Waves of heat and ash piled into the orb. It pulsed like a living heart, each beat expanding its size until it matured to the bulk of a merchant wagon.
Within that enormous embryonic sac, a monstrous figure began to take form. Its germinal shape sprouted legs and claws. Limbs and torso bloated with shadowy muscles as a huge, leonine-like creature grew.
The orb soon burst like an overinflated bubble, and something inhuman emerged from its remains. A distorted, bone-chilling howl thundered throughout the training halls, shaking the very foundations of the platform.
It resembled a lion, yet on all fours, it was taller than even the Senior Brother. The creature was composed not of flesh and bones. Instead, strands of living light intertwined with clumps of solid smoke, creating a body that twisted around sinews of heat and ash, mimicking muscles and limbs.
It looked like a monster born from the worst nightmares, an antithesis of all things natural and proper.
In short, it was nothing particularly out of the ordinary in a cultivator’s world. The only thing that might intrigue an outsider was the creature’s complete absence of a head. The summoned beast clawed at the floor with a rabid intensity — as if it were truly sentient — eagerly awaiting the Young Master's permission to maim and tear.
Brother Dai whistled appreciatively. “A Redmane Lion. That is a good kill, Young Master. But where did you find one this big?”
Redmane Lions were some of the fiercest predators found within the Phoenix Mountain. Equal parts powerful and cunning, their sheer size belied the agility and patience they possessed. In battle, they strike with crushing paws and razor-sharp claws, both lethal even against cultivators within the Tempering Realm.
“One of the lower villages was being hounded by a particular evasive and intelligent variant,” Feng answered, making sure to keep the pride from creeping into his voice. “It first grew fat off eating the local livestock. When that wasn’t enough, it started ambushing our Ox Merchants instead and grew larger still. I lured it out with some of my flesh and bound it afterwards.”
“Ah, so this was one of the victims of your humanitarian jaunts, then.”
The Young Master grimaced, before silently cursing when he thought he felt a tingle from his Heart. “Even if I did not have the intention to bind the beast, I would have still gone and slew it. There is nothing wrong with helping others in need.”
“And I did not say there was.” The older Disciple smiled. “I'm glad to see you have not changed your ways despite your advancement, Young Master. Regardless of what others might say, I've always believed that your altruism is one of your best-defining characteristics.”
The weight in Feng’s Heart lessened. Brother Dai huffed at the Young Master’s visible relief.
“Good grief. You need not be so sensitive to the opinions of others, Young Lord. It is unseemly for one in your position to concern yourself with the approval of lessers.”
If only his Heart understood that. Still, in this case, Dai made a wrong distinction.
“Senior Brother is a person I respect, and as such, his approval is always going to be one that I concern myself with.” Feng paused to consider his words. “There are times when my actions don’t directly serve the Sect. Even if I’m allowed to act selfishly, I don’t want to become someone who willingly turns a deaf ear to the disapproval of my fellow Disciples just to feel better about my choices.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Dai nodded. “That altruism of yours can be narcissistic sometimes. But I would never disapprove of it, so long as the greed that motivates you comes from a cultivator’s hunger.”
Feng wanted to question his words more, but the Senior Brother cut him off. “That’s enough talk. We are here to fight, not debate. Your summon looks strong, and your familiarity with the Sect's second Divine Art must be good for you to have bound it so thoroughly. Let’s test your control.”
Dai flexed his qi, and monsters rose.
[Severed Heads Apostles]
A myriad of smaller beasts were violently born from the flames upon the Senior Brother’s activation of their Sect’s summoning Art. Limbs and torsos were spun from the inferno, until a trio of fiery creatures appeared.
Feng spied a giant centipede, an ape-like creature with sharp protrusions emerging from its elbow, and a large bird with human-like hands for feet.
A Hundredskitter, a Stonehook Monkey, and a Grasping Hawk. Those were but the few Spirit Beasts that his Senior Brother had beheaded in his long service to the Sect. Each of the summons was made of flames, and all were missing a head.
