Back to Basics

"Ack!"

"K-keep trying, Sir Ryker! You can do it!"

"Oof!"

"More training.... in qi circulation... necessary..."

"Argh!"

"... Are you really taking this seriously?"

Hu Long crossed his arms, raising his brow as Ryker was once again sent out of the makeshift ring after their latest spar. Cui Feng, who'd been cheering Ryker on, could only cringe as Ryker crashed into a nearby pillar, while Caelus was busy tapping away at his holoscreen, taking notes.

After Caelus had given him a Rejuvenation Pill, Hu Long and Ryker started their spars in earnest, with Ryker restraining himself to the Qi Gathering realm and both of them circulating the Mana Body Refining Technique.

Ryker also limited his mana utilization to only maintaining his body refining, making him just about equal in strength to Hu Long.

"Haha, c'mon, don't you think you're just a little too good?"

Ryker could only crack his neck and grin ruefully as he picked himself up off the ground. It was somewhat true; however, rather than Hu Long being exceptionally skilled, Ryker was just a bit mediocre.

After dozens of bouts, he had yet to take a round.

"Well, you *are* slowly getting better, but it just feels a bit off," Hu Long said, sighing, "As if you've only learned the movements of your techniques, not the essence."

"Uh, well, I guess that's not too far off."

Ryker scratched his cheek, avoiding his gaze, to which Hu Long merely grimaced.

"Are you seriously saying you've just been relying on your strong body and cultivation base up until now?"

"... Kinda?"

Hu Long sighed again, shaking his head. Now it made sense why he'd been dominating these sparring matches.

Of course, even with all of Ryker's handicaps and him going all out, he wasn't able to put a scratch on Ryker's body. But in terms of technique, Ryker was very lacking.

"It looks like you'll have to work on your foundation, first."

The foundation Hu Long was talking about was not cultivation foundation, but more along the lines of the fundamentals of qi techniques. It wasn't as if Hu Long could boast of his own mastery, in that regard, but during his years of being stuck in the 2nd realm of Qi Gathering, he focused all of his efforts on honing his skills.

Thus, he had a better understanding of the fundamentals than most cultivators at his level, and the past few weeks spent training with his master only solidified his knowledge.

"If you could share some pointers about his technique, that would be very helpful."

Caelus cut in with his notes at the ready, which just made Hu Long scratch his head awkwardly. He'd gone into these spars thinking he would be the one doing the learning.

Not that these few bouts hadn't been helpful. In fact, Ryker was just the opponent he needed, right now: a punching bag that he could test his newfound strength on, and that never got tired. He was much more helpful than those young masters in his hometown that sulked off as soon as they lost.

However, suddenly being asked to give pointers left him at a loss.

"Well, I don't know how much I can help, but..." Hu Long started, trying to figure out what the best piece of advice he could give would be.

"Have you heard of the Five Elements Theory?"

"No, what's that?"

Ryker crossed his arms with his usual clueless expression, Caelus keying in his notes beside him.

"It's the theory that all techniques have roots in one of the five elements, even if they aren't strictly elemental techniques," Hu Long began, "For example, your Profound Wind Walking Technique has its roots in the Wind element, which is under the domain of Wood. If you circulate your qi while keeping the technique's elemental root in mind, it could help you in comprehending the 'essence' of the technique."

"Although all techniques have a set pattern that one has to follow when circulating qi, there are certain variations on how you can perform the circulation. To get a better understanding of the Profound Wind Walking Technique, try circulating your qi freely and unrestrained, like the wind."

Ryker tilted his head to the side, rubbing his chin. The Profound Wind Walking Technique was a technique that Luo Shuchang had bestowed upon him, so he'd only been doing it according to the method, so far. But could he perform it 'freely and unrestrained'?

He tried taking a few steps with the movement technique, but it was hard for him to concentrate on both using the technique and changing the way he circulated his qi. Eventually, he ended up tripping over his own feet and tumbling across the floor.

"Ack! Man, that's a lot harder than I thought it would be."

Ryker picked himself back up, rubbing the back of his neck and trying again.

