Chương 51: Cultivation Techniques

They thought it was only the generative cycle. They were wrong. The destructive cycle won the war. The price was horrible. Not for him, though. — He who calls himself Chi You, The Completed Works by He Shulin, foremost scholar of the Outer Realms Even group Amber had finally started to add sparring to their training routine.

In fairness to the four inner disciples who were teaching, it had taken a while for most of the young cultivators to get to a state where they had a minimum level of proficiency with the forms of the Fivefold Spear Art. The last half an hour of each session was dedicated to light sparring, using blunted training weapons. The spars were not about winning and didn't end once someone was hit; instead, every few minutes, one of the tutors would shout a signal, and the trainees would rotate.

Despite being clearly better than the vast majority of disciples in the group, Jianyi still enjoyed the sparring—and the sessions overall—as the inner disciples provided valuable feedback. None of the hostility from Ruolan or Elder Fang was noticeable. As they were to begin this session's sparring, one of the tutors, a broad-shouldered, short-haired boy with a small scar below his left eye, approached him.

"We," he pointed to the other inner disciples, "have discussed that it would be better if you didn't participate in the spars." Jianyi's heart sank. What had he done? He had felt that he had integrated well—not the least with the help of the cousins—and not caused any issues. It would be truly disappointing if the unjust hatred of Elder Fang had followed him here.

"Instead, one of us is going to spar with you. It is hard to learn if there is no challenge. Do you agree?" He grinned broadly and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, senior brother. I would greatly appreciate that!"

How to choose? Jianyi sat in the library with a needlessly complex tome, trying to explain how one should choose a cultivation technique over another, and one scroll for each of the three options he had short-listed, helpfully outlining their key characteristics. He had left the Elder Mo with his list of potential techniques slightly adjusted. She had added one and argued against two of his choices. Trying to clear his head, he stretched, then—for what felt like the hundredth time—read the three summaries.

Breath of Immortality Art One breath at a time, you progress on the path to immortality. This art is a breathing technique that cycles qi through the lung meridian. In long meditation sessions, large amounts of qi are gathered. Breath of Immortality is unparalleled in the depth and strength of the foundations it builds as qi is integrated. Limits qi available in the short-term. A powerful art for those who plan to walk the path to the end. He thought he understood the technique.

It was one that Elder Mo had recommended, as it provided a lot of power down the line. It was maybe the most traditional of all techniques he considered—which resonated with him to some degree, as it was so similar to the legends he had grown up with. Heaven's Soldier's Form A cultivation technique for warriors. Gather qi in short bursts and be ready for the next fight. Makes large amounts of qi available for techniques.

Be aware, cultivator, that your pathways and meridians will suffer and require frequent rest or healing. This form will allow you to gather momentum early on in your path, momentum that can hopefully take you all the way. This had been the first technique he had identified. He was sure that he could take the pain of burning pathways, and the combat orientation seemed powerful—maybe it would provide the boost needed to turn the tide at a crucial time. Eternal Spear Meditation The spear is eternal.

If you train with the spear, if you live with the spear, why not meditate with the spear? A physical technique that uses all meridians while cycling qi in tune with the defined movements and forms. Builds strong foundations but risks that qi for techniques becomes stagnant if practice lapses. A cultivator using this technique ties their cultivation strength to their continued progress with the spear. Jianyi leaned back.

He wasn't sure whether the Eternal Spear Meditation was more of a gimmick, but he had been attracted to it because most things seemed better with a spear in hand. He chuckled. Elder Mo had confirmed that all three techniques were first-rate and had the potential to take him all the way, though they would of course need to be expanded along the cultivation realms. Based on his lectures, study, and conversation with the elder, he had distilled the differences between the techniques to three dimensions.

First, how it gathered qi. The Breath of Immortality Art did it relatively slowly, but consistently, allowing for steady progress; the Heaven's Soldier's Form saved a lot of time in the moment, but you couldn't do this for hours on end. The amount of qi gathered was probably similar, but the path was different.

The second dimension was how much of the gathered qi was available for use, meaning techniques, and how much was used to build foundations, and therefore pushed one forward through the stages and realms of cultivation. If he understood things correctly, the Soldier's Form left markedly more qi available for short-term use. It would make one a dangerous force on any battlefield! The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Lastly, any cost or drawback associated with the form.

The Breath of Immortality Art's cost was not obvious. One needed to put in the hours, but that was acceptable. Possibly the reduced available qi for combat. That was different for the second technique, where you were likely destined to be in pain for large parts of your life. The severity of the downside of the Eternal Spear Meditation was a bit harder to gauge for him. Getting better with the spear was something he wanted to do anyway, so it didn't seem a big issue.

Maybe he underestimated how bad his qi would feel if he didn't practice, though. He made some final notes and prepared to talk with Elder Sun about his options before he made a choice.

Elder Sun looked at the three options that Jianyi had presented impassively.

"So what have you decided, my young student?"

"Nothing, teacher, I would never decide without your guidance."

"I told you before, Jianyi, the decision is always yours. This is your path, not mine. But let's see…" he paused for a moment before continuing.

