Cultivating Chaos

by William D. Arand

  Jing and Yan went to Jade Fist… so that’s our target. Though most of these people will be aiming for Dragon Warrior and Blood Oath as they’re the first and second schools.

  Looking bored and barely paying attention, Ash was almost positive most of the recruiters had not even heard Jia’s name.

  The man giving the examination nodded at Jia, and then guided her to the testing equipment at the center of the platform.

  It was a large crystal that rose twenty feet high.

  At the base of the crystal were two spots to place one’s hands.

  Jia immediately grabbed hold after being given an instruction.

  Seconds ticked by and then suddenly, violent blue Qi flooded the crystal. From bottom to more than halfway up, it was filled with Qi.

  Several spheres of metal floated in the Qi, suspended in the crystal directly. They bobbed and floated back and forth in the liquid that was her Qi.

  “Rank five!” called the examiner. “Density is able to lift the silver!”

  There was a commotion amongst the crowd and the sect recruiters alike.

  Ash couldn’t blame them. It was likely Jia was one of the strongest in the entire exam, and her Qi density was rather unheard of.

  “The cultivation technique she uses is very strong. She should have been able to lift the gold ball according to our scan just now.

  “She must have rushed her cultivation a touch to get it up to a higher rank,” Locke said. “She’ll be able to correct that later with a touch of effort.”

  Nodding, Ash watched, wondering when Jia would give out.

  The crystal had another function, of course. To measure the depth of the Qi Sea. The ability of the Dantian to hold Qi.

  Everyone had a different amount, depending on how they’d developed themselves.

  An average period of time was a single minute, and that would be the case with the vast majority of examinees.

  When it got to two minutes, people had surprised looks on their faces. It wasn’t until it crossed into three minutes, though, that it was obvious everyone was shocked at this display.

  Jia’s head dipped, her shoulders slumped, and her Qi fled the crystal, draining back into her.

  The examiner looked to the recruiters.

  “Three parts of an incense stick,” he said to them.

  In other words, three minutes. A whole stick of incense took five minutes to burn.

  Alright. I guess it’s my turn. No combat abilities are tested here, just Qi and control.

  Jia was escorted off the stage as all the recruiters were hurriedly asking for more information on her.

  Ash grinned at the sight. He was glad for her. She had been talking about doing well in this exam for as long as he could remember. It had been more than just a goal to her.

  “You,” the examiner said, standing at the top of the ramp. “Get up here. You’re next.”

  Ash nodded and stepped forward, walking up the ramp to the platform.

  “You have the misfortune to go after her. My apologies for your poor luck. What is your name?”

  Her? He knows? Wait, how?

  “Ashley Sheng,” he said mechanically.

  The examiner turned to the recruiters, who weren’t even looking over this way anymore, and called Ash’s name to them.

  Escorting Ash to the testing device, he indicated the two handles near the base.

  Looking beyond the crystal, he saw Jia watching him from the sideline.

  Smirking at her, he shrugged his shoulders at the situation he was in.

  “…hold tight to them. After that, the crystal will fill with your Qi. Hold on to it from there as long as you can. You’re not allowed to cultivate during this test. Do you understand?” the examiner asked.

  Ash clicked his tongue and looked to the man.

  “Just push your Qi out through the meridians in your hands,” Locke said.

  “Got it,” Ash said.

  Looking at the crystal, Ash sighed.

  Let’s get this over with. We just have to do well enough to get into the Jade Fist. That’s it.

  Pushing out with his Qi through his hands, Ash looked at the crystal.

  There was a soft rumble, and then opaque blue-colored Qi burst up from the bottom of the crystal. It stopped just below the line that would designate it as a rank five.

  Except, rolling around on top of the rock-hard-like Qi were a number of metallic spheres. In fact, now that Ash looked, it seemed like it was all of them.

  “Ah…” the examiner said, eyes on the monolithic-looking crystal. “Rank… rank four, almost five. Qi density is… is holding up everything.”

  A metal sphere slowly rolled from one end of the crystal to the other and clanked to a stop against the wall.

  It was obvious to everyone that the Qi was more like a solid than a liquid.

  Ash couldn’t see the recruiters, but he got the impression they were paying attention now.

  Letting out a breath, Ash stood there, holding his Qi in place in the crystal. It almost felt like there was no drain at all on him.

  Looking around, Ash turned his head to the examiner, who was watching the spheres. Then Ash looked to Jia, who was watching him with raised eyebrows.

  Ash smiled at her then looked to the crowd. They were all watching the crystal.

  Sighing, Ash looked back to the crystal.

  After two minutes, Ash was a touch concerned. He still didn’t seem to feel any drain. This took no effort from him at all.

  When the incense stick collapsed on itself, the examiner looked to Ash.

  Shrugging his shoulders, Ash wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Should I just let go?” he asked.

  The examiner opened his mouth and paused. His head turned to look beyond the crystal, seemingly at the recruiters for direction.

  Getting annoyed and not wanting to do this anymore, Ash pulled his Qi back in and let go.

  Grumbling under his breath, Ash wandered over to Jia.

