner but Jileng Wen is a clear initiate, and they have a few more clear beginners on their side whereas Li is the only one they have. He's tried telling his father all this, but he won't listen to reason these days.
• Li is excited to begin the preparations and get the main clan to accept his son. Li says when Shan gets access to the Cave it'll make him much stronger, and Shan offers some false enthusiasm. He doesn't want to kill an entire clan for his own advancement but knows there's no way out of it, only hoping for the best.
• After these preparations are done, Shan slinks off to be alone and the snake coiled on his arm takes a human form, revealing herself to be Shan’s contracted sacred beast and lover. She acts as his voice of reason, and is a very sly and sarcastic girl. Flat chested and sleek with dark green hair and distinct vine-snake eyes.
• Her name is Yanmei, and she was a gift from Shan’s deceased mother who he slowly raised into ascending. Yanmei was close with Shan’s mother as well and continually points out what she would and wouldn’t agree with.
• Shan and Yanmei discuss what just happened and we see a lot of his reservations come from her sowing seeds of doubt in his mind. Shan still defends what they have to do, justifying that clans fight wars all the time and they will be in a better standing with the main clan once they take control of the cave.
• Yanmei counters not if we all die in the battle. The plan has too many holes in it and Shan knows it. He knows, but he has to go along with it. He can’t just leave his family to die. She can’t fully relate, being a snake and all that. Not a species known for strong family bonds, but Shan reminds her she’s more than a snake now and she has been for quite a while.
• Well if I’m more than a snake, what’s stopping you? Shan pointedly doesn’t answer this question, instead saying something he’d heard recently. There’s another reason he’s interested in going through the battle besides the cave, and he reveals to Yanmei that it’s rumored the Jileng have some sacred liquor in their possession. Enough for a spiritual marriage, and his father has already told Shan he’ll give it to him.
• Yanmei tries to keep cool about this but admits that changes things a little. Shan asks if she’ll say yes, but she’s embarrassed and says get the booze first if you want my answer. They’ve got a lot of training to do.

Training 1

• After a day of fast paced travel on the cloud, Ren has led him to a location that feels right to him and he sets up an area. First thing he does is place seven banners in a circle formation around the camp, which he says will veil the place strong enough that no one on the island will be able to sense them. We get shown that at least one of Ren's affinities is earth, as makes good use of it in his construction. He makes a training ground, a meditation room that he fills up with mysterious crystals, and a shelter for Jun that he furnishes with a summoned bed and nothing else. Ren is constantly pulling crap out of his sleeves with magic during the act. Jun notices he doesn't make himself a shelter but Ren says Sages are above sleep and that it's just a luxury at that point.
• Ren is done in under an hour, which is very impressive.
• Ren is eager not to waste time and says training starts as of today, the first day of the third month. It's time for orientation. He gives Jun a rundown of what to expect. Ren makes it very clear he's going to try to have fun with this, and that Ren having fun means Jun will not be having fun. It will be hard. He's going to try to cram years and years worth of training into however long they spend together. Ren believes he can probably get Jun up to Clouded Initiate in a bit over two years. Jun is shocked but Ren says they could do it faster, but strong foundations and all that. Reminds Jun that if he gives up or Ren gets bored, that's it.
• When I'm done with you, you'll have expert control over your chi and body and will be ready to engrave a mantra onto his soul and become an initiate. Brief exposition on what that means.
• He expects Jun to do whatever he says at all times, to eat what he's told, drink what he's told, and so on. Jun is starting to sense some red flags but he's in too deep now and won't back off. First thing Ren says is put on this ring, and tosses him one. Jun does but doesn't get an explanation for now- this is that trust thing we were talking about, my student. Just go with it. So Jun does.
• The way they're going to do this is training his soul and body on alternating days. Today is soul day, which most of the time will be done in the meditation room until you're ready for some more advanced stuff. He leads him into the room and gives a lazy explanation of the furnishings before tossing Jun an elixir that he almost fumbles. Not used to having motor skills and Ren warns him how expensive that thing is. Maybe give me warning and don't throw it? That wouldn't be fun.
• He has him drink it and Jun feels nothing initially before toppling over and feeling like his brain is being ripped in half by two invisble hands. Ren thinks hm, that's potent. Should clear up soon. He explains that the thing is making it easier to sense and control one's own chi and that it's best if you take it while you're young, but it should still have the same effect. It'll just hurt more until he's adjusted.
