Aki decided that he really did not have the time to watch an emaciated disciple struggle for two days and two nights, and so promptly excused himself from the pavilion. As he walked outside, he began to gather his thoughts in order to make sense of the situation.

This body was clearly previously beyond the chain of hunger, so being bound by it again must mean that the cultivation of this body has regressed significantly. In order to break free of the chain of hunger, both physical cultivation and spiritual cultivation have to be in the second realm. Therefore, either my physical or spiritual cultivation has regressed under the second realm. In the worst case, both have. In order to secure my lifespan, I must ensure that both are raised back to the second realm, as fast as possible. Even after that, I’ll still have to withstand that horrifying tribulation. Not something to look forward to.

Through his research, Aki had managed to reach a basic understanding of how the first realms of spiritual and physical cultivation worked. The first realm of physical cultivation is known as body strengthening. In it, a cultivator weaves Qi into their body, slowly strengthening it. It can be divided into four phases: Strengthening the flesh, skin, tendons and bones. The specific way they are strengthened depends on the physical cultivation method used. Once all the separate parts of the body are strengthened, the strengthening is fused together into a cohesive whole. Once that is done, a cultivator will have entered the second realm of physical cultivation.

The first realm of spiritual cultivation is known as foundation establishment, and it can be divided into two parts: foundation weaving and Qi condensation. In the first part, the chaotic Qi inside the body is woven into orderly cloth. Progress is measured by the different parts of the cloth woven. Once all the different pieces of cloth corresponding to different parts of the body are woven, one can begin the Qi condensation phase. In this phase, meridians around the body are cleansed of impurities and Qi is slowly absorbed into the dantian, a sort of spiritual centre of the body, until it can be condensed into a Qi string. After the Qi string is created, it is used to stitch together the different parts of cloth into a finished foundation cloth. The quality of a foundation cloth can be divided into hemp, cotton and silk, depending on how skilfully it was woven together.

Before forming a foundation cloth and Qi string, techniques must be woven using external Qi. Once a foundation has been formed, the technique weaves can instead be powered by using the Qi from a Qi string. Techniques can even be affixed to the foundation cloth, from where they can be copied into the world much faster than by weaving them from scratch.

Further spiritual cultivation consists of condensing additional Qi strings until they can be woven together into a core, while further physical cultivation consists of integrating those qi strings to the physical body, unlocking various abilities from them.

Disciples are accepted into the Thousand Lakes sect once they can start Qi condensation, and they generally use the [Thousand Lakes Qi Condensation] technique to form a water Qi string, which they use to stitch together their cloth.

Aki was rather confused about the exact state of his cultivation. He could channel Qi out of his body, which to his understanding should indicate that he had a Qi string generating that power. After all, before forming a Qi string, the Qi used for techniques has to be taken from outside the body. His body also felt relatively strong, so his physical cultivation should be in a decent shape too. He needed some way to accurately measure what was going on with his body, and thus decided on a plan of action.

“Passionate Seeker, let us head out to the treasure pavilion. I wish to make an inspection.”

The treasure pavilion was where the magical possessions of dead sect members were gathered, and Aki had read enough cultivation stories to know that it might be his best bet for securing the tools he needed. Who knew? Maybe he would even find a hidden divine treasure of untold power? Though on second thought, those could often prove to be more trouble than they are worth.

The journey to the treasure pavilion was a short one, as it was located just on the other side of the inner sect gate. This pavilion looked rather magnificent, tall decorated wooden walls inlaid with glittering gems. Before heading inside, Aki decided to hedge his bets a bit, and give Passionate Seeker a research task.

“Apprentice, I have a strictly theoretical situation for you to ponder. Strictly theoretical. Imagine that, hypothetically, a domain establishment cultivator was to fail in a dangerous ritual, causing their cultivation to fall all the way down to at least the second realm. How exactly would such a thing occur, what would the effects of it be and how could such a thing be fixed? Remember, this is strictly theoretical. I will be inspecting the treasure pavilion for a while, so you have some time to research the matter.”

“Master, that is quite the interesting thought exercise. If you do not need me here, then I’ll head to the sect archives to figure out an answer!”

