Ishin struck at the lower section of the training post, grazing the location of a person’s abdomen. His knuckles, hardened from two weeks of training, hardly felt the sting of impact as they collided with the durable training device. The moment he made contact, Ishin immediately leaped back, dodging the counterstrike of the training post. Its arm brushed just in front of his nose, and a wry grin spread across his lips. Thirty-four.

  It had taken Ishin four painful days of training before he had first managed to dodge the post’s arm, and by then his face and upper body had been laden with bruises. Hou Lei had applied a healing salve to his injuries each day, and by the following morning, the deep purple bruises had faded to a dull pink. But upon his first successful dodge, all of the training had been worth it.

  Ishin punched the training post again, this time at the corresponding location of a person’s kidney. Ka-Tai focused on delivering swift, powerful strikes to the vital points of an opponent. Its philosophy was based on ending fights quickly and decisively. To this end, there were six primary target points: heart, abdomen, kidney, liver, lung, and throat. The foundational martial strikes of Ka-Tai revolved around targeting these specific areas, and Ishin could simulate this on the training post just as easily as he could against a human opponent. In fact, this was better. Embodying the speed characteristic of Ka-Tai, practicing against the training post truly pushed Ishin’s reflexes to their limits.

  Again, the training post’s arms swung at him, but this time he ducked and followed up with another blow to the heart location. Ishin continued with four more successive attacks. Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty… On and on it went until he successfully landed fifty blows against the training post without being hit in return.

  His breath was heavy as Ishin stepped away from the post. His fingers were numb, and the skin had split open, blood starting to flow from the cracked surface. He made his way to the bench on the side of the training courtyard and retrieved the vial of salve he always brought. The salve was a milky yellow color and felt cool to the touch. As Ishin applied it to his injuries, a soothing sensation engulfed his fingers and knuckles. Next, he retrieved a bundle of gauze and wrapped it over the salve and his fingers.

  Ishin wiggled his fingers once the wrapping was in place, ensuring they weren’t on so tightly that it would impair his movement for the rest of the day. This healing salve must be so expensive, Ishin thought for the fifth time since Hou Lei had provided it to him. I wonder how many taels it costs.

  Back home, such a healing remedy would have cost hundreds of kaan—maybe even a thousand. The ability to rapidly recover from training injuries would drastically accelerate one’s training results. Within the Daihu Tribe’s Martial Hall, most disciples became injured at one point or another in their training. Ishin had seen frustration grip those disciples as they were forced to wait for their injuries to heal. Very few families in the Daihu Tribe had been as fortunate as his. With his mother having been the First Warrior, she had been granted greater access to the tribe’s healing resources and more wealth than most others. It was the main reason why Ishin had recovered from his own injuries against Pan Feng so quickly. For the Eight Oaths Resolve Martial School to supply it to a probationary disciple like himself so liberally spoke truly to the school’s wealth.

  Ishin made a few shadow punches to confirm that the wrappings were secure. Once satisfied, he moved to a series of six pairs of heavy spherical irons resting beneath the courtyard’s shaded wall. Each of the irons had a smooth handle forged onto its top, allowing for easy gripping. Ishin began with the lightest pair to warm up his muscles before eventually working his way up to the fourth pair.

  Hou Lei had brought the irons to him after his fifth day and had encouraged him not to neglect his strength training. Ishin had assumed the irons would be easy to lift now that he was a cultivator, but he had proven na?ve. The lightest pair hadn’t been too difficult, but Hou Lei quickly explained they were only meant to warm up his muscles. When Ishin had tried to lift the next pair, he’d managed it, but the effort had completely strained his body.

  As it turned out, to properly lift the irons, Ishin needed to cycle his qi throughout his body, fluctuating his qi at different phases of the exercise. He had never considered how difficult it was to properly control the flow of his qi—but now he did. Hou Lei had laughed when Ishin first struggled with lifting the second pair, much to his annoyance. After some friendly encouragement, Hou Lei had offered pointers on how to properly cycle his qi. By the end of the fifth day, Ishin had managed to lift the second pair of irons ten times.

  Hou Lei had been curious about Ishin’s lack of qi control, and Ishin had made up some excuse to avoid revealing his recent transition to a cultivator. Fortunately for him, Hou Lei had been more than happy to accept the explanation at face value.

  With the addition of the irons, Ishin’s daily training routine had evolved further. Now, he spent the first hour practicing against the training post, not stopping until he managed fifty strikes without being hit. The next hour was spent on strength training with the heavy irons. He spent the remaining two hours until lunch cultivating, followed by afternoon sparring against Hou Lei, before concluding his day working through his spear forms.

  After two weeks of this routine, Ishin admittedly enjoyed it. The strength of his punches and his reflexes had definitely improved during the short time period. More importantly, his qi control had improved significantly. As he cycled his qi through his arm and leg meridians simultaneously in harmony with the lifting of the irons, he marveled at how natural the process felt. With a controlled motion, Ishin set the heavy irons onto the ground.

