Suwan lazily taps the back of her blade against her shoulder. Seeing the three eager pairs of eyes in front of her she grimaces. Muttering to herself how she never even intended to get a single disciple she holds her sword in front of her and manifests a single golden flame at its tip. In her other hand a torch appears, the wood burning a natural orange. She thrusts each down at a separate pile of dried leaves setting both ablaze.
“First off what y’all need to understand is the difference between a Qi-manifested element and a naturally manifested one.” Tossing the torch into the basin and drawing the qi within her sword back into her body she extinguishes both. “There isn’t one. Sure, a cultivator with a better understanding of fire may have flames that burn hotter than those of a forest fire but volcanoes are warmer than burning trees as well.”
Shrugging she waves her hand, the pressure sending both piles of leaves flying across the hill. She points down at the smouldering foliage. “Can any of you tell me which of these leaves was burned by qi and which by torch?”
Three heads shake, Mu’s a bit later than the other two after her eyes dart between each leaf in turn. Planting the back of her blade back on her shoulder Suwan raises a single finger. “That’s because there isn’t a difference. Both cause the same results. What we use is the Qi of the world which follows its natural laws.”
Picking up a clump of dirt she grinds it between her fingers, earth dropping in grains. “Both Qi and the material are the same at their core. Many ages ago in the Primordial Era, back when even my teacher could still be considered young.” Her head abruptly jerks to the side. “The entire universe consisted of Primordial Qi, eventually part of this Qi turned material forming the world we now know. In modern times we can no longer turn Qi into any material we please, only those for which we have affinities. ”
Flicking the last of the dirt off her hand she absentmindedly continues. “Well, not like any of you can turn Qi into anything at the moment but I digress. I’ll just explain as we go, no use ranting now.”
She points her sword at Gao Mu. With a smile the martial artist slams her fists together and takes a stance. Zhi and An take several steps back to give them the space they need.
“Let’s start slow so our audience can follow, come at me.”
Mu takes a running start and dashes at her mentor. At the last moment she leaps and spins, kicking down towards Song’s head with the full weight of her body. Suwan catches the blow on her forearm and shoves back to give Mu the momentum to flip back and land on her feet. Not stopping for a moment Mu lashes out with a barrage of quick jabs, each of which Song parries and redirects with her left hand. Taking her distance once more she begins to circle around the blonde, occasionally striking out once more to probe her defenses.
“As you two can see, well, as Zhi might be able to see, Mu’s style while fast does not seem to be beyond the ability of a mortal to achieve, in theory.” Another thick wooden torch appears within her hand, she takes it into a backhanded grip and presses it against her forearm when she blocks her disciple’s next kick. The wood shatters instantly, shards flying through the air as Mu’s leg connects with her arm. “This is incorrect. Each and every last one of her strikes carry enough force to be lethal even to a completely armored mortal. The sole reason it does not appear flashy is because a cultivator at the Qi Gathering stage is not yet capable of manifesting their qi externally, albeit Mu has proven this false on at least two occasions.”
Punting her disciple into the distance she turns towards the duo that is watching their fight with wide eyes and open mouths. “Don’t ask me how, I have absolutely no idea. I’ll figure it out though, don’t worry.”
Ducking beneath the flying kick that rockets towards her she watches Gao Mu fly past, twisting in mid air and carving a furrow into the earth as she slides to a stop. “As Fu explained earlier, the main advantage a cultivator at her stage has over a mortal other than the use of Qi is their spiritual sense. Through it she can observe the state of her body at any time, allowing her to get the most out of it with every strike. On that note, Mu, I told you to start slower.”
“But Master, I am going slower! This isn’t anywhere near what I can do. I’m much stronger if I take it seriously, I promise!”
“I know, Mu. The point is to go slow enough both Zhi and An can follow what we’re doing.”
“Oh.” The tiny warrior deflates. Slapping both of her cheeks she straightens and faces Suwan with a wide smile. “I promise I'll try harder now!”
