Live The Balance (Original cultivation)

1.7 - Disciple

Zhi Gao breathes, deep and slow, in the particular pattern that the sect's cultivation art requires. He exhales less than his full capacity, and sucks in more air than he should, compressing down what's already there, over and over, until he's lightheaded and dizzy, and his chest feels like it's about to burst. Then he lets the air free, a long steady breath that leaves him feeling hollow. He focuses only on the breath, on the sensation of the qi in his body concentrating down into a single point. A single wisp is all he needs, to break through fully, and a single wisp is all he's seeking.

The day wears on, long, endless hours spent simply sitting and breathing and concentrating. It would have been impossible to believe, before, that he could feel so exhausted when he's done basically nothing. By the time the twelfth bell tolls, he feels like he's spent all day in the fields. By the time the eighteenth rings out, he feels like he's spent all day hauling bales. As the sleeping hours approach, he sweats and trembles and, if he looked at himself in a pond, he would likely find himself pale. It isn't like his body path breakthrough. It isn't a surprise. He feels the pane of ice fracture under his will, then shatter entirely, and it's suddenly like he's had a full sleep and a good breakfast. His eyes shoot open and he fells all the colours of the world laid out under his gaze. The flow of qi, previously a faint sensation, little more than cobwebs and shadows, snaps into focus.

It's beautiful. If his body path improved the sharpness of his vision, the mental path has improved the depth of it. The plain wood planks that make up the room he shares with the others shine with qi, delicate shimmers of colours that taste like old forests. He can see why there are no spirits on the ship, other than in the gardens; the ship itself is alive. There can only be one spirit, in a place like this, and it must be powerful enough to eclipse some of the Elders. He feels a sense of warm amusement wash over him, invisible fingers thread through his hair to ruffle it like his father always does, and he slumps under the sheer weight of even that minuscule amount of attention from the ship-spirit.

Jia is watching him from her bed, perched on the edge like some sort of grubby gargoyle. Her eyes are searching and sharp, but she grins at him as he straightens back up.

"Ooh, fancy," she says. "First of us commoners to get fully through. Enjoy it while it lasts," she adds. "I'm gonna be there soon."

He takes a few moments to just breathe normally, to let his hammering heart settle.

"I don't doubt it," he says. "You're still further along the mental path than I am, and you're not as scrawny as you were when we first arrived. The body path won't take you long."

She sniffs at him. "I know that. Got some pills and everything, just to make sure, though. Good enough for Princess, it's good enough for me."

He allows himself to flop backwards onto the floor and stares up at the ceiling, enjoying the interplay of the ephemeral strands of qi that flow across it.

"I wanted to prove I could do it," he says. "No pills. Just me. If I can do it, anyone can."

"Hah! You're kidding yourself," she says. "You know we're some of the best on the ship? This area's where they stick all the really special kids. Half the other rooms are just wall to wall noble brats. We've even got a Xuan a few doors down." She pauses. "Well, had. She hit disciple in about three days, I think. Bet she had enough pills to choke a horse."

"I thought the sect only recruited the best?" he says. "That's what Shu Lin told us, isn't it? I can't see them wasting money on training anything less."

Jia rolls her head from side to side, which looks less disconcerting than it would have before, but her neck is still perilously thin. He half-worries she'll snap her head clean off.

"They recruit the best, sure," she says. "But you think there's enough special kids in the Empire to send thousands to the front lines every year? Nah. They pick up everyone with a hint of promise, and then sift the gems from the shit." She stares at him. "We're the gems, by the way. 'Cos if you're too stupid to pick up on the rest of it, you probably need that hint."

"Go freeze," he says, but there's no heat to it.

"Done that before," she says. "Ain't fun. So they sift the gems out, and then they send as much of the shit as possible out to fill their quota. You think they'd send Princess to the front lines? She's literally a princess, you know? The Zhu rule the whole of the west. She ain't gonna inherit the whole deal, but she's important."

"How do you know any of this," he says. "I'm sure you've never talked to a noble in your life."

"I got ears, don't I?" she says. She waggles them without moving the rest of her, which is a neat trick and manages to get a smile out of him. "And Lady Nose-In-The-Air and Lord Whathisface ain't quiet about how important they are. 'Course, little dogs bark the loudest, but even little dogs have got teeth."

She scratches at her ankle.

"So you eavesdropped on private conversations," he says.

