Xai had breakfast with Liang early the next morning. Where he then further explained what each had done while separated on the mountain; also coming to the realization that Liang's sabers had been left with the jué. Much to Liang's annoyance.

  Now, he stood at the entrance to the training area. It was split into three sections. The first was a large training yard where several sect members- led by one of the seniors- practiced basic training, primarily to hammer in muscle memory and increase endurance. Another was a large building where the sparing mats were as well as a myriad of training weaponry. The last section was a building Xai had never personally been in. It was a small building that, from the outside looking in, appeared to be a large storage shed. In reality it was a location used for cultivation within private rooms. He wasn't sure of the specific contents of the building, but he was sure it housed all manor of pills and equipment to aid in the process.

  As Xai stood staring at the tens of disciples honing their martial arts within the training yard, a sudden realization struck him. He didn't quite know where to go. Nor who to meet. At a quick glance there was no one who seemed to be waiting on anyone. Xai's face heated as he just stood at the entrance as a few other disciples walked by, one of them giving him a confused look. He felt his hand rise to his hair, but he stopped himself. He was told he would be training his Ki. There was only one feasible option to go. He walked towards the deceptive storage shed.

  As he entered, the wooden exterior gave way to carved stone; a hallway of over a dozen heavy stone doors lay before him. Each was guarded by a disciple with question marks hovering an inch above their heads.

  Their gazes quickly shifted to Xai as the door closed behind him. The junior disciple suddenly felt small as his eyes scanned over those of his seniors. Suddenly their eyes drifted above him, and they all snapped their heads back at attention.

  Before Xai could turn his head to look behind him, a hand landed roughly on his shoulder. Suddenly, his body felt like it was twice as heavy.

  "You're late, Mr. Faung." A smooth voice spoke just behind the young cultivator.

  Xai's face flushed as he glanced behind him.

  A man with long black hair that flowed past his shoulders glared down at him with silvery eyes. The man's skin was very fine and nearly glistened in the light of lanterns hanging from the walls. He looked as if he was in his low 30s.

  "M-master Youshan didn't.... tell me... a time." Xai sputtered out, his throat suddenly feeling dry. Did he not have enough water for breakfast?

  The man's eyes narrowed. He took his hand off of Xai's shoulder and started to walk in front of him.

  Xai took air into his lungs, only then realizing he'd been holding his breath. Expectedly, the man before him had question marks above his head.

  "Follow me Mr. Faung." The man stated, as he began walking down the hall. Xai followed close behind.

  Xai was led to the end of the hall, where one last stone door rested. The man stepped to the side and gestured a hand to the door. "Open it."

  Xai nodded, stepping towards the slab of stone. The 'door' had no handle, but instead an indention in one of its sides, used to slide the door open and closed. Xai grasped the indention in the stone and pulled. Then he pulled again. The slab wouldn't budge. He pursed his lips before drawing a small amount of Ki to his hands and arms and pulled again. Xai heard a faint click before the door slid open and slammed into its socket in the doorway. Xai pulled his hands away just in time for them to not get crushed, but the force of him pulling caused him to fall into the man tasked to train him.

  Xai heard a groan from the man as he used a single hand to pull Xai back to his feet. "Good that you know how to manipulate your Ki to parts of your body." He stated before walking into the room.

  Xai followed, the stone door closing behind him. The room within looked more similar to a large prison cell rather than a nice place to cultivate. The room was essentially just a bland cube of carved stone with a small window to the outside on the far wall. The only items within the room was a single nap sack, a bag of... something in the corner, and a bucket near the door.

  The man stepped to the center of the room and turned to Xai. "I am Qin Jie. Refer to me as 'Sir Jie' or 'Senior Jie'. Count yourself lucky to be in this room. Generally it takes the junior disciples several weeks after the test to even awaken their Ki, let alone set foot in one of our cultivation rooms."

  Xai suddenly straightened. "Thank you Senior Jie." He said, deciding on what to call his trainer for the time being.

  Qin continued. "You have also surpassed the record for the highest level of a junior disciple after the first test. The prior was merely level 31."

  Xai couldn't keep a smile from tugging at his lips. "Who held the previous record?" He couldn't help but ask.

  The senior looked Qin dead in his eyes before speaking. "Me."

  Xai's face immediately fell. "Oh... I'm-" He was cut off when Qin held up a hand. "Do not apologize for being better than someone. As a trainer of the junior disciples of this sect I strive for them to be greater than their peers, even myself." Qin made a shallow bow towards Xai. "Good to see you've already surpassed me in that regard."

  Xai's smile returned.

  "Now, before we truly begin I want a test of your skills in combat. Feel free to use your weapon as well as every skill at your disposal." The senior stated before tucking an arm inside his uniform. "I will not use any Ki. Come at me as if you were to kill me."

