Chương 13: Risks

Dual affinity, it was said. Rare, but not special. He was, in fact, special. He was not, in fact, dual affinity. — He who calls himself Chi You, The Completed Works by He Shulin, foremost scholar of the Outer Realms"The final foundational movement, Stillness. It is controversial because some say it isn't really a movement. Others say it should be taught first, not last. Some people are fools, and some have a point, but forget about the nature of young men and women.

"If I asked you to just stand, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands at your navel, you would get impatient and think this a waste. Now, after having seen the other movements, there is a chance that you will realize that Stillness is the beginning and end of everything. It is the harmony between motion and calm. Only if you perfect it can you perfect all the other movements. Let's begin." The simplest of trainings turned out to be one of the hardest.

Minghao criticized the most minute of details in his posture, and the pain from the bruise on his leg did not help, either. Time did not seem to pass as he stood in Stillness.

After they had completed the chores for the morning, Jianyi walked down the mountain. Normally, he would run, but the pain in his leg from the gate opening persisted. He followed a hunch that he had had since his first reading of the Imperial Gate Opening Technique. The urgency had increased since he had gone through the procedure for the first time, and he could count the weeks until the test. He could now understand why Elder Sun had been skeptical about his chances of succeeding in opening all the gates.

His channels still felt raw, and he did not know whether the improvements he perceived were real or figments of his hope. He also had to consider that despite the full power he had brought to bear on the impurities, they had barely opened. Eight more attempts—assuming every single one of them succeeded—seemed like a stretch. Not that he would give up—far from it. No, he needed to explore ways to make this happen, no matter how.

As he arrived at the outer sect, he was surprised to find that the area was significantly larger than the inner sect he had made his home—without really being entitled to it—and realized he had no idea where to find the library. Fortunately, the disciples and servants he found on the paths of the settlement were kind enough to point him in the right direction. The library building was smaller than the one he had visited the day before, despite catering to a lot more people.

It had just two floors, but the architecture and the large reception desk behind which the library opened up were the same. He approached a young woman with short hair and large brown eyes behind the counter.

"Excuse me, as an outer disciple, can I enter and read the scrolls?" She responded with a warm chuckle.

"Yes, that's what we are here for. You need to show me your medallion, and if you want to rent books or have us create copies of scrolls, it would cost contribution points." Jianyi grinned.

"That is wonderful, thank you." He handed her the medallion, which she quickly waved over a plate on the counter and returned to him. He slightly bowed and made to enter the library proper, when she called him back.

"Do you know how to find what you are looking for, assuming you don't just want to browse…" Jianyi looked at her with wide eyes, his cheeks heating up.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I am looking for books about the meridian gate opening process." She got up, nodded to one of her colleagues as a sign that she would leave the counter for a while, and beckoned him forward.

"Let me guide you in the right direction." It just took a few steps, and they stood in front of a few shelves that she pointed at.

"These hold different techniques and academic treatises on meridian gates and their opening." She pointed to another corner of the library.

"You can find reading desks over there."

"Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate it!" Jianyi said with a small bow. She smiled at him and waved as she left him to explore how he could unlock the full potential of his cultivation. For now, he discarded the techniques; he needed to understand things better before getting lost in them. It took a while, but he managed to identify two books that seemed to be focused on the fundamentals, one on the meridians themselves, the other on the history of opening techniques.

He found a desk in a corner and settled down to further his understanding of one of the most basic steps in cultivation. A few hours later, he sat back, reflecting on what he had learned. The first book had been mildly disappointing. It had used a lot of words to repeat what Jianyi had understood from Elder Sun and experienced himself. The meridian gates and associated pathways—or channels, as they were often called—were not physical, but still tightly interlinked with his body.

They represented his ability to gather qi, the energy that flowed through the universe, and to use it to strengthen his spirit or his body, as well as to power his abilities to impact the world directly or with the help of cards. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The meridians existed on a spiritual level, anchored by his soul and body. The second book had been more interesting.

One key thing he learned was that, in the past, dozens, maybe hundreds, of techniques had circulated to open one's gates. Those had largely fallen to the wayside as the emperor had made the Imperial Gate Opening Technique a gift to all new cultivators. The reasons for doing so were apparently that, first, he wanted to tap into a wider pool of talent by giving those without large financial means access to a reliable technique, and second, that a lot of the older techniques had come with risks.

Risks that the emperor wanted to eliminate in times of war. It seemed more important to bring more people to some level of cultivation than to risk losing potential cultivators so that those remaining could attain perfection. Jianyi felt that his visit had already been worth it. He needed to return to the compound now, but was already planning the next steps of his research when he would return. He would need to do more research, but taking some risks to unlock his full potential seemed worth it to him.

As he left, he waved to the helpful librarian and then made his way back up the mountain as fast as his still-hurting thigh allowed.

The next morning, Minghao greeted him with a broad smile.

"Now the real training can begin." Jianyi beamed.

"Are we starting with the spear forms?" Minghao laughed.

