ShipTeaser

  “So, how was yht?” I asked Shaeu as she strolled into the kit, yawning. In response she shot me a sly grin as she opehe fridge arieved a cold of coffee. Pulling the ring, she drank it down, wiping at her mouth in satisfa.

  “I should be asking you that, should I not-not?” she ughed. “Though I fess, your friends are rather fun. And they were-were very kind to Ichika, which pleases me. That Yasu was rather taken with her, though I fear-fear she was not reciprog.” Sitting down beside me, she tinued. “We talked a great-great deal about you and Shiro, and your times together. I talked as well, of course. Ichika was quite-quite taken aback at all that is happening that she does not-not know of.” She paused. “Now, that is quite-quite enough of me, how was yht?”

  Well, sidering we only got ba ho, it was quite hectic. “It roductive. We came to an agreement with Arisu-san, and I got two new vassals out of it.”

  “I see. That is indeed good-good news.” However…” her smile broadened. “You know that is not-not what I wish to talk about. Have you and Shiro bee as one-one?”

  “Yes, there were no problems.” I hoped my face wasn’t flushed. “Let’s just say that her Lovers’ Link skill Ranked up a bit.”

  “Excellent. I am quite-quite pleased.” Shaeu said, looking at me expetly as her stomach grumbled cutely. Taking the hint, I headed for the stove, ready to prepare breakfast. “So where is she?”

  “Taking a quiap. We didn’t get much sleep st night…” I admitted, thinking back to our lovemaking. In the end, Shiro and I had stayed up all night, talking, reminisg and interspersing that with sex, although after the experimentation, we had kept it strictly vanil. “But she’ll be up soon. We’re meeting up with Arisu-san and the others ter, she has something to give us. And then I want to make sure everything is w properly with the expansion of Haru-san’s Territory. Before all that though, probably some training…” I’ve got some ideas I’d like to explore…

  “I see.” Shaeu approved. “Well, I do have to return to the Spring for some matters, but I shall-shall wait until after this training. Perhaps ter I meet Shiro’s rades properly, sihey shall be ours-ours now.” As she talked, others started filtering in for breakfast. Eri was , roiling in on her wheelchair, being pushed by Daiyu, which was a surprising bination.

  “Eri, Daiyu’er, good m.” I greeted them, and Daiyu nodded, despite me having spoken in Japanese.

  “Good m to you.” She returned.

  “Oh, so you’ve been studying then?” I asked, and while she stumbled over some words and there were a lot of phrases she still didn’t get, I was impressed in her progress over just a few days. The buffed memory and learning ability from stats really makes a difference.

  “Today, is it a good time?” Daiyu asked me, a little shyly.

  “For what?” We had switched back to ese while Shaeu and Eri were chatting at the table.

  “I have codified the teags of Qi Refining that I remember, as well as the details of Diamond Mountain’s lore. Coupled with my own Qi Refining Teique… I believe I wish to search for disciples, as well as teay ways.” Her eyes were impl, yearning, and I remembered her desire to re-establish her Sect, to not let the legacy of her family die out.

  “Well, I nning to doing some training myself today anyway. That works.” Shiro’s in a good mood after st night, so she shouldn’t mind me squeezing some extra buffs out of her. She squeezed enough out of me… “I’d be more than happy to take a look at it. We could do with making a detailed analysis of your work as opposed to mine, Shaeu and Shiro’s anyway.” I also want to process the water element the Territory has been building up…

  “By work, you mean the meridians, acupoints, pathways and Dantians?” she questioned, and I nodded.

  “Yeah, it all seems to be the same thing, just put together differently. There are outliers, like the lunar chakra and probably your Dantians, but it all funs simirly, just like all living creatures, at least oh, are carbon-based and are built from the same molecur binations.” I said as I opened up the rice cooker, spooning out steaming rito bowls for everyone. Hyath had joined us, and as usual had immediately started helping out, preparing some miso soup and pickled vegetables, and I was once more impressed at how well she had adapted to cooking Japanese food. Just waiting on Shiro now, but I do wonder if she’s too shy to face everyht now?

