At the dawn of the new week Fan Zhong readied himself to begin his training once again. His exhaustion over the weekend had seen him do little but rest for almost three days. Now that his body had the time to heal, he once more felt that vibrant strand of energy run throughout his body pushing him to move forward.

As he and Fan Cheng began their morning run, thoughts of his progress over the last week of training bubbled to the surface. In all actuality he felt stunted, feeling no noticeable amount of progress in his techniques or martial understanding. Surely his ability to execute the various palm techniques had increased slightly and he did feel a bit faster, stronger and it certainly took more physical exertion to wear him out. However these were hardly improvements one could point out or take notice of.

Of course he understood that this was normal, in fact after Fan Cheng had pointed out to him how incredible his initial progress had been he could understand why many in the clan had thought his father was secretly feeding using clan resources to spur that progress. Many young clan warriors started training their bodies and martial knowledge from the moments they could walk and talk without falling over their own feet. Mind you they did not train in the sense Fan Zhong had been over the past few weeks, running themselves ragged and spending every waking hour dedicated to it, at least not until they were older.

However when it came to simple exercise and striking drills with punches and kicks it was traditional to do small amounts of these at a very young age and then increase them as time went on. Starting training early was a key step to making sure young clan members would be able to pursue their martial paths in the process increasing their martial realms so they could be assets to the clan in the future as well as prolonging their lives. A popular saying among martial artists said “one's martial arts cultivation is akin to a tower meant to last for eternity. Knowing this, who would give such a tower anything but the most stable foundation?”

Fan Zhong had truly pushed the limits of his fathers authority when he delayed his training so long, going as far as to beg and plead to have his martial training delayed. Many times during his youth the other boys had spent long hours in the practice yards sparring and trading pointers about technique and comparing who was stronger while he had spent time honing his art based talents. He remembered reading stories during this time of immortal sects that had mountains which floated in the clouds upon which they reside away from the mortal world.

In these tales he had been fascinated by those that had risen to immortality through non-marital paths, such as cultivating a zither heart by contemplating the Dao through music. In another tale he heard of an immortal painter who painted and inscribed his understandings of the Dao through each brushstroke. This immortal would paint vistas so beautiful they would become infused with the laws of the world themselves turning into miniature pocket worlds that one could visit. Upon reading these stories he had become excited and had immediately asked his mother and father where he could study such paths. Perhaps he too could comprehend the Dao through his arts and in so doing receive their recognition.

He had figured that even if his arts would not immediately allow him to help with the clan activities surely he could raise his realm high enough to allow this right? For in the tales the immortal zither players were not just defenseless musicians. Surely they had comprehended the Dao through music however after understanding the world and Qi that flowed in it they had been able to play melodies that soothed their allies minds and aided the cultivation of any path! So too when brought to anger the Immortal musicians would be able to imbue qi into the notes they played causing cutting waves of sound to sunder their enemies as well as any sword or dealing internal damage due foes through vibrating waves of Qi. Even the Immortal painter had been able to sweep away his enemies by painting the very air itself, painting true dragons and immortal phoenixs into being to do battle on his side.

However reality is cruel and upon bringing the matters up with his parents Fan Zhong had been extremely disappointed. According to them, no clan they knew of raised those who cultivated arts in such a way, in fact these stories might be just that. Aside from there being no immediate teachers who could be hired to bring him on such a path they also informed him just how much of the clan resources it takes to raise a normal master realm martial artist let alone a specialist one. The amount was staggering easily being in the thousands of spirit stones and that was not even mentioning the normal decades it took for the individual to train using those resources.

With such a path he would not be able to have any practical skills until being able to manipulate Qi actively, something only those of Master Realm or above could do. Before that he would simply be an absurdly talented artist who presented the possibility of being a potent asset. Without a teacher to pass on legacy techniques or guide the specialist on their path this possibility was not even guaranteed. What clan had the resources to raise someone to Master Realm with no promise of their usefulness? In the case of a non-martial cultivator they would likely use even more resources to advance since gaining insight through battle and sparring would be useless for them until they had practical battle skills.

Considering this even Fan Long and Fan Yahui, who cared deeply for their children and also believed in allowing them to follow the paths of their hearts, could not waste clan resources so frivolously. However, not to be deterred Fan Yahui had used the Fan clan information network, formed by their various observer disciples who worked throughout the valley and in some places beyond, to look for a sect or school that could accommodate Fan Zhong’s want to pursue a path to cultivate the arts. Searching far and wide, finally when he was 9 years old his mother had succeeded and learned of a sect that claimed to be a true immortal sect with legendary Qi Condensation cultivator’s!

