Chương 23: Training Montage

"Here we are, Captain." Bailu and Seiyu said. They each pressed a hand against the massive doors carved with seals. The entire thing shuddered, and then the massive stone gates opened into the interior of what was effectively a luxurious manor crossed with a fortress. It was an extremely traditional space. There was a wide, flat courtyard with a single tree to meditate under, pools of water, and a beautiful garden.

And it was big enough that Ningjing could easily fit inside the place—Bailu and Seiyu were going to be bringing her around later. The sound of the city instantly cut out as the doors closed behind us, leaving only tranquility—and then I felt the Qi. There was a wellspring of earth-aspected Qi beneath our feet, noticeably higher than outside. I felt invigorated the moment I stepped into the place. But there was one thing on my mind.

"Are you sure we can afford this?" I asked. This was a lot more comfortable than I had been expecting.

"Of course, Captain! And even if we couldn't we would get the money. A cultivator needs the best places to cultivate to progress properly!" Bailu said firmly." Aruji has not had proper focused attention on his cultivation for far too long. And even if it is only for a week, we shall make the most of it." Seiyu said, opening one of the doors, and then nodding.

"Good, they have what we requested. You shall be having a medicinal bath every night, Aruji."

"I'll take care of the messages. We should probably get a Spiritual Doctor to examine his meridians as well." Bailu said, and Seiyu nodded. I was expecting some kind of teasing or innuendo, but both of my Storm Wings were utterly focused. I guess it made sense. I was basically a professional athlete at the moment, preparing for a milestone in my career. The thought made the jitters come back… but instead of nerves, I was feeling only excitement.

While at first I was a little reluctant about this whole thing, now that I was signed up? All I could feel was like this was… well, it was right. It was time for a training arc. The very thought made me grin like an idiot. Training hard to fight in a tournament…. How many times had I imagined this exact scenario when I was younger? The Dark Tournament, The Chunin Exams, The Mahora Academy Festival, the Tournament of Power—All those awesome moments were swirling around in my head.

Hopefully, there wouldn't be a giant interruption in the middle of it… but this was the Capital. Interrupting a tournament here would get your ass jumped by some of the strongest people in the world. The Emperors were famously… unamused with people trying to start shit on their front porch. Instead, it would be a week of meditation and combat. Bailu and Seiyu were right. I needed to get stronger. I had a taste of freedom on our journey here.

Riding storms, playing with river dolphins, and getting to witness this amazing world. And the only way I could keep doing that, keep flying where I pleased, was to get strong enough that nobody could stop me. Immortality? Maybe. But for now? I just wanted these days to never end. I let out a breath, clapped my hands to my cheeks, and focused up. ============================= And so began my intensive training regime. I got up in the morning and cultivated. The earth-aspected Qi here was… nice.

It was solid, dependable, and filled my Meridians with its weight. I cycled it through my body as this body had been taught, taking of its essence, and letting it grow with me. The tree was supposed to be the spot where one did this, but I always ended up on Ningjing's prow. Things were better, when I was sitting on her—and she cultivated with me, her little doll avatar sitting on my head.

Then, I went through the forms Gramps taught me, augmented by everything I had learned at Soaring Heaven's Isle, and the art of the Wandering Deer. The more complex style of the deer fed off that foundation, flowed into it so smoothly that always surprised me. Gramps' stuff felt like it was almost made exactly for this. A basis to be augmented. A Foundation that anything could be built on top of. Everyone joined me for this part of the day—even Big D and Ningjing.

They went through the beginning forms beside me, then they went off to do their own thing… or they would sit down and watch. I could practically see the sparkles around them as they watched me move… and it was a little embarrassing at how cool Ningjing thought I was. Next I would read my scroll. The scroll with the deer on it was certainly… fae in its dealings.

When I opened it up it would be on the last "chapter" I had been reading—a thought and a blink later, and it would be on a section before if I wanted to read it again. In addition to that, more and more parts of it were unlocking as I progressed, detailing new techniques, and new ways of doing things. … honestly it was a little bit like a videogame. As I gained more xp I unlocked more of my style. It was kinda weird as hell, but it also made things kind of fun. And then I started to really train my body.

