Year 43, week 3
Ling Qi's limbs trembled with exhaustion, her muscles burning from the strain of holding herself in the difficult pose Instructor Zhou had forced them to begin utilizing for their meditation this week. It had started out simply enough, standing with their arms extended and their backs bent at odd angles, then it had progressed to balancing on one leg or one one hand for extended periods in increasingly difficult postures and only grown worse from there.
Muscles she did not even know she had were sore, and the sweat trickling down her forehead despite the mountain chill kept stinging her eyes. Ling Qi doggedly kept her attention on Instructor Zhou as he paced along between the rows of disciples, muscular arms clasped behind his back.
"As a cultivator, you cannot afford to neglect any part of your body. Physical cultivation is, at it's core an endless exercise in balance and unity. Lose that balance, cultivate some part out of synch and you will tear your own body apart," the elder lectured pausing now and then to not so gently nudge a disciple back into proper position. "At this low stage of cultivation you may suffer torn muscles, broken bones, and other minor injuries."
He pauses as one of the boys on his left collapses, his leg giving out beneath him and waves the boy off to cool down. "The repercussions for failure only grow with your cultivation, you do not wish to make such mistakes when you begin the reinforcement of the major organs." Ling Qi grit her teeth as the muscles in her back cried out from being extended for so long. "One's foundation of understanding is vital to cultivation. Which is the sole reason that Elders such as I are spending their time teaching you."
"The key physical cultivation is Unity!" His voice booms out over the field, and another person collapses, in a heap. A girl this time, who had been standing next to an utterly unperturbed Meizhen, who stands as still as a statue without so much as a tremble. "The body requires Unity and Balance," even in her current state Ling Qi could hear the odd emphasis that he put on those words. "Flesh, bone, muscle, blood, the organs, major and minor. No part of the body functions well without the others supporting it! And so all must be cultivated to achieve true strength."
He is silent for several seconds after that rounding the end of the row and beginning a walk down the one occupied by Ling Qi. "The same can be said for the Sect and the Empire. No province would find the same prosperity, the same safety on it's own." Ling Qi's breath hitched as she felt her body begging to be allowed to collapse. "No soldier survives a battle on his own. He survives with the support of his squad, which survives with the support of its battalion. A General without his men is no better than a head without a body. An army without a general is no more than a body without a head!"
Distantly Ling Qi notes the savage and approving grin on Sun Liling's face from where the girl stands in the next row down, twisted into an even more contorted position than the rest of them. Ling Qi had no idea it was even possible to get one's foot to touch their ears like that. "But all the same, cultivation is also about removing the impurities from the body. It is about ejecting weakness," He stops only a scant dozen steps from Ling Qi's position to survey the field, towering over the hunched and bent students. "I have said it before, I am not here to train court cultivators, who sit in their clan homes and play the games of politics. I train the soldiers who will stand as the bulwark of the empire. So, this is your warning. The next week is the last of my lessons which will be provided freely."
Murmurs of alarm sound at that, but none dared be indignant. "The week after next, I will oversee a test. It will not be one solely of personal strength. You will be organized into squads and set against one another, in various tasks. I intend accept no more than thirty disciples into the remaining lessons," he resumes walking then, and Ling Qi bit her lip as she concentrated on not falling. Not now, she didn't want to fail with him right in front of her…
As the Elder moved toward her she she let out a breath and closed her eyes. No. She would not let herself fail. She felt her qi blaze in her dantian, the steady outward flow being dispersed into her bones and muscles increasing for a moment and dulling the ache of exhaustion. When she opened her eyes she found herself meeting the instructor's eyes, if only for a second as he swept his gaze over her. "We will see which of you has the potential to be worth more of my time then. I suggest you work hard in the coming week."
The progress she made never seemed enough to Ling Qi, particularly with this new deadline hanging over her head. It wasn't fair, how was she supposed to compete in something like this when she had only just begun? Ling Qi had crushed that thought as soon as she had it, while trudging back home from the exhausting lesson. Life was never fair, had never been fair. She would just have to find a way to succeed. It was a group exercise at least, and he had never said that it would be direct combat. Perhaps she could group with Meizhen? It felt unpleasant to have to rely on someone else's strength, but pride was a luxury of the strong. She had a niggling feeling that Elder Zhou's test wouldn't be as simple as the chatter of her fellow disciples were making it out to be.
She almost panicked and dismissed her earlier plans for the week in favor of trying to cultivate the art she had taken from the archive a few days ago, but in the end she decided against it. Had the instructor not said that the foundation was the most important? Right now the Argent Soul was her foundation and so she would improve it, no matter what.
It was a little harder to justify going along with Li Suyin's request, but in the end, she felt that getting a connection to another disciple was worth more than a few more hours of fumbling cultivation.
Which brought her to where she was now, the day after Zhou's declaration, after her Spirit Cultivation lesson. Unlike most days she didn't duck out the moment Elder Su opened the door, but instead hung back, watching Li Suyin stand up as well, haphazardly gathering up the various writing tools she always brought to the lessons.
