Qi Like Tar

Before Paike stood Elder Chu. For the first time, he got a good look at her long black hair that was now free from her ubiquitous straw hat.

Without thinking, he reached down and snatched the hat as it rolled past. The same shockwave that had staggered him must have knocked it off.

Elder Chu stood there with Elder Ji's fist in her palm. Their eyes were locked. Elder Chu appeared calm on the outside, but Paike thought he saw some tightness in her kind eyes. It might have been the strain of holding the other elder's fist, or maybe it was concern. For her fellow elder, or the disciples standing behind her.

Elder Ji's own eyes were wild and angry. But there was enough surprise there that he didn't react right away.

"I think that is enough," Elder Chu said gently.

"You dare to tell me how to teach my students!" Elder Ji roared, the fury only stoked from seeing his fellow elder.

"Let us take this discussion someplace away from prying ears."

It was a good ploy. Paike thought. Try to get the disciples away from the danger, play on Elder Ji's pride so that their argument wouldn't reflect poorly on him, as his authority was questioned.

However, Elder Ji was too far gone.

Seeing the composed and stoic elder like this was so wrong. On top of that, Paike could feel something was off with the ambient qi now that he knew what to look for. The wound was certainly more than a simple cut. It was the only explanation he could think of.

There was some qi activity, but Paike didn't see it. The same assistant from earlier appeared in front of the disciples. He now realized she must have been the one to get Elder Chu. It felt bad that he had never learned her name.

"Come all. The other elders will arrive soon, and we will all want to be far away if things escalate. Follow me," she commanded.

They did, but Han Saiyan, of all people, worked up the courage to ask a question.

"What is happening with the elder? That wasn't how he normally acts."

"No. No, it is not." The assistant said, her worried look still on her face. "The barbarians have many strange magics."

That was all she would say on the matter, despite a few further questions. But no one pushed too hard; they were more than happy to run back to the compound while covered by her shield of qi.

***

Before they were even out of the forest, there was a crashing sound that Paike thought could be the tearing up of several trees.

Their pace increased. They reached the center of the compound and found many of the other disciples sheltering in the administration building with the staff.

More older cultivators, like the assistant leading them, whom Paike realized was likely a core disciple under Elder Ji, were leading more outer sect disciples from the forest and their homes back to the shelter.

Sounds of fighting in the distance echoed over the mountain. As they were entering the building, Paike saw a streak of black flash through the sky.

It was coming from the mountain that housed the inner sect and was heading towards the fight. That must be one of the other elders coming to assist Elder Chu.

But before he could see anything more, they were inside.

Right as the door closed behind them, the building shook again. Everyone flinched, and Paike felt a lot more nervous. He noticed all the core disciples' hands were left. They were probably looking for any strangers still outside, but he would have felt a lot better if they were around.

No one had any illusions that the building would do very much to protect them from a strike, but it might help them avoid falling debris.

That awareness of their fragility seemed to break down many of the typical barriers between the disciples, and they started to huddle closer away from the wall and windows.

"I didn't know that Elder Chu was in a higher realm than Elder Ji," Mi Lixian said in a near whisper. She was pressed into the other side of Liming by Paike and looked more scared than most here.

"I don't think she is," Li Feng said. He was relatively calm compared to everyone else, but still not his usual self. He and Paike were the highest-ranking cultivators here, the only two in Topaz. It offered them a slight edge over the others in surviving the fallout if things got bad, but it could just as easily mean nothing.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Still, it left them in roles where people would listen to them.

"Then how did she stop him?" Mi Lixian pressed.

"I think Elder Ji is injured," Paike said.

"No shit," Han Saiyan said, a bit further away; he had apparently been listening. "We all saw that wound."

"Not just in his flesh," Paike ignored the interruption and continued to explain. "You heard the core disciple; the barbarians have magics we do not know. Their cultivation is different. It is clear something is affecting his mind. But I think that is also weakening him. Elder Chu is not nearly as focused on physical cultivation as Elder Ji, and she still caught his blow."

"That was intended for us. He was holding back!" Han Saiyan argued, but even he didn't sound like he believed himself.

"You felt the force of the shockwave. Tell me you could have survived that," Liming demanded.

Han Saiyan didn't respond.

"To be an elder, one must be in the fifth realm at least. They have the more junior elders working in the outer sect," Li Feng brought the topic back.

