The class was crowded even though Ren and Hua had arrived early. Everyone had eager looks on their faces, and many had already taken seats at the front. Ren greeted Mei Ling and a few others. A few of his friends who had sensed qi since the last class were hoping to break through today. From his chats with Hua and a few others, he knew that of the 28 who had broken through in the last class, 7 were 3rd order spirit roots like him, and only one, Jian Feng, was of the 2nd order. Everyone expected him to take the prize. The strong get stronger, and the weak get weaker. It was the accepted way of things.

  Ren took his seat and tried to calm his mind as they all waited for the teacher to begin. As before, he had been there before everyone and said not a word until the bell rang, marking the start of class.

  “Greetings, young ones. Today I will be talking about the nature of qi. Before I begin, let's conclude the challenge from the last class. I have observed your progress and determined the winners from my last challenge. Step forward, Jian Feng...”

  Everyone turned to look at the prideful young man making his way forward. Even Ren was halfway through a sigh of resignation when the teacher continued.

  “…and Zhao Ren.”

  Ren was stunned, but he shakily made his way forward. He made his way and stood beside Jian Feng. The teacher handed them each a small pouch, saying, “Both of you have broken through to the second layer. Continue working hard with diligence and bring honor to the sect.” The teacher gave a tiny nod to Ren, perhaps acknowledging the efforts involved that let 3rd order spirit roots compete with 2nd order. Ren wasn’t sure if he should say anything, as he felt it was more a matter of luck. But he kept quiet as the words of the annoying elder from the hall of scripture popped into his head. Luck had its place alongside fate.

  They both bowed in gratitude, and as Ren was turning back, his eyes met Jian Feng’s. He looked furious at having his moment of glory be sullied by being made to share the prize. Ren fervently hoped nothing would come of it, but he knew that type of arrogance very well. Many times in his childhood he had experienced that jealousy or rage against a perceived slight. That fragile ego would definitely cause problems down the road. Fortunately, he also knew the solution that caused the least harm.

  Backing. Unless he showed he had some force backing him, this matter would be resolved in only one of two ways. Overt violence or covert violence. He certainly didn’t want his throat slit while sleeping. Even dueling was pointless because he knew even if he won this fight, someone stronger behind Jian Feng would come to finish the matter. If he showed that someone strong backed him too, this matter would then most likely become a competition. Maybe unfriendly competition, but mostly civil and following rules.

  It was times like this Ren was grateful for his origin as a member of a cultivation family. He just needed to make sure that their current weakened state wasn’t exposed. A very fine line to walk. Ren decided to think about it later and focus on class first. He tried to regain that calm as the teacher began once more.

  “Qi exists in all things. All things create and consume Qi. Living beings tend to have more control over it, but even a rock or a plant can ascend to the heavens in the right circumstance. As qi flows through the world, its ever-changing nature takes on properties from its surroundings. Simultaneously, qi can change its surroundings to match itself. Qi is a mystical force that even the most enlightened struggle to comprehend.”

  “For you, at the start of your journey, simply learn to sense and guide its flow within yourself. Try and feel the movements of qi in your meridians and dantian. Now focus.”

  The formation activated again, glowing lines appearing under each disciple. Ren felt the qi surrounding him grow denser. He couldn’t cultivate using his sword stances, but he could still try and absorb qi while chanting the scripture from his Grass Blade Manual. It was less efficient usually, but with the concentration of qi around him, it might be more effective.

  He tried his best to sense the movements of qi. It wasn’t with his eyes but a different sense he observed as it entered his body and flowed through his meridians and settled into his dantian. He was familiar with the pathways that his sword stances used, but he observed other pathways too. He noticed that less qi flowed into the other pathways. As an experiment, he stopped the chanting and watched as the flow became more evenly distributed but slower.

  As qi flowed through the body’s meridians, it would widen and strengthen the channels. The cultivation manual he followed didn’t enhance all of them, and while a breakthrough would grow all meridians, ultimately some were favored over others. As he meditated, he wondered if that was a good thing.

  Would it be better to strengthen all meridians or focus on a few? Some cultivators his family had hired had instructed him in this matter. There were simply too many to cultivate them efficiently. One would grow out of the ideal age to begin cultivating by the time all were strengthened. That it was better to focus on your strengths and only cover your weaknesses instead of wasting too much time on them.

  Ren agreed for the most part. The wisdom of elders wasn’t lightly discarded. It was indeed better to focus on his strengths. But they also weren't very good cultivators. Couldn’t he find a way to do both? What if he found other techniques that used different meridians? That way, while his cultivation manual would strengthen certain meridians, auxiliary methods could work on others. As he pondered on it, he began to feel there was merit to it. After all, cultivating with his sword stances exhausted his body. What if he found other ways to channel qi while recovering? Surely it was more efficient?

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  Abruptly he felt the formation below him stop, and the qi surrounding him slowly dissipated. He realized that time had sped past as he enjoyed this qi-enhanced meditation session. He opened his eyes as the teacher began speaking once more.