It truly seemed as if the heavens were aligning as coincidentally they had heard of this sect, called the “Three Melodies Blossom Pavilion”, because one of the sect elders was traveling through the valley. Supposedly this elder was at the Qi Condensation realm and had agreed to meet Fan Zhong and judge him as a disciple hopeful on account of other valley musicians praising his talent in the lute. When the elder had arrived Fan Zhong had been truly awed, supposedly the elder was over 100 years old however she looked no older than 20 years of age and walked with an ageless air of grace. He remembered she had strikingly bright pink hair that flowed down to her waist framing the bright red robes she wore that were trimmed in a pink that was slightly a shade darker than her hair.

When the elder’s azure eyes had met his time had seemed to stop and the rest of his solo recital for her had played out like a fever dream with him never being able to look away from her piercing gaze. He had however remembered every word of her evaluation.

“Hmmmm, truly commendable. Your fundamentals are nearly perfect for a mortal and the music does have a spark of something, however you're no music prodigy. Young man I’m not one to turn away someone from their path so I’ll be honest with you. There are two types of music that truly push one onto the path of a music immortal, true genius or genuine emotion. True genius you are not unfortunately, oh compared to a local nation you are very talented there actually may not be any mortal musicians within this entire valley as talented as you. However that is not enough to be truly heavenly talented. If you were perhaps the most talented musician in this entire duchey then perhaps you could qualify on talent alone.” The elders tone was contemplative and measured, however no hint of malice or disdain touched it “Genuine emotion is born from experience, perilous tragedy of your family being betrayed. A harrowing experience of survival in the wilderness before being rescued after braving the elements, surviving on wits and guile. Yearning feelings of seeking or searching for things you cannot put into words. These things genuinely expressed in your music when they cannot be expressed in words will resonate with your personal Dao, if this was the case I would be able to feel it with my zither heart. In short, you lack the raw talent to lean on talent alone and you lack experiences to compose truly moving music. Perhaps because you’ve always lived here sheltered and safe? If you wish to come to the sect and travel with the outer sect entertainment groups you may eventually gain enough experience to enter the sect proper and begin on the path. Either that or set out tomorrow into the wilderness and find your Dao then come find us when you write music that truly resonates with you. Whatever you choose, I Zhen Li, Elder of the Three Melodies Blossom Pavilion guarantee you will always find a welcome place within our halls even if you're simply traveling through.”

With that she had called his mother in while handing her a small jade slip before excusing herself. After this his mother had still attempted to find a sect that may allow him to pursue his calligraphy as a path of cultivation however no such opportunity had ever arisen. Fan Zhong had been deeply depressed by this and as such his time spent at the Soft Moonlight Hall had increased as had his taste for increasing amounts of wine.

Thinking back on the matter, Fan Zhong wondered if this Zhen Li was truly a legendary Qi Condensation Immortal. He had once questioned his mother about it, however she had said that she could not tell either. However she had said that the elder had contained incredible power. In fact Zhen Li had so much power that the entire village of Fan Clan martial artists had been on edge while she was having the private recital with Fan Zhong. Apparently she had been radiating her power as a warning to anyone who approached within hearing distance of their meeting.

At this point such things were too far away for him, in the present he did not feel confident fighting a normal 3rd Grade Martial artist let alone worrying if the legendary immortal realms existed. Thinking back on the grueling time he spent learning the fundamentals of his lute however eased his mind concerning his martial progress, he supposed this was how progressing normally felt and he would simply have to get used to it. Finishing this thought he noticed they had arrived back at the clan training grounds atop the cliff overlooking the village.

Taking in the morning air and the clear skies, Fan Zhong breathed in deeply, enjoying the feeling of fresh morning air entering his lungs. All of last week the clouds had broiled and the rain had made the air cold, now the sun rose high in the sky heralded by the morning call of a myriad of birds that sang their morning song. Hearing this morning song, Fan Zhong started to hum along, feeling the thrum of the earth and all living things as they went about their lives.

As he continued humming along with the natural rhythm of the birds he unconsciously found himself falling into void gate stance and started to incorporate the rhythm into a set of shifting palms. Continuing the set he started to incorporate the other palms into his movements using the high and low forms to punctuate high and low notes in the melody forming in his head. He knew Fan Cheng would have them move onto stance work next anyways and this was the first time he had felt any connection between his hobbies and his martial cultivation.

Perhaps it was because he had been thinking of such memories or maybe it was just a moment of inspiration brought on by the beauty of the vista one could see from the cliff. In any case he brought the melody of humming and shifting palm strikes to smooth conclusion after about 10 minutes of practicing. After finishing he stared at his hands and feet in pleasant surprise. Although the idea of incorporating arts into his martial cultivation was a simple one it honestly had never crossed his mind, but now after experiencing this feeling there was a hunger deep in his belly that wanted to feel that harmony once again.

