The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

Instead of walking all the way, I decided to take the shorter route, this time with Mo Lin in my arms. Sky Stepping was still a skill I was not extremely proficient in, but the girl did not need to know that. After her initial shrieking of fear, she seemed to be having a wonderful time. I couldn’t blame her; flying was a special experience. Even as someone who had lived in a modern world with airplanes that flew way higher than I could currently, there was something special about being able to fly with your own body, to take off into the skies and roam freely, unhindered by gravity. I would never say this to Yu Song, but sometimes I was honestly jealous of his ability to shoot up into the skies without a care.

As we moved about the skies above the sect, I slowly began to lower my speed, descending near the familiar courtyard where the former Yan clan members had settled. It had been surprising to see how many of them had chosen to stay behind, but I suspected part of that was because of Yan Yun. Her support to me had given them someone familiar to latch onto, and rather than trying to find an entirely new home or place to work, it was far easier to simply settle for a change in who gave the orders. The position of the Yan clan was still a bit uncertain, but for the most part, Yan Yun was the heir, with one of the family members, Di'an, acting as her guard and the so-called patriots of the clan supporting her until she was old enough, or married—though I doubted she intended to choose the latter of those options.

Slowly settling down, I landed in the courtyard, gently letting Mo Lin down. She clung tightly to my clothes, even after we were back on the ground. After she felt reassured she was going to be fine, she slowly stepped down, the little doll Mei peeking from inside her clothes to look outside curiously. I didn't have to call out or speak for someone to notice my arrival. It was one of the nice things about being a cultivator: you sensed someone was coming if they were not trying to intentionally hide it. The door slid open as Yan Yun smiled upon seeing me, but then her eyes went to the little girl by my side.

"Who’s this?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.

"I-I'm Mo Lin. It is a great honor to meet you," Mo Lin said, bowing her head deeply.

Yan Yun laughed at the girl’s attitude and nervousness. "It’s great to meet you too," she said, looking down at the girl before her eyes went to me, asking me for some answers.

For a moment, I simply looked at Yan Yun. She had changed yet again, regaining some of her former jade beauty and noble grace. This time, however, it was much more muted. Instead of the lightning-cold and distant figure that she had been before, there was an aura of friendliness and warmth around her. I suspected her Chi itself played a part in that, but I doubted that was all. She simply was just doing a lot better, and I was glad to see it.

"This is Mo Lin," I began. "The girl has awakened a new kind of ability. She is the third one, after you and Zhang, and I suspect that she could help us in understanding what exactly she can do," I said, my eyes shifting to look at Mo Lin. I found her eyes shimmering, infatuated with Yan Yun's vision. Given what she had said about becoming like Mei, her doll, and Yan Yun as a powerful cultivator, it did not take any leap of imagination to understand the girl’s obsession.

"Yes, of course, I'd love to teach such a wonderful little girl. Come on, you two, let's head into my chamber," Yan Yun said, leading us forward inside. Mo Lin walked in after me, her eyes scanning every inch of the surface of the insides of the Yan manor, taking in what was present with the excitement of a child walking into Disneyland for the first time. The excitement was infectious, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight. After entering the room, I took a seat next to Mo Lin while Yan Yun sat across from us. Gently, Mo Lin took out Mei, the little doll, holding her with a shy pride at the interest she stirred from Mo Lin's hand. "This is Mei," Mo Lin said, "she's my doll and for some reason she can move around. I can even understand what she wants and says sometimes."

Yan Yun looked at the little doll, gently accepting her into her own hands. "My, what an aura for a little doll. It's nice to meet you, Mei," Yan Yun said.

The doll looked up at her, then gave her a respectful bow, before jumping back and rushing towards Mo Lin, brandishing her blade as she did so.

"She has a flying sword?" Yan Yun asked, her eyes shining. "I always used to dream about my own dolls coming to life like this, imagining them ready to play with me. You have a wonderful ability, Mo Lin," Yan Yun said, smiling at the girl.

Mo Lin beamed, clutching Mei close to her chest. She happily looked down at her doll, nodding in agreement.

I watched the interaction play out, paying close attention to the Chi in its movements. Back then, when Mei had been activated, she had been using Chi, not just like any cultivator would, yet at the same time, the doll itself had the pathways or meridians, and the orb of Chi present inside of it, guiding its movements. I glanced up to Yan Yun, observing the girl, her own Chi shifting slowly, beginning to flow around Mo Lin as a relationship began to form. 'Friendship Chi,' cheesy as it may sound, had some very interesting implications for how Chi could be used and what forms it could take.