  “I see. Codifying knowledge and probing deeper secrets to gaier strength is one of the foundations of Cultivation.” Daiyu mused, before nodding politely as I handed her a bowl of rice. Luckily her dietary tastes are quite simir to us Japahough she does apparently miss medial herbs that help with her Cultivation. Maybe rocure some?

  “It’s the foundation of everything worthwhile.” I ughed. “Knowledge is power, after all. So, what sort of disciples are you looking for?” I asked.

  “Cultivation requires hard, dedicated study and training.” She said, reminisg. “Without the will to fadless hardships, to surpass their own and even mortal limits, no true progress will be made. But just as important is talent and luck. For without those, the heights of Mount Tai will forever elude them.” Her eyes clouded over, her expressionless face dispying clear signs of unease. “I thought I had luck, I was blessed by the Heavens, even more when g’e bestowed her toue, though arrogantly I sought to dismiss such a power as unworthy, beh Cultivation, for a power one ake one’s own is merely a sword without a hilt, harmful to the touch. Yet…”

  She looked up at me as I patted her head gently, trying to reassure her. “You’re still alive. It may not seem like that is such a great thing, but when you look back to now iure, you’ll realise why you survived, and how gd others are that you did.”

  She looked at me for a moment, befently batting away my hand. As she did so, Shiro strode in, wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a pin blue t-shirt. “M.” She yawned, befesturing to the two of us. “Making a move on Daiyu now? How soon I’m fotten. You’ll make me cry, Aki.” She teased us.

  “You know that’s not it. Anyway, did you enjoy your nap?” I asked, as she sat down beside Eri.

  “No, I couldn’t sleep. Too muy mind.” She winked.

  “So, how was it?” Eri asked, and Shiro ughed happily.

  “Oh, I just knew you’d be eager to dig into the juicy, sordid details. Well…” she leant close and whispered in Eri’s ear for a moment, so quietly that even I couldn’t hear it. Eri nodded, surprised, face turning pink.

  “You did that? How was it, did he like it? Did you?”

  “it was different, that’s for sure. It wasn’t unpleasant, but… well, I’m not very experienced so I wouldn’t just take my word for it. Ask Aki.”

  “I’m not asking that.” Eri’s face was fming.

  “Oho, this sounds quite-quite iing. Do tell.” Shaeu joined in, and for a few mialk around the table turned dirty, which was a unique hell for me, Shaeu, Shiro, Hyath and Eri discussing sex. My only soce is that Daiyu doesn’t uand most of this. Daiyu… ugh, Dao panions. We have to set out just what that means as well…

  “Well, this is all quite-quite iing…” Shaeu looked at me, lig her lips like a predator. “And I indeed wish-wish to try this out. Perhaps together?” She looked at Shiro, whed.

  “I don’t mind.” Her grin intensified as she looked at Eri, who was frowning. “After all, I have experien that. We both have a first, right?”

  “I have more than one!” Eri protested, though she seemed less ahan she retending. Even so, it was cute, so I went and kissed her and then Shiro. Hyath and Shaeu were then looking at me expetly, so it turned into a major event, me kissing everyone for a number of minutes. Ohat was cluded, I outlihe pns for the day.

  “I see. Well, I - spare some time.” Shaeu agreed. “But, well…” she looked at Daiyu’er, before asking her a few questions in rapid-fire Mandarin. Oh, she raises some good points. If we are doing a true parison, we should do it properly.

  “So, I’ll be included obviously, but as a man there are differences. So, we need a baseline woman, Kana should do for that, and si’s Sunday she’ll be about. But since she’s a Chosen, it might be best to have an additional non-Chosen sample. Maybe Keomi- or one of your friends. We then have Shiro, Shirohebi, Shaeu, Hyath, Eri, since your work is in a strange flux right now, and stly Daiyu’er. With all these samples, we should be able to e up with some preheheories and applications.”

