Book 3. The Long Journey. Chapter 95. Nine Refinements of Mortality.

“Does this satisfy you?” Victoria inquired, directing her question toward Arslan. She saw twenty lashes as a mildly-serious punishment for a martial master of the fourth rank, but if Arslan insisted on making it more severe, she would oblige him to an extent. After all, it was Martin who was in the wrong this time around. He really shouldn’t have attacked Arslan’s good friend.

Unsure what twenty lashes meant, or rather how they would be delivered in this country, Arslan glanced at Sirius. He remembered that every time some question about the Ruishi Federation came up, it would be Sirius who knew the answer. Because of that, he chose to seek advice from him and not from Jasmine or Reian like he tended to do with most of his questions.

“Military punishments are fairly harsh here,” Sirius said with a smile. “Twenty lashes should cause that man some serious pain, but they will be far from the point of making him approach his limits,” he explained while taking care to only provide information, without making his own opinion too apparent. He wanted little master Arslan to make the choice on his own, not for him to be swayed by the opinion of his subordinate, at least in this case and under those circumstances.

“I see,” Arslan nodded slightly and smiled back at Sirius. “It’s good enough. Thank you,” he said to Victoria and once again, bowed his head ever so slightly.

“Great,” Victoria said contentedly. “The punishment will be delivered immediately. If you prefer you and your friend can stay to watch, if no then feel free to go back to your carriage. We will lead you to the Grand Camp as soon as we are done,” she informed in a formal, attendant-like tone that was neither amiable nor offensive but simply fairly bleak.

Arslan shook his head in response to Victoria’s offer. He didn’t want to watch that man being lashed and he had nothing else to say to her, so he had no reason to stay. However, he wasn’t sure if the same thing could be said about Laien and Yin, so instead of walking off first, he gave the two of them an inquiring look; did they want to discuss anything else with Victoria, or would it be fine to go already?

“Let’s go,” Laien said with a slight, helpless chuckle. He was concerned about the fate of those five thousand people they brought with them, with Johan, Albert, Sarah and the rest of those from Ulme Village in particular, but he had only spoken up on the spur of the moment. He had heard Julien’s advice; he only wanted to ask if it would be possible to negotiate later on, it wasn’t like he had been planning to argue with Victoria. However, the response of Victoria’s subordinate and the reaction of Victoria herself disillusioned him thoroughly; it was not only pointless to argue with that woman, it was also pointless to ask her about anything unrelated to her duties.

While most of the youths followed Laien and Arslan back into the carriage without much delay, Johan hesitated a little before joining them. He wasn’t yet old or experienced enough to be fully convinced that there wasn’t much of a point to discuss their future with Victoria, so in spite of what happened, he wished to get some kind of an answer to the question Laien asked. Would it be possible for them to stay, or would they be forced to leave? However, he wasn’t oblivious enough to actually ask that question himself, so although he was a bit unwilling, he joined the rest and went back to the carriage.

After another moment, Reian, Kasha and Sirius also headed back, seeing no point in them wasting time watching a punishment being handed out.

Soon thereafter, the very loud sound of a whip cracking spread repeatedly throughout the area. There were no cries of pain accompanying it, but just the sound of the air being cut apart by the whip was enough to cause people’s hearts to freeze. Was a normal person hit like that, he would probably end up having his body bisected. Without Qi’s protection, even a strong martial master would suffer… and that was definitely what Martin was experiencing at this very time.

Meanwhile, Laien sighed a little at his usual spot on one of the many pillows. “I wanted to meditate on the Profound Mystery of the Mist since I’m fairly close to understanding all the basic concepts of it, after what my training would slow down… but I don’t feel like it anymore,” he thought and sighed a little. For as much as it was possible, he tried not to force himself to do something he didn’t feel like doing. It went without saying about what he normally did throughout every day, but he was also applying this rule to his training; the result just wouldn’t be as good if he forced himself to do something instead of enjoying the process wholeheartedly.

“Will I be interrupted again?” he asked himself and looked around the interior of the carriage with his half-open eyes. He knew that Yin focused on stabilizing his cultivation base and managing the sudden, uneased growth of his Qi, so there wasn’t much to wonder about with regard to him. Arslan was talking with the three youths who joined them in Lugna, while Johan was absorbed in a talk with Albert and his older sister, who finally brought herself to join them here. Finally, Reian and Kasha, perhaps needless to be told, were recuperating and training in silence as usual, whereas Sirius was doing his usual thing; sitting outside and playing the role of a coachman.

“It should be fine,” Laien assumed and after taking a deep breath and letting the air out slowly through his mouth, he closed his eyes and fell into the meditative trance. Habitually, he released a little of his aura mixed with the essence of the Aspect of Awareness and only then relaxed completely. “I don’t feel like meditating on my Aspects. The Principle of Energy is best left for when I train with Yin and the Profound Mysteries… Eh. I should have checked which Mystery that advanced water-element tome holds,” he mused half-consciously, the thoughts flowing through his mind freely and unimpeded, like water in a clear mountain stream.

