"Spiritual blacksmithing is more than just adding Ki pathways to your item." Chiro stood on the other side of a table in the yard beside the smith itself. "Most cultivators can only reach a few aspects of Ki or specialize in their favourite. We must be able to make items for any aspect regardless of our own limitations. Many think smiths should be primary in fire and earth. If that were all we could do, many customers would never get useful items. Personal aspects help, but the true mark of a spiritual blacksmith comes from combining natural items with metals and turning that into a useful item.

Chiro gestured at the table before him. An array of metal ingots lay in a row above a row of assorted animal parts and plants. "Here are the most common metals. Below are items of power that can enhance your crafting. A snow wraith's crystal, a fire fox's fur and similar items."

"Since you have several metals here, I assume it's not as simple as adding the material to the best steel." Quan commented.

"That's right. Finding the right match of metal to spiritual treasure is vital. Sometimes you may need to work towards composite metals with unique mixtures. Once you have matched the treasure to metal it can work with, you must then determine how to merge them. Can you melt them together? Do you need to forge it in during the process of folding? Do you need other agents as either catalyst or balance? These are the secrets of our craft. Some are well-known. Others are carefully guarded secrets known only to a blacksmith's line."

"Today, we are going to exercise your newly acquired sense and try to decide for yourself what you could make with each item before you if a customer brought in the treasure asking you to make them something."

Quan reached out and touched a large fang. He wasn’t sure what kind of snake it came from, but the sense he got from it was unique. “I know the nine aspects, but this feels different. I can feel the decay in the Ki. Is there such a thing as poison Ki?”

“There is,” Chiro answered. “The nine are the primary Aspects. The basis for all others, but in combination, many others exist. Poison is from earth and water with a touch of darkness.”

“So it’s like the red, blue, yellow of a colour wheel. There must be countless combinations.”

"It's not that straightforward. Some Dao like the sword or spear doesn't fit well between the primes but are rather like a painting. Each artist may pull from the elements they use best to achieve the desired image."

"Endless possibilities then. How does one master the Dao then?" Quan asked.

"Even the strongest gods I have heard of have not mastered the Dao. At best, we pick a path and see how far along we can travel. As your understanding grows, you gain insight into more complex dao paths that may encompass smaller pieces. And thus, like a house, you build it out of smaller pieces.

"Mixed your metaphor there, but I think I get your point." Quan looked back at the table. "Now, are you going to guide me here or make me try and figure out what matches myself?"

With a grin, Chiro walked away, saying, "What kind of mentor would I be if I didn't leave you this chance to learn. Find me when you have five imbued daggers."⁰

~

By the fourth bath Quan had read the manual fully. Each element primarily enhanced one aspect. Earth - durability. Water - recovery/healing. Air - agility. Fire - muscle strength. Lightning - reflexes. Ice - endurance. Light - perception and reasoning. Darkness - stealth. Spirit - strengthened the mind and soul. There was logic for most elements to the aspect improved. He didn't understand stealth, as that seemed like a learnt skill. Perhaps it meant coordination? The issue that bothered him the most was the things left unsaid. He pushed Ki into his organs, and then what? He had no idea how it interacted with his cells or molecules to change him. He felt like that was a final step he should have been directing. Instead, he seemed to get close enough, and Ki knew what to do. His science-trained mind wanted a better explanation for the magic he was wielding.

"Is this the art for the second pillar you mentioned? It feels more like cultivation." Quan asked as he dressed.

"There is an element of both pillars in this, and most other, body arts. But when the elder offered it, and I compared to what you had told me of your divine cultivation, it seemed too good a pairing to ignore." Asha answered. "You noticed no difference in this element?"

When Quan shook his head, she frowned. "The manual is frustratingly vague in this. You should find some elements far easier to absorb due to your natural affinities. It is unclear what is a good or slow speed for each bath."

"As to your other question. The art I teach you during the day is the path of ten thousand blows." Asha spoke clearly, but he'd been around her long enough to note the tension in her voice as she spoke.

"I didn't realize that was an art. I thought it just basic training to get me ready for one." Quan commented.

"One becomes the other. You have shown the ability to learn quickly and seldom repeat mistakes. Your internal control is developing nicely as you learn the stances and moves." Asha explained.

