As the sun set Shen reentered the city through the Wood district gate. While much smaller than the main Water and Fire gates, the road from it lead directly to Fisher. She had left the city plenty of times, so the guards recognized her and waved her through.
She quickly made her way to the inner city, as she wasn’t allowed in that section after dark, and went to Mr. Li’s house, returning Shoom and the bracelet and getting the job page sighed. She ran back to the gate to the outer city, being warned that she was running late by the guards, and returned to the job board to turn in the job and get paid. She scanned her bracelet to receive the five contribution points and went to get something to eat.
At the cafeteria her friends were talking. “Did you hear, Shen?” asked Mae after Shen got her food.
“About what?” asked Shen as she lifted some kind of grilled spirit vegetable into her mouth.
“The bandits. A group of four inner disciple went to hunt them down only to find nine corpses that had been stripped of all of their stuff. Someone had used lightning magic to kill them all, except for the one that was run through with a sword.”
“Sounds like they messed with a cultivator they couldn’t handle.” said Shen, putting more food in her mouth.
“Sure,” said Ponma, “But who? Anyone in the sect would have reported doing it for the contribution points.”
“Probably an independent cultivator, then.” said Danka. “A few of them live on the nearby mountains. Of course, Shen knows all about that.” He looked at Shen.
“Why would I know about independent cultivators living near here?” she asked, puzzled.
“You’ve been running off most days you didn’t have to work for three years now, and someone’s been training you. Otherwise you wouldn’t be such a good fighter.” She was able to beat Danka six times out of ten, and Ponma nine times out of ten.
“You two are learning to fight too. You’re learning some sword technique, right? And Ponma is learning some drunken monkey thing?”
“Steel Cleaving Style and Drunken Monkey style, yes. But we’re being taught my the field master and bought a manual from the library so we could learn it. I’ve never seen you with a manual, nor has Mae, who you live with. And you are learning some technique just as fast as us. That means that you’re being taught, probably not by a sect member either, as no one has claimed to be your master, even though that would earn them more contribution points as a teacher.”
They were getting too close to the truth, as Shen was technically being taught by a village of independent cultivators. “Is it against the sect rules to be taught by one?”
Danka shook his head. “No, not if they are teaching a neutral or good Dao. From what I can tell, everything you have learned is neutral. Including that weird fighting style. What is it called again?”
“Way of the Dragon.” Shen said. Technically, the actual Way of the Dragon was a different 5000 year old style that, while based on the ways dragons fought, was altered to work better for humans. Her technique was the actual way taught by dragons, with a few minor modifications like using fists instead of claws and finger jabs instead of claw strikes. It was essentially a different offshoot from the same base.
“Really?” said Danka. “I’ve heard of it, but didn’t realize that was what you were using. It’s a first rate fighting technique favored by some mercenaries.”
“How do you know that?” asked Mae.
Danka looked a bit surprised, then steadied himself. “Oh, I heard some of the mercenaries talking about it last Caravan Day.”
Danka finished eating and got up to take his dishes to the kitchen. “Well, I’m going to head out. I’ve got tomorrow off, but I’ll probably be gone all day, so I’ll see you guys tomorrow night.”
After that the group finished eating and went home. Shen spent a few hours balancing the elements inside her dantian before climbing into bed and going to sleep. While she had managed to get the earth and metal elements above seven percent to balance out the fire element, the water was still below five and the wood was still below four percent. It would probably take her a few weeks or a month to get them all above seven percent, at which point she would be comfortable advancing to Foundation.
Each layer of the dantian would refill with the same type of chi that was in the shell that surrounded it, so if she wanted it to fill with good quality chi she needed to fill it with such chi before she built the shell. She didn’t know as many techniques as the other disciples did when they were advancing, nor did she have the amount of practice of most of them, but advancing would allow her to work and train as she liked, rather than be stuck in a job. She didn’t mind the job exactly, as she wanted to learn about relic creation, but sitting at a table making the same items dozens of times was boring. She wanted some variety, and walking through the woods and sparring with others would give her that variety.
The next day she was sitting behind a work desk engraving a sword when a fat man in a straw hat entered. The master behind the counter greeted him. “I am Wei Chen, owner of this relic store. How can I help you sir?”
The fat man bowed. “I am Quan Xiu. I am a traveling Talismonger. I am hoping to sell some of my wares here.” He sat a box on the table in front of Wei Chen.
Wei Chen opened it and noticed that there were twenty stacks of neatly wrapped talismans inside. Upon opening a few he found that each pack contained twenty identical talismans. “These all seem to be either rarer Cleansing stage or common Gathering stage talismans. How much do you want for them?”
“I was hoping to get one spirit stone each.”