“I might as well check out the knowledge and memories from that Martial and Spiritual Transcendence tome. I would rather study the pages before attempting to train in the Nine Refinements to Immortality no matter how detailed the Intent of the tome is, but the Nine Refinements of Mortality are another story .”

“Let’s see… the Six Refinements. How do I need to go about them?” he asked himself and chuckled inwardly. It was a little strange to be asking himself a question he didn’t yet know an answer to, only to browse his memories akin to a tome and find it out. He had all this knowledge implemented into his soul, but unless he digested it step by step through asking certain questions and pondering specific matters, it would all be of no use to him. “How did it go again? Soul Refinement, Body Refinement, Qi Origin Refinement, Spiritual Core Refinement, Qi Paths Refinement and Spiritual Energy Refinement. Can I train in all of them at one go, or…?” he started to wonder and as he expected, he quickly came to a realization as to what the correct answer was.

“Oh, so that’s how it works. The recommended, optimal method is split into two paths with each path having three stages. One path is for spiritual cultivation and the other one for marital cultivation. Since I’m a dual practitioner, I can follow the easiest, recommended route. As for Yin… oh, nice. As long as one possesses a method to refine the Soul, it can be done with something else than one’s own extremely pure spiritual energy. Thanks to Yin’s Heavenly Lightning, he will be good to complete four out of the six Refinements, obviously excluding the two purely spiritual ones.”

“As for me… oh, that works the other way around than what I expected.” Laien raised his eyebrows at the thought; or only thought he did so? He wasn’t quite sure anymore, but it didn’t matter much. “First comes Qi Paths Refinement and Spiritual Energy Refinement, then Qi Origin and Spiritual Core Refinements and finally, the Refinements of Body and Soul. Hm, apparently there are quite a few relations with regard to how far one should progress with regards to specific combinations of Refinements. Or… no, there are just two basic relations. The first refinements can’t be too far ahead of the second ones, while the third ones can be further apart without much of a problem, be it in favor of the second or the third Refinement. There’s whole explanation as to why that is… but I don’t think it’s important for me right now? I will just take care to keep them all at a similar level.”

“Good, let’s get started with it then!” Laien thought eagerly. “The first two Refinements, the Qi Paths Refinement and Spiritual Energy Refinement. They are basically the same in the result; they enhance the amount and quality of my Qi and spiritual energy and have some secondary benefits, like allowing me to recover faster or making my Qi Paths more sturdy. The difference in naming probably comes from where the process occurs, huh? That being said… it’s only the first level, but it’s already a bit complicated. Spiritual part is simple… no, what the hell? None of this makes sense!”

For a second, Laien was thrown into a state of heavy confusion. The secondary benefits of the first Refinements were simple and understandable enough; they would be permanent. However, he only now realized that even if he did refine all the Qi and spiritual energy inside his body through this method, it would still return to being at its original level after he used it up once! Luckily for him, the answer to that dilemma lingered on the borders of his consciousness and was quickly snatched by his conscious thoughts, very much to his relief.

“Ha, so nervous for nothing. So the correct method is to master the process of the first Refinement and use it to complete the second Refinement, which will, in consequence, make the effects of the first one fully permanent. The bonus is that you can temporarily increase your strength to a certain degree just by completing the higher levels of the first Refinement before fighting. Haaa, really got scared for no reason. Good, let’s see if I can do it,” he told himself while shaking his head, or at the very least while feeling like he was shaking his head within his mind. He shouldn’t have been so hasty to jump to conclusions, there was no way an amazing technique like this one would have such an obvious flaw in its very first step. “Focus, focus,” he mused with a smile, slowly returning to the perfect, calm state of mind from which he had accidentally strayed from.

“Spiritual Energy Refinement relies on establishing something akin to a runic formation within my Spiritual Core that will purify and strengthen the spiritual energy within it. As for Qi Paths Refinement, it makes use of something akin to a unique Qi circulation method to gradually increase the potential of the Qi that flows through the Qi Paths. No wonder it’s called ‘Qi Path Refinement’ if the way it operates is like that… Mhm. Let’s try them at the same time, if I can’t even do this much with the most basic of levels, then I can’t hope to advance far with those Refinements at all.”

With this kind of straightforward mindset, Laien proceeded to employ the methods he had learned from the Intent of the Martial and Spiritual Transcendence tome. Just as it was according to his predictions, he created the rune-like formation and began refining his spiritual energy without any effort. However, he did need to concentrate properly to use that unique Qi circulation method. Considering it was only the first level of the Nine Refinements of Mortality, it was a worrying sign.