• Jun regains composure and Ren gives a basic exercise. He's to stretch his arms, focus on the chi in one finger tip, and slowly bring it to the other one. Ren gives a visual example but shows off. When Jun tries it for himself, he has trouble and can barely sense his chi. That's to be expected, but focus on what you can. Jun does so for the rest of the day while Ren slacks off nearby, amusing himself with books and scrolls of a certain nature. To be fair, Ren would chime in every now and then with helpful advice and at the end of the day Jun is able to slowly bring his chi down the length of one bicep.
• Ren is a little impressed but tries not to show it, then says such hard work deserves a reward and he's going to cook up a nice dinner for his student. Jun is immediately suspicious, and this proves warranted when Ren fries up like twelve comical steaks that don't smell like any meat Jun's ever seen along with some glowing rice. Jun is expected to eat all of them. One bite of the stuff causes sensory overload, so Ren explains it's meat from a rancher who raises sacred cows who owed him a favor once. Each bite is packed with extreme nutrients that'll increase the benefits of physical and mental training, but only for rookies like you. Still valuable to keep around, though. Jun asks where he's even keeping this stuff and Ren enjoys playing the role of mysterious mentor more than he lets on.
• Ren goads him into finishing his meal, taunting the kid by picking one steak up and eating it himself saying look at how easy it is for me! Why can't you do it, huh? In a douchey but fun way. This does motivate Jun to keep going and he forces himself through the gigantic dinner. It's made him so sleepy he can't go on and he begs for help to get to his bed, but Ren says he can sleep in his bed if he makes it there himself. Jun crawls bloated and passes out in the attempt. His ring shines as his consciousness fades.
• Alone, Ren decompresses and is like fuck this is way more fun than I thought it would be.
• Day two. Ren wakes Jun up a literal hour later. Jun doesn't understand what time it is, wonders how long he slept. He feels pretty rested but not quite- an annoying feeling like he was just shy of perfect sleep. The ring's purpose is explained. It makes Jun only need one hour of sleep and it helps his metabolism digest and process food way faster. You'll probably need to go to the bathroom pretty soon, so-
• It hits Jun like a truck and Jun rushes to the outhouse. He returns very dehydrated and already exhausted. You ready for body day, champ? Jun thinks this has to be a joke, but Ren reminds him that this is exactly what Jun wanted. You want a shortcut by training with a sage, that's fair, but it's not gonna be an easy one. How much does your precious justice mean to you, huh? Surely this isn't enough to drive you away, right?
• Jun summons up conviction and after wiping the dehydration sweat from his forehead he asks what's for breakfast. Ren likes his answer but jokes he's only feeding him once a day. Let's go and see how well you can use that patched up body of yours, huh?
• Cut to the end of spring. It's a body day. Jun is at first meditating with a calm mind in the middle of the training field before sparing against a series of rotating wooden posts powered by Ren's earth powers. We hear about some of his physical training and his fighting style passed on by Ren. Jun is topless and covered in sweat. His body is now covered in muscle, and he's keeping up with the posts despite how hard Ren is making it for him. Ren is constantly giving false warnings and creating distractions in the environment to try and trip Jun up, but his mind is sharper than it once was and they don't get to him.
• The moment he was waiting for arrives- one of the posts briefly flashes a button that wasn't there before. He only has precious seconds to strike, but he does, disabling that one and exploding it dramatically. Ren gives compliments but throws in more posts as a surprise ambush. Jun is annoyed, but keeps up. He's able to use chi to enhance his body now, and he starts dipping into it. Ren says go easy on it and take only what you need, you're dipping into it too fast again. Jun dials back how much chi he's using and continues keeping up with the posts until all of them flare their disable buttons at once. A very unfair move. Jun has to use more chi to strike them all at once, and he manages to do so even though it hurts.
• Ren clears the field and congratulates his student. Jun can't tell if this is sincere or not, but Ren soon gives the impression that it is. He's admittedly a little impressed. Jun has just about mastered the bare basics of utilizing his chi, thought for sure it'd take till the end of summer to get to that point. Jun asks what's next, and it'll be about sensing chi around you and controlling it outside your body. Ren gives some exposition and points out how Jun can't sense what Ren is doing unless Ren makes a point of it. Learning how to sense it in the area around you is also a core part of development as you've got to feel outside energy to draw it in and make yourself stronger.