  After expining this to Daiyu, she agreed. “I have transcribed the scrolls and tags regarding a Cultivator’s spiritual body from memory, and we use them as reference.” Her expression had brightened just a touow that we were talking about tangible progress towards her goals, and Cultivation research, which clearly excited her.

  “Great, well, let’s finish up breakfast and the crag.”

  ********

  “Sorry about this. Everybody else had pns today, Hisano- was the only one avaible.” Kana apologised.

  “It happens.” I said, shrugging. Turning to Takagi-san, who was looking a little unfortable surrounded by the abundance of beauties that had gathered in the Boundary on the coast of Sagami Bay, inside a building the kobolds had erected for the now-departed Bintara, I apologised. “Sorry to take up your Sunday, Takagi-san. Also… uh, did Kana expin what we’re doing here? It’s kind of like a medical exam, it might be a bit embarrassing.”

  She nodded slowly. “Well, I trust you, you’ve always been fair with us.” she looked around. “Besides, I doubt you’d be ied ih all these far more beautiful girls than me around.”

  “Don’t uimate yourself. I’ve said that before.” I chided her gently. “Besides, you’re looking a lot nicer retly.”

  “That’s right. Everyo school has noticed.” Kana agreed. “But seriously, I’ve dohis before. It’s embarrassing, but it’s only underwear, right? Just think of it like being at the bea a bikini. Besides, other than Akio, we’re all girls here. Well, there’s a kami, but it doesn’t t.”

  “Other than him, right.” she muttered, her voice small. “I’m fihough at the beach, if I went, I’d wear a one piece…”

  “Anyway.” I steered the subject back to what we were doing. “The aim here is to properly codify all the differences between the various works we have, and hopefully not only gain insights into Cultivation, but on how to improve our owworks too. The Silver Cord and Chakra work is the foundation of everything. We’ve made strides over the past few months, but there’s further to go.”

  “All right then. So, what’s the pn, Aki?” Shiro asked. She raised one eyebrow in surprise as Shaeu had already removed her yukata, only a pair of panties c her nakedness. “We stripping?”

  “Underwear should be fine.” I sighed. “My Eye see through clothes well enough, but I wao try something a bit more…illustrative… hence why we are doing it here in the Boundary this time.”

  “Well, don’t ogle poor Hisano-.” Kana said, having loosehe ties on her hakama, quickly doffing it, revealing her rather fshy underwear.

  “Aren’t you embarrassed, Izumi-san…”

  “I’m Kana- now.” she corrected, before winking at me. “I sure am embarrassed. I’m a girl after all, right? But… I have to make my appeal somehow, sinebody is pying hard to get. Besides, I’m as hot as any girl here… uh, damn, that’s cheating!” She sighed as Shiro stretched, yawning, her bra-cd breasts boung. “Okay, nobody pete with that. But I’m still geous!”

  As Shiro smirked, helping out Eri, who was struggling to remove her armoured dress, tail twitg, I calmed everyone down. “This is work, not an excuse for me to ogle girls. If I wao do that, I any time. And I’m not that sort of guy anyway.”

  “Liar.” Shiro ughed.

  “Well, the results of this are what matter.” I said again, ign her teasing. “So Takagi-san, you’re the baseline.” As I spoke I started taking off my own clothes, leading to Kana looking away with a red face.

  “Well, this one’s new. Uh, you’re pretty ripped, Akio.” She managed.

  “He definitely is.” Shiro agreed. “sidering he used to be a weedy otaku ba the day, it’s nice.” She teased me by running a finger down my chest. Shaeu, ever one for mischief, joined in, and there was ughter and more teasing for several minutes, until I calmed everyone down.

  “See, I’m just in my underwear too. Nothing to worry about.” I said, and noticed how their gazes all strayed down. Okay, maybe it’s a little embarrassing. Luckily I have enough self-trol not to disgrace myself by any physiological reas.

  “All right. I’m doakagi-san said. “And… I guess you should call me Hisano, after this.” Red-faced behind her gsses, she looked down shyly.

