Outside the Grand Hall, Boneroot and Kuroki were playing an improvised game of catch the tail while they waited for Guang Yali and Iris to finish cultivating inside. Boneroot was losing about as badly as he always did when it came to physical competitions with his companion. He was mid-lunge when the first of the disciples who didn’t meet Sect Expert Chih Yuto’s standards emerged.

He was less than thrilled to see the Zhen siblings walking out of the carved double doors. He was even more annoyed when they scoffed at his activity in that practiced manner most nobles seem to have perfected. Hana Kasumi trotted out behind them and suddenly a bit less than half of Boneroot’s team was judging him for playing a childish game. It didn’t help that Kuroki was too caught up in the excitement to read the atmosphere. He swatted hard at the back of Boneroot’s knee and the boy toppled.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Zhi Zhen said while Boneroot pulled himself off the ground and aimed a kick at Kuroki. “You haven’t the slightest idea how to behave among actual cultivators. Do you at least recognize now that you’ve peaked? Surely someone intending to advance on the path of the immortal wouldn’t be writhing in the dirt like a child?”

Behind the girl, a few nods approved her words.

“Well, I had a lot of time to spare after Expert Yuto gave my cultivation passing marks. You know how it is. You passed, too, right? He must have had such flowery praise for you.”

Boneroot did a poor job of feigning innocence. Nobody smiled that wide naturally. That, of course, was the point.

“You just don’t know when stop,” Zhi huffed. “How far do you really expect these boasts to get you? You’re disgracing whatever backwater cultivation art you claim, if that’s even possible.”

A chorus of laughter dutifully followed her words. It bristled, but Boneroot didn’t rise to the insult. Instead, he continued his faux-innocent act.

“Ask Hana if you don’t believe me.”

The group turned to Hana Kasumi, whose glare had turned from scornful to confused. When she opened her mouth to speak, Boneroot interrupted her.

“Not you. The strong one. Hana Shio. She passed too.”

The weaker Hana flushed a deep crimson, disproportionate to the insult given. She didn’t even make it to the stammering stage of anger, so furiously were her teeth grinding. Boneroot laughed to himself, but Wei Zhen wasn’t as amused.

“Enjoy yourself while you can. Half the Outer Sect is going to catch up to you in a couple months’ time. For me, it’ll be closer to a couple weeks. Then, you’ll come to realize just how average you really are compared to those with true talent.”

His chest swelled with each trumped up word. Boneroot met the boy’s prideful boast with derision.

“I’ve already lectured little Zhi on this, but you’re even worse. You can’t talk like that when you’re weaker than me.”

“You’re nothing but talk. I’ll put you in your place in time, rest assured.” Wei shrugged the retort off and his group left with a few more errant insults.

At Boneroot’s side, Kuroki was pressed close to the ground. He looked uncharacteristically ashamed.

“Sorry.”

For a moment, the boy completely forgot what he was talking about.

“About hitting me? We were playing a game, silly cat.”

“But it made you look weak,” Kuroki said.

“So what? That won’t matter once I beat him up, right?”

The tsovar allowed himself to perk up at that. They decided, however, not to continue their game while the rest of the new Outer Sect disciples filtered out of the Grand Hall. Boneroot caught a few curious looks, some envious, but nobody else gave him as much trouble as the Zhens.

At the tail end of the stream of cultivators, Guang and Iris slunk out of the doors. While the broad-faced boy looked sheepish, Iris was positively fuming. She walked straight past Boneroot, mid-rant.

“Why would he say that?! I already know I’m bad! What possible reason would he have to be so... so...”

“Rude?” Boneroot suggested.

“Fucking... Ass!”

The boys did their best not to laugh while Iris continued to let off steam. After a few minutes of hurriedly walking toward their residential area, she was as calm as she was going to be any time soon and Boneroot decided to make his offer.

“Well, do you want me to try to help you two? I know I’m not in the Blue realm, or anything, but my old teacher was a lot more concise than Expert Yuto, so I know a thing, or two. That’s it though. Literally, just a thing, or two.”

Guang was eager to take him up on the offer, but Iris was surprisingly hesitant. She filed away in the back of her head the need to ask him about his old teacher before she replied.

“Why? What do you get out of it?”

Boneroot looked offended.