  “Well, that was embarrassing,” he said to her.

  “You weren’t even tired, were you?” she asked, turning to walk with him off the platform.

  “No. Not really. I think I would have been up there for a while, though.”

  “Indefinitely, actually. Your Battle Cultivation wasn’t on, but you were still absorbing Essence just standing there.

  “Your ability to draw in a minimal amount of Essence regardless of anything else can be considered a passive trait at this point,” Locke clarified. “That you have started to always gain Essence. And will convert it to Qi constantly.

  “The Snowflake has begun to roll.”

  Twelve

  Ash and Jia were staring at the brackets listed on the wooden board.

  Due to her body refining rank, she’d been seeded one step before the quarter-finals.

  Ash was one bracket before that. Which meant he’d have to have one more fight than she would.

  He didn’t mind that much. Nothing about the tournament interested him in any way so far. This was all meaningless to him.

  “Are you even going to try?” Jia asked from beside him.

  Ash shrugged. “Maybe. It’s not like we get anything for winning or doing well.”

  Jia raised her eyebrows at that.

  “But there are rewards,” she said.

  “Yes—recognition, fame, face, blah blah. None of that matters.”

  “No, there are actual rewards. But only for the top three finishers.”

  “There are? Huh. I honestly didn’t think there were.”

  “You always tended to stop listening once they started talking about the examination,” Jia said.

  “Heh. Yeah. There wasn’t much to care about at regarding the examination at the time.

  “So… what are the rewards, then?”

  There was a soft gong in the distance that signaled the end of the first round of battles.

  “Come, you can walk me to the arena,” Jia said as she turned to leave. “
As to the rewards… first place is a ninth-body-refining-ranked ability and a paired cultivation skill.”

  Ash shook his head immediately.

  “I know you have no desire to win that prize, but you asked. Now, the second-place winner receives an eighth-ranked sight ability,” Jia continued.

  “We do not have a sight ability in the Hall. This would be a valuable addition, Chosen One,” Locke added cheerfully.

  “Third place is just a number of spirit stones and pills. Though I do not think you have need of either of those, do you?”

  “A sight ability. I think I’d be interested in that. Maybe I can do well enough to get second,” Ash said, giving Jia a small smile. He wasn’t about to rise to her bait about being wealthy.

  He did have some money to his name right now, but not nearly enough.

  Pills were expensive, and spirit stones lost their value to cultivation quickly after the sixth rank.

  The numbers needed to advance in rank from spirit stones would cost more than the pills to do it in a similar fashion.

  “Hm. I suppose we will see then. I plan to aim for the top, even though I… have no need for the reward, either,” Jia said.

  The two walked up to the side of an arena and fell silent.

  The second round of contestant battles were ongoing. Ash would be in the fourth round for his first trial.

  “What do you think?” Jia asked suddenly.

  “Of?”

  “Her. The one you are staring at.”

  “Huh?” Ash blinked and focused his gaze, rather than staring in the middle distance. “Oh.”

  Thankfully it didn’t seem anyone else had noticed his blank gaze across the way. Especially since the young woman his face had been turned toward was a beauty.

  She had dark hair and dark eyes, with all the right curves to put her in the spotlight back home even.

  To the point that she looked like she might burst out of the red acolyte uniform she was wearing.

  And entirely not what Ash was interested in.

  Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to Jia.

  “She’s nice to look at, and well built. But anyone as pretty as that at our age is only going to be a barrel full of trouble down the road.”

  “Ah. Then you will be glad to know she is your first opponent.”

  “She is?” Ash asked, looking back at the woman.

  Except now she was staring at him.

  “She is. The odds are currently running against you,” Jia said, her tone of voice flat.

  “Huh. Maybe we should put in a bet on me to win. That’d be an easy way to make money.”

  “Ha. As if it were that simple. Minimum bets are in the thousands of spirit stones.”

  The woman across the way raised her eyebrows at him when she realized he was staring at her.

  Ash shrugged at her and turned to Jia. As casually as he could manage it, he reached into his robe and triggered his ring’s storage function.

  He pulled out his spirit stone card and handed it over to Jia.

  “Should be about eleven grand in there. Bet on me for me, and we’ll split the winnings. Afterward, we’ll bet on you or me in the next round. Whoever has better odds,” Ash said.

  Jia clicked her tongue and took the card from him. “Are you saying you would have handed me spirit stones that easily?”

  “Probably. Why?”

  Shaking her head, Jia didn’t respond.

  “You are in ring six. Go early,” she said as she began walking away.

  Making a face, Ash nodded his head. Looking around, he oriented himself based on the map he’d looked at earlier.

  In less than the time it would take for an incense stick to burn, he’d found his ring. It was already cleared of the second-round combatants and the third round was waiting.

  It wasn’t until the quarter-finals where a small respite would be given between the rounds that was longer than twenty minutes.

  Long enough to get your Qi back into shape, not long enough to get rid of any injuries you picked up.

  Truly, a gauntlet.

  “It’s an effective way to weed out those without the heart to continue. This culture puts a lot of weight into respect, determination, and showing one’s strength.”

