The next month saw Quan fall into a steady routine. Now that he had use of all the basics expected of a cultivator, Chiro and Asha pushed him as hard as possible. Each morning Chiro or, more often, one of his sons would instruct him on pushing Ki into his work. He learnt to hold the natural ki in his works and fold more in, a prelude to when he had developed his meridians and could control the Ki flows more accurately. To use Ki to strengthen the tool's purpose, be it armour or sword. Nearly everything they made was military in nature and at the request of someone in the sect. Quan's efforts would be melted down or used as training blades until he earned Chiro's approval.

The art of spiritual blacksmithing was to find the metal's tolerance. If he put in too little Ki, he would get a dead sword as Chiro called his first dozen works. If he put too much in, it could have explosive effects, especially as it reheated. He also learned of different aspects of Ki. Most blacksmiths were earth or fire-aligned. Chiro was a master in both. He didn't need a furnace to forge most items. He poured fire and earth Ki into the metal till it was the desired temperature to work.

He also learned that Chiro could do as much work by casting as by forging, unlike his father's work. Depending on the materials being used and the desired product, they would change methods as needed.

Asha would push him in the afternoons, demanding absolute perfection in his forms and energy flows as he moved. Eventually, Asha allowed Lo Ren to spar with him. Upon which he got to add being beaten up daily by a little girl.

Asha teased with hints of weapon training if he could ever make her satisfied with his unarmed combat first.

At night he meditated and teased out the secrets in his mind. He had learnt in talks with Lo Ren that the sect method didn't have them infuse each body part in order as he had, but rather push out evenly. Quan had to assume his god-given method was superior. Now, as he cultivated, he knew that he had two goals. Purity of Ki and expansion of his core. Density would come of its own accord as he progressed towards the liquid stage in his core. As he drew in Ki, he imagined it caught in a fast-moving cyclone of power where the purest Ki moved towards the center and down into his core whole the impure debris was flung from the edges back into the world. Ki would then move into his core with the purest appearing as a water drip before turning into mist. He would also have to put great effort into keeping his core walls flexible, exercising them like a muscle so they didn't turn hard and rigid but instead stayed pliable and expandable. Trusting in this, he pushed on for the next tier.

~

"Greetings, Elder Trune." Asha bowed at the waist to the main sitting before her as she held out a gift to him.

"Sit, my dear and have some tea with an old man." The well-dressed man spoke clearly. He looked to be in his late 50's but still maintained a powerful build as one active in the physical arts.

Asha sat and poured them both a cup of herbal tea from the exquisite tea set that waited on a tray beside them. "I see you have settled into your new home well," Asha commented.

"An unnecessary upgrade," Elder Trune said modestly. "But custom demands the elders live in these homes at the top of the mountain." His smile to Asha showing clearly he loved the upgraded accommodations he now warranted. "What brings my former student up the mountain paths to visit this old man?"

Asha rolled her eyes and answered. "I will always be your student, Master. I have come to congratulate you upon your promotion to elder!"

"I received my lofty new title three months ago. Was the mountain path so arduous?" Elder Trune questioned with a hint of a laugh.

"I was away when news broke of your elevation."

"Yes, you returned only three weeks ago, and already you've managed the hour's walk to my door."

Asha sighed. "Yes, I am a most ungrateful student. Please forgive me!"

Trune laughed. "As if I ever had a choice. Now tell me what's on your mind."

"I have taken a student." Asha started.

"Rumors have begun to spread," Trune commented. "Do you intend to test your theory with him?"

"Is that wise? He is already far behind with a start years later than he should have. Yet, he learns quickly and has a maturity beyond his years. I would not wish to be the cause of his failure."

"Every master worth the title worries that they will do well by those entrusted to their care. As for what you wish to teach, I do not think your methods will work in the higher reaches of power, but I think you will at worst provide a solid foundation for his future."

"Everything about the boy is a solid foundation. His Ki pool is vast for his stage, and he comes with an inheritance that should only improve it." Asha commented.

"Is that so." Trune mused, "Is he able to share this inheritance? Does it surpass sect methods?"

"I am confident it does, but he cannot share it. It was given to him at birth in a way that even he cannot fully access it at will, by one so high I fear to mention his name. The inheritance also appears incomplete, focusing only on one pillar to the total exclusion of the others." Asha said, feeling she had explained enough to keep her debt to the sect while protecting both sides from the potential pitfalls of greed.

