Live The Balance (Original cultivation)

2.7 - Market Research

The binding of a spirit is a strange thing, Zhi Gao thinks; he'd expected it to be harder, more complicated, from everything he's read. Perhaps that would be the case with the other choices, but with an agreement, it's as simple as speaking the words and flexing his will and his qi. Novelty flaps, twice, and then darts towards him. She vanishes in a puff of iridescent dust, and he can feel her appear within his meridians, her energy distinct from his own but tinged, now, with his qi.

He suspects that you could destroy an opponent, if you did such a thing as an attack. Tear their channels asunder from within. It would be suicide for the attacker, too, unless they were immensely more powerful, but it would probably work.

He can't hear Novelty's voice, when she's within his body, but he can feel a hint of her emotions. She's excited, intrigued, curious in a way he's only seen before in small children. He leaves her to her exploration of his qi circulation systems, bows to her matriarch, and makes his way back down the hill and into Songhua. The city is still odd, to him, with its sharp-pitched roofs and well-paved streets, but a week of travelling through it every day has begun to inure him to the experience. Novelty is more impressed, however, and she pops out of him to stare around in every direction, flitting from place to place as she goes. She investigates roof apexes and pokes her head into the gutters; she perches on the awnings of the stalls that line the major streets, and dips her furled proboscis in the little pockets of snow that gather there.

"What's this?" she asks, a thousand times between the gates and the sect vessel; he answers as best he can every time, but his knowledge of the place is little better than hers.

It seems she's just as excited by 'I don't knows' as she is by definite information. He wonders if she can read, if any spirit can read, and sets the idea of taking her to the library in his head for future consideration. Even if she can't read, he can read to her. They make it back to the sect with enough time for him to wash and sleep before the end of the week, and Novelty seems content to investigate his bedroom while he dozes.

He has plans for the week, of course, and Novelty seems enchanted enough by all the new experiences that she's happy to follow along, though she alternates from shoulder to head to shoulder, then to his back or his front, between long soaring glides down the corridors. Eventually she settles on using the top of his head as a perch, and it feels rather like having six delicate combs lodged in his hair, unruly and over-grown as it currently is. She doesn't weigh much, even by spirit standards, so it's no strain on his neck, but he does attract the odd amused look from other disciples as he passes them.

His first stop is the sect board; he intends to book a lot of classes this week, to get started on his preparations for both his inevitable posting and for his future cultivation. Rao Chen is still available to help sharpen his wits, and though the older boy is a little grating, he considers it better to deal with a tutor he knows and can tolerate over the risk of one he doesn't and can't. The available tutors for combat training surprise him, though; he'd never expected to see Lady Zhu as an instructor, but there she is, available to oversee a group for basic combat training. He hesitates for a moment before choosing her. Their last interaction had been awkward, but she was, as his friends had advised, certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Besides, as someone strongly aligned with fire, she might have some insights he lacked.

He notes his choices down on the message-paper attached to the board, and each piece folds itself up into a little bird and flies off to its recipients. He thinks the messages actually go to a central location, where they tick the sect points off the ledgers and send out appointments to the tutors, but he's never bothered to follow one of the off-white birds before. Something to do with Novelty, one day, he supposes.

The lessons with Rao Chen continue as if they never stopped, though the puzzles and riddles grow ever more challenging. He's booked two sessions a day, though separated by eight bells on either side, to give himself time to let his brain recover from being wrung out like a wet cloth. It amuses him, a little, to think of where he was less than a quarter-year ago, illiterate and barely educated. Now he's rubbing shoulders with the highest lords and ladies of the Empire, even if he doesn't always realise it.

His combat lessons are a different kind of stressful. They're held in one of the smaller sparring halls, one with plain dark wood walls and ceiling and a padded floor; the walls are lined with weapons in wood and metal by the hundred in racks, though it almost feels like they're more decoration than functional. Lady Zhu is amused by his attendance, for some reason, and she's as striking as ever. Her bright red feathers and hair now seem to defy gravity, forming a short crest that juts from the back of her head, and the lines of her face seem to have sharpened. Her eyes glow, as do the veins and arteries beneath her skin, and her dark brown skin now seems almost bark-like in colour; surely, she's been investing in a number of body path cultivation techniques. It's intimidating, when those golden eyes pin him with a glance, and his fellow students seem just as cowed.

"Greetings, fellow disciples," Lady Zhu says, once all eight of them have arrived. "I am informed that none of you have prior training in the fine art of killing."

That it's put so bluntly is unsettling.