Quan frowned as he considered the name of the art he’d been told and its implications. “I am reminded of the sayings of a master in my world. Perhaps the only master I’d ever dare bring up here, at least that I knew of. He said, ‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 blows once, but I fear the man who has practiced one blow 10,000 times.’ ”

Asha considered his words briefly, “There are many who would do as you say. However, you came from a world with no cultivation. I would take that master's saying and make it appropriate for your new life. Fear the man who has practiced 10,000 blows, 10,000 times.”

Quan grimaced at that and the amount of work and repetition it implied. No wonder they thought he’d drop the martial path in time.

~

"How was your visit home?" Asha asked as they walked. Both carried packs on their back necessary for travel in the forested mountain around them. Quan was armed with a long dagger he'd crafted that Chiro had deemed barely adequate. The short blade allowed Ki to flow through it at last. Asha was more fully armed with both a sword and spear on her shoulder. They walked up a mountain trail towards the sect Centre.

"It was good. Everyone was happy to see me. Mother was much more relaxed." Quan was given two days at the end of each month to visit his parents. The first visit after revealing his truth had been somewhat tense with his mother. By the time the second visit occurred, everything seemed returned to normal. "It's good to see the kids. They miss their older brother. My sister loves hearing all about you, warrior lady. She's decided she is going to learn to cultivate and learn the sword too. My mother may have other ideas."

"And did you show her how to start?" Asha asked.

"She's only ten. But I gave her a few pointers to get her ready. We'll see what she thinks when I return next month. Now, are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?” Quan asked.

“You once asked what I do for the sect. This is it.” Asha said proudly. They stood before a large board in the shade of a building. Many notices were posted on it.

“You’re a forest guide?” Quan asked based on their camping gear.

“Smartass, no. I am a treasure hunter. I seek things in the wilds that are of value to the sect. Sometimes that’s rare plants or animals. Sometimes that’s searching a lost ruin for relics or inheritances that can be exploited. When heading out on a trip, you want to make the best use of your time, so we stop and look over the board for any jobs we can do on the way." Asha replied.

“From the stories I heard growing up, I thought all cultivators did that.” Quan said.

“Everyone has probably tried it once or twice, made a few journeys here and there. But most end up with their main role being something inside the sect, training, crafting, running things. The jobs on that side refer to those kinds of roles."

“But not you, no settling down for Asha.” Quan quipped. After two months under her tutelage, he was starting to get to know the woman underneath the exterior she showed. “You want to find something to help you keep pushing forward, and the sect will never give you what you are looking for.”

Asha was silent for a minute, then said, "The Wild Rose sect we serve is the smallest of sects. Barely worthy of the name. Our sister sects and parent sects outstrip us in training, resources, arts. Our best would be taken in by our parent sect, trained and returned as masters or elders in past times. Fewer returned with each generation until now it's rare they even feel one of our youth is worthy of taking in.

"So for us, advancement lies in chance, adventure, and treasures."

"So we're hoping to win the lottery in the forest. That doesn't fill me with joy." Quan said.

"Not so bad as that. Much of what I do is harvesting known rare growths from the ancient records. Some plants take hundreds of years to mature spiritually, so we mark them and protect them. There are a few small inheritances around that are good testing grounds for students. I maintain those records while looking for more to add to the sect's treasures. I've had a few good finds over the years, and I enjoy the search."

"Aren't these jobs beneath you as a master?" Quan asked.

"I am a very young master. Most masters earn contribution points through students or past efforts. As my only student, you do not cover my costs."

Contribution points, Quan had learnt, were a form of internal sect currency. Things done for the sect earned points. Things the sect did for you cost. It was a clever system that kept one tied to the sect. While prices seemed fair inside the sect, the exchange value to gold was revolting. Technically, he earned just a smidgen more through his blacksmithing that Chiro judged useful than his training was costing.

He was supposed to do at least two jobs a month from the board as well. But his masters had both told him no until he was more familiar with, well, everything. He was reading tasks for various jobs like porters, construction, weeding, training partners as Asha collected the ones that interested her.

"Let's head inside. I'll register us both for these ten and see if anyone left any specific requests for me." The building was two stories high and well kept. The double-sized entrance stayed open as people passed through constantly. Inside he saw a line about a dozen deep of younger people waiting for the attention of an attendant. Asha ignored this line and headed to a table on the other side, where she sat until an attendant rushed out to her.

Quan waited patiently some distance away and couldn’t help but notice the looks and whispers directed their way. He had joined the sect over two months ago now, but he remained a mystery to many of the sect members due to his relative seclusion in training. He saw several people in line were about his age already performing solo duties. It reminded him how behind he was again, and he felt himself burn in shame as they watched him.