Even now, we didn't fully understand what Yan Yun's ability could do, but I suspected a part of it was supporting others in their development, and it would work better the more attached Yan Yun was to someone. This thing still had to be tested and, for better or worse, threats that had unfortunately arisen meant that time was a precious resource for me now. However, I still appreciated the opportunity. Yan Yun's interest in teaching kids, and Mo Lin in particular, represented the perfect chance to see how both their abilities would interact, so that kind of worked out in my favor.

Yan Yun stood up from where she sat, walking around the chamber. She opened one of the drawers and, after searching for a bit, slowly began to take out a doll, similar to Mei but much older, with dust covering them.

"Ah, this brings back memories. I used to play with them a lot when I was younger," Yan Yun said, looking down at the dolls. "A lot of them were gifts from my grandfather, back when he still somewhat cared." Yan Yun glanced back, turning towards Mo Lin as she presented the two dolls in front of her. One was quite similar to Mei, a young noble lady but without the blade or the warrior's attire, standing with a dignified pose. The other was a respected man wearing long cultivator robes, with a sword at his side. "Do you think you can make them move like Mei?" Yan Yun asked.

Mo Lin looked uncertain and unsure of her ability, but she gave a quiet nod. "I can try and see," she shared.

Yan Yun smiled, letting the little girl take the dolls in her hands. Mo Lin looked down at them, focusing, her brows furrowed, tiny lips pursed as she closed her eyes, trying to focus her Chi onto the dolls. I started to pay attention, focusing on her aura and the Chi within her. Slowly, a little sliver of energy flowed from the girl into the dolls. Mo Lin's frown deepened as she continued, more and more Chi flowing from her. After a certain point, something changed. The Chi gathering within the dolls condensed to a point before they stood up and began to move.

"You did it!" Yan Yun cheered. Mo Lin opened her eyes, sweat on her forehead, looking down in surprise at the two dolls in her hands, now standing and moving around freely. The dolls jumped, looking around at one another as they walked around. Yan Yun picked one of them up. The doll looked at the girl before jumping back out of her hand. Mei moved out as well. As the three dolls stirred around each other, moving almost as if talking without actually saying any words, they ran around, seemingly playful in nature, jumping and chasing one another. Yet even here it was obvious that there was something different about Mei. Mei moved with a grace the other two lacked, taking flight on her sword and condensing Chi around her blade like a real cultivator could.

I glanced sideways at Mo Lin, noticing a thread of Chi running from her into the two dolls she had just given life to. I noticed the girl's face slowly growing more and more pale.

"Are you alright?" Yan Yun asked.

"I—" Mo Lin's words trailed off as the dolls fell and the girl closed her eyes quickly, looking like she was about to faint. Yan Yun moved closer, kneeling beside Mo Lin and putting her hand on the girl's head to see if she was okay.

"She drained her Chi. New cultivators aren't used to doing as much. It's a normal reaction," Yan Yun explained, sending a pulse of her own Chi into Mo Lin as her eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" Mo Lin asked groggily.

"You just used a little too much Chi in the dolls. It's alright. I did that a lot of times when I was your age. You'll learn how to control your own Chi soon enough," Yan Yun said, gently brushing Mo Lin's hair. The girl nodded. "I feel really sleepy."

"You can rest," Yan Yun replied warmly. "We'll bring you some tea," she said, as I picked up Mo Lin in my arms, carrying her to Yan Yun's bed. Before I gently placed her down, Yan Yun pressed her hand onto the girl's head once more, her Chi flowing in gently as Mo Lin drifted off to sleep.

I felt something crawling at my leg and looked down to see Mei climbing up rapidly, eager to get a better look at Mo Lin. The doll walked up to the girl, still moving around freely, unlike the other dolls that had fallen. I looked at Yan Yun.

"So, what do you think? There's clearly something special about this one doll in particular, but even so, her ability is quite curious."

"It is indeed quite curious," Yan Yun said. "I suspect she might be manifesting Puppeteer Chi, although it could also very well be Life Chi—to give life to inanimate objects. It's difficult to say right now, given that she is still