Chapter 20

Xin was feeling almost manic these past few days. The weather outside, the knowledge, the opportunities he got, everything that happened to him recently was so exciting! 

He still had no money for the breakthrough reinforcement materials, and had to pay Lei off, which was hard to do, with his measly salary. Still, he was upbeat, he knew that he was getting more competent and experienced with each passing day, and it was uplifting to see something that you built grow.

His mind constantly drifted, from alchemy to xiandao, from Five Wind Treatises to martial arts, from sect politics to weapon training. Every single thing excited him, and he felt a pleasant exhaustion, as if he was a kid again, reading his favourite books late into the night.

What woke him up from his daydreaming was a cuff on the nape from Feng Chonglin.

Slap!

"What did I tell you? I need those anti-parasite potions, and I need you to dose them properly! Where are they?"

"I...'ve been sorting the herbs, master!"

"You sorted them yesterday! Stop fucking around, or I'll cut your salary in half!"

"Fine. Sorry." - It took some restraint to not bark back at him, he had a strong urge to say something like "you'll have to work alone then, see how you'll like it!", but didn't. Still, he stared Feng Chonglin in the eyes and emanated a killing intent. His ability to repress his pride was still limited.

"Lei's barkers are doing a good job. Soon, half the city will be made to think that they'll die if they don't de-worm. We need to hurry before other suppliers move their herbs from the warehouses."

"Wouldn't it be smarter to prepare more materials in advance before we launched such a campaign? We are buying from the local suppliers, not your steppe guys. We might not meet the demand"

"We didn't know if this would catch on, so we just tried it and hoped for the best. It caught on surprisingly well, unlike the two other ideas. Can you imagine being stuck with ten boxes of expensive anti-worm pills?"

"We won't be able to meet the full demand, then. Our competitors will profit, too, but we should only care about our own growth. We did the right thing, it seems."

The pair heard a jingle of the door chimes, and Feng Chonglin quickly hurried below.

The other workers stared at Xin, probably because he just got slapped.

"I could pass the slap down the food chain, you fools. Get back to work." - Xin was ruthless again.

He felt as if these people constantly tested his patience. They kept competing over who asks the dumbest question or gets a better excuse to slack off all the time.

This day was also filled with tons of assignments. It was challenging on many levels. 

You had to memorise numerous recipes, teach the other workers, control the workflow in the lab, make sure your own work is up to the standard, interact with the clients, consulting them on numerous diverse topics, be it venereal diseases, cosmetics, smelly sweat, hair loss or miscarriage. It took a huge toll on Xin's already exhausted psyche. 

He was wondering why he even agreed to this job. Yes, he was getting rare totemic knowledge, but other than that, he felt like he was providing much more value than what he was being paid for.

Still, after work, Xin was feeling relieved and elevated again. He finally told Lei about the dual element techniques he found, along with the guidance provided by the teachers, and the young thief was as delighted as Xin was. In fact, he instantly forgave two spirit stones from his debt. Xin couldn't help but feel like his help was worth more than that, but he still appreciated the gesture.

Next morning, Xin attended the lectures again. This time, he was subjected to the ruthless bullying by Huang Lingbo, making fun of everything he said, and shutting down any attempt at defending himself. Xin was confused, trying to understand the reason behind this: was it his way of saving face, as it was now known that he helped Xin publicly, and he decided to display that he has no favourites? Was he trying to return Xin back to earth, after his reputation in his class soared too high? 

Xin wanted to approach his master after the lecture, maybe if he asked him what he did wrong, he would tell him? No, he concluded that it would make things even worse, so he just headed to the Elemental Pavilion.

There, he was also met with coldness. Yu Ting read a short lecture, twenty five minutes or so, and then handed her students to her Foundation stage assistant masters, tasking them with elemental practice. She also seemed distant and slightly irritated. 

"Did I cause this?" - Xin was confused, and asked Wu Lei, worried.

