9

Chapter 9: Fruits of Labour

Chapter Text

It's now been two years since the Trial of Paths. Through my body refinement technique, I've managed to reach a level of strength equal to what I would have needed Touki for at the beginning.

My body refinement may have been influenced by my desires as the blood that spilled from my wounds has dyed my skin in the same way that Ibaraki's skin is dyed in Fate Grand Order. If I was to shapeshift and alter the color of my hair the resemblance would be uncanny. I'm not going to do so since my hair was given to me by my mother and she would be sad if I were to do so.

There isn't any real way to test my durability but I'd assume it has achieved a similar level. I could stab myself or punch myself with a Touki enhanced fist to check but I'm not a masochist!

As my Ki sense expands with use I've managed to probe deeper into my physiology. I was careful to focus my body refinement on all parts of my body just in case. I'm starting to realize that in a supernatural world science is often beaten and thrown into a corner but there isn't any sense in making my muscles strong without strengthening my bones and everything else. Being able to cause the air to crack with a punch is great, ripping your skin and breaking bones every time you do so is not.

My meditation has become essential to my mental health. Growing up in constant conflict has given me a hunger for battle that I hadn't realized until this lull in action.

In my meditation, I have begun to prod at my soul and search around it. It isn't uncommon for cultivators to develop abilities based on the strength of their soul; soul sense, soul attacks, soul-based item empowerment, etc. My actual technique varies depending on what I'm doing during my meditation.

If I am simply doing seated meditation I turn to my memory of the void in between this life and the last. Each time I stare into the void I feel my soul shake as though it will fall apart and each time I struggle to hold myself together. Yet the benefits are clear as each time I can hold the memory longer.

I think that was what happened to Satori, his soul shattered having seen the void, unable to hold together seeing something that isn't meant to be seen. I believe that the flames began grey as a grudge was formed but turned to gold when he realized he was finally free from his prison.

Where my seated meditation hardens my soul to damage, my meditation with a bow expands my soul. I simultaneously move through the traditional steps; Ashibumi, Dozukuri, Yugamae, Uchiokoshi, Hikiwake, Kai, Hanare, Zanshin, Yudaoshi, and stretch my soul. As I draw the string of the bow, so do I draw the bounds of my soul outward. Each time the string snaps back so does my soul, each time this happens the bounds of my soul stretch minutely.

Something about the process had a way of making you feel small; perhaps it was the way the world felt so large around you as you went through the motions, perhaps it was feeling the immeasurable vastness of the soul.

I suppose the why doesn't matter, only the results. What resulted was an understanding of myself and my emotions beyond what I could have imagined before. I hated being weak, my fury burned at the thought of being lesser, being chained down, submitting to anyone, or anything. To that end, I made a vow; I would walk this world unfettered and whichever way I may please, I would stand at the peak of this world even if I had to drown it under the weight of my rage.

It may have been my imagination but after I made that vow everything felt clearer and lighter. My own ambition would be the only thing that could limit me, I would grind this body to dust to take even a single step toward my goal if that's what it would take.

Where the calm hardened and the bow stretched, the sword sharpened. I had originally thought that my sword practice was sharpening my killing intent. It was of course I had seen the effects yet I could feel every movement grab my soul honing its edge, forming it into a blade. Was killing intent a property of the soul? I couldn't use magic yet so it wasn't that, it also didn't grab my Ki when used.

Out of curiosity, I tried to seep my soul into my sword. I was careful not to separate it or anything, I'd hate to find out this was Harry Potter or something, stupid Horcrux's. My sword became wreathed in silver light and even stationary I could tell it was sharp. As I swung my sword fighting an imaginary opponent the world howled as it was rent, the air snapping apart violently.

Tentatively I did the same with my hand as a whole, then my claws. Both causing a similar reaction as my sword, if to a lesser degree. Is this the famed sword intent?

Thinking upon it, aren't Senjutsu and cultivation similar? Following the path of the Sage Arts Sun Wukong was able to rage against the heavens, forcing them to accept him as an equal. What is more cultivator like than that? Instead of The Great Sage Equal To Heaven isn't he Wild Demon Screaming At The Celestial Gates? If it's like that aren't you a howler monkey Master Sun?

I've already proven that body refinement works to a certain degree. What's stopping me from ripping off my cultivation idols in hopes their techniques work? I could stick to other uses of Ki instead of Qigong certainly but what do Iron Fist or Oogway have in comparison to Senior Darknorth or Elder Bastard Yun Che?

No, even if only a tenth of the ideas work in this world, I'll be stronger following the path of cultivation.

While my mother had next to no talent in Senjutsu and the usage of Ki, the same couldn't be said in regards to Yojutsu. As the stereotypical brutish villains in Japanese tradition, the Oni could be said to have a poor affinity for Yojutsu. For my mother who was called a failure at all things Oni-like, she took to Yojutsu swimmingly.

"Mother I think we need to give up on teaching you Senjustu… How do I say this? You and Ki are like oil and water." Not wanting to hurt her feelings I try to be gentle with my analysis.

"Oh, ok." Mother shrugs unconcerned and I nearly face fault. Eh? What kind of reaction is that!

Disturb at her lackadaisical brush off I rebuke her, "Oi, at least pretend to care!"