• Jun is eager to continue his training and is handed a blindfold. He immediately gets the sense that this is going to be bad for him, isn't it. Ren stresses yes. Painful, too, but in my experience pain is the best teacher. Jun puts it on and takes a battle stance at Ren's suggestion, only to get pelted by a ball made of earth Ren shoots at him. Each projectile has a trace of Ren's chi put into it and Jun will need to rely on his senses to stop the assault.
• On soul days, he's going to work on expanding his spiritual awareness beyond his body through meditation and then shape his chi outside of his body like how Ren does for demonstrative purposes. Jun is determined, but Ren starts wondering about his teaching thus far. He wonders if he's doing right by this kid and if he could be doing more, but then he realizes how crazy it is that he cares so much and tries to mentally shut out that part of him partially for comedy's sake but it'll lead to something in a bit.
• Cut to the final days of summer, where we get a run through of Jun's training. He's learned to sense changes in chi pressure in the surroundings and can fire off basic chi blasts with his chi. Each one takes an effort from him, but he's able to blast each oncoming rock as they fly at him. He sees each one in his mind's eye, their chi plain as day. Ren is watching this in amazement. Jun has totally outdone his expectations again, and he's starting to feel a weird sort of fatherly pride in the kid after torturing him day in and day out every day for six months. Not that he'll admit to it.
• Ren wants to push him further, so he ups the difficulty level by joining the training session himself. Without announcing it and veiling his power and sounds, he jumps in front of Jun while the rocks keep flying in at different angles. He thrusts his palm at Jun, who reacts to the threat accordingly. Jun calls his master out on this, but Ren teases how soul refiners talk about honor a lot but in an actual fight you've gotta be prepared for the moment you get blindsided. Jun has to contend with dodging Ren's attacks and blasting away the rocks at the same time until Ren finally announces he's seen enough. Jun has officially made it past the second stage of his training.
• Jun takes his blindfold off and allows himself to fall on the dirt in exhaustion, but Ren summons a cloud before that can happen and brings Jun to the camp area. Jun wants to know what's next, and is shocked to hear Ren say that it can wait and he thought they'd take the rest of the night off. Jun wonders if Ren is feeling okay. Ren counters that Jun is the guy who just crammed a year's worth of training into six months. Jun wonders if Ren is worried about his precious disciple but Ren dismisses the notion again before admitting that maybe he's a little worried, yeah.
• Ren summons up some booze and offers Jun a cup. Jun is wary if this is some sort of elixir that's going to fuck him up and Ren realizes he's conditioned this kid to constantly expect the worst, which is admittedly fair. He just wants to share a drink and talk about those worries. Ren admits he may have something beginning to resemble a smidgen of fondness for Jun and while he was initially cool with setting him out on his path of vengeance before, he now wants to make sure that he ends up with a life outside of that, too.
• Ren wants to know more about him. What interests him outside of training, and so on. Jun is taken aback by all this, but he opens up reluctantly to his master over his first drink. He talks about enjoying to read, how he liked to do things with his sister, and stuff like that. When Ren gets him talking about his sister, Jun ends up awkwardly asking about sexual refinement. Ren is not prepared to have this discussion. Jun says he knows the birds and the bees so he can skip that part, obviously. Says his sister worked at a brothel for such things and he wants to know more about it.
• Ren can personally attest to it that it's a very valid form of training, laying out some of the basics and benefits to it, but generally speaking a brothel is not how you want to go about it. It's more effective with someone you have feelings for, and if you're spiritually married to them, that's even better.
• Jun has heard of this through his books but gets more clarification from Ren about the whole thing (emphasis on the bonuses to doing it with spirits to set up Miao later). Ren sees how he's taking it and asks if that's something he would be interested in doing with a girl one of these days, but Jun gets a little depressive. Jun admits to having just as much an interest in girls as any other guy his age, probably a little more since he went so long without any attention. He's only been a burden on other people his whole life and he's afraid that if he ever got close to someone then they would be dragged into his personal quest. Ren says that's just a matter of finding the right girl. And some ceremonial booze, that's the hard part. It's very rare and expensive.