  “Uh, okay. Anyway, if you stand there, Hisano-san.” I poio one wall. “Shaeu, use your Mystic Eyes as well, it might see differently to mine.”

  “I’ll give it a try too.” Kana said. “It probably won’t help much, but I’d like to learn.”

  “That’s the spirit.” I approved, and she looked at me happily, before looking down at my bare chest, flushing and looking away again. Ign that cute gesture, I tinued. “Learning and power won’t ever betray you. So… first up…” My Eye glowed a brilliant amber ihe windowless room. “So we start at the root chakra here.” I trated, using Split Thoughts to process the visualisations aher Manipution, and a faint glowing red ball appeared visible to everyone around her panties. “Then we move up to the sacral…” an e glow lit up. I went through the seven chakras that were in cssical literature, and also added the lunar chakra, h at her back. “So these are the eight chakras in the Fae-inspired work we have. Hyath, if you would…” she stood o Hisano-san, giggling softly, and I dispyed the simir glowing balls of colour.

  “All I see is great smears of energy.” Kana pined, squinting. “I see the abnormality of it, but not the detail.”

  “Well, keep w on in. If you stand beside Hisano-san oher side…” I asked and as she did so, I sketched out her chakras too with colourful orbs.

  “The chakras, they are identical.” Shaeu observed, “But that is not-not all.”

  “Indeed.” Daiyu agreed, and I gnced over at her, only to realise she was in her underwear as well. Ugh, of course she is. Well, there’s no point w about that. This is serious Cultivation research. “There is more to a spiritual body than merely the chakras.”

  “Right.” Glittering strands and beads of light formed, my Split Thoughts usiher to create pretty strings that mirrored the capilries and main trunk of their works. Kana’s and Hisano-san’s were rgely identical, but Kana’s had ged ever since she took in the Divine Favour. That’s iing. I’d noticed some of this before, but looking at it more ih… Hyath’s robably y-pert the same as the others, but there were deviations, probably due to her Fae nature.

  “See, Kana has the Divine Favour around her lower body, the sacral chakra, but if you look carefully, it’s reshaped her capilries around the root, heart and chakras, seeming to be lio them. We’re using a pretty generic system to empower people, and it works, but I think the step is building a more tailored, individual one via Chirurgery, but to do that without risk, we need a lot more research.”

  “Hmm.” Daiyu was extending her Qi, sensing their energies. “I am not skilled enough to distinguish such differences. I feel their own unique Qi signatures, that is all.” She seemed frustrated.

  “Don’t be sad.” Eri said, and Shaeu transted for her. “Akio has a lot of abilities that help him. But if you stay with him, you’ll grow too. We all have.”

  “That’s right.” Kana agreed happily. “After all, I’m a Chosen now too!”

  “Well, there’s still so much to look at. In addition to the main chakras, there are a lot of minor chakras that are cirg energy.” More lights bloomed, and additional els were sketched out in luminous strands.

  “The meridians and acupoints.” Daiyu said, thinking. “I reise the yout, I am intimately familiar with such. you… map the flows?”

  “All right. Just aether for now?” I asked, and she agreed. “Ihis aether, which I call Qi.”

  “This is hard work. Well, it’s giving my Split Thoughts a workout. You should always take the opportunity to train when you .” I said piously, only for Shiro to ugh and call me an old man. Shimmering energies, which I painted a vivid neon pink, so as not to csh with the other colours, started to circute through the three of them.

  “The main trunk and a number of sedary branches are in use, but… so many meridians and lesser chakras are simply lying fallow.” Daiyu pursed her lips. “I believe…” she stepped o Kana. “I should be .” Her dark eyes were glittering, curiosity writ on her features pin enough for everyoo see. “This is fasating. To be able to illumihe body like this…”

  “All right…” Daiyu’s body had a set of seven major chakra as expected, but the root and sacral were somewhat distorted, as were the heart and third eye chakras, the capilries and meridians around them twisted. As the pink glow spread, we could see that while the flows through the main chakras were simir, there was a cluster of energy f at a vortex between the root and sacral chakras.