Ling Qi had only started paying attention to the other girl recently, but she had observed that the girl never seemed to be without her implements, and carried them in a rather expensive looking case at her side. It was the only real proof that the girl had any wealth. Ling Qi could see the appeal of taking notes, frankly. More than once she had wished she could better recall Elder Su's instruction even with her improved memory. Such things were laughably out of her reach financially though. Besides, while she could read, her writing ability was far too slow to keep up with an Elder's lecture.
Suyin finally noticed her looking then, and her eyes widened for a moment before she hurried up, the shiny wooden case holding her notes and implements clutched against her chest. "I'm sorry, were you waiting for me? It's just, I needed to blot the ink and…"
"It's fine," Ling Qi cut her off just a bit rudely, not wanting the other girl to ramble, she had noticed a bit of attention on the two of them. "Let's walk while we talk," she added, turning away to head for the door.
She heard the girl murmur a response, and hurry to catch up with her, apologizing as she had to move around and between other students to do so. "W-why are you always in such a hurry to leave class?" The blue haired girl asked as she finally fell in beside Ling Qi. She was even worse than Meizhen, the other girl's head barely came up to Ling Qi's chest. Just another reason to feel awkward and out of place.
"I like staying in practice," Ling Qi responded. "The truce the Elders put down won't last forever, and my room mate hasn't made me popular," left unsaid is that she didn't have any family reputation to act as a buffer either.
"Oh, well, um…" your answer seems to have surprised her. "I… surely no one will do anything excessive, right?" At Ling Qi's incredulous look, the shorter girl hurried on. "I mean, there will be… duels and such obviously, but we are all disciples of the same sect."
"...Maybe," Ling Qi allows, but she doubts it will be so civilized. If one dumped a few scraps of meat into a pen of starving dogs they won't nicely share it, and that was a pretty close approximation of the disciples and the trickle of spirit stones they were supplied in her view. "So, what's the plan?"
Li Suyin blinked at the sudden change in subject as the two of them hurried out of the lecture building. "I was hoping you could come to my home and I could ask you a few questions before observing you while you cultivate," she responded nervously. "I… well. My senses are quite good, I've been told, but it's hard to discern anything when there is so much interference," she says while gesturing vaguely to the other disciples around you.
Ling Qi frowned, was she just getting set up for a trap? She didn't like putting herself in the other girls space. "Why don't we do it at my place instead?" She asked challengingly, to see how the other girl would respond.
The blue haired girls eyes widened almost comically and she hunched her shoulders. "I… well. Maybe? I'm not sure…. Would your housemate really allow that?" She asked, she reminded Ling Qi of a frightened rabbit.
"It's my home too," Ling Qi responded stubbornly. She honestly wasn't sure how Meizhen would react to someone else in their home. "Besides, why is everyone so afraid or disdainful of her anyway?" She didn't want to bring it up to Meizhen herself and it had never come up
Now Li Suyin was the one looking at her incredulously. "She… does her aura not affect you?"She asked before frowning. "No, it must not, how else would you live with her," she mumbled to herself. "Is it just acclimation though or…"
Ling Qi shifted uncomfortably. Her heart still sped up sometimes when she was startled by Bai Meizhen;s presence, but it was mostly something that she had almost forgotten about given her constant proximity to the girl. "It can't just be that," she said, cutting off the other girls inquisitive mumbling. "I mean, it's a little unnerving, but we're all cultivators here."
Li Suyin grimaces slightly, turning her attention back to you. "I… don't really understand fully myself… Father is only a regional minister of finance, I'm not… not really a noble by birth, Father was elevated in the exams," she admits uncomfortably. "The Bai family is… they frighten people, and upset things with their disagreements with the Imperial Court. There are only a handful of ancient bloodlines left in the empire, you know?"
Ling Qi didn't know, but she supposed she would have to take the other girls word for it. "..We'll do this at your place then," she decided. In the end, her instincts told her this girl wasn't leading her on, and she supposed it was a poor idea to invite someone over without asking. Meizhen could be prickly at the best of times.
So she followed Suyin to her home, a tiny stone hut on the edge of the residential area. It was… cramped is probably the best word for it. A single room with a hearth in the center and a thin pallet laid out on either side. It was… rather obvious which side belonged to Suyin, it was the neatly made one surrounded by paper and books.
The other side was a mess of balled up blankets and discarded clothing, as well as a few other random knick knacks, like a battered belt knife, a few stone dishes and implements for grinding and mixing herbs. There's also fine, silky strands of hair on everything. does the girl Suyin is rooming with have a cat or a dog?
In any case Suyin mumbles apologies for the mess her housemate left and ushers you into the only other room, which is essentially the meditation room at your home just… downsized. Once the two of you are seated the dim and cramped room, things start off simply enough. Suyin asking you various questions about your cultivation, and scribbling down your answers on the paper spread across the wooden board she laid out across her lap.
Ling Qi found herself relaxing slightly as time passed and nothing untoward happened, even as the other girls increasingly difficult questions forced her to think far more about her cultivation than she had previously. Things like the number of qi circulations in each 'push' on her meridian, and the exact number of breaths she took per minute when meditating… she can't answer many of them, since she didn't really pay attention to it herself. It was more than a bit frustrating to fail to answer again and again.