"Yeah, you are the centre of the world, it's all about you. No, something happened, I think. They all look tense today. Xie Xiaodan is not in the sect today, either. Think it might be the war? Fist sect's new move? Maybe some capital nobles want to expand here? I'd say the North is ripe for the taking, based on rumours."

The war? This changed Xin's perspective on the morning events.

"It makes even more sense to improve our combat ability now. Let's grab the technique manuals in the library, study them and start learning. Things just started going well, curses." Xin was irritated, this painful project he had subscribed to was just starting to pay off, and outside influence was threatening to take it all away.

"Look, businesses take a lot to set up and pay off. We are lucky the guild was looking into this expansion venue for quite some time, and Feng Chonglin has those cheap ass suppliers. We took a lot of shortcuts because of this. By the way, I forgot to tell you, we are opening a stall in the city centre."

"You what?!" - Xin was wide-eyed. "How can you 'forget' something like that?"

 "Look, it's still not fully confirmed, I didn't want to spoil it. But yes, we'll be able to sell some of our stuff in the Turtle market, one of the guild's traders wants to give us a small stall in his pavilion."

"And who is going to man it?"

"Man it? More like woman it. Remember Mei? A hot piece of ass, our goods will sell like hot pies. She is a remote boner pill herself, she'll cure the impotency in this city just by wearing that cute red dress!"

Xin rolled his eyes. 

"Seriously? I am starting to think that you have no taste. She is above average, at most. Too generic, in my opinion."

"I am starting to think that you hate women. Or maybe you like men, huh?"

"It doesn't matter if I hate women or not, it doesn't impact my aesthetic appraisal of them." - Xin waved his finger.

"I hope you get your dick wet one day, I can't listen to this shit anymore."

"Let's hope your dick doesn't rot off in some alley, infected by one of these serpentine beauties" - serpentine was often used as a cheap replacement for jade, Xin was happy about making such a sophisticated joke.

They bickered a bit more and went to the library. There, Xin asked the librarian to talk to the pixies on his behalf, requesting the Woodcutter's Downswing manual, along with the book containing the Molten Heart technique.

In just a few minutes, they were already reading it in the reading hall.

"Let's do me first, let's do me first!" - Lei was an excited pug again.

"What do you mean do you first? We have to study separately to optimise time spent."

"Don't pretend you aren't interested in my technique! It sounds rad! And it has some metal path insight for you, as well."

"Fine, you parasite. Let's read it."

They opened a big scroll, detailing the human anatomy of a fire-metal dual element cultivator. 

"A strained spleen, toned muscles, explosive temperament - these are the common qualities of such a person."

"Hehe, sounds like me, no idea what the strained spleen symptoms look like."

"Let's try and understand the algorithm for us to follow."

"There is a trigram list here, and a labyrinth of different meditations. Nutrition guide, rhymed. 

Look, Xin, the backpage is detailing the risks and describes the technique in-depth."

"Elevates the intensity of fire path moves by one stage." - As Xin understood it, it meant that a mortal would be around Foundation stage level in terms of qi intensity upon activation. It didn't mean that a Foundation stage master would be elevated to second stage level upon use, though, as the progression wasn't linear. 

"Breaks down metal qi in the body, creating a liquid secretion in the meridians, that has to be channelled in a particular way. Boosts the strength of the user, allowing a teen to hit like a man, but at a cost."

"Shit, that sounds rad, almost like a Blood Boil technique of the Clotter Demon!" - Wu Lei instantly made the connection.

A pixie flew over to Lei, and hushed him with a squeak. This was a library, after all. He quickly nodded and apologised.

He let Xin keep reading:

"So, the cost is 'breaks down all the excess metal qi in the user's body, then drains his other qi, then his stamina. If not deactivated, it then drains the user's blood. After reaching a critical state, the user has their human qi destabilise and becomes a frenzied husk. If a user reaches such a state, he is to be put to death, as there is no known cure. Females aren't allowed to use this technique, for the reasons explained further in the scroll... "

"Seems logical. But also dangerous." - Xin concluded. "Could be a powerful asset, as far as I get it, if you master it correctly, you could challenge rank ones. Impressive, if dangerous."

