Tian sat beside a campfire at the foot of the Crimson Blade Mountains, the warm flames casting shadows across his face. It had been five years since he'd left Moonhaven City, armed with little more than a glimmer of hope and his father's protective pendant. In that time, he'd traveled across the country, watching countless martial artists compete against one another. Yet despite his travels, Tian still felt lost.

  Hongyun sat opposite the fire, carefully cleaning his sword. "You are overthinking," he said, without ever lifting his eyes off of the task at hand. "I can hear your thoughts grinding away."

  Tian smiled despite his reservations. "I wasn't overthinking. I was reminiscing."

  Hou stopped his work and turned to Tian with that piercing gaze that could see into the very soul of his friend. "It’s the same for you," he said. "Anyways, what is it that’s bothering you tonight?"

  "Everything," Tian said, waving his hand at the wooden practice sword lying on the ground nearby. "We have been to thirty cities, seen a hundred different fighting styles, and I am still where I began."

  It was a statement that reflected the truth.

  Over the course of the past five years, they had traveled the length and breadth of the country. They had seen duels in the streets of merchant towns, formal competitions in the strongholds of clans, and brutal battles between rival sect members vying for the limited resources available.

  Their master, Jian, had introduced them to a wide variety of teachers, including masters of arms, masters of formations, and rogue cultivators of every type.

  Through it all, Tian had continued to practice.

  Every morning, before the sun was fully above the horizon, and every evening, after the camp was made, he had practiced. Tian had mastered traditional forms from the Bronze Sword Academy, flowing techniques from the River Valley schools, and even the geometric shapes used by the mathematical warriors of the Eastern Kingdoms.

  Still, he couldn't get it right. His body went through the motions with ease, but something was always missing. It was as if he remembered a song he had once sung flawlessly, but now he could only hum a few fragments of it.

  "I think I know what you need," Hou said, returning his focus back to his sword maintenance. "I think you are trying too hard to be someone else."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "I mean you are spending so much time trying to copy other styles that you aren't giving your own instincts a chance to grow." Hou raised his blade to examine the edge in the firelight. "Do you remember that first day in Moonhaven City when Master Jian tested you and the other candidates? You moved like you knew secrets that none of the rest of us knew. Since then, you've tried to replace that with formal techniques every day."

  Tian picked up his practice sword and felt the familiar weight of it. The weight of it was supposed to be comforting, but it reminded him of the frustrations of five years. "Maybe my instincts were wrong. Maybe Master Jian was right the first time."

  "Master Jian is many things, but he is far from infallible," Hou said as he sheathed his cleaned sword. "He teaches one way to fight, and it is great for people whose minds are aligned with his teaching methods. But just because something doesn’t fit into Master Jian's method doesn't mean it’s useless."

  Their discussion was interrupted by Master Jian appearing from the darkness beyond their campfire. Although it had been five years, he could still walk silently when he wanted to. His unremarkable face showed no emotion as he settled onto his bedroll, but Tian had learned to recognize the small signs that revealed his teacher's mood.

  "Discussing swordwork again?" Master Jian asked, although his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

  "Discussing my lack of progress," Tian corrected.

  Master Jian looked at Tian for a long moment.

  "Progress is not always visible from the inside. A tree cannot feel itself grow."

  This was the type of philosophical reply that Master Jian enjoyed, being both profound and completely unhelpful. Tian had learned not to ask for clarification; the old master preferred to allow students to discover their own insight.

  "Speaking of progress," Master Jian continued, "tomorrow we will enter the territory owned by the Jade Moon Sect. I have arranged for a demonstration of their dream cultivation techniques. You should observe closely; it is rare for high level practitioners to train under controlled conditions."

  Tian felt his stomach twist. Throughout the years, they had met many dream cultivators and each demonstration had further emphasized the vast gulf between ordinary martial skills and actual spiritual ability. Even Master Jian, for all his knowledge of the sword, was physically bound by the laws of the world. Dream cultivators could manipulate the battlefield itself, creating constructs that broke natural law and wielding powers that made conventional tools seem like childish toys.

