Grand Master Fu had seen many reactions to breaking through the difficult barrier of Soul Realm, but none were like young Lind. The progress of the boy in the last 5 years had been nothing short of astounding. The potential test had proven he had entered the Body Refining Realm, but to already peak at 11 years old was unheard of. The youngest Fu knew of had to be a few generations ago when the young master of the Gu Clan broke through at 14.
Lind had started at 6 with his official training under Garnt, an outer disciple Instructor. A few of the Elders' children were in that group due to their low potential but had been diligent. There had also been one other in that group, young Kor. Fu pushed that aside as he saw Mira clean up her son and get him off to the bath. Yue looked as prideful as Mira but Fu knew she had heard his exclamation just as clearly as him.
"Why does young Lind think cultivation was not real?" Fu asked the question but was stunned when Yue giggled. She looked up at him and used her walking stick to point at the nearby memorial bench. Fu frowned at this place. He knew it was Mira's right but she had been forbidden from carving a name. A name leads to questions and they could not answer them per Imperial Edict.
"It means we have underestimated the kind of cultivator Lind is." Yue started with this strange statement but it kicked Fu's mind into gear. He suddenly thought of a possibility and felt his heart shiver. If it was true, it was both a blessing and a curse. It would highly depend on how many elements young Lind awakened. Given the strength of the storm, the other clans likely felt something, at least their Grand Masters would. They would need answers for their questions, especially for the Gu Clan.
"An innate cultivator? Have there been any in the Lotus Empire's history?" Fu knew of these beings but had never heard of one in the Empire. Yue also looked like she was thinking back. They both had been around a long time but the Empire's history was thousands of years long.
"I think the Saint Kingdom had one, or claimed to. They are too far away to affect us, but the news did spread around. That was over 4 centuries ago. Who knows what happened to them, but you know we cannot let the Overseer know about Lind?" Yue became fierce at the end. Fu knew she loved the boy. He was honest, kind, and forthright. Too many of the young tried to ingratiate their way into the good graces of Elders and Grand Masters. Fu knew some were simply trying to help the clan, but it did not make him any less sick of them. The poor twins were even worse off.
If they had a true friend, it was only Lind. He had no ulterior motive. He simply loved company and had done a great deed because it helped Teyla survive. He never once asked for anything from them save to play a little longer when he was little. Teyla was now 15 so she had even less time. She and Teylin had just broken through recently as well. It was about to be announced for the upcoming end of year festival. Now this happened.
"We can hide it for a time, but not his elements. You know we have to register every Soul Realm cultivator. His age will be impossible to hide as well. But, given his mother is a grade 2 alchemist, we can play if off as a very doting mother for now." It was not unusual for alchemist children to use pills to break through despite the drawbacks. While it was possible to force it, the foundation would take years to stabilize and progress.
Fu looked up as Mira and Lind returned. The shocked look was still on the boy's face. Fu noticed he was also looking around and then Fu felt his heart still as the boy's hand began to glow. Qi was gathered in his palm, not in a technique, but just the raw power of Heaven and Earth! By the spirits! How talented was this boy?
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Lind was feeling hollow. It was all real. Cultivation, Qi, all of it. He could see it! Out of instinct, he had reached out to catch it like a snowflake and felt a connection form. He caught some golden colored and red colored Qi on his fingertips. He looked at it in awe and looked down at his belly to see a constant flow moving into him. All 6 colors inside his body were being fed into some kind of emerald flame. Why did he have a flame?
"Lind." His mother's voice drew him out and he saw her own awe at his hand. As if breathing, Lind stopped the sensation and the Qi floated away. The Old Man and Granny were here. What happened?
"Young Lind, please answer my questions before asking your own. Be honest and as accurate as possible." The Old Man was business as always but Granny was smiling warmly at him. He nodded and waited. The first questions dealt with his meditation before this happened. He described it as best he could and began to remember almost losing his thoughts at one point but persevered.