  “You see that?” I asked Shaeu, who nodded. Kana was trying to see as well, squinting so hard silvery tears were springing from her eyes.

  “Are you refining Qi now?” I asked Daiyu, and she nodded.

  “Yes, I am verting my internal Qi and drawing in the Qi around us. The Spirit realm here is replete with Qi, it is far easier here.”

  “Yeah, I thought so. Well, you’re turniher to aether, like we do, but then there’s a further step, taking pce here.” I ged the colour of the flow dispyed from that whirlpool into a brilliant gold. Everyone looked on in i as the golden light spread around her body, filling the work of acupoints, meridians and smaller chakras around the body. There was still pink spreading through her body as well, which was also iing.

  “Looks like your version efficy is probably only arouy pert.” I noted. “And it seems that your body relies less on the primary seven chakras, through they are all still io some extent. But the rest of your work shows far higher activity than Kana’s or Hisano-san’s.”

  “I see. My Qi Refining teique has such fws. I think…” she looked at me pensively. “… with your aid, I improve it, perhaps push it to heights of old.”

  “Yeah, I’m definitely down for that. Well, I think, … Shaeu.”

  “Of course. I was getting rather impatient indeed-indeed.” She chortled, taking her pce beside Hyath. Her casual disregard for her bare chest was rexing everyone, and even Hisano-san had bee used to being in her undererhaps helped by the fact the numerous bright lights and lines all over her body were obsg the details anyway.

  “So, Shaeu’s… it looks… hmm… damn, this is hard…” I was trying to run a lot of instances of visualisation aher Manipution, and even with my Intelled Acrity it roving challenging keeping it all together. But, I overe this! It’s like a puter, calg and st data. That’s what status excels at… It was almost like I was overclog my brain, Body Enha yered on top, and then it was as if my thoughts expanded, more threads being avaible to me, easing the burden.

  Your Skill, Split Thoughts has increased from Rank 3 to Rank 4. You further process additional information threads, and the performance of each thread further increases. Your memory and visualisation skills have increased dramatically, and your Acrity has increased signifitly. You further trol Aether, Elemental energies and Adherence.

  With a relieved sigh, I started painting Shaeu’s body with light. I noticed sympathetic eyes on me, but I waved to show I was fine, mopping silver sweat from my brow. “Yeah, I’m good. Just had a bit of a breakthrough, so it’s all good. Okay… Shaeu, your chakra work has ged from what I remember before you became a Kamaitachi as well. You see…” Using bck light now, I sketched in the areas where her capilries had rerouted, as well as the strange, small sub-chakras that had appeared, orbiting around her seven primary chakras. It looked like there was one by her lunar chakra too, but it was non-funal and disected. I wonder if they are the Night in her Night Moowork…

  “… if we had a Yokai to pare with, it’d be helpful.” I mused. There were some in my Territory, but right now with all the girls in a state of undress I didn’t want visitors. “That’s for ter. Okay. Shaeu, you create an overy of yours and Hyath’s?”

  She nodded, eyes narrowing, and suddenly the image was created. With bpared against pink, it was easy to see the differences. “I see-see. Well, I am half Fae, half-half Yokai, while Hyath is a Grey Fae. Of course there are many-many differences. But…”

  “Uanding the principle is important. All right, , Shirohebi, if you would?”

  “Of courssse.” it hissed, ba its snake form. It slithered into view, and soon its abnormal work was in view, its Diviar Chakra work made up on the usual seven major chakras, as well as the Divine Spark, which dwelt within and overshadowed its root chakra.

  “All right, there are a lot of areas of simirity, but even more trasts so…”

  ********

  “Good job everyone!” We were all clothed again, and within my mind were locked images of all the data we had gathered. “I really think that is vitally important. I feel like we’re on the cusp of something special.” I turo Kana and Hisano-san. “Thanks you two. I get it was embarrassing, but you’ve really helped us with baselia. If you don’t have pns for the day, why not go out and have some fun? My treat.”