  “Congratulations once again to those who broke through. It is surely the result of your effort in the past month. You may select your cultivation methods. For those who have yet to succeed, a warning. The next class is the last I will hold for you. If you fail once again, it may just be that you aren’t fated. These formations are expensive but effective in awakening you, but they aren’t the only way. You may choose to breakthrough on your own or leave the sect and return home. Just know that if you have failed after the next class, then the sect will no longer provide the stipend.”

  “As for the rest of you who have successfully broken through, an incentive once more. A reward to those who progress the most. But don’t be hasty. While the initial stages are easy to breakthrough remember a stable foundation will hold up the tallest pagoda. We shall stop here.”

  Just like last time, the bell rang an instant later. Ren wondered if there was a timekeeping technique that let him be so accurate.

  “Better to focus on the more immediate issue,” he reminded himself. He made a quick sign to Hua that he would be leaving early and hurried home. Only once he was at home did he check the contents of his reward pouch. It was 3 qi-boosting pills and two spirit stones. Looking at the stones, he realized he had forgotten to go pick up his monthly stipend from the Hall of Contribution.

  Shaking his head, he said, “Ah, it would have been very busy today. Let’s just go tomorrow.”

  As for the matter of Jian Feng, he decided to visit his uncle and have a chat. Maybe he could offer one of the pills as compensation for bothering him. He had told him to seek him for help of this sort. While thinking about the pills, Ren realized he had never eaten one and didn’t even know how effective they would be. Wanting to try it out, he drew his sword and ate a pill.

  After a few moments he began to feel the tingly, warm sensation of qi in his stomach, close to his dantian. He immediately began cultivating. He swiftly but smoothly moved through the stances that he was increasingly familiar with. As he approached the completion of a large round, he still felt vigorous enough to continue. The qi-boosting pill was amazing! Even the effectiveness of his cultivation was boosted, and he felt more qi gather in his dantian than ever before.

  Ren continued on to the next large round of the grass blade method. He moved through the lunges and the stabs and slices. The swift advances and careful retreats. He felt more connected to his sword. A spirit plant sword that he had nurtured with the very first pill he had received and the very first formation he had carved. It accompanied him on his 11 day journey through the mountains and defended him from all threats.

  Lastly, he thought of that battle of the tiny warrior that led to his choice. A choice that even now pleased and confused him. He had gone against the way cultivators were supposed to act. Thoughts of Buddhist sects flickered through his mind and their ways of mercy and charity. Was that why he felt pleased about his choice? No. That didn’t feel right. He wasn’t that generous. No, as he relived that moment, he felt his actions hadn’t just been influenced by mercy for the babies or even respect for a warrior. Those were ways of thinking his training had mostly been beaten out of him. Even if it hadn’t completely taken, he knew when to be ruthless.

  Why then did it linger in his mind? He felt on the verge of understanding when he snapped out of his meditative trance. He had made it all the way to the 4th set of the 2nd round, and he was completely exhausted. The pill's effects had faded already, and his dantian was glimmering with gathered wisps of qi. It gave the sensation there was still a long way to go. Marvelous though the pill was, it couldn’t provide easy breakthroughs.

  As he sat panting, Ren knew the sect was right to dole them out so limitedly. It was probably not that costly to make, seeing as the sect just gave them away as stipends, but that just meant that consuming them rapidly would leave impurities to clog your meridians. He decided to ration it out for the month, eating one every 10 days. As for this month's stipend, he would hand it over to his uncle, who would recognize the gesture for what it was. It hurt a little to give away part of his prize, but birds died for food, and men died for money. Better he accept the slight loss than lose his life over it. That still left him 4 spirit stones and 1 contribution point.

  This month and the next he planned to attend the basic formations classes so he couldn’t leave on extended trips. He also figured they weren’t as valuable unless you accepted a bit of risk. That lesson had sunk in from his last trip. So he would have to find ways to earn contribution points while not venturing too far from the sect. He had learned that tending the medicinal fields was one such task, but he wondered if they accepted one with such low cultivation as him. He decided to ask around if there were any such stable ways to earn income.

  He still had half a day and decided to take a rest. He had attended classes and cultivated immediately afterwards. He walked around his field and observed the tiny shoots of his spirit plants breaking through the soil. They looked so tender and fragile. He stood to earn at least 5 spirit stones if even one matured successfully. This time it would take around 3 weeks for either type. He went behind his hut and made sure the gostvine sprouts had received plenty of water.

  He remembered his idea during class and wondered if the Nurturing Rain Sutra used different meridians. He did have a lot of qi after cultivating, after all. He performed the strange dance and channeled his qi. He only gave the two sprouts a few seconds of rain. He went around back and targeted the whole field this time and began dancing again. The sutra devoured his qi again, and he continued the dance as the light drizzle fell on his field. Unbeknownst to him, a disciple looking on from over the wall of his courtyard watched in befuddlement at this crazy boy.