After I looked through the courses, I went home to rest – the morning at the smithy had been enough to make me crash, finally.

The rest of the days went fine. I was still nervous as I walked around but, luckily, Li Chu and his friends didn't show themselves. Probably they didn't think I had enough credits after healing myself. While they didn't know my problem with the pills, they also shouldn't know of my work at the smithy. They may show themselves in a few weeks, or longer if I am lucky.

Soon I had enough credits for a lesson, so I registered for one. I still needed to pay for the pills, but I waited – this had priority.

There were lessons for several weapons. The first course I choose though was called Basic Martial Training. I wanted to take a better one, but this was the cheapest, and it seemed a good starting point.

When I arrived at the field where he taught, I didn't find many Disciples attending, only twenty-three, and they were already doing exercises.

The Elder was already there, so I went to greet him.

As I examined him, I noticed he didn't show signs of age, so he, probably, was a talented cultivator that was still progressing in his path.

Like most other people in the Wudang Sect, he wasn't overly bulky or tall, but staring at him gave me this strange feeling. It was like looking at a mountain – one about to fall down on me. It was oppressive.

“Greetings, Elder Wong," I said, bowing, "I am Gongsun Xianyuan, and I am here for the course."

The Elder looked at me for a few moments before answering, “Greetings, Disciple Gongsun.”

"Looking at you, I see you have done your fair share of strength training, but you haven't ever trained in Martial Arts, judging by your movements. Am I correct?"

“Yes, Elder,” I answered, not sure of how he came to that conclusion.

He continued before I could ask. "Before we start, I want to be clear on something: there will be no fighting here. This is basic training, and I will only teach you stances, breathing, conditioning exercises, and how to move the qi while you fight. If you believe you already have a sufficient grasp of the basics, or for another reason you don't wish to follow this course, you are free to leave now. Your credits will be returned.”

I was both disappointed and relieved hearing that.

I had been looking forward to learning martial arts since I was a kid. My dream of being an unparalleled cultivator may have crumbled, but that didn't mean that I threw everything away.

Unfortunately, though, there was also my recent beating from Li Chu that complicated things.

In the stories and legends, people shrugged off those things in an instant, drawing new determination from their plight, but it wasn't easy for me.

My anger, pride, and determination kept me going, but it still wasn't that easy.

“No, I wish to stay, Elder. As you said, I never trained in any Martial Art, and this seems the right place to begin," I said.

“This is indeed the right place to start. You choose well," said Elder Wong.

After that, he started instructing me in a few stances.

I would not need to come every time the course was open. His objective was to explain the exercises and correct our mistakes – we would train at home for the rest of the time. I still planned to come as often as possible, at least until I had a good grasp of the basics.

Elder Wong didn't say anything after the introduction and just instructed me, but I had been awed by the students here. Some may have been of higher Cultivation Realms, but still, looking at them after they completed their warm-up exercises had been awe-inspiring. The strength, speed, and flexibility they showed were something I had never seen before. Not all of them were that good, but I was sure most of them could have wiped the floor with Li Chu and his friends with their eyes closed and their hands tied. It lit a new fire inside me.

It would probably take years to reach that kind of mastery, though.

He taught me just a few stances, but the training had still been hard. I had to learn the proper way to breathe and move the qi as I moved in a certain way. From what the Elder said, the strength, and speed, exerted in any movement, would then be exponentially improved. Moreover, when one learned a Martial Technique, it would be easier to use it during battle without leaving openings for your opponent to exploit.

I didn’t know him well since this was my first time meeting him, but I got the distinct impression that he was annoyed by how some disciples used Martial Techniques in the sect.

Another thing he stressed was my foot placement. "It's important," he said, and he had been particularly strict about it.

It took some time before the question came, but it still came anyway. “You are not using qi. Or better, you are using such a low quantity that it’s barely noticeable.”

It wasn't really a question, but I interpreted it as such, so I answered. "It's because of my meridians, Elder. They're frail and many times narrower than normal, so I can’t circulate much qi.”

He didn’t answer for a few seconds.

"Mm, you should circulate more often." That was his answer.

I was taken aback by the response. “Why?”

“Remember to breathe properly. You are losing the rhythm," he corrected me. "As for your question, it's because as a cultivator circulates, the meridians get strengthened. Usually, one doesn't need to worry about it aside from when he has huge leaps in strength, like right after a breakthrough. Cultivation, and the use of techniques, is more than enough to gradually strengthen the meridians."

“Your case is different, though,” he said, before he pointed out a few mistakes. “Just with cultivation and occasional circulation, you won’t be able to strengthen them enough – you need to do more. I suggest you circulate qi as much as possible every day. The results may be slow, and you won’t improve too much in a short time, but you’ll get results after a few years.”

“I don’t know how close you'll be able to get to the average, but strengthening the meridians will help you to move the qi faster inside them. The qi you can use, at any given time, is determined by both the speed of circulation, and the size of your meridians. Having more speed will lessen your disadvantage." Finishing his explanation and turning his attention to instruct me in another stance.

This had been enlightening.

After teaching me the stances, he walked about correcting and instructing everyone, only coming back a few times for me. It wasn't as good as a one-on-one session since he wasn't always there to correct me, but it still beats learning alone by miles. I also didn't think anyone would take me as a personal disciple, so this was the best I could get.

From time to time, some went to the side to take a break or eat, some grouped up, seemingly being familiar with each other. Around midday, most of the people were leaving since the lesson was ending. Some took the opportunity to ask questions to the Elder, so when I saw he was free, I went to ask mine.

“Elder, may I ask a question outside the scope of the course?” I asked tentatively.

“Yes, you may ask,” said Elder Wong.

I felt a bit hopeful as I asked my question. “How much should I train, and what course should I take, to face multiple people without using my qi?”

It should have been easy to guess why I asked that. I was convinced I was not the first one to ask such a question.

He didn't show any particular emotion as he replied, though. "Taking on more than a person at the same time is not advisable unless you have a higher cultivation Realm. If your level is about the same, it depends on various factors then – the ability of your opponents is one, for example. In any case, I would suggest at least a few years of training before attempting such a thing."

I felt dejected as I heard that, but he hadn’t finished. “But ask yourself a question. Do you really need to?”

I didn't know how to reply right away, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, they're the ones coming for me."

“They may be, but that would only be a problem if they found you, and even if they did, they would still have to catch you,” he said as he looked at the handful of disciples still training.

“But, Elder Wong, with my meridians as they are, I wouldn't be able to outrun anyone," I said exasperated.

He gave a sigh in response. He wasn't a very expressive man, but that sigh perfectly conveyed what he thought of my statement.

"Disciple Gongsun," he said patiently, "if all you needed in life was a good set of meridians and a higher cultivation base, Martial Techniques wouldn't exist. This course also wouldn't. It surely would be harder to flee from someone of a higher Realm, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Also, who said you should wait for them to get to you?”

I felt a bit embarrassed as I heard him. I did think about fleeing, but I had dismissed the possibility without thinking about it too much.

Maybe I shouldn’t give up so quickly the next time, I thought.

I wasn't entirely to blame since I wasn't used to this, but if I thought about it carefully, I could have found the answer alone, probably.

After I thanked him, he also gave me advice on the Techniques he thought I would need the most at the moment, and also on a few lessons I could take.

After that, I left.

I was still thinking of his advice. Especially the last part.

Why should I wait for them to come?