In the middle of the night, a carriage carrying Jin and Yuri approached the entrance of a prominent establishment nicknamed ‘The Dragon Pavilion’. Incessant laughter and music from within drifted outwards where a group of service girls and boys, in colorful gowns of silk, welcomed patrons into the courtyard, promising a night of fun and pleasure in exchange for coins.

For tonight’s engagement, Jin and Yuri chose to wear scarlet robes accentuated by bits of golden embroidery. Jin played the part of a young scholar looking to find tutelage in a large city, and Yuri was his young bride. It was supposed to be their first time in Azure Lake City.

Despite the make-up and fancy wear, none of the women in the pavilion could compare to Yuri’s scintillating beauty, boasting dyed brown hair held neatly in place with a simple hairpin. Heads turned as she was led out of the carriage while Jin followed closely behind. Becoming a qi adept cultivator in the morning had amplified her already good looks, a common byproduct of cultivation that Jin pointed out when Yuri had panicked in front of the mirror.

“Since it’s your first time here, do you have a room reservation, my lord?” asked a young service boy, staring at Yuri for longer than usual. In a business where appearance mattered above all, the service boys and girls were constantly evaluating others.

“No, we’re just here for the food and music. Find us a table in the main hall,” replied Jin, brushing the boy’s hand aside when he attempted to support Yuri’s arm. Jin didn’t want to risk anyone sensing her cultivation without his permission, at least not until she learned how to hide it.

“Do you think he’ll come?” whispered Yuri, showing some uncertainty.

“He’ll come.”

“How do you know?”

“He’ll come,” Jin confidently repeated. “Just relax and enjoy the food. I’m sure you’re starving after the training today.”

“Now that you mention it.”

Yuri rubbed her growling stomach. In a mere half of a day, she had learned how to activate and circulate the qi in her body. Truthfully, the novelty of being a cultivator was kind of confusing and exhilarating at the same time. Imagine thinking you were ‘talentless’ all your life only to have someone tell you the exact opposite. She still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she was some sort of heaven defying genius.

After weaving through a crowd of guests, Jin and Yuri made themselves comfortable at a table near the stage, on which four scantily clad dancers were performing. Behind a thinly veiled curtain, a mysterious woman played the lyre. Jin brought the wine cup to his mouth, but his eyes never left the musician.

“Honorable lord, I see you’ve taken an interest in our resident lyrist. If you and your lady would like to hear Lady Bluebird’s music in a more private setting, may I suggest you book our Rosemary Suite for the night for a mere price of 10,000 coins,” advertised their waiter.

“10,000!” blurted Yuri, shocked by the absurd price tag and almost choking on the water spinach. Ten thousand coins could buy ten good stallions.

“We’ll take it,” Jin replied. The waiter bowed and promptly left to make the proper arrangements.

“What are you doing? Aren’t we here to return the bracelet?” Yuri hissed.

“I think it’s time for your second lesson of the day. I want you to isolate the music and stop circulating your inner qi so that your natural defenses are lowered. Focus on your spirit core, and tell me what do you feel?”

Yuri placed her chopsticks down and followed Jin’s instructions.

“I’m not sure, I feel a slight tugging sensation, like I’m tied to the end of a string and being pulled towards the source of the music,” she described.

“What you’re feeling is a mind-persuading qi technique that utilizes a concept called a pseudo qi field.”

“Pseudo qi field?”

Chewing slowly on a piece of peppered chicken, Jin explained further, “by now, you probably know the first three cultivation ranks - qi temperer, qi adept, and qi master - each with two stages, early and late. Do you know how they differ?”

Yuri shook her head.

“The hallmark of an early-stage qi temperer is someone who can augment the body with inner qi, or what others call internal qi. Once you can circulate heaven’s qi, your organs, muscles and bones evolve and strengthen, allowing you to perform incredible feats. An ordinary man may be able to lift one hundred pounds or run two miles nonstop, but a qi temperer can do many times that. Once a qi temperer enters the late-stage, the cultivator receives enhancements in the senses and some cognitive functions, like memory.”

“I see. So a qi adept is a late-stage qi temperer who has formed a spirit core, like me?” Yuri followed up. She learned fast.

“Yes. The formation of the qi core correlates to the robustness and control behind one’s qi techniques. It also allows a qi user to begin manipulating qi outside of the body; we call that external qi or world qi. So a qi technique can either draw on internal qi or external qi. However, the process of learning to circulate qi and forming a core takes many years, if ever. Don’t be misled by your unnatural talent. Even the so-called geniuses cannot skip cultivation ranks, unlike you, which is why you must never expose the truth about your Primordial Goddess Physique.”

Yuri’s posture deflated as she mulled over Jin’s words. She hadn’t given this issue due consideration. “Did people get jealous of your talent too?”

“No, haha. My talent is considerably worse than yours. In fact, I’m the very definition of talentless.”

“Ha...ha, very funny,” said Yuri sarcastically, not believing him in the slightest. “Like anyone would believe that.”

Jin was about to reply to her sarcasm but thought better of it. Perhaps he would clarify what he meant another time. It was true he had no innate talent, though what he lacked in that department, the more than made up for.

“Anyhow,” he said, “the next stage after qi adept is the qi master rank. To achieve this rank, you must compress your spirit core into an ocean core. A qi user with an ocean core not only possesses a more stable core and a larger reservoir of qi but also a greater connection to the flow of qi. A typical qi master should have no problem fending off scores of ordinary soldiers at once.”

“I remember reading Scholar Tuo Yuan’s ‘The Annals of the Ming Kingdom‘. There are currently a dozen or so qi masters in our kingdom. They are considered to be gods by the masses. I heard there’s even a cult worshiping Mai Dong, the late-stage qi master who’s the royal advisor to the king,” remarked Yuri.

“That seems plausible. Do you know why it’s so hard to become a qi master?”

“No. Why?”

After he swallowed a mouthful of rice, Jin smiled. “It all comes back to the concept of a qi field. Qi masters are considered experts because they can control vast amounts of external qi around them. The degree of control and radius of the qi field generated by a qi master depends on the cultivator’s proficiency. A lesser ranked cultivator would have an extremely difficult time defeating a qi master because all qi techniques requiring the manipulation of the flow and density of external qi can be negated by the qi master inside his qi field.”

With eyes brightening in understanding, Yuri pressed the topic. “So what’s the difference between a regular qi field and a pseudo qi field that you mentioned earlier?”

“Good. A qi adept can influence external qi by continuously projecting internal qi towards the designated area. This is the concept of a pseudo qi field. However, it is inefficient and energy consuming. On the other hand, a qi master can subdue the external qi around him by simply tethering it to his ocean core, inducing a similar but more potent effect.”

“So what you’re saying is that the lyrist has been casting an area-of-effect spell by forming a pseudo qi field. Is the instrument a qi amplifying or qi conducting tool?” Yuri asked insightfully.

Jin gently tapped Yuri’s nose, causing her to wrinkle it. “Very good. That’s exactly the case. The whole pavilion is currently under a mind spell generated by her lyre. It hasn’t affected you because of your Primordial Goddess Physique, and it’s too weak to penetrate my cultivation. Since she so desperately wants an audience with us, wouldn’t we be rude not to oblige?” said Jin in jest. “Perhaps she has something to do with the alchemist from the other day. It can’t just be coincidence.”

Leaning over, Jin whispered something into Yuri’s ear.

The girl’s mouth curved into a smile, replying, “Sure."