Mage's Cultivation Journey 12

“… Alright, another punch,” I called, once again focusing on the transformation, trying to figure out what was missing.

It was already noon, the sun shining strong above us, and we had been working since dawn, trying to figure out the basis of the transformation of the internal energy. It was proving to be a frustrating process.

From everything I had observed, I had been confident that martial arts were a physical process, transforming the supercharged internal energy into something that resembled an elemental resonance, while the accompanying mantras helped the user focus.

But, the more I watched him throwing his underpowered punches, the more I doubted it. There was a critical point during the shift, one that I almost felt an actual elemental resonance. Only for a moment before it faded away, leaving me to wonder if I imagined, but the repeated attempts convinced me that it was the case.

The problem was, that elemental resonance was not something possible for a human, at least back in my world. Four fundamental primordial elements might have ordinary names, fire, water, air, and earth, but they were so much more. For anyone below lord mage, touching pure elements, even for a moment wouldn’t just burn them, but eviscerate their surroundings.

Though, that was only true for my home.

I gulped as the realization hit. What if the absence of mana wasn’t the greatest difference between the two universes, but even the very core elements of existence worked differently.

Too bad the kid knew nothing about the topic.

I focused on the present. No matter how shocking was the idea, it wasn’t a reason to panic. The mountain was still in one piece, so either my wild theory about the elements was wrong, or something else was in play.

Either way, it was a problem for the future.

As he concentrated on his punches, I focused on the energy, this time wholly focusing on the end result rather than the process. The punch flew, accompanied by a whisper of something that danced around the edges of the energy flow: light, elusive, and fast. It reminded me of a sharp wind, yet it carried no similarity to the air element I was familiar with.

The concept behind it was completely different. Not air, no primordial existence. Just … wind. More fascinating, it didn’t seem completely external, which meant those mental mantras were not exactly a chant of summoning either. Almost like two halves, one coming externally, the other handled by his body.

More specifically, his lungs. I wondered if it was about the idea of ‘wind’ that made his lungs a part of the process, or if it was the fact breathing was essential to pull some kind of external component, achieving the process. However, that was added to the list of questions that needed to be answered in the future. Until we could arrive at the town where I could observe other martial artists, it needed to be shelved in favor of more practical concerns.

Like figuring out a way that would allow Yu Xing to actually fight.

Without a way to cure his meridian injury, modifying the technique was the only idea. “Can you stop the flow of the transformed energy on your shoulder?” I asked.

He looked surprised by the question. “I don’t know. I never tried,” he admitted. “Should I make an attempt?”

I considered letting him try, but decided against it, remembering what happened once I blocked the energy flow of Wang Bi and he lost control. The last thing the kid needed was another injury. “Not yet,” I said. We don’t know the risks. Maybe once you’re more capable with meditation. Until then, you’ll practice controlling your punches.”

He looked hesitant. “I don’t think I can do it,” he said. “My internal energy reserves are almost completely depleted, and I don’t have any Wing Essence Pills to replace it.”

“You mentioned that you could use food to replace it, right?” I said. “Maybe we could fish to handle that.”

“That takes too long,” he replied. “With ordinary food, even with abundant meat, it would take more than a week to replenish what I spent.”

“And, we can’t hunt savage beasts,” I completed.

He shrugged. “Even if we hunted, we can’t consume it without a correct recipe,” he admitted. “They need to be processed through some special methods before they can be consumed.” I looked at him questioningly, as I remembered some other tales. “Stronger martial artists could consume small amounts directly, but I’m merely an Initiate. I can’t do it,” he completed.

I was tempted to create one such method to help him, but after thinking for a while, I decided against it. It was an interesting challenge, but it was not worth the risk; both in terms of hunting a savage beast, which was supposed to be dangerous, and feeding a half-baked recipe to the kid. “Fine, we will slow down the experiments and focus on meditation,” I said. “It doesn’t spend any of your internal energy, and once you are more proficient, we might find a way to bypass your injury.”

I had a feeling that what we were trying to do was many times harder than just curing the disease, but that meant nothing. With the abilities I had, modifying the attacks was the only viable option.

“Does it mean we have to move faster? Or should we focus on searching for more plants.”

“Slower,” I said. “Arriving in the town a day or two faster doesn’t mean much. Now that we have an idea to bypass your injury, making sure you’re capable of throwing a few punches should help.”

“I won’t be able to fight against anyone but Beginner Initiates with it,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter much. As long as we figure out a way for you to throw a few punches without falling in pieces, we should be able to bluff.”

“Will you dress as a monk again?”

I shook my head. ”No, that would not do,” I said. “Too conspicuous. People would try to talk with me, and sooner or later, my situation would be revealed. And, your enemies might be looking for us. We should just disguise ourselves as a pair of villagers. We can make you look slightly older to make it more confusing in case of a search.”

“That … should work,” he admitted.

What followed was a long trek, consuming two more weeks of our time, passing in a shocking monotony. Yu King stayed dedicated to his meditation practice, increasing his ability to control his internal energy more and more.

He even figured out a way to accumulate the transformed energy in his shoulder meridian, allowing him to accumulate energy, allowing him to throw stronger punches. According to him, it meant that, as long as he stood still for three breaths, he was able to throw a punch at Advanced Initiate strength.

Ideally, it should be enough to keep us safe.

Meanwhile, I focused on gathering medicinal plants, which I excelled in surprisingly well. According to Yu Xing, my ability to sense extraordinary sources of power was much greater than any martial artist he had seen, including the instructors back at his school.

The range was limited. I couldn’t simply pinpoint a plant several hundred yards away. However, it proved extremely advantageous in digging roots and other types of underground plants. Yu Xing brought me to the general area, and I pinpointed the exact location that needed to be dug, removing the need to dig a wide area, hoping to be lucky.

Consequently, I had a small sack on my back, filled with various roots, worth at least six taels of silver according to the valuation of the kid. Possibly more, because there were three plants that he didn’t recognize, but I could feel the strong energy profile radiating off them.

Hopefully, we would figure out a way to sell them without causing trouble; though it was a concern that the kid raised. Apparently, open robberies were more common around here than I gave credit for, as far as for it to become a saying, indicating that owning a treasure without power to protect it was a crime.

I didn’t know whether it was a local problem, or it was something with a wider cultural impact, relevant to the whole plane. It felt weird. Not that I didn’t understand the situation itself, as I had suffered a version of it myself.

But back in my home, it at least required some intricate justification, like the chain of events that sent me to the military just to create a chance for assassination. It seemed that, here, open murder was accepted regularly, even going as far as killing their whole family just to prevent it from turning into a blood feud.

Rather harsh, I had to admit.

Still, such details gave me a good reason to slow down our journey even more, making sure we had the ability to protect ourselves. It also gave me a chance to work on my accent until I could copy the local dialect, giving me confidence that I could fade into the crowd.

Three weeks after the start of our journey, we arrived at the town and the trading outpost, Dongxi.