“I might have experienced a great lucky chance in the Anarchic Lands that resulted in my martial cultivation being strengthened by leaps and bounds, but in the end, my original martial talent is only a little above average,” Laien recalled resignedly and couldn’t help but sigh. He had almost forgotten how much effort he had needed to put into advancing to the mere peak of the fifth mortal realm as a martial practitioner. After creating the Absolute Water Martial Realm for himself he had thought all of this trouble would be gone, but it seemed that it wouldn’t be so easy. It was true that his control over his Qi had increased greatly, but all in all, it was perhaps barely at the genius level. In comparison to his unworldly spiritual talent, a mere genius level in martial arts paled considerably.

“Well… no reason to get discouraged,” he told himself and laughed a little helplessly. “It’s not like I’m not used to working hard. All that means is I need to put more effort in. If I’m not good enough as I am now, I will become good enough through effort and perseverance,” he said with conviction… or maybe just thought about it; he wasn’t too sure. “That being said, I hope I’m not sleep-talking while I’m training. That’s would be embarrassing,” he thought jokingly but soon enough, decided to ask Yin if he wasn’t doing something like that, just to be on the safe side.

Some time passed, but how much exactly, it was hard for Laien to say. However, he didn’t think it was all that long. “I’m done with the first step. Should I try the second one immediately? Mhm, let’s see… the second Refinements are fairly simple in principle. Since the system needed to be optimized for different people, the author of that tome gave only the general advice about the second Refinements. One should rely on his own understanding of the elements of his Qi Origin and Spiritual Core to Refine them; apparently, when nourishing them with the energy of higher quality than usual, the spots that need to be strengthened or changed will become apparent on their own. As for how apparent… it should rely on the degree of one’s potential.”

Naturally, what came to Laien’s mind was once again his somewhat unsatisfactory level of martial talent, but this time he didn’t waste time to ponder this matter. He decided to give the process a try before coming to any conclusions and actually, was met with a very pleasant surprise. Still, he didn’t get the joy get to his head and tried to actually go through with the process that envisioned itself in his mind… and to his delight, he completed it in what felt like virtually no time at all.

“Haha, it looks like the only obstacle will be the Qi Paths Refinement. Thanks to possessing the Absolute Water Martial Realm, I have no trouble with finishing the Qi Origin Refinement. As for the Spiritual Core Refinement, that doesn’t need to be mentioned,” he mused merrily. His biggest worry had been if he couldn’t spot the problems and potential improvements of his Qi Origin. Unlike the Qi Paths Refinement, which he could master through sheer effort, there would be little to nothing he could do if he simply couldn’t understand how to go through with the Qi Origin Refinement which relied on one’s own innate comprehensive abilities to succeed. It would be a dead-end unless he was once again faced with an incredible stroke of luck that would further improve his martial talent. Yet, it looked like he wouldn’t need to rely on his fortune this time around, for what he was grateful.

“Soul Refinement and Body Refinement, the last two.” Laien went ahead and focused his thoughts on those two Refinements, seeking to learn the details of how he should proceed from this point onward. “Ha, simple but dangerous, huh? I could let the process happen naturally, but that would take weeks even for this first level. That’s too inefficient. Thus, I can only do as advised; actively wash my soul and body with my strengthened spiritual energy and Qi while taking utmost care not to lose control of it. The more of those energies I use at once, the faster the process will be, but similarly the greater the danger of sustaining permanent injuries in case I lose control will become. Hrm, let’s take it without hurrying, with only as much of Qi and spiritual energy for me to be able to control them even if my meditation is suddenly interrupted.”

Having made such a choice, Laien once again focused on training with the intent of stopping it if he were to be interrupted. He could roughly guesstimate that it would take him until morning to complete the first levels of both Soul and Body Refinement, so he fully expected the possibility of being interrupted at once point. Yet, contrary to his expectations, his training was allowed to progress smoothly and before he noticed, he was already done.

“I mastered the first level of all six Refinements of the mortal path,” he thought contentedly, feeling very pleased with the results of his night-long training session. “It’s only the first level though, so whatever increase in my strength there is, it’s fairly minuscule. However, the difference should start being noticeable once I reach the sixth level or so. If I master all of them to the ninth level, I wonder just how much stronger will I become?” he wondered with a smile, this time very much real one as he slowly exited the meditative trance.

“Good morning,” Yin greeted him with a smile. “You went ahead of me, I’m jealous,” he added a bit randomly, at least to those three youths present who were listening to this little exchange. To Laien, on the other hand, it was obvious what Yin was referring to even without the relying on their spiritual bond; since Yin’s cultivation was still a bit of a mess, he didn’t want to risk and force himself too far before it stabilized. Thus, for a little while longer, he wouldn’t be starting to practice the Nine Refinements of Mortality despite very much wanting to do so.

