And here we are again, standing before one of the main sources of my headaches regarding the internal administration of this clan. The library, from my perspective, was a building that reminded me why I had hated useless hierarchies in my previous life.

  Three floors of bookshelves organized by antiquity and strength. The most prestigious techniques occupied the places of honor, regardless of whether they were actually useful or not. It was like having a warehouse where the expired products were kept at the entrance simply because the supplier was important.

  "Are you okay?" Xiao Yue asked as we climbed the stairs toward the second floor.

  "Perfectly. I’m just processing the administrative incompetence."

  Liling laughed behind us.

  "Kenji, you are in a library of ancestral cultivation techniques. It is not a warehouse."

  "It should be. It would be more useful that way."

  Xiao Yue looked at me with that expression she used when she didn't know whether to laugh or worry about my mental health.

  "Focus. We need to find a quiet place where you can work without interruptions."

  She was right. I had come here with a specific purpose: to study techniques that I could adapt for them. I wanted to create something unique that leveraged their individual strengths instead of forcing them to follow generic methods.

  The second floor was less crowded than the first. A few disciples were silently flipping through scrolls, but most of the tables were empty. Xiao Yue led us toward a secluded section near a window overlooking the inner garden.

  "No one will bother us here," she said as she sat down. "The disciples who have access to the library avoid this area because the texts are too technical."

  "Perfect."

  I sat across from her. Liling settled beside me, stretching like a satisfied cat.

  "So," Liling began, "what exactly is the plan?"

  I took out my notebook and opened it to a clean page.

  "First, I need to understand what techniques are available. Then, evaluate them against what I know about the two of you. After that, adapt them or create something completely new if necessary."

  "It sounds simple when you put it that way," Xiao Yue commented.

  "The best plans are always simple. The complicated ones fail."

  Liling gave me a soft nudge with her elbow.

  "Kenji, there’s something you should know before you start."

  "What?"

  "You don't really have any idea how strong we are, do you?"

  The question caught me off guard. I knew they were both competent cultivators. I had seen Xiao Yue train. I had felt Liling throw me to the ground repeatedly during our sessions. But in terms of their actual level, their absolute destructive capacity...

  "No," I admitted. "I have no idea."

  Liling smiled in that way that meant she was about to do something that would make me rethink my understanding of reality.

  "Then we should fix that. It’s hard to design something for someone if you don't know what they’re capable of." She stood up and offered me her hand. "Come. Let’s go to the inner courtyard."

  Xiao Yue stood up as well.

  "Liling is right. You need to see this."

  I followed them downstairs and through a side hallway that opened into a training courtyard attached to the library. It was a rectangular space surrounded by high walls, with polished stone floors and a few practice dummies scattered around the area. It was completely empty.

  "No one uses this place," Xiao Yue explained. "It’s too close to the library, and disciples prefer the main courtyards."

  "Perfect privacy," Liling added as she walked toward the center of the space. She stopped and looked at me over her shoulder. "Stand back a bit. I don't want to accidentally electrocute you."

  "Electrocute me?"

  "You'll see."

  I backed up until I was near Xiao Yue, who was watching Liling with an expression of anticipation.

  "Should I be worried?" I asked her in a low voice.

  "Probably. But it will be educational."

  "That’s not comforting."

  "It wasn't meant to be."

  Liling closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment, nothing changed. Then I felt something strange. The air became dense, heavy with a static that made the hair on my arms stand up.

  "What is she doing?" I asked.

  "Concentrating her Qi," Xiao Yue replied. "Watch."

  Liling opened her eyes. They were different. The warm brown I knew had been replaced by an electric blue tone. Small sparks began to dance between her fingers.

  "Lightning element," she said, her voice carrying a strange quality, as if every word held a faint hum. "Eighth stage of the Foundation Establishment."

  Before I could respond, Liling moved. She literally vanished from my sight. One instant she was in the center of the courtyard, and the next she was sixty feet away, with trails of blue electricity marking her path.

  "My God," I whispered.

  "And that was slow," Xiao Yue said.

  "Slow?"

  "She’s holding back. If she were at full speed, you wouldn't even see the trails."

  Liling moved again. This time I could follow her a bit better because, apparently, she had decided to slow down even more. She moved in short bursts, each movement leaving a flash of blue light in the air.

  "How is that even possible?" I asked.

