by Tao Wong
The Elder quickly brought them to the section that dealt with unarmed techniques. As he browsed, Elder Ko made tutting noises and picked up and replaced scrolls or books, even going so far as to hiss his disappointment. From the unarmed stacks, Elder Ko moved to other portions of the library, always handing new scrolls or books to Wu Ying to carry.
When the Elder was finally done, Wu Ying had a stack of books to browse through. This time around, Elder Ko offered no explanation about their contents, instead sending Wu Ying off to digest their contents, only bending enough to promise to explain anything that Wu Ying was unable to understand.
“But…”
“You are an inner sect member. You will be forced to evaluate more and more situations, spending time analyzing not just cultivation and martial techniques but your own dao. Relying on teachers is all well and good for an outer sect member, but you must learn to assess matters as an inner sect member. We cannot see into your heart, only guide you.
“There is no better time to start than now.”
Wu Ying bobbed his head in acknowledgement, though as Elder Ko disappeared around one stack, Wu Ying could not help but wonder if the Elder was tired of dealing with him. In either case, Wu Ying still had a stack of books to peruse.
***
To begin, Wu Ying checked over the manuals that covered power generation. They could be broken into three different kinds.
There were the simple manuals that covered physical body strengthening exercises. It was hard to call those books martial styles since they consisted of a series of progressively difficult exercises, ranging from those that required weights to those that used the individual’s own body weight. Many of the initial exercises were well known to Wu Ying through long years of exercise, but it was the first time Wu Ying had seen the work laid out in such a studied manner.
After further browsing, Wu Ying set aside one particular book. It focused on developing strength without the use of weights and emphasized stretches. If Wu Ying could achieve greater flexibility in his body, he felt he might even achieve the Sense of the Northern Shen style.
The next two books focused on power generation from entirely different angles. One talked about internal power, the use of chi while striking and fighting in what could be considered an extremely relaxed state. Internal strength cultivation was actually a cultivation exercise, which amused Wu Ying as he realized that Elder Ko had contradicted himself when giving him this work. But Wu Ying could see how it was different too. While the Aura Strengthening technique focused on its namesake, this technique focused on the actual flow of chi within his body, teaching Wu Ying how to more quickly shift and project his chi. It did not increase the amount of his chi; it just made it easier for him to use it when attacking. Furthermore, the book emphasized the connection between the cultivator’s mind and body, an aspect that Wu Ying could see aiding the progress of his other styles.
The third set of manuals focused on external power. Here, the power generation exercises overlapped with his earlier book about muscle growth but was less detailed. Instead, these manuals spent more time on positioning and structure, going into detail about the proper frame of an individual’s body and the muscles that needed to be activated to achieve the highest level of power generation with each motion. It was fascinating, and even the skimmed information had Wu Ying considering in greater detail the way he moved. No other series of manuals seemed to go into so much detail, though some of the work re-emphasized words spoken by his teachers.
Yet, Wu Ying realized that choosing any of these would be a waste of the “free” style he received from consulting Elder Ko. He winced internally, realizing that Elder Ko had once more found a way to make Wu Ying spend the majority of his hard-earned points.
Setting aside the body strengthening and external power generation manual, Wu Ying turned to the next series of books, which were actual martial style manuals. The first consisted of a Darat Clan Wrestling Style. After browsing through the document on wrestling, Wu Ying frowned. It seemed that the Wrestling Style guide came from a cultivator who had practiced the style sporadically, basing the final manual both upon learned experience and his personal observations. It was less than stellar, which made Wu Ying concerned about the final effectiveness of the martial style.
Wu Ying went to find Elder Ko, who was seated in his own chair, working on transcribing an aged scroll to a book. “Why this manual, Honored Elder?”
“The Darat clan?” Elder Ko said without even looking up. “Two reasons. The Elder who contributed the manual was well known for his ability to wrestle. So even if the style itself is not fully authentic, the techniques should be effective. Secondly, the Darat emphasize strength in the legs and achieving a mounted position to fight from. This will give you greater flexibility than many other wrestling styles.”
Wu Ying thanked the Elder and returned to his seat. It did seem that there were a number of techniques for achieving if not his feet, at least the top of his opponent. Putting the manual aside, Wu Ying turned to the next option.
Throughout the day, Wu Ying found himself browsing the small pile of unarmed styles that were available. Studying each manual sufficiently to understand their advantages and disadvantages without spending too long on any one manual was a tiring exercise. It also taxed his mind to the fullest, as sometimes the flaws and disadvantages in a style were not immediately obvious.
In the end, Wu Ying narrowed the list of offensive styles down to a single kicking and single punching style. Of course, like any martial style, they did cover the basics of offensive techniques with the other limbs, but it was perfunctory. Wu Ying doubted he would spend much time reading those portions even if he did check out the books.
No. What was interesting and important were what they emphasized. The Red Sash Kicking Style’s initial conception came from the way the flowing red sash of its originator moved during a period of high winds. From that moment of enlightenment, the lady created the core of the style, which involved fast, sharp kicks that often shifted trajectories during their attack. It was a tricky style, and attacks often originated while the foot was still in the air. Of course, that had the major disadvantage of losing a certain level of power in the final blow, as well as forcing the attacker to be stationary during these periods.