Scratching her head Suwan decides to give up on having her slow herself down. “Once one gets to the next realm, one can extend their spiritual sense beyond themselves.” She continues while meeting Mu’s fist with her own, the force sending her disciple back a step. “Mu’s wearing white right now.” “Wha-” Blushing fiercely the girl follows up with a series of probing kicks and punches.
“Not only can one extend their sense beyond their body but one can also affect more than solely themselves.” The pugilist grits her teeth, squaring her shoulders and raising her guard. The grass in a circle around her is flattened into the ground, earth cracking as the pressure intensifies. She strikes again, each movement made as if pushing through water. Suwan lazily sways to the side to avoid the blow, a golden flame sprouting from her upraised finger. “Once you awaken your aura you can both use it to manifest elements you have affinity with and employ your Spiritual Pressure to suppress those below your realm. On that note, Mu, what’s your strongest affinity?”
Mu freezes in place, a single drop of sweat running down her face. She puts the tips of her index fingers together and averts her eyes.
“Uhm, well… I… I don’t have one. Please don’t be mad! I didn’t mean to keep it a secret, it just hadn’t come up yet. I swear I'll make up for it through hard work, please don’t disown me!” She bows low, her hands clenched into fists by her side.
“Disciple Gao Mu is incorrect.” Zhi and An flinch when Twelve speaks up right behind them. Suwan raises an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”
“This one is capable of identifying affinities.”
“Huh, well, ain’t that convenient.” She groans and places her face in her palm. “Urgh, that means I gotta explain that entire thing too.”
“Searching database: Result found. Sister Suwan is correct. Providing explanations is part of a teacher’s duties.”
“The hells is a database?”
“This one is not Sister Suwan’s teacher. This one has no obligation to explain.”
“You…” Sighing loudly she motions for her disciples to gather around, glaring at Twelve all the while. She sheathes her blade and straightens her back, folding her arms behind her to look like a wise master. So dedicated is she to her act her eye does not even twitch when she sees Twelve drag the corner of her mouth into a mocking smile with a finger.
“Every being whether mortal, cultivator or beast has an affinity. These affinities are shaped by you and shape you in turn. Those with a strong affinity to lightning tend to be prideful, those whose affinity leans closest to wind tend to be more free-spirited on the other hand. By taking in the world’s qi one attunes it to themselves. Should this be done incorrectly it may cause your Qi to deviate from your natural state and influence you through it, endangering yourself and even risking demonisation.” Suwan glares at Mu while Zhi and An gasp. “So it is very important that before a cultivator unlocks the usage of Qi they learn how to use it.”
Mu’s eyes glaze over in horror. Clearing her throat to regain the girl’s attention Suwan continues.
“Rest assured, Zhi. No permanent harm was done, so long as you continue to cultivate diligently as I have taught you there will be no danger. Moving on from that, until you form your core you will solely be using the Qi of the world and as such must constantly be vigilant your Qi maintains its purity. Once your core is formed you shall gain the ability to create Qi without having to draw from the world. This Qi, given that it is purely shaped from yourself is far more malleable, allowing you to infuse even your thoughts into it and send…” <...your words straight into someone’s head.>
All three of them jump. Suwan looks away to hide her smirk. Continuing before any of them can question the volume at which she shouted into their heads she gestures at Twelve.
“Normally you have to find out either by trial and error or by spending enough time with a knowledgeable mentor able to analyse your personality. Seems like all of you will get to cheat however. Way to ruin my fun.” She clicks her tongue. All three of her students feel a chill run down their back as if they have just escaped a horrible fate. “One’s affinities are normally known only by their closest confidantes and mentor. What’s about to be said should never be spread beyond this group. Do not speak of it without me present even if you believe you are alone.”
She looks each of them in the eye in turn, making sure they understand the severity.
“That said, don’t be disappointed if you don’t have a particularly impressive result, it doesn’t necessarily have to be an impediment on your immortal path. Let’s not tarry any longer, Twelve, let’s begin.”