"Does all of this actually matter?" She finally asked cutting off Li Suyin's latest inquiry about whether she circulated her qi clockwise or counterclockwise or some mix of both when clearing her meridians.
The other girl paused in writing and shifted uncomfortably where she was seated only a few inches away. "I… don't know," she admitted. "I ask questions in the lessons, but there is never enough time for everything I want to ask," she adds with a hint of frustration. "There is just so much that I do not know."
"Why ask me then?" Ling Qi asked, leaning back against the wall. "There are probably girls who actually know the answers."
Li Suyin looked the side, twiddling nervously with her with her ink brush. "Would they answer though?" She asked her expression going bitter. "At least you are willing to sit down and answer questions instead of calling me foolish."
"That's… fair," Ling Qi admitted. "I don't know that I'll be able to do it often though. I need to cultivate and the Argent Soul isn't going to master itself." She didn't dislike the other girl, but she was also finding it difficult to think of reasons why she should continue.
Li Suyin's face fell, but then her expression settled into one of determination. "Would… would you care for a look at my notes? I've done a fair amount of work on studying how the art works, as well as deciphering the meanings behind the koans and more opaque phrasing." She asks, sounding a bit desperate. "All I ask is that you let me observe your cultivation."
Ling Qi frowned, but eventually nodded, she was already here, and it couldn't hurt.
Suyin's notes were themselves, dense and difficult to decipher, but at the same time… they were pretty insightful. She had ideas for achieving the improved qi flow of the second part of the technique that Ling Qi hadn't even considered. Now that she had been presented with them, it made all too much sense though. In the end she barely gave Suyin a thought before closing her eyes to cultivate her art. The insights were more than worth a little observation.
Several hours later Ling Qi opened her eyes feeling incredibly refreshed, she had not been able to fully stabilize the increased qi flow yet, but she felt like she had advanced in leaps and bounds compared to the muddled attempts she had made earlier in the week after lessons./ She still jerked back in shock at the first sight she saw though. Li Suyin had leaned in far closer than was comfortable, close enough that she could feel the other girls breath tickling her neck as the other girl held a hand just barely an inch away from her stomach. Just how out of touch was she when cultivating?
"Back up," she commanded, in a voice that was definitely not an embarrassed squeak.
Li Suyin startled at the sound of her voice and then flushed red when she met Ling Qi's eyes, hastily leaning back with wide eyes as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "I...I'm sorry!" She squeaked out herself. "I just lost track of things while observing your qi and I think I've nearly managed to open the meridian in my arm and I got better results when I was closer and," she rambled defensively.
"Just, just don't do that again," Ling Qi responded shakily, cutting her off. She wasn't quite sure why it bothered her so much, beyond a general aversion to letting someone so close without her knowledge. "...I won't mind coming by again sometime though," she added in the awkward silence that followed. "As long as you keep sharing your notes," she added hastily.
It was a fairly profitable arrangement for the both of them in the end, and between her time with Suyin and her continued lessons in qi control from Elder Su she found herself progressing rapidly toward the second stage of the Argent Soul Art.
Not everything was going well though. Between her time spent with Suyin, her cultivation, and her lessons Ling Qi had not had much chance to speak with Meizhen until nearly halfway through the week.
"What do you mean you don't intend to participate?" Ling Qi asked in distress as she looked across the fire at Bai Meizhen in the evening after one of her lessons with Instructor Zhou.
The pale girl sipped quietly from a steaming cup of tea as Cui lazily slithered up from the collar of her gown, coiling around her neck in a lazy loop. "Just as I said. I have no intention of joining the military in any capacity. Elder Zhou's instruction is valuable, but in the end it is not the path I wish to take. My own physical cultivation is sufficient for the moment."
Ling Qi grimaced, so much for the hope that she could succeed by relying on Meizhen. There was still the possibility of trying to join Han Jian… but she felt less sure of herself in that instance. The boy had quite a few other friends and contacts. "Do you at least have an idea of what he's going to ask of us?" Bai Meizhen knew more of the Elder's reputations that Ling Qi did after all.
She hummed thoughtfully for a moment, it had a slightly unnerving hissing quality to it, but Ling Qi was used to it by now. "Zhou is a man dedicated to the empire through and through. It is likely he will test for cooperation, coordination, and ability to synergize one's skills with others. I expect the test will take the form of achieving various military style objectives."
Ling qi nodded, clutching her knees in worry as her thoughts spun through the possibilities. She might not have much combat ability… but she was fairly good at sneaking and survival. Scouting was an important part of army operations, right? She hoped so, her only experience with soldiering was listening to drunk city guards bemoan their superior officers. "Ugh, I wish I had more time and resources to cultivate with," she lamented. "There are so many things to do, and I'm still so far behind. I can't afford to lose out on an Elder's lessons."
Bai Meizhen regarded her emotionlessly over the rim of her tea cup as Ling Qi spoke to herself. Cui was staring at her too, tongue flickering in and out, she couldn't be sure why. "I have noticed that your cultivation has stopped progressing. Have you reached a block?"
Ling Qi shook her head, "no, I've been cultivating the Argent Soul Art instead. It's my… foundation, right, if I strengthen it, everything that comes after will be better." The explanation sounded better in her head. Especially with her wishing for more immediate gains.