Wei Chen thought about it for a few seconds. That was normally what he would charge for a Cleansing stage talisman, but, as these were rare effects he could probably charge more. The Gathering stage ones would earn him a descent profit either way. He touched the top one on a stack and put enough chi into it to make the writing glow slightly. “Do you mind if I do some tests on them?” he asked. “I won’t actually use them, but I need to verify the quality.”
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“As long as you pay for them, I don’t mind if you use them.” replied Quan Xiu, and Wei Chen nodded before taking them into the back of the store to test them.
After Wei Chen walked away Quan Xiu noticed Shen engraving a sword. “Fire Flying sword?” he asked, and Shen nodded.
“I apologize for not bowing,” she said while concentrating on her work. “But I must complete four of these swords before I can leave, and if I make a mistake at this time it will ruin the enchantment. So I can’t give you my full attention.”
Quan Xiu smiled. “I understand. My master used to give me similar tasks, and some of them can have worse effects than simply a broken enchantment if you make a mistake.” Shen nodded and continued.
A few minutes later she put down her engraving tool and took a few seconds to breathe. After relaxing she motioned to the sword, injecting a bit of fire chi into it and it floated off the table. She moved her fingers around, making it circle the room a few times then spin in place for a few seconds before she pointed at the weapon rack and it flew over, slotting itself into one of the slots.
She stood up. “Apologies, sir, my name is Mo Shen.” she said, with a bow.
Quan Xiu nodded. “Not bad craftsmanship.” he said, pointing at the sword. “Have you been his apprentice for long?”
“Only a few months, sir. But I made a few relics before joining him to prove my skill.”
The man then noticed the jade tablets she was standing on. “Is that one of them?” he said, pointing.
Shen nodded. “I made this to collect ambient fire chi and purify it so that it can be absorbed by a person. I have one for each of the five elements. It fact, I need to start this one before I make the next sword, if you’ll allow it.” Quan Xiu nodded and Shen went over to a shelf to get a large candle. She sat it on the gathering part of the array before lighting it with a spark from her finger.
“Six percent?” asked Quan Xiu, feeling the chi leaking from the device. “Not bad. That makes it a proper Gathering stage device.”
Shen nodded. “Once I get to Foundation I will build a new one for that stage, and hopefully increase the output rate, but for now this is good enough.” She grabbed a sword from a crate, laid it on the table, and sat down on the array to begin absorbing the chi.
“You can’t expect much more out of such low grade jade.” Quan Xiu agreed. “If you don’t mind my asking, why do you need to make so many elemental flying swords? Does your sect have such a high demand?”
Shen shook her head. “The master sales them to the Caravan merchants that come through every year. It’s hard to find a relic crafter that can make a proper elemental sword outside the sects which specialize in elemental chi, so there is always a large demand for them. Tomorrow I will be making Earth swords, then Metal the next day, then Water, the Wood. Master usually makes them himself, but he only has so much time and chi available to do so.”
Each element of flying sword had its own benefits besides being able to channel spells of the same element through them. Fire swords could be given additional fire chi to increase their flight speed, and were generally faster than any other element when doing so, but used more chi. Water swords and Earth swords were similar, in that they would fly faster when near their element, drawing in the chi from the element. This meant that water swords were faster over water and Earth swords were faster over the ground, though the closeness of flight needed for the extra speed made many people weary of using an Earth sword. Metal swords were far more durable, and could be given metal chi to increase that durability even more. Wood swords were less durable, as they needed to be made of wood to have the greatest effect, but they improved the health of the holder, letting them heal faster and letting them regenerate chi faster. This fact meant that many cultivators would wear a Wood flying sword anywhere they went, even if they didn’t specialize in the Wood element or know how to fight with a sword.
As they finished speaking Wei Chen walked back to the front of the store. “All of these seem to be of high quality. Tell me, can you get more of them? I might want to buy more of some of them.”
“All of the ones in that box are ones I can make myself.” answered Quan Xiu. “I have several others that I cannot make, however, and would be willing to sell you for a higher price.”
Wei Chen nodded and they started negotiating as Shen started work on the next sword. Thirty minutes later Quan Xiu had an order for another six hundred talismans, leaving the four hundred he brought with him behind and receiving five hundred spirit stones as an advanced payment.
Shen finished the last sword just before sunset, then got up and stretched. “Good,” said Wei Chen. “Tomorrow you can start on the Earth swords. Four should be enough. Once you are done with all of the different elements, however, you can make any that you want until the Caravan leaves. They’ll buy all of them, but I wanted to make sure you can make all types before letting you choose.” Shen nodded, collected her three contribution points of pay, and left. She technically earned four per day, but the basic living space she had been given cost her one of those. Of course, she couldn’t actually pay with contribution points until she was an inner disciple, due to sect rules, so the shop paid for her out of her pay.
