"Let's summarize again. It's not just the study of Five Elements that matters, but also their interactions. Elements manifesting as matter are only a crude representation of what they truly mean, and thus techniques based around that are considered crude, too.
In your xiandao journey, you'll have to pick at least one basic element to cultivate mainly, and our sect recommends that it's one of the basic elements. Otherwise, if you try and cultivate wind, lightning, insect, poison, or any other path, you'll struggle going above Foundation stage, unless you have serious connections.
Physical cultivation is strongly inhibited by your Xiandao core, but you can also use the physique you've built to break through to the Foundation stage relatively fast, even if your bloodline doesn't normally allow for it.
If you aren't gifted with elemental affinity, you'll have to create a foundation yourself, which is costly and takes time and resources. Without talent, you'll also have to use affinity-boosting methods to break onto higher stages.
Every single skill you study in this school is very important, and each contributes to your overall ability as a cultivator. Still, the most important qualities one can have are integrity and perseverance, beating even intelligence and talent.
Does anyone have any questions? Actually, I don't care. The lesson is over. Farewell."
This man disappeared as rapidly and elegantly as he entered.
Lei sighed.
"What a guy, huh? At least we've got training next. You ready?"
"My body still hurts all over, but this villain made me angry enough to ignore it, that greedy fuck. Let's do this!"
The students entered a Combat pavilion again, this time it was a completely different environment, even if placed in the same location. There were servants playing some sublime, traditional-style music. Many higher-ranked masters trained in their own circles, practicing their impressive attacks. The internal disciples were training too, mostly in groups, but some were receiving individual training, fighting animated wooden mannequins.
In charge of the group's training, though? Xie Xiaodan, rubbing his belly in anticipation, smiling menacingly. He greeted the youngsters, then explained the procedure:
"Oldies, join your own groups and get lost. Newbies, we still need to evaluate you properly. Behind me you can see this obstacle course. It is designed to evaluate every aspect of your physique. The rules are simple: you hear a gong, you begin running. If the person behind you touches your shoulder — you drop to the ground and do three proper push-ups. You are allowed to use your qi abilities, by the way. Should you, though?"
He turned to Xin, called him up, and said:
"Xin, if you would be so kind, could you please bring that Rui Ming fellow here? He is in the fourth circle, I need someone to demonstrate how it's properly done. He is your roommate, right?"
"He is, master. Will do!"
Xin sprinted towards the fourth circle, quickly found Rui Ming, and brought him in front of Xie Xiaodan.
He was a man of average height, with a very toned body. His face was handsome, and you could sharpen a knife on his cheekbones. He also had luxurious hair, reaching his shoulders, and was wearing a red headband to support it.
He threw a quick glance at the group of newbies, smiled mysteriously, and became detached again. Then he bowed and performed a martial gesture, both of these moves were a bit half-assed.
"You called, master."
"Show these youngsters how to take an obstacle course. Everyone, watch."
Rui Ming sprang to action as soon as Xie Xiaodan finished talking. It looked like a gust of wind rose where he started running.
First stage — straight run. Rui Ming ran fast enough to outrun a horse, leaving the audience wide-eyed. Is he really a mortal?
Second sector — pillar jumping. Rui Ming accelerated and jumped over many wooden pillars, skipping the "proper" way of progressing, but still landing perfectly.
Sector three — getting through the mannequins inhibiting your run. Those delivered telegraphed attacks as he pounced through them, not looking inhibited at all.
Xin was astonished. What was that agility? That guy could probably wipe the floor with him.
Sector four — carrying a sandbag. This one looked almost ordinary, Rui Ming even looked burdened, but he still performed very well.
Sector five — climbing. Here, it looked like he was flying, breaking the laws of inertia.
He made a full circle, stopped near Xie Xiaodan, heavily breathing, then bowed.
"Told you to train your endurance, the sword manuals won't carry you far if you choke on your own lungs. Terrible!"
"I'll improve, master" - Rui Ming said with a tragic expression and ran away.
"Did I tell ya to leave?" - Xie Xiaodan was dumbfounded, and didn't know whether to get angry or laugh. "Alright, let's continue the lesson. 'Seeds,' all twelve of you, get in line, you come in first!"
Xie Xiaodan called up the inner disciples deemed the strongest by the first selection, all wearing white robes with a blue stripe on their collar.
"You, girl, go first! Gong, get ready! Bang every three breaths!"
Yao Nang went first, and Wu Lei followed after. Next in line — Xin. Xie Xiaodan clearly favored those he handpicked in the first selection.
Straight run. Yao Nang moved like a very fast runner, and even as Lei started racing, too, he still wasn't able to win back any distance. Lei was tempted to infuse his run with fire qi, but he could only do it in short bursts of energy.
Xin heard the gong and chased after them. Still, he had no special abilities that would let him catch up, and relied on his physical skills. He was a decent runner, but will that be enough? He was already being chased by one of the seeds, a lean man with a stern expression, slowly catching up with him.
The young hunter was finally done with the racing track, and he could see Lei catching up with Yao Nang. His cat-like grace and a burglar's experience had allowed him to move quickly over the pillars, even if he wasn't skipping steps like Rui Ming.
