What do you mean I'm a cultivator?-Chapter 29

The days of Jiang Cheng's official mission had come to an end, but his presence in the woodworking shed continued uninterrupted. The mission that had begun as a means to an end, to prove to himself that he could master a simple craft, had transformed into something deeper, more meaningful.

On the final day of his assigned month, Master Liu had quietly spoken.

Jiang Cheng was waiting for something akin to a good work or something.

Instead, Master Liu had simply nodded at the half-finished training sword in Jiang Cheng's hands. "That one still needs work. I'll expect you tomorrow."

And so Jiang Cheng had returned the next day, and the day after that. His routine remained unchanged. Morning duties for the sect, afternoons in the workshop, evenings practicing at his cabin.

One afternoon, as rain drummed steadily on the shed's roof, Master Liu watched Jiang Cheng work on a particularly challenging piece of maple. The old man's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Jiang Cheng's fingers guided the knife along the grain with practiced ease.

"Boy." Master Liu said suddenly, his voice barely audible above the rain. "Have you ever wondered why I never advanced beyond the early stages of Foundation Establishment?"

Jiang Cheng paused, intrigued by the question. It was not his place to question the cultivation of his elders, but now that Master Liu mentioned it, he had indeed wondered. The man's understanding of Qi and its applications seemed far too profound for someone of such modest cultivation.

"I... have wondered, Master." he admitted cautiously.

Master Liu nodded, setting aside the sword he had been working on. With deliberate movements, he reached beneath his workbench and withdrew a small wooden box. The box itself was unremarkable, but Jiang Cheng's eyes widened as he sensed the faint Qi patterns emanating from within.

"Before I was relegated to making training weapons for ungrateful disciples." Master Liu said, his weathered fingers tracing patterns on the box's lid, "I was the Falling Star Sect's weapon-smith."

Jiang Cheng's knife stilled in his hand. "Weapon-smith?" he echoed. Not a mere craftsman of training tools, but a creator of true spirit weapons.

The kind that inner disciples and elders wielded.

"Hard to believe, eh?" Master Liu chuckled, a sound like dry leaves rustling. "But fifty years ago, every sword, spear, and flying needle in the inner sect came from my forge."

He opened the box, revealing a small carving knife. Unlike the simple steel tools they used for training weapons, this knife gleamed with a silvery-blue sheen that seemed to capture and refract the dim light of the shed.

"Chromatic iron." Master Liu explained, lifting the knife reverently. "Quite the pricy ore. A mix of star fragments, and previous ores.

This was my pride. My weapon for creating weapons."

Jiang Cheng stared at the knife, feeling the subtle resonance of its Qi. Even dormant, it radiated a quiet power that made the hairs on his arms stand on end.

This way by far the strongest thing that Jiang Cheng had come close to seeing with his own eyes. Hell, the blade felt sharp enough,

as if it would suddenly cut his finger.

It wasn't just sharp. It was more than that. it was also beautiful.

It shone with a tricolored mix of white, purple and blue tones, as if the very metal of the blade was pulsating.

Was this what weapons of the Foundation establishment felt like?

What about higher? Cheng thought, his interest evident, by the way his eyes were glued on the knife.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

Master Liu's expression darkened. "Politics. Jealousy. The usual poison that infects any gathering of power."

He turned the knife over in his hands, watching as patterns of light danced across its surface.

He fell silent for a moment, lost in memory. Then, with a small shake of his head, he continued. "There was an... incident. My cultivation was damaged. Not crippled, but stunted. I was banished to the outer sect, permitted only to make training weapons as a reminder of my fall."

Jiang Cheng absorbed this information silently. The politics of sects were always dangerous waters, ones that he hadn't had the misfortune of entering himself yet, but he knew well from his readings.

Power attracted jealousy, and jealousy bred destruction.

Master Liu fixed him with a penetrating gaze.

"They couldn't take my knowledge. My understanding of how Qi flows through materials, how it can be shaped, directed, enhanced." He tapped his temple. "That remains here."

With a sudden movement, he extended the spirit silver knife toward Jiang Cheng. "Take it."

Jiang Cheng recoiled slightly, raising his hands in refusal.

Part of him, was thrilled. This was a weapon above his own rank, even if it was "just" a small knife.

But part of him was scared. what if the wrong people took notice?

"Master, I can't. This is too prec-"

"Take it." Master Liu repeated firmly, cutting Cheng off.

"Feel it. I want you to understand."

Hesitantly, Jiang Cheng accepted the knife.

The moment his fingers closed around the handle, he felt a surge of Qi unlike anything he had experienced before. It was as though the knife itself was alive, resonating with his own energy, amplifying it, refining it.