Bai Meizhen nodded, a hint of approval flickering in her golden eyes. "That is a good way to think, but I can understand why you are distressed," she glanced downward thoughtfully, meeting the eyes of her 'cousin' who merely flicked her tongue lazily in response, at least as far as Ling Qi could tell. "Would you like a cup of tea?" The question was bizarre, and made Ling Qi blink in surprise as the other girl looked back up to meet her gaze.
"I… sure?" Ling Qi responded a bit awkwardly. Was the other girl trying to comfort her?"Can I ask why though?"
Bai Meizhen pursed her lips for a moment as she studied Ling Qi's expression. "I am no herbalist, but I do have some small supply of spirit herbs. Several of which are no longer useful to me," she added, as if that explained everything. She frowned a second later at Ling Qi's lack of understanding. "The tea will allow you to cultivate longer and more efficiently. It cannot be used too often though. Once a month at most."
Ling Qi's eyes widened. Even with the limitation that would be an amazing boon. She hurriedly ducked her head thankfully to the other girl. "Oh! Then yes, please, thank you very much."
Bai Meizhen waved her hand dismissively. "It is nothing. The herbs in question are not useful to one above the Red Soul stage," she sounded a bit pleased at Ling Qi's acceptance.
Later that night, Ling Qi was not regretting doing so, even if the tea had been so bitter she had nearly spat it out. As horrible as it had tasted, the energy that now thrummed through her dantian was worth it. Her muscles tingled and her heartbeat thundered in her ears, making it difficult to simply sit down and cultivate, but at the same time it had washed away the fatigue and thinly stretched feeling that followed having spent the day cultivating.
When she opened her eyes hours later, feeling the deepened well of Qi within her body, and the surge of heartiness and vitality brought on by improving her cultivation art, she was unable to hold back a smile. This… this had been worth it. She would need to dedicate herself to training hard, but as of now she could instinctively feel that she had enough qi to lessen her need for sleep. It would leave her drained of energy but she could now train longer and harder if need be.
That night, as she grew exhausted with the feeling of the teas effects fading, Ling QI found herself toying with her flute for the first time since she had come here. Everything was changing so quickly. She might not have true strength yet, but she was achieving something. It should have been obvious, but it hadn't really sunk in how different things were now. She had friends, if tentative and eccentric ones. She knew things that she could never have imagined having the time to care about. She was seriously considering competing in a military exercise for goodness sake.
As she brought the flute to her lips and closed her eyes, she could only think of one thing. She wouldn't fail, she wouldn't fall behind… and she wouldn't be a drag on her housemate forever. The other girl had helped her greatly tonight, and in the past weeks. Their conversations had given her the basic understanding she would need to get by among the other disciples. She would pay her back.
She played until sleep finally took her.
-1 Spirit Stone
You may Choose up to FOUR actions for the following week. You have a fifth action available this week as well. If you would like to use it, please list it with the preface of 'Extra'.
For example if you wish to spend your bonus action exploring, you would vote-
[] Extra: Explore the Mountain
Available actions
[] Spend time with Han Jian, he can help you with your new Art, and perhaps you can convince him to group with you next week
[] Spend time with Meizhen. So far you have done little for her. Maybe you can find a way to do something for her?
[] Continue your study sessions with Li Suyin. Her insights are valuable, even if the girls idea of personal space is lacking
[] Attend the Elders lessons
[] Explore the mountain
[] Cultivate on your own
-[] Spiritual
-[] Physical
-[] Zephyr's Breath
-[] Increase Qi
-[] Open a Meridian
AN: In the interests of allowing more things to actually happen per update, the lessons will be combined into one action. Ins tory this is due to Ling Qi learning to more effectively manage her time. Thanks for bearing with me while I work the kinks out.
Muscles she did not even know she had were sore, and the sweat trickling down her forehead despite the mountain chill kept stinging her eyes. Ling Qi doggedly kept her attention on Instructor Zhou as he paced along between the rows of disciples, muscular arms clasped behind his back.
"As a cultivator, you cannot afford to neglect any part of your body. Physical cultivation is, at it's core an endless exercise in balance and unity. Lose that balance, cultivate some part out of synch and you will tear your own body apart," the elder lectured pausing now and then to not so gently nudge a disciple back into proper position. "At this low stage of cultivation you may suffer torn muscles, broken bones, and other minor injuries."
He pauses as one of the boys on his left collapses, his leg giving out beneath him and waves the boy off to cool down. "The repercussions for failure only grow with your cultivation, you do not wish to make such mistakes when you begin the reinforcement of the major organs." Ling Qi grit her teeth as the muscles in her back cried out from being extended for so long. "One's foundation of understanding is vital to cultivation. Which is the sole reason that Elders such as I are spending their time teaching you."
"The key physical cultivation is Unity!" His voice booms out over the field, and another person collapses, in a heap. A girl this time, who had been standing next to an utterly unperturbed Meizhen, who stands as still as a statue without so much as a tremble. "The body requires Unity and Balance," even in her current state Ling Qi could hear the odd emphasis that he put on those words. "Flesh, bone, muscle, blood, the organs, major and minor. No part of the body functions well without the others supporting it! And so all must be cultivated to achieve true strength."