What drew Wu Ying to this kicking style were the intrinsic feints and many of the initial starting positions. In them, Wu Ying recognized some of the Long family lunging, retreating, and dodging positions. If he could incorporate this style with the Long jian style, he could potentially add another defensive barricade.
As for the punching style… Wu Ying’s lips twitched as he read over the title once more. Mountain Breaking Fist had a momentous name, one that the style did its best to live up to. The style was different from the way Wu Ying normally fought, relying on sheer strength and a single, powerful attack to finish a battle. While the Sword’s Truth was the Long family’s signature move, it was Wu Ying’s sole finishing attack. The majority of the Long family style worked by relying on numerous small, fast attacks rather than a single attack. The Mountain Breaking Fist discarded such concepts, focusing on singular, powerful attacks that had to be dodged rather than blocked.
In truth, Wu Ying was unsure if the style would suit him. But it was that uncertainty that intrigued him. Stretching himself, stretching his fighting style could not only bring a new dimension to his martial specialization but also provide ancillary benefits to his other forms. Or so Wu Ying hoped.
Lastly, there were the defensive manuals. Here, Wu Ying was somewhat at a loss and thus grateful that there were significantly fewer books to study. One manual was a cultivation and physical exercise combined, borrowing internal chi to help solidify muscles. The Scales of the Dragon might have sounded similar to his own Long family style, but they had little to do with one another. The Scales focused on enhancing a cultivator’s skin by enhancing its strength via layering chi over the aura in overlapping scales. Again, after Elder Ko’s c
omments, Wu Ying was surprised to see its presence in the manuals provided. Wu Ying had to wonder if this was a test or a mistake. In either case, the addition of more aura work did little to attract Wu Ying to the exercise.
As for the other two books, one was a series of painful body strengthening techniques that focused on strengthening a cultivator’s internal organs. Wu Ying quickly discarded the manual, since the method required consumption of increasingly poisonous substances. The style did have the secondary benefit of making one immune to those poisons and others of similar scope, but Wu Ying’s reason for rejecting the manual was simple. Money. Buying the herbs and poisons required by the style would be too expensive for the poor ex-farmer.
As for the other method, Wu Ying felt his eyes narrow in consideration. Iron Reinforced Bones was a simpler, cruder method. Rather than using poisons to reinforce the body, it required the applicant to suffer. Under significant duress, bones broke or reshaped. The Iron Reinforced Bones technique made use of the body’s healing and regenerative properties, teaching the applicant how to reinforce their body. Of course, reading between the lines, while it did not require one to break their bones to see the effects, it was undoubtedly the most painful method. It was also the slowest, since it reinforced a cultivator’s body in stages.
For a time, Wu Ying sat back and thought about the various exercises and martial styles, imagining himself with them. His lips curled as, in his mind, he fought an increasing number of masked foes, dazzling them with his impressive sword work, kicking them aside with the Red Ribbon, then unleashing single, powerful strikes that cracked bone, shattered weapons, and blew away his opponents. Even when his opponents managed to hit him, their frail blows glanced off the dragon scales and his tough, reinforced bones.
Wu Ying indulged himself for a moment with the outlandish fantasy before he let out a little laugh. Such thoughts were foolish to the extreme. The time it would take to master each of those styles could be marked in years. Even someone as gifted as Tou He might learn many styles to a novice or maybe even intermediate understanding but would focus his time on gaining peak understanding of a few. Only the Elders could hope to equal Wu Ying’s fantasy self, and even then, few would dare to straddle so many areas.
No. Better to focus and grow oneself in a narrow band.
So.
Defense or offense? A punching, kicking, or grappling technique?
Wu Ying cracked his neck and looked about, realizing that he was alone in the library. All the other cultivators had left, the library illuminated by a sparse few lamps. Without his notice, day had ended and evening had grown late.
No grappling. Wu Ying pushed the work aside. He was already learning from his interactions with Elder Hsu. Punching or kicking or a defensive measure? The Dragon Scales made no sense, not with his current studies. No poison, so that left the Iron Bone technique. It had the advantage of being something he could learn while practicing other things—like his strength building.
As for offense…
***
“You are done finally?” Elder Ko said, carefully setting aside his brush before he looked at Wu Ying.
The Elder glanced at the books in Wu Ying’s hands, nodding absently before he reached under his desk to extract blank manuals. Taking the books from Wu Ying’s hands, he waved them over a spirit stone then passed the blank manuals over them, brows knitting. Wu Ying could feel as Elder Ko infused the spirit stone and the manuals with his chi, flooding both then sealing the entire thing with scribbled words.
“Elder?” Wu Ying said, tilting his head as he received the formerly blank manuals.
“I have infused the books in your hand with a copy of the manuals. The originals will stay in the sect, and your manuals will not be able to pass beyond the boundaries of the sect limits. Doing so will make them disappear,” Elder Ko said.