“You’re on my team. You at least have to get stronger than those other two. Personally, though? I guess nothing, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m just going to force you to cultivate efficiently. It’ll probably take a month, or two. While you’re catching up, I can forego sleep when need be to maintain my own growth. It’s not a big deal.”

“It sounds like a big deal,” Iris said, though she seemed on the fence.

“It’s really not. I had to do it a lot when I was getting started. Now that I’m in the Orange realm, it’s even easier.”

With a sigh, Iris relented. Guang hadn’t said a word throughout the exchange, but he looked relieved that she hadn’t changed Boneroot’s mind.

“Alright, we’ve got the day free, right? Let’s get something to eat. That’s important in the Red realm, supposedly. After that, we’ll go to someone’s cultivation chamber. Mine, I guess.”

As they walked, Boneroot related his run-ins with Jota, Hana Shio, and the Zhens to his friends. Neither of them seemed all that surprised by the antics of the nobles, but they did express some discontent with Jota’s statements. Once they all finished grumbling about that, Boneroot began to explain his breathing exercise and meditation techniques.

Though he was a bit worried about revealing too much, it quickly became apparent that he needn’t be.

“A flower, really?” Iris’ voice was more surprised than judgemental. “I just go in a big circle. Is that bad? Nobody told me to picture something else.”

Guang was thoughtful for a moment before he added, “I’m not sure if it’s necessary. My father’s instructions were different. He told me to force the essence into my muscles, right? I do it by pushing my energies out, then pulling them back to my core. I don’t see why a circle would be any better or worse.”

He hung his head slightly, apparently embarrassed by the admission, looked around for anyone in earshot before continuing, “He’s only in the Red realm, though. He’s also not the brightest.”

Boneroot was uncertain if either method was good, or not. He mulled it over as they ate and talked a bit more about their methods. As they were finishing up, he decided on the way forward.

“Alright, let’s go cultivate. First, do it the way you normally would. Then, we can experiment. I’ll try to keep track of your efficiency and we can go from there.”

He was not at all confident that he would be able to sense the minor fluctuations in essence, so he sent a quick mental poke to Kuroki asking for backup. When they reached Boneroot’s cottage, the two guests surreptitiously peeked around, but found the house was nearly identical to their own.

While the three disciples made their way into the cultivation chamber, Biku was very excited to go on a tour with Kuroki, even though he’d already seen all the small dwelling had to offer in his own abode.

“It’s a bit small for three people, huh?” Guang said.

Boneroot’s brow creased as he responded, “Yeah, more so than I expected. Let’s start one at a time. It might be difficult to get a feel for the flow of essence with both of you so close. Who’s up first, then?”

“Really?” Iris exclaimed. “No preamble? Pep talk? Prepara—”

“I guess that means I’m up.” Guang cut in merrily.

Iris sighed in relief. After Chih Yuto’s brutal assessment of her abilities, she wasn’t quite yet up to the task of cultivating in front of her friends.

“Sounds good, Guang. Just cultivate how you usually do and I’ll shake you out of it once your efficiency drops, assuming I actually notice. Kuroki, are you paying attention, too?”

The tsovar gave a curt nod, taking his responsibility more serious than he normally would. Likely, he wanted to show off for Biku. He stood next to Boneroot and they waited for Guang to begin.

At first, Boneroot couldn’t sense much of anything. So it came as a shock when Kuroki swatted the sitting boy’s knee. Guang wasn’t nearly as groggy as Boneroot used to be when he came out of meditation.

“That was quick. Am I that bad?”

“No, it was the same for me at first,” Boneroot assured him. He quickly praised Kuroki before Guang started up again.

On the next attempt, Boneroot did catch a slight hiccup in the air when Kuroki put a stop to the boy’s cultivation. He hadn’t been able to get a clear idea of the natural flow of essence, prior to it, though. It was surprisingly difficult for someone not in meditation.

On the third go-around, Boneroot passively cycled his own energies, which had the effect he was hoping for. It forced him to split his attention, but he was able to get a feel for the stir in the essence swirling about Guang. Still, he missed the lapse in efficiency that Kuroki caught.

They went on like that for half an hour until they realized Iris was still in the cultivation chamber. Boneroot did his best not to reveal he’d forgotten about her when he said,

“OK, that’s a good start. Sorry if it’s not as helpful yet, Guang. I’m still getting the hang of it.”