  Xai raised a brow as he drew his sword and began to draw his Ki into its blade. A moment later he lunged forward and thrust his sword towards the senior's chest.

  Qin stepped aside from the blade and knocked aside the follow up swing with his hand. Xai took a step back before moving Ki to the muscles in his leg and sending a kick to Qin's chest. However the man simply grabbed his foot with his hand and pushed Xai away.

  "It takes you too long to properly maneuver your Ki from one place to another." The senior stated, stepping forward, slamming his palm into Xai's chest, and backing away before he could react.

  Xai doubled over as the air was forced from his lungs.

  "In a combat scenario against a trained fighter they know better then to give you a second to breathe, especially if their pushing the offensive." Qin stated. "How thinly can you pool your Ki across your body? It seems you can only put it on a single part of your body."

  Xai took a breathe of air before standing back up. "It's hard to quickly move it from one area to the other yet. I didn't choose the skill yet."

  Qin's silver eyes narrowed. "'The skill'?" The senior stepped forward and slapped Xai across the face; the blow so strong it sent the younger man slamming against the stone wall. "You want to rely on a skill from the system to solve your problems?"

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

  Xai stood again. The faint taste of copper lying within his mouth. He drew Ki to the arm holding his sword and rushed forward again.

  Qin stepped back from the next half dozen slashes before speaking again. "Are you not aware of how the cultivators of old- the ones who ascended to the heavens- learned to harness Ki before the system came into being?" A seventh slash came, only to be caught between two of Qin's fingers. "They trained, without the unnatural increase in 'stats' or the flood of knowledge of 'skills'." Qin began stepping forwards.

  Xai tried to pull his blade back, but it held firm between the senior's fingers. Xai's Ki flowed from his arms to his legs as he tried to push against Qin, however he was continuously being forced back.

  Qin continued to glare into Xai's eyes. "Whilst I train you, you are not to use any abilities granted by the system. Not a single level will be gained while you are with me. If you have unspent points, they will stay unspent."

  Xai's back hit the wall. Qin kept pushing the sword forward, the blade slowly getting closer to the junior's neck.

  "Is that clear?"

  Xai funneled Ki into his arms, trying his best to push against the blade. He nodded at the question.

  "Speak. Is that clear?" Qin repeated, pushing the blade against Xai's neck, causing a thin steam of blood to fall down it.

  Xai quickly nodded again. "Yes, Senior Jie." He grunted out, trying his best to push the blade from his neck.

  Qin let go of the blade and leapt away to the far wall. Xai suddenly slashed forward in powerful yet unclean stroke where he previously been pushing against the senior disciple.

  Xai nearly fell, gasping for breath as he felt the shallow cut on his neck. His gaze lifted to Qin once again.

  The senior however pulled their arm from their uniform and started towards the door. "Cultivate within this room for 6 hours to replenish your Ki. During that time, focus on moving the Ki throughout your entire body more quickly. Then have several points moving at once. Once you've gotten that down try spreading the Ki across your entire body either for defense or offense. Once you do one, the other should be easy. I will return at the end of that time to deliver a meal and see your progress." With that Qin walked through the door and slammed it shut before Xai could even utter a word.

  Xai stood in silence for several seconds, simply staring at the door Qin had vanished beyond. He wiped a hand over his sweating forehead before sitting in the center of the room with his back straightened and legs crossed. He set the scabbard holding his sword next to him as he focused on the ambient strands of Ki around him. To Xai's surprise, the Ki swirling around the room was nearly twice as dense than that in his quarters. Thought that was a given seeing as that was the purpose of these rooms.

  During the first hour, his Ki reserves had been completely replenished. The next three had been dedicated to constantly moving Ki across his body at increasing speeds. He even held his sword whilst meditating to have an additional target to move his Ki to. During the next hour, he managed to have two seperate spots of Ki flowing through his body at any given time. While the time it took for Xai to move his Ki from one target to another decreased slightly, he was more thankful that he was now able to reinforce two seperate areas of his body at once. Primarily he focused on reinforcing his muscles in an area for strength, while coating a seperate part of his body for defense. The final two hours were dedicated to him spreading his Ki thinly across his entire body. However, he could hardly manage to spread it beyond his upper body before it could reach no further. The strands of Ki simply became too fine to properly manipulate. Just as he began to contemplate diverging from what Senior Jie had told him- thinking instead to work on expanding his dantian to hold more Ki- the stone door slid open, knocking the junior from his meditation.

  Qin Jie walked in with two bowls of rice and chicken. He set one down before Xai before the stone door slid shut. "How much did you accomplish?"

  Xai shot to his feet and stood up straight. "I have managed to reinforce two separate parts of my body at once. However I lack the proper amount of Ki to cover my body- muscle nor exterior."