• Jun correctly guesses Ren has several bottles of the stuff stashed away with all his other magical junk, and it's revealed that Ren has a few wives running around somewhere, too. Jun doesn't know how to take that. Ren is a romantic, believing that nothing in life is better than a good woman.
• Either way, Ren is just happy to know that there's genuinely more to Jun than his ambition. It's good to have a purpose, but if you don't experience what life has to offer along the way, you'll regret it. Ren offers Jun another cup, but pauses as he senses something far off in the horizon. He looks at Frostflow Peak and Jun asks what's wrong, but Ren says it's nothing, he just picked up on a battle going down. Ren mumbles something about it not being his business and sages aren't really supposed to stick their noses in local affairs when it comes to backwater islands like these. Word eventually gets back to the mainland and even Ren has people he'd have to answer to if he went around playing at messiah.
• Jun is worried at the direction he was staring, recognizing Frostflow Peak as the home of the Jileng clan. Though he only had one encounter with their matriarch, he hopes it's nothing that bad. Rather than worry about something that's out of his hands, though, he focuses on sharing drinks with his master.

Post Jileng Massacre

• (A note first. The actual battle itself will not be shown, which is mainly to obscure Li's transformation and Shan's actions during that night. The truth will be revealed a few books down when it's time to focus on Jileng Lixue, but I'm thinking that during the chaos Shan had a change of heart during his battle with her and spared her, giving her the chance to escape as he struggles with his guilt. Will be an ongoing mystery of what specifically happened.)
• Shan stood in the ancestral home of the Jileng clan in the aftermath of what could only be described as hell. Yanmei is by his side and she’s wearing fur clothing lined with heating talismans on the inside to help with her cold-bloodedness. She’s comforting him, because it was all really, really bad.
• He'd been right in his assessments all those months ago- the Jileng knew they were coming and they were there waiting to counter ambush them on both fronts, but that was where his predictions ended. Nothing else had gone the way he thought it would, and very little casualties had occurred on their side of things. As for the Jileng, they were officially wiped out one and all.
• Everything is a blur as Shan recalls scattered details about the night, giving us fleeting glimpses of the horrors he witnessed. Of the man who used to be his father. Piles of Jileng and their men are being hauled onto a pyre where the raging flame cultists celebrate by lighting their old enemies aflame, and the mood is jovial for all the villains present. Drinks are being shared and compounds being raided- anything that wasn't part of the main hall was up for grabs. It was chaos out there, and Shan can't stand it, but he can't stand being inside the main hall with his father, either.
• Xiusho shows up and Shan greets his uncle, and the two have a brief conversation about the battle which reveals a bit more. Yanmei goes back to her snake form, which is similarly wearing what looks like a fur-lined tube sock. The Sasei aren’t the most respectful towards spirits so she assumes this form when Shan is around his elders, though Xiusho does at least give a token greeting to his nephew’s spirit partner.
• Shan keeps up his airs of going along with it all, but does end up pressing Xiusho on the topic of Li. He asks his uncle if any of this truly sits well with him, knowing what Li did? Xiusho is clearly scared of his older brother, especially now that he's even stronger. He reminds his nephew that's no way to talk about his honored father, but Shan doesn't think there's much honor left in the man if ever there was.
• He's not a man. He's a monster. Xiusho cannot deny this, but that monster is going to make all of their lives a lot better. You'll get access to the Cave, and Xiusho hopes that Paoshi will be allowed to use it in time as well, once he's finally redeemed himself in the eyes of the clan. Shan says Paoshi is lucky he wasn't here- he wouldn't have survived. No, probably not.
• A goon brings Shan summons from his father to join him in the main hall. Shan reluctantly leaves his uncle and enters, painting a picture of the estate still covered in the scars of battle. Blood and ice and fire everywhere. Real grim. When Shan sees his father, an unflattering description is given and we learn he's still covered in blood- specifically the blood of Jileng Wen. The thought makes Shan shudder, and it's implied she had  a very unpleasant fate at the hands of Li. She got him good, though, and Li is missing his left arm from the elbow down. It's bandaged up already.
• Li is overjoyed to see his son and Shan continues to feign his support. We've finally done it, after all these years. Now the main clan will take me back and you will finally have the life you deserve, my son. He asks Shan about his battles that night, having been too busy with everything else to pay attention. He heard Shan fought Wen's daughter, however.