Still… he had spent this whole time on comprehending the Profound Mystery of Lightning Dance instead, so it wasn’t like he was left without anything pleasant to do.

“Morning,” Laien said with a quiet laugh. “Did everyone else go on ahead of us?” he asked, seeing as the only people present within the carriage were the two of them and the three youths from Lugna; Luca, Lea and Daniel. He could also sense Sirius’s presence outside… the old man appeared to be waiting for them.

“Yeah,” Yin confirmed. “It’s been a hard road to travel for the carriages from what I heard, but we still arrived five hours ago,” he said and laughed quietly, then added. “I could tell you were in the middle of an important part, so I told them to go ahead of us. The meeting of the Council is apparently still in progress either way, so there isn’t much we missed.”

“I see,” Laien nodded slightly. He was in agreement that finishing this stage of training was a better way to spend the morning than sightseeing the new place, what could as well be done a few hours later. “Let’s stay a little longer since we don’t need to hurry,” he mentioned in a slightly louder voice for the sake of the four who were waiting for them to finish their business; the four of them would need to be patient for a bit longer, likely for around two hours.

There were some parts of the daily training that could be skipped or changed according to needs, but Laien definitely didn’t want to miss a Combined Soul Realm session. The benefits brought by each of them were too big to be passed upon but for the most pressing of situations, especially since it was possible for him and Yin to enter that training state without endangering themselves thanks to their insights, and in particular, thanks to their insights into the Aspect of Awareness.

“...”

Although Luca, Lea and Daniel weren’t in a hurry, the three of them felt helpless when Laien and Yin both went back to training. It still wasn’t as bad for Luca, who had compression training to do apart from his normal meditation, but Lea and Daniel had long since finished their daily routine, or at least the part that didn’t require moving around, and were now beginning to grow very bored.

“Maybe it won’t take them too long,” Lea said with a sigh. After the events of yesterday’s evening, the mood just wasn’t right for her to start having fun at expense of her little brother and his friend. She wanted something to happen to change this atmosphere, but those two said that they didn’t want to leave without Laien and Yin as they saw no point in doing so. “Eh, so boring,” she complained quietly and slid lower against the wooden wall, then laid down completely without caring how ridiculous her hair must look. She was no longer looking for a boyfriend here, so she could allow herself to act like a little of a slob.

Daniel glanced at Lea lazily, then laughed quietly. She had finally returned to being her usual self instead of pretending to be a young lady. He would have never become friends with Lea is she had been so serious all the time, so he was glad to see that her normal tendencies were returning now that she gave up on seducing Laien.

“Really, she would have had better chances acting like herself… I don’t get girls at all,” he thought and shook his head a little, then returned to daydreaming about everything and nothing.

---

“Does anyone else have anything more to say?” one of the thirteen Grand Elders gathered around one, large round table asked in a fatigued voice. He looked around, at the faces of his colleagues and after confirming that none of them looked like he was about to speak up, he continued speaking. “Then, allow us to take the final vote. We’ve wasted enough time here, so allow me to start from the most likely position to pass. Those for the complete clear out of the Grand Camp and all the foreigners within it in the span of three days, please raise your hands.”

Following the words of the fatigued Grand Elder, two old men and one old woman raised their hands without hesitation. Then, three more Grand Elders followed suit… and after a while, the fatigued Grand Elder himself sighed bitterly and raised his hand, and along with him, his old friend did the same. The two of them didn’t like to make this decision, but they had followed pragmatic principles for their whole lives. They needed to admit that Grand Elder Simon’s faction had a point; in comparison to any other solution, theirs was the most ruthless one, but also the one that offered the best outlook on the future for their country. Since they were forced to admit that during their month-long argument, it would be against their very selves not to agree with them in the vote.

“Lower your hands,” the fatigued Grand Elder said bitterly. “Those who are against, raise their hands,” he instructed despite the result of the vote having been concluded. No matter what, it was important to know the position each of the Grand Elders held on a certain matter; it allowed for a much smoother ruling on the future matters and served as a goalpost for the various factions within their Ruishi Federation.

As a result, three Grand Elders raised their hands, officially taking a stance against. It was pretty much as the fatigued Grand Elder expected… those three were looking at him with clear hatred in their eyes, while the faction of Grand Elder Simon had very satisfied looks on their faces.

“Lower your hands. Those who abstained, raise your hands,” the fatigued Grand Elder said for the sake of formality. The remaining two Grand Elders raised their hands.

“With the majority of eight to three, the Grand Eviction Plan has passed. The orders shall be passed and within three days, the eight million foreigners in the Grand Camp shall be unconditionally evicted from the country under the threat of death. With that, I close the five hundred thirty second meeting of the Grand Council.”