The moment I heard Raina's words, I went against my better judgment and tried to run.
Any sane person could tell you that this was a bad idea; however, I decided to listen to my instincts rather than the rational part of my brain. Predictably, I got caught.
More specifically, Raina lifted me up by my collar and dragged me out of the room after moving next to me faster than I could see. I wonder if wearing a dress instead of my blouse would have prevented this. Regardless, this did not change my current situation of being dumped on the ground in front of my workshop.
Getting up, I looked at Raina, who pulled out a double-edged straight sword with a non-existent crossguard and plain handle that she pointed at the ground. She then pulled out a similar sword from her storage device and threw it toward me, hilt first.
Catching the sword, I now held it off to the side of me, trying to rotate the blade in my hand so that the edge was lined up with wear I would normally swing. This was a piece of knowledge I had after I placed those skill points in swordsmanship a few months back. Raina did not give me any time, though, and was soon upon me with her blade slashing across my chest.
I tried to raise my sword in the equivalent of a block, but it was already too late.
Thinking that the blade would cut through me, I tried to retreat slightly but was still struck with the blade. Unlike I thought, the blade landed with the feeling of being hit by a large bat or club. The residual force of the blow sent me flying to the ground.
Raina then looked at me and said, "First lesson, always be ready for an attack."
Not wanting to take that lying down, I retorted, "Even when you catch your sword in a position that would have left it flying out of your grip at the first block or strike?"
Raina replied with a darkening expression, "Any cultivator of the Qi Gathering realm should have been able to catch that sword."
This reply let me understand the problem, so I responded, "I am not in the Qi gathering realm."
Raina's expression lightened up slightly, and she asked, "What do you mean you're not at the Qi Gathering realm?"
Clarifying the situation to her, I say, "I laid down the foundation my technique requires to break through to the Qi Gathering realm, but I have not taken that step yet."
Raina's expression finally changed to that of confusion before she asked, "Then why do I get the feeling that you already broke through?"
Confused by her question, my ears went perpendicular to each other again and I then checked the condition of my body. When I checked, I found that there were four build-ups of energy in my body. Three of the positions lined up with what I thought were the three cores in the body, but the last core left me confused.
After checking my entire body again, I found that the meridian connections in my tail were not what I thought they would be. Instead of the three I expected, there was also another core. This one meridian only became a core after I started using Sol's awakening, so that must mean it was what some techniques called a sub-core before.
This sub-core(now core) must have connected the tail meridians to the rest of the body, but from my research, the only reason a technique would create a sub-core is that the meridians on that part of the body were special. These special meridians were usually created through a technique(at least in humans), so the question now was, what about the meridians in my tail are special?
While I was pondering on what was special about a kitsune's tail meridians, I noticed, through the internal view of my body that I pulled my tail in front of me and that my ears started twitching out of sync.
Raina must have caught on to my spiraling thoughts because of my body's tells as she slashed her sword just in front of my face, close enough to cut a few strands of hair that covered my left eye.
This pulled me back to reality with a start as I stepped back and stared at Raina in shock. She just looked back at me and said, "Never get distracted in a fight."
The dark look had returned, so I tried to explain, saying, "Sorry. I was trying to find out why it felt like I was in the Qi Gathering realm."
At that, Raina only raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn't that an easy thing to answer?"
Given the queue to continue, I explain, "I mean, maybe? I am fairly sure that the reason it feels like I am in the Qi Gathering realm is because my natural Qi absorption is so high that I am passively cultivating. So, during the time when we were moving out here and setting up the house, along with the period of time before I laid the foundation for advancing into the Qi Gathering realm. I already accumulated enough Qi to advance to the next realm without my knowledge and just have to initiate a breakthrough."
Raina then gave me a blank stare as if asking if I thought she was an idiot or something and then said, "It would not have taken you that long to figure that out. So what else are you not telling me?"
When Raina asked that, I felt a lightbulb go off in my head and answered, "I found out that the number of meridians I thought that a kitsune had was wrong and that there was one more of a high enough grade that when I advanced all my meridians to the next level it got upgraded to a core. Meaning that I have four cores now instead of the normal three."
After I mentioned taking all my meridians to the next level, Raina's face turned to one of shock and concern as she asked, "What do you mean taking your meridians to the next level? Please tell me that you still have your collateral meridians."
Taking a small step back from the now freaking-out Raina, I answer, "I mean exactly what I said. I took all my meridians to the next stage up. This naturally caused the newly upgraded meridians to form a new set of collateral meridians. That means with my cultivation technique, I now have over ten times the amount of meridians as a normal Kitsune at my tail count."
Raina's expression then went from one of worry to one of shock as she asked, "What do you mean?"
Taking the opportunity to explain a little more, I say, "Most techniques that allow you to make new meridians have you force back the natural process of meridians forming their own set of collaterals. This is mainly because there is no way for those techniques to guide their formation, and it may ultimately hurt the cultivator. With my technique using all ten elements, I am able to form complete meridians and even partially guide their formation path. It is because of this that I now have over ten times the normal meridian count without said meridians causing me harm."
With that, both Raina and Yuki, who was at the side observing all of this, looked at me like I had grown a second head. I mean, that was arguably possible given that I could form entirely new meridians, but that was not part of my technique, and nothing of the sort happened.
The first person to break out of their shock was Yuki, who started mumbling under her breath over and over again, "That's insane, absolutely insane."
Raina left her stupor not long after shaking her head and taking a fighting stance, saying, "Regardless, it is still time for your training. I will make sure to adjust myself to the peak of body tempering so you will not have to hold back."
Taking notes from only some of the lessons earlier, I raise my sword in front of me and say, "But I thought you said we would only practice until the crafting was finished, and I am pretty sure that-"
I was unable to finish that sentence as a sword was now stabbing toward my open left side.
This strike was far slower than last time, so I was able to slash my sword to the side and block the attack.
The stab then turned to a slash at my own blade, causing the two to collide in front of the left side of my chest. It was then that the slash turned to a thrust and impacted me in the ribs.
Unlike last time, the strike only hurt and pushed me back a step, but it did not throw me to the ground.
If I could not think of anything to lessen the punishment, it was going to be a long day.