"What you're feeling." Master Liu said quietly. "is what happens when a material's Qi is attuned during creation. Not just flowing through it temporarily, but becoming part of its very nature."

Jiang Cheng stared at the knife in wonder. He had read about spirit weapons, of course, but had never held one. The feeling was intoxicating. As though his Qi was being purified simply by contact with the blade.

"This is why I've been teaching you to listen to the wood, boy."

Master Liu continued. "To understand its nature, its flow. Because once you truly understand a material, you can begin to change it. Not by pure force, but by guiding its nature. It's harmony."

Jiang Cheng's mind spun at the new information and feeling. It was like he had been blind, only to finally see.

Wood spoke. Air spoke. Everything spoke. But his ears. His senses, were too weak. Too unattuned to listen. But thanks to the Foundation establishment grade knife in his hands, he could feel it.

"What I'm about to teach you is not for other disciples.

It's the first step toward true weapon refinement. The art of Qi attunement."

Jiang Cheng's heart raced. This was no longer about carving training swords. This was something far more valuable, more profound.

"Why me?" he asked, the question escaping before he could consider its propriety.

Master Liu's eyes crinkled at the corners, a genuine smile spreading across his weathered face. "Because you listened to the wood when others would have forced it to their will. Because you sought to understand before seeking to master. Be it by choice or by subconscious."

He paused, his smile fading slightly. "And because I see in you what I once was. Someone who understands that true cultivation is not just about power, but about harmony."

Taken aback, Jiang Cheng cupped his hands, and bowed. But this time, it was no bow made from etiquette. Not to please others.

"Disciple Jiang Cheng greets master."

Cheng spoke, keeping his head down.

Master Liu only scoffed. "I already told you to call me master, boy. No need for that." Master Liu spoke, walking out of the shed, leaving Cheng in there.

A master. One that would guide him. teach him. Sure, it might not have been a heavenly divine, ultra mega technique to break the heavens. Whatever that meant.

But it was knowledge that felt right. That belonged to him.

In the days that followed, Jiang Cheng's education took a new turn. While he still carved training weapons during the regular hours,

Master Liu began to teach him the fundamentals of Qi attunement during the quiet hours when other disciples would drink, practice, or if they felt lazy enough, sleep early.

First came the theory. Complex diagrams drawn in sawdust on the workshop floor, showing how Qi could be channeled in specific patterns to resonate with different materials.

With how light sawdust was, any imperfect movements, would cause it to vibrate, scattering.

It taught stability.

Then came basic practice. Simple exercises in which Jiang Cheng learned to create tiny, temporary Qi pathways within pieces of wood.

"Think of it as writing." Master Liu instructed as Jiang Cheng struggled to maintain a simple circular pattern within a block of pine. "You're not changing the wood's nature. you're adding meaning to it."

"wait. Do you even know how to write?"

Master Liu spoke, wondering if his analogy wasn't understood.

"Yes master. I learned by m-myself. In the tower of records."

Jiang Cheng spoke, trying to focus.

The work was painstaking and exhausting. Unlike normal Qi manipulation, which Jiang Cheng had mastered through his regular cultivation, this required a level of precision and control that pushed him to his limits.

Many nights he returned to his cabin with his head throbbing.

Yet he persisted. Each small success. A pattern that held for a few minutes longer, a piece of wood that resonated more clearly with his Qi, fueled his determination.

This was not just a new skill; it was a gateway to understanding cultivation on a deeper level.

Even if it was on a different path.

"All things have their own Qi." Master Liu explained one evening as they sat across from each other in the empty workshop.

"Even seemingly dead materials like stone or metal retain traces of the energy that formed them. When you learn to speak to that energy, to harmonize with it rather than dominate it, you unlock their true potential."

"just like you." Master Liu paused to poke at Cheng, his worn finger landing where his dantian would be.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

"You don't dominate Qi. You draw it in. Will it to be one with you. You harmonize it.

At least, that's what I think."

Jiang Cheng absorbed these lessons eagerly, recognizing their value beyond mere weapon making. If he could understand the Qi of materials, could he not also better understand the Qi of his own body? The Qi of the world around him?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

As weeks passed, his skills grew steadily. He learned to infuse simple patterns that would momentarily strengthen a piece of wood, making it more resistant to pressure or impact. He learned to create channels within materials that would guide Qi more efficiently, enhancing its flow.

Of course, a large part of his new skills, were simple weapon refining knowledge. Well, as simple as it could be that is.

Right now, he just wasn't strong enough. To truly attune a material, he would have to step into the foundation establishment.

Two years passed like leaves carried by the swift autumn wind.