“Done dancing brother? I hate to spoil the fun but as many maidens that may be wooed by your graceful movements I have a feeling your foes will be slightly less impressed.” Fan Cheng laughed heartily as he clamped a hand on Fan Zhong’s left shoulder coming to stand on his right so that his arm draped across the younger man's back.

“Ahh but brother if you continue being as stiff as the mountain when truly maidens approach instead of foes how will you impress them standing so still?” Fan Zhong teased him right back having become accustomed to going back and forth with Fan Cheng in their days of training

“Hmph stiff as a mountain ehh? Perhaps you'd like to see if your brother's fist is as hard as a mountain when it meets your pretty face? Come, come, if you're to court fair maidens you need to know how to stop criminals from harming them.” Fan Cheng motioned with his hand walking to the center of the training clearing.

With this they started the stance work properly with Fan Zhong assuming his void gate stance. During this Fan Cheng would have him enter a meditative state to reflect on how his body felt in the stance, feeling out what the most natural motions to move while in this position were. While he was reflecting the punishment stick would meet him leaving stingy lumps of pain whenever his body drifted slightly out of stance.

Many times his elder brother would nudge and prod even when he was in a proper stance attempting to dislodge him from the form or make him flinch. Whenever he allowed one of these provocations to make him lose form a volley of punishment stick blows rained down on him. Eventually Fan Cheng also started incorporating powerful blows that would stop right in front of his eyes or circular movements around him that were so fast they sent shockwaves of wind that would rustle the bamboo leaves in the first surrounding the clearing while shaking the roofs of the meditation huts.

After this they continued into drilling the palm forms. Fan Cheng would demonstrate the strikes slowly for his observation and then make him repeat the strike just as slow. Whenever he went too fast and tried to rush the punishment stick would come down disrupting his technique and he would be forced to start over. Like this they went on for hours and hours, drilling the strikes into the air at excruciatingly slow speeds making sure the forms were observed down to the finest detail Fan Zhong could manage.

Following this they would come to the final event of the evening, the two person striking drill. One day Fan Zhong had asked Fan Cheng the name of the drill and although it didn't not have a proper name he noted clan warriors had a pet name for it that was “Two palms Shifting Heaven and Earth”. This name had come on account of the drill mostly devolving into the two palm users trading a flurry of strikes from the shifting palm forms before eventually someone found an opening to land a strike.

Supposedly this was inevitably what would happen given both opponents were similar in skill level. Fan Zhong however felt he would never get a chance to understand this as Fan Cheng had been his one and only opponent for the exercise. He had asked many times if an opponent more his skill level could be prepared, however most of those at his skill level were 2-3 years his junior, with those at the initial of the 3rd grade level still slightly younger than him. Fan Cheng had chastised him teasingly for wanting to beat up toddlers and had also reminded him they hadn’t fully concluded the identity of his assailants yet.

With these factors against him Fan Zhong was forced to meet the crushing palms of teaching his brother loved to throw his way. Although he knew better, he was almost starting to think Fan Cheng enjoyed beating him ragged.

“Very good, the intent in that blow was straightforward and honest; however that made it powerful and decisive. If you were faster that would easily have connected” Fan Cheng said as he stood over Fan Zhong’s groaning form with a beaming smile while he offered a hand to pick him up.

In all of the time he had spent doing this drill with his elder brother he had not lasted more than 2 exchanges the entire time, and the time he last 2 exchanges he was convinced his brother had merely been showing off. That time he had used his off-hand to initiate a retreating shifting palm to parry his brother’s origin palm aimed at his dantian. He had thought that although the off hand lacked power it made up for it in speed and by preemptively using a retreating shifting palm he could bait his brother's advance to set up a receiving palm follow up.

Instead Fan Cheng had raised his off hand and changed his origin palm into the other half of an earth receiving palm that used a lower sweeping kick to take out his lead leg and tug him forward off balance. Following that a Heaven palm had grabbed the back of his head and rammed it into the ground. After this exchange Fan Cheng had apologized profusely and even let him sit down and rest for a few moments. Apparently he had caught the older boy by surprise and he acted on instinct delivering a far harsher blow than intended.

Upon this evening his Two palms Shifting Heaven and Earth drills went the same as they always had, each time his brother defeated him in a single exchange. This wasn’t to say he wasn’t learning anything; he noticed his blows had gotten sharper, his footwork within the voidgate stance now felt more natural when he rotated for shifting palms. Even today he had managed to actually stay on his feet after being struck for once!

In the late day after the drills Fan Zhong Found himself sitting in his meditation hut at the lone low table provided to him. Almost unconsciously Fan Zhong took out the calligraphy tools his mother had given him for his warrior recognition ceremony. Feeling a hunger deep inside of him for the harmony felt earlier that day he took out the tools and began grinding some ink while setting out some paper and checking his brushes. Slowly he took up a brush and sat the ground ink in a container beside the paper on the table. Next he closed his eyes and started emptying his mind as if to enter the void gate stance.