"Only if I manage to get my defence on par. And if my Lava Spit isn't countered. A good thing is, I'll probably be able to use the broken down metal qi in my lava spits. Nothing goes to waste."

"Sounds cool, but I feel like this technique will be a torture to learn. Let's check out my book."

Xin's book wasn't an inheritance scroll, it was instead a leather covered, thick notebook, detailing random notes on martial arts techniques of different styles, but the attached table of contents listed the technique, indeed. Xin wanted to read the whole notebook once he had more free time, along with all the other sources referenced in his lectures and training, but had to focus for now.

"I recommend this method to fight the wood path masters, as they are particularly vulnerable. Obtain a way to channel metal qi, it doesn't require serious skill to use. Your wood qi control, on the other hand, should be quite precise. This technique is also a great counter to mortal-level weapons. Its biggest strength is an ability to chop wood extremely fast. With enough skill, the master can even destroy the wooden buildings. Plant type creatures are also vulnerable.

This technique is better used in combination with weapon or unarmed attacks." - Xin quietly read this to Lei, as to not disrupt the atmosphere of the library.

"Sounds a bit lame. What's the point?"

"You are a frog in a shitter, Lei. You spent several years learning how to spit, this also sounds stupid on paper, but it's your trap card now, isn't it? I can already imagine the numerous advantages of this one."

"Like what? Seriously, I fail to see how this is better than Resonance Palms."

"Resonance Palms are lingering, but weaker. This consumes a bit of wooden and metal qi per strike. Speaking of Resonance Palms, they can be used to deliver this technique, so there is a synergy, even if the effect is not directly additive.

I could destroy polearms or the fabric based armors, as they are also of wood element, and slash right into the flesh. And the broken down wood element will linger in the wound and hinder the regeneration processes of the body, unless it is removed. What are the downsides, I wonder?"

Xin kept reading the manual:

"Be careful, it will be harder to create wood element resonance with targets of higher realm than you, reducing the effect somewhat. You shouldn't be fighting those, anyway."

"Most manuals are well-written, poetic and sophisticated. This reads like a dinner discussion." - Xin frowned.

"Appreciate it while you still can, I am tired of this pseudo-intellectual shit already, at least this guy means business."

"How vulgar." - Xin rolled his eyes, then kept reading - "The repeat attacks into the same area are enhanced, proportional to the wood element connection established. Now, on channelling and delivering such an attack..." 

After breaking down the techniques into simple steps, and writing them down so that it's easier to follow, the pair headed to the Elemental Pavilion.

Xin quickly figured out how to use the elemental wells. Five of them were situated in the formation in the shape of a Wuxing circle, spread across the training ground. Circular in shape, with a diameter spanning several meters, they were adorned with hieroglyphs etched into the enchanted stone.

The daily quota that one could use was based on your rank, but you could buy more with contribution points or spirit stones. It was still more effective than just consuming spirit stones to regenerate.

One accessed the well by grabbing a cable, made of different enchanted materials, depending on the element of the well, with two suctions, one was "in", one was "out", and pressing it against their lower abdomen, where the Golden Core was being refined.

It was customary to donate your qi if you weren't training, for example if you were on holidays or too busy studying. For higher realms cultivators, it was a decent way to at least partly cover the upkeep of their qi core. 

If one drained yourself like this too often, they risked stressing their core, and not having spare qi meant hindering your cultivation, so a master resorting to this method for financial game too often would be looked down upon, losing status.

Xin obtained some general advice from the Foundation stage elemental master of wood path, assigned to help the internal disciples today. He was reminded that wood qi is intricate, and most of the time you couldn't control it as directly as the other elements. Most wood path

techniques had a degree of randomness or unevenness to them, and you had to quickly think on your feet and understand what you're doing to steer the effect towards the direction you wanted to pursue. The specifics of this depended on what aspect of wood element you were trying to invoke, of course.

Xin asked for an idle wooden mannequin, promising the overseer that he probably won't break it today, and started his practice.

