16: About time.

Mr. Melborn’s view

“Thank you for inviting me. I hear it can be difficult to get a seat for one of these lessons if one isn’t part of the Clear Sky Sect.”

“It’s only natural that I’d invite one of the most important people in the capital.”

“You flatter me. So, is this young lady the new rumored teacher of Clear Sky?”

“Indeed. Elder Smitt found her and brought her in. She’s been a real blessing for the sect.”

“She looks familiar.” 

“I thought so to. Doesn’t she look a lot like your late wife?”

“Do you know her background?”

“No, I’ve not learned anything of it. She appeared suddenly five years ago, and there is no information I can find from before then.” 

… it’s her. My missing daughter. How? My daughter disappears five years ago, and this mysterious genius teacher appears at the same time with the same appearance. She looks like my dear beloved. Even Emelia is with her still. I don’t know how this happened, but… it seems she’s better off without me. Without her family. I’m sorry, love, I’ve failed our daughter.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, sorry. Just reminded of my dear wife. I fear I haven’t lived up to her expectations.” 

“Nonsense! You’re the second most powerful person in the capital. Second only to the Emperor!”

“That’s not what I’m failing at. It’s family affairs where I’ve done poorly.”

“That scandal with the servants five years ago?”

“That’s just the news that leaked. I’m not about to publicly talk about all my family troubles.”

“Yeah, well, at least you have a family. Being a cultivator makes it hard to find a wife.”

“Because all the women willing and interested would age and die before you?”

“Well if they aren’t a cultivator, how can they share my life with me? The women cultivators on the other hand… they aren’t easy to please.”

“Would probably help if you didn’t have so many scandals in the sect. How many rapists and murderers have now been expelled in the past five years?”

“Hey, that was actually a good thing. We finally got rid of them thanks to encouragement from teacher Lane.  She’s completely upended the balance of power in this sect, and the corruption is slowly getting cleaned away. I’m thankful you know.”

“Of course I know. You used to be doing quite poorly here, Troy.”

“Yeah. Morals usually get in the way in the world of cultivation. Lane finally turned that around. Finally having the power to do something… it feels great. Heck, the other day some of our students encountered members of the Majestic Mountain Sect, and nothing happened!”

“Doesn’t the Clear Sky Sect have a long history of bullying the Majestic Mountain Sect?”

“Oh yeah, they’d usually start with insults of the name, and jokes about how no mountain can ever reach as high as the clear sky. This time though, our Clear Sky students left them alone. Then at the last tournament, when insults are normally exchanged by all sides, our students simply stayed quiet, and humbly won.”

“Hah, I heard about that! You’re saying this Lane is responsible for the change?”

“Yeah. Misbehavior makes a person lose access to lessons for a while. So no one dares get in trouble. Everyone who can visit these lessons cherishes them.”

I can understand that. Despite carrying on this conversation, I’ve still been able to gain tremendously from this lesson. It’s almost as if she’s sharing understanding directly. I don’t remember the words she speaks, yet I remember the meaning perfectly. The right way to channel ki through one’s meridians to maximize the effect of basic ki enhancement. Done right, one’s physical limits expand to extraordinary levels. It doesn’t take an advanced level of cultivation to use this skill, yet it’s so powerful. It’s easy to believe the Clear Sky sect is winning tournaments with lessons like this.

***Author Note***

He finally got a 20 on the d20 roll to find her.