Sunlight slowly rose above the valley. Birds called from the green woods, flitting and chasing one another. As the hours passed, the sun climbed to the center of the sky, then edged toward the peaks on the valley's western side. By evening, it sank behind them. Darkness covered the earth, broken only by the rising and falling chirrs of autumn insects.
Day followed day. In the blink of an eye, eight or nine days had passed since Li Yan began cultivating. Apart from opening his door briefly to eat and wash, he kept it shut.
Inside, Li Yan sat cross-legged on his wooden bed, now dressed in a long black robe. His eyes were nearly closed, his hands formed a seal before his abdomen, and his breathing was even. At length, he slowly opened his eyes and frowned. He had practiced diligently for eight or nine days, yet still failed to awaken the qi in his Dantian. He had asked his teacher about it, and Strategist Ji had told him that the first step varied from person to person. Some managed it in three to five days; others needed ten days or half a month. Cultivation demanded a calm mind above all else. But nearly ten days had passed, and Li Yan still could not find the feeling his teacher had described. He could not help growing discouraged.
He got off the bed, pushed open the door, and went outside. Under the slowly darkening sky, he wandered through the valley, turning over every phrase and every word of the formula in his mind. As he walked and pondered, the sound of trickling water suddenly reached him. Without noticing, he had come to the pool. He listened to the mountain spring running down the cliff and looked up at the cold light cast by a half-moon above the valley. The sound of the water rippled endlessly through his mind. Something stirred within him. He stood motionless for who knew how long, until he suddenly felt a coolness inside him answering the running water. He sat cross-legged beside the pool and let the Breath-Guiding Art, which had occupied his thoughts for days, flow naturally through him. Before long, a faint black aura appeared on his face. It did not look sinister. It seemed instead like a veil of deep, cool water, with a trace of translucence.
Li Yan knew nothing of this. He only heard the burbling water fill his mind and, with each breath, begin to fill his body. Suddenly, coolness rose from his Dantian and traveled slowly along the meridians directed by the Breath-Guiding Art. Wherever it passed, coolness bloomed, yet he felt no chill. It was more like a fish swimming into the sea. Each circuit through his meridians made the coolness in his Dantian grow stronger, until it swelled throughout him.
In the stone house on the valley's eastern side, Strategist Ji sat cross-legged behind a table, meditating with his eyes closed. Abruptly, his eyes opened and a smile touched his face. "So, he's finally sensed the qi of heaven and earth? It seems I can prepare the herbal medicine. How exciting." He slowly closed his eyes again.
A long while later, Li Yan slowly opened
his eyes. The valley remained unchanged, as did the water trickling down the cliff. Only the moon had vanished from above the valley. It was now past midnight. Uncertainty showed on his face. Autumn nights in the mountains were cold, but he felt none of the chill around him. The coolness inside his body was stronger still, yet it caused no discomfort. Instead, his hearing seemed sharper, his sight clearer, and his whole body lighter. But he remembered that, according to the Breath-Guiding Art, awakening the qi in his Dantian should produce waves of warmth. Why was his the opposite? Had something gone wrong? Would he end up like his senior brother? Unease gripped him. As he stood there, wavering, the coolness in his Dantian suddenly faltered and stopped flowing freely. He froze. Then a voice sounded beside him. "Li Yan, you've finally completed the first step. Well done."
Startled, he spun around. A figure in a black robe stood silently behind him. He relaxed at once when he recognized his teacher's voice. He quickly bowed. "Teacher, you're still awake?" He was astonished. His teacher's internal power was so profound that he had sensed the change in Li Yan's body as soon as it happened.
The moonlight had faded from the valley, but beneath the scattered stars, Li Yan could just make out the faint smile on his teacher's face. He hesitated. "I... I'm not sure I succeeded."
"Oh? I sensed the qi awaken in your Dantian. You should have succeeded," Strategist Ji said calmly.
"But the formula says the Dantian should feel warm. I felt only a trace of coolness." Anxiety showed on Li Yan's face.
Strategist Ji paused, then smiled. "I neglected to explain that. The breath-guiding art only awakens the qi in the Dantian. When that happens, people may feel soreness, numbness, itching, cold, heat—any number of things. Warmth and heat are the most common, so the formula I gave you mentioned only those. There's no need to worry."
Li Yan breathed a long sigh of relief. His fears vanished. Next time, I'll just ask Teacher instead of letting my imagination run wild and frightening myself.
As if he could see Li Yan's expression in the darkness, Strategist Ji chuckled. "You've exhausted yourself these past few days. Don't cultivate any more tonight. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, you can begin practicing the Wood Yin Technique in earnest."
