“As I said, the world of practitioners has a lot rules, we can roughly divide them in the man-made rules and the ones set by the Four. The man-made rules are easy to deal with, there are very few places that one need to be careful to not break them, mostly where one of those super powers have a lot of influence, and even if you break them, just make sure that no one ever knows and it will be fine.

On the other hand, the other set of rules are commonly known as “Heavenly laws”, it’s said that they were set by the Four themselves so to keep the balance of the world and that they take great rage against the ones that go against their will. Those rules are impossible to cheat and breaking them will bring instantly, and impossible to escape of, punishment.

The punishment will always come by the element that the faulty practitioner cultivate on, so for exemple, if a wind practitioner breaks one of the heavenly laws the skies will turn dark and clouds will roar, followed by some kind wind related retribution. The most commons are things like thunderstorms, breath stealing and being smashed by air pressure but there are others types, they are rarer and only seen occasionally.

One of the reasons that we are impelling you to cultivate it’s because one of those rules actually. But not just because of it of course, life was a hammer to you boy, striking as hard as it could, unceasingly. But you did not break, you got stronger, even you think that you didn’t.

Hear me kid, cultivation it’s not a gift, it’s a trade. We are giving you a chance to change your destiny but we’ll also be taking any chances of going back too, a new life for an old life, that’s always the price.

So, what do you say?” - I finish, watching as the sun lazily sets, noticing that after all that was spoken not even half of the promised time spent yet. Still, it was a good deal, one single hour of suffering everyday to get the mercenaries owning me it's way better than doing all the work of getting friendly with them.

…

“Good, with that we are done with the basics and can start for real” - I say after a few instants of silence, continuing the lecture as the boy is too scared to talk while I give him my back. I intend to create the image of a stern and stoic teacher to keep the boy from asking things or interacting with me in general, just the idea of having my cultivation interrupted by some stupid question is too horrible already.

“The Four’s energy is part of everything, the wind, the earth beneath our bodies, the heat coming from the sun, the clothes that we wear, the food that we eat and every other things that you can think of, those things have some small, intangible particles made of pure essence. Some places will have more and or purer essence though, like a sea will have more and purer water essence than a puddle, or a forest will have more earth essence than a city.

Those small fragments are important because we use them to cultivate for the most of time, they are called "ambient essence" commonly, we do have a true name for it but it's harder and lengthier so its hardly used. There are other fonts of essence that can be used to cultivate but again they are rarer and only used occasionally so we'll ignore them for now.

To use the ambient essence to cultivate is the basic method and consist in a two steps, the first it’s to connect with the world, find the elements particles and then break them, the second is collecting the now free essence for yourself, later setting it into your body.

After that you pretty much have crossed the bridge of no return and can call yourself a practitioner already"

Technically - I omit the last part, mostly because explaining would be take a few more minutes that I don't want to keep speaking, the time that I can just let him do his own thing getting closer as the explanation hits its "end".

"But before breaking and collecting essence first you'll need to find your element, and as one can not absorb more than one kind of essence so it's extremely important to not be wrong while doing it, a practitioner that took the wrong one and later discovered having higher affinity with other will live in regret for the last of his or her life.

And for the Four's sake, don't try, in the best of cases you'll be a cripple, never able to properly cultivate, in the worst your body will explode" and render all this suffering for nothing. - I say, turning to stare the boy and again omitting the last words.

I put some weight in the last part, making sure that he'll not try something stupid just because I said him not to. Nothing much, just a single quick circling of essence in the air, after the previous pressure that I put him into the small reminder should be way more than enough.

And it is, I confirm with a quick glance, finding the boy sitting in the same position that we started, now with his back curved in fear of the pressure that did not came and too scared to even breath.

Satisfied, I continue -

"That aside, choosing an element is different for everybody, some will find it hard, while some will find it an extremely easy choice to do, so the only help that I can give it’s to share some of my past experiences.

I’m in the group that had an easy time, I’ve always wanted to do what I wanted, to roam the world and live a free life, to not be shackled by anything or anyone, to be like the wind as some would say, making it easy for me to hear its calling.

Eagan is another example, he like stable things, he’s strong willed and at the same time gentle, so Earth choose him, he was compatible with it and so it called.

Finding your element is a lot about two things, finding who you truly are and what you truly want, and about hearing it. One of The Four will call you, they’ll choose to make the connection, your job it's just to ask and accept, remember it.

Now close your eyes and start, we lost too much time already” - I finish the painfully long lecture, finding to my horror that it all took only about twenty minutes, a third of the daily time promised.

Thankfully when I turn to stare at the boy he's already in deep "cultivation", what is impressive, to find peace this fast. Maybe he was even able to understand something that I said, pretty good to someone like him I suppose.