Wu Ying blinked, opening the manual and feeling the slight pressure of the infused chi. He frowned, unhappy that this work was being restricted, but then squashed the irritation. In truth, he was getting rare manuals for nothing more than a few hours’ work. So what if the sect had their own policies?
“An interesting series of choices. You are focusing on developing strength over speed.” Elder Ko tapped the Mountain Breaking Fist book and the other two manuals that Wu Ying had purchased. “Is there a reason for the change?”
“Strength is speed,” Wu Ying said, shrugging. “The stronger I get, the faster I can become too. And I have noticed that my strength is already greater than many—excluding chi use.”
“Yes. Physical strength is great, but do not forget that proper application of chi can overpower even the greatest physical strength,” Elder Ko warned.
Having said his piece, the Elder waved and sent Wu Ying out of his library, a half-smile crossing his face as he watched the young cultivator leave.
Chapter 8
“You are all fools.”
The single pronouncement by Fairy Yang when she took the stage sent a susurration of shocked exclamations throughout the lecture hall.
When no one raised their voice to object, Fairy Yang continued. “What is most important when building a house? The foundation, the roof, or the walls?” She did not wait for volunteers but pointed at one of the sect members.
“The foundation, Elder.”
“Exactly. The foundation. The foundation of cultivation is Body Cleansing. Yet all of you have rushed through the process, desperate to achieve the Energy Storage stage. How many of you took the time to learn new cultivation exercises? How many of you built upon your foundation by opening your meridians wider via a meridian-opening technique or strengthened your chi flow?” Fairy Yang said.
When the silence ran through the hall, Fairy Yang smiled victoriously.
“Fools.” She allowed the silence and her pronouncement to settle before she spoke again. “But luckily, it is not too late. While working on these techniques in the Energy Storage stage is not as effective, there is no reason you cannot do so. We shall discuss the various cultivation exercises that one may find in the inner sect libraries, their advantages and disadvantages, and how to best ascertain which type is most appropriate. I expect all of you to pick at least one such technique before the next lecture.”
When the cultivators picked up their brushes, ready to copy down her words, Fairy Yang nodded in contentment at last.
***
Four hours later, Wu Ying winced as he leaned back. Thankfully, nothing Fairy Yang had spoken had invalidated his previous choices. After all, all cultivation exercises were—in theory—good for one to do. Like any exercise which helped to build muscle, any cultivation exercise developed a cultivator’s strength.
However, like any exercise, there were areas a cultivator might be weaker in and areas where they were naturally stronger. In fact, a large number of cultivation exercises were developed due to a significant area of weakness an unfortunate cultivator had been born with. For example, the original meridian-widening cultivation exercise had been developed for the Third Yellow Emperor’s son as the unfortunate child had been born with extremely narrow meridians. Without expanding them, the Emperor’s son would never have been able to cultivate properly—and thus an exhaustive testing regime of poison, herbs, and chi flooding exercises had been conducted to develop the original meridian-widening exercise. Since then, other, more sophisticated exercises had built upon that initial research.
Listing all the various types of cultivation exercises available was impossible and not something Fairy Yang had attempted. Instead, she had led them through a series of assessment exercises to ascertain their level of competence in each area. Chi cultivation at their stage involved aspects of chi density, flow, storage, and containment. Within each of those areas were multiple, more exacting breakdowns. For example, chi storage consisted of storage in the lower, upper, and middle dantians, as well as storage in blood, bone, muscle, and flesh. While chi storage in the upper and middle dantian was not recommended, there were still
cultivation exercises that developed these dantians. In fact, individuals who managed to open and store chi in all three dantians were universally feared. Those individuals had a significantly higher amount of chi than most practitioners, but were also often highly mentally and emotionally unstable.
Once Fairy Yang had discussed and briefly taught the cultivators how to assess their own levels in each area, she proceeded to explain the variety of cultivation exercises available. Wu Ying had found those truly fascinating, since as he had realized, no single individual could develop and practice all these cultivation exercises. Or, in some cases, should. This was, as Wu Ying recalled, also affected by the limitations of cultivation exercises available in the sect.
“At the Verdant Green Waters Sect, we have a significant number of cultivation exercises in chi flow and containment, but lack exercises in developing a cultivator’s chi density or storage,” Fairy Yang said. “While we are not completely lacking, other sects have wider libraries in those subjects. If, as has happened before, you are unable to find a suitable cultivation exercise in our libraries, you should speak with your Elders. They will aid you in seeking a suitable exercise from affiliated sects.”
After that, she had listed and explained in broad strokes the various cultivation exercises available. That, in turn, allowed Wu Ying to get a better grasp of his own two cultivation exercises and how best to implement them.
Afterward, Tou He looked between the empty stage and his friend. “Did you want to practice Elder Yang’s assessment exercises?”
“I should. But I might skip it for now,” Wu Ying said. “I already have two cultivation exercises. It’s best that I finish studying them before finding a third.”
“Is that not inefficient?”
“Possibly,” Wu Ying said. “But I had good reasons for progressing on both exercises. And those reasons haven’t disappeared just because it might not be the most optimal choice. I am surprised you haven’t taken an exercise before.”