• Shan is reserved but admits that yes, he did. She was a worthy opponent. Li asks if it felt good, taking the girl's life. He's very into the idea of it, showing his more monstrous side. Like he's asking for details on if she suffered and shit. Unnerving. Shan is vague, only saying that he gave her the fate she deserved. That's enough for Li to believe his son, delighting in the fact that the daughter of Jileng Wen is now nothing more than smoke rising from a pyre. Wen was tougher than Li expected, but god was it satisfying.
• Shan stops him from detailing the slaying too much stopping us from learning her ultimate fate, but we know it cause Shan disgust to think about. He asks what his father wanted from him and Li asks if a father needs an excuse to celebrate with his son. Shan respectfully says that this was his first large scale battle and though he's taken a life before in his training, death on such a scale has dampened his enthusiasm for celebration.
• Li laments on how he never could strip Shan of that kind heart of his, but supposes every man must have his flaw. Shan finds irony in this. So you don't want to celebrate. That's fine. How about we check the spoils, at least?
• Shan concedes, wishing to see this cave that was apparently worth the slaughter of so many lives. They venture into the cave hidden below the main compound and the air grows rich with natural energy until the tunnels transition into being all crystal-y and spirit-y. The power in this cave is truly magnificent, even Shan has to admit. Even their best training rooms likely didn't have one tenth the power. The gentleness of the aura benefits some mantras and affinities better than others, but anyone would see a general boost in performance. He wonders how long it would take him to reach the peak of Clouded Master in such a place.
• Li is feeling rejuvenated by the powerful energies here as well, and the conversation is cut off as Li goes partially monster mode- straight up regenerating his arm like a lizard. Shan is horrified at what he sees and cannot take it anymore.
• He changes topics to something that would put him in a better mood, asking if any sacred liquor was found like was promised. Li says yes, there was, but there’s no need to be hasty. Shan doesn’t understand. Li gives Yanmei permission to reveal herself, which she apprehensively does.
• Li makes it very clear that while she has proven an invaluable asset to Shan’s development, he does not approve of squandering sacred liquor to bonding such a low class spirit. If we had an excess of the stuff, sure. But there’s only enough for one union, and there has to be a higher class spirit they can find to marry Shan.
• Yanmei is devastated but terrified of Li, she respectfully agrees and defers to him. Shan is not so tactful. He gets angry. This isn’t what was promised but Li takes his son’s defiance not so well- angrily reminding the boy that everything he has done was for Shan’s benefit. This, too. He won’t have him make a rash decision out of love when it would hinder his development.
• Li offers to give Shan the chance to make his case through battle, but Shan backs down at last and asks his father for forgiveness. Li is happy he sees it his way, then at Shan’s request he leaves his son and his snake alone in the cave to meditate.
• Alone, they have another exchange about how bad everything was. He was tired of every decision in his life being made for him, but Yanmei tries to reason with Shan that his father has a point. He says she’s only saying that because of her survival instincts and that he terrifies her, which is true. Shan asks doesn’t she want to spiritually marry him and she reveals of course she does, but... going against your father...
• You’ve seen what he did tonight. That man is no longer my father, he’s shed his skin and become a monster. They both agree that Shan’s mother would be horrified at what Li did tonight, and when asked what Shan plans to do about this, he sits down and starts to meditate. The only thing he knows how to do- become stronger.

Training 2

• Phase three of the training is not as out there as the first two. It's just more of the same, but at a wild pace. As the world slows down and gives way to autumn, Jun does not. Double shady elixirs, double the training dummies, and lots of sparring with Ren himself. Every day, Jun is beaten within an inch of his life or sinking to new mental depths to deepen the power of his mind, and his meditation has been focused on his end goal. Ren has been having him dwell on justice and what it means to him to prepare for the final step, the choosing and engraving of a mantra, but that doesn't come until his foundation training is complete.
• One major change in the routine has been ever since their talk at the end of phase two, Ren has been giving Jun an hour before dinner every day to read books that the sage provides him with. Manuals on combat theory, technique scrolls for inspiration, all very rare stuff. Jun appreciates this and his mind has widened even further, the elixirs he's on making it feel as if he's soaking in everything he learns whether it be from a book or from Ren.
