The soil was alive.
Riku didn't know when it started or how it started, but in the following days since the Ranking Tournament, the ground he loosened and weeded and watered for the herbs' sakes seemed to have feelings. It was grateful, it was tranquil, it was nurturing, it cared about the herbs... it was the most invaluable ally in battle and in growing the Black Starlight Flowers.
It greeted him with a gentle welcome every morning when he tended the plants. Riku greeted the land back. "Hello, earth."
It wasn't the Earth he knew, not even close. Back in his modern life, the Earth he knew was a distant, vague concept of mixed chemical elements. Technically, this soil should be, too, but it wasn't. This soil was different.
The animals, likewise, were different. Riku had gone to the stables one day thinking to learn to ride, or to pet a cat or something. That had not gone well. The horses in there were muscular brutes who bit and kicked at him with every chance they had. They literally had to be chained to the wall. The cats hissed at him just for looking at them. They had claws out the moment he got within six feet.
Was it something about this body? Some sort of smell that the horses and cats hated? But if that were the case, why were the horses chained like prisoners? Riku wasn't familiar with horses in his old Earth, but he didn't remember them having to be held down so harshly.
"Is it just me, or do the horses hate me?" Riku asked Jin one day.
"It's not just you. Animals hate people. That's just the way it is." Jin replied. "That's why most of the world is dangerous. The really strong beasts could tear a city apart."
"What about the ocean, then? Is it safer?"
Jin stared at him like he'd gone mad. He involuntarily shivered. "T-the OCEAN?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Apparently, swimming in the sea was an execution method for death row prisoners. There were ships, but they were crafted of the strongest Ironwood, often heavily plated with metal armor, and they never ventured far from the shore. Nobody went out to sea unless they were at least a Stage 6 Adept. Not unless they were sent there to die.
Despite Jin's warnings that the world was dangerous, Riku passed the week peacefully. The Ji cousins did not show up. Herman did not yell at him in the mornings. Riku was happy to be able to wake up well after sunrise these few days. The most combat he had seen was in the Observation of the Regular Disciples during their sparring. They were a lot more polite to him, now. Not friendly, exactly, but polite, at least.
Even Master Huang was nicer to him. He actually took some time to teach Riku some movements. Under his instruction, Riku learned and developed the Rock Fist and Earthshaker Kick techniques to what he said was the Adept level. System merely listed them as 'Level 2'.
Also, he had Riku practice channeling.
The difference between a Novice and an Adept was the ability to exert Life Force outside one's body. The lowest level of this was in the form of a protective aura. Jin's Bronze Bell technique was a technique to shape and reinforce his aura. Taken a step further, Adepts could extend their Life Force like ropes; Aulonia's Steel Silk Web technique was an example of that. At higher levels, it was even possible to send one's Life Force into somebody else's body. That way, an enemy could kill someone with a soft touch, or a friend might help someone recover from an injury; Life Force had some regenerative effect that increased with development.
The movement of Life Force outside one's body was referred to as 'channeling'. It was this new trick that Riku practiced the most these days, and once he had the hang of it, he could safely call himself a Stage 1 Adept.
As for why the practice of channeling resulted in one's overall volume of Life Force increasing, Master Huang likened it to exercise. "If you want to make your body stronger, work out. If you want to make your Life Force stronger, channel." It was that simple.
The strength one could exert in channeling determined one's Stage as an Adept. Eventually, one would reach a level where that Life Force could take on solid form. At that point, an Adept became a Master.
Or at least, that was what Master Huang said. System seemed to disagree.
According to System, Soul Force (the strength one could exert in channeling) and Soul Forge (the shaping of Psuche into material form) were separate issues. One had to do with raw output. The other had to do with finesse and skill. It was the difference between Strength and Dexterity. That the same exercises could sometimes improve both was probably why 'blundering practice' (System's words) could eventually lead someone to 'Master' levels.
All of that was still beyond Riku for now. As far as he was concerned, his focus at this time was the Bronze Bell technique. Being able to channel and form a protective aura was the bare minimum requirement for using it. Once he did, his defense would have another layer on top of Earth Armor and Stone Skin. At that point, even Shui might have difficulty hurting him.
That's right; Riku was bent on improving his defense. Earth Armor and Stone Skin already made him invincible among Stage 1 and 2 Adepts. Say what you want, Riku was happy that he could protect himself from being hurt and loved being able to face warriors of a couple levels higher than himself without fear.
Another way to increase his already formidable defense was to develop the Stone Skin technique to Iron Skin. Master Huang said they were different, being of different elements. System said that was nonsense. It was all a matter of density, or more to the point, the density of matter. System's conclusions matched what Riku knew from his past modern life, but there was another issue; that metal and stone were also fundamentally different in their element make-up. There was a difference between a stone containing iron ore and forged iron. The Iron Skin that Riku envisioned was the latter.
It was going to be different from the Iron Skin that Jin was so valiantly struggling to figure out. It would definitely look different as well, but Riku wasn't too worried. After all, nobody would be able to see it under inches of Earth Armor.
In addition to the 'earth element' techniques Master Huang taught Riku, he also focused on the wood-element techniques. Observing wood-elemental disciples like Zhong Bounty and Huang Mu at practice was enough for him to learn three of the Bamboo series (Bamboo Palm, Bamboo Breaker Fist, Whipping Bamboo Hands) and two of the Willow series (Willow Steps, Willow Kicks). Riku even Observed the Falling Tree tackle to 50%.
As for the fire-types like the Burning Palm, those were going to need some serious channeling skill. Maybe one day. Meanwhile, just basic channeling and the 'earth element' techniques were already taking up most of his time and energy.
Tending to the flowers was what made these days feel peaceful rather than tedious. Seriously, Riku felt like the ground itself was starting to become friendly with him, or at least, it was when he was tending the flowers. Was that 'Earth Resonance'? Master Huang would be so pleased.
Alas, the peace of tending the garden was soon to be abruptly interrupted.
"Huang Riku?" a beautiful girl arrived out of nowhere and smiled at him. Delicate-looking eyes, a lively smile, and an alluring tilt of the head totally made Riku forget what it was he'd been doing. "Can I touch the Black Starlight Flowers?"
"W-whuh…?" Riku eloquently responded, his mind completely blank.
Say something! DO something! Show off your power, or wrestle a bear or at least say something smart and funny! Don't just stand there like a numbskull!
So he thought, but five seconds went by and Riku just stood there like a numbskull.
"Those!" she pointed. "Those are Black Starlight Flowers. Didn't you know?"
"Uh… yeah?" Riku finally managed.
"Ooh! That's some good soil…" she was already going hands-on. She picked up an earthworm from the soil, and Riku started, thinking of how to valiantly protect her from the evil earthworm, but unlike other girls in his past modern life, she didn't seem afraid of it at all. In fact, she seemed to be studying it and nodding in approval. Then she replaced it and picked up a handful of dirt and sifted it in her hands intently, thoughtfully considering it.
"Pure nature, huh? No crystals?" She mused. "It does give the flowers a gentler sort of vigor. Maybe natural is best, after all? They seem happier than my family's herbs…"
"Your family?" Riku blurted, his mind slowly starting to work again.
"Ah! That's right! I should introduce myself!" she exclaimed, then held out a dirt-stained hand, the same one that had held the earthworm earlier. "Sorry. I'm Cymaria."
Riku shook it with his equally dirt-stained hand and took the effort to figure out the right thing to say at such a time. "Huang Xi Riku. It is a pleasure to meet you."