My cultivation had gotten a lot stronger recently, but I hadn't really done anything with it outside morning training, and that brief scuffle at the noodle shop. Luckily, I had Bailu and Seiyu to help with that. Both of them were completely in trainer mode. No teasing, no shenanigans, just pure, focused cultivation. Which was me basically attacking them full force, and them defending at my level, slowly amping things up until I couldn't keep up anymore. My Storm Wings kicked the shit out of me.

Not out of malice, but out of a genuine desire to help me. I would bleed now—and hopefully not bleed when I was fighting later. Or at least not bleed as much. It was hard. It was brutal. My entire body was one big bruise at the end of the day, and was screaming at me. I could barely stand some days—but I forced myself to. No matter what, I had to keep moving—and having Big D and Ningjing cheering from the sidelines got me through the worst of it.

And then Seiyu would direct me into the bath tub, fill it with water made directly from her Qi, Bailu would heat it up with her lightning, and then they would mix that with a medley of Spiritual Herbs, and I would stew in it. Feeling yourself healing was… an odd experience. As was having to actively direct the medicine into the parts that were the worst affected. Normal humans couldn't really feel their organs, but I could sure as hell feel mine. I knew exactly how much strain my poor, abused stomach had taken.

Finally, I ate a massive meal to replenish everything… and I took a Spirit Strengthening Pill Bailu and Seiyu had for me. I felt a little leery about pills, still. It always seemed strange to me, when I was reading these stories, being raised at the height of the "say no to drugs" stuff. But I was in Xianxia. And in Xianxia, do as the Xianxians do. I took the pill. My eyes nearly popped out of their skull at the amount of Qi in it. It fought me. It wanted to rampage out of control. But I forced it down.

I wrestled with it, beating it into submission, and adding as much as I could of it to my own. I felt the power. I felt the growth—no wonder people popped these things like they were going out of style. It still felt a bit weird to me… and doubly weird, because that session of meditation was apparently counted as sleeping. Sure, I didn't feel fatigued when I got up… but it was still strange. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

It really drove home the fact that I was not a normal human anymore. ============================ I trained. I meditated. I took pills. I figured myself out, and got to know the Wandering Deer more and more… while I continued working on the things I had some ideas for. Even before this training arc, I had been working on ways how I could contribute to this, beyond the scroll. Anime had plenty of good ideas for training, after all, and I wanted an edge going into the tournament.

Something I was fairly sure I could do. I had some of the individual parts done already. Now it was just time to make it work. Tree walking, water walking, catch the world with your feet, and let it throw you. =================== On the third day a Spiritual Doctor swung by, and examined me with my Storm Wings in the room, both of them watching the man like hawks. There was a brief examination, some acupuncture, and then the doctor raised a brow.

"The Young Master is in exemplary health." The Spiritual Doctor reported.

"There were no blockages, only some small eddies that were easily cleared. Your foundation is remarkable." ========================== Watching her Captain grow was absolutely spectacular. Bailu couldn't keep the grin off her face. Now, that they were out of the sect, now, that freedom filled his soul, he was showing exactly why he was Lady Minyan's son! Well, adopted son, but anybody would want an adopted son like this! Her fist came in from the side, and it thundered into her Captain's Guard.

Her strength was at the Second Stage of the Spiritual Realm, and her Captain didn't budge. It should have sent him flying! He clearly took damage from the blow, the shockwaves rattling his arms…. But if she was in the Spiritual Realm her arms would rattle a bit too! It was amazing! His counter happened instantly, his hand curled into the prongs of a horn. He meant to strike her stomach and disembowel her with the blow. She dodged it nearly and put some distance, summoning some small orbs of shredding wind.

Her Captain was most at home in the thick of it, but he did have some problems if there was distance, so she made sure to work that in— His eyes gleamed. His thighs flexed. He did something. The earth beneath his feet groaned and buckled. The air screamed. And then he moved. A movement technique. Bailu had seen a lot of movement techniques in her time—and at her Captain's level they were committal things. Straight forward bursts of speed, meant to overwhelm.

