Xai didn't leave the stone room for a a full week while he trained with Qin. He was brought food of course. But time he didn't spend eating or sleeping was spent cultivating or sparing with the senior.

  Over that time, Xai had refined his control over his own Ki, now being able to spread a thin- albeit fragile- barrier of the energy around himself while also reinforcing a part of his body, or his sword. On top of that, his Ki reserves had nearly tripled since he'd entered the room. However Qin had made a point to hammer into Xai's head to only use as much Ki as was necessary to win a fight, even if that amount is none.

  Xai finally stepped from the building; into the sun. "It's hard to believe I've accomplished so much within the first week." He spoke, looking out at the other disciples training in the yard.

  "You have progressed faster then many other disciples would have. Then again, most of them aren't permitted within the Ki training rooms until they reach the rank beyond a junior disciple." Qin explained.

  "Well, it was an honor to train alongside you, Senior Jie." Xai stated, turning and taking a bow to his superior.

  The Junior expected one back, if not a simple nod. Instead Qin raised a brow. "I appreciate the sentiment, but we are far from complete in your training."

  Xai suddenly felt his face warm as his gaze met the confused look of Qin. He stood back up straight. "Oh... Master Youshan had said my training would take a week."

  "Your Ki training would take a week." Qin emphasized the word. "There is still learning many of the sect's techniques. Increasing your proficiency with a blade- trust me it needs work. That is just the beginning. But once your skill becomes passable you will begin to fulfill the sect's duties like the rest of us."

  Xai's smile deflated. "Oh..."

  "What? Did you think just because many of the disciples here have been here many years, that they ever stop trying to better themselves? I've only halted my training to train you. Then again I suppose that's what many seniors do." Qin added the last sentence offhandedly. "Regardless, it's time to teach you a technique or two." He stated as he began to leave the training area.

  Xai quickly followed. "Already? We just completed training."

  "We did." Qin agreed, with a faint smirk.

  The senior disciple led Xai from the training yard; across the sect, to finally arrive at the sect's library.

  Inside the silence was nearly deafening compared to the bustle outside. Xai had been within the sect's library many times before to read up on proper sword forms. But he didn't spend nearly as much time with his nose between pages as someone like Toya.

  Qin led Xai to the second floor of the library where the books were more densely packed in even shelves throughout. Very little seating was actually available in the second floor, opting for more shelf space.

  Qin silently led Xai among the shelves, stopping on a set of shelves lined with bland looking books. There were nearly a dozen copies of each book.

  Xai scanned over the title of several of the books. They were all rather basic Ki techniques used commonly by cultivators throughout the continent of Azuma.

  Qin gestured to the books on the shelves. "Choose whichever you like. All of these are fairly simple, you should be able to perform whichever you choose within a week." He whispered, not allowing his voice to be heard beyond the passageway of shelves.

  Xai scanned amongst the shelves, reading the titles of each book. Some techniques he had heard before. Some for defense, some for offense. Some were of no use to him- needing a weapon such as spear or bow to use. Some however, he'd never heard of before.

  He picked up one of the books titled 'Corification'. He began flipping through a few of the pages. The technique revolved around condensing a part of your reserved Ki to form a physical core of Ki outside the body. While it did take away from one's maximum Ki reserves- granted, they could regain it with meditation- any who consumed the core could use it to rejuvenate their own Ki.

  Xai put the book back before grabbing another; 'Amplify'. It looked rather simple. The technique overcharges the user's body with Ki from the atmosphere, amplifying their physical traits. The time of the technique varies depending on the constitution of the user as well as their Ki control. Regardless, once the technique had ceased, there was a backlash on their body as Ki was quickly rejected from their body.

  "That's quite a good one." Qin noted in a whisper. "Though I would advise against it with your current control and reserves. It will do well to acquire it later."

  Xai put the book back and chose another; 'Weightless Body'. Before Xai could even open the book, Qin commented on it.

  "Another good one." He stated. "It used little Ki and doesn't require much control to maintain. At your current state you could probably keep it up for over an hour whilst fighting. It lightens the body, allowing for greater feats of acrobatics. Masters of the technique can even step through the air itself. But you're nowhere near that."

  "Should I learn this then?" Xai whispered back.

  The senior shrugged. "If you'd like."

  "I'll go with this one." Xai said, flipping through a few of its pages.

  Qin nodded. "Then follow me."

  The senior led Xai to the third and final floor of the library. This one was considerably smaller and guarded by several disciples whose levels Xai could not see.

  Like the floors before, the third floor was also filled with bookshelves. Though unlike the floors before, there was only a single copy of each book.

  Rather than walking through the shelves of books, Qin led Xai to a shelf near the entrance. The senior grabbed a light blue tome from the shelf. As he did, a thin blue tether of Ki that had connected the back of the tome to the shelf snapped like a string.

  "What was that?" Xai whispered.

  "Just a safety precaution." He replied back before leading the junior disciple out of the library.

  "Alright, for your next bit of training- and learning these techniques- we will be venturing into the mountains. Don't worry, we can use the path this time." Qin assured.