  They exged gnces, and Kana shrugged. “I’d normally take you up on that, but… I really want to keep training.” she smiled. “Seeing everyone w so hard, it really motivates me, you know?” She rubbed at her tired, bloodshot eyes. “Besides, I couldn’t do it again. It’s frustrating.”

  “Well, I’m here now.” Hisano-san said quietly. “I’ll train as well.”

  “Fine. But I’m putting a bonus in your pay-packet for the month.” I grinned. “All right, Shaeu, Hyath, you have to go to the Spring, right?”

  “Indeed. It is a shame, but we must-must tinue building support for our restru. It is going rather well. Soon-soon… well, there will be time for this ter, will there not-not?” She paused, a bit embarrassed by something.

  “Arisu should be here soon. She’s alunctual.” Shiro said. “I’ll go give her the grand tour, and buff up the Trees, Asha and the others while I’m at it.”

  Once everyone had discussed their pns, that left Eri, Daiyu and me. Eri was frowning, trating, and when I asked her what , she looked at me, her dark eyes serious. “I’m going to fix myself! I will!” she insisted. “I hate this, not being able to move properly ba the Material. Not being able to hold you!” Tears glimmered in her eyes. “I know I’ll get better, but I want it even a day sooner! Now Shiro’s in your life, I don’t want you fetting about…” I pulled her into a hug, rubbing her bad hair (as well as her cat ears) as I softly forted her.

  “Hush now. It’ll be fine. I know it must have been upsetting, seeing a visual representation of your work…” It was rgely intact, though there were simirities to Shaeu’s mixed in, and the capilries and meridians were stantly in flux, as though they were taut guitar strings, moving and vibrating, which was dist her chakras in turn. “… but you stabilise it, I know you . As for Shiro repg you…” I lifted her , looking deep into her eyes. “Bullshit. I know you don’t mean it, you’re just feeling down and jealous, and I’m sorry. But Shiro’s Shiro, and you’re Eri. I need you both in my life, and you’re both my precious friends and girlfriends. Nobody will ever kick you out of my heart, Eri!”

  “I’m sorry.” She said, before repeating it in a quiet voice. “Sorry. I want to be strong, stand by your side, but ever since Kyoto, I’ve been useless…”

  “Useless? Hardly. You’re an anchor Eri. With you here, I ’t let myself be weak. After all, what guy wants to look patheti front of his childhood friend? Besides, I hear from Shiro you tried to help Nie Ling e to a decision. That’s not something I dht now, I get so angry just thinking about the dead…”

  “Well, I just don’t want you to end up wounded over her. And if she lets her cowardice rule her, she’ll end up regretting her decision one day. I know that so well.” Eri sighed. “Akio, you’ll wait for me, right? If it takes a month, a year… a decade… to recover?”

  I softly kissed her, trying to ignore Daiyu watg with a faint smile. “It won’t take years. I promise. But if it did… you know I’ll always want you beside me.”

  “Fihen.” Eri calmed down, wiping at her eyes unsteadily. “I guess… even though I’m only able to move clumsily here, I still hold you a little.” She g to me, arms quivering and trembling.

  “You .” I kissed her again. “Any time you get worried, just talk to me. Or any of the others. Shiro likes you, even if she sees you as a bit of a rival, and you know what Shaeu and Hyath think. Even talking to Hinata, Motoko or Natsumi might help…”

  “Sometimes it’s all very overwhelming.” Eri shook her head a little. “Sorry. I just had… a moment. Aiko would ugh at me and call me an idiot for doubting you, doubting myself.”

  “I think it’s natural. But who knows, the research we are doing here might help in the longer run.” I id Eri down, and she sat watg us, a solemn expression on her face. “Sorry about the wait, Daiyu’er.” I switched to ese again.

  “It is not a problem. Seeing you soothe her worry, it makes me think…” her face reddened just a touch. “…of panionship. Now, I did not uand much of what was said, but I do know this. you transte?” she asked me, and she addressed Eri.