“Excellent, I’ll expect a thorough answer.”

Alright, that should help find some answers to what is going on here.

As Passionate Seeker departed, Aki entered the pavilion. The walls of the pavilion were stacked full of shelves inlaid with various treasures and artifacts. In front of the treasures, jade slips were placed, probably with descriptions of how they worked. A core disciple was sitting behind a desk by the entrance, idly playing around with his knife by spinning it around his fingers using strands of Qi. Once he noticed Aki, he quickly stood to attention, dropping the knife blade first onto his foot. He winced with pain for a moment, but quickly fixed a neutral expression on his face.

“Elder Thousand Lakes, disciple Nine Fingers offers greetings. Elder Raging Waters is currently not here, he just left for the Northern Beastwood.”

Ok, that’s a relief. I definitely don’t want to deal with him. Aki subtly eyed the disciple’s hands and noted that indeed, he did have only nine fingers. Huh, guess this one makes a habit of playing around clumsily with his knife. I wonder how these names come to be; I don’t think he would choose such a name himself.

“Greetings disciple. No worries, I am not here for elder Raging Waters. I need tools for measuring the physical and spiritual cultivation of people in the first and second realms. Can you direct me to some?”

The disciple seemed to have an idea, and quickly directed Aki towards a section on the second floor of the pavilion. As Aki walked through the pavilion, he kept his eyes peeled open, just in case he spotted a copper mirror or a turtle wok.

“These are the tools for measuring cultivation that we have. The ones in the first row should be suitable for your needs.”

Aki thanked the disciple and dismissed him. He then turned to study the tools in front of him. First, he chose a completely wooden knife. Its wooden blade seemed sharp enough to cut, and a clear gem was encrusted in its handle. Aki picked up the jade slip corresponding to the knife, and quickly scanned through the information.

[Physical cultivation measuring knife. This knife can measure the strength of a cultivator’s physical cultivation. Once the knife comes into contact with blood, the gem in the handle will change colour to indicate the result of the measurement.]

The jade slip contained further instructions on which colour correlated to which levels of cultivation, which Aki committed to memory. Well, this seems simple enough. He carefully made a small cut into his finger, then observed the change in the knife. Once the blade touched his blood, the gem instantly changed colour into a cloudy yellow.

Yellow? That should correspond to early second realm physical cultivation. It seems that my physical cultivation at the hunger chain threshold, meaning it is not the current issue. It seems like the problem is with my spiritual cultivation.

Next, he picked up an ornate wooden ring, and its corresponding jade slip. A quick scan revealed that it should be what he wanted.

[Qi string analysis ring. Channel Qi from string to be studied into this ring, and details about the string will be revealed.]

This seems simple enough, let’s test this out. He placed the ring onto a finger, and then proceeded to channel Qi into it in the manner he had practiced. Suddenly information came into his mind.

[Karmic reincarnation Qi string. Karma Qi production: gold strength.]

Interesting, so I do have a Qi string. And this type... This is definitely related to that suspicious ritual and my presence in this world. Still, it seems that I have finished the Qi condensation phase, so what exactly is going on with my body? Am I not in the second realm of spiritual cultivation?

Aki repeated his measurements to make sure that he had not made an error, but the results stayed the same. Confused, he searched for similar tools which he used to confirm his findings, and confirm them he did. He was definitely in the second realm of physical cultivation, and he did definitely possess a Qi string. He scanned through a few more treasures, but those did not seem like they would help analyse his situation further. Eventually, after an exhaustive search, he found a wand that seemed like it might be useful. It was a wand used to rank new outer sect disciples.

[Foundation cloth quality analysis wand. Channel Qi into the wand while its tip is touching the skin of the target to be analysed.]

Aki picked up the wand into his right hand and poked his left with it while channelling Qi into it.

[Silk quality foundation cloth. Warning: frayed.]

Aki raised an eyebrow at that. A frayed silk foundation? Well, this seems like it could be the cause of my issues.

Right at the perfect time, Passionate Seeker arrived back to the scene. She sure is a fast researcher. Hopefully she can answer the rest of my questions.

“Ah, Apprentice. Have you found an answer to my thought exercise?”