  The next hour was spent walking from the sect and starting down the mountain before eventually diverging from the path and leading into the forest.

  "Why must we go into the mountain to train? Would the cultivation rooms or training yard not work?" Xin asked.

  "The cultivating rooms are too restrictive. And the training yard is too crowded. We just need an open space free of others."

  Qin eventually led Xai into a clearing amongst the trees. He handed Xai the light brown book- the one holding the 'weightless body' technique.

  "Read through that. Circulate the Ki through your body how it shows within its pages."

  Xai did as he was told. He sat down on the ground and began to read. Passing by the first dozen pages filled with the history of how the technique came to be, he finally arrived on the instructions.

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  He began spreading Ki throughout his body as if he were reinforcing his muscles. But instead of condensing the strands of Ki, he let them expand within him. He continued altering the Ki as the book required. The strands of Ki almost felt like they became lighter. As if they expanded so thinly they were lighter than air. He then let the expanded Ki exude lightly from his body; like heat coming from a fire. The Ki connected to the meager amount of ambient Ki around him while still holding onto Xai. The pressure seeming to lighten his body slightly.

  It was an odd sensation. As if the air tried to constantly lift him upwards, but he was simply too heavy.

  Xai opened his eyes to see waves of loose Ki constantly waving across his body. His gaze shifted to Qin whose eyes scanned over the junior's body.

  "Only took you an hour. For most it takes several. Then again, that is the easiest skill you'll learn today." He stated. "Keep the technique active; jump around. You should notice the difference."

  Xai stood up, springing to his feet with ease. Then he took a quick few steps forward before jumping. With his enhanced strength he expected to bound several feet high without much effort. Instead, he rose nearly a dozen before colliding with a large branch. He quickly wrapped his arm around it to prevent himself from falling.

  "There's nothing to be afraid of. Drop down." Qin ordered. "You're a level 40 with awakened Ki, I assure you a dozen foot drop will not end you."

  Xai looked down before letting go. He readied himself for the landing, but found himself fall slightly slower than normal, like the air was constantly trying to push him up. It wasn't a major change, if he'd fallen several dozen feet, he still may injure himself had he not properly cushioned his fall. Nonetheless, Xai landed without so much as a bend of his knees.

  "Good. Now reinforce your legs with Ki- it doesn't need to be much." His gaze shifted to one of the taller trees around them. "Now practice regulating your Ki from your legs and the technique at the same time until you can reach the highest branch on that tree." He ordered.

  Xai followed his gaze skyward to the highest branch of a tree over 50 feet high. "You... want me to get all the way up there in a single leap?"

  Qin nodded. "And not one more." He took a few steps back and sat cross-legged in the grass. "Take your time. I will be cultivating here." He stated before his eyes closed.

  Xai looked back to the tree. He prepared himself before taking a few quick steps forward and leaping into the air as much as he could. With the combination of Ki reinforcing his legs, the 'weightless body' technique, and simply putting a bit more effort into his jump then before, he soared over 30 feet towards the precipice of the tree. However he wasn't even close to his destination. Xai made one last attempt to ascend by planting a foot on the trunk of the tree and pushing himself upwards. However they only rose him another 10 feet before he began to fall. While his decent was still slowed slightly, he had to tuck and roll as he hit the ground to prevent injury.

  Xai tried three more times, getting no higher then before. It was then he decided to look back at the technique tome.

  After looking through the tome, he slightly altered the amount of Ki he put into the technique putting more into it and less into his legs. Then he tried again.

  This time, he didn't even reach the same spot he had before; being shy by several feet. Next he swapped the amount of Ki between the technique and his legs, putting more to his legs. Once again, he was shy of his original spot by several feet. He moved his Ki so the two sourced roughly equaled each other then glanced back to the tree.

  Xai sat back down on the ground and began to simply feel the clouds of Ki wrapping around him from the technique. He tried adding more of his Ki reserves to the technique, making the clouds denser. However that had the opposite effect he intended; feeling his body grow slightly heavier. Next he tried to expand the clouds of Ki. He felt his body lighten. However as the Ki began to expand further beyond his body he felt the strands of energy fade away into the atmosphere and become useless. A second later, before he could pull the Ki back in, the cloud of Ki "popped" as the Ki suddenly burst from his body.

  Xai suddenly felt nearly a full tenth of his Ki reserves vanish in under a second. He gritted his teeth in annoyance before he began to draw the Ki from the atmosphere back into himself.

  Once his dantian was mostly topped up again- after nearly half an hour- he focused on activating the technique again. This time he focused on not over-expanding the Ki. Just as the Ki began to become one with the atmosphere, he drew the cloud in tighter. There seemed to be an outmost limit of roughly half a foot his Ki could reach before breaking from him.

  Now with the cloud of Ki wrapped around his body he leapt towards the tree again, not bothering to reinforce his legs.

