Forge of Destiny Chapter 1-First Steps 1

Ling Qi’s first morning as a disciple of the Sect began blearily as she searched the compact kitchen for a simple meal. She was quite pleased that provisions had been restocked the previous night; it would have been a hassle to trek to the storehouse before she was fully awake.

It still felt somewhat unreal to think that she no longer had to fret over her next meal. Her thoughts provided a welcome distraction as she finished preparing breakfast. She noted with mild surprise that Meizhen’s door remained shut, with no indication the other girl was stirring yet. Ling Qi hadn’t pegged her as the type to sleep in.

A brief look out the window as she sat down to eat revealed it was well past sunrise. Even after she had eaten and returned to her room for a useless attempt at taming her hair and tidying up, her roommate's door stayed closed. Ling Qi contemplated knocking or even peeking inside to check on her, but the other girl’s prior warning echoed in her mind.

Instead, she resolved to spend her morning continuing the exercises for the Argent Soul technique until closer to noon. Sitting cross-legged in the dim meditation room, merely breathing, proved surprisingly calming once she quieted her mind, and Ling Qi’s tiredness swiftly vanished.

Without employing a spirit stone, she sensed no surge in the faint warmth lingering from the previous night’s meditation, yet the sensation of it 'breathing' in time with her felt good. For the first time in recent memory, she felt competent at something. She recognized it was likely mere wishful thinking, but she allowed the notion to persist.

Upon exiting the meditation room, she discovered Bai Meizhen had finally awakened. The girl was seated by the hearth, sipping water, appearing as pristine as the day before. Ling Qi experienced a pang of envy at the other girl's effortless upkeep. She had long ago accepted her own oddities.

More significantly, the pale girl was altered in one key aspect; the serpent she had glimpsed was now fully apparent, coiled loosely around Bai Meizhen’s neck. It was an attention-grabbing creature with scales of vibrant green, reminiscent of costly jade, and quite small, no wider than two fingers clasped together.

The snake and girl looked up in uncanny unison as Ling Qi emerged, and she couldn't help but observe that the little snake’s eyes matched Meizhen’s hue precisely. Before the silence could grow uncomfortable, Ling Qi refocused on her roommate’s face.

“Oh, you’re awake. Good morning.” She felt no compulsion to alter her speech around the other girl, who seemed indifferent to it.

“Good morning,” Bai Meizhen replied evenly, her gaze unwavering. Ling Qi found herself wishing the other girl would blink more. “Did your cultivation proceed well?”

Ling Qi offered a slight shrug, feeling a bit self-conscious. She liked to think it had, but she had no benchmarks. “I believe so. I mean… I don’t think I managed to ‘awaken’ anything, but I think I can sense something in my ‘dantian’ now?” Ling Qi faltered over her words more than she intended.

The pale girl simply nodded faintly, setting down her empty cup. “That is anticipated. It would be exceedingly rare for you to reach the Red Soul stage in a single night of cultivation without substantially greater resources.” As she spoke, she idly stroked the small, spade-shaped head of her serpent with a fingertip, and the reptile leaned into the touch.

“I do not foresee you failing to achieve it by week’s end if you apply yourself,” she added. Her tone remained placid, but Ling Qi perceived it as encouragement. Perhaps. It could also be an ultimatum; discerning her intent was difficult.

Despite this, Ling Qi suspected the girl’s perspective on natural progression speeds might be somewhat distorted. “I know I’ll manage it,” she declared with more certainty than she truly felt. “But I need to head out, so I’ll see you later.” She wanted to inquire further about some of the topics raised, but she risked being late.

Bai Meizhen offered a small nod as Ling Qi turned to leave, redirecting her complete attention to the serpent adorning her neck. The final image Ling Qi retained was of the bright green snake lifting its head and hissing into Bai Meizhen’s ear, almost as if sharing a secret.

It was a clear, bright day, although the autumn chill was quite significant. Ling Qi found herself relieved that her disciple's uniform felt warm, even though it was hardly designed for winter. This was truly the finest set of clothes she had ever possessed. She still considered making some alterations, primarily due to the less-than-perfect fit. Perhaps she could look into breaking in the sewing kit she had been given.

Such thoughts were relegated to the back of her mind, as Ling Qi’s primary focus was on avoiding any potential trouble on her journey to the plaza. She was uncertain if her 'friendship' with Bai Meizhen would suffice to provoke genuine reprisal, but she didn't feel inclined to take any risks.