Asha motioned for him to join them, and he quickly moved to the table. "Disciple Quan, here is your contribution band." The man at the table said stoically. Quan could tell the man did not like serving a mere disciple at the master's table, so he bowed and asked no questions.

Asha rolled her eyes and said. "I have identified you as my assistant on the jobs I selected. Unless I indicate otherwise upon our return, you will get one-fifth of the credit. This band will record any gains or losses, purchases or sales you make, and they will be recorded here. In future visits, you will join the line as others if you have business to conduct."

Asha then stood and gave a small bow to the man, "Thank you for your service today Administrator Trans. You saved me a great deal of time and trouble. I shall remember it."

The man visibly warmed at her words and said, "think nothing of it. We are always glad to see you in our hall."

Once outside the building, Asha spoke softly as they walked. "Bureaucrats, you need to be firm and direct to cut through their bullshit delays yet pleasant enough they won't become a hidden enemy. He would have wasted at least a day getting your band had I not pushed him. But if I had left him feeling angry and pushed, he would cost me even more time in the long run with a grudge."

"A wise student would simply bow his head at that." Quan said. He slapped the band around his wrist as he thought, I have my own bank card now.

"So I can spend this anywhere in the sect? How do I know how much I have to spend?"

"Extend your senses to the bracelet," Asha replied. "And yes, anything that involves your points will be recorded on it. Let me show you."

Quan felt towards his bracelet and got the impression of ten points. A sensation entered his mind as he felt Asha move ten credits into it from her own. He acknowledged the transfer, and the feeling faded. "Now push the points back to me through the bracelet." Easy come, easy go, he thought as he pushed the money back easily.

"Not to imply greed or anything. But I'm still confused about how valuable points are. How much is one-fifth of those jobs worth?"

"If we find all the targets in good quality, you should get a few hundred points when we return in a few days. Considering I usually do these jobs solo, it's a gift to you, but I also expect you to learn to do these without me in the future, and I will earn a percentage as your master. As I've said before, students usually do at least two jobs per month depending on value and length. However, students at your level would normally be doing jobs that earn only ten or twenty points a day. We will earn many points all at once then return to exclusive training until it's time to go again. This is all separate from the points you earn and spend creating and being trained at the forge.

“But how much is it worth? What can I buy with these points?” Quan inquired.

“If you were not already spoiled with so much direct training, points can be used to buy training sessions with masters or higher students. Points can be used to buy various materials, pills, weapons, combat arts. We need to stop by the pill makers anyway. Then I will show you to the library as well.”

~

Overpowering odours greeted Quan’s nose as they entered the pill shop. He could practically taste the medicine in the air. The shop wasn’t much larger than a small apartment, but the shop was filled with jars on shelves behind locked display cabinets. Other pills stood freely on shelves, and he could see something brewing behind the counter where a lone man stood.

“Greetings, Master Wung. This is my new student Hoon Quan. We will be going out today to gather ingredients and train him in the ways of nature around us. Do you have any pressing needs we should watch for in our travels?”

“Nothing pressing, of course. If you find anything remarkable like that silver rose last month, I would be most excited to see it.”

“How did that pill turn out?” She asked.

“I was mostly successful, not a perfect pill, but for one who cultivates aspects of the spirit, it will be of great help. When it sells, I will send you your share of the profits.”

“You won’t use it yourself to improve your arts?” Asha asked in surprise.

“I’m tempted, I admit,” Wung replied. “but I have a buyer in mind that I think will benefit the sect more. I am nearly at the limit of my growth. This will not push me through the bottleneck I face.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, is there anything that would help you past your current hurdle?” Asha asked. She knew of some treasures in the hills she’d chosen not to harvest and let grow more potent.

“If you had any thousand-year spirit grass, that might be enough.”

Asha’s eyes grew large. That was a rare item. Expensive, but.. not impossible. “I will see what I can do. Perhaps the ancestors will guide me this trip.”

“I can only hope.” Wung said, “Now, I have prepared your standard package for a trip. Did you need anything else with a new student along? He looks like he’s lost in a new world here.”

“Forgive me, master,” Quan bowed, “I have never been inside such a place before. I can’t help but wonder at all these miracles and what they can do.”

“Have you never taken a spiritual pill before?” Wung asked.

“I was given various medicines as a child, if that counts, in the city.”