Xin made the first jump. Another one. He realized that he was too slow. Is this the purpose of the task? To make you figure out the most optimal pace of progression? He jumped, and again. Almost fell. The opponent was catching up. Wooden qi! He infused his heels and made a big jump, making his grip on the wooden pillars stronger. He used a similar technique when he climbed, but this was much harder to execute. Still, it worked and Xin was delighted.
Faster. It's not about not being caught up with, it's about catching Lei or Yao Nang! Xin made a bigger jump, spending even more qi, and skipped over several pillars. Xin was delighted and drunk on success, so he made another jump, but this time he slipped and fell, hitting his tailbone.
Painful!
Xin could see his opponent catch up with him, so he ignored the pain and climbed the pillar again. This course is almost over, next one is pure climbing.
His opponent was a step behind him, but the next obstacle was a thin line, blocked by the mannequins. It was a good chance to break some distance with Lei.
Xin could almost feel his opponent breathing down his neck, so he rushed the mannequins, preparing to evade or block. Hook. Easy dive, pounce forward. Front kick. Telegraphed, sidestep. Xin accelerated to his max speed, and he reached the three mannequins delivering the arbitrary attacks. Will be hard.
The first one tried to shoulder tackle him, and he evaded it. The second tried to grab him with its wooden arms. Xin redirected one of the handless limbs away. It wasn't that hard, but then the third mannequin rushed and kicked him.
Diagonal sidestep to the left, then run forward. Should be optimal to keep the acceleration.
Suddenly, Xin could feel his balance slip. Something touched his shoulder, and he was sent flying right into the mannequin's kick, which hit him in the solar plexus!
Xin fell to the ground, in pain and barely able to breathe. He could see his opponent rush past him. And another one, shortly after. Was that push even allowed? Was it really "a touch on the shoulder"? It was a clear foul!
"Stand up, kid! It's not over until it's over!" - Xie Xiaodan encouraged him, but his voice was angry.
In the end, Xin came sixth. Yao Nang took the first place, and Lei came second. He took the lead twice, but the climbing and strength contests were pretty hard with his arm, and his opponent was too formidable on long distances. By the end of the race, she had a comfortable lead, and Wu Lei was out of qi and too tired to match her.
Xin stood among his peers, his tailbone and chest were hurting, he had his breath beaten out of him, and felt humiliated. Still, he found this exercise pretty fun and wanted to do better next time. His prodigy status, though? Pretty shaky after this.
Xie Xiaodan took a small pause, awarded Yao Nang a contribution point, and announced that the next time this course will be taken in order of this race's rankings.
Still, he claimed that it was just a warm-up for actual training, leaving most of the students wide-eyed. He explained the basics, like the importance of stretching and warming up, the athletic plan they'll follow, the rotation between "weapon days," "martial arts days," and "body days," and handed the training over to the lower-ranked masters.
They drilled the group, putting as much effort into making everyone react to their orders as fast as possible as into the physical aspect. If any student was considered inattentive or slacking off, they were punished physically. After they were done with their exhausting program, they made the students take the course again.
This time, Xin came fifth, moving up a bit, Yao Nang stayed on top, but exhausted Lei dropped to fourth.
After the training was over, Xin approached master Xie Xiaodan, bowing pretty lowly. He had been trying to build up the courage to do it for quite some time and decided to do it now, even if the timing was a bit off. The man was chatting with a wood path master, who was managing the mannequins, repairing and rerouting them.
"Master, may I have a word with you? It's important."
"You dare approach me after this dreadful showing? I'll hear you out, don't expect any sympathy."
"Forgive me for letting you down. I'll improve. I wanted to ask you something about how things work in this sect."
"You've got a hall supervisor and a bunch of lower-ranked masters to bother, what do you want?"
"I... I've read in many stories how young masters in possession of some strong artifact can be extorted in the sects."
"So, you have something like that, huh? Those stamina bracers that you got bent? Actually, they are made in our school, and we repair this stuff for free, you just need to get on the waiting list in the artifact hall."
Xin's mood lightened up, and he responded:
"It's nice to know, master. But I mean this." - He opened the inner pocket of his robe and produced the wooden carving of a tiger.
Xie Xiaodan took it from his hands, and Xin was anxious that it was the last time he would hold it.
"It's... a totem. Where did you get that?"
"Me and Lei killed a bandit yaoguai that assaulted us near Tealstone."
"How did you survive that beast tide?"
"I... I am a hunter, I know how to throw animals off my tracks. And I was somewhat far from the city when the tide began. They isolated me, I couldn't even help anyone else escape." - Xin felt this lie stab into his chest.
"I get it. Look, this thing, it's a totem. Probably refined inside a yaoguai, they have a natural affinity for this stuff. We humans, it's much harder for us. So, you're afraid someone will take it from you?"
"Yes. Either directly, or create some plot to take it away. I am still a mortal, so I decided to seek you out, asking for your advice."
"Kid, our sect is pretty civil. If someone steals from you, they might lose a hand. Or worse. I still recommend that you put this thing into the sect's storage, in the Artefact pavilion. Their guidance on the matter will be better, as well. Have you managed to make it work? Are you sure that it's not just a trinket?"
"I took it out of his insides, and this thing was leaking qi. It's just dormant."
"Fine, you might also consider selling it and buying something that would augment your own path."
"Thank you, master, I'll consider it." - He wouldn't. For some reason, he was determined to keep it.