His breathing took on the same rhythm he had when practicing stances and strikes. Inwardly he felt as if all his senses were heightened. With a smooth practiced motion he dipped the brush in ink and drew the first stroke envisioning the origin palm strike he opened during his drills with Fan Cheng. Surprisingly in his vision of this drill he was able to see his brother start to subtly shift his weight muscles tensing small bits of clothing moving, it was as if he was moving in slow motion.

Continuing slowly Fan Zhong imagined his counter to his brother’s shifting palm. In his mind he was shifting his black leg forward and outside to the right where his attack arm was twisting that arm while he pulled his front leg back in a circular motion and extending that motion to turn his origin palm into a shifting palm of his own inside Fan Cheng’s guard. This time the fight sped up his mind straining to construct the image of his brother’s movements going so slowly. He was just able to see Fan Cheng shift the angle of his shifting palm outward and bring his other arm up inside his guard. In the next instant he blurred, catching Fan Zhong’s counter in a receiving palm technique and sending a knee into his gut before slamming a vicious palm strike into his face followed by another knee.

In that instant Fan Zhong lost control of the imaginary fight in his head, his brush strayed and zipped across the paper drawing an ugly streak across it and ruining the piece. Staring at the paper Fan Zhong smiled, he understood that some journeys needed to take time and patience to understand. With this he took the work and hung it up on his wall using some of the sticky tar usually used to seal bamboo tubes or keep candles in place upon their fixtures. Admiring the work he laughed, objectively it was one of the ugliest things he had ever made but to him it was special it was the first step. Of what he had no idea but as his brother had always said to him all journeys begin with the first step even if you don’t know the destination.

Months of training followed this, Fan Zhong ardently training with his brother while using his quiet times to contemplate on how his arts related to his martial paths. It took him 3 whole months before he was finally able to force Fan Cheng into a bout of 3 exchanges. That night he composed a song that contained his elation, when it was complete that resonate feeling deep within him was sparked once again.

After 4 months he finally reached what his brother recognized as the familiar realm of attainment in the origin palm strikes. Upon hearing this he had asked for a reprieve that was shockingly granted by Fan Cheng. During this reprieve he sat upon the cliff edge overlooking the village and used his calligraphy tools to commemorate the occasion.

When he finished he looked upon the work and realized he had written the character for ‘Resolve’ while writing and contemplating how he felt about his attainment. Surprisingly the lines felt very staccato and stoic. Square line greeted the edges of the characters' while sharp and angular accents trimmed the whole thing truly embodying how he perceived the concept of firming ones resolve. This piece he hung right next to the first upon which once again something deep inside him resonated adding another spark to the growing flame.

By the end of the 6th month he had finally reached a familiar level with all of the basic palm forms, each of them seeming far easier to comprehend after he achieved familiar attainment with one set. During all of these months he had been through such arduous training and now he finally had reached what felt like the starting line. Although exhausted he felt an immense sense of accomplishment, this had truly been the labor of hard work and effort!

Not only of the martial path but of his own unique path. Originally he had started this training with the body of a scholar now he had a slimming figure that started to show signs of growing muscles. Fan Cheng had not only taught him martial arts, in his knowledge lessons he had learned survival craft for surviving in the wilderness. Everything from hunting and preparing small game to crafting and finding shelter as well as navigation and a few more utility skills for survival.

Truly, although his recognition ceremony had named him a man, now he felt like a man one in truth. If asked to, now he could truly survive if he found himself stranded without even the barest necessities, he was confident in his ability to survive the elements! However, when would a noble son like him ever find himself stripped naked in some untamed wilderness? Now though Fan Zhong felt he had far more understanding and sympathy for those that wanted to be trained for such unlikely circumstances, having knowledge to deal with such things brought about its own feeling of peace of mind.

“A threshold indeed little brother. Feeling proud of familiar attainment in the clan martial style is a great milestone in your martial path. Take tomorrow as an extension of your weekend, come the new week prepare yourself. Now that you’ve reached such familiarity we will undertake the next step in your training” Fan Cheng said with a smile on his face

“Eld… Elder brother surely we can keep training? This junior is not so unfilial he needs such pampering!” Fan Zhong panicked, for the usually training hungry Fan Cheng to be so willing to give him an extra day off there must be something truly wicked planned behind that smile of his.

“Hmph junior you wound my heart so! Go! This master has only good intentions for you, stop letting your mind wander!” With this Fan Cheng’s smile grew even wider and he disappeared with a booming shockwave of air heralding his speeding exit.

Fan Zhong did his best to stop his mind from racing upon the possibilities, his father and brother wouldn’t do anything too extreme surely?