Demon Wolf

Elder Dread deserved her nickname. In the stretched flow of time, the menacing woman dragged her bare foot across the cavernous floor, never losing contact with the ground. Deep earthen light entered the soles of her feet and traveled to her clenched fists, her sparring uniform obscuring its exact path.

Her breathing is intentional and must play a part in the Qi circulation. Wolf noted near-invisible brownish luminescence leaving Eleanor’s body through the breath she exhaled. Crawling through the air, her double fist strike neared the training dummy.

Upon contact, a pair of yellowish-brown flashes surged into the mannequin, exploding it to pieces.

Eleanor’s demonstration ended, and Wolf sent his senses into their dormant state as he bit his lip. That blow would blast me to bits.

“Like Millennium Tortoise’s Shell, Sandeater’s Slam requires earth-attributed Qi. As I mentioned previously, you can substitute it with unattributed Qi, but the effect will suffer a nontrivial decrease in power.” Eleanor paused. “Despite this handicap, the power of both techniques outstrips top-tier techniques Boreo’s sects teach their disciples. However, even with your enlarged pool of Qi, you won’t be able to execute them properly until you form sturdy enough Qi vessels. For now, memorize the movements and the breathing technique. After that, I’ll impart you with the Elemental Initiate’s Strikes, which encompass a set of seven basic attack forms for all seven Supreme Orders’ Blood Saturating disciples.”

How would she react if I just repeated her moves? Nah. Based on that scrunched brow, she expects we’ll be doing this the whole day. Mimicking Millennium Tortoise’s Shell and Sandeater’s Slam in two hours should be good enough, while not overly conspicuous. The real question is how do I best use these two hours of playing dumb?

Wolf failed to find an appropriate answer. He hoped Eleanor would elaborate on the flow of Qi through her body, which was the key knowledge he lacked. Unfortunately, the Earth Pavilion’s chief elder focused on the minutiae of properly sliding one’s bare feet across the ground and drawing the power coursing in earth’s depths, as well as how to deliver a proper two-handed blow, sending a simultaneous surge of energy at two points.

“Good, now what are Sandeater’s Slam’s flaws?” Surprisingly, Eleanor did not congratulate Wolf after he repeated the correct motions twice in a row.

“It takes a second to circulate enough Qi, and probably doesn’t work if you don’t drag your feet against the ground.”

Eleanor’s mouth twisted as she folded her arms. “Only two flaws? You come from the ever-warring wasteland; your combat senses must be sharper than the children we’re raising here.”

Crap! Don’t bite your lip. Wolf stopped the involuntary bodily reaction by immediately awakening his senses.

“You obviously can’t use it for archery, mid-air or while swimming, which reduces its utility. I can’t say what happens in muddy settings, or on grassy plains. I’m guessing the power would be halved if you connect with only one fist, and landing both blows is difficult. Maybe if you deliver both surges through a spear or a heavy ax?”

“Finally, you touch upon the real problem, and no, you can’t use them with a single weapon.” Eleanor interrupted Wolf, reining in her snort. “Sandeater’s Slam’s two strikes aren’t a simple addition where one plus one is two. With one hand, you deliver the earthen Qi laden with the unshakeable foundation of mountains, with the other, you send a surge containing the violent nature of earthquakes. Both these forces come from the earth. They can mix. But when they combine they explode with the same force which turns a mountain into a volcano.”

She’s a poor instructor. Especially when she’s trying to be eloquent. Wolf dutifully bobbed his head when Elder Dread shot him a glance.

“No other Supreme Elemental Order has similar techniques because other elements lack this characteristic. Without earth-attributed Qi, you can’t use this aspect, but just being able to draw Qi from the earth will allow you to burn more Qi…”

So, it boils down to using two opposing properties with the same source to cause a violent reaction. You can achieve a similar effect by compounding water and fire Spell Formations—

“I will teach you the Elemental Initiate’s Strikes now. It will give you a feel for the Elemental Orders’ fighting styles. Supreme Order of Earth is the only one accepting disciples below Tendon Strengthening, so we scout talents for the other orders and use these techniques to see who’s suitable for which order. If you later discover your Qi lacks an earth attribute, you may continue your path in another Elemental Order’s monastery…”

The rest of the day passed in Wolf playing dumb while Eleanor corrected his deliberate mistakes.

“You’re a fast learner.” Elder Dread gave Wolf a weird look accompanied by a reluctant compliment. “Tomorrow, we spar for an hour, then I shall demonstrate Elemental Initiate’s Footwork. Once you return to your residence, practice the Qi circulation I gave you. It will help you condense your Qi vessels faster.”

Eleanor frowned as Wolf stuffed his mouth with yet another morsel.

“Want one?” he offered while summoning a nugget of breaded Sprinting Peacock into his hand.

To Wolf’s surprise, the dreaded elder took his offering without hesitation. She bit the fried meat with a visible lack of interest, but her eyes went wide as she chewed.

“This is actually quite good.” She nodded in acknowledgement before taking the rest of the croquette.

“It’s better when it’s hot and fresh, but they aren’t bad when they cool.” Wolf smiled, inwardly cursing Elder Dread’s ‘actually.’

Do you think I would eat trash? Then he recalled how he had once bitten into a still living drake, tearing off a piece of its flesh to devour. Fine. I have eaten trash. Ten. I’m arguing with myself now that Silver is asleep.

“Are you well?”

“Fine, fine.” Wolf summoned another chunk of breaded meat and shoved it whole into his mouth. “Fee woo waiter!”

“Wait.” Eleanor stopped Wolf as he turned around to leave. “You should tone down your eccentricities; for all our sakes. An Earth Pavilion won’t reject you because of such tiny problems, but they may cause other core disciples to ostracize you. Also, such unrefined behavior doesn’t befit a man, even if you originate from the wastes.”

Wolf nearly choked on his snack. Fuck your mother and your refined men.

A moment later, however, he realized that keeping a low profile worked better when you did not prioritize your will over local customs and prejudice.

“Thank you for your reminder.” Wolf bowed, following etiquette, and left.

***

“How was it?” the pavilion master asked as Eleanor entered her humble study.

“So-so.” The elder shrugged, snorting in exasperation. “He learned to mimic Sandeater’s Slam in an hour, then he performed the Millennium Tortoise’s Shell in just as much time, give or take a minute. The defensive technique takes at least thrice as long to perform correctly, yet he mastered them in roughly the same amount of time. Then he mastered each of Elemental Initiate’s Strikes in three-quarters of an hour, showing no inclination towards a specific technique, nor did he show resistance against them.”

Eleanor sat, looking at her master, giving the old woman enough time to process her words.

“He’s faking it.” The Pavilion Master reached the same conclusion as her apprentice.

“Soul Cultivators can learn techniques much faster than regular cultivators, since their insight and perception are higher. However, since they focus so much on expanding their soul, they rarely have enough time to indulge in other arts.” Eleanor paused, then voiced her dilemma. “Master, should I tell him to stop faking it, or should I play dumb and let him keep pretending?”

The pavilion master remained silent for half a minute.

“Tell him you are aware of his secret; that time is limited and that he should not waste it by fooling around. Also, tell him how you have figured out his secret. He is leaving after completing the Corpsewood trial.” The decrepit pavilion master ran out of thoughts and took a dozen moments to gather them. “You have nothing to gain in these few days by knowing how to spot his feints. However, if he survives the tribulations of top ten Earth Pavilions’ struggle for supremacy, the fact you taught him how to better conceal himself will probably result in a positive attitude towards you.”

Near the end, the Pavilion Master’s tongue faltered and she seemed to have lost her train of thought.

Eleanor pretended not to have noticed. She nodded and stood. “Yes, Master. I will do as you suggest. He is currently laying a foundation by creating the rudimentary Qi vessel pathways. That way, he will condense his Qi vessels and Qi core much faster once he enters Corpsewood.”

Eleanor paused for a moment, then confirmed she had nothing else to discuss. She bowed towards her master with respect and left the frail woman’s office.

 

sleepydad88

Random Roll 

Spoiler

Elder Dread took the offering.

Elder Dread’s reaction is reserved.

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