Lind was also asked about his training. It was the first time Lind spoke of how he could tell the instructions were slightly off for himself. Lind adjusted now only his own breathing and movements, but Kor's and others. They had all thanked him for some reason but now Lind suspected why. They were cultivating. The Body Refining Realm was the realm where breathing and physical movement cause the Qi to clear the meridians.
It was all in preparation to form the dantian and find the elements one aligns with. Lind saw the shock on all 3 adults as he described his training as natural as breathing. Granny nodded as if it all made sense toward the end but the Old Man looked like he needed a stiff drink.
"Now, to be clear, you have 6 elements and some kind of emerald flame at the center of your dantian?" Lind nodded at the review and waited. "Tell me what you see right now." The Old Man asked the question Lind wanted to ask the most about.
"I see the rainbow all around us. Varying shades and even some mixes flying through the air like snowflakes. I see the flow of elements into mom and me. I can't see it too well in you 2 but the outside still had it flowing into you." Lind then held out his left hand and stopped a few of the flakes on his fingers once again. "I can touch them too."
"Describe the flow between your mother and yourself." The Old Man was nodding now but this seemed a critical question. He was stroking his chin again like when he gave the puzzle to Lind 5 years ago.
"If I was to compare, Mom is a trickle and I am a river." As they all stood around him, Lind suddenly felt a sensation of power flow outwards from his dantian. A quick glance revealed the emerald flame and the spheres had gotten slightly bigger! The flow of Qi, however, had begun to slow way down.
"I believe you just broke through half a tier, young Lind. We will need to adjust that or you will suffer." The Old Man reached out and a feeling of pressure entered Lind's body. It did not hurt, but it was uncomfortable. Suddenly, the emerald flame seemed to brighten and the Old Man snatched his hand back. "Hmmm. It seems it will not be that easy. This is bad."
Panic flooded Lind. Why was it bad, what was bad?! Seeing he had caused the boy to panic, the Old Man patted his head.
"Calm down. I need you to follow my instructions exactly. You are lucky you have Soul Touch. Now assumed a mediation position." Lind followed the instructions as his mother stood behind him and the 2 Grand Masters stood in front. "The feeling you had in your hands, put that on the areas you see the Qi flowing into you. Don't block it entirely, just obstruct it. Concentrate."
Lind put his all into it and saw an effect. The river flowing into him became smaller and smaller. He kept at it until he was like his mother. The joy at success ruined it. As soon as Lind was distracted, the flood gates opened.
"Concentrate Lind. Focus!" Lind calmed himself and tried again. He held onto that feeling and kept it for as long as he could. Eventually, the trickle held steady and Lind did not let go. "Good, now do not resist me." Once again the Old Man somehow put pressure on Lind but instead of entering his body, it was following the meridians entry points.
A restrictive feeling fell on his meridians but when Lind worried at the distraction, he found nothing changed. It stayed slow!
"Good, that worked. You will need to practice controlling your own cultivation speed or you will ruin your foundation by having tempered your elements beyond your tier." Lind instantly understood from the lesson he had. Once a dantian was formed, there were 2 major things a cultivator had to do. They had to increase the quality of their Qi throughout their body and they had to temper the elements in lockstep or close to it. A slight variance above or below would not be a big deal, but if one falls too far behind, breaking through becomes impossible. It can also cripple a cultivator.
"What is wrong with me Old Man?" Lind finally asked the question he needed most and saw irritation flash across the Old Man's face. He was not like Granny but no one had ever told him the Old Man's name so that was all Lind knew. Granny never corrected Lind when he called him that either. She laughed about it at first too.
"Sigh, I will start with what we know. You are both every talented and burdened young Lind. You are what we call a 6 elemental cultivator. This, by itself, is already troublesome, but combined with the rest…" The Old Man signed to Lind's mother to bring tea. It would be a long conversation. They sat in the garden as Lind glanced at the dancing light in his eyes. "You will need to train that sight better. Techniques will blind you just by being conjured otherwise. It is called Soul Eyes. Soul Touch should be self explanatory, yes?"