The thought of fifth realm or above cultivators fighting in the same area was terrifying. A fight of that level didn't quite level mountains, but destroying small cities in the crossfire was not uncommon.

"Do you think they will send a sixth realm cultivator to deal with this?" Somone asked.

"No one sends a sixth realm to do anything!" Another cultivator said.

Paike didn't mention that his father was sent to fetch groceries by his mother all the time, and he was at least in the sixth realm. Like in everything, his father was the exception.

"The sect leader can," The first responded.

A small argument broke out. It was said that the sect leader was in the seventh realm, one of the most powerful people in the empire, but no one had seen him for a very long time. The rumor was that he was trying to break into the eighth realm. That would put him on par with the leaders of the five duchies and a few of the heads of the most powerful families.

But it was questionable if a seventh realm would order a sixth realm around. It was unquestioned who would win in a fight, but the devastation would be such that it wouldn't be worth trying. That was where mountains would absolutely be destroyed, so fights rarely happened.

Paike met Li Feng's eyes through the crowd. Things were starting to get out of hand. The argument wasn't petering out, and they couldn't afford a fight here. Tempers and tension were high, but now wasn't the time.

The conversation they held in a second went something like this:

"What should we do?"

"You're the number one rank, you tell me."

"Ha, who's older?"

"You think they would listen to me before you?"

"Yes."

Paike sighed, raised his voice, and took the tone he did when teaching the younger children in the Kong family. "Alright, calm down!"

Surprisingly, people did and turned to look at him. Now he just had to figure out what to say. He hadn't thought he would get this far.

"We have to remain calm for now. That doesn't mean that you have to be civil, but any differences will be resolved after this passes. If anyone steps out of line, Li Feng or I will put you down. Understand?"

Li Feng, standing with his hand on his sword, did an excellent job of backing him up. And the sound of fighting still going on outside convinced the rest.

There was a round of nods. But Paike could tell the tension hadn't gone away.

He started pointing at those who seemed the most worked up and those who were the most scared. Beginning with someone whom he thought would listen, he started giving orders.

"Mi Lixain, work on your physical cultivation."

"Mu Chen, you are close to the next stage; see if you can reach it by the end of the day."

The qi was a bit weaker than would be ideal, but it would keep everyone occupied. Through a mixture of advice, threats, and intimidation, he and Li Feng got most of the disciples cultivating.

Luckily, once it was apparent the way things were going, people like Han Saiyan, Ren Shu, and Xia Jun didn't need to be asked. Paike doubted they would have caved the way everyone else had.

Soon it was just him and Li Feng. They exchanged nods and shifted to the opposite side of the crowd. Paike faced the door, and Li Feng watched the windows, his hand on his sword.

The fluctuations of qi were so bright that Paike could see them through the thick wood of the doors. He lost himself in studying them. The scale of the workings was so overwhelming that he couldn't tell what they were.

Activating Unmovable in His Convictions helped clear his mind. There must have been some passive mental manipulations reaching even this far. That would explain the commotion earlier and why Li Feng had remained less affected than the others.

With his mind clearer, he was still not able to understand the larger workings, but he started to pick apart some of the smaller patterns in the qi. He recognized a few basic patterns and started looking for inspiration with how they were used.

He was so lost in his work that he almost jumped when the door was cracked open. A core disciple Paike didn't recognize came through, leading Wu Chen by his elbow.

Paike had never interacted with a cultivator before. But as the core disciple gently pushed the boy toward Paike and the group, Wu Chen nodded to Paike but didn't look him in the eyes. He just stood there, as if waiting for something.

Instead of just waiting, Paike pointed over to Xia Jun. He knew the two of them were roommates, so best to keep them together.

"Why don't you join them in cultivating? It's best to pass the time."

Wu Chen nodded, looked at the wall behind Paik, then moved over and sat down near his friend. That was an odd interaction.

The core disciple finished counting the gathered outer sect disciples and nodded. He came up to Paike.

"Good idea to get everyone cultivating; they won't be able to do much with them all sharing the qi, but it should keep them calm."

Paike bowed. "Thank you."

"There are more core disciples out looking. I think they will be enough to find the rest. You two may join the others," He told Paike and Li Feng. "I will keep watch."

Paike sat between his sister and Guan Li; Li Feng stayed on the other side. With a cultivator who was either in Late Emerald or even higher watching over them, he was pretty sure they would survive even the building collapsing, and he felt himself relax a fraction. They were still far from safe, but it was much better now.

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