Qi Like Tar

Paike made it back to the sect with surprisingly little hindrance. Based on the previous times he had gone out, he knew he had to be careful about the dangers on the journey. The first time he and Liming had ventured out they had been attacked by Ren Shu and his lackeys.

When he had heard stories of the sect and dangerous proving ground that the outer sect was, it primarily focused on other dangers. There were ancient spirits, deadly trials, and monstrous beasts. In fact, most of his trouble had been caused by other cultivators, rather than anything else.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t even gone looking for a trail or qi heavy cultivation spot yet. That was a right of passage. He would add that to his list, thought it might not help him very much.

This time, as he ran through the woods, he actually saw his frist monstrous beasts. However, he only saw them as they ran from the spots where they had been waiting in ambush.

Most of the monsters directly near the sect were equivalent to the Ruby cultivators, and it was expected for them to be uninterested in fighting someone strong.

He made it back in record time. It wasn't that late in the day yet, but late enough that the physical cultivation class should be over. However, he didn't immediately try to find his sister or Guan Li, but instead, he had another, more pressing matter that he should really get started on right away.

Paike only had one month to get control of his combat trance. And he didn’t have the faintest idea of how to do that. Combat trances were usually above Emerald except for the rarest of cases. No one would even confirm their existence to a mortal. With the outer sect library being exclusive for techniques he didn't have a good way to research theory on his own.

So he headed for one of the administration buildings. It was time to find a teacher.

He checked on his sect point total, which was respectable. As part of the top ten, he received a daily contribution as a reward for his continued placement, even if it was in the lower top ten, which reduced his reward. Plus, how they had done well on their first real competition in the physical division class. Total that had given him a bit over 200 points.

Unfortunately, when he checked the listings, he could see that even a core disciple would cost him well over a thousand points for a single meeting.

He looked over those willing to give lessons for an amount of sect points he could afford and found a listing for a near peak Emerald cultivator from the inner sect.

That wasn’t exactly what he was looking for but this cultivator had a specialty in physical combat and could boast of a rank two combat trance. It wasn't ideal, but the fact that combat trances were even ranked was something that he wasn't aware of, so clearly, whoever this was must know more than he did.

Paike signed up for the meeting and the clerk informed him that he would receive the location sometime tomorrow morning.

He thanked the clerk helping him and made a quick check of the rankings. His eyes rose, seeing that there had been a few shifts since he had last been aware. Li Feng was still number one, Zhao Liantian had fallen to fourth. But the two above her had also fallen, as they were not combat specialties.

Xia Jun had shot up to second. Liming had also moved up two spots to fifth. Ren Shu, and Han Saiyan were still hanging on to the list, but Paike had dropped from seventh to eighth, with Yue Mingli, someone he hadn't interacted with since coming to the sect, having passed him.

They were supposed to be based off duels, and he hadn't fought anyone. Maybe that was why he had fallen a little bit, but he wasn't exactly sure how to calculate that.

However, his sister getting so far ahead was a cause for celebration. But at the same time, he felt that with his newfound power, he should probably also try to catch up to her. He needed to get into the top five after all. It shouldn't be too difficult, as long as he could find someone to fight him.

Before he could go looking for an opponent for a fight, it was nearly time that his sister should be getting out of class. She would probably try to murder him if he didn’t tell her what happened. And also, he didn’t want to make a big deal about it in front of the entire sect until he was more confident and had shored up any weaknesses he had from his breakthrough.

There was a lot of instability in the walls of his dantian that hadn’t fully healed and wouldn’t for a few days. Looking for a challenging fight was probably not a good idea. Once he stopped to think about it for more than a few seconds, he might have to wait for a couple of days before pushing ahead in the rankings.

He left the administration buildings with no fanfare. He made his way into the forest along the path to the physical cultivation class. Content to wait a while, and he sat on a rock by the path, waiting until he heard voices. One of the other teams walked past with a slight nod in greeting, though most didn’t even bother looking his way.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He waited for a little while, and Li Feng’s group came down the trail. He and Li Feng exchanged respectful nods. The third group, though, had his sister and Guan Li. The other two girls in their group were not with them.

Paike stood up as his sister put on a burst of speed, stopping in front of him with a snap of robes and a slight gust of wind. He watched as she restrained herself, remembering that they were not alone, and simply gave him a bow before lightly punching him in the chest.

“Are you feeling better, brother?”

Paike smiled and then looked over Liming’s head at Guan Li, to whom he inclined his head slightly, receiving a shallow bow in return.

“Yes, sister. I’m feeling quite great, actually.” He took a half step back and spread his hands. “Do you notice anything different about me?”