Lind nodded. He had no doubt these names corresponded to the fact that at the Soul Realm they manifested. With a little concentration, Lind could filter some out, but his periphery vision still had the rainbow flowing by. The Soul Touch was easier. Lind had to concentrate to do it and he had to really picture catching it or the Qi just slipped through his fingers.
"That Soul Touch could be very useful to you. Not many have it, but those that master it are a nightmare in combat. Long range attacks might as well be gift wrapped if you master it. You can take an attack and literally alter its direction at will." The Old Man seemed to be pleased Lind had this talent. The Old Man then turned serious. "The real problem is the main talent you present, being an Innate Cultivator."
Lind was confused. How could the process he had read about, and currently just done, be considered innate? He had to meditate and study, surely he was not the only person just be inclined towards this. Surely…right? The question must have been on his face as the Old Man sighed and turned to Yue.
"Lind, an Innate Cultivator is very rare. They are not like the majority of people as they do not realize they are different until the Soul Realm. I only know of 1 myself, but there are many books on the subject. It was recorded that one such young woman thought she had no talent as she could not feel Qi in Body Refining at all. Just as you described, she did the training but did not feel like others. Until she broke through suddenly one day into the Soul Realm." Lind realized it was the same. He had gotten stronger but did not understand it. He had formed his dantian without realizing he was following his alignment training. The feeling of pressure was exactly as described for those with multiple elements.
That left one question though, how were elements chosen in the first place? The mind reading Old Man continued as if he could see the future.
"No one knows what element they will have. Some only awaken 1 where many of our clan awakent 3 or 4. If you had done this and were an innate cultivator, your future would be brimming with promise, but you awakened all 6." The grim look on the Old Man's face revealed this was the crux of the problem. None of the manuals or lessons spoke on the importance of how many elements to awaken. Wouldn't having all 6 be good? Any technique was possible with this right?
"Lind." His mother's quiet voice caused Lind to snap his head over. He saw tears in her eyes. They were not happy tears. They were heartbroken. Why?
"Young Lind. Having all 6 elements may seem good but it is extremely difficult to progress. You have to temper all 6 elements before moving forward with your cultivation. Do you understand?" It suddenly dawned on Lind. Tempering was not an automatic process. Unlike cultivating his body and meridians, Lind had to temper his elements the same as everyone else. In other words, even if he was not an innate cultivator, he would have to hold back his cultivation until his elements were tempered appropriately. It was not a problem at tier 1, all was equal, but as time moved on, the speed differential would get worse.
"I-I won't be able to cultivate easily, will I?" Lind had been on a rollercoaster. He had vented his rage at Shou in the tournament, discovered cultivation was real, but learned he was perhaps the most cursed cultivator to ever live. He had all the ingredients for a fantastic cultivator except he was a 6 elemental.
"We will find a way boy. Heaven and Earth are cruel, but fair. There is always a way, we just have to find it. It is best if you keep most of this to yourself. Obviously, we have to move you to a new training area but I will see to that. Lastly, is there anything you need before we go?" The Old Man knew Lind's mother wanted to be with her son. The choke on the boy's meridians would hold for a week so he could practice on his one, but Lind suddenly felt his heart calm. He realized he had worth to the clan right now.
"I want Kor and his sisters to be treated better. I don't care who their parents were, but they are being bullied. I don't expect favoritism, but please let them at least enjoy life." Of all the things Lind said, the last seemed to hit Granny the hardest. His mom looked shocked and suddenly glared at the Old Man who started to fidget.
"I was thinking of resources boy, but very well. You are worth a great deal as you clearly know, so I will do it today. Anything else?" The Old Man was getting up to leave but the flash of sadness in Lind's face tinged his heart.
"Do I have to hide this from Teyla and Teylin?" The Old Man was never so glad to be able to relieve this burden.
"Not at all, in fact, you will see them next week. Look forward to it." The Old Man left and Granny moved with Lind's mom to embrace him. The comfort he felt right then made the information overload easier to deal with. He had a lot of work to do. A lot of impossible work to do.