"Don't think about it too much. Just let your qi flow without controlling it too rigidly," Hu Long started to say, but Caelus stopped him, motioning for him to follow.

"Just leave him, for now. Ryker isn't the type to understand something just by explaining it to him," he said.

"He'll need some time to get the hang of it, so come with me for your daily pills. I've also applied for your promotion to outer disciple while you were out, so you won't have to worry about your servant duties."

"Ah, thank you, Sir Caelus."

As the two of them left, Caelus snapped his fingers at Cui Feng, who was absentmindedly watching Ryker stumble around in his attempts to perfect the Profound Wind Walking Technique.

"You too, Disciple Cui."

"Huh? M-me?"

Cui Feng looked up in bewilderment, pointing to herself. Caelus just nodded, beckoning her with a wave of his hand. She took one last look towards Ryker, who was engrossed in practicing his movement technique, before meekly following along.

Ryker paid them no heed as they left, eyes focused on his feet. What Hu Long had said before struck a chord with something that'd been on his mind, recently; most of his techniques weren't really his. They were simply given to him by the system, or in this case, Luo Shuchang.

'I better figure this 'Five Elements' thing out.'

He'd been relying on the magically gained knowledge from the system for most everything, up until now, paying no attention to how his techniques were performed despite how often he used them.

He couldn't even remember the circulation pattern for Luo Shuchang's Profound Wind Walking Technique without instinctively letting the ingrained knowledge take over!

Forget comprehending the essence, he still needed to learn the very basics of his techniques. Feeling a sudden surge of motivation, he intensified his focus, the sound of his steps echoing throughout the main hall...

---

Meanwhile, at a quiet teahouse in the city surrounding the Dabang Sect...

A plain-looking young man in Dabang Sect disciple robes sat leisurely at a table on the upper floor, quietly sipping his tea.

"Any changes in the situation?"

He glanced over at the woman who was suddenly sitting beside him, sipping from a teacup of her own and drawing no attention from the other patrons, as if she had always been there.

"Rumor has it that the guests are aiming for a spot in the Pill Saint Mystic Realm," he said in reply to her question, "And the sect leader is seriously considering their request. It would seem they have a great deal of influence."

"I see."

Xia Qingge quietly mulled over this latest tidbit of information from her spy, who sat respectfully at her side. However, while his posture was respectful, his gaze showed just a hint of impatience.

"May I ask Lady Xia why we are proceeding so cautiously with this matter?" he asked, setting down his cup.

"I understand there are still some unknowns concerning this Ryker fellow's background, but I've checked thrice over. The Dabang Sect values his friend highly, but they will not make a move just because of that."

"And how are you suggesting we should proceed?"

Although Xia Qingge's expression remained impassive, there was an underlying iciness in her tone, making the young man gulp involuntarily. Despite this, he continued to press his point.

"We can easily lure him away from the sect by using that new disciple, Hu Long. Once he's away from the sect, there will be no problems with having the Assassination Squad take him out."

"Are you so sure they'll be able to kill him?"

"They once managed to kill a cultivator in the Nascent Soul realm, despite none of them having reached higher than Soul Wandering. Aren't you giving this man too much credit, my lady? He struggled greatly against just one Soul Wandering demon beast."

The Great Void spy pleaded Xia Qingge with fervor, seemingly unable to contain his enthusiasm. Xia Qingge, however, merely closed her eyes, deep in thought.

Her squad of shadows was only formed relatively recently, and comprised only of those fanatically loyal to the Great Void Sect. Of course, this brought on its own set of problems, a common one being the fanatic eagerness to eliminate the sect's enemies that she was now facing.

It wasn't as if she didn't share her comrade's sentiments, though. From what she had seen, the Assassination Squad should be more than enough to take care of Ryker.

Although he was suspected of being partly responsible for the death of Elder Chen and the capture of Elder Shi, his unknown accomplice was assumed to have done most of the work.

Still, she couldn't help but have a bad feeling, anyway...

"Tell me your plan. I'll judge whether or not we act, from there," she eventually said.

The Great Void spy smiled imperceptibly, laying out his plans in a low voice with a malicious glint in his eyes.