She wasn’t particularly hungry, so she decided to go for a walk before she went to eat. She headed out the Wood gate and started making her way towards Fisher. About a li down the road she heard what sounded like powerful sword swings off the main road. Shen stepped off the path and walked a few dozen meters until she came across a clearing.
In front of her stood a shirtless Danka. He held a metal sword in front of himself and stood there with his eyes closed. After a few seconds Shen was about to say something when she felt a strange type of chi gather around the blade. Once the blade was completely covered in the chi he swung it and energy flew from the blade, flying in a straight line and hitting a group of saplings. The trees swayed a bit and a few tiny branches and leave fell off, but that was all that happened.
Danka sighed in disappointment and lowered his sword. “What was that?” asked Shen and he spun around in surprise.
“Shen? What are you doing here?” he asked, acting as if he had gotten caught stealing.
“I was on my way to Fisher when I heard you practicing. That was an interesting technique but I don’t think you’ve learned it quite yet.”
Danka sighed again. “I know. No matter how much I try I can’t get it work, as it breaks apart too quickly.”
“Is it a matter of chi purity?” Shen asked and he gave her a confused look. “Well, when I was learning fire spells I noticed that the bolts don’t really explode until the fire chi is at least five percent pure. Maybe it’s similar. Maybe the chi only stays together above a certain purity.”
Danka thought for a few seconds, then nodded. It waas Sword chi, after all, which was based on the concept of Severance, so the energy itself breaking apart made a lot of sense. “Maybe. I’ll try that.” He walked over to a stump and picked up his shirt to put it back on. “I’m out of chi for now, though, so I’m heading back to town.”
Shen nodded and decided that, instead of continuing to Fisher, she would return to town with Danka. An hour later they sat down at a table, and a few minutes later Mae and Ponma joined them. “So, anyone do anything fun today?” asked Ponma. “I spent all day hauling jars of vinegar up to Fisher so I could maximize production before the Caravan arrived. It might be profitable, but it was super boring.”
“Sword practice.” said Danka, not adding anything else.
“I made four Fire flying swords.” said Shen, sounding bored.
“Well, I got to start making pills today.” said Mae, seeming excited. “I did all of the prep work yesterday and today they let me fire up the pill furnace and start baking them. I only got one success, but I am just learning.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pill. From the chi they could sense coming out of it, it was a basic cleansing pill for removing toxins. For anyone that was out of the cleansing stage it was basically worthless unless they were poisoned or forced to eat toxic food, but it might be worth something to the Caravan or the younger sect members who weren’t at Gathering yet.
They all congratulated Mae and talked about the upcoming Caravan until they were done eating, then went home.
---
A few hours earlier a certain fat merchant was sitting in a restaurant in town, enjoying a cup of tea while watching the people pass by when he happened to see someone in red sect elder clothing walking by. “Sir Elder.” he said, walking over to the man.
“Ah, a merchant.” said the Elder. While the caravan was in town many merchants would try to talk to the sect elders in order to try and negotiate trade deals. As the elder in charge of the weapons sales of the Fire district he was one of the more common elders they wanted to talk to. This just happened a few days earlier than he expected. “Let me guess, you want to discuss business.”
“In a way, sir.” said the merchant, bowing. “Quan Xiu, talismonger.”
“Talismonger?” the elder responded before remembering to introduce himself. “Chen Ming. We don’t actually have much use for Talismans in the forges. Maybe a few fire resistance ones in the smelting area, but the apprentices tend to learn that trick pretty quickly.”
“I understand, sir. But in this situation I am needing to deliver a message.” A scroll popped out of his ring and he handed it to the elder.
The Elder unrolled the scroll and looked at it before a look of concern appeared on his face. He quickly closed the scroll and put it in his ring. “Are you certain of this?”
“Unfortunately yes, I witnessed it myself. But I don’t think this is the place to discuss it.”
Chen Ming nodded. “True. Follow me.” He quickly made his way towards the inner city, the merchant having to rush at first to catch up with him. He didn’t stop there, however, and soon was at the core area of the city. There he talked to the guards and requested an audience with the sect master. They were let inside to a waiting room and he handed the scroll to one of the guards who left to take it to the Master.
A few minutes later they were brought into a room where many elders sat on cushions, with a much more powerful man sitting in the middle of their arch. This was Master Xing, the immortal leader of the sect. “Merchant messenger.” he said in a steady voice which didn’t betray the concern within him, “Can you verify what this scroll says?”
Quan Xiu knelt on the ground. “Yes, master. The Demons are advancing. At their current rate they will be at your sect in about three years.”