For Jiang Cheng, they were years marked not by grand achievements or dramatic breakthroughs, but by the steady accumulation of knowledge and skill.

Like the patient formation of growth rings in the wood he had come to understand so intimately.

Each morning began before dawn, with Jiang Cheng seated in meditation on the floor of his simple cabin. His breath would slow as he turned his awareness inward, to the swirling energy in his dantian. It was like splashing water to one's face. But thanks to Qi, it was like waking up your whole body, refreshing it for the day ahead.

The ninth stage of Qi Condensation. A remarkable achievement for outer disciples his age, practically unheard of. But probably insignificant for ones in the inner sect, or a higher ranked one.

His progress was not the rapid ascension of a genius, but the determined climb of one who refused to stop moving forward.

But the difference between him and most outer disciples, was his desire to learn. Others would scoff at learning carving. It was after all, something mortals did. Beneath them, despite the fact that a mortal could just as easily kill a Qi condensation cultivator with nothing but a good hit in the back of the head, if said cultivator was caught of guard.

Master Liu's teachings had become the foundation upon which Jiang Cheng built his understanding of cultivation. The old craftsman's words echoed in his mind during every session. "Harmony, not dominance. Feel. Sense. Understand. Then will it to be."

The advice of a foundation establishment Senior was proving to be very valuable to his progress.

In the workshop, Jiang Cheng's hands had developed a certainty that came only from thousands of hours of practice.

Sure, they might be way less than that, but that was simply the power that cultivation brought. Be a high enough realm, and perhaps learning a instrument might not take more than a couple of minutes at most.

The training weapons he produced were no longer merely functional. They had become objects of subtle beauty.

It felt nice seeing the occasional disciple use one of his own when training in the training grounds, as he himself walked by, to his master's shed.

"Your work has a voice now." Master Liu had commented one evening, examining a staff Jiang Cheng had completed. The old man's weathered fingers traced the barely perceptible patterns etched into the wood. Qi channels that would help the weapon's user direct their energy more efficiently.

Similar to what one might call meridians. That was another one of his weird thoughts. Human bodies didn't have meridians. It was their body. And the dantian.

No hidden supreme physiques, and certainly not golden fingers. As far as he had read, at least.

The true advancement in Jiang Cheng's skill was not in his cultivation level alone, but in the integration of what he had learned.

His understanding of materials had deepened his connection to his own Qi, and his growing cultivation had in turn enhanced his ability to attune and shape the materials he worked with.

On a crisp autumn morning, as the leaves outside the workshop turned golden and crimson, Master Liu summoned Jiang Cheng to a part of the shed they rarely used. A small forge occupied the corner, covered in dust from disuse.

"Today." the old master announced, retrieving a small bundle wrapped in oiled cloth from beneath the workbench, "we begin something new."

He unwrapped the bundle to reveal several small ingots of metal, each with a different hue and luster.

"Spirit iron." Master Liu identified the chunk of ore, his voice carrying a tone of reverence. "Metals that can hold Qi without crumbling.

Jiang Cheng's eyes widened. These were somewhat rare materials.

"is...that allowed? I thought we were only going to carve." Jiang Cheng spoke worried that he might get in trouble, or worse, inconvenience his new master.

Master Liu cut him off with a dismissive wave. "I've hoarded these for decades, boy. What good are they gathering dust? Better they serve as your education.

And besides, those old foggeys can go dive off a cliff for all I care."

That day marked the beginning of Jiang Cheng's introduction to metal refinement, And forging in general.

The principles were similar to wood attunement but required far more precision and substantially more Qi. Where wood was forgiving and resilient, metal was stubborn and hard to work with.

A mistake in wood could often be corrected for the most part. In metal, it was permanent, requiring you to melt it, and start all over again.

The first attempts were frustrating failures. Jiang Cheng would spend hours carefully constructing Qi patterns within a small piece of spirit iron, only to have them collapse when he tried to stabilize them. His head would throb, his mind aching from the strain of such fine control.

"Metal remembers." Master Liu would remind him after each failure. "It resists change, but once changed, it never forgets. Your will must be equally unyielding."

Months passed in this new practice. Winter came and went, the workshop warmed by the small forge that now burned regularly. As spring flowers bloomed outside, Jiang Cheng successfully completed his first metal attuning.

A simple crude dagger with a dent in it from when a piece of melted spirit iron had dropped on the already warm blade.

That was another lesson to Cheng, even if it frustrated him that his first real sword was so ugly. Never let your focus drift.

It was shit by Master Liu's standards, but when the old craftsman held it up to examine it, there was unmistakable pride in his eyes.

