Mage's Cultivation Journey 25

After Yu Xing had been cured, we ended up in another burst of routine, where most of my time was dedicated to deciphering the martial styles once more.

Two weeks passed quickly. Unlike back in the camp, where I had to be careful about even the simplest move not to alert our watchers, I was free to act like myself. Well, mostly. I still didn’t trust Su Mi fully, and while I trusted Yu Xing more, that didn’t change the fact that the kid could be tricked to reveal some critical information.

Especially if he didn’t understand why it was dangerous in the first place. And, I couldn’t explain to him, not without making things even worse.

The new routine had a strict pattern. During the day, the kid went to hunt, easily able to take down ordinary beasts now that he had recovered enough to freely display his Initiate abilities, but this time without the need to carefully manipulate his internal energy whenever he was about to throw a punch, slowing himself down. I rarely accompanied him, to see if I could discover some valuable medicinal plants with my sharper energy senses.

While he handled the hunting, Su Mi continued to teach me how to read, though at this point, it was more like a poetry discussion than anything else. The people of this dimension, even the martial artists, loved to pack as many meanings as they could into a single line, often requiring some cultural context.

Without the benefits of my advanced mental training and meditation techniques, two weeks would have barely been enough to get the basics. However, with them, I had made good progress. Enough that I could decipher the martial manuals with great confidence.

I would have loved to learn more from Su Mi, but the girl was too closed off, and too sharp, making such attempts a bit of a challenge. I might have tried to bargain openly, but the more I observed her, the more I was convinced that she was escaping from something big. Any attempt to force her to speak more about things that might reveal her origins would alienate her.

And, I wasn’t ready to turn her into an enemy by forcing her. Not when I could see the growing attraction between the kid and her. Neither of them did anything other than look at each other with longing eyes from a distance while the other was unaware, like they were enacting a tragic love story, each believing the other was better off without them…

But that was enough.

Only a moron would try to force her hand and force Yu Xing to take a side. Even if he ultimately supported me, the trust between us would shatter.

I wasn’t even sure he would take my side in the first place. He was a teenager, the prime age to be absolutely idiotic when it came to love. I had seen it play many times … hell, I lived it myself.

Then, the other side was the benefits. While I would have loved to hear her open and unbiased explanation about the world, there was no guarantee that I would receive it if I blackmailed her into talking. There were a hundred different ways she could trick me, and I would have no choice but to believe it.

Reading body language to catch lies was not magic … no matter how much I wanted it to be.

Looking objectively, the ability to read was the most valuable thing that she could offer me, and even that relied on her teaching me wholeheartedly, without an attempt to deceive me.

Putting it all together, I was happy with the silent compromise we reached. She taught me, and I asked nothing else from her. Though, after two weeks, I had learned most of what she could teach — she might be well-educated, but she was also a sheltered teenager, with limits.

Though, there had been some shocking information; the most significant one being the elemental chart she had provided. It was something she had provided in passing, to give context about a tricky piece of writing.

Five elements, not four!

Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood.

Worse, it wasn’t just the number of elements, but the interpretations. A sustained cycle of existence, where Wood fed Fire; Fire created Earth through ash; Earth bearing Metal; Metal enriching Water; and at last; Water nourishing Wood.

Even knowing I was in a different dimension, one that had been separated by a great distance, even in a planar sense, that shocked me.

It was completely different from the Four Elements that defined the very existence of the planar dimension, in that not only was I born, but also hosted the whole of our magical civilization. Four entities, opposed to each other, especially in their pure state.

Her explanation was not balanced by direct opposition but a more complicated interaction of checks and balances, far more reliant on harmony.

Yet, I believed her explanation.

That explained the vague sense of doom whenever I tried to write anything about the four elements. It carried my understanding, rejected by the whole world.

Too bad her knowledge of elements was limited to the surface, and none of the books we brought with us gave us more.

For a mage like me, it was threatening and fascinating in equal amounts. The power of a mage came from understanding, but even Mage Lords didn’t dare to tangle with elements easily back at home, afraid of the backlash.

But, if her explanation was even partially accurate… it might restructure how I viewed the existence completely. The potential was immense.

Though fascinating as it might be, my growing literacy and the scraps about the rules defining the world weren’t the only benefits we had acquired in the two weeks we spent at the edge of the wilderness.

Another important change was the growing combat abilities of our little group. The simplest case of improvement was Yu Xing. Recovered from his persistent injury, he was once again free to practice Furious Wind Style.

Normally, two weeks wouldn’t have been enough for Yu Xing to recover from his wounds, but under my constant medical care, he was able to not only recover from it but also practice far more aggressively than he used to, which helped him to advance to the Peak of Muscle Reinforcement.

He even felt confident enough to break through, but unfortunately, he lacked the guidance on how.

Comparatively, Su Mi hadn’t made much progress. Yu Xing tried to teach her Furious Wind technique, but she was unable to comprehend the transformation aspect. She learned the moves, but the transformation aspect simply didn’t manifest.

As for other styles, I didn’t even let her try. None of them were reliable, and I didn’t trust myself enough to identify which one was reliable to learn, as I was yet to figure out the mechanics of how internal energy transformed.

I put in a basic set of moves, which allowed her to accumulate pure internal energy without transforming, which brought her capabilities to where I had been while we were camping outside of Dongxi.

As for my own situation, complicated was the best way to define it. I had finished reading every single book we had acquired, including martial arts manuals; and comprehended as much as I could without relying on some experiments I wasn’t willing to attempt.

My progress had been … well, limited was a good word to define. Even after finishing all of the books, and observing Yu Xing’s practice for two months, I still had no idea how internal energy was transforming.

Though, I knew enough to confidently state it wasn’t a fully physical process. Breathing was a fundamental part of it for every style, but I was confident that it allowed the energy to connect with … something outside their bodies.

Something I couldn’t identify yet.

However, while that lack of progress was troubling, I more than made up for it by the progress I made manipulating pure internal energy. My mental strength, combined with my past as a mage, meant that I could manipulate it freely, easily switching between a tool of healing or destruction.

I was confident in defeating every single person I had seen in a few blows … provided, of course, I could hit them. My brawling skills weren’t exactly amazing. Not terrible. Just mediocre. I could use internal energy to fuel my movements to move faster and hit harder, but a lifetime habit of fighting from a distance of several miles, wrapped in layers of mana for protection, was difficult to break.

To compensate, I even figured out a way to weaponize the silver needles. It was expensive in terms of internal energy, but effective.

Altogether, the progress that we had accomplished as a group had been significant. But, it came with a cost. Our supplies, be it pills or preserved savage meat beasts, were about to run out. Meaning, unless we wanted to become hermits, it would be better to move away.

All that remained was to pick a destination. I had been planning to talk to the kids about it during dinner… but before I could, at some distance away, sounds of battle reached my ear.

We had guests. I immediately turned to find the kids, before the battle found them.

But, I didn’t have much hope. Knowing Yu Xing, he would find a way to put himself in the middle of the battle.