  "How many level practitioners will we see tomorrow?" Hou asked.

  "At least several Thoughtshapers and two Nightbound Adepts, and hopefully a Dream Architect," Master Jian said, his eyes shining with anticipation, the way he always did when he thought he saw an opportunity to learn new techniques. "The Jade Moon Sect has agreed to demonstrate the practical application of dream cultivation in combat situations as well as the theoretical aspects of their craft. This should be enlightening."

  Enlightening. That was Master Jian's favorite term for experiences that would likely leave Tian feeling inadequately skilled for months to come.

  They settled into their sleeping bags for the night, and Tian found himself staring up at the stars and thinking about the letter he'd received from home in the previous town. His mother had written it in her usual careful script, painting a picture of life in Moonhaven City going on as it had when he'd left it. His father's condition had stabilized, his parents had created a garden that everyone in the neighborhood envied, and various relatives continued to achieve modest success and failure in their cultivation endeavors.

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  Reading between the lines, Tian realized that his family was thriving sufficiently, but they didn't forget about him. His mother mentioned casually "when you return", and his father offered practical advice regarding how to stay safe on the road, implying that they missed him and hoped he was accomplishing what he had set out to find.

  The problem was, Tian still wasn't sure what that was.

  ***

  The mountain stronghold of the Jade Moon Sect emerged the following afternoon like a fantasy itself. Spires rose from the terraced gardens, where the plants seemed to turn to watch every movement. Light bridges connected buildings that defied normal architecture, their walls flowed like frozen water, yet maintained perfect structural integrity.

  "That is impressive," Hou whispered as they approached the main entrance. "Makes our traveling accommodations appear quite simple."

  Although Master Jian's face remained impassive, Tian detected a faint twitching around his eyes that suggested their teacher was mentally assessing potential escape routes and defense points. For all his philosophical views on cultivating power, Master Jian had never forgotten that they were mere mortals venturing into regions inhabited by beings who possessed godlike abilities.

  The demonstration took place in an amphitheater carved from living jade, the walls of the arena inscribed with dreamscript that shifted and flowed when Tian didn't focus directly upon it. Hundreds of spectators had assembled: sect disciples, scholars from distant lands, and a handful of ordinary warriors such as themselves who had been permitted to view the demonstration.

  "Today's demonstration will show the practical application of dream cultivation in combat," declared the elderly sect elder whose aura pressed heavily upon the surrounding air. "Participants will use techniques from the Thoughtshaper to Dream Architect levels. The first part will consist of basic construct demonstrations, and the final part will involve full environmental manipulation."

  The first portion of the demonstration featured two Thoughtshaper disciples creating opposing dream constructs to battle for dominance. Tian watched in awe as one conjured an ice dragon that seemed to have come alive and the other responded by creating a phoenix. The conflict between the two generated waves of dream energy that spread throughout the amphitheater.

  “Wow,” he said, clearly in awe of the creativity of the technique.

  “Waste,” Master Jian said quietly, “all of that energy spent on a demonstration that could be defeated by a well-placed arrow while they’re busy maintaining the construct,”

  But even Master Jian remained silent when the Nightbound Adepts began to demonstrate.

  The differences in cultivation between the Thoughtshaper and the Nightbound Adepts became immediately obvious. While the previous demonstration was about creating and controlling constructs outside of themselves, the Adepts were working with the very fabric of the environment they were in.

  One of the Adepts caused gravity to reverse in a small area, causing debris to float upward in defiance of natural law. His opponent responded by altering the passage of time within his immediate vicinity, allowing his movements to become a blur of rapid motion that made following him extremely difficult.

  “This is getting out of hand,” Hou whispered, his hand automatically reaching for the hilt of his sword.

  The protective formations of the arena turned on shortly after that, encasing the increasing destructive techniques in barriers of solidified dream-energy. However, Tian could still feel the raw power emanating from the combatants like the intense heat from a forge. These weren’t martial artists whose abilities were augmented by spiritual energy; these were individuals who had transcended the limitations of humanity.