"If they wanted 'em to be private, they'd have 'em in private," she says. "In the middle of the eating hall ain't private. Besides, you just have to watch the way the little lords and ladies bow and scrape at each other to know who's important and who ain't. You didn't notice that the whole eating hall's like someone shoved twenty gangs into a three-man room?"

"I'm just a peasant," he says, and she scowls at him. "I'd never even met a noble before Lady Zhu."

"Shu Lin," she says. "She's a noble, too."

He blinks. "I thought she was just a sect recruiter?"

She laughs, sharp and mocking. "They don't let commoners do recruiting, Farmboy," she says. "But they don't let nobles become Elders. Bet you anything Shu Lin got recruiter duty instead of going north to fuck with the barbarians. Cushy job, then she goes home and sits in a palace for the rest of her life."

"I'm still just a peasant," he says. "It's not like I, or even you, will have any say in things."

"Heh. You need to open those eyes up some more," she says. "You make it to Inner Human, and you're already better than most of the Empire. Make it to Inhuman at all, and you start to be important. The only person in the sect above Immortal is the Sect Head, and she's one of the most powerful people in the entire country. You think she isn't involved in politics? The sect owns entire cities, Farmboy. You know why there's no kids like me in Songhua?"

"The sect makes sure everyone is fed and homed?" he guesses.

"Yeah. 'Cos someone like me rules the city," she says. "Governor Xiulan. It's why none of the noble brats have had me beaten."

He's appalled at the very idea, but one look at her face shows she's not joking. "Huh."

"So think some more," she says. "We do this right, all of us will be together for a long time. I ain't gonna put up with a moron watching my back."

"You have to make it to disciple before you can do more than look up at mine," he says, and smirks when she jumps off the bed to chase him around the room. She doesn't catch him, but it's a welcome break from the long hours of cultivation he's just endured.

---

He's collected the next morning, right after he wakes. There's a knock on the door, and then a disciple in black robes edged in silver sweeps in, his pinched features set in a permanent frown.

"Zhi Gao?" he says, not looking at any of the occupants in particular.

"That's me," Zhi Gao says.

"You're now a disciple," the other disciple says. "I am Disciple Rao Chen. Follow."

He turns, his robes swirling around his ankles, and strides out of the room again. Jia rolls her eyes and makes a rude gesture at his back, which makes Liao He and Shan Hong chuckle. Zhi Gao flicks her on the forehead on his way past, then dodges out of the way of the retaliatory lunge. Rao Chen is already halfway down the corridor, and Zhi Gao lengthens his stride to catch up. The other man is shorter than him, so it's not as much of a challenge as it might have been, but he resents the treatment he's being given.

It doesn't take all that long to move to the disciple's section of the ship. It's deeper into the vessel, and higher up. It's very close to the sparring halls he found at the beginning of the month, and in easy reach of the library, but it's further from the gardens despite that not being possible if the ship followed normal rules of distance. The flows of qi are denser, here, more vibrant. Now that he can see them more clearly, Zhi Gao can tell that they are leading somewhere. He can feel that sense of amused affection more clearly, now, in every pulse and swirl of the regimented qi.

"Your room is here," Rao Chen says. "Within it are disciple robes and further sect rules. I doubt you will have made it so far without the ability to read, so make yourself familiar with them. The disciple eating hall is two floors up and a corridor over," he continues. "You may eat at the white tables, as you are an outer disciple. The job boards will now reveal jobs and purchases available at your new level of access."

Zhi Gao swallows the words he really wants to say, and instead bows shallowly to Rao Chen. "Thank you. I'll let you be on your way," he says.

"You have sense, at least," the other man says, and a thin smile makes its way onto his face. "Don't fret. You've managed better than nine hundred or so others. Keep this up, and you may end up at the black tables."

He turns and leaves without another word, and Zhi Gao is glad to see the back of him. He's never seen the point of being so abrasive. He shakes the thoughts from his head and takes note of the number on his door. It's in silver paint, stark against the black wood of the door, and when he puts his hand to the handle a short pulse of qi runs through him. The door swings open without a sound, revealing a frankly underwhelming interior. It just fits the raised wooden platform of the bed and the small chest that, upon inspection, contains several sets of plain black robes. There's a small scroll on the bed, which he unfurls to reveal a short list of rules and some useful information. It's written in the floridly extravagant hand of one of the Elders; Elder Fang's, he thinks. He recognises the flourish to the end of the brushstrokes.