“No sweat, Boneroot. I didn’t think we’d be accomplishing much on the first day.”

Over the course of Iris’ first few attempts, Boneroot continued shifting attention away from his own energy cycling to the ambient essence. By the time she got frustrated with Kuroki’s knee swipes, the boy was confident he could detect the same lapses as his bound friend. After a couple tests where the cat sat out, he was proven right.

“Thanks, Kuroki. Let’s try both at the same time. Kuroki, you watch Iris, I’ll take Guang.”

“Wait, can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?” Iris sounded a bit exasperated.

Boneroot thought back to the advice Kroshieshi had given him and did his best to parrot it.

“Well, what helped me the most at first was to not do anything automatically. I’m not sure how you meditate, but my teacher always told me that cycling is an active process. You have to constantly monitor your energies, forcing the essence flowing through your body to stay there. Sorry if that’s vague, but it’s what helped me.”

Iris looked bewildered. “Well, of course I know... hold on. Huh. I guess I don’t do that.”

Guang added, “That’s not what I was told either. It’s meditation, right? So, isn’t that sort of automatic by default?”

Boneroot shook his head and said, “If you’ve perfected it, yes. If there are any mistakes, or inefficiencies, though, they’ll be compounded with each cycle. You can’t just get everything set up and then turn your brain off. Even for me, I still cycle consciously and pay close attention for at least an hour, sometimes two, before I’m confident there’s not going to be any issues.”

Both of his de facto students looked thoughtful until Iris broke the silence.

“I buy it. My old ‘master’ sucked, so if you’re telling me to do the opposite of him, I’m in. You ready, Kuroki?”

The little cat was delighted to be relied upon. Though his face was serious, his low purring betrayed his true feelings. Guang shrugged.

“Well, I suppose I can’t argue much. I’m weak and you’re not.”

Boneroot wanted to object, but Guang was already preparing to meditate again. At first, the difference was negligible. Each time he interrupted the Metal cultivator, though, the boy improved. After Guang managed twenty minutes of undisturbed cultivation, he broke into a grin.

“I think I’m getting the hang of it, huh? It’s not perfect, I know, but I can sort of tell when I mess up. That’s good, right?”

“Yes, very,” Boneroot affirmed.

On the other side of the chamber, however, results were mixed.

“You’re lying Kuroki! There’s no way that one was shorter than the last!”

“I’m not a liar! I’m the strongest!”

“Kuroki, why don’t we switch. Guang’s getting better and I need you to make sure I’m not just missing anything”

His sense of self-importance restored, Kuroki trotted over to where the boy had returned to meditation.

“Not going too well?”

“Figured that out all by yourself?” Iris retorted. After a moment, she added, “Sorry. I’m starting to think I’m really not cut out for this sect.”

She buried her face in her hands and mumbled, “I told that Zafi girl I was going to be stronger than her! Damnit!”

“You really think that Bao kid should be here instead of you? Maybe it’s just different for Lightning cultivators. Why don’t you try mixing it up. Can you describe your, uh, ‘circle’ technique one more time.”

“Well, it’s not really a circle. It’s more like a blob. I move my ki from my head, to my arms, then my feet, then my heart—”

“I don’t want to be mean,” Boneroot interrupted. “But that sounds terrible. Maybe. Let’s try something else. Something visual. Hmmm... Biku come over here please.”

Boneroot had the deer spirit-beast sit in front of his master before continuing, “What about that technique you two do? Where the lightning bounces around Biku’s antlers? Can you use that as some kind of visual guide? Lightning is definitely different from something like Water, or Earth, so maybe it requires a different approach.”

Though she was still frustrated, Iris acquiesced. To help, Biku sent a few charges between his jade horns. When the girl began meditating, the essence around her faltered nearly immediately. Boneroot didn’t stop her though, instead deciding she should get her bearings first. When she finally stabilized and then, afterward, slipped up, he nudged her.

“Any better?”

“It’s different. Biku, can you show me again?”

They repeated those couple steps for nearly an hour while Guang made steady progress opposite them. Eventually, Iris explained what was going on to Boneroot.