"Well even if you say that," She scratches her head, "I can't do anything about it, right?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose I sigh. She isn't wrong but couldn't she say something like 'Oh no, woe is me who has to toil in mediocrity?'

"It's fine, it's fine. I do have something else you can try though." Sitting down in lotus position I gesture for her to copy me. Once she does so I talk her through how I found my Youki. As we both close our eyes I brush over her soul with mine to get a feel for what she's doing.

To my shock, she's already found it! I mean I found my Ki only slightly slower so isn't this fine? No of course not, I'm a freak of nature with two lives of experience! What sort of heaven-defying talent is this? Are you sure you're not part Kitsune or something?

"What do I do once I've found it, daughter?" My mother's inquiry cuts off my thoughts.

"Imagine an effect that you want to happen, something that 'feels' like it would work. Once you do so pull your Youki from its source, into your body, then out into the world." Following the path of her Youki with my Soul Sense, I watch to ensure she has no difficulties.

She grabs around half of her energy so I pull up my Touki just in case. Her Youki forms a shell beside her roughly the same size as she is. As the spell solidifies and I'm no longer concerned about any backlash I open my eyes to see what she did.

Sitting beside my mother is another copy of her. Feeling my eye twitch I clear my throat and gesture between the two of them, an obvious question in my demeanor. "I just thought it would be nice to have someone help around the house. You're always too busy training to help your poor mother."

A strangled growl erupts from my throat as I force myself not to bang my head off the floor. Catching sight of two of my mother giving me disappointed looks I harden my resolve knowing I can't let anything cut into my training time!

"I'll help around more Mother, I'm sorry." Dammit.

Sadly I lacked my mother's apparently prodigious talent for Yojutsu, my own more focused on the art of combat than more subtle pursuits. My attempt at using Yojutsu to copy the Bakuryuuujin from Rosario+Vampire was fruitless. Touki, though, was more than up to the task.

The Explosive Lapis Circle was designed as a close combat anti-air technique and involved releasing a massive amount of power as you smash a fist into the ground. This would create a shockwave that spread out all around you.

I had managed something similar earlier in this life by focusing all my Touki into my hand then punching. This created a forward-facing shockwave that was able to knock down a section of the forest. The problem was if I punched the ground I'd just shatter my own foothold.

To get around that I let my Touki build to maximum but held it just under my skin. Once it became a strain to hold I tensed all my muscles and released the Touki outwards. The sudden application of force combined with the outward expansion of my Touki shoved the air around me away from my body creating an omnidirectional wave of pressurized air.

I attempted to make poison or illusions using Yojutsu but I didn't have any talent. I could do it if I invested enough time and energy, except the results were weak and flimsy.

My shapeshifting still worked fine as did barriers using Yojutsu. The only other things I could make were fire, ash, and explosions.

With that in mind, I focused on those abilities. By my thirteenth year in this life; I reached the point I could look completely human should I decide to with my shapeshifting, my barriers were half as strong as my Touki but could be layered on top, I could cover a small clearing in a cloud of ash, my explosions were strong enough to break my barriers, not my Touki, and my fire had grown to be a tenth of the strength of the grudge flames.

I would have been saddened by this progress but it was only a single year and I hadn't slowed in progress with my other training. I doubt I would ever reach a point where my Yojutsu was as strong as my Senjutsu or any Martial Techniques I develop, I just like the idea of being able to do magic and it could come in handy someday.

I hadn't been able to sense the Elder in the village for the past four and a half years. I had practiced sneaking through the village undetected and from the rumors I heard, he had gone into seclusion almost immediately after my Trial.

There was speculation that he had entered the Valley of Despair in order to become strong enough to break through the barrier Ibaraki-Douji had placed around the village. I had approached the Valley in an attempt to sense his location at the beginning of the year.

The Valley of Despair was a place I couldn't locate him in. It wasn't as if it was a void to my senses or anything so miraculous; if anything it was the opposite, the place radiated so much malice that it drowned out everything in my range. The worst part was I had to be within feet of the Valley to sense that.

Whatever was in there wanted to roll over the world in a tide of violence and if the rest of the village had been exposed to it they would have gone insane. I have to wonder what purpose such a place has yet I'm sure I will find out once I turn fifteen. I've yet to be told anything about my final Trial but I can't imagine it taking place anywhere else.

The Elder recently came back from the Valley. I, of course, took the opportunity to feel his Ki and weigh his strength against mine. I felt nothing. The bastard must have developed a method to suppress his Ki in his time there. I had figured out how to do the same in the past four and a half years so it isn't that surprising.

Soon we'll have a rematch, I can feel it. This time I will tear his spine out and beat him to death with it.

The remainder of my fourteenth year in this world was peaceful. Instead of developing new skills, I spent the time honing my old ones, keeping them sharp. I had plateaued in my development needing new experiences to progress further.

I had begun to notice that my mother was looking tired more often as though some burden was weighing heavily on her. Every time I asked she reassured me she was fine, my heart broke a little at each false assurance. I think that my constant training has begun to take a toll on her and perhaps loneliness is what ails her. Any other possibility is too sad for me to think about. I've resolved that after my Trial I would help her through it, however possible.

For now, I purged any such worries from my mind. I had become the tiger that ruled its mountain and there was only room for one.