“Student An possesses a potent affinity towards shadow. Student Zhi has a remarkable affinity to poison. Disciple Gao Mu has an affinity towards force arts. This one does not believe she needs to elaborate on the strength given Disciple Gao Mu’s performance.”
Mu’s shoulders sag. Her hopes crushed once more she swears to herself that despite not being as talented as the rest she will work twice, no, five times as hard to keep up. Suwan cocks her head thoughtfully. Given her frankly impossible performance of not only manifesting her qi externally twice but achieving a different result each time it must be incredible indeed. Deciding she can manage on her own while she brings the others up to speed she addresses her, completely ignorant to the girl's inner doubts.
“Mu, go play tag with Twelve while I teach the others. Try to focus on minimizing your movements and increasing the speed at which you adjust your course.”
Waving her off she turns to the youngest member of their group. Inspecting the child with her spiritual sense she estimates An is roughly nine or ten years old. She nods. An excellent age to learn the basics.
“An. Sit down in the lotus pose as Fu explained earlier and meditate. Focus on what you can feel within, ignore all external sensations. Start small. Twitch a muscle in your finger and study the way it feels. Visualize it all the way down to the bone. Slowly work your way up from there until you can picture your whole body. See if you can find a flow within it, something that stands out.”
Once An sits down Song floods the kid’s surroundings with her own Qi to ease the process. With some luck she’ll be able to tell Suwan’s more specialized qi that enters through her breath apart from the rest of the qi entering her body with a few weeks of effort.
“That’s two down, on to you, Zhi.” The teen twitches. “Your strongest affinity is poison, as you’ve just been told.”
“Yah, toxic bi’ch to the end, ey.” She snorts derisively.
“Not necessarily.”
“Huh, what’cha mean? Uhm, What d’ya mean, Venerable Master Suwan?” Zhi asks, awkwardly correcting herself halfway through.
“The difference between poison and medicine is in the dosage and application. While the majority of poison cultivators indeed tend to use it to fight, that's not the path you need to follow if you don’t want to.” She pats the teen’s head causing Zhi to instinctively lash out and push it away before her eyes widen in fear.
“That said I’d ask you to consider it. I’ve recently come across a poison cultivation manual of utmost quality.” She chuckles. “Well, you don’t have to decide now. It has a slightly more specialized way of cycling your Qi written in it, lemme show you.”
Gesturing for her to sit in the lotus pose Suwan crouches down behind her. “Alright, take your vest off.” “Huh?” “Need to put my hand on your back to guide your flow.”
Zhi gulps. Her hand shakes as she moves to undo the buttons. Biting the inside of her cheek to stop stalling she tosses her vest aside with the determination of a warrior walking to her death. Suwan’s breath catches in her throat.
“What happened to you?”
Zhi answers monotonously, as if it all happened to someone else. “Guards kent find whoe’er stole shite, dey pick some orphan off the streets ta lash, pat ‘emselves on the back fer doin’ such a mighty fine job and go on thar way.” She hugs her arms to her chest. “Kent let dat happen to de kids. Sa wheneva de dogs come sniffin’ it’s lil ol’ Zhi dey find, up ta no good agin.”
Suwan’s jaw clenches looking at the teen’s heavily scarred back. Standing up with a sigh she moves around to face Zhi while muttering to herself. “Well, I already have one.” Zhi’s heart drops. The dream is over, as expected she’s too ruined to qualify. Swallowing back a sob she clenches her fists.
“Ah understand, i’ll lea-”
“Zhi, will you become my second disciple?”
I wonder if they would call it a chemical affinity in a more scientifically advanced realm? Maybe organic chemistry?
I guess Zhi will also be a natural at brewing alcohol. I guess that could be her fallback career option. Candy being another option.
Perhaps, affinities arent too well understood within this realm, who can say what they can truly do?
Thanks for reading!