《The Taboo Entity》Chapter 6: Learning from Old Man Hai; The [Rain Dragon Steps]
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Three days later, three miles from Black Pinecone City was small mountain range where Old Man Hai and Jiufeng was walking uphill.
"Grandpa Hai, slow down." Jiufeng was exhausted after walking for a long time. Although he was a body cultivator, he was at the lowest stage and thus, was only slightly stronger than a regular mortal adult.
Two days ago, Old Man Hai told Jiufeng to follow him to study cultivation skills. Even with a cultivation base, having no cultivation skill was akin to wasting time. Even with a longer lifespan and being slightly more powerful, all cultivators are deemed as warriors. The moment someone entered the cultivation realm they're fate changed to be one of battle and conflict.
Mortals, although not free, were spared from anything to do with cultivators as long the mortal doesn't choose to do anything with cultivator. A cultivator, even the weakest and lowest level kind, harming a mortal would result in them gathering bad fortune.
Fortune was a mysterious thing in the both the cultivation world and mortal world. However, cultivators, beings that they always come into contact with the supernatural, would be affected by fortune the most. Good deeds would result in massive good fortune and evil deeds would produce horrible bad fortune that would affect them on the cultivation path.
Old Man Hai looked at Jiufeng and said, "Come on, Jiufeng. Aren't you a cultivator? Aren't you strong? A little walk isn't much, you know."
Although the words of Old Man Hai were simple and direct, anyone that would look at him would see that he was moving like a shadow, fast and illusionary. His steps were soft, yet nimble; quick, yet consistent.
Jiufeng look at Old Man Hai and sighed in his heart. Qin Daozi once told him that Old Man Hai, although appeared mortal, was actually a cultivator-a strong cultivator. He was strong to the point that he was able to hide his cultivation and contain his aura within him.
He also said the same thing about Bai Yangjian, however, he didn't disclose their cultivation level to him and he didn't ask for them either. It was an unspoken rule to never disclose the cultivation level of people who you just generally don't know or a friend, out of respect of course.
"Grandpa Hai, how long would it take for us to get to the waterfall?" Jiufeng asked.
"Just another half mile." Old Man Hai had a smile on his face as he treads on. Jiufeng's face was downcast as he let out millions of complains in his heart.
.....
"We're here." Ten minutes later, Old Man Hai and Jiufeng arrived before a lake.
The lake was clear and translucent. A waterfall flowed down onto the lake from a hillside. Trees and flowers surround the lake and the wind blew them. All this made the scenery look like an Immortal paradise, thriving with nature and ethereal to the world. Even Qin Daozi was amazed as he look from inside the ring.
"Watch, child." Old Man Hai jumped into the lake. Jiufeng made a sound as he look at Old Man Hai heading toward the water. However, when his feet touch the lake surface, Old Man Hai stood there. He stood atop the water as though it was solid, as though the lake was a floor.
Old Man Hai turned his head. "Jiufeng, today I'm going to teach you cultivation arts. Do you know the categories of cultivation arts?"
Jiufeng nodded his head. "Uh. Cultivation arts are categorize into four types: attack, defensive, movement, and miscellaneous. The first two types are common types of cultivation arts, but the other two are a little rarer."
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"Indeed. Today, I'm going to be showing you two cultivation art. One attack, one movement. They are known as the [Pentawave Surging Fist] and the [Rain Dragon Steps].
"Let me show you the former, the attack-type." Old Man Hai clenched his right and made a fist. He turned to the left and punched out.
An overbearing intent flood out from the old man and his fist seemed to have transformed into a raging river that flowed endlessly. Yet at the same time, his fist also seemed to appear like the center of everything, the core of the world. The air in front of him rippled like ripples on the surface of water.
The lake below him and the ground shook as a massive column of water rose from the lake. The column of water transformed into a small wave that smashed into the shores. The wave dispersed and water fell onto the trees and flowers.
Jiufeng felt an invisible wave wash over him as his body shook a little.
"Such power," Jiufeng said. "That move was awesome."
Old Man Hai walked over to Jiufeng and took out two thin books. On the books were the words "Pentawave Surging Fist" and "Rain Dragon Steps."
"I just showed you the [Pentawave Surging Fist] and when I stepped onto the lake, the reason why I didn't fall was because I was using this [Rain Dragon Steps] movement art. Make sure to cultivate these daily."
