Qi Like Tar

Everyone settled in for a long session of cultivation. Who knew if they could find this place again? More mystical generations of qi, like this little clearing and the sapling in the center, were impossible to predict. Or maybe the sect would move it. Best to take advantage while they could.

Paike was planning on staying the night out here if possible. He would have to make sure they would be safe, but it should be possible.

Before he began his own cultivation, he took a moment to study his three friends.

He started with Yixin, who was the easiest to understand. He still didn't know much about her background, but that she was using the cultivation method taught in Elder Chu's class was telling. She had advanced to middle Ruby, putting her solidly above average but not on par with those like Liming in Late Ruby.

Paike considered trying to give her a better cultivation method. But he wouldn't actually be able to show her any of those that his family had taught him. And he wasn't about to suggest his own barbaric practices for her. He also didn't have the manuals with him. There was a chance he could explain it sufficiently, but that would be stupid, when his own sister knew them about as well as he did and was sitting right there.

It went back to the earlier idea that Liming had some sort of plan for Yixin. His sister always had some antics, usually connected with a plan. Sometimes that went hand in hand with some manipulations. He imagined there was something about motivating her and then being there to help her along when she really wanted to start pushing herself.

To him, it seemed needlessly complex. However, he wasn't about to get mixed up in his sister's business unless she asked for help. Which he was pretty sure she would eventually. So he just noted a few things Yixin should consider incorporating to mesh well with the windy nature of her qi and her desire to use a bow. It was rare to see such a complex element in such an early stage outside of families that specialized in it.

Moving on to Liming, she was making steady progress filling up her recently expanded dantian. The rate at which she was gathering qi was astonishing. Among the disciples, only Li Feng surpassed her, though not as much as Paike had assumed when he first felt the boy cultivating. Liming had made great progress in her understanding of qi recently.

He wasn't sure what elements she was focusing on. There were certainly aspects of water, earth, and wood, but it felt more tinged toward life and growth than any other aspect. He supposed she still hadn't given up on the idea of healing.