They were fast, yes, but if they were dodged, or worse, predicted, the practitioner was normally easy prey, off balance from their own speed. Bailu meant to impart that lesson into her Captain. That he had the technique at all was amazing! Another point to his skill! But this lesson needed to be early, to prevent him from relying on it in the future too much before he could control himself. His leap was that of a fleet-footed deer, closing for a charge.

She flowed, moving around the horns to his flank—where he would be vulnerable when he landed. Her Captain registered her movement. He understood the threat, which was good. His legs moved to touch the ground, but his momentum would be too great. She was prepared for whatever minute change he could muster. His foot touched the ground, and his entire body halted. She saw the force he put on his body, every muscle locked, his thews tensing and rippling in a way that was just… really nice.

Bailu mentally slapped herself. He halted his momentum entirely. He caught the world—no, the world caught him. His foot twisted. He reoriented. He moved again. Multiple movement techniques—! [Mountain Leaping Stride!] She could have dodged. She could have countered. But her Captain had absolutely earned this. Bailu received the pointer with grace. It was like getting headbutted by a mountain, the prongs slamming home into her chest. She let it bowl her over so he wouldn't break his hands.

Her Captain was so surprised that he lost his footing, and both of them slammed into the flagstones. For a moment, the surprise stayed on his face… before it transformed into a triumphant grin.

"I gotcha." He said grinning down at her. His weight was on her, her arms were above her head.

"A wonderful blow Captain!" She said, smiling back at him.

"It was amazing! An absolutely wonderful blow!" Seiyu, on the sidelines let out a cheer of her own. Bi De crowed, and Ningjing whistled. Her captain's smile widened.

"I've been working on that for a while, and I think its finally good enough to use in ac.. tual…" He trailed off, and looked down. Bailu looked down too, a bit confused—ah. Naturally, the prongs of his "horns" had struck the only thing on her chest he could strike, and his grip was nice and strong. He reflexively squeezed. It felt nice. She looked back up and smiled. Was her Young Master finally going to do Young Master things? She was quite excited! His hands jerked up as if scalded, and his face turned crimson.

He practically leapt off her, turning away in embarrassment. Awww…. Bailu thought. But it was probably for the best! This was training time!

"Ah, sorry, I…" He spluttered for a moment.

"It's alright!" Baiulu said with a smile, and some of his blush faded at Bailu's lack of reaction.

"Try under the ribs more, the lower ones break easier." Her captain breathed out.

'"Yes, Elder Sister." He said respectfully.

"... should we continue?"

"Of course!" Seiyu said, her voice stern and commanding.

"You must practice your movements, Aruji!" Their captain sighed, and firmed.

"Yeah, you're right—" his voice cut off as he turned to Seiyu, and his focused eyes widened. Seiyu had slid the two halves of her top to her waist, so that the only thing preserving her modesty was her chest wrappings. She slapped the top of her chest, and then planned both hands on her hips.

"Come, My Lord! Strike True! Your Tsunami Wing shall receive you!" Their Captain stared blankly at her for a moment.

"I think I need to meditate for a minute instead. Cool down. Big D, you spar with her, please." he said. The chicken rose to his feet with gravitas, his duty given to him. Seiyu froze. The rooster's cry echoed off the walls. His strike was magnificent, moving so fast it was also nearly a movement technique. Seiyu fled, Bi De battering her about the head and shoulders with his wings, and scolding her… and this time, Bailu was entirely on his side.

"Get her! Pluck out so much hair she goes bald!"

"Bailu?!"

"You made it weird! This is training time, serious time!"

"You lying lizard! I saw your face!"

"Haa? You're seeing things!" Bailu said, instantly denying the truth…before she grinned, and used Seiyu's spell against her.

"Baka!"

"Ba— baka?!" Seiyu spluttered, before her shock gave way to rage, and an explosion of Wa cursing was directed Bailu's way. She had started learning more Wa after the whole baka thing, so she could understand a lot of what Seiyu was saying and it was something about an octopus and—" How does someone even come up with that?!" Bailu demanded. Wa was an island of degenerates! …. and that was really creative and Bailu would be stealing that because it was just so strange.

======================= Well, there was one silly moment, but I guess they had been good for most of the week. After that, they went back to being focused. That was my routine for seven days. A short while, in the grand scheme of things… but I really felt like I progressed. My Storm Wings were right. Fifth Stage of Profound. The final day, I was actually allowed to sleep, instead of meditate. I collapsed into our cabin on Ningjing… and I didn't even mind my Storm Wings curling in beside me with Big D.