  "Her lightning element allows her to partially convert her body into electricity. She travels through the air like a current."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Liling stopped in the center of the courtyard again. She extended her hand toward one of the practice dummies.

  "Pay attention to this," she told me.

  Arcs of electricity jumped from her fingers and struck the target. The dummy, which seemed to be made of reinforced wood and designed to withstand attacks from cultivators, exploded into fragments that flew in every direction with enough force to embed themselves into the courtyard walls.

  "Shit," was all I could say.

  Liling landed softly. The sparks dissipated, and her eyes returned to normal. She smiled at me as if she had just shown me a card trick.

  "See? Not that impressive compared to the truly strong cultivators, but it works."

  I just stared at her.

  "You just destroyed a reinforced training target with a gesture."

  "Technically, it was several gestures. I concentrated the charge first."

  "Liling..."

  "Yes?"

  "You’re terrifying."

  She laughed.

  "Thank you. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me."

  Xiao Yue walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

  "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

  "Seeing a demonstration of power from the Silver-Trimmed disciples is one thing; however, seeing it from someone I consider a friend is completely different."

  "That’s good," Xiao Yue said. "You need to understand the real scale of power if you’re going to create personalized techniques."

  She was right. But understanding something intellectually was very different from seeing it in action. I walked toward where the dummy had been. The scattered fragments were still smoking slightly. I poked one with the tip of my foot; it was charred at the edges.

  "How much electricity was that?"

  "Compared to what?" Liling asked.

  "A natural lightning bolt."

  Liling thought for a moment.

  "Less powerful than a real bolt, but more controlled. I can direct it exactly where I want it."

  "And the speed?"

  "It depends. In short bursts, I can move almost as fast as electricity travels. Over long distances, I have to slow down or I run out of Qi."

  "Long distances?"

  "A hundred yards, maybe a hundred and fifty if I'm in good shape."

  I did some quick mental math. One hundred and fifty yards at near-lightning speed.

  "Basically, you’re impossible to hit."

  "In theory," Liling said. "In practice, cultivators stronger than me can predict my movements or create barriers that block the lightning."

  "How do they predict something that moves that fast?"

  Xiao Yue answered.

  "Experience and advanced perception techniques. When you reach high levels of cultivation, your senses improve dramatically. You can detect Qi fluctuations before they turn into movement."

  "So they read your intentions before you act."

  "Exactly."

  "That’s terribly unfair."

  Liling laughed.

  "Welcome to the world of the strong. Everything is unfair until you’re the one with the advantage."

  Xiao Yue intervened.

  "Lightning has pros and cons. It’s fast and destructive, but it consumes a lot of energy. Liling can maintain that level of power for maybe ten minutes before she's exhausted."

  "Only ten minutes?"

  "Ten minutes is a long time in a fight," Liling said. "Most fights between cultivators of our level are decided in less than five."

  "And if the fight lasts longer?"

  "Then I’m in trouble. My style depends on finishing things fast."

  This was useful information. I was starting to see the pattern.

  "And you, Young Mistress?" I asked Xiao Yue. "What is your real level?"

  "I recently advanced to the seventh stage of the Foundation Establishment. I’m still adapting to the new level of power."

  "But you can do things similar to what Liling just showed."

  "Not exactly," Xiao Yue said. "My element is fire, but I prefer sustained control over rapid explosions. I can maintain steady flames for hours if necessary."

  "Show me."

  Xiao Yue hesitated.

  "I don't want to destroy any more of the clan's training equipment. We already lost one dummy."

  "Then show me something small."

  She extended her hand with the palm up. A small flame appeared floating above her skin. It was the size of a candle flame, perfectly round, and it didn't flicker.

  "I can keep this up all day without getting tired. The temperature is controllable." The flame changed color: from orange to blue, to white, and back to orange. "Each color represents a different temperature. White is the hottest I can currently generate."

  "And how hot is that?"

  "Hot enough to melt most common metals. Steel, iron, bronze... they all turn liquid in minutes." The flame went out. "I can also create larger constructs: walls of fire, spheres, streams. But I focus better on precise applications. I can heat a specific point without affecting the surrounding area."

  "That’s incredibly useful."

  "It is. But it also means I’m not as effective in chaotic combat where I need to attack multiple targets quickly."

  I looked at both of them. Liling with her explosive speed and Xiao Yue with her precise control. Two completely different styles and strengths. And I had promised to create something personalized for each of them.