"Oh, some of the minor sects and mortal schools like to pretend these abilities can be used for other things," she continues, a sharp smile on her face. "But they are lying to themselves. A sword is for slaying, not for ploughing fields. The ability to murder with hands and feet is for murder, not for defence. You have to know this, and be aware, or you will not progress. I am teaching you how to kill."

She glances from one student to another, and her eyes finally settle on Zhi Gao.

"Some of you will have killed before, I hope. I know Zhi Gao here will have helped slaughter animals, no?"

He nods. It's not like you could avoid it, in the village; not like you could do it, without ten strong men to help hold down some of the livestock, so the death could be swift and as painless as possible.

"And so it is with anything. Death is death. Killing a man and killing a pig differ only in the squealing," she says. "If you do not wish to learn how to kill, leave now. I will ensure your points are refunded, and I advise that you make serious efforts to learn skills that will keep you from the battle line."

Three of the prospective students leave, having paled under Lady Zhu's eyes and words. The looked, Zhi Gao thinks, like they were probably well-off city folk, before the sect. He doubts any of those remaining are nobles, either. He has the impression they are taught this kind of thing from an early age. Lady Zhu smiles again, showing of gleaming white teeth, and claps her hands, once.

"Good. We will first learn how to stand, how to fall, and how to strike with fists and feet so that you hurt your opponent more than you hurt yourself," she says. "Pair off. Zhi Gao, I will partner with you for this first session."

He's surprised by how good a teacher she is, after the session ends. Oh, he's bruised and battered, which is impressive considering the body techniques he's picked up, but he feels like he's learned a lot. Novelty had watched the session for a few minutes before deciding that investigating all the weapons is a better use of her time.

He spends time in the gardens, as he does every week, and, to his surprise, this is the part of the day that Novelty finds the least interesting. She's seen plants before, he supposes, and though she enjoys pestering some of the other spirits it doesn't seem like it's quite as exotic for her as the rest of the sect.

The final thing he tries to fit into his days is further research on positions in the military, in the hopes he can find something that will fit him well. Alchemy is something that seems to, in his mind, progress naturally from his proficiency with plants, so it's his first port of call. He has no idea how to find out more than he has done already, though, so he turns to a friend who does.

Leng Jin seems just as serene as ever, though he's lost some weight. Zhi Gao knows he's been diligently practising his cultivation, though he's still not had any luck breaking through, and the exercise has done Leng Jin good. He stands more upright, the slouch he had from spending all day hunched over paperwork corrected by the ruthless body path cultivation he's been undergoing, and that alone makes him seem more than he was. Zhi Gao finds him in one of the store rooms, a cavernous space that manages to feel cramped due to the hundreds of things crammed into it; bolts of cloth, chests full of spices and gems, crates full of ores. Leng Jin is taking inventory, and the other boy brightens when he sees him.

"Zhi Gao, greetings," he says. "What brings you to my humble estate?"

Zhi Gao smiles, bows, starts to help with the work. It's the least he can do, when asking for a favour like this.

"I'm afraid it's not just for the pleasure of your company," he says, as he holds a chest open so that Leng Jin can count the items within. "I was after some advice."

"Oh, I'm always happy to give advice," Leng Jin says. "For free, even, for a friend. One who knows how to ask politely, at least, unlike a certain fox-eared fellow of our acquaintance."

"Liao He giving you trouble?"

"No more than usual," Leng Jin says. "We have a friendly rivalry, I suppose. He's growing irritated he can't beat me in weiqi, though at least he hasn't learned a technique specifically for it. That's besides the point, though. What can I do for you, Zhi Gao?"

"I was wondering if you knew who I should talk to in order to find out more about learning alchemy," Zhi Gao says. "And possibly healing, too, if that's a connected set of abilities?"

Leng Jin is silent for a moment, though it's not out of shock or consideration; he's simply counting under his breath, and Zhi Gao doesn't interrupt him.

"Hmm. Yes, I can see why you'd be interested. I'd suggest Elder Li," he says. "He's remarkably approachable, if you show interest in any crafting position. He's primarily a formations expert, but he's well-grounded in all the major creation arts, from alchemy to talismans."

"And you can just go up to him and ask questions?" Zhi Gao says. "That seems unusual, for an Elder. I can't imagine going up to Elder Mei to chat."

"Hah! No, I can't, either," Leng Jin says. "No, Elder Li is… eccentric. You know where the creation halls are?"

Zhi Gao nods; he's passed by them enough times, and the smells of herbs and the sound of metal hammering on metal clued him in to the nature of the area. There are serious formations across that entire section of the sect, thick, heavy silver lines that prevent anything other than the odour and noise to come out of the rooms without permission.

