Cultivation Fever

"Come on brat, it can be anything you want! Think of something destructive! Something awe-inspiring!"

"I don"t know… um… can I control s.p.a.ce?"

Yin Xue cackled in laughter.

"Ambitious, I like it! Sadly, yer not quite eady for that yet. Try again when ya got Elite Grade comprehension."

Yin Xue scratched his beard and mumbled to himself.

"Alright, maybe that was too much. I"ll teach ya a bit about yer qi."

Yin Xue folded his arms and tilted his head slightly.

"First, yer qi type. Ya got a unique qi affinity of 100%. That sounds impressive, and it sort of is. But what it really means is yer bad at using elemental qi."

He began listing qi types, counting them on his fingers.

"Earth, fire, water, thunder, poison, light, shadow, ya won"t be good at using any of "em. Demon techniques are a little different, but if ya don"t wanna go insane, don"t bother."

"Most military schools, includin" this one, specialise in unique qi, "cause strong elemental affinities are pretty rare. So, yer in luck, cause ya can use most of these techniques… eventually."

"Now, unique qi cultivators rely on generatin" their own qi. Ya got a good technique for that already; the Soul Forming technique is middle tier rare grade by the way."

"What ya need, is a fighting technique. Ya got a lot of qi force, so ya don"t need to focus on close combat like most of yer little friends will. Well, ya got any ideas now?"

So, I shouldn"t use elemental techniques, but I didn"t need to limit myself to direct physical contact. Father"s spiritual weapon technique was an option… but it felt too indirect.

I had fantasised about sending shockwaves with a swing of my arm. Crushing a mountain far in the distance with a single clenched fist. I wanted qi itself to be the source of destruction.

"I wanna be able to send my qi anywhere, to attack anything."

"Ya wanna do something like shooting qi bolts?"

"Mm… kind of. But I wanna control them."

"Maybe somethin" like a qi familiar?"

"Not really. I mean, maybe later. I just wanna control qi outside of my body."

"Hm. What yer talking about is a requirement for breakthrough to Elite Grade. Yer years from that, but..." Yin Xue smiled to himself "I"ve got a little somethin"."

His ghostly hands plucked two books from the shelves and dumped them in my arms. I read the covers: Piercing Beam technique and Dragon Familiar Technique.

"Those techniques there are complete top tier rare grade. Past Emperor"s Scholars have gotten pretty d.a.m.n famous thanks to them. And this one…"

A spectral hand dashed into the Yin Xue"s messy room, then burrowed into a pile of papers. After a bit of rummaging around, it emerged with a tattered book, then brought it over to me.

"This is the Qi Manifestation technique… I think. It"s a little project of mine. It"s a precious ancient technique I"m tryin" to piece together."

The t.i.tle was weathered beyond recognition, leaving only small patches of flaking gold leaf. A dark ring was embossed in the centre and I traced my finger around it.

"Oh, that? That"s a tea stain." Yin Xue remarked.

I looked up, surprised at how he"d treated this "precious ancient technique".

"Long nights and all these d.a.m.n books I just…" Yin Xue shook his head, "never mind. I"m pretty sure this technique is epic grade, maybe even legendary grade!"

I stared at him blankly.

"Of course. Ya just don"t understand how incredible that is. Techniques and equipment go from common to uncommon to rare to epic to legendary."

"This country"s only got one legendary grade cultivation technique! And that technique created a whole d.a.m.n dynasty! Yer dad wouldn"t be here without it!"

"What about your technique, master? If it"s so strong why is it here?"

"Well… that"s… it"s not really complete. But I"m workin" on it."

"Master, don"t you just wanna test it on me?"

"Don"t interrupt! But… well…" Yin Xue paused ominously.

"I gave ya two other techniques too. They"re pretty close to what ya want, and they"ve been tried and tested. But I think this technique suits ya better. So, what do ya think?"

"Master, what does it do?"

"Well, qi"s a pretty confusing thing. We don"t understand it that well. What we do know is qi has a mind of its own. Most techniques try and stay away from that."

"That"s why they usually do things we can imagine pretty easily. Like, making hands," he gestured to the ghostly hands around him.

"As far as I can tell," he cleared his throat and spoke in a more official tone, "the Qi Manifestation technique expresses the innate force and will of your qi. That"s what ya want, right?"

It definitely sounded appealing. Even if I was being obviously manipulated, testing a mysterious cultivation technique was right down my alley.

I was also interested in my qi"s will. It had already acted independently by consuming the demon. The possibility of controlling that power was… exciting.

"Master, what happens if I can"t learn your technique?"

"Don"t worry about it. Ya"ll learn many techniques in your life, and not all of them will suit ya. This early on, just switch to a different one."

Sure, this option wasn"t the wisest one. But I didn"t just want to tread the same path as some previous scholars. I wanted to do something new, something special.

"Then I"ll choose the Qi Manifestation technique."

"Haha! Great choice!"

Yin Xue clapped joyously and ghostly hands whisked away the books from my arms.

"I"ll give you a less precious copy, here," the hand came back, bringing with it a plain booklet, "I"ll change it if I figure anything new out."

He led me towards the vault door, chatting while he walked.

"Now, apparently yer supposed to cultivate by my side, but that"s annoying. Go cultivate in yer room or something, I"m sure yer"ll be fine."

He opened the door, then stopped and stared at me for a second.

"That"s yer cue to leave, brat."

"Oh… I thought you said you"d… "help me all you could"?"

"And I did. Bye."

I grudgingly stepped out of the vault and watched Yin Xue slowly close the door. With only a few inches left, it stopped, and he made a last remark.

"Look, make sure ya come back every week or so. I need to doc.u.ment… I mean… talk to ya about yer progress."

With that, the vault door slammed shut. I couldn"t help but laugh at the whole encounter. Yin Xue was such a stereotypical mad scientist, but he had somehow landed a job in a school library.

First, I had been the test subject for Sirius"s mysterious experiment, now this? It seemed I was destined to be a lab rat in this life.