“Yes master, it was not too difficult to find prior examples of similar situations. If one’s cultivation were to fall from the third realm to the second or first realm, it would most probably be a result of their core being shattered.”

“And what would be the implications of such a thing?”

“It depends on how many of the Qi strings forming the core are destroyed. If a Qi string is destroyed, all weave techniques attached to the foundation cloth that were being powered by that Qi string would be ripped out of the cloth, resulting in damage to the foundation. If all the Qi strings are destroyed, the seams holding together the foundation cloth would come undone, disconnecting the different pieces of cloth.”

Hmm, this seems to somewhat match the results of my measurements. The question is whether my karma Qi string was something that was not destroyed as the core shattered, or if it was created as a result of the core shattering. Considering that it is specifically a karmic reincarnation Qi string, the latter option seems more likely.

“In the case that all the Qi strings are destroyed, what should be done to fix the situation?”

“First, the damage to the foundation cloth would have to be mended. Then, a new Qi string has to be condensed, which can then be used to stitch the foundation back together. There is no way to restore the shattered core, so one would have to go through the core weaving stage again to form a new one.”

At least I seem to already have a condensed Qi string, meaning that I only have to repair the damage to my foundation cloth and then stitch it back together. Hopefully my body retains some instincts on how foundation weaving is done, I may not have too much time for this.

“You have done your research well, apprentice. It is wise to search for information on such matters, just in case you yourself one day face such a dire situation.”

“Worry not master, I am sure that as long as I carefully follow your instruction, nothing like that could happen!”

Ah, if only you knew. He thought. His body’s previous owner truly did not deserve such a trusting disciple.

Next, Aki decided to head to the sect archives, as he needed to find information on how to repair his foundation. However, before he left, he ransacked the pavilion for a set of protective talismans, a selection of alternative flying tools he could learn to use before mastering his knife, and other tools that seemed useful or interesting. As he left the pavilion the pockets in his robes were stuffed to the brim with all manner of treasures. Regrettably, he could not find a special storage ring. Surely they can’t be that hard to make.

The sect archives were located right next to the treasure pavilion, so a lengthy trip was not necessary. The archives were divided into three different levels, with access to them being restricted based on position in the sect. Only elders had unlimited access to all three floors.

I wonder if this kind of hiding of knowledge really serves any purpose. Would it cause too much chaos if I made all information available to everyone? Something to ponder for later.

He began to search the archives with Passionate Seeker’s help. It was surprisingly difficult to find much knowledge on the very basics of foundation weaving, like meditation techniques to allow one to begin sensing their internal Qi. Disciples were accepted into the sect after they had already mastered such things after all. Eventually Aki did manage to find one of the manuals travelling sect members gave to awakened mortals. It was one of the few paper manuals in the archive. Almost all of the other materials in the archive were in the form of jade slips.

He also managed to find a jade slip containing instructions on how to repair damaged foundations; exactly what he needed. Apparently, it’s not uncommon for cultivators to damage their foundation cloth in various ways. For example, magical items can be turned into bound items by using a binding weave on them, and then affixing the weave onto the foundation cloth. If the item then gets severely damaged, the damage might ripple out to the foundation cloth.

Aki decided that he should pick up some karma weave techniques to practice. After all, he now knew that he had a karma Qi string to use for them. Most of the karma techniques in the archives seemed very complicated, and he could only find very few that seemed suitable for beginners. In the end he chose two that he could begin to study. [Karmic Bonds], which could be used to examine the karmic connections between people and [Thread of Fate], which could be used to observe one’s own thread of fate. Although the latter technique sounded powerful, it didn’t actually grant too much insight. It did not show anything of the future, only showing the state of one’s fate in the present. Still, Aki reckoned that he could find some nice uses for the technique.

He also took along some knife techniques, which he could study in order to learn to manipulate his knife. He suspected that if he truly wanted to fit in here, learning that flying knife trick might eventually be necessary. He also wanted to practice weaves for something other than karma, so he picked an [Illusory wall] light technique that seemed pretty versatile.

Eventually Aki decided that he was suitably equipped. It was time to become a proper cultivator.