• We hear about the differences Jun is feeling these days, how different the world is, and how he hasn't even advanced yet. He's excited for more but is already feeling invincible. Ren's picked up on this, too, and it's not good. We start a sparring session with Ren where we see Jun keeping up and following along with Ren's advice as it goes on. Jun's cockiness is on full display. It's not an arrogant cockiness, it's a naive one. I can handle it. I've got this. Etc.
• Ren tests him on this, pushing up his skills several degrees harder than Jun has ever seen them, essentially fighting at the level of Clouded Master. Jun's confidence shatters the longer this fight goes on, it's very obvious Ren is just toying with him and that makes Jun annoyed. When he's finally struck down, he asks what he was supposed to learn from any of that. It was too much. Exactly. You were supposed to learn you don't got this and you will constantly find yourself pitted against opponents more skilled than you.
• If you keep acting the way you've been acting, you'll get yourself killed. If I have to be the one to beat that growing ego of yours down, then so be it. Jun manages to calm down after stabilizing himself and he is very apologetic for getting like this, but Ren is in fatherly mentor mode and they sit down together and chill again. Ren talks him through what he's feeling and to his credit he totally gets why Jun is acting this way lately. He spent his whole life as a cripple and now he's got a rock solid foundation- no wonder he's feeling like he's king of the world.
• Ren reminds him that he's only bringing him to the rank of clouded apprentice (note to anyone reading, I had mistaken my own tier system. I had initiate as the 2nd step, it's the 1st, and I'd forgotten the 2nd was apprentice) and that after that point it's going to be up to Jun to travel the world and increase his power without Ren's help. He doesn't want to let the kid go and get himself killed just because he wasn't hard enough on him.
• Jun finds the humor in Ren thinking he's not going hard on him, and Ren sees it too. But really it's Jun who's the monster here- he hasn't backed down from a single thing and every time he's knocked down he gets back up. Jun says he owes his success to Ren, and is sorry he let everything get to his head. He formally petitions him to beat it out of him, and Ren says that's going to be a point of the last phase of training before graduation. Jun is surprised at him for bringing it up and asks if this means phase three is over.
• Yup, I think you've got as strong a foundation for CA as I can possibly give you- but we aren't celebrating. We're moving straight ahead just the way you like. On soul days, you're going to be practicing concentrating your chi in one place- the heart. The heart is the vessel for the soul, and it's where you'll engrave your mantras and in the future form your affinity cruxes. Jun wonders how hard this is going to be since he can keep his chi concentrated in one place for a pretty long time.
• To him, a long time is a minute. Ren reveals he'll need to do it for a week straight without eating or sleeping. Oh. Yeah, not feeling too hot now, are you? Ren laughs. It's going to be hell, but it's okay. Body days are going to be worse. Jun asks for clarification and Ren intends to start sparring with Jun on the same level he did today- but even more so- Ren will begin using styles outside of his own and mixing in affinities Jun hasn't seen him use yet. As a sage Jun knows his master has access to far more affinities than most soul refiners do but he's only ever really seen him do earth before. When he's done with Jun, he will never act overconfident again.
• He'll teach him how to not only survive in battles against stronger opponents, but to thrive in such environments. Tells Jun to get ready, as this is going to be a long winter.
• We cut to the end of that but first we run through the training. How hard it is concentrating all his chi in one place for so long, how he continually lets it slip which leads to frustration making it hard to get back to the same place, but there is improvement over time. It's the hardest phase yet, and usually the mental and chi stuff comes easily to Jun.
• At the same time, he would spar with Ren for over twenty hours a day. Ren has started pulling out all the stops and isn't messing around at all. Every attack is laced with killing intent, no matter what affinity he's using. In addition to that, he's even started drawing from his fortune mantra to keep Jun on his toes. Doing so makes the area around Ren lucky or the victims of his attacks unlucky, causing all sorts of random events that drastically change the flow of battle.
• Ren was right, though. Forcing Jun to go up against an insurmountable wall every other day for twenty hours completely put the kid's ego in check, making him humble and realize how far the path ahead really is, especially knowing that Ren isn't even using a fraction of his true power and was hard capping himself at the level of Clouded Master. Still, Jun fights and trains all through winter, never gaining an edge on Ren once even as his chi control improves by leaps and bounds.