The trio were each smaller than the oversized Redmane Lion that Feng had conjured. Individually, the beasts were lesser threats as well. As such, despite being outnumbered, both sides could be said to be rather evenly matched.
This was not a detail overlooked by the Young Master. Brother Dai could have easily summoned more creatures, or even his own trio of Redmane Lions if he wished. For Feng, however, just maintaining his conjured beast was already taxing most of his qi balance. That Brother Dai had only summoned an equal force opposing Feng’s was a deliberate move on his part to ensure a fair match.
Without another word, the Young Master sent his lion charging forth, and Dai did the same with his menagerie of headless beasts. Their summoned creatures clashed, producing harrowing roars and inhuman shrieks. Despite their lack of heads, their cries were clearly audible, albeit distorted and nightmarish to behold.
Their Sect’s second Divine Art — [Severed Heads Apostles] — creates fiery mimics of slain Spirit Beasts that the cultivator has personally beheaded in life. The summoned creatures operate with a facsimile of their living counterparts’ behaviour, but there are limits.
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The flames that make up their body cannot replicate their entire biology, meaning certain aspects of the creature’s innate physiological arsenal were unavailable, such as the Hundredskitter’s poison, or the Stonehook Monkey’s ability to throw chunks of granite produced from its stomach.
There was also the missing head to consider. Without it, the Redmane Lion was unable to savagely bite down upon its prey as it did in life, and the Grasping Hawk lacked its powerful beak to peck away at its opponent’s eyes.
The limitations were annoying, but that did not mean the summons were useless. Sheer weight and size still count for something, and the unique fiery properties of the reanimated beasts gave them a different weapon to use in battle.
Neither of the cultivators aided or interrupted the raging death match between their chosen bestial champions. For three full minutes, the battle raged with no clear winner in sight. The three summons of Brother Dai worked together with an uncanny level of teamwork, while the Redmane Lion occasionally jerked or stumbled as it lost control of its unfinished muscles.
In the end, however, the larger size of Feng’s Redmane Lion won out. It crushed the wiggling centipede beneath its massive paws, swathed the hawk out of the air with its tail, and bisected the monkey with a vicious slash of claws.
“Well done!” Brother Dai praised as the last of his creatures perished in an explosion of flames. “I had thought your stamina would have given out after a few minutes into the fight, especially considering the size of your beast, but clearly my worries were unfounded.”
Feng dispelled his summon, doing his best to conceal how winded he felt. Truth be told, he had already been reaching the limits of his endurance while maintaining the lion. Its innate aggression and unnaturally large size had made it incredibly demanding to sustain and balance.
Brother Dai, on the other hand, had effortlessly managed all three summons at once. While they were smaller and less complex to create, the challenge of controlling multiple beasts at once would have been far more strenuous than handling a single creature, even one as large as a Redmane Lion.
It showed Feng he still had a long way to go. But that was a matter for another time. The most difficult battle was yet to come. The Young Master focused on rapidly stabilising his qi, body tensed with anticipation for the next part.
“You have shown a remarkable proficiency with the first Divine Art, even going as far as creating your own variant of it,” Dai praised as he flexed his arms. “You have also shown significant improvement with the second Divine Art, having not only successfully bound a difficult Spirit Beast, but also maintained its summon for a great length of time.”
The Disciple walked back to where he had impaled his glaive to the ground earlier. Grasping upon its shaft, he wrenched the weapon free from its impromptu holdings, sending a metallic knell reverberating across the floor. The blade of the weapon still shimmered with blood, and the heft of its swings could be felt even across the air.
“Our great Corpse God gave us three legacies. That leaves us with but one Divine Art left for me to evaluate.” Brother Dai spun the heavy glaive in his hands with a flourish, the weapon seemingly weightless as he pointed the tip of it challengingly at Feng. “I have but one question for you, Young Master: Are you man enough to face the strongest Disciple of the Beheaded Phoenix Sect in a duel?”
