Tahir held his chin while thinking about his future. He'd never thought about what he wanted to do other than survive to the next day and keep his mother alive. After a minute or so, he raised his head to look Kali in the eye. "I just want to live freely. I want to be in control of my own destiny."
Given the circumstances surrounding his birth, Tahir should be the only commoner in his city that's recognized by all of the upper class. The Jedrek family is the governing family of Forest Gate City, the city where Tahir and his mother reside. However, after the unfortunate incident between his mother and the City Lord, he was conceived. The City Lord's wife couldn't handle the fact that her husband was with his servant. For her, it didn't matter that there was consent involved. She believes that Adria offered herself to the City Lord in an attempt to raise her social status, and no one can convince her otherwise. Tahir is convinced that she's the one that poisoned his mother out of jealousy. No one would hire Adria or him because word has been passed around that the City Lord's wife wouldn't appreciate anyone helping them.
Kali chuckled when he heard Tahir's reply. "That's an interesting goal you have there. So, how would you like to get there? What will be your path?"
Tahir stared at Kali with a confused gaze. "What do you mean what will be my path? Clearly I want to be strong."
"I see. Well you may certainly be strong one day. It all depends on what you can achieve. So, I take it that means you want to become a cultivator?"
Tahir was slightly annoyed with Kali until he realized what he was waiting for him to say. "Yes. I want to be a cultivator. I want to be strong. I want to learn alchemy so that I can make enough money that I won't need anything."
"You know you could just live here in peace and never worry about not having anything you want or need."
Tahir shook his head. "No. That's not what I want. Even if I lived here, I'd be a prisoner if I could never leave. I want to walk with my head held high, without fear."
A bright smile appeared on Kali's face. "That's the spirit! I was waiting to hear what you really wanted. The road will be long, but you can achieve your goal. You'll need to start by choosing a cultivation technique. Now tell me what you know about cultivation techniques so far."
"Absolutely nothing. I've never seen a cultivation technique. I've never even talked about cultivation with anyone before."
Kali scratched his chin and he thought for a moment. After a few seconds, he raised his head with an excited expression on his face. "Then I'll need to explain everything from the beginning."
He continued speaking. "There are three types of cultivation techniques and several levels of cultivation. There are body transformation, qi, and soul cultivation techniques, and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. There are nine levels of cultivation before a cultivator achieves what can be considered an immortal state from body refinement through the Emperor level. Depending on the cultivation technique used, your cultivation will be described differently. Entry level body cultivators are called martial apprentices. Qi cultivators use qi as the prefix for their level. Entry level qi cultivators are called spirit apprentices, and soul cultivators are called soul apprentices."
Tahir held up his hand to stop Kali. "Wait. This is a lot of information. Is there a book I can read?"
Kali was frustrated at being interrupted. He drug Tahir over to the alchemy tower learning area and made him sit down at a small table with two chairs. As soon as they sat down, an automaton brought over a tray with freshly brewed tea. "You'll sit here, and you will listen. Even if I gave you a book, you wouldn't understand it. So, I'm giving you a summary, making it simple for you to understand."
Tahir picked up the cup of tea offered to him. "This is the summary?"
"Yes. And there's more to cover. So, sit here, enjoy your tea, and pay attention."
Tahir was slightly taken aback by the change in Kali's demeanor. Normally, Kali seems jovial and light-hearted. However, now he seems like a strict tutor that won't accept any nonsense.
Kali then cleared his throat (clearly for effect). "Now as I was saying, there are three types of cultivation techniques and nine levels prior to entering the immortal state. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of cultivation."
"Body transformation cultivators focus on the accumulation of vital energy which increases longevity and creates immense strength. Energy is diffused throughout the entire body tempering each cell. Body transformation cultivators specialize in close combat using martial techniques. With the focus on endurance and strength, many forgers tend to use body transformation techniques."
"Qi cultivators will gather spirit energy to transform the body and create a core of energy that can be used for different combat techniques. Qi cultivation techniques tend to focus on a single elemental attribute such as fire, wind, etcetera. They specialize in mid-range combat. They primarily use weapons if they engage in close combat and elemental combat techniques for longer range attacks."
"Lastly, soul cultivators focus on increasing the capacity of their soul for mental energy. They tend to be long range combatants since their bodies are somewhat weaker than body transformation and qi cultivators. Most people who choose soul cultivation tend to work in alchemy and talisman creation. Although they tend to stay away from close combat and using traditional weapons, they are almost unparalleled when they have time to prepare."
Kali stared at Tahir with an intense gaze. "So, have you made a decision on which type of cultivation you'd like to practice?"
Tahir's mind was buzzing. He'd just received an overload of information. Suddenly, he thought of one possibility. "Do I have to choose just one? Can I practice all of them?"
Kali frowned. "Although you can practice all of them, each type of cultivation is time consuming and requires different types of resources. Granted, you will have some advantage in resources, but you'll still need to seek out your own opportunities. Most people who focus on more than one type of cultivation won't have any significant achievements in any of the methods chosen."
Tahir shook his head, disagreeing with Kali's statement. "That's like saying I should only focus on reading without thinking about math. The only way to avoid having clear vulnerabilities is to focus on practicing all three methods."
"In theory, you're correct, but the time required to practice 3 different methods of cultivation to any type of significant achievement won't even leave you time to sleep, let alone interact with other people. You also would truly have any time to experience life. You'd be in meditation day and night with no end in sight."
Tahir shrugged his shoulders. "If that's what it takes to make sure that I can live freely, I will take that risk."
"I see. Well let me send you home with some information, and you can decide once you've reviewed it." Kali handed a book with strange symbols to Tahir. The book seemed to be thin and worn from age. It had a brown leather cover with the same symbol Tahir saw on the central platform on the cover. "When you get home, just drop some of your blood on the cover and the information in the book will be transferred to your memory. However, be warned. There will be some discomfort since you haven't cultivated any type of spirit energy. There are literally an uncountable number of arts available in the compound, but the book I gave has a description of the highest level arts available to family members. Typically, family members would start with lower level arts and earn the right to cultivate these high-level techniques."
"Most cultivation and combat techniques are at the entry level or intermediate level. However, there are higher level techniques which are at Earth level and above. All the techniques described in the book are at least at the Earth level. There are a few that haven't been classified at a level, but prior family members have achieved great success with them in the past."
Kali then stood up from the table and gestured for Tahir to follow him. "I leave you to your own devices for today. I look forward to hearing your decision. For now, I'll send you back home. As always, you can just send me a mental message when you're ready to inform me of your decision." Kali waved his hand and sent Tahir back to his mother's room where he could see her sleeping peacefully. She looked more relaxed than she'd been in a very long time.