• Eventually it got to the point where Jun was able to hold his chi for an entire day, which is where Ren calls off body days to focus entirely on soul and chi control. We see this conversation and it's taking place right at the end of winter. Ren breaks down how advancement works specifically and how exactly you go about engraving a mantra. It's a very painful process where you focus all chi and compact it into the heart and then physically engrave the concept you wish to embody onto your soul like working with a knife in your mind. It must be done and held over a week, and if concentration slips, the changes are undone and you need to restart the process. The good news is that the foundation of this technique is used in every subsequent advancement, just with variations. It's soul purification and returns the soul back to a state closer to its original godly state. Good time for brief lore about the heavenly whole if it hasn't already come up yet.
• Ren and Jun talk about something they've been putting off, mainly because of how it didn't really need to be said. But now that it's time to start actually considering it, Ren has some things to say about Jun's choice of mantra. We learn about mantra in more detail now. It flavors your chi, and at later levels, you'll mix it with affinities to create strange techniques all your own. The mantra you choose is the core to how you advance, as you have to act in accordance with it- and he warns Jun that justice is an incredibly finnicky mantra. Strong, yes, but it requires incredible diligence and dedication, and if you slip off of your path, it might abandon you until you've course corrected.
• Jun asks if Ren thinks Justice doesn't suit him. Quite the opposite, he thinks Jun is a straight enough arrow to thrive with the justice mantra and all the ups and downs it might bring, but it's not like other, simpler mantras that are easier to advance by comparison. Ren is less flustered about saying this kind of junk by now but he's still somewhat embarrassed when he says I'm your master. It's my duty to warn you about shit like this.
• Jun is grateful for Ren's guidance and he's ready to begin preparing for his graduation. There's a lingering moment of somberness between them as they know they'll go their separate ways after this, but neither has any regrets. It's time to advance.

Graduation

• We get told about Jun's struggles to keep his chi concentrated for more than one day and how it improves bit by bit. It turns out that missing out on his sole hour of sleep wasn't that big of a deal, though that was mostly helped by the elixirs Ren had him on. Wherever he was pulling them from, Jun figures Ren has a near infinite supply of resources. This is set up for a line later, but he guesses Fortune had a literal effect at times, too.
• It takes Jun around a month to consistently hold his chi in his heart for a week straight, and then begins the engravement process. Ren had explained it multiple times but it's not something you can really understand before just doing it yourself, so that's what happens. As soon as Jun first attempts it he finds how painful it is and it's impossible to hold it for more than a few seconds. Undaunted, Jun keeps going and going with the engravement, carving each stroke of the character for justice into his soul while slowly getting better at doing so. He'd be locked in the meditation room for days at a time, and Ren changed up the treasures arranged in the room to allow for easier advancement and it still hardly made a difference.
• This is the hardest thing he's done so far, but Jun focuses on his ideal of justice, what led him here, all he's gone through to get here, and the path he's going to take moving forward. It's enough to keep him going until Jun can hold the engraving for an hour, and then a day, and so on, until finally the day arrives. He was locked in a trance so powerful that he'd lost track of time so when it happened, it took him by surprise.
• The advancement feels astonishing and euphoric, a truly life changing rush as power surges through Jun and he feels himself become attuned with the sense of justice itself. It's described that it feels like justice is a part of him, and he is an extension of the concept. Nothing he'd read about it could've prepared him for what that actually feels like.
• Sensing the change, Ren bursts in and congratulates the boy with fanfare. Jun is emotional and grateful about everything. For so long he never thought this would be possible, but now... Ren is flustered but sighs and tells him to knock it off. We're past all that. He helps Jun up and Ren decides to have him see the powers he now has first hand. They have a sparring battle with the style Ren used most, earth, and Jun is able to keep up better, sense the flow of chi better, and manages to end the spar with an actual strike to Ren's chest. It hurts tremendously because of the Sage's body, but Jun has never felt so proud of pain in his life.
• Ren finally admits to how much this meant to all of him, too, and he sees why fortune might've wanted him to experience this. We don't get full insight into him but after so many years of riding fortune's whims Ren had forgotten how to have a connection with someone and he feels a lot more grounded than he has in a long time. Jun jokes if he's going to go and see his wives, but Ren says one thing at a time. They'd kill him right now. Jun gets the sense that he isn't joking and it terrifies him to imagine someone capable of killing Ren.