  Xai nearly floated as his feet left the ground, feeling the pull of gravity only a fraction of what it normally was. He reached beyond the 30 foot mark before beginning his decent, landing gently on the ground.

  Next he pulled Ki into his legs. The moment his mind wandered from keeping the cloud expanded, they condensed, making the weight of his body increase. After re-expanding the cloud- keeping his legs reinforced- he ran forward and lept towards the tree.

  With the combination of the cloud of Ki from the 'Weightless Body' technique as well as reinforced muscles in his legs, Xai easily made it to the 50 foot mark to the top of the tree. In fact, he nearly overshot, luckily he grabbed into the top of the tree. Finally to his destination, he looked around at the forest before him. He could see above many of the trees from his vantage point, and if he looked skyward, he could just barely see the Silver Mist Sect beyond the mountain's peak.

  He looked down the tree to see Qin Jie meditating in the grass. Even from this height, Xai could see the veins of dense Ki flowing through his body and being consumed into his dantian.

  "Senior Jie!" Xai shouted from atop the branch.

  Qin's eyes opened as his gaze drifted upwards to Xai. "You seem to have gotten the hold of basic Ki expansion rather quickly." He stated, standing up. Ki began enveloping his body as small dense clouds of Ki consumed his body. He simply bent his knees slightly and pushed off the ground as he began to ascend to the branch Xai was on.

  Xai expected the branch to bend down or break under Qin's weight as he landed on its edge, but the wood hardly buffered.

  "Did you use only the technique?" The senior asked.

  "I had to reinforce my legs to have the proper strength to reach up here. Even with the technique." Xai explained.

  Qin pursed his lips. "That will need work. While you won't need to expand your Ki too often for the technique, the skill of how to do so quickly will a necessity for many other techniques." He explained. "Especially ones of the Silver Mist Sect. Though that being said." He produced the book he'd taken from the top floor of the library.

  Xai held a hand out to take it on reaction, but Qin pulled it away as he continued speaking.

  "The techniques of the Silver Mist Sect are closely guarded; prized possessions of the sect. Any damage done to the tomes is often needed to be paid back many times over. The complete destruction of a tome is often grounds for banishment. That being said, catch." He stated before promptly tossing the tome behind him, sending it hurtling towards the ground.

  Xai's eyes widened as he shot downward from the branch, deactivating his technique. He caught the book halfway through its decent. He tried to manifest the technique again to soften his landing, but he did no more then manifest a loose barrier of Ki in front of him as he collided with the ground, holding the tome above his head as to not let it be damage.

  By the time Xai got up, Qin had appeared next to him, having gently floated down to the ground. "You may need to work on activating the technique faster next time. But that is for later. Open the book and begin practicing. I'll be meditating."

  ***

  Far to the south of the mountain where the Silver Mist sect lay, within a town by a lake, a cultivator dressed in black and red robes wanders through the streets. The sky had began turning a faint orange as the sun began to set. Many merchants tried to usher the man towards their stalls to buy whatever they were selling.

  The cultivator paid them no mind, turning to walk into a small inn: The Crimson Rose. He nodded to the woman at the bar as she bowed a greeting and walked through one of the back doors and down a staircase. He finally entered a dimly lit room beneath the inn where several men stand around a beaten, unconscious man tied to a chair.

  The injured man wore the white and blue uniform of the Silver Mist sect. Hovering an inch above his head was his level.

  [Level: 71 (E)]

  "He attacked us during one of our runs." A large man next to the chair stated. He was dressed in black leathers with chainmail underneath. His level displayed the highest in the room, apart from the newly entered cultivators whose couldn't be seen by anyone else in the room.

  [Level: 36 (D)]

  The man continued. "He nearly killed Black Wing. In fact, he would have if I never stepped in." He said, gesturing to another, more slender, man in the room. He wore clothes similar to the bulkier man, except a pair of tekko kagi- metal claws- hung at his waist. His level read the second highest in the room, though it seemed meager compared to the other two men.

  [Level: 14 (E)]

  The cultivator in black spoke. "How much of the product have been sold throughout the southern province?"

  "Around three quarters of the pills from last shipment have been sold. We ran out of stock of the minor ascension stones around a month after the delivery." The large man stated.

  The cultivator nodded. "Good, those were the most important." He looked to the large man. He saw the deep crimson glow pulsing in his chest. "I see you've made great use of the pills, Hang."

  The tall man smiled. "I have." He held up a hand as blood-red Ki began to form on his hand before protruding out and morphing into a small blade. "And with a few skills I've even managed to make Ki blades."

  The cultivator nodded. "And Black Wing?" He turned his head to the slender man, no such Ki radiating in his chest.

  "He refused to take it." Hang stated. "He doesn't like needing excess help outside his own talent, and whatever the system gives him."

  "To each their own." The cultivator sighed, turning to face back to the unconscious man. "This will not interfere with our trade. Another shipment of stones and pills will be sent to you at the end of the month. I expect those excess pills to be sold by then." He stated. He swiped a hand in front of the unconscious man's neck; flinging his head from his shoulders. "And clean up the mess."