"You've created something alive, as bad as it is." he said, scoffing a bit, testing the blade's edge with his thumb. "But. You've not just shaped metal, but given it purpose."

As the seasons cycled through their eternal dance, three more years passed for Jiang Cheng in the Falling Star Sect. The young man who had once stumbled into woodworking as a temporary assignment had transformed, each day adding another layer to his cultivation much like the growth rings of the ancient trees he saw, reaching towards the sky, in the inner sect.

On a misty morning in his fifth year under Master Liu's tutelage, Now a proper, master disciple relationship, Jiang Cheng sat cross legged in his cabin, now adorned with shelves of his own creation, full of his latest works.

Training weapons that looked far too elegant for practice, small ornaments infused with subtle Qi patterns deep within them, and a collection of daggers that gleamed with quiet power.

These were not training weapons anymore. Sure, they were made from regular, mortal wood, and yet, thanks to his increasing skills, he was able to turn mortal wood creations to Qi condensation weapons, even if their durability was lacking, thanks to the weak material.

The walls themselves bore intricate pathways in their insides, a product of his Qi attunement skill, reinforcing the structure and maintaining a perfect temperature regardless of season.

This, was one of his proudest moments, since he woke up here.

It took him two whole months. he brought spare oak wood, the same kind the shed was made out of, and he sought to repair his cabin.

He sculped, used wood nails to secure planks into place, and changed the whole cabin, etching pathways deep within the wood, strengthening the wood, securing it, and almost like a living tree, regulate temperature. When it was cold, it would keep heat better in it's insides. When hot, it would almost open up, like it was breathing, letting out heat.

This was the culmination of his new knowledge. Harmony. The wood was now true to it's original form, just like a tree. at some places, Jiang Cheng had noticed and sensed, that something that looked like the beginnings of roots form, anchoring the building down. Perhaps with time, the cabin would truly come back to life.

This was incredibly fascinating to Cheng. He wanted to learn everything. How exactly did his technique cause this. Could he replicate it?

And even more interesting. Could he revive a tree, just like this?

Could he etch a high grade wood material, long since dead, back to a tree?

The questions swirled in his head.

A slight tremor passed through his body as the Qi circulated.

So close now to the eleventh stage. It seemed that his knowledge had improved the way he gathered Qi, bringing his self made cultivation method up to par with the worst of them in the inner sect. A incredible achievement it was though.

Indeed. He had broken through to the tenth stage in only three years since breaking through the ninth stage, back when he first started working with his now master.

And now? Now he was here. The threshold between mid and late stage Qi Condensation.

Many disciples would spend years, or even decades reaching this point, if they reached it at all.

Yet here he was, hovering at the edge of another boundary, before he was truly twenty years of age.

When he opened his eyes, sunlight was streaming through the window. Another day at the forge awaited.

Master Liu no longer hovered over his shoulder as he worked. These days, they operated side by side, master and disciple moving in practiced harmony.

What had begun as instruction had evolved into collaboration, with Jiang Cheng handling tasks that required finer control and stronger Qi than his aging master could muster, before taxing himself.

"You've nearly exhausted what I can teach you, boy." Master Liu had told him the previous autumn, his weathered hands tracing the contours of a sword hilt Jiang Cheng had completed. The blade sang with subtle intent when infused with Qi, channeling energy with almost no wastage.

"At the Qi Condensation stage, at least."

And it was true. Jiang Cheng had mastered every technique Master Liu could impart to a disciple who had not yet crossed into Foundation Establishment.

His understanding of materials had become intuitive, an extension of his senses rather than conscious thought. He could feel the composition of metals by touch alone, could detect impurities in wood with a mere glance.

Now at the forge, Jiang Cheng worked on his most ambitious project yet. A set of throwing needles, each no longer than a finger but inscribed with Qi channels so precise they could pierce the defenses of cultivators two minor stages above their wielder.

"Such intricate work." Master Liu mumbled, watching from his stool by the window. His hands, once steady as mountains, had begun to tremble slightly with age. "I could barely manage such precision at the peak of my strength. And yet here you are, still in Qi Condensation."

Sure. Jiang Cheng was by no means a genius. But was he was, Was a hard worker. One part, was him wanting to not be at the bottom of the barrel anymore.

The other?

It came from that weird side he had since waking up here. It was a insatiable thirst for anything regarding cultivation. NO matter how boring, it was the most interesting knowledge for that part of him.

Almost like seeing fantasy become reality.

It reminded him that he was. Well, weird. He hadn't read anywhere about any cultivator having weird thoughts. No half knowing names and concepts before they even learned about it.

He was weird. But so be it. He'd be the one atop, no matter how people viewed him. Because that part of him demanded it. To learn everything cultivation had to offer. Make it his. Improve it.