“It might be working. It’s sort of like a storm cloud, but in my core and the energy arcs all around in pulses. Does that make sense?”

“Like a thunderstorm?”

“Right! Only, it’s inside of me and also not lightning. I’m going to try again.”

Boneroot didn’t quite get it, but he hoped for the best. After another hour, Iris had made middling progress, but she seemed in good spirits. Guang, on the other hand, was nearly ecstatic with his own growth.

Iris’ face fell, however, when she realized something.

“Sorry for taking up all your time, Boneroot. You probably could have been cultivating on your own instead of helping us.”

“No,” Boneroot hurriedly assured her. “Like I said, you’re my teammates. You getting stronger is in my best interest. Also, I think it was actually helpful for me too. Wait here.”

Amid some curious glances, Boneroot stepped outside of his home and noticed the sun setting overhead. He took a few quick swipes at distant air with his Radiant Claw. As he suspected, it was noticeably easier to pinpoint the exact point in space where he wanted to materialize his technique. Even better, he found he could manipulate that space more quickly.

A few tests of his Light techniques, however, didn’t yield much difference. As for his Sunless Stride, the improvement in its formation speed and max distance was there, but marginal. Curiously, it seemed that his burgeoning sense for ambient essence was benefitting his Spatial techniques and almost nothing else.

After the idea came to him, he tried his Radiant Claw again. His theory bore fruit once more. He almost wanted to smack himself for never realizing the possibility sooner. If he could sense the flow of essence in a specific spot, he could use a bit of that essence to empower his techniques. Even in his first sloppy attempts at doing so, Boneroot could tell his Radiant Claw would have more stopping and tearing power.

Much like a Water cultivator manipulating an existing lake, or a Wind cultivator taking advantage of a passing gale, Boneroot could use empty space to his own ends. Instead of just using his own Spatial ki to materialize the Radiant Claw, he could use his Spatial ki to shape the natural essence in the space he was targeting. The trick was to make with his own ki an outline of sorts, rather than a solid structure. More than an outline, even, it was like a shell which trapped in natural essence, then manipulated it.

It was difficult, to be sure, especially at a distance of more than a few feet, but Boneroot felt now as he did the first time he realized he could materialize his Radiant Claw at a distance, rather than send it forward from his hand. Glee took him for a moment. Ever since losing to Hana Shio, he had wondered to himself what he could have done to win. He could have attempted to counter her attacks, or fight in close quarters from the beginning, but now he saw the way forward. If he perfected this improvement upon his technique, he wouldn’t need to do any of that. He could end a potential rematch in one swipe. Probably.

After Boneroot tempered his expectations a bit, he remembered there were people waiting for him in his house. Still, he allowed himself a moment of reflection. The benefits of the day’s exercises seemed so obvious in hindsight that he had to wonder why Kroshieshi had never suggested something similar. Before he went back inside, he came to the conclusion that the tsovars’ natural ability to sense essence would likely preclude them from coming up with the sort of training that develops such a thing.

When the boy relayed his findings to his friends, they were simultaneously relieved and excited.

Iris exclaimed, “We’re not a burden! Alright!”

“That does sound powerful. I wonder if I could do something similar.” Guang was in heavy contemplation again.

“The applications are definitely more obvious for Spatial ki. Now that I’m thinking about it, wouldn’t that be something Chih Yuto might cover in a lesson? Or whoever teaches the lessons specifically about ki?”

“I suppose,” Guang admitted. “To be honest, though, I’m not holding out much hope for Sect Expert Yuto to impart any wisdom he isn’t strictly required to. Besides, there really isn’t much natural metal to take advantage of, as far as I’m aware. There are better ways for me to get stronger, yeah?”

Iris agreed, “He’s right. We need to focus on getting out of the Red realm, first and foremost. Especially if what Jota told Boneroot is true about the Orange and Yellow realms being the first real steps in building a foundation.”

The trio agreed to split up and finish their daily meditation on their own. Boneroot advised them to just do the best they can for now and promised to continue working on efficiency with them in the days and weeks to come.

As the other two shuffled out the door, Kuroki immediately slipped into Boneroot’s shadow to sleep. Responsibility was tiresome. Boneroot sent him some quick praise and gratitude as the cat drifted off. Then, he settled in to take care of his own cultivation.