It's a pretty simple list, honestly. Do not fight outside the sparring halls. Do not kill or maim. Do not steal. You may only bet what you own, and only on fights you are in. There's some information on the finer details of the disciples, too. He has access to more of the ship, but he has more responsibilities. He has to devote four hours a day to a sect job, though he'll still be paid in full; he won't have to start until next week, at least. He's an outer disciple, which entitles him to plain black robes. If he makes it to Inner Human, he'll be promoted to an inner disciple, and his robes will have silver added to the edges. Outer Immortal would entitle him to embroidery in whatever colour he likes, and make him a core disciple. He hasn't seen anyone dressed like that, but he supposes that if you're in the Outer Immortal Realm, you probably won't be wandering around the sect.

The Elders, of course, can dress however they want. Elders Mei and Fang wear simple black robes, and allow their power to talk for them. The Sect Head looked like she hadn't had new robes since she was an outer disciple herself.

He's got a long way to go before he has to worry about any of that, though. He changes into his new robes, and marvels at the texture of them. Slick and soft, almost like wearing woven water, they're incredibly comfortable. He can feel the qi impregnated into the cloth, and the comfortable warmth that fills him tells him that they probably also keep the wearer at the right temperature. Just these robes alone would be enough to buy his entire village. He goes through the motions of his body path cultivation technique, and the robes slide perfectly so that they don't impede him, even when he touches his wrists to the floor or when he goes into a full split. There's just enough room for him to do so, and he takes a moment to marvel at the fact that he can just do that on command, now.

The next few days are spent solidifying his cultivation, and he manages to break through to the Second Step in both paths. It's not as hard as when he broke through first in the mental path, but it's not as effortless as the body path was. He feels sturdier, surer, and he's honestly surprised he managed to jump up so quickly, after the trouble he had last week. He's not the only one to make disciple, either; Liao He and Jia both manage to complete their First Step. Jia rubs the fact she's already Fifth Step in the mental path in his face every chance she gets, but such unbalanced cultivation doesn't do her much good in her efforts to prod him when he's not looking. He's still quicker and stronger than her.

Liao He is actually put in the room across the hall from him, and Zhi Gao realises that they've barely spoken. So, one day on the way to the eating hall, he strikes up a conversation with the other man.

"You're from… Hulan, right?" Zhi Gao says. "What's it like there?"

Liao He's ears, furry and pointed, twitch. "Oh! Yes, I'm from Hulan," he says. He's still smirking, but Zhi Gao has come to understand that it's simply the way he looks. "My father runs a small merchant company out of the town. It's a town, I suppose. People, houses. It's boring. How about you?"

"I'm just from a village," Zhi Gao says. "Fields, forests. You know?"

He smiles, and the other man chuckles.

"Fair enough. Still, it was better than here. No spirits around. It's creepy," Liao He says.

"It was weird at first," Zhi Gao says. "But I found the gardens, at least, and they've got some spirits up there. I didn't know you could see them."

Liao He gestures at his eyes. They're the same colour as Zhi Gao's, a grey so pale it almost blends into the whites of his eyes. "It's obvious?"

"Not to me," Zhi Gao says. "You're the first person I've met who can see them other than me."

"Ah. I thought you'd know," Liao He says. "Ghost eyes, they call them. In Hulan, at least. I think they're moon eyes in the west. It marks you as a Speaker."

"Must have been useful for your father," Zhi Gao says. "I know there are plenty of wild spirits on the roads between towns. It made the trip into Songhua interesting, at least."

"Oh, you have no idea," Liao He says, his smirk widening. "He was so angry when the sect came calling. All the fur on his tail was puffed out. He'd hoped I'd slip the net, but it was a fool's hope."

"Do the sects always recruit Speakers?"

"Usually," Liao He says. "We add a certain versatility. Once you're into the First Step, I understand anyone can see the spirits, but they'll never have our connection."

"What are the spirits of a town like? We had nature spirits around the village, and field spirits, but only a few house spirits," Zhi Gao says. "You know they don't form until the house is old enough, and our village is always rebuilding. Lots of flooding."