With no one actively searching for her and a distinct lack of large crowds, it was not difficult to simply take a winding route to the outskirts of the area. Once there, she skirted along the perimeter until she reached the entrance path that was carved into the mountainside. Keeping her head down and subtly slouching to conceal her height, she managed to pass through without incident.

This would inevitably become more challenging as time progressed, but for the moment, her minor strategies for evading notice were proving effective. Fortunately, few individuals were present on the path leading to the plaza, and those who were traveling it were quite scattered and too engrossed in their own concerns to pay her any attention. The plaza itself was more crowded, and it was here that she first encountered older disciples. There were even more of them than students her own age. Where had they all come from?

She lingered at the edge of the plaza for a period to observe, but eventually began to relax. None of the senior disciples seemed to exhibit any interest in those from her group. In fact, they appeared to be almost deliberately disregarding them as they went about their respective activities. Most were heading into the substantial lecture building, while others simply congregated in groups, chatting or departing down other paths...

Those had not been present yesterday. Four additional gates now stood visible – two on the eastern side and two on the western side – marking pathways that ascended or descended the mountain. Ling Qi shook her head at the spectacle. More mystical arrangements. She truly felt out of her depth. The confidence she had felt the previous night and this morning was rapidly diminishing. Eventually, she moved from the shade of the gates and began her search for Han Jian.

She knew it was perhaps foolish, but between her embarrassment with Sun Liling and her roommate’s... reserved nature, she was genuinely anticipating some straightforward, amicable interaction. She couldn’t quite bring herself to be suspicious of the handsome young man.

This was the sole reason she hesitated rather than departing entirely when she noticed him already engaged in a conversation with another disciple. It was another young man, shorter by a head than the two of them, but noticeably broader at the shoulders and wider at the waist. If anything, he appeared almost Han Jian’s antithesis: stocky and powerfully built, with stern features and spiky black hair.

She was not close enough to overhear their words above the low hum of activity from the rest of the plaza, but she did observe that the shorter young man was doing the majority of the talking, gesturing animatedly. He seemed to possess a rather bombastic personality, at least from a first impression.

Han Jian's smile seemed rather fixed. Han Jian then met her gaze, noticing her position where she had stopped in the dappled shade of one of the scattered peach trees. For a fleeting moment, Ling Qi perceived something akin to relief in his eyes. That was sufficient encouragement for her to resume moving. Once she had approached closer, Han Jian raised a hand, momentarily interrupting the other young man.

"Ling Qi! Over here! Glad you could make it." That was certainly one method of extricating oneself from a conversation, though she wasn't entirely pleased about the attention it directed towards her. For his part, the shorter young man turned swiftly in the direction of Han Jian's gaze, an eager expression gracing his features... only for it to vanish the instant his eyes fell upon her.

Ling Qi stifled her nascent frown and instead offered a polite nod to Han Jian as she covered the remaining distance.

"Good morning, Han Jian. I apologize if I am late." With him, she felt a certain obligation to at least attempt politeness.

Ling Qi’s gaze shifted to his companion. He was frowning unhappily in her direction. What was his issue? "And who might your-"

"Seriously, Jian?" the shorter young man interjected, directing an incredulous look at the other boy. "When I heard a heartbreaker like you was coming out to meet a girl, I expected to have the opportunity to meet a real beauty, not some twig with delusions of grandeur!"

His words were loud and crude, quite apart from their offensive content. Ling Qi felt her expression harden unnaturally as Han Jian winced almost imperceptibly. Had she not already noted his discomfort with the other young man, she might have reacted or spoken inappropriately. As it was, she restrained herself, though barely, by gritting her teeth. In the ensuing silence, Han Jian managed to regain his composure.

"...Yu, isn't that a bit excessive? There's absolutely no reason to be rude to another practitioner. Besides, I already told you it wasn't anything like that."

“That was definitely more than a bit much,” Ling Qi interjected sourly, glaring at the shorter boy, and ignoring the unpleasant twinge that Han Jian’s words brought for no reason that she would acknowledge.

‘Yu’ simply waved a dismissive hand at her words, making her temper flare further. He didn’t even look at her. “She’s just a commoner, Jian. You can tell by looking. Are you really going to waste time on this?”

Ling Qi didn’t bother saying anything this time though her expression grew darker. She couldn’t do anything about this now, but she would certainly remember the insult. Han Jian’s expression was wary as he responded.

“I’m not going to break a promise, Yu.” It was probably the least friendly thing she had ever heard him say.

The shorter boy snorted in response. “Fine. I suppose I won’t begrudge you your tastes, Jian. Just try not to waste too much time. I won’t stand for a brother of mine falling behind!” He stomped off on his own as his words faded into the morning air, leaving the two of them standing in awkward silence. Well, Han Jian seemed awkward. Ling Qi was seething internally.