"Yes, Teacher. Then I'll take my leave." Li Yan was delighted. That meant he had passed the first step and was now qualified
to practice a true cultivation technique. He wanted to begin at once, but he knew he could not rush it. Though the past ten days had taken little physical strength, they had left his mind genuinely weary. He headed toward his stone house. After a few steps, the sluggish feeling in his Dantian eased considerably. He secretly marveled at the depth of his teacher's power. Before he had any inner qi, he had felt nothing like this. Now, with even that faint trace inside him, he could sense the pressure his teacher exerted.
Watching Li Yan disappear, Strategist Ji turned and vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was inside his own room. He swept his sleeve behind him, and the door closed without a sound. Sitting cross-legged behind the table once more, he frowned, his expression shifting. So water was the first of the qi of heaven and earth he sensed. The black aura I saw during the needle test truly was the strongest. That means a wood-element technique isn't the best choice for him. Fortunately, he has a Mixed Spirit Root. Judging from his performance last time, green qi was present too, second only to his affinity for water. He can still cultivate it, but it will certainly take longer. I don't know whether I can suppress this poison until the day he succeeds.
After pondering for a while, Strategist Ji shook his head with a bitter smile. "For a second person to come here at all is a stroke of tremendous luck. I'm asking too much. How could I hope for anything better? We'll begin tomorrow. Whatever happens, this body of mine can't wait any longer." He closed his eyes and entered meditation.
Li Yan woke early the next morning feeling refreshed. His mood was as bright as the early-autumn sky beyond his window. After breakfast, he went straight to his teacher's house. As before, Strategist Ji's voice came from inside the moment he reached the door. "Is that Li Yan? Come in."
Though Li Yan had rarely left his room these past several days, he had noticed that his teacher went out only once every few days. Most of the time, he kept his stone house shut and cultivated inside.
Li Yan went in and did not emerge until nearly half a day later. Strategist Ji followed him out at an unhurried pace and summoned Chen An and Li Yin to give them instructions. He then went straight into the second stone house. Before long, Chen An and Li Yin carried an exquisitely crafted copper furnace to Li Yan's door. Following his teacher's orders, Li Yan had been waiting inside. He directed them to set it down in an open space. His stone house was spacious enough.
The furnace stood about half a person tall. Made of fine copper, it gleamed from top to bottom and rested on a sturdy jade base. Three purple flood dragons were carved around its sides, their heads raised as though to support something. Through several openings between their bodies and the furnace, the interior was dimly visible, glowing red with fire. Whatever fuel burned inside,
not a wisp of smoke rose from it. Waves of heat rolled off the furnace.
About fifteen minutes later, Strategist Ji came out of the second stone house, weariness showing on his gray-blue face. Chen An and Li Yin entered it, then soon emerged carrying a copper basin that gave off steam. They brought it into Li Yan's stone house and set it atop the three raised dragon heads. After bowing to Strategist Ji and Li Yan, they shut the door and left.
Strategist Ji approached the furnace. A smile appeared on his tired face as he asked Li Yan, "Have you memorized the cultivation formula I taught you this morning?"
Li Yan stood respectfully beside the furnace. "I have, Teacher."
"Good. Each level's formula is short, but its meaning is profound and subtle. You must understand it thoroughly. I spent half the day answering your questions so you would grasp how to use the first level. What remains depends on your own diligent practice. As the saying goes, 'The master leads you through the door; cultivation is up to you.' That truth has never changed." Strategist Ji nodded.
"I will practice diligently. Thank you for your guidance, Teacher," Li Yan replied respectfully.
Steam billowed from the copper basin atop the furnace. From nearby, Li Yan could just make out numerous herbs churning in the liquid beneath the haze. Wisps of dark green vapor rose from them and curled above the basin.
"These herbs are prepared according to a secret method passed down in our school," Strategist Ji said. "This basin can be used repeatedly for seven days. After that, the medicine will lose its effect and must be prepared again with a somewhat larger quantity. Repeat this for seven cycles of seven days—forty-nine days in all—and your meridians will be cleansed and remade until they are exceptionally strong. Only then will they withstand the circulation of our school's fierce internal power. In terms of your meridians alone, those forty-nine days will put you on a par with second- or third-rate martial artists. An ordinary person would need nearly a dozen years to reach that point. Our secret method of cleansing the meridians can achieve it far sooner, but the process is extraordinarily painful. No one without great perseverance can complete it. You must endure every step yourself. Do you understand?" His voice grew stern.
"I understand. I won't disappoint you, Teacher." Li Yan met his gaze steadily. He had been warned of this repeatedly that morning. He was resolute by nature and knew there was no gain without effort. A school whose martial arts were so fierce was bound to demand a harsh price in training. He had prepared himself.
"Good. Then begin. I'll keep watch outside for the next few days. If anything goes wrong, I'll intervene at once." Strategist Ji said no more. He opened the door, went out, and closed it behind him. Then he sat cross-legged on the stone table outside, shut his eyes, and began to meditate.
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