"Hulan was swarming with them," Liao He says, a faraway look on his face. "House spirits, item spirits. You should look into getting an umbrella, at least. An umbrella spirit is amazingly useful in the rain. Lingling always liked to walk with me when it was pouring down outside," he says. "She's been with the family for generations. I couldn't have brought her with me, though, she'd never leave home."

"Old man Wu was probably the closest to that," Zhi Gao says. "He's a willow that's been in the same spot for five centuries. He mostly just bickered with the river spirit, though. I've seen him hold back a flood around his tree without even trying. Just a perfect circle of land, untouched."

"But he let the river get your homes?"

"Nature spirits don't care much for individual humans," Zhi Gao says with a shrug. "They liked me, but they couldn't have been less interested in buildings."

Liao He laughs at that, bushy tail wagging back and forth. "It's the opposite in towns. Everything revolves around the people and the houses, and the spirits don't care for what anything else wants."

They spend the rest of the meal swapping stories about the spirits they've known, the types they've met. It's a fascinating look into something Zhi Gao considered himself an expert on, an angle to the world he hadn't even known existed.

Still, the week ends, as all weeks do. He's more than made the Elders' deadline, and he's made his own. Under his own power, no less, without the use of pills or potions. He's glad that Liao He and Jia have joined him, and he hopes that the others can make it in time.



What's the week plan?

You may choose 2 people to spend time with this week:

[ ] Lady Zhu.
[ ] Ma Gang.
[ ] Jia.
[ ] Zhang Shui.
[ ] Leng Jin.
[ ] Liao He.
[ ] Shan Hong.
[ ] Other (you will go wandering and try to find someone interesting. Now that oyu are an outer disciple, new options will be available).


Pick a job to spend 7 blocks a week on.
[ ] The Garden Job. Now that you're an outer disciple, the job pays better, but has commensurate difficulties. +1 sect point per hour per Step increase. At your current level (Second Step Outer Human), offers 13 sect points per time block, plus the Degrees of Success on your Spirit Ken roll.
[ ] Other. See the Jobs Board post in the Informational threadmarks.

You have three (3) 4-hour blocks a day (21 blocks a week) free to spend as you wish. Cultivating takes 1 block, jobs take 1 block, various training will take up blocks as noted in the description in the Sect Points post in the Informational threadmarks.

An example plan would be:
[ ] Jia.
[ ] Liao He.
[ ] 1 block a day on mental cultivation lessons.
[ ] 1 block a day on physical cultivation lessons.
[ ] Spend 50 sect points to buy Spirit Ken lessons, 1 block a day on them.


You have fully broken through to the Second Step. What insights into the world around you have you gained? Take two (2).
[ ] Water drips from the blade.
[ ] Grass sprouts from the drops.
[ ] Fire is raised from the kindling.
[ ] Earth is born from the flame.
[ ] Metal is drawn from the stone.
[ ] Write in.


You have two technique slots available in each path. Discuss what you would like for them. You do not have to fill these slots immediately, and can choose to wait. Please feel free to ask me questions on this.

[ ] Free technique.
- [ ] Physical or Mental
- [ ] Type: Attack, Defend, Support, Heal, Move.
- [ ] Element: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood.

[ ] Purchase Technique (50 sect points)
- [ ] Physical or Mental
- [ ] Type: Attack, Defend, Support, Heal, Move.
- [ ] Element: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood.
—[ ] Specifics. What do you want the technique to do?


AN: I will close the vote on Sunday at 2200 BST, as I'll be busy all weekend. Chapter should be up Monday.

AVAILABLE JOBS

Greetings, disciple. You're a special case, aren't you, Zhi Gao? We know what you want to do, so here it is.

The Garden Job
Now that you're an outer disciple, the job pays better, but has commensurate difficulties. +1 sect point per hour per Step increase. At your current level (Second Step Outer Human), offers 13 sect points per time block, plus the Degrees of Success on your Spirit Ken roll.

If that's not enough for you, take a look a the rest of our offers.

The [Skill] Job
You get 1 sect point per hour, plus 1 per two Step increases. 8 sect points per time block, plus Degrees of Success on your appropriate skill roll.

Hunt!
There are all sorts of nasty beasties in the area. Nothing an Outer Human can't handle, but too dangerous for mortals. Risks injury, but gains more sect points as a reward. Success grants 25 sect points plus degrees of success per time block. Failure gives nothing. Critical failures cause injury. Uses Melee or Ranged Combat, or a relevant Technique.