“So... brother?” she asked dully, fixing Han Jian with an unimpressed expression.

He winced, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. It was only then that she noticed the tiger cub was nowhere to be seen. “Not by blood. It’s just...” he trailed off, seemingly searching for words. “Have you ever had a peer that your parents pretty much ordered you to make nice with? It’s like that.”

Ling Qi hadn’t ever had that experience, but she could understand what he meant. She had ‘made nice’ with less pleasant people during her time living in the streets. She felt her temper cooling. It wasn’t Han Jian’s fault.

“Heartbreaker?” She quirked an eyebrow.

Now, the handsome boy just looked tired and exasperated.

“It’s a stupid joke that started a few years back because of a friend’s sisters. Yu just takes it too seriously because...” He trailed off and gestured helplessly at his handsome face.

Ling Qi thought he sounded sincere, but she couldn’t help but be a bit more wary now. Although if she were being more reasonable, it was a little silly for a fourteen year old boy to be considered a ‘heartbreaker’. “So, what happens now?”

He sighed. “I can give you a few tips on starting your cultivation, and if you would like, and I can help you practice a bit like I said I would,” he responded sincerely. “I’ll be going to the classes the Elders are holding in the afternoon though.”

“So will I,” Ling Qi said, feeling a bit relieved. “Will this be a one time thing then?”

“I figure I can spare an hour or two every few days if you’d like.” Han Jian really did seem almost too nice. His ass of a friend did have a point though. She was just a commoner; why was he willing to spend time on her? She would like the answer to be that he simply liked her, but she wasn’t sure she could believe that.

“I would like that.” Linq Qi considered just asking him, but she couldn’t risk offending him and losing his aid. She needed every resource she could get right now. She felt a little sad that the encounter with the other boy had made her suspicious, but it was for the best.

“Where should we start?” she asked. “My roommate helped me get a feel for my dantian, and I think I have the first breathing exercise down.”

“Oh? That was fast,” Han Jian said, eyebrows rising. “I assume you mean the Argent Soul exercises,” he continued, to which she nodded. “I’ll leave finishing that to the Elder later. If you understand your dantian...”

“I’m not sure I do,” Ling Qi admitted. “She kind of... brute forced it. I get that it’s your spiritual center and where you store qi, but...” She trailed off, spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness.

He gave her strange look, leaning back against the trunk of the peach tree they were standing under.

“...Right, that is the gist of it. The dantian’s not a physical organ like your heart or your stomach, but exercising and expanding it is at the core of improving your ability to hold and use qi. Think of it as the heart of your spirit.”

Ling Qi was aware vaguely of the body’s organs, from a half remembered diagram in a physician’s text that she had stolen and pawned off last year. She wracked her thoughts for information from a text she had only flipped through in a moment of idleness while waiting for a fence.

“Does that mean that once I awaken it, it will start moving qi through the rest of my body?”

He smiled, and despite herself, she felt a little warmer.

“Yeah. But unlike your physical veins, you will have to open your meridians manually. It’s... pretty difficult and painful, but you’ll need to bear with it because your qi won’t be able to affect the world without any open channels.”

Cultivation wasn’t easy it seemed. Ling Qi took a seat on the bench beneath the tree as they continued to talk, discussing the basics of cultivation.

The human body possessed a vast network of potential meridians, and the selection of which to open would dictate the specific techniques and arts one could learn. Cultivators referred to their magical abilities as 'arts,' with 'techniques' being the individual spells comprising an art. Though much of the explanation was complex, Ling Qi grasped the fundamental concept.

Han Jian, for instance, had wind-aligned meridians in his legs and fire-aligned meridians running through his heart and spine. A cultivator's body had a finite capacity for channeling Qi, which was essential for employing arts. Since a meridian could only channel one type of Qi at any given time, this restricted the number of arts a cultivator could wield. As cultivators progressed in power, their bodies could endure the opening of more meridians, thereby expanding their repertoire of techniques.

This meant Ling Qi, being a novice, would initially be confined to a single art, a prospect that caused her consternation. Should the classes yield no further insights, she might need to seek guidance from Bai Meizhen.

Despite her enjoyment of Han Jian's company, their time together was finite. After about an hour, she had gained a slightly improved understanding, and he had pointed out several errors in her practice of the Argent Soul exercises. With her confidence somewhat bolstered, she walked with him toward the lecture hall as the sun descended past its peak, signaling the commencement of the afternoon lessons.