"In that case, let us add one more dubious boon." Trune stood and walked over to a table piled high in paper and scrolls. After a bit of sorting pulled a scroll out of the pile.

"Nine baths body art?" Asha read the title of the scroll as a question hoping for more.

"In my new role as an elder, I have been reviewing the sect arts and their contribution costs to read them. I found this little gem. It promises quite good results for a new mist stage, and thus its price was set high. However, by the time most could afford it, they had advanced enough the benefits no longer seemed worth the price. So it has sat unused for as long as I can see in our records. I would like you to test its benefits, and it seems to fit your overall plans."

Asha began scanning the scroll and quickly found a problem he hadn't mentioned. "The materials these baths require would leave a lord penniless!"

"Who better to give this to than the student of our spiritual blacksmith and our sect treasure hunter," Trune replied with a grin.

~

Asha poured the tea into Quan's cup as they sat at the table beside the square.

"We need to discuss your future path in the arts. Decide what to focus our efforts on." Asha began.

"What is to discuss? I thought as master such decisions were yours." Quan said as he served himself some shrimp dumplings.

"I would rather you understood the path than follow blindly," Asha said.

"Can't say I disagree with that." Quan said. "Blind obedience is considered the height of foolishness in my world."

"I propose a path no other master I know of would. If we are to follow it, I want you to understand, so you do not regret your ignorance later if things don't work as hoped."

"That sounds like you want to use me to experiment." Quan frowned at the idea. How risky was this plan for his future?

"You have not yet had the opportunity to see many sect arts." She gestured to a table set up behind her, "When we finish our discussion, take these and consider them in the context of our conversation. They are martial arts students at your level are learning. I would not teach you any of these.

"In my opinion, we focus too much on arts, making specialists early and do not give our students a strong enough base. The arts will have you perfect a move or series of moves to great power. I would train you to know a thousand moves to be balanced and counter anything. You will not likely match the strongest arts in power but instead have the fluidity that your peers will lack."

"Eventually, I will have to compete for my status in the sect. How do you imagine I will fare in contests and tournaments with your method?

"With just that, probably not well. However, there is another half to my plan. Your cultivation method has already given you a body comparable to early body cultivators. I would have you work on a body art to enhance that even more. In time your training will reach the foundation we desire. By then, I suspect you will have a solid core. Your body will have power and durability to make up the difference in arts."

"One question, have you ran this plan past your teacher or an elder?"

Asha smiled and replied, "They found the body art and gave it to me at a reduced cost to aid my success.

"Then I trust your decision." Quan said. "We can always try to adjust in the future if it doesn't work. I like that it seems to sync with Manu's cultivation."

"Tonight, I will prepare a bath for you as you get ready to meditate," Asha informed Quan as they stood from their break.

"Is our relationship about to change?" Quan asked with an eyebrow raised suggestively.

"No, you idiot." She slapped the back of his head to emphasize her comment. "This is how the art, the elder provided, works."

"I'm actually a bit surprised you talked about me to them."

"We accepted you into the sect and made you a private disciple of two separate masters. Of course, we talked to the elders about you."

"That makes sense," Quan said. "I only ever deal with the two of you and Chiro’s family. It doesn't really feel like I joined a whole sect most of the time."

"Once you are out of your infancy training-wise, you will not be so isolated. You will have to learn your responsibilities owed to the sect. If you forget you are part of something larger, look around this villa. I did not build it, the sect provides. We have kept you close at hand for training, but technically you should have your own place provided by the sect as a member. A much more modest place.

"The Wild Rose sect patrols the area against dangers gathers resources to aid cultivation and trades with nearby or sister sects for the benefit of all. There are many ways to contribute. As a blacksmith, you should never have to worry much about earning your way."

"What is your role here? Or is Master a role of itself?" Quan wondered as he considered the larger picture.

"Being recognized as a master provides as many duties as it does privileges. I am a hunter of sorts. Train harder, and I might show you one day." Asha said. "Now back to the topic. The technique is called The nine baths. Can you guess what that means?"