He is silent for several seconds after that rounding the end of the row and beginning a walk down the one occupied by Ling Qi. "The same can be said for the Sect and the Empire. No province would find the same prosperity, the same safety on it's own." Ling Qi's breath hitched as she felt her body begging to be allowed to collapse. "No soldier survives a battle on his own. He survives with the support of his squad, which survives with the support of its battalion. A General without his men is no better than a head without a body. An army without a general is no more than a body without a head!"
Distantly Ling Qi notes the savage and approving grin on Sun Liling's face from where the girl stands in the next row down, twisted into an even more contorted position than the rest of them. Ling Qi had no idea it was even possible to get one's foot to touch their ears like that. "But all the same, cultivation is also about removing the impurities from the body. It is about ejecting weakness," He stops only a scant dozen steps from Ling Qi's position to survey the field, towering over the hunched and bent students. "I have said it before, I am not here to train court cultivators, who sit in their clan homes and play the games of politics. I train the soldiers who will stand as the bulwark of the empire. So, this is your warning. The next week is the last of my lessons which will be provided freely."
Murmurs of alarm sound at that, but none dared be indignant. "The week after next, I will oversee a test. It will not be one solely of personal strength. You will be organized into squads and set against one another, in various tasks. I intend accept no more than thirty disciples into the remaining lessons," he resumes walking then, and Ling Qi bit her lip as she concentrated on not falling. Not now, she didn't want to fail with him right in front of her…
2 successes needed.
3, 5. +1 Cultivation auto success. Failure. Rerolling due to Argent Soul
8, 7. Two successes.
3, 5. +1 Cultivation auto success. Failure. Rerolling due to Argent Soul
8, 7. Two successes.
As the Elder moved toward her she she let out a breath and closed her eyes. No. She would not let herself fail. She felt her qi blaze in her dantian, the steady outward flow being dispersed into her bones and muscles increasing for a moment and dulling the ache of exhaustion. When she opened her eyes she found herself meeting the instructor's eyes, if only for a second as he swept his gaze over her. "We will see which of you has the potential to be worth more of my time then. I suggest you work hard in the coming week."
Talent 6, Lesson 2, Argent Soul 1, Red Spirit Stone 1, Test bonus 1
2, 10, 8, 3, 5, 10, 4, 8, 2, 9. 2. 6 Successes
7/20 reached.
2, 10, 8, 3, 5, 10, 4, 8, 2, 9. 2. 6 Successes
7/20 reached.
The progress she made never seemed enough to Ling Qi, particularly with this new deadline hanging over her head. It wasn't fair, how was she supposed to compete in something like this when she had only just begun? Ling Qi had crushed that thought as soon as she had it, while trudging back home from the exhausting lesson. Life was never fair, had never been fair. She would just have to find a way to succeed. It was a group exercise at least, and he had never said that it would be direct combat. Perhaps she could group with Meizhen? It felt unpleasant to have to rely on someone else's strength, but pride was a luxury of the strong. She had a niggling feeling that Elder Zhou's test wouldn't be as simple as the chatter of her fellow disciples were making it out to be.
She almost panicked and dismissed her earlier plans for the week in favor of trying to cultivate the art she had taken from the archive a few days ago, but in the end she decided against it. Had the instructor not said that the foundation was the most important? Right now the Argent Soul was her foundation and so she would improve it, no matter what.
It was a little harder to justify going along with Li Suyin's request, but in the end, she felt that getting a connection to another disciple was worth more than a few more hours of fumbling cultivation.
Which brought her to where she was now, the day after Zhou's declaration, after her Spirit Cultivation lesson. Unlike most days she didn't duck out the moment Elder Su opened the door, but instead hung back, watching Li Suyin stand up as well, haphazardly gathering up the various writing tools she always brought to the lessons.
Ling Qi had only started paying attention to the other girl recently, but she had observed that the girl never seemed to be without her implements, and carried them in a rather expensive looking case at her side. It was the only real proof that the girl had any wealth. Ling Qi could see the appeal of taking notes, frankly. More than once she had wished she could better recall Elder Su's instruction even with her improved memory. Such things were laughably out of her reach financially though. Besides, while she could read, her writing ability was far too slow to keep up with an Elder's lecture.
Suyin finally noticed her looking then, and her eyes widened for a moment before she hurried up, the shiny wooden case holding her notes and implements clutched against her chest. "I'm sorry, were you waiting for me? It's just, I needed to blot the ink and…"
"It's fine," Ling Qi cut her off just a bit rudely, not wanting the other girl to ramble, she had noticed a bit of attention on the two of them. "Let's walk while we talk," she added, turning away to head for the door.
She heard the girl murmur a response, and hurry to catch up with her, apologizing as she had to move around and between other students to do so. "W-why are you always in such a hurry to leave class?" The blue haired girl asked as she finally fell in beside Ling Qi. She was even worse than Meizhen, the other girl's head barely came up to Ling Qi's chest. Just another reason to feel awkward and out of place.
"I like staying in practice," Ling Qi responded. "The truce the Elders put down won't last forever, and my room mate hasn't made me popular," left unsaid is that she didn't have any family reputation to act as a buffer either.