It just felt nice. I was ready for the tournament. ========================== I was focused. I was ready. I had a hearty breakfast, and then we went to the tournament venue. It made the colosseum look like a tiny, dainty little girl, and it nearly broke my composure. It was a behemoth of marble and red pillars, and Qi-technology. And it had seating for five hundred thousand. I caught a quick glimpse of things, and it was looking pretty fucking full, too.

Bailu, Seiyu, Big D and Ningjing's avatar all left for the stands, with various wishes of good luck. I firmed my resolve, and handed in my jade slip, only barely paying attention to where I had to go. There was a waiting room, but everyone was keeping to themselves… and I wasn't really in the mood to try and force a conversation.

"Competitors. This way." One of the officials commanded. I stepped up the stairs, and into the light. ================================ Xieren sat with her friend in the royal box. This time, neither of them were in disguise. Yunxi was in the full panoply of an Imperial Princess, her midnight hair arranged artfully within her gold hairpiece, and that contrasted wonderfully with her blazing red robes. Xieren was wearing her finest dress, and had her sword resting against her shoulder.

Her red hair was done up in its normal ponytail. Not that anyone could say she was plain. No, there were two peerless jade beauties in attendance today, and Xieren was rather glad that the common man couldn't see them through the flames that cloaked the box for the moment. The Princess was clearly distracted… though it was understandable. Even though she was supposed to be scanning the competitors for one who stood out to her. So Xieren, wonderful friend she was, took it upon herself to aid her Princess.

Not that she was really missing anything. The first fifty to ascend the stairs were nothing special— She caught a familiar face, and made a noise of interest. That immediately caught her friend's attention.

'Someone catch your eye, Xieren?" she asked.

"The one in the brown and greens, the tallest one here. I met him on the road." Xieren said, smiling. She hadn't been expecting to see the handsome young man so soon—and not to have seen him change quite so much. He was advancing very quickly, by the state of his body and the way he carried himself. If not for the unfortunate freckles, he would be the very image of handsomeness! Well, the freckles were a bit cute. They lent him a bit of charm. Yunxi found the man, and raised a brow.

"Oh?"

"Hes a polite young man. Skilled. He saw my strength, and… swatted some flies for me." That had been the highlight of the trip. And to make his appearance here? It must be fate!

"I look forward to see how Jin Rou performs. I think hes one to watch… and he might be useful for your purposes, My Lady." Yunxi's eyes focused on him. This far away in the crowd, his Qi wasn't distinct enough to be felt, so they settled in to wait as the judgement began. One by one, cultivators stepped forward, had their age read out, and pressed their hand to the Heavenly Ascension Stone.

Their cultivation was broadcast for all to see—though some sneaky ones might try to purposefully hold back their strength, to make the stone give lesser readings than it should. It was generally frowned upon, but such deception was always amusing. Xieren leaned forwards, as the next in line was the man she had her eye on.

"And now, presenting…" The announcer paused for a moment.

"It appears the Rumours were true! Stepping up now, from Soaring Heaven's Isle! Making his debut! The one, and only Tiaaaaanzhe Rooooouuuuu!" Xieren's jaw dropped. The crowd went silent. The young man, who had started walking forwards, froze, his eyes widening comically. Everyone had heard the rumours. Tianzhe Minyan had a son. Who the father was was unknown. His cultivation was unknown. Was this actually…? Had some fool given himself the name? Was it just a mistake?! Yunxi's eyes widened as well.

"Yeah! Go Captain!" A cheerful, bubbly and familiar voice roared from one of the box seats, booming in the quiet. Xieren's eyes snapped to where Lanlong Bailu was half handing out of a private box, a massive grin on her face. Wakokukin Seiyu was beside her, holding up a massive fan with a deer on it.

"Young Master!" One of the ladies from the Soaring Heaven's Isle box cheered. The entire arena erupted. ============================= I could practically feel my neckbones creaking as I turned to look up at the two grinning idiots staring down at me from their box. Oh they were so fucking dead when I got my hands on them—