For the next three days, Kai Lan’s routine was as Xia Fei had said. He woke in the morning, shortly after Xia Fei finished her own cultivation session, and went to the Cultivation Garden with his father to cultivate the earth elemental energy. In that time, he managed to fill 3 more of his primary meridians to the point of solidifying. Still, he noticed that despite his father’s efforts, he was not improving, he spent the effort to replenish energy he had expended in the last day, but that was all. Kai Lan wasn’t entirely sure why this was happening, so on the fourth day, the day where he was due to go and play with Do Han and Ran Ran, he asked Xia Fei if she could give any advice to his father. Xia Fei had given him a sad smile in return. “Your Ba has reached what we call a natural limit, in the cultivation world,” said Xia Fei. “A natural limit?” asked Kai Lan. Xia Fei nodded, “Yes, it’s the term we use to describe Cultivators who have stagnated in their growth. Who cannot reach further in their cultivation with their continued methods. It is quite common, Kai Lan”. Kai Lan looked down in confusion, “But, that means he can’t grow stronger, right? Can’t we fix it?” Xia Fei looked over to where Wu Lan was walking over to the greenhouses, “No. The only way one can get past their natural limit is either with the help of a particularly powerful tool, or if they have a profound realisation about their Cultivation Dao”. “Cultivation Dao?” asked Kai Lan. “Cultivation Dao is unique to every individual. It is our will, our goals, our good qualities and our flaws. It is what drives our techniques and abilities, who we are, and both our place in the world and our defiance of it. We often don’t even realise we have one until the later Realms of Cultivation. That is the struggle of your father. He is aware that he possesses a Dao, but has been unable to grasp what it is, leaving him just a half-step into the Profound Realm, and that is something we cannot help him with. He must grasp it on his own,” explained Xia Fei. Through this, Kai Lan realised that perhaps a Dao could not be easily described because of how unique it was to every individual. It had to be found, and he could only hope that the more he cultivated, the greater he would understand his own Dao. Do Han and Ran Ran played with Kai Lan all morning until they ate lunch together. It was here that Ning Wei had mentioned in passing, that two distant cousins had decided to live with them for a while and had been teaching Kai Lan the Nine Stances of Elemental King Rui Wang. It was a common enough set that was taught mostly to primary aged children as a Foundation for later techniques. “Ah-Ning, he is a little young is he not?” asked Yi Yi cautiously Ning Wei sighed, “I would have thought so too, but he forged his golden core a week ago”. The two women were stunned silent as they turned and looked at Kai Lan. “At two years of age? That has to be some kind of record,” stated Cai Fang in astonishment. “He wasn’t yet 2 a week ago,” Yi Yi pointed out, “My god, you and Wu Lan must be so proud, Ning Wei! And you’re sure he was ready?” “He insisted he was,” said Ning Wei, “And we had little reason to doubt him, you know how he’s always seemed more worldly than his age implies”. “If that the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard…” said Yi Yi, “Sometimes I wonder how he puts up with my Do Han”. Ning Wei playfully hit Yi Yi, “Don’t say that about your own son! Besides, Xiao Kai really likes playing with Do Han and Ran Ran”. “Two years old,” Cai Fang repeated, then another thought seemed to occur to her and she turned to Ning Wei with her question, “What elements?” “Earth, Wood and Light,” Ning Wei replied easily. The other two women nodded, “It makes me envious, but I’m also curious to know what my Do Han will be like. You said your cousin was teaching him the Nine Stances?” Ning Wei nodded, “Yes, and despite the initial pain, he seems to be enjoying learning”. “Another burning dream to reach the height of cultivation is born,” Yi Yi smiled. “He’s forged his golden core at two, you never know, he just might reach it,” said Cai Fang. The story Ning Wei told was what the family had agreed upon, making sure that Kai Lan was very clear about what he was allowed to reveal and wasn’t. In the week that followed, news circulated of Kai Lan’s miraculous achievement like wild fire, and that a distant cousin was teaching him the Nine Stances. When the local Combat Techniques teacher at Nui Dan Junior Cultivation School, Yao Mu Tong, heard word of this, he was quite offended that Kai Lan had not been sent to him. As one of the few cultivators in the Earth Realm within the community – the only other two exceptions also being teachers at the school – he was quite well-respected, and had been so for many years. As such, he took it upon himself to visit the Shan household and seek out this so-called cousin-teacher to see if they were really up to par in teaching his future student. It just so happened at the time that Xia Fei was teaching Kai Lan the fourth stance. “Mr Yao, while I really appreciate your visit, I don’t see that-” Mu Tong waved away Ning Wei’s insistence, “I really must insist, Mrs Shan, I can’t have students coming into the school having learned bad habits from the wrong teachers”. It was at this moment that Xia Fei glanced up as she was counting out the minute for Kai Lan who held the stance. In her count she would occasionally tap an arm or a leg or a shoulder and Kai Lan would correct himself. “…58…59…60 and rest”. Kai Lan took a deep breath as he stood straight once more, raising his arms up before he pushed them back down. “Mr Yao-” “It’s alright, Ning Wei,” said Xia Fei, “Let him observe”. “I say, you are quite young to be teaching this child. A child with such outstanding potential, you can’t possibly be qualified to-” Suddenly, before anyone could even blink, Xia Fei was before him, a sword made of molten lava resting just a hairsbreadth from Mu Tong’s Adam’s Apple. The man froze, fear overwhelming him as he looked at Xia Fei’s fierce eyes. “I’m not fond of being underestimated by how young I appear to be. I’m close to a full two realms above you, old man. I don’t care how long you’ve been teaching, you should be intelligent enough to work out that age is not always represented by appearance among cultivators. Now, you may observe, but if you question me again, I will send you back to your school with one less arm. Try teaching the Nine Stances then,” said Xia Fei in a threatening tone that made Ning Wei shiver. Kai Lan only watched on as he rested his body. “Xia Fei-Jie? Is it time yet?” “Twenty more seconds of rest,” Xia Fei replied after she released the manifested blade into thin air like it had never existed. She turned back to her student and watched over his breathing in his rest state. “You’re too tense, Kai Lan, it’s a rest state not a preparation state”. Mu Tong was silent as he stared at her. He stood for another ten minutes, long enough to observe Xia Fei move Kai Lan into the fifth stance which she again corrected as she counted. Mu Tong then turned to the nervous Ning Wei and bowed his head, “I apologise for the intrusion”. Then he left.