  "Alright," I said finally. "I have a better understanding of the landscape now."

  "Does it help?" Xiao Yue asked.

  "Completely. Knowing that Liling needs to maximize damage in short windows of time defines what kind of techniques make sense for her. And your preference for sustained control means your techniques should focus on long-term efficiency."

  Liling smiled.

  "Look at that. You’re already thinking like a technique designer."

  "I’m thinking like someone who understands that different tools serve different jobs."

  "Does that make us tools?" she asked with fake offense.

  "It makes me the tool. You’re the ones who are going to use what I design."

  Xiao Yue laughed softly.

  "Good correction."

  We returned to the library. My mind was already working on the problems. We sat back down at our secluded table. Xiao Yue began pulling scrolls while I opened my notebook.

  "Where do we start?" Liling asked.

  "With you, Liling. Your technique will be more complex to design since I’m only just learning the nature of your power. In contrast, I already have a basic notion of the Young Mistress’s capabilities following her recent advancement, which will make my work with her easier."

  "Seriously?" Liling leaned forward.

  "That’s right. The more I think about your style, the more I realize the clan’s standard manual probably isn't serving you well."

  "It’s not serving me well at all," she admitted. "I’ve been stuck at the eighth stage for five months."

  "Five months?"

  "Yes. I can't advance to the ninth without changing something fundamental about my cultivation."

  That was new.

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "Because I didn't know you could help... until I saw what you did for the Young Mistress. But I didn't want to bother you."

  Xiao Yue handed me several scrolls.

  "These are about lightning techniques. Some are ancient, others more recent."

  I started reading. The first scroll talked about embracing the fury of the sky. Completely useless. The second was worse: vague instructions about visualizing lightning. The third was just a series of poetic aphorisms.

  "These are terrible," I said after reviewing the third.

  "In what sense?" Xiao Yue asked.

  "They don't explain anything. It’s all poetic language without any real technical content."

  "That’s how most ancient techniques are written."

  "Well, it’s stupid. How is anyone supposed to learn from this?"

  Liling laughed.

  "Most people can't. That’s why they need teachers to explain it to them."

  "And if your teacher also learned from vague texts? Then everyone is just guessing and hoping it works." I closed the scroll firmly. "Fine. I’m going to ignore these texts and work from first principles."

  "What does that mean?" Xiao Yue asked.

  "It means I’m going to design something based on what I know works, like the basic principles of cultivation, not on what some ancient master thought sounded mystical. I’m not going to assume they were right just because they were ancient."

  I pulled out my pen and started writing.

  "Liling, when you move at maximum speed, do you feel resistance?"

  "Yes. The air becomes a problem. At very high speeds, it’s like hitting a wall."

  "And how do you overcome it?"

  "I use my Qi to create a kind of path. The electricity reduces the resistance."

  Interesting. I took a note.

  "What about your muscles? Do they get damaged by the speed?"

  "They used to. Now my body is sufficiently reinforced. But there’s a limit: I can break my own bones if I accelerate too fast. It happened once when I was fourteen; it took a month to fully recover."

  I continued writing for several minutes. Finally, I looked up.

  "I have an idea. But I need to verify something first. Stand up."

  I led her to the open space between the bookshelves.

  "Move in a straight line. Not fast, just normal." Liling walked several steps. "Now with electricity. But slow."

  Sparks began to dance over her skin. The difference was visible. Her foot touched the floor much more lightly.

  "Interesting. The electricity reduces your effective mass. That’s why you can move so fast without destroying the floor beneath your feet."

  "I didn't know that," Liling admitted.

  "Probably because they just told you it worked and you accepted it. Now, when you hit something, what does more damage: the electricity or the physical impact?"

  "It depends on the target. But it’s instinctive, not calculated. At the moment of the hit, my body decides automatically. I have no conscious control."

  "That’s a problem. For a personalized technique, you need conscious control over every aspect. Otherwise, you’d just be repeating what you already know how to do."

  I spent the next half hour taking more notes. Each answer added another piece to the puzzle. Finally, I closed my notebook.

  "This is going to take time. I need to do more research."

  "We have time," Liling said. "There’s no rush."

  But I did feel a rush. Because the more time I spent with them, the clearer something became: I wasn't here just to survive. I was here to build a strong team.

  *****

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