  The demonstration ended with a Dream Architect taking the stage alone, demonstrating techniques that pushed the limits of what was possible. With casual motions, he altered the surface of the arena floor into a miniature mountain range, populated it with illusory armies that coordinated their attacks with precision, and finished by creating a pocket of night-sky complete with stars that emitted actual light.

  “And that,” the sect elder declared, “is just a demonstration of the fourth tier of dream cultivation. At the higher tiers of cultivation, practitioners can create permanent changes to reality, establish pocket dimensions, and affect the dreams of entire populations,”

  As they left the amphitheater with the rest of the audience, Tian walked silently in stunned contemplation. The sheer power he’d witnessed made his five years of sword training seem like a child playing with sticks. Even Master Jian, who had once stated that superior technique could counteract any advantage, looked thoughtful, suggesting that he was questioning some of the underlying principles he held.

  “Puts things into perspective,” Hou said, as they left the sect grounds.

  “Makes me think about how pointless doing anything we do is,” Tian replied more bitterly than he had meant to.

  Master Jian, who had remained silent since exiting the amphitheater, finally spoke. “Power is not the only factor. I have seen Nightbound Adepts fall to smart positioning and a sharp blade. I have seen Dream Architects fall to opponents who understood their limitations better than the architects did.”

  “Really?” Tian asked skeptically.

  “Yes,” Master Jian said simply. “Three times, to be exact. The first was an arrogant young man who expended so much of his energy on elaborate demonstrations that he forgot to watch his flanks. The second made the error of engaging in one-on-one combat when his greatest strength was area control. The third...”

  Master Jian stopped speaking and looked distant.

  “The third believed his power rendered him untouchable. He discovered otherwise.”

  There was something in Master Jian’s tone that suggested there was more to those stories than he was telling. Tian had learned over the years that Master Jian’s past contained depth that he rarely spoke of – glimpses of which occasionally emerged in comments like these.

  That night, they set camp in a grove of silver-barked trees with leaves that chimed softly in the evening breeze. Tian couldn’t stop his thoughts from racing over everything he had seen at the Jade Moon Sect. The demonstration had been beautiful, frightening and profoundly disheartening all at once.

  “I’ve been thinking about what my father gave up to get me into the world,” he said, as they sat around the small fire. “His cultivation, his social standing, likely years of his life. And for what? So, I could spend five years attempting to learn techniques that would mean little to even a beginner dream cultivator?”

  Hou poked at the fire with a stick, sending sparks flying upwards into the night sky. “Maybe the goal isn’t to grow strong enough to challenge dream cultivators. Maybe the goal is to become the best version of whatever you are.”

  “And what if I’m just nothing special?”

  “Then you’ll be nothing special really, really well,” Hou said with a smile. “And that is better than being something impressive poorly.”

  Although Tian was feeling melancholy, he found himself smiling. Hou had always had the ability to find exactly the right words – whether it was wise insight or perfectly-timed humor.

  “Tomorrow we will enter the Thornwood Valley,” Master Jian said, looking up from the map he had been studying by the light of the fire. “There is a village in the valley that has been experiencing problems with spirit-beasts. Not anything dangerous – they have offered compensation for assistance. It will be good experience for both of you.”

  “What type of spirit-beasts?” Hou asked.

  “Shadow-wolves, according to the reports, pack-hunters with basic stealth capabilities, likely in the same cultivation level as early Lucid Novice cultivators. Potentially hazardous to ordinary villagers – manageable for someone with the proper training.”

  Tian felt a mix of excitement and trepidation. They had done many similar missions – bandits attacking merchant caravans, wild animals threatening frontier villages, occasional disputes between minor clans that required neutral mediation. Tian had gotten quite good at completing such missions – though he never achieved the smooth expertise that Hou demonstrated.

  “Will you come with us?” Tian asked.

  “It is time for you to be independent,” Master Jian replied, shaking his head. “I will be in the general area, however unless you encounter something that is completely beyond your capacity, you are on your own.”

  Tian’s eyes widened at that.

  This would be their first solo mission.

  He made a promise in himself that he would show Master Jian, and more importantly to himself, that he didn’t waste these five years.

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