  “Cultivation has many pitfalls and trials. A mistake easily cripple the body, mind or spirit. That breaks most people. I do not know how you suffered su abnormal wound, but… those that brave their sorrows, their Tributions, and e out the other side, they rise stronger, unafraid of even Fate or the Heavens. Those are the strong. That is the sort of Cultivator, the sort of woman, I wish to be. Do you wish the same?”

  Eri’s eyes wide the words, before she burst out ughing.

  “I see. I must look pitiful if she’s soling me.” She wiped away tears of equal parts frustration and amusement. “Tell her I was just a bit rattled, but I’m no longer a coward. I won’t run from this. Or you. Or… her.” Eri met her eyes. “Damn, I wish I spoke ese right now. having you transte for me isn’t right, but… I accept you, Daiyu. As a rival. And hopefully as a friend. For we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, won’t we?”

  After her surprise at those words, Daiyu bowed, different to our Japayle, but the i was veyed. “Of course. I never imagined my Dao panion would not be for me alone, but… when a Cultivator knows, she knows. And today has only proved that we are kindred spirits, souls of the same type. This… research… is very much the pinnacle of Cultivation, seg knowledge and turning it to power, power no one else fathom.”

  “Well, you two carry on. I’m tent to watch, and I’ll do my exercises.” Eri said gently, and with that, Daiyu and I faced each other, my Eye bzing.

  “While you work, I’m going to be refining something myself.” I said, and a surge e energies were drawn from my Silos, pulled into me. “But I do several things at once, so…”

  She nodded. “Very well. I shall demonstrate the basiets of Qi Refining. The teique I use is the one handed down by most major Sects. Qi Refining is not like the Foundation Realm, the e is always the same, the methods merely differ a little in efficy.”

  She pulled iher, and her Silver Cord was visible to me. The ether broke down to aether, as I expected, and passed through the root chakra, only to be drawn to the area between her chakras, where the aether ged, being refined, almost fvoured. The energy was then dispersed throughout the body as we had seen before. “The purified, refined Qi responds to our will with greater swiftness, precision and crity.” Daiyu spoke. “It also suffuses the body, making the steps, of the Foundation, easier. We must hone our body, f the es that draw upon the Qi.” She sighed. “The spiritual body is shaped with will and Qi, but unrefined Qi, that which you call aether, while more flexible, is not suited for the rigours and discipline of Cultivation. Anyone follow a series of mental exercises, drawing in the energy of Heaven ah…” she paused. “Well, no, an ordinary person would only see the basest energy of Heaven. Ordinary eyes ot see the peak of Mount Tai, after all. But it would take many years to train the body to even a rudimentary level.”

  “I see. Yeah, those are the sort of exercises that Shaeu set Eri and Aiko on back when she first told them about all this.” Hearing her name mentioned, Eri opened her eyes briefly, before shrugging and going back to her exercises. “But they hadn’t achieved mu just a few weeks. Really, it took Chirurgery to make any solid progress.”

  “When one refine Qi, and follow Teiques honed by millennia of study, the spiritual body be rebuilt from the ground up, hence Foundation. Though the greatest Teiques will also create the ability to use elemental Qi or Yin and Yang Qi. Such as my Invincible Jade Yang Teique. Though the ck of Yang energy is hard for a female to overe, without s it… from a male…” her voice became smaller towards the end there, her face red.

  “I see. So, in a way, our current Chirurgery has reached Foundation level?” I asked, and she nodded, not meeting my eyes, instead looking at the massive e halo of energies around me as I pressed and forced it through my sacral chakra, the energies within feeding on it, ging it. Most was absorbed, wasted, but with my efforts, more and more High Moonlight Spirit Water was stored within me.

  “Yes, you could express it that way, from what I observed with your py of lights. Though pared to our Teiques, it is g. Not in ability to draw in this aether, but in other areas. I suspect that afterwards, there is disfort and irritation?”

  “Yeah, it takes time and gathering of a lot of aether to flush out the debris left over. After all, Chirurgery is pretty invasive.”