"To be so young and naïve again…" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"No, now that you have experienced the eight foundational movements, we will make sure that you actually master them—or at least won't embarrass me. We will spend at least a few days on each movement and then take stock of where you stand." Jianyi's eyebrows rose to his hairline—but only for a moment, then he nodded and started with the first exercise. This was his opportunity to improve. As much as he missed his mother from time to time, he would not trade his situation for the world.

After a week of intense training, he felt his movements already to be stronger and smoother—and he had come to learn to trust Minghao. If the man thought that this approach would help prepare him for the test, he would apply himself to the best of his abilities. Over the next few days, as his thigh healed, they continued their practice, and he managed two further visits to the outer sect library. As he walked into the courtyard for his morning training, he found Elder Sun sitting at a table drinking tea.

He bowed to the elder, who nodded back but did not seem in the mood for conversation, so Jianyi proceeded to the training circle and limbered up before Minghao joined. They went through their exercises—Rise and Sink were on the program—and as they wrapped up, Jianyi turned to Elder Sun, who had calmly drunk his tea.

"Teacher, may I ask you some questions in the next few days?"

"Sure, what about?"

"Gate opening techniques." Elder Sun raised an eyebrow.

"Are you not satisfied with the Imperial technique?"

"It is not that, I was just reading up on some things…"

"Very well, come by the day after tomorrow in the morning."

He had spent a lot of time over the last few days in the library and had compiled his thoughts into a few notes that he had refined multiple times in preparation for his meeting with Elder Sun. He steadied himself with a deep breath, knocked on the door and entered the elder's study.

"Good morning, Jianyi. Have a seat."

"Good morning, teacher. Thank you for making time for me."

"It is no problem; how may I help you?"

"After the first opening of a meridian, I understood your assessment that it would be difficult for me to open all my gates much better. While the process went off without too much of an issue, I can see how it could be quite hard and dangerous to go through eight more attempts." The elder nodded, following along so far.

"Since then, I have done some research into the topic, which was triggered by the following passage in the Imperial Gate Opening Technique:" Every attempt, whether successful or not, puts strain on the meridian channels of a freshly minted cultivator; therefore, every subsequent opening procedure becomes more challenging and painful.

"So it is not the clearing of the meridians that causes the process to get harder and more dangerous, but the attempts. That brought me to the question of whether it is possible to clear more than one meridian in a single attempt.

"According to Liu Yueqin's book 'History of Meridian Cleansing Techniques in the Empire'…" Elder Sun snorted, suppressing laughter.

"… opening two, or even more meridians in one attempt is not just possible but was even the norm in the past. The two most popular techniques of that time were the 'Martial Meridian Art' and 'Heavenly Pathway Purification Technique', both of which are available in the library, and I was wondering whether you would recommend one over the other?" Jianyi's shoulders sagged slightly, happy he had managed to get his whole thought process out in one go, and he thought he had done a decent job at it, too.

He looked at Elder Sun full of expectations.

"Well done, Jianyi, it seems my student is not only a talented martial artist and diligent cultivator, but also an aspiring researcher," the elder chuckled.

"In all seriousness, I applaud you for not following a technique blindly just because I gave it to you, or it is called 'Imperial'. Cultivation is about walking your own path, which means you need to own it, shape it, make it your own.

"A teacher can never do that for you, only guide you in a direction, share experiences, or help make trade-offs transparent. And let me be clear, there are always trade-offs.

"Has your research unearthed the trade-offs of the techniques you mentioned?" Jianyi nodded.

"Yes, teacher. From what I could tell, given the harsher approach, there is a risk that you suffer physically, up to and including death, and you can permanently damage your meridian pathways, which can end your life as a cultivator."

"That is correct. And despite knowing that, you still want to move ahead?"

"I feel that to achieve my goals, I need to… go beyond my potential, even if it is risky. I cannot let myself be limited by fear. Also, I read that the risks can be mitigated to some degree if one practices enough, and I am willing to do the work!"

"Mhh…" Elder Sun stared into the distance as he thought about Jianyi's words.

"Well, my young friend, if that is what you think your path should be, it is not for me to stop you. However, I do forbid you from using the Heavenly Pathway Purification Technique—it is little better than butchery.

"Even though it sounds brutal, the Martial Meridian Art is a much more subtle technique. It actually has some side benefits that could help you down the line, as it requires a high degree of qi control." He got up and pulled a ring—likely another storage device—out of a cupboard. After a few moments, he pulled a palm-sized silver plate out of it, returned to the desk, and handed it to Jianyi. On closer inspection, Jianyi could see the fine golden lines inlaid within the silver and two gemstones, one on each side.

"This is a toy. If you insert qi into one of the sides with a gem, it will start to glow. You may only use the Martial Meridian Art when you can get both gems to light up at the same time.

"Now, out, I have things to do." Jianyi grabbed the 'toy', as the elder had called it, and left the room with a bow. He was ecstatic that his teacher had endorsed his decision and even helped him with the—certainly priceless—artifact. That the process would help him in the long run with qi control was another boon he had not been aware of, but was delighted to learn. Now he just needed to figure out how to pay for the technique and double down on his exercises to control qi outside his body.

The artifact in his hand was the key.