It was an impressive speech, one backed by the heroic stance of Brother Dai as his silhouette was illuminated against the raging fire. Anyone else might find the spectacle suitably awed.
Feng merely raised an eyebrow. “I had already fought you before, Senior Brother. More than half a dozen times this year alone, in fact.”
“Brat, you are ruining the moment for me,” complained Brother Dai. “No sense of drama in you at all. That will not do, you know! Women do not like a man who cannot indulge in a bit of play-acting.”
“A good thing I am already soon to be married then,” Feng mildly replied. “In any case, I would be glad to duel. Just give me a moment to grab a weapon off the grounds, and we can begin.”
The arena was littered with weapons, most of which were the signature pole arms that the Sect specialised in. Feng reached for a discarded quarterstaff, but just before he could grab it, a light fireball blasted the weapon away.
The Young Master leapt away, turning to look at his Senior Brother in shock. The sheer audacity… Why would he—?
“Actually, I was thinking it might be good for us to fight as we are,” Brother Dai said conversationally. His words were delivered without a hint of shame, as if he hadn’t just attacked the Young Master while his guard was down or suggested something utterly outrageous. “I could use some practice against an unarmed opponent.”
Qi Technique, Part 2
Broadly speaking, there are eight ‘forms’ of Qi Techniques that are recognised by most Sects and Disciples:
- Qi Refinement Techniques: These refer to the basic Breathing techniques or Meditative/ Stance techniques that Cultivators actively use for the refinement of ambient Qi. Every cultivator is taught at least one basic variant of it for use in both meditation and combat.
- Martial Techniques: These refer to wholly combative techniques, be they ranged, unarmed, or with weapons. So long as the intent is to inflict direct harm, it is broadly considered a Martial Technique.
- Movement Techniques: These refer to techniques that enhance agility or speed, allowing cultivators to move swiftly. Certain movement techniques even allow for flight, instantaneous teleportation, or incorporate other effects like stealth or illusions into the movement.
- Body Techniques: These refer to techniques that temporarily enhance the cultivator’s physical form, be it something as mundane as heightened strength and speed, or the more unique metamorphosis found in Transformation Techniques.
- Sealing Techniques: These refer to techniques specialised in the crafting of spiritual tools, known as Talismans, that may achieve certain specialised feats. This is done by ‘sealing’ the cultivator’s qi within a separate vessel through the use of runic markings. A Talisman’s activation and upkeep need not rely on the original practitioner, giving it unparalleled versatility. The Talisman’s vessel may be anything as mundane as a mere slip of paper or a jade necklace, to even larger objects like pots or entire wagons. The most heretical and difficult of Sealing Techniques may even utilise living vessels, such as Spirit Beasts or humans.
- Furnace Techniques: These refer to techniques specialised in maintaining unique, miniaturised Spiritual conditions, mainly for the purpose of producing a cultivated extract. Pill Makers, Alchemists, and Doctors are well-versed in such techniques.
- Extrasensory Techniques: These techniques focus on the use of qi to manipulate the Extrasensory medium. Such a skill allows for the manipulation of thoughts, the use of clairvoyance to see past or future events, or even the exploitation of luck. It is a particularly vital skill for cultivators that use Familiars or Summoning-related Techniques.
- Soul Technique: These techniques involve the very manipulation of a cultivator’s soul, be it their own or others. Even the simplest soul techniques are out of reach of most cultivators before the Spirit Realm. The most basic soul technique would be the creation of a soul fragment, a lesser clone of the cultivator.
In many cases, techniques also incorporate an elemental component within the feat. Examples include a martial technique that uses a fire-wreathed fist to attack, or a movement technique that uses wind manipulation to facilitate flight.
Technically, Divine Arts would fall into a ninth category on their own, often referred to as ‘Legacy Techniques’, given their more profound spiritual effects and abilities. But for the sake of ease, most Sects simply categorise their Divine Arts within one of the eight ‘forms’, if possible.
– Excerpt from To Those Worthy of the Eternal Banquet
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