  “An impure spiritual body is a weak Foundation. Yin and Yang energy is used to expel impurities, leaving the body as pure as possible. One must train both the physical and spiritual if the Accumution is to proceed ao pure, powerful results.” She sighed. “Of course, it is difficult to expel the deepest impurities with our current, g teiques. A further pass will occur during Perfe of Self, the Realm above. But just know, the more impurities removed and the stronger Qi, Yin and Yang energies, the strohe Foundation.”

  That… oddly makes a lot of sense. Healthy mind, healthy body. “Well, when I gained my Spirit Water, I was covered in bck goo, it was disgusting. My Eye said they were impurities. My bed was a total write-off.” Shaeu had much less of an issue, perhaps because her Material body hadn’t built up many impurities, being so new? Eri also leaked a little when we shared some Spirit Water though the Fae way of love, though the effect was minor, perhaps because my reserves had dwindled, or it was only sed-hand?

  “How envious.” She smiled. “To have shed so much filth is to prepare well for Accumution. Though I must wonder just why your body and spirit were so dirty?” She raised one eyebrow a little, and I realised she was teasing me.

  “If you push me, you might find out.” I joked, and she bowed her head.

  “I am not a fool. Last night, you joined with Shiro, the silver-haired woman. I do not pin, for I am aware that I shall not have your sole attention and affe as a Dao panion, but… I do not wish to fall behind.”

  “There’s o be hasty.” I reassured her. “Wheime is right… for now, you o find disciples for your Sect, that should be your priority. I think… and stop me if I’m out of line here, that bining our abilities, my Chirurgery, and your Qi Refining, should enable you to quickly put together some suitable didates.”

  “It would shorteherwise lengthy process. Most never make it past Qi Refining, though as the flow of Earthly and Heavenly Qi tio increase, more disciples will break their limits, buoyed by the greater densities, making their talents, or ck thereof, less an issue.” She clicked her tongue. “Well, even amongst a thousand shards of gss, a gemstoill shines brilliantly. But first… you even refine Qi?”

  “Good question. Well, let me give it a try…” I focussed my vision on the processes happening within her work, and tried to replicate it…

  ********

  “That is surprisingly… muda. Useless.” Daiyu smiled bitterly. Eri chuckled, since Daiyu had spoken the Japanese word, one she had learned, and from the expression on my face she must have known I had failed. “Your spiritual body does not have the proto-Dantian, it seems.”

  “Well, I mean, I do it through Aether Manipution.” I created Qi to match hers, though the efficy was trash, at around thirty pert. “Hey, even your version rate isn’t perfect. There’s a lot of aether swirling about your body, as we showed earlier.”

  “So petty.” Her lips quirked in a smile. She turo Eri, and managed some halting Japanese. “Is Akio… always… childish?”

  Eri giggled happily, good mood restored after her earlier gloom. “I think it’s cute. He wants to look good in front of you, I think?”

  Daiyu cocked her head, and I traempted though I was to ig. Well, Eri’s n. But it’s not for why she thinks, ho! I just wao think I’m reliable, after all, she’s put her trust in me. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be disappointed. If I could master your arts in an instant, then that’d just be an insult to all your effort.”

  “Effort without results is meaningless. Praiseworthy, but meaningless. If you find a better way to refine Qi, I shall adopt it in a heartbeat. Pride is nothing before success. Well, this requires further thought. Your methods and mine do not mesh well, it seems.”

  “Yeah. Well, onto the lesson. You wanted me to help your Foundatiht? Well, I’m ready.”

  Her face immediately fmed scarlet, and she took a step backwards despite herself, before swallowing nervously. She shuddered, as if shaking away her doubts, and then looked me in the eyes, face still pink. “Very well then. After st night I expected this moment to e soon. I am prepared, my heart is calm and without doubts.” She reached out a hand for mine, and I froze.

  Wait, I think she’s misuanding something here… I turo Eri looking for reassurance, but despite not uanding the ese, she obviously read the situation, as she unhelpfully ughed and gave me a thumbs-up. Okay… not what I expected either…

  ShipTeaser