Aki spent about a week searching through the sect archives, practicing water Qi condensation and trying out combat techniques before he came to a conclusion. Alright, if I want to be in any way efficient about this, I am going to need a teacher.

If Aki wanted to actually make use of his cultivation base, he would above all need to work on improving his skill with weaves. He was struggling a bit with this, remaining stuck with the basic versions of the techniques he had picked up. The reason for this was simple: he lacked the proper education. He was stumbling along blindly, being guided by the often-contradictory advice from the jade slips he had picked up. This was the approach that most cultivators in this world followed, but Aki was a modern person. He craved an organized, planned approach to education.

Thus, Aki decided to get a proper teacher for himself, at least so the basics he was unaware of could be made clear to him. However, getting a teacher in his current position of sect leader was quite the quandary; he was supposed to be one of the most knowledgeable people in the sect after all! Thus, Aki began to form a plan for how he could acquire teaching. It did not take long for him to formulate a plan, and thus he was ready by the time Passionate Seeker’s next daily briefing came.

Aki was once again sitting in his serene courtyard, sipping on some pleasant afternoon tea. He let his apprentice wait for a moment before addressing her, as maintaining a sagely appearance required proper behaviour. Eventually he set his cup of tea down and began his address.

“Apprentice, I have an important duty for you today.”

“Master, I stand ready to serve, as always.”

“This will be a task to help you better understand your own path of cultivation. We are a master and a disciple, a relationship based on teaching and learning. However, teaching and learning do not only go in one direction in such relationships. Only by teaching someone else can true understanding of one’s own knowledge be reached.”

Passionate Seeker stood still, raptured by the wisdom in her mentor’s words. She was evidently growing eager to learn the purpose of this and could not quite hold her tongue.

“Master, what kind of task will it be?”

Aki took a sip of his tea while giving a slight mysterious smile. He set the cup down and idly stroked at his long beard.

“Apprentice, you are going to be taking on a student to whom you are going to impart your own knowledge. Your task will be to form an education plan that can teach all of your knowledge as efficiently as possible. Once basic knowledge has been imparted, my other core disciples can be brought on to expand the scope of the education plan. I will be observing the lessons and asking guiding questions to observe your teachings.”

Aki was rather fond of simple plans, and this should serve his purposes well. By having Passionate Seeker teach a disciple using a focused learning plan, he could act as the “overseer” of the lesson. In this way he could covertly secure teaching for himself. For example, if he wanted teaching on the topic of the different spirit beasts in the neighbouring lands, he would simply have to ask Passionate Seeker to give the disciple a lesson on the topic, which he could then learn from.

The young woman stood still for a moment, dazed by the grand task she was being given. At last, she shook herself out of her thoughts.

“So, by thinking about how my knowledge can be taught as efficiently as possible, I will reach a much deeper understanding of it myself... You are even willing to oversee all of my lessons...” Overcome with emotion, she kowtowed on the ground. “Master, I am not worthy of your generosity!”

Aki felt slightly guilty that his self-interest was being misinterpreted as generosity, so he bade his apprentice to rise.

“There is no need for such thanks, apprentice. You are free to select your student from among the outer sect disciples. You should select someone who shows much promise, but who is not yet that far along in their studies.”

Passionate Seeker rose up and thought about the request for a moment. She soon offered an idea.

“I think a particularly talented disciple joined the sect within the last few years. They were remarkably young for having weaved the pieces of their foundation cloth. He was only 17 years old, but already in the middle of the Qi condensation phase. Do you think such a person would suffice?”

What? Has our mediocre sect caught a one in one hundred thousand talent? Those types are always magnets for trouble, I will have to take measures to ensure an eye is kept on him. Perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone using this method.

“Such a talented person should be perfect to receive your tutelage. We will be starting lessons tomorrow, so begin your preparations promptly. Is there anything you require?”

The young woman hummed in thought for a moment, before she suddenly recalled something, and quickly dug out her notebook and a few jade slips.

“Master, he has probably been using the [Thousand Lakes Qi Condensation] technique so far, but is it alright if I have him switch over to your [Sauna Steam Qi Condensation] technique?”

Aki took a moment to process what he had just heard. My what now? Since when have I had something like that? He gazed at the jade slips in his apprentice’s hand, a foreboding building up in him.

“My [Sauna Steam Qi Condensation] technique?”