Old Man Hai started to walk away as he wave his hand at Jiufeng without looking back. "Stay here for the day and memorize those two arts. Take your time, but make sure to return before sunset."
Staring at the back of Old Man Hai who was getting further and further away, Jiufeng silently said thank you and then turned his attention towards the two thin books in his hand.
"Eden, scan these book." Beeping sounds rung in Jiufeng's head as he call for Eden.
[Beep! Scanning Cultivation Arts! Beep! Scan Complete!]
[Pentawave Surging Fist: An attack-type Cultivation art that contains the Concept of Vibration. Cultivating this skill will allow the cultivator to unleash their energy in waves that could pass through rocks, water, and air. Created by a Daoist Pentawave who cultivated near the oceans. Five stages: One Wave, Two Waves, Three Waves, Four Waves, Five Waves.]
[Rain Dragon Steps: A movement-type Cultivation art that contains the Concept of Rain. Cultivating this skill with allow the cultivator to move quickly with complex steps. These steps has a chance to confuse and daze any onlooker. At a higher level, these steps could allow a person to walk on air or on water. Created by the Empyrean Dragon Sage who saw a Rain Dragon fly in the sky during a sea storm. Six stages: Raindrops, Rainwater, Raincloud, Rainstorm, Rain Spirit, Rain Dragon.]
"These two aren't bad," Qin Daozi said from the ring. "You should start cultivating with the [Rain Dragon Steps]."
"Ah! Big Bro, isn't the [Rain Dragon Steps] much harder to cultivate?" Looking at the description of these skills, Jiufeng saw that the [Rain Dragon Steps] was definitely more profound. After all, if cultivated to an extremely high level, one could step onto the air or water as though it was solid ground. Old Man Hai clearly reached this stage as he could easily walk on water.
However, Jiufeng didn't know that he was underestimated its profoundness. A movement-type skill that could allow someone to walk on water wasn't much in the cultivation world. Although it was rare to have a movement-type skill like these, it's essentially useless since at some point cultivators could easily use natural energy to tune in with the water and casually stand on the water.
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What was the truly profound and rare about this skill was that it could allow someone to walk on air and even preform the same movement on the air!
Only cultivators with high cultivation bases and power could actually use energy to walk onto the air. Skills that allow someone onto the air before obtaining that cultivation base was extremely rare. It was akin to having a life saver. Although the person wouldn't move as fast or as consistent as a high-level cultivator that could walk on air, compare to other people of similar stages and power, that person would be at the top of their cultivation realm!
"So what if it's harder to cultivate? Movement skills are extremely hard to cultivate to begin with! Besides, it's extremely important to learn one. Learning this can increase your chances to survive in this harsh world of cultivation," Qin Daozi said. "Listen to Big Bro, alright? Big Bro can guaranteed that you won't regret it."
Jiufeng nodded his head and sat down to cultivate. In his mind, the [Rain Dragon Steps] movement art was in complete view in the form of a book.
"Let me give you give a hand too." Qin Daozi's voice sounded in his mind. In his mind, the white space where he and Qin Daozi first spoken appeared again. However, the white space suddenly distorted and now Jiufeng was on a cliff in a mountain range
Qin Daozi stood beside him and stares around the mountain range and sighed. "This is a place from my memories. It's called the Mountain Range of Nine Elements."
Qin Daozi waved his hand and dark clouds form from above. Cold wind blew around them and rain started pouring down. Jiufeng felt that his body was getting damp and sticky. Shock filled his heart and then he pinch himself. He felt pain.
"Th-This is real? Big Bro, what did you do? How did we get here?" Jiufeng was completely stupefied. How did his Big Bro transported here?
Qin Daozi smugly smile when he heard Jiufeng's question. "Don't worry, I didn't transport us here. It's simple really; I used my soul to connect it with yours. Once we were connected, I linked our minds together and now that I'm here I just use my memories to change the scenery. My soul is pretty strong after all and with a strong soul, my memories and mind is extremely strong as well and with a strong memory, I can use it to change the setting in this space that connects our minds together. Once you have a strong soul as well, this Big Bro will teach you cooler techniques!"
"But until then, cultivate the techniques given to you." Qin Daozi became tiny motes of golden lights and disappeared from where he stood.
Jiufeng sat down and looked up. The dark clouds, the rain, the wind, the mountain range. Everything seemed so real to him, but it was just an illusion, a piece of Qin Daozi's memories. He silently admire the power of big brother in his heart.