Not that it matters if he has some good talent or not, an average person will take about one month of meditation to start feeling the particles, then, about a week to know what kind of energy they are suitable to cultivate. The deadline of four days was never something possible to begin with, only somethings that I said to not blatantly refuse the mercenaries "plea".

Still, better for me if he is somewhat talented as I can now leave him by himself earlier than I thought I would, leaving him to "assimilate" my teachings while I do my own things is completely acceptable, one can meditate for hours after all.

I'm also thirsty after all the talking, so I turn and leave, once more satisfied by the way things have gone.

-

He started talking non-stop about cultivation and whatever, it was hard to hear, I tried to speak but it was of no use, there was almost no air and my mind was dizzy. Before long I started to get sleepy, it was hard to keep myself conscious.

I remember him asking me something, it was a chance to speak, an end to the interminable monologue. The effort was immeasurable, I was dying and I knew it, a slow and painless death but still dying nonetheless. Before I could even muster a word he just started again, not aware of my situation at all.

I tried to move, to make something and catch his attention, but my already weak and wounded body was useless, I tried to raise my arms but they didn’t even wiggle.

In the mist of promises of revenge and hallucinations I remember thinking “maybe he’s doing it on purpose, getting me in the right setting to cultivate, aware of nothing but aware of everything” yes it was that, it could only be, I thought.

I tried my best, closed my eyes and started to feel the world, I felt it clearly, the touch of the soft grass licking my legs, the wind pushing against my body and for a second I even felt the moist water coming from east, but the clearer of all was the heat, it bathed my body, in a painful yet gentle way.

After what felt like an eternity and at the same time, not time at all, I could see it, the small and shiny particles that I heard the far foice endlessly described, they started few but with no time they were countless, made of all colors and shapes as I tried to do what was said, break them and absorb its essence. The first step.

I broke the first, the biggest particle I could find and instantly my body was filled with pain, a kind of intangible pain that it’s hard to describe. My head felt like it was being squeezed like a fruit, I think I started screaming at that part.

I tried to fight the pain, a practitioner’s body is stronger than the average human, they said it’s because the essence so it made sense that hurt while the essence was making its way inside. I closed my mouth and clenched my teeth. I remembered the laughs, the mercenaries are a tough group and couldn’t demonstrate weakness. Not if I wanted them to accept me as a member eventually.

The pain was getting worse, my heart like a hammer, bringing with every heartbeat a new wave of excruciating pain. At some point it stopped.

-

I can feel it, he's using power against him, it's subtle but I can feel it now that I'm close enough. It's hard to notice, the flow of essence almost completely natural, so natural that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't come to look at the boy's progress. Not that I believed that it would have any, he started for half an hour at most but I needed to move my legs or I would have gone crazy.

Thank the Four that I did, and now, I know why.

The air was sparse, again, it was only by a almost undetectable amount. Not the kind of thing that a practitioner would find a problem with, a little less oxygen in the air could hardly harm us, but to a normal person? Then things chance.

I knew we shouldn't believe in people of a big family but I didn't believe they would be so low, war almost broke up when they suggested to make a beast end the boy's "suffering" so I thought they learned their lesson, the dishonest fucks, always searching loopholes to escape the heavens.

Looks like I was wrong.

We should never even get that contract if not for the need for the money putting us against a wall, only now I notice that even working for beasts would be better than associate with their worthless kind, but In the end we needed the money and did what was necessary.

But if they think that we'll just let ourselves being stepped on while they do what their want they are dead wrong. Dead, wrong. They can press us with their family, but better they know that their last threat will be that their precious family will avenge their deaths.

And it can try for what I care.

I usually contain myself in consideration for the others as I know that I few have their families under the cities of big families, but after that? The Boss will not be happy. I would almost pity them for dying in the hands of an out of his temper boss if not for the increasing in clarity flux of essence as I run closer.

It's a shame thought, It would've been good if things had gone smoothly, Boss was able to force the Eann guy into a vow of teaching the boy to cultivate, it was a nice play, we could teach him ourselves but our way is too dangerous, too stupid, better if he was able to learn with them.

Not that I have the time to feel for it, I don't even have the time to curse not bringing my shield as I rush through the last seventy or so meters. The scenario blurring as the cold energy in my legs push me into a inhumanly fast spring. It takes me no more than a few seconds to eat the distance up and see myself in the clearing we made to them practice in peace, just to find the boy soaked in sweat, with blood coming from his nose and ears, his skin in a sick bluish-pale.

For a second I think myself to late, but luckily the boy proved myself wrong once more, his life like a hard fire, unwilling to stop burning even in the darkest storms.

Relief turned into anger and my rage emerged, and like a torrential rain it covered the skies, Eann had gone too far. He had gone before and I tolerated, but not anymore. He made a vow and he had broken it, and although I don't know why the Four did not see his sins, they are not the only ones with the power to apply the punishment.

But that can wait, the boy needs me first.