First, Xin just practised the move, without exerting any qi.

He stepped up to a mannequin, slightly anxious about it awakening and hitting his solar plexus again, which wouldn't happen, of course. He quickly recomposed himself and proceeded. 

Overhead downswing! Slightly diagonal, try and hit the clavicle. The edge of a hitting surface should stay firm, to maximise the wood element impact. First, Xin attacked slowly and carefully, but then picked up some tempo.

The edges of his palms were used to hurting, but he risked trauma if he continued like this for too long, so he eventually activated Resonance Palms. 

Good, now secrete some wood qi through my thumb, as it's not infused with metal qi. Swish. 

The webbing of his hand exploded with a small grassroot vine, dangling pathetically.

Xin sighed. His wood qi control was subpar, he couldn't direct it where he wanted, and he couldn't stop the qi from materialising. My metal nature is hindering my wooden qi, even my superior control isn't enough to compensate for it.

Another try. This time, he had a bunch of vines hanging from fingers like they were noodles.

"Hey, kid, grab this" - the wood path master called him from behind, and gave him a small, thin razor. "Cut some scratches, maybe it will be easier if you bleed a bit."

"Are we allowed to train with blood? My mom's sect always forbade it."

"Well, it's not like you are using blood path, and we need you people to progress faster. Come on, make some cuts between your fingers."

Xin didn't hesitate. He sliced the webbing between his fingers lightly, and tried to secrete some wood qi.

It worked! It looked like a subtle greenish glow, faintly emanating from the cut.

"First try? Nice one, kid, but you aren't quite there. Now stop the bleeding and try it without the cut."

Xin leaned a cloth on top of a wound for a minute, and then tried repeating this technique.

This time, he delivered a palm edge downswing again, but managed to leave some liquid qi on the mannequin's shoulder. Not quite where he was aiming, but it was still progress.

Xin trained for fifteen more minutes, before he finally ran out of qi. Even without using the proper dosages, a lot of qi was leaking out due to his subpar control.

He refreshed himself with some wood path qi from the Wood Well, and took a sip from the Water well, to help his wood qi restore naturally.

Now that the first step was complete, he tried to execute the technique itself.

Breathe in. Slowly breathe out, raise your arm. Make your shoulder and wrist as firm as possible.

Woodcutter's Downswing! 

"Fuck!" - Xin cried out in pain. With two elements conflicting, his metal reinforcement slipped towards the wrist, leaving his palm's edge unprotected.

He badly hurt his palm's edge with this strike, and almost tore the wrist ligaments as well, as he moved the metal qi too fast for his body to manage.

He could see the other disciples turn towards him because of his shout, and was quite embarrassed.

"I apologise. I am fine." - He announced loudly, to no one in particular. People resumed their training.

"Hey, kid. Check this out." - The wood path master called him, pointing at the mannequin.

There was a small dent there, as if the mannequin was slashed by a thick knife.

Xin was delighted.

"That's still not it, master! It will be stronger! Give it a few more days."

"That's some nice progress in one training, go get your wrist checked and rest."

Xin went to check up on Lei, who was sitting on a bench, wiping his face with a towel.

"What's up?" - Xin was grinning.

"Shit. Literally. I've been to the toilet three times at this point. This technique gives me diarrhea."

"Fuck. Well, it happens, you've got to persevere."

"It's nothing compared to training Lava Spit. Still, I didn't make any progress. I've had a nosebleed twice. I fainted in the 'calming down' stage, and frankly, my heartbeat is still going crazy."

"At least you know what mistakes not to make. It will probably take months to execute this technique successfully, and even more to master it reliably. But I think it can pay off massively."

"Sure, I agree. What about your training?"

"That master was very helpful. I didn't know we were allowed to train with our blood. My mom always forbade me from doing this. I guess her sect was more strict."

"What's your progress?"

"Give it a week. Maybe less. I managed to manifest the conflicting interaction, I just need to refine the execution"

"Fuck you..." - Lei sighed. - "Let's go to the canteen, I need to eat some rice. Just rice."