• They reach the awkward point where they have to talk about what comes next.
• Ren says the world is an even better teacher than he could ever be, so if Jun wants to truly become strong, experience as much of it as possible. Do your justice thing, but make connections, help others, fall in love, and have adventures. That's what they won't tell you in a sect. Forge your own path.
• Jun asks about advancing from apprentice to adept and about choosing his affinities, which leads into one of Ren's farewell gifts. He's going to teach him the very basics of affinities so he has at least some direction before setting off, but figuring it out fully will be his own challenge. Ren takes out the affinity marbles, which Jun recognizes. They used to sell these at his father's shop, but he'd never seen so many different types. Ren reveals there are a ridiculous amount of affinities out there, even things you don't think would be affinities. He gives a few examples, and Ren has collected a lot over the years. He has Jun perform the test, and around ten marbles rise and start performing different effects.
• I don't want to commit too hard on the ones that are shown so only power, protection, healing and lightning will be highlighted. More wiggle room for later if I think of something better. Ren isn't surprised he has a wide range of potential, but he recommends power as a starting point. It'll never fail you, and you can develop more affinities further. It combines well with justice, too. Jun asks if Ren thinks he could pick two to start out with.
• Ren considers this, knowing he would ask. Yes it's possible but he wouldn't ordinarily recommend it. But since it's Jun, he says you might be able to handle it. Jun wants power and protection to start out with- the ability to shield and inflict punishment, the two sides of justice. Ren is supportive, has one more gift to give. On top of the ring. He goes out of his way to mention he can keep that old thing.
• Ren mentions that there's a problem any adventuring soul refiner will face sooner or later- they wind up with so much shit that they don't have anywhere to put it. You'll get weapons, elixirs, treasures, and so on the more you travel, so I'm going to do you a solid and give you a little cheat ahead of schedule. He takes out a bracelet that when rubbed summons a quaint-looking shed. It's unnassuming but Ren says it's bigger on the inside and he can poke around inside later.
• He tells Jun to take extra special care of that treasure, it has some personal significance to him and it's probably the most valuable treasure on this entire island. Jun takes it very seriously, but Ren doesn't stop talking and mumbles about how it will also serve him as a shelter and protect him from the elements. Jun has a moment where he teases his master, saying it almost sounds like you're worried about me. Ren says he's merely protecting his investment, and he'd hate if Jun went and died before he could show him that fair and just world he wanted to create.
• Intimate moment as Jun asks if Ren thinks Jun can actually pull that off now after all he's seen. Ren tells him bluntly that he's still cynical and jaded and no, he doesn't believe that the kind of world Jun is aiming for is possible... but he never would've picked fortune as his mantra if he didn't like to be surprised. That's good enough for Jun and Ren proposes they share some drinks one more time. Jun agrees but he has one last question. Will I see you again? Ren hesitates before joking, if you're lucky.
• Cut to the next morning. Jun awakens on what used to be his training ground, only everything is gone and he has a minor hangover. Ren is nowhere to be scene. Jun figured he was going to pull a stunt like this, but it hurts to be alone again. He'd grown used to his imperfect master that his absence is sorely felt. Jun won't linger on it for long, and he rises and decides on a course of action. He checks out his new home first and foremost before setting off, finding that it's pretty damn nice inside especially after spending a year in a hut made of dirt. It reminds him of the manor he grew up in. There's a living room, a big empty room for storage, a kitchen, bath, and a huge bedroom with a very big bed.
• On the bed is a box that draws Jun's attention. It's giftwrapped and Jun approaches it. There's a small note from Ren on it, saying something like for when you're ready to taste what the world has to offer or something more suggestive/direct. Opening it, Jun finds a full bottle of ceremonial alcohol, two cups, and two books. One is small, containing an intricate breakdown of spiritual marriages, and the other is much more surprising. It's an advanced guide to the art of sexual soul refinement, with plenty of illustrations.
• Curiosity gets the best of Jun and he flips through it before nature happens. His last year had been nonstop training such that he'd never actually confirmed his body's ability to have erections, so Jun has his first one and it shocks him a little. It's awkward, and he justifies that he should probably do something about that before setting out...