Esmeralda perked up at the mention of qi "That's something else I've been meaning to ask you about, we're supposedly meant to help the mortal ascend to nascent soul stage but how do we do it. We're not from here, I don't think we can harness this qi the way you do"
"Hmmm....that doesn't seem right, everyone possess qi. It's that energy inside ya. But I guess we won't know till ya try!" Clyde said with a wide smile
Clyde left the room for a few minutes and returned with a fairly large crystal ball. It was used to find out the nature of the qi of anyone who touched it, it was the fundamental test that all soon to be cultivators went through in order to know which qi to take into their body. Absorbing the wrong qi could damage the dantian and retard cultivation growth.
He placed the crystal down and held out his hand for Esmeralda to take. She looked troubled.
"This here's a crystal ball, we're gonna use it to find out the nature of ya qi. Just place ya hand on it", he explained attempting to ease her mind
"How will I know which one it is? What type of qi natures are there?"
"There are four basic qi types earth, fire, water and air. The others such as lightning, ice and magma are mutated forms of the basic types, I'll do the checking for ya." He placed her hand on it. The crystal glowed a deep blue before freezing up completely. Esmeralda and Vincent looked to Clyde for an explanation
"Congratulations!, ya got the ice and water types"
Vincent whistled "two? Way to go shortie", Esmeralda opened her mouth to rebuke him but Clyde beat her to it "its not that impressive really. It's common for those with a mutated type of qi ta have one basic type qi too"
Esmeralda freed her hand from the crystal. The blue glow died down as Vincent clapped his hands and shot up to his feet "guess it's my turn now". Clyde nodded and took his hand as well, placing it on the crystal ball. The room lit up with a golden glow as sparks of lightning shot off the crystal, stopping short of singeing anything.
It was Esmeralda's turn to whistle "that's definitely lightning right?",Clyde nodded looking a bit shocked. Vincent had a huge grin on his face, he hadn't held out much hope of actually having a qi nature but the lightning was awesome. It felt so natural looking at it and for a moment he thought that being stuck in the game might not be so bad after all.
...
"Well, now that we know ya qi types we'll begin training ya tomorrow!" Clyde exclaimed
"Hah?! Training? Tomorrow?!" Vincent looked to Esmeralda for help but she was just as shocked as he was "but we haven't actually adjusted to all this yet. It's a lot to take in you know"
Clyde frowned "well I suppose it can't be helped. Ya can take it easy for 3 days. But after that we begin training right away, Fotiá ain't gonna sit still for ya to get stronger. Scheming minx probably already has a plan set in motion, I can only teach ya the basics, but you'll have ta find the mortal and get him ta the school on ya own so every second counts right now"
Esmeralda nodded at his words "you're right that we dont have time to waste staying idle but on the other hand I need some time to take in everything that's happened thus far...How about, you teach us how to absorb qi into our bodies then we'll train by ourselves in absorbing it like its second nature for the three days we won't be training, then you can check our progress after the third day?" she turned to Vincent, seeking his approval. "That works right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay with that. It can work" He nodded
"Okay then, follow me" Clyde stood and led them outside, they'd spent hours inside the house and now the sun had since set. Crystal's glowed at the door post of every house, basking the streets in beautiful lights and lighting their way.
Cataleya came bounding up to him grinning ear to ear "papa! Papa!! I learnt how to make a star shape with my crystal today" Clyde leaned down to her height
"Did ya now? Ya'll gave ta show me sometime, right now daddy had ta help our new friends. Go meet ya mum okay, its dinner time"
"Okay papa!" She hugged her father then proceeded to hug Esmeralda and Vincent before running off in the direction of her house, Clyde smiled at her retreating form.
"Come on then"
He continued walking, leading them to the end of the street, he then stopped and turned to face the both of them "this is the one part of the village where the qi is very dense so it should be relatively easy ta take it into ya body" Clyde sat cross legged on the ground and motioned for them to follow. They did, facing him.
"Now ya have to close ya eyes and connect with all the natural energy around ya. Ya should feel all the qi types so ya'll have ta reach out ta the one that matches ya nature and guide it into ya body, like so"
Esmeralda and Vincent watched as Clyde closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He began to glow a faint red as small orbs emitting the same red glow were sucked into his body.
He began to shine brighter and brighter till he suddenly stopped and the glow dimmed down. He opened his eyes, looking up at Esmeralda and Vincent
They remained motionless, staring at him. Dumbfounded.
Clyde chuckled at their reaction, or rather their lack of one."this is the part where ya try it out ya'selves" they still didn't make a move "come on, ya have to try it eventually. Ya can't cultivate without it"
Vincent sighed
"alright..."