Icy winds swirled around him, cold rain pour on him, and the desolate mountain's silence engulf him. He felt himself more in tune with the environment as time continues and at the same time, he was gaining more insight into the [Rain Dragon Steps].
At an unknown time, Jiufeng stood up and moved. He move swiftly and nimbly, but also illusionary and ghostly. Every step he took made the water on the ground ripple and even though he took small strides, he was covering large distances in little time. At this moment, Jiufeng looked exactly like and had the qualities of a raindrop: swift, illusionary, and even mystical.
"Good job, Little Bro. You just mastered the first stage of this [Rain Dragon Steps]." Motes of golden light appear in front of Jiufeng and they came together to form Qin Daozi.
"I did?" Jiufeng was surprise. He mastered the first stage just like that?
"Of course you did. You're currently in rain and your heart was extremely in tune to the environment. Along with the fact that your talent is pretty good and that I'm here to help, you would definitely master the first stage."
"I see. Ah! Big Bro, what time is it right now?" Jiufeng was anxious. He didn't know how long he stayed in this mind dimension for and was worried that it was already sunset.
"Oh don't worry. This space was created by the link between our souls. With my amazing control over souls, I can even slow time down here to be a million year while in the real world, it would be a second," Qin Daozi comfortably said. "However, my strength isn't what it used to be so I can't slow it down that much. You took three days in total here, one while tuning with the environment and the other two for going around in circles when you mastered the first stage. Anyways, eight hours has pass in the real world and the sun’s almost down so I'm going to let you go now..."
Cracks appeared in the air as the space in front of Jiufeng's eyes shattered, replacing with the view of a beautiful lake. However, he had no time to admire the lake as he gather natural energy into his body and used the [Rain Dragon Steps]!
"The sun's almost down!" Jiufeng use full speed and rush to Black Pinecone City.
.....
In Sea Dragon restaurant, Old Man Hai and Jiufeng was eating dinner at a table.
Jiufeng ate and ate, but out of nowhere, he said, "Grandpa Hai, where's Big Brother Yang?"
"He went to another town to run some errands. However, that town is rather far away so he'll return in a week." Old Man Hai said calmly.
"Okay." The two ate and then washed the dishes. After that, Old Man Hai sat down on a chair and said, "Jiufeng, I'm going to give you a quiz about the two arts I gave you, okay? Since you came back home late, I'm assuming that you spent quite some time looking at them, huh?"
"Wait, wait, wait, I was spending some cultivating on the [Rain Dragon Steps]," Jiufeng hurriedly said.
"What cultivating? You still need to be punish for being late." The old man glared at the boy in front of him.
After spending a month at Sea Dragon, Jiufeng got a sense of Old Man Hai's personality. Old Man Hai, although appeared calm, peaceful, and kind, was extremely impatient. Anytime someone was late, Old Man Hai would be extremely ticked.
When he was came back to the restaurant today, Old Man Hai appeared calm and even casually welcomed Jiufeng in to eat. Although, he was suspicious, Jiufeng didn't thought much of it and now, he was about to pay the price.
"No really, I was cultivating," Jiufeng said. "Look!"
He gathered natural energy and preformed the [Rain Dragon Steps]. Jiufeng's figure appeared and disappeared at constant rate. His figure was completely blurry to the mortal eye and every step he took was illusionary and profound.
After displaying the [Rain Dragon Steps] for a whole minute, Jiufeng stop.
"See, what did I you? I was really cultivating and even completed the first stage of the [Rain Dragon Steps]." Jiufeng's face was filled with sadness and his expression screamed injustice as he look at Old Man Hai.
However, opposite of him, Old Man Hai, who was sitting on the chair was agape and stared dumbfound at Jiufeng.
"Yo-You actually mastered the "Raindrop" stage already?!" A voice filled of surprise resounded all over Sea Dragon restaurant.
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Forged
Legendary swordsmen, whose feats are hailed and names known far and wide. Many wish to be one, but few have the dedication to follow the path of the blade all the way through, with all of the trials and tribulations that entails. But those who reach the end can become something far greater than they once were. Great warriors aren’t born, they’re forged. A coming-of-age story mixed with a Martial journey story. Think Youxia, Musha Shogyou, or Knight Errant. A martial arts and action heavy story with a focus of slow progression, and detailed character development over time. One protagonist, but a significant amount from other character's POVs, and a notable amount of focus on other character's development. Disclaimer:Title/cover is metaphorical, no literal forging as of this time.
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