"It is possible, and even likely to change techniques over the course of a cultivator's life—but it is always painful and involves years of effort to adjust. That means that, if things go well, you will spend a lot of time with whatever technique you choose. Likely many times the number of years you have lived so far." The elder looked at him inquisitively, and Jianyi nodded to indicate that he had understood the gravity of the decision.

"I agree with Elder Mo that all of these techniques are powerful and allow you to grow strong, so if that is the case, what do you think should be the deciding factor?" Jianyi almost responded with the three dimensions he had identified in the library before hesitating. Those certainly described the strengths and weaknesses of the different techniques. But were those the only things to consider? While pondering his answer, his glance fell on the imposing image that dominated one of the walls in the elder's study.

It showed the heroic last stand of a group of sect disciples against the Demonic Tide. Each of those disciples must have had a long life in which they dedicated themselves to their cultivation. A dedication that required ambition and… passion. Maybe that was the wrong word, but it certainly required a level of interest that made whatever they had to do to grow strong bearable.

"Hmm. Maybe there is something about how the technique relates to one's personality?" The elder nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, that is a way to describe it. You are very fortunate that you are spoilt for choice with regard to powerful techniques. You should use that choice to find the technique that fits your path and personality best." Jianyi looked at the three summaries in front of him. He grabbed the Breath of Immortality Art.

"To be honest, this feels like the most powerful technique. The one that is most in line with how I imagined cultivators to be as a child." The elder smiled lightly—probably thinking that Jianyi still was a child, but he continued quickly.

"I do enjoy studying, and I don't mind meditating to strengthen my will, but if I don't have to just sit still for hours and hours every day just breathing, I would probably prefer not to…" he petered out, not sure how the elder would react. But Elder Sun just moved a finger, indicating for him to continue. He paused for another moment to make sure gut and brain were aligned, then nodded.

"Yes, I don't think this technique is for me, given that I have strong alternatives."

"Why do you think breathing arts are so popular?" the elder asked, sounding curious and non-judgmental. After a moment, Jianyi replied.

"They are safe. Safe in the sense that they don't pose a risk to you, or a risk of not advancing." The elder just smiled and gestured for him to proceed. This time, Jianyi grabbed the scroll with the Heaven's Soldier's Form and held it up.

"This, I think, is the answer. I want to be able to fight. This does it better than the others, and it frees up time that I can use to train with the spear or meditate on my will."

"What about the pain?"

"I can handle pain. I am sure."

"Sure, sure. The question is less whether you can handle it, but whether you should? Committing to a life in misery is a big step." Again, the elder didn't seem against Jianyi's choice, rather interested in understanding it. Jianyi wet his lips. He was not afraid of the pain. If that was what it would take to take revenge on the demons and help save the plane, he would do it. Gladly. At the same time, the elder was right to ask whether he should do it.

Obviously, he didn't do it for the pain, but rather for the benefits it gained him. Which was the increased qi availability to fight, which came at the cost of the speed with which his foundations were built, and the reduced time to cultivate. He had said it himself. It would provide time to train. Time to train with the spear. He looked at the last scroll on the table. The Eternal Spear Meditation was a bit harder to weigh, as the trade-offs he would make with it were slightly obscure.

If he was being honest with himself, he had included it in the list of options because it sounded spectacular, but had not really taken it seriously. He sighed.

"Teacher, would you mind explaining the Eternal Spear Meditation?"

"I would be delighted to, my young friend." Even that was said without strong emphasis. The elder was really working very hard not to influence his decision, and Jianyi appreciated it.

"This technique was developed by a former patriarch of the Eternal Spear Sect, from far east of here. The initial forms are very simple and close enough to the forms of the Fivefold Spear Art to not pose a problem. With every realm, the forms become more complex, though, and only if you can achieve mastery in all five forms can you use it to rise all the way. As you progress, you will also have to figure out whether you proceed with two spear arts, discard one, or merge them somehow."

Of course, that was a huge challenge—one that Jianyi easily admitted he probably didn't fully grasp—but at the same time, it also sounded kind of exciting. Learning a different spear form, maybe being able to create something that would be the best of both worlds… He started to dream, but was brought back to reality by the elder continuing his explanation.

"To help you put that into perspective, achieving mastery is not primarily a question of practice, though it forms the basis of everything, it is a question of insight. Some people struggle their whole life, hundreds of years, and don't get to those insights. Doing it for two spear arts is a truly monumental challenge.

"Having said that, and I can tell from your face that you have already caught on to this, it is also an opportunity because a spear is a spear, which means that on the lower realms it will help you have the ability to spend even more time on strengthening your body and proficiency with the spear—independent from the art you work on." Jianyi was about to reach for the scroll, but Elder Sun's finger rose to stop him.

"Do not underestimate the danger associated with the final aspect of this art, though. Unless you train religiously, your unallocated qi, the qi you use to fight, will become stagnant and hard to use, which will limit your strength severely. Now, you probably cannot imagine a scenario where you don't train religiously every day, but… life happens. You can be injured, you can be deep in the wilds, you can be occupied with things you cannot even imagine right now…

and then the biggest fight of your life happens, and you can only activate a single technique instead of three…" Jianyi sighed again.

"Teacher, you are not making this easy." This time, the elder's smile became slightly diabolical.

"I am not here to make things easy. I am here to make things right."