Her eyes scanned his body for a second before he could sense that she had switched to a more focused soul sight. She let out a gasp and stumbled backwards. The sheer surprise and bewilderment on her face made him smile.

It was just about what he had expected. Her unshakeable cultivator facade was getting harder to crack by the day and he had to take advantage of it while he still could.

She stammered out a few things before she finally managed to work out a coherent word. “How?”

He shook his head. “I’m not entirely certain.”

“That’s two whole stages at once.”

“Well, technically three,” Paike said.

She shot him a frustrated look. “Advanced three stages. Skipped two stages. It’s the same.”

This prompted Guan Li to look at him as well, and his eyebrows shot up, though his reaction was much more muted than Liming’s. Probably because he wasn’t as educated in matters of cultivation and didn’t realize how impossible Paike’s feat should have been.

“I think you are the fastest person in our family to reach Topaz,” Liming said after a minute. “It’s been, what, three weeks? And you spent a lot of that unconscious, too.”

“Um, I think 17 days, like you said, but no. Remember? Father did it in five days.”

Liming waved him off. “That doesn’t count. Father... you can’t compare anyone to him. Still, have you written to the family yet? Have they—”

Paike raised his hands. “This... relax. This happened a few hours ago when I was out exploring. I haven’t told anyone. And my... well, I need to consolidate the gains. Right now it’s a little shaky, and I don’t want to push myself and cause it to collapse. I’m probably going to enter closed-door cultivation for a few days.”

He was not looking forward to that. It would be rather boring.

“Well,” he said, “after I have a lesson with an inter sect disciple. Tomorrow. But that should be theory work. Oh, and congratulations on moving up a couple of ranks.”

Liming smiled. “You haven’t been the only one who’s been working. The rankings shuffled around a little bit. The third and fourth places weren’t very much combat-effective. They’re more focused on other things. And you seem to have done a number on the Shadow Empress’s child. After you tore her apart in our trial she hasn’t been the same.”

Paike went slightly red. “Yeah. I noticed she’s been avoiding looking at me.”

When she had passed him earlier on the trail, she had not even looked at him, and done her best to pretend he wasn't there..

“Indeed,” Liming said. “So it wasn’t too hard to move up a couple of spots. Though they should have moved you up, too. You had better start working hard or Guan Li is going to pass you. Well, before you advanced at least. Still we need to get you a challenge. Mother said we both need to be in the top five to justify the increased stipend. Though I’m sure the new news will make her even more excited."

Paike turned to Guan Li. “I didn’t check the full list. But you are moving up?”

His friend nodded. “Yeah, getting close to cracking the top twenty now. I don’t know why they didn’t move you up though. You’re the one who beat the number two person in a duel. That’s practically the same as putting you on the same footing as Li Feng.”

Paike shook his head. “I don’t think they’re counting my uncontrolled combat trance when they’re setting up the rankings. They don’t seem to approved of it at all. But once I recover, you bet I’ll be trying to rise up as well. Though I noticed Li Feng is now Late Ruby.”

Liming nodded, but Guan Li was the one who actually said something.

“Yes, that was quite a stir a couple of days ago. He’s... everyone thinks he’s running away with the first-place spot.”

“Do you think you can beat him, brother?” Liming asked.

Paike thought about it and shrugged. “Maybe. I have sparred with him a little.”

“Really? When did that happen?” Liming asked, curious as they started to walk back towards the sect.

Paike explained the previous night and finished up with, “I might be able to win now, but I’m guessing he might be able to hold me to a draw if we’re using qi as well. I don’t have the exact best set of techniques and arts for one-on-one combat, where Li Feng has built himself to be a duelist.”

“But you weren’t even using your staff.”

Paike shrugged. “Yes, but I don’t really have any arts for staff use. Martial skill will only take you so far as you advance. It’s never useless, and one can gain insights from them. But you need to have the arts and techniques dedicated to the weapon to back it up. Otherwise it’s just...” He shrugged, not knowing the exact words.

“Hmm. Do we need to go get you another art?” Liming asked, and Paike immediately shook his head.

“No. I need to consolidate first. Maybe in a month or so, I’ll try to get an art more geared for Topaz. There are too many other things I need to focus on. And besides, I’m not set on a staff.”

Maybe he would consider repurposing the meridian he used for his Transient Shield Formation for something else. As if, between the physical cultivation side effects he was having and being unmovable in his convictions, it might start to become a little bit redundant.

Still, he and his sister parted from Guan Li when they reached the sect, and his sister dragged him to the library regardless. She said there was no harm in looking around now, and maybe she would pick out a technique for herself as she had mastered her most recent ones. He was curious to see how those worked out for her.

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