"Oh, well, um…" your answer seems to have surprised her. "I… surely no one will do anything excessive, right?" At Ling Qi's incredulous look, the shorter girl hurried on. "I mean, there will be… duels and such obviously, but we are all disciples of the same sect."
"...Maybe," Ling Qi allows, but she doubts it will be so civilized. If one dumped a few scraps of meat into a pen of starving dogs they won't nicely share it, and that was a pretty close approximation of the disciples and the trickle of spirit stones they were supplied in her view. "So, what's the plan?"
Li Suyin blinked at the sudden change in subject as the two of them hurried out of the lecture building. "I was hoping you could come to my home and I could ask you a few questions before observing you while you cultivate," she responded nervously. "I… well. My senses are quite good, I've been told, but it's hard to discern anything when there is so much interference," she says while gesturing vaguely to the other disciples around you.
Ling Qi frowned, was she just getting set up for a trap? She didn't like putting herself in the other girls space. "Why don't we do it at my place instead?" She asked challengingly, to see how the other girl would respond.
The blue haired girls eyes widened almost comically and she hunched her shoulders. "I… well. Maybe? I'm not sure…. Would your housemate really allow that?" She asked, she reminded Ling Qi of a frightened rabbit.
"It's my home too," Ling Qi responded stubbornly. She honestly wasn't sure how Meizhen would react to someone else in their home. "Besides, why is everyone so afraid or disdainful of her anyway?" She didn't want to bring it up to Meizhen herself and it had never come up
Now Li Suyin was the one looking at her incredulously. "She… does her aura not affect you?"She asked before frowning. "No, it must not, how else would you live with her," she mumbled to herself. "Is it just acclimation though or…"
Ling Qi shifted uncomfortably. Her heart still sped up sometimes when she was startled by Bai Meizhen;s presence, but it was mostly something that she had almost forgotten about given her constant proximity to the girl. "It can't just be that," she said, cutting off the other girls inquisitive mumbling. "I mean, it's a little unnerving, but we're all cultivators here."
Li Suyin grimaces slightly, turning her attention back to you. "I… don't really understand fully myself… Father is only a regional minister of finance, I'm not… not really a noble by birth, Father was elevated in the exams," she admits uncomfortably. "The Bai family is… they frighten people, and upset things with their disagreements with the Imperial Court. There are only a handful of ancient bloodlines left in the empire, you know?"
Ling Qi didn't know, but she supposed she would have to take the other girls word for it. "..We'll do this at your place then," she decided. In the end, her instincts told her this girl wasn't leading her on, and she supposed it was a poor idea to invite someone over without asking. Meizhen could be prickly at the best of times.
So she followed Suyin to her home, a tiny stone hut on the edge of the residential area. It was… cramped is probably the best word for it. A single room with a hearth in the center and a thin pallet laid out on either side. It was… rather obvious which side belonged to Suyin, it was the neatly made one surrounded by paper and books.
The other side was a mess of balled up blankets and discarded clothing, as well as a few other random knick knacks, like a battered belt knife, a few stone dishes and implements for grinding and mixing herbs. There's also fine, silky strands of hair on everything. does the girl Suyin is rooming with have a cat or a dog?
In any case Suyin mumbles apologies for the mess her housemate left and ushers you into the only other room, which is essentially the meditation room at your home just… downsized. Once the two of you are seated the dim and cramped room, things start off simply enough. Suyin asking you various questions about your cultivation, and scribbling down your answers on the paper spread across the wooden board she laid out across her lap.
Ling Qi found herself relaxing slightly as time passed and nothing untoward happened, even as the other girls increasingly difficult questions forced her to think far more about her cultivation than she had previously. Things like the number of qi circulations in each 'push' on her meridian, and the exact number of breaths she took per minute when meditating… she can't answer many of them, since she didn't really pay attention to it herself. It was more than a bit frustrating to fail to answer again and again.
"Does all of this actually matter?" She finally asked cutting off Li Suyin's latest inquiry about whether she circulated her qi clockwise or counterclockwise or some mix of both when clearing her meridians.
The other girl paused in writing and shifted uncomfortably where she was seated only a few inches away. "I… don't know," she admitted. "I ask questions in the lessons, but there is never enough time for everything I want to ask," she adds with a hint of frustration. "There is just so much that I do not know."
"Why ask me then?" Ling Qi asked, leaning back against the wall. "There are probably girls who actually know the answers."
Li Suyin looked the side, twiddling nervously with her with her ink brush. "Would they answer though?" She asked her expression going bitter. "At least you are willing to sit down and answer questions instead of calling me foolish."
"That's… fair," Ling Qi admitted. "I don't know that I'll be able to do it often though. I need to cultivate and the Argent Soul isn't going to master itself." She didn't dislike the other girl, but she was also finding it difficult to think of reasons why she should continue.
Li Suyin's face fell, but then her expression settled into one of determination. "Would… would you care for a look at my notes? I've done a fair amount of work on studying how the art works, as well as deciphering the meanings behind the koans and more opaque phrasing." She asks, sounding a bit desperate. "All I ask is that you let me observe your cultivation."