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  He grabbed the waterskin at his side and took several deep gulps. If only I had been able to cycle my qi this well in my fight against Zhu Rhee. His thoughts drifted back to the prodigy of the martial school. Their paths hadn’t crossed since their fight, much to Ishin’s disappointment. He recalled the grace with which she moved, how easily she had countered his attacks, and the strength of her own techniques. Ishin took another drink. And admittedly, he found her attractive. He shook his head and poured some water over his sweaty hair. No good will come from chasing after her. Still, it’s been a while since I’ve had feelings for anyone. Time to cultivate.

  Ishin sat down beneath the shadow of the courtyard. He cleared his mind and then opened his third eye in search of lightning qi. Only faint traces existed, but he still cultivated as much of it as he could using the Silent Storm cultivation technique. Even after two hours of cultivation, the results were negligible. Sighing, Ishin rose from his position.

  Cultivation was definitely the most frustrating part of his training. His chakra still felt as small as before, and Ishin knew it would remain so unless he found better sources of lightning qi. If I had money, I could buy more alchemic pills. Painful memories of the Rupture Wailing Storm Pills flashed through his mind, resulting in a brief shiver. Still, at least they helped me progress a stage. But I need money.

  Currently, Ishin had no money and was uncertain how to obtain more. He was lucky that the Eight Oaths Resolve School was providing him free lodging and food, but Ishin knew the arrangement wouldn’t last forever. I’ll have to speak with Hou Lei this afternoon about ways to earn money.

  He made his way to the dining hall, retrieved a bowl of charred tilapia strips and rice, and found an empty table. The dining hall was filled with dozens of other disciples all wearing the blue and orange robes of the school, but they paid him no mind. None of the disciples knew who he was since he didn’t partake in any of the normal classes. That, and Ishin had seen the brief stares at his scars. Those, coupled with his tanned skin and dark brown hair, clearly marked him as an outsider.

  His time being spiritually crippled at the Daihu Tribe had made him used to being an outsider, but even there, he had still had friends. Here, though, he was starting to feel truly alone. If it weren’t for Hou Lei, I might have gone mad by now.

  Ishin quickly finished his meal, eager to leave the dining hall that made him feel isolated. He returned to the courtyard and was glad to see Hou Lei waiting for him with a pair of water jugs tied together.

  “Good to see you, Ishin!” Hou Lei said in greeting.

  “Pleasure to see you as well,” Ishin replied honestly. “How has your morning been?”

  Hou Lei set the water jugs beside the bench. “Great as usual! I fought against Wan Bo, but alas, I failed to best him.”

  Ishin had heard about the team’s third member quite a bit now. Wan Bo was the oldest team member and considered the second strongest after Zhu Rhee. Hou Lei had shared that his goal was to defeat Wan Bo, and the two sparred almost every morning. Despite his best efforts, though, Hou Lei had yet to succeed. Ishin wished to meet the man himself but wasn’t going to insist on it until he proved himself worthy of joining the school’s tournament team.

  “Was it a close match?”

  Hou Lei shrugged. “Closer than yesterday, but not as close as I would have liked.” He began to mimic the motions of the fight as he talked. “I tried a feint against him, moving to the right and aiming at his ribs, but he used his Iron Temple technique—completely nullifying my attack. Even with the aid of my Flowing Red Current technique, I couldn’t break his defense. When that failed, I kicked at his head, but Bo is fast and caught my leg with his hands.”

  Hou Lei continued his story, excited, and Ishin listened eagerly. From similar stories, Ishin had learned that Wan Bo normally fought with a pair of bladed shields but was also the most skilled team member at unarmed combat. Ishin had now sparred unarmed against Hou Lei multiple times and always lost, so he struggled to imagine how skilled Wan Bo must have been.

  “That sounds like a hard-fought match,” Ishin said once Hou Lei had finished. “Seems like you almost got him at the end.”

  “Perhaps,” Hou Lei admitted. “But with that Iron Body of his, I’m not sure I could have defeated him—even had my final punch struck the back of his head. He’s a hard combatant to beat, but that’s what makes sparring against him so rewarding.”

  Ishin had a question about that. “Wan Bo is at the fourth layer too, right?”

  “He is.”

  “If you two are both at the same cultivation stage, how is his defensive technique so overwhelming? Shouldn’t your own Flowing Red Current technique give you enough strength to still deal damage?”

  “It’s complicated,” Hou Lei allowed. “My blood technique enhances the natural strength of my body. It makes me faster and stronger. Metal qi, though, improves the durability of the body even better. It can’t really improve your speed, but in return, its strengthening capabilities are superior.”

  “So it’s a matter of metal qi providing better defensive capabilities than the offensive benefits your blood qi offers?” Ishin had grown up learning how different qi types were better suited for different techniques, and this only further emphasized it. It was the reason why his own lightning qi was apparently valuable.

  “Precisely. That, and Wan Bo excels at qi cycling. He’s faster at it than I am, so he can use his techniques sooner. It’s something I’m working on,” Hou Lei confessed easily.

  Another reason why I need to improve my qi cycling. Ishin thought back to his own tribe. Do senior disciples at the Martial Hall practice qi cycling too? Surely they must. But Ishin didn’t remember Gou Bin mentioning any training regimens focusing specifically on cycling.

  “Enough about my bout against Wan Bo,” Hou Lei declared. He moved into the sunlit center of the training courtyard. “It’s time for me to see what progress you’ve made!”