  "You lack the proper control." Qin corrected. "While having a larger Ki reserve would certainly help, that isn't all-important. Someone with the proper control could both reinforce their body, as well as protect it." To prove his point, a dull silver glow began to emanate from Qin's chest. Xai watched as an amount of Ki- roughly half his own- coursed through Qin's form before being pulled even thinner to make a coat over Qin's body. The Ki resembled silver strands of mist mixed with twighlight. Xai stood mesmerizing as the glowing translucent mist before Qin spoke again. "Coat your blade in Ki and strike me. Try to break the barrier I've made."

  Xai drew his sword and pulled as much Ki as he could into blade. He also sent a similar amount to the muscle in his arm as he stepped forward and swung downward on Qin's shoulder. He expected the barrier to break with how hard he swung the weapon. While he doubted he would get further than Qin's skin, a barrier of Ki so thin should have been as fragile as a strip of wood.

  As the blade collided with Qin's barrier, the weapon was stopped in its tracks. It felt as if Xai had tried to cut through a thick plate of steel. Xai stepped back and changed his stance, pointing the tip of his blade forward. Qin nodded, giving him the go-ahead to make another attack. Xai shifted the Ki in his arm to one of his legs as he shot forward and thrust his blade towards Qin's chest. Once again his blade was stopped in its tracks. Xai stepped back again as the Ki across his body vanished. "Why is your barrier so durable?"

  "My Ki is far denser than yours." Qin stated; the silvery Ki around him fading. "It may have been spread incredibly thin, but it was still stronger than anything you've cut."

  Xai's eyes widened as he looked to the question marks above the senior's head. "What level are you? And why can't I see so many people's levels?"

  Qin raised a brow at the question. He gestured to the bowl that was still on the ground. "Eat while we talk, I'm sure you're hungry."

  As if on queue, Xai's stomach rumbled, and he grabbed his bowl.

  "As for the question," Qin began. "I'm D-rank: Level 53. As for the reason you can't see my level, yours is simply too low. Without some skill to bypass the restraint, you can only see one's level if it is no more than a rank above your own. However, there are skills that have the ability to conceal that as well. I possess neither, however."

  Xai raised a brow. "D-rank? That's hardly enough to become an inner disciple. You are a senior disciple... right?"

  Qin smirked, letting a small chuckle escape his lips. "I assure you I am one of the most skilled warriors within this sect. And most certainly a senior disciple. While generally one can assume a cultivator's rank within a sect as many lesser disciples understand it, it is more complex than mere ranks. Primarily, it is about skill and power. Due to my high stage of cultivation, I am far stronger than what my rank would have you believe. I stopped trying to increase my level many years ago. Though I do get the odd 'level up' after an assignment now and again. The system doesn't much take into account your true abilities when allowing a level up, merely the level itself."

  The junior tilted his head to the side.

  Qin sighed lightly before continuing. "At my current power I can likely take on someone of low to middle C-rank without much issue depending on their level of cultivation. If they lack Ki entirely I could likely take on a middle B-rank if I pushed myself. But regardless, let's say I do manage to kill a B-rank. My level would ascend by over half a rank simply due to the level difference."

  Xai nodded in understanding. "I actually also have a few questions on what some of my stats do. Most seem simple enough, such as strength, dexterity, and vitality. But what about things such as willpower, intelligence, or charm? My intelligence score has more then doubled since I touched the ascension stone, and I don't feel any different in that regard."

  "The mental attributes are often misunderstood at first. Willpower is mainly the defense of the mind. Various Ki techniques often target the mind, rather than the body. However, it does not prevent things such as stress and fear from taking hold naturally. Intelligence is how much knowledge can be held and has a slight impact on how quickly you learn some things. However it does not make your smarter simply by putting points into it. Charm is unique. It affects how well you can influence others. Whether it be a rousing speech to raise the moral of an army or haggling with a local merchant. It also has an effect on some skills and Ki techniques. Though most of those aren't taught by the Silver Mist sect. We do specialize in mobility and subversion after all."

  "One last question," Xai asked, setting his now empty bowl down.

  Qin waved a hand for the young disciple to continue.

  "You stated before to not rely on skills. Yet, they seem to be nothing but useful."

  Qin nodded. "A good question. However I never told you to not rely on skills entirely, but to not rely on them to solve your own problems. The skills of the system- like the system itself- is a tool to be used. Not a crutch to keep you afoot. Many of the skills that can be gained are undoubtedly useful. Even I rely upon many of mine in battle. But don't let skills be a shortcut to what can be learned naturally. That is what I'm trying to teach you. Now," Qin set his bowl aside- having not eaten a bite. "Grab your sword, we shall continue as we were for 1 more hour, then it is back to Ki control training."