Ling Qi frowned, but eventually nodded, she was already here, and it couldn't hurt.
2 successes necessary
9, 1, 7, 4. 2 successes.
9, 1, 7, 4. 2 successes.
Suyin's notes were themselves, dense and difficult to decipher, but at the same time… they were pretty insightful. She had ideas for achieving the improved qi flow of the second part of the technique that Ling Qi hadn't even considered. Now that she had been presented with them, it made all too much sense though. In the end she barely gave Suyin a thought before closing her eyes to cultivate her art. The insights were more than worth a little observation.
Talent 6, Lesson 2, Suyin Bonus 2, Red Spirit Stone 1
7, 1, 2, 2, 10, 4, 7, 3, 1, 5, 4, 4. 9 Successes
9/15
7, 1, 2, 2, 10, 4, 7, 3, 1, 5, 4, 4. 9 Successes
9/15
Several hours later Ling Qi opened her eyes feeling incredibly refreshed, she had not been able to fully stabilize the increased qi flow yet, but she felt like she had advanced in leaps and bounds compared to the muddled attempts she had made earlier in the week after lessons./ She still jerked back in shock at the first sight she saw though. Li Suyin had leaned in far closer than was comfortable, close enough that she could feel the other girls breath tickling her neck as the other girl held a hand just barely an inch away from her stomach. Just how out of touch was she when cultivating?
"Back up," she commanded, in a voice that was definitely not an embarrassed squeak.
Li Suyin startled at the sound of her voice and then flushed red when she met Ling Qi's eyes, hastily leaning back with wide eyes as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "I...I'm sorry!" She squeaked out herself. "I just lost track of things while observing your qi and I think I've nearly managed to open the meridian in my arm and I got better results when I was closer and," she rambled defensively.
"Just, just don't do that again," Ling Qi responded shakily, cutting her off. She wasn't quite sure why it bothered her so much, beyond a general aversion to letting someone so close without her knowledge. "...I won't mind coming by again sometime though," she added in the awkward silence that followed. "As long as you keep sharing your notes," she added hastily.
It was a fairly profitable arrangement for the both of them in the end, and between her time with Suyin and her continued lessons in qi control from Elder Su she found herself progressing rapidly toward the second stage of the Argent Soul Art.
Not everything was going well though. Between her time spent with Suyin, her cultivation, and her lessons Ling Qi had not had much chance to speak with Meizhen until nearly halfway through the week.
"What do you mean you don't intend to participate?" Ling Qi asked in distress as she looked across the fire at Bai Meizhen in the evening after one of her lessons with Instructor Zhou.
The pale girl sipped quietly from a steaming cup of tea as Cui lazily slithered up from the collar of her gown, coiling around her neck in a lazy loop. "Just as I said. I have no intention of joining the military in any capacity. Elder Zhou's instruction is valuable, but in the end it is not the path I wish to take. My own physical cultivation is sufficient for the moment."
Ling Qi grimaced, so much for the hope that she could succeed by relying on Meizhen. There was still the possibility of trying to join Han Jian… but she felt less sure of herself in that instance. The boy had quite a few other friends and contacts. "Do you at least have an idea of what he's going to ask of us?" Bai Meizhen knew more of the Elder's reputations that Ling Qi did after all.
She hummed thoughtfully for a moment, it had a slightly unnerving hissing quality to it, but Ling Qi was used to it by now. "Zhou is a man dedicated to the empire through and through. It is likely he will test for cooperation, coordination, and ability to synergize one's skills with others. I expect the test will take the form of achieving various military style objectives."
Ling qi nodded, clutching her knees in worry as her thoughts spun through the possibilities. She might not have much combat ability… but she was fairly good at sneaking and survival. Scouting was an important part of army operations, right? She hoped so, her only experience with soldiering was listening to drunk city guards bemoan their superior officers. "Ugh, I wish I had more time and resources to cultivate with," she lamented. "There are so many things to do, and I'm still so far behind. I can't afford to lose out on an Elder's lessons."
Bai Meizhen regarded her emotionlessly over the rim of her tea cup as Ling Qi spoke to herself. Cui was staring at her too, tongue flickering in and out, she couldn't be sure why. "I have noticed that your cultivation has stopped progressing. Have you reached a block?"
Ling Qi shook her head, "no, I've been cultivating the Argent Soul Art instead. It's my… foundation, right, if I strengthen it, everything that comes after will be better." The explanation sounded better in her head. Especially with her wishing for more immediate gains.
Bai Meizhen nodded, a hint of approval flickering in her golden eyes. "That is a good way to think, but I can understand why you are distressed," she glanced downward thoughtfully, meeting the eyes of her 'cousin' who merely flicked her tongue lazily in response, at least as far as Ling Qi could tell. "Would you like a cup of tea?" The question was bizarre, and made Ling Qi blink in surprise as the other girl looked back up to meet her gaze.
"I… sure?" Ling Qi responded a bit awkwardly. Was the other girl trying to comfort her?"Can I ask why though?"
Bai Meizhen pursed her lips for a moment as she studied Ling Qi's expression. "I am no herbalist, but I do have some small supply of spirit herbs. Several of which are no longer useful to me," she added, as if that explained everything. She frowned a second later at Ling Qi's lack of understanding. "The tea will allow you to cultivate longer and more efficiently. It cannot be used too often though. Once a month at most."