  Ash snorted coldly at that.

  “Unless you’re deemed weak, at which point they’ll treat you as if you were little more than a bag of meat,” he muttered.

  “Of course,” said a smooth and breathy voice. “Only the strong will be peerless.”

  Glancing to his side, Ash found the woman from earlier next to him.

  “You decided to get here early, too?” Ash asked, looking back to the ring.

  “Yes. I had hoped to be able to speak to you quietly. Without anyone else overhearing.”

  “Well, here you are, and here I am. What would you speak of?”

  “I’d like you to forfeit to me. I’m sure we can come up with a suitable price that could be agreed upon.”

  Frowning Ash shook his head.

  “Look, lady—”

  “I am Xiaohui,” she said, forcefully interrupting him.

  “Xiaohui,” Ash continued. “If you’re not confident in your victory against me, I’d say your chances of proceeding further aren’t very good. I’m not exactly the strongest one here.”

  Xiaohui lifted her chin up and looked down her elegant nose at him.

  “You are just a frog at the bottom of a well. You can’t see anything beyond the stones that surround you and the bit of sky far above you. You have no idea whom you speak to.

  “You should feel blessed that I deigned to give you the option to assist me. Now I will crush you, and you will be nothing more than a worm.”

  Ash nodded at that and looked back to the ring.

  He just couldn’t take her seriously.

  After the way everyone had treated him in the sect, he’d heard it all. Heard it all and then some.

  Famous supporters, strong backers, hidden trump cards—the list was long and practically infinite of boasts.

  Everyone thinks they’re a genius, and that everyone else simply cannot be.

  I’m not a genius, but I’m fairly certain I can kick your pretty ass.

  “Guess we’ll see. Especially since this match just ended,” he said, gesturing at the ring.

  As they’d been talking, the third round of fighting had started and already ended. The victor having defeated her opponent in a single strike.

  Ash moved to one side of the ring and started to go through his startup, as he called it. It was the same thing he’d done before the beginning of every match back home.

  From when he’d first started in the arts to when he’d won the national tournament that was a pre-qualifier for the world stage. This was a necessary function for him, if he had the time for it.

  It was really just simple centering meditation. Getting himself into the perfect frame of mind.

  “Locke, can you hear me?” Ash whispered as he settled himself down into a seated position.

  “Yes.”

  “How much does my Battle Cultivation give back to me? Percentage wise.”

  “Approximately five percent per second right now.”

  “And the Spring Step is at two percent stored at any time?”

  “Two point zero six percent.”

  “Leave the activation at that but change the storage to four percent.”

  “Task complete.”

  Nodding his head, Ash began working to center himself.

  “Contestants. Prepare yourselves,” boomed a voice.

  Ash’s eyes snapped open.

  Getting to his feet, Ash gave his body a shake and tried to loosen himself.

  To remain relaxed. Empty his mind. Be shapeless and formless.

  He could feel a small smirk spreading across his face as he fell into his neutral position, his hands protecting his vitals.

  Xiaohui stood in a relaxed standing position across from him.

  Ability user
only? No actual martial arts?

  In his practice, he’d found the vast majority of cultivators simply no longer practiced their martial arts once they obtained their abilities.

  They worked to bolster their techniques, forsaking their foundations.

  For some, it was worse than others. Raised only with the abilities given to them, their understanding of martial arts was almost non-existent.

  “I’ll wipe that smile from your face,” Xiaohui said, her beautiful face glaring at him. “And when I’m done, you may kiss the ground upon which I walk.”

  Ash didn’t respond, just continued to size her up. Planning out his first movements.

  “Begin!” shouted the same voice that’d given the warning.

  Activating his Qi Thorns and Battle Cultivation, and toggling his Spring Step to store energy, Ash moved forward.

  The moment he felt Spring Step was ready to be used, he activated it.

  Xiaohui flinched backward at his sudden appearance next to her. She threw out a palm strike that whistled through the air. Flames circled her skin from forearm to fingertips.

  Snapping his fist out, Ash knocked her hand aside. In the instant her side was exposed from the contact, Ash stomped his foot into the side of her knee.

  Knocked down to the ground, Xiaohui looked shocked.

  Not hesitating, Ash landed a strike across her jaw and another to her shoulder. Reeling, Xiaohui utilized an ability and burst into flames, reappearing six feet away.

  Ash moved into a neutral position after pressing his hands to his sides. The moment the chains connected to his body, he felt Xiaohui’s Qi flowing into him.

  Hot and fiery, it felt very different than his own.

  “I’ll show you how I—”

  Throwing his fists out into the air, one after the other, Ash launched two leeching Qi balls at his opponent.

  Xiaohui took a step back when they smashed into her chest, and Ash pressed the two new chains atop the others.

  I wonder if she can see the chains. No one else has commented on them.

  Though they can clearly see the balls.

  Xiaohui lifted her hand and pointed it at Ash.

  Preparing a Spring Step, he was ready for whatever she did.

  So when she fell forward onto her face and lay unmoving on the ground, it was the most unexpected thing in the world.

  Ash canceled his Qi chains and looked to the referee.