"That you're going to make me sit in gunk that won't at all resemble a bath." Quan replied. Under Asha’s glare, he continued. "Nine separate baths. I would guess each one will represent the nine primary elements. The physical; earth, water, air. The transitional; fire, ice, lightning. The ethereal; light, darkness, spirit."

"That's correct. Until now, you have only dealt with pure Ki that has no aspect. Each bath will contain ingredients tied to an element that you will do your best to reach out and absorb much as you did in the first stage. This energy will not go to your core but directly to your body. It is up to you how much gain you will get from this method.

"This is the cultivation manual. Most of it pertains to the ingredients and preparation that the servants will do, and you do not strictly need to know that part. I have marked the section you must read before each bath.

"Go read and tell me when you feel you have understood the text." Asha motioned for him to leave, and he returned to his room. The first section explained the basic concept. The human body was made from all the elements to some degree. This master had written an art that would allow a novice mist user to improve their body as reflected in each element. The total benefit would depend on the student's ability to follow the instructions within and their aptitude towards each element. Someone attuned to fire might find that bath much easier to absorb than a water-infused bath.

A water-infused bath. Quan just shook his head at that sentence. This world was super odd at times. He would bath in one element each night for nine nights. Then he was to take at least one day off before repeating. He skimmed over the sections on ingredients, and while much of non-mortal economics was still fuzzy to him, he knew this was not a cheap concoction.

Based on the section marked for him to read, they would start with an earth bath. He saw that included several distilled roots, mushrooms and yes, some rare dirt to be thrown in his hot water. How much he gained was up to him. The bath would help absorb the Ki directly, but it would return to the world if he did not take it in first.

Once he felt he understood the text, he went looking for Asha. A servant soon directed him to the bath chamber where she was preparing the final elements. She was adding and stirring in several jug-sized containers.

"Get in the bath." She pointed to a large copper tub he'd never seen before. Looking around, he saw nothing to protect his modesty.

"There's an awful lot of people in here just now." Three servants, all female, either waited or assisted Asha in her work. Asha just looked at him in a way that tolerated no questions. Why couldn't they be old or ugly if he had to do this?

"Dear playboy," he mumbled to himself as he stripped behind the dubious shelter of the tub, half crouched as he did. Then jumped in the bath as quickly as possible. Only to instantly come most of the way out. "Son of a bitch, that's hot," he screamed and tried to settle in a bit more slowly, letting out the occasional whimper.

"Don't be such a baby." Asha chided while the servants giggled at his antics. "Prepare yourself for the next step."

He closed his eyes and let his spirit sense become his primary focus. He nodded after a minute and then heard the sound of liquid being poured into his bath.

He felt the Ki as it hit the water and spread around him. He could instantly detect the difference from normal Ki. This felt heavier, denser. As he reached to it, he could detect a thrum in its energy. He pulled it in and let a tiny bit slip into his core. Instantly he felt ill as his core was not able to deal with the aspected Ki. He pulled away from that and set to directing it as instructed. Earth Ki was meant to increase his durability and would be spread the most evenly of the baths. Still, there were three main goals. First, the bones. He pushed earth Ki and imagined it adding strength, making them harder to break. Not quite an adamantium skeleton, but an increase still. Secondly, he had to concentrate on letting it flow into just the thin layer of skin. Resisting cuts and blows with hardened skin would have obvious benefits. Third, he let a smaller amount flow into his muscles. This was to make them more durable for the steps to come. Finally, he let trace amounts enter the rest of his tissue to enforce their structures. He had to be careful with his muscles and other organs not to let in too much Ki, or it would harden and cause more harm than good. He wasn't sure why the text said that didn't apply to skin. He didn't want to come out of this with a rock shell for skin. Still, for one bath, he would trust the writing and see the results. He hadn't heard or seen any other cultivators coming away with massive physical deformities.

He spent about two hours pulling in Ki and placing it throughout his body, doing each area in turn. This bore a strong resemblance to his pre-core efforts, and things flowed smoothly. He eventually realized the process was draining his core, mixing his own Ki into the process. Finally, he found he had drained all the earth Ki, and his core was near depleted. He opened his eyes to see a servant adding water to keep it warm.

Great, hours of women watching me bathe. Still better than a cold bath, I suppose.

Asha looked up from a book she had been reading as he started to move in the tub. "You can get out. That's all for the first session. You could have been faster and allowed less Ki to escape. Try not to waste opportunities."