Ling Qi's eyes widened. Even with the limitation that would be an amazing boon. She hurriedly ducked her head thankfully to the other girl. "Oh! Then yes, please, thank you very much."
Bai Meizhen waved her hand dismissively. "It is nothing. The herbs in question are not useful to one above the Red Soul stage," she sounded a bit pleased at Ling Qi's acceptance.
Later that night, Ling Qi was not regretting doing so, even if the tea had been so bitter she had nearly spat it out. As horrible as it had tasted, the energy that now thrummed through her dantian was worth it. Her muscles tingled and her heartbeat thundered in her ears, making it difficult to simply sit down and cultivate, but at the same time it had washed away the fatigue and thinly stretched feeling that followed having spent the day cultivating.
Talent 6, Lesson 2, Suyin Bonus 2, Medicine Bonus 1, Red Spirit Stone 1
7, 7, 4, 10, 4, 9, 5, 5, 8, 5, 1, 2. 7 Successes
16/15. Argent Soul Rank 2 reached. Excess success banked into Spirit Cultivation due to missing prerequisite.
Effects:
-Users gain two bonus dice to all cultivation attempts up until Late Red Soul Stage.
-During Cultivation gain an additional dice for each one rolled
-Users gain a bonus success on all attempts to expand their Qi pool up to a maximum of fifteen.
-Users gain four additional Qi.
-Users gain one additional health box
-Users may reroll a failed check or test once per turn.
Level 3 Progress -/- Mid Red Soul Cultivation required
7, 7, 4, 10, 4, 9, 5, 5, 8, 5, 1, 2. 7 Successes
16/15. Argent Soul Rank 2 reached. Excess success banked into Spirit Cultivation due to missing prerequisite.
Effects:
-Users gain two bonus dice to all cultivation attempts up until Late Red Soul Stage.
-During Cultivation gain an additional dice for each one rolled
-Users gain a bonus success on all attempts to expand their Qi pool up to a maximum of fifteen.
-Users gain four additional Qi.
-Users gain one additional health box
-Users may reroll a failed check or test once per turn.
Level 3 Progress -/- Mid Red Soul Cultivation required
When she opened her eyes hours later, feeling the deepened well of Qi within her body, and the surge of heartiness and vitality brought on by improving her cultivation art, she was unable to hold back a smile. This… this had been worth it. She would need to dedicate herself to training hard, but as of now she could instinctively feel that she had enough qi to lessen her need for sleep. It would leave her drained of energy but she could now train longer and harder if need be.
Ling Qi has unlocked the ability to spend eight Qi and gain an extra action slot each turn. This is exhausting at her current level however and cannot be used for two turns successively
That night, as she grew exhausted with the feeling of the teas effects fading, Ling QI found herself toying with her flute for the first time since she had come here. Everything was changing so quickly. She might not have true strength yet, but she was achieving something. It should have been obvious, but it hadn't really sunk in how different things were now. She had friends, if tentative and eccentric ones. She knew things that she could never have imagined having the time to care about. She was seriously considering competing in a military exercise for goodness sake.
As she brought the flute to her lips and closed her eyes, she could only think of one thing. She wouldn't fail, she wouldn't fall behind… and she wouldn't be a drag on her housemate forever. The other girl had helped her greatly tonight, and in the past weeks. Their conversations had given her the basic understanding she would need to get by among the other disciples. She would pay her back.
She played until sleep finally took her.
-1 Spirit Stone
Dexterity 1/20 -Zhou's lesson
Stamina 3/15 -Zhou's lesson
Intelligence 8/15 Su's Lesson, Suyin
Academics 2/9 -Su's lesson, Suyin
Occult 3/3 New dot earned!
Politics 3/3 New dot earned!
Athletics 4/9 -Zhou's Lesson
Stamina 3/15 -Zhou's lesson
Intelligence 8/15 Su's Lesson, Suyin
Academics 2/9 -Su's lesson, Suyin
Occult 3/3 New dot earned!
Politics 3/3 New dot earned!
Athletics 4/9 -Zhou's Lesson
You may Choose up to FOUR actions for the following week. You have a fifth action available this week as well. If you would like to use it, please list it with the preface of 'Extra'.
For example if you wish to spend your bonus action exploring, you would vote-
[] Extra: Explore the Mountain
Available actions
[] Spend time with Han Jian, he can help you with your new Art, and perhaps you can convince him to group with you next week
[] Spend time with Meizhen. So far you have done little for her. Maybe you can find a way to do something for her?
[] Continue your study sessions with Li Suyin. Her insights are valuable, even if the girls idea of personal space is lacking
[] Attend the Elders lessons
[] Explore the mountain
[] Cultivate on your own
-[] Spiritual
-[] Physical
-[] Zephyr's Breath
-[] Increase Qi
-[] Open a Meridian
AN: In the interests of allowing more things to actually happen per update, the lessons will be combined into one action. Ins tory this is due to Ling Qi learning to more effectively manage her time. Thanks for bearing with me while I work the kinks out.
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