"Elder Li spends all his time down there. His public workshop is open to all, though you'll probably have to stand in line," Leng Jin says. "Plenty of disciples will sit in the workshop all day just watching, in the hopes of gleaning some insight. The Elder answers questions, though, and he's fair in doing so. It's rather pleasant, actually, to sit and watch a master at work and get some useful titbits. It's probably worth stopping by the healing chambers, too, if you're interested in medicinal alchemy or the use of techniques for healing; they're always eager to get a new recruit. Too many disciples dream of glorious combat, apparently."

"I can't say I see the glory in dying from a pointy bit of metal," Zhi Gao says. "But then I'm just a peasant."

Leng Jin chuckles at that, eyes gleaming, and shakes his head. "Oh, as a humble merchant, I couldn't tell you, either. Could you fetch that down for me?"

Zhi Gao does so, and spends the rest of his free time helping Leng Jin organise the store room and itemise the contents. There's enough wealth in there to buy out a barony, but it's mostly mundane objects, or at least those with minimal qi, and so is barely secured.

His other spare time, limited as it is, is spent doing exactly as Leng Jin suggested. He visits the healing chambers and finds the disciples there, few as they are, almost too eager to get their hooks in him. They extol the virtues of healing, be it in combat or behind the front lines, and go into exhaustive detail on anything he chooses to ask. Apparently they are minimally busy at the moment, since the sect is in port, but will pick up once they take to sea and the disciples begin to roam out in search of adventure or roving Drowned Islanders.

They provide him a list of techniques he should pick up if he's interested in healing, from Woven Switch Prosthesis, which would allow him to create artificial limbs out of wood qi that would let the flesh and bone slowly grow back, to Waves Wash Clean, which would let him slowly purge poisons and curses from those around him with the slow ebb and flow of water qi. They warn him that healing is, however, a fairly technique-intensive specialisation; he is likely to need to use the majority of his capacity for healing and healing-related techniques, especially as he should pick up similar techniques in multiple aspects, so that he can efficiently deal with patients who have a variety of elemental aspects themselves. It can be managed with a water-wood-fire or metal-water-wood triad, if one wishes to stick to the traditional methods, with the metal-water-wood triad focusing on surgery and behind the front lines healing, and water-wood-fire specialising in sudden bursts of healing and front-line combat enhancements.

Alchemy, in a similar vein, requires a broad spread of elemental techniques, to properly process the different materials. Using a fire technique to try and refine a water ingredient is a recipe for disaster, for example. From the few questions Zhi Gao manages to ask Elder Li, in between the bouts of hammering and grinding and careful painting that occupy the Elder's attention in his workshop, the traditional triads for alchemy are wood-fire-earth and water-wood-fire, with the first offering a better selection of what Zhi Gao considers 'broad utility' pills, and the second being more focused on medicinal alchemy and poisons.

It seems like his best bet, if he seeks to be both an alchemist and a medic, is to pursue a water-wood-fire triad; that would allow him to limit his technique selections for both healing and alchemy, and let him get the best out of both. If he chooses to pursue the metal-water-wood triad that is recommended for back-line medics, his best choice of crafting arts would be those of paper talisman creation or formations, as that's the suggested triad for those particular arts. Conversely, the wood-fire-earth triad recommended for the broad utility pills would work well with the creation of weaponry, especially ranged talisman weapons like those mounted in the guard towers around the city and on the deck of the sect ship.

It's a lot to think on, but he doesn't have to decide just yet. The sect will leave port at the end of the next week, and he has a suspicion that things might change more than they're letting on. He's still aiming to reach Inner Human before the end of the year, but how, and where he goes from here, is still up in the air.

What's the week plan?

The decision to pursue a specific path is a difficult one. Please discuss your objectives and ask questions! I'm happy to provide the details of the recommended techniques if you're interested in a specific career.

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

[ ] Lady Zhu.
[ ] Ma Gang.
[ ] Jia.
[ ] Zhang Shui.
[ ] Leng Jin.
[ ] Liao He.
[ ] Shan Hong.
[ ] Lady Xuan
[ ] Other (you will go wandering and try to find someone interesting. Now that you 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. 5 sect points as base income, +1 sect point per hour per Step increase. At your current level (Sixth Step Outer Human), offers 29 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 four (4) 4-hour blocks a day (28 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.
[ ] Search for a spirit to bind. (Spirit Ken)
- [ ] What kind? (Type of spirit, associated element)
- [ ] What powers would you like it to have? (Rough outline)


You have six technique slots available in the mental path, and four in the body 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. Requires 5+ votes to lock in a technique.

[ ] 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?

Vote closes Thursday at 1800 BST.

Character sheet updated with Novelty.