“Ah, yes master, I forgot to mention the matter. I think I’m starting to figure out the techniques after you told me to learn them on my own. My experiments have been showing positive results. The [Saunaforged Body Tempering] technique was particularly difficult to figure out, as I had to experiment with all kinds of herbs before I found ones that gave promising results. Further research is needed, but I think I am on the right track. Here are the jade slips with my findings, can you at this point correct any mistakes I made?”

Aki listened in a daze, disbelieving. Did she actually manage to turn the sauna into a cultivation instrument? Dreading what he was about to witness, he slowly picked up the first jade slip and began scanning through it.

[Sauna Steam Qi Condensation. A [Sauna] ritual room is heated to a temperature hot enough to boil a mortal’s blood. Withstand the heat inside while absorbing steam Qi from the water periodically thrown onto the stove. Once the body cannot withstand more, jump into a pool of water kept below freezing temperature by using formations. Repeat cycle to utilize duality of heat and cold to form your internal steam Qi.]

Aki slammed his connection to the jade slip shut, as if he wanted to ensure he would not be tainted by the diabolic technique within. What the hell is this! She’s turned the sauna into some infernal torture room! Aki stared with horror at the second jade slip. Do I dare to even look at the second one? After gathering his resolve, he scanned the second one.

[Saunaforged Body Tempering. Body is whipped using spirit herbs to infuse their properties directly into the blood. More experimentation needed on specific herbs needed, but generally thorned ones have been better, as they draw the blood more. Herbs with toxins that stop wounds from closing immediately are also very effective. Heat from the sauna helps to stimulate the blood flow, speeding up the process.]

This sounds just as horrific! Is this the type of stuff cultivators instinctively guide themselves towards? Aki considered letting the matter pass, but sometimes a man had to hold onto their principles. He could not let the sauna become another tool cultivators used to punish themselves. Are my dreams of getting cultivators to relax in a sauna over? No, I will not give up! I will have to be strict about this, lest I set a dangerous precedent.

Aki had not had to use the tone of a disappointed lecturer before, but he still managed quite an adept performance at it.

“Ah, apprentice. It appears that your understanding of the [sauna] is still at the beginner level. Beyond all, you must understand that the key to sauna cultivation is the feeling of relaxation. Such punishing techniques will not be much more effective than their non-[sauna] counterparts.”

The eager expression on his apprentice’s face faded to give way for disappointment. She slumped down, dismayed at her failure.

“I failed? Master, I have disappointed you once again...”

Not wanting her too dismayed, Aki quickly rushed to reassure his apprentice, patting her on the back gently.

“Worry not apprentice, failure is the pathway to wisdom. You have managed much with the limited time and guidance you were given. I am sure that your next attempt will prove true. It was just imperative that I stop such faulty techniques quickly, lest they lead you further on the wrong path.”

She rose up, slightly reassured. Then her eyes flashed wide open with a start, and a sheepish, awkward expression came on her face. She started shifting her feet awkwardly and eventually spoke.

“Umm, master. Then there might be a slight issue. Remember how you told those disciples who constructed the [sauna] to give it a try after you? They were not sure how to use the facility, and so came to ask me for advice. I thought that was part of your plan, so I kind of figured out these techniques by experimenting with them, and they became rather enthusiastic about them. I think they’ve already built their own sauna and have been cultivating in it non-stop since, using these methods. Should I make them stop?”

Aki was running out of deep sighs to give these days, so instead he merely closed his eyes and cursed his short-sightedness quietly for a moment.

Well, sauna culture is spreading in the sect now, if not in the ways that I intended. Now that the knowledge is out there, I don’t think I can completely supress it without offering an alternative. I guess I’ll just have to prove the superiority of my way.

“Worry not apprentice, let them carry on as they will. I have shown you the correct path, so once you manage to figure out the methods the superiority of your progress will settle any doubts about how the [sauna] should be used.”

Aki then realized that they had gotten rather side-tracked from the original intent of this conversation. Guess that’s enough about that. Hopefully she’ll be able to figure out how relaxing in a sauna works.

“Well, anyways. If you manage to figure out the true [sauna] techniques, you can start using them for your student. However, first you will be giving him lessons on the many spirit beasts located in the forests near us, focusing on spirit bees and countermeasures to them. You will start tomorrow at midday; the lessons will be held in the field behind my residence.”

Feeling dismayed at the various torture methods devised through his precious sauna, Aki decided to spend the rest of the day purifying it of the ill intentions by having a nice, long and above all, relaxing sauna session.