Wung fished beneath the counter for a moment, then came out with a small pillbox. “It does not. Take these, if your master does not object. Your first pills are on the house.”

“Thank you, Master,” Quan said, suddenly apprehensive. Talk about a drug dealer trying to get addicts.

“Whatever he said that made you wary, it’s okay. I would have given you pills anyway once your bath treatments were more stable. These can only help you. Be careful with low-quality pills or taking too many as they can build up a negative toxin that can limit your cultivation without a great deal of work to purge it. Take only one at night when you meditate.” Asha said. With that, she bowed to the pill master and ushered them out of the store.

“Put those away. Those are worth quite a bit. It was a generous gift he gave you today.”

“Oh, why would he do that?” Quan asked.

“He has a nephew that he would like me to consider dating,” Asha answered.

They entered the library next. It was a three-story building right across the street from the jobs hall. Inside, several clerks wandered the rows of books, often talking with a patron. One stood near the entrance to welcome newcomers.

Asha nodded at them and said, "I'm only here to give my student a basic understanding. We won't stay long."

She led him towards the desks where several people sat reading. "Eventually, you will be given more independence in what paths you will pursue. This is the repository of all our arts. The most basic area is open to all members. Some arts cost contribution points or can only be earned with time and rank or special tasks."

"I need something from the third floor where you may not go yet. Look around until my return."

Quan looked on as she left him there. He realized this was the first time he'd been left alone among the members of the sect. He turned his attention to the closest shelves of books instead of staring at the stairs she'd disappeared on like a lost puppy in front of everyone.

He picked up a scroll and saw it had a name inscribed on the outer edge. Dragon's claw, but he couldn't seem to open it. An attendant arrived at his side a moment later and asked if she could help. She was a cute woman likely in her early twenties that smiled sweetly at him as they talked.

"I'm just looking while I wait on my master. I guess I don't understand how things work."

"You will need a librarian to open any scroll as we record who has access to what knowledge."

"To record the costs?" Quan asked.

"And offer guidance. Not everyone is a direct disciple of a master. By reviewing what a student has read, we can advise if their path is too narrow or perhaps too broad. Some see a destiny they wish for even if it is ill-suited to their talents. We try to steer them towards success.”

“Career counsellors, what do you recommend a young fool who knows nothing?”

“To listen to their master. If they have not sent you here to find a path suitable, they must have a plan in mind already.”

Quad laughed, “That sounds wise. If the day comes that I am to find my fate in these books, what does a read cost?”

“It varies greatly based on the art, its strength, and quality. Some are only a few hundred points while others cost thousands.”

“Thank you for your time, but I won't be spending points today. I'll let you know when I am ready.” With that, he excused himself and wandered over to a large map he saw in the wall. He studied it for a while before Asha rejoined him.

"What am I looking at?" Quan asked.

"Have you never seen a map before?" Asha asked. The map covered the wall entirely in finely painted lines showing mountain ranges, rivers, oceans. Cities and their kingdoms were marked out as they made up the entire empire. Which it seemed was only the empire on this continent.

"I have, but," he paused, "show me where we are again?" When Asha pointed to a southern mountain, he could see the city indicated right beside it. "And this all to scale?" He asked dubiously. He knew early world maps on earth were notoriously bad. This map had a consistent accuracy to its drawing that didn't seem to fit with those early maps.

“I need Jeff Goldblum to show up and explain this to me,” Quan muttered.

“Who’s that?” Asha asked.

"Jeff Goldblum is a god of our world. Whenever there was a story that broke the rules of science, Jeff Goldblum would appear and explain the science and how it fits. It didn't matter what he said or how crazy the reason was. Once he spoke, you accepted that was how things worked, and these were the new rules."

“And what are you having trouble understanding?”

"It's too big. If this map is right, this world is at least three times the Earth's size, but the days aren't longer. The year is the same. So how would the orbit work? If the planet is bigger, it needs to be farther from the sun for the days to be the same length as Earth's. And the planet would have to turn faster, which I'm sure would have all kinds of impacts. But if we're farther from the sun, it should be too cold to live. And then you guys here are convinced it's flat, which creates more conflicts than I can count. Come to think of it, if everything you guys say is true that I thought was false, how can your empires be hundreds of thousands or millions of years old? You’d have depleted the natural resources, dug up all the metals even if you are stuck in the iron age for some crazy reason."

"Nothing you’re saying makes any sense," Asha said.

“That’s why I need Jeff Goldblum!” Quan said in frustration.