The eleventh stage beckoned. Or maybe it was that he was itching to break in it.

"When you reach the eleventh stage." Master Liu said, as if reading his thoughts. "you'll slowly no longer be able to hide in this shed with an old failure like me." The words were harsh, but his tone carried no bitterness, only a practical assessment.

"Those bastards that didn't like to see me improve, will definitely not like you. After all, you're even worse than me in that matter."

He chuckled, and let out a cough or two. He had seen how stubborn Jiang Cheng was first hand. The boy was as determined to walk his own path, as he was when learning.

Jiang Cheng set down his tools and looked at his master. three years had deepened the lines on the old man's face. It was clear, that he was slowly inching to the end of his lifespan.

Yet there was a vitality in his eyes that had been absent when they first met. Teaching had given him purpose, even as politics had taken his status.

"When I reach the eleventh stage. I will still be your disciple. And you are no failure. In my eyes that is. And it think that mine matter more than some jealous old foggeys."

Jiang Cheng replied. Master Liu waved away the sentiment with a weathered hand. "Save your words, boy. And that silver tongue of yours."

He spoke, turning around as if gazing outside. But his somewhat reddish ears told another story.

He fixed Jiang Cheng with a penetrating stare. "The question is whether you're ready for what comes after obscurity.

Because boy, it won't be long now before you'll really need to make a choice, if you keep going at such haste."

Jiang Cheng nodded, feeling the weight of those unspoken choices. three years had taught him much about crafting weapons, but perhaps equally important was what he had learned about the politics of power. How easy it was for talent to attract both opportunity and danger.

Well, uncontrolled talent that is.

The Cultivator's Compendium of Spiritual Metals.

Grand Forger Wei Shenlong. Elder of The Azure dragon pavilion and Artificer of the Azure Cloud Empire.

Chapter 0: Introduction.

The study of spiritual metals forms the foundation of all advanced cultivation weaponry and tools. While mere mortals may craft with mundane materials that bend to physical forces alone, we cultivators understand that true mastery lies in the handling of materials that respond to both physical and spiritual stimuli.

This compendium serves as both introduction and reference for disciples who wish to advance in the noble art of all things forging.

Whether you seek to craft your first foundation grade flying sword or aspire to create celestial-grade artifacts in your immortal future, the principles outlined herein will guide your understanding.

Remember always that the quality of material determines the ceiling of possibility, but the skill of the artificer determines how close to that ceiling the final creation will reach.

May your forge burn bright and your spirit remain undimmed.

...Chapter 3: Foundation Establishment Grade Materials.

...Chromatic Iron.

Among the foundation grade materials accessible to cultivators who have transcended the limitations of Qi Condensation, Chromatic Iron stands as perhaps the most versatile medium for those still mastering the fundamentals of higher spiritual metallurgy.

Chromatic Iron is created through a delicate process of fusion between weakened fragments of celestial descensions and purified spirit iron that has been refined to remove all mortal impurities, brought to the limit of a Qi condensation material.

The resulting alloy exhibits a distinctive multi hued surface that shifts between blues, purples, and whites when exposed to spiritual energy.

What makes Chromatic Iron particularly valuable is its exceptional receptivity to Sky, Fire, and the so rare space Qi afinities.

While other foundation grade metals might require extensive conditioning before accepting complex pattern arrays, Chromatic Iron naturally forms micro channels during its cooling phase that serve as ready pathways for Qi circulation.

An artificer with sufficient control can guide these natural formations during the cooling process, making the end product higher in quality, due to the lesser difficulty forming said channels, and widening them.

The difficulty in working with Chromatic Iron lies not in its resistance to spiritual energy, but rather in its tendency to absorb too much, too quickly.

Novice artificers often find their patterns destabilizing as the metal draws in more Qi than intended, causing cascading distortions throughout the material.

Master artificers, Such as myself of course, recommend maintaining a controlled spiritual environment during the forging process, typically achieved through the use of dampening arrays or specialized forging chambers.

Check chapter seven for information on the second one.

Weapons crafted from properly forged Chromatic Iron can store and release approximately three times the spiritual energy of said compatible Qi affinities, allowing for explosive power during combat scenarios.

Acquisition of Chromatic Iron remains challenging due to the scarcity of celestial descensions. Most sects carefully control their supplies, reserving them for promising disciples who have demonstrated both cultivation potential and the necessary crafting aptitude.

I would recommend visiting the Hongu province, as it is home to frequent descents, But the Shengzeng province, is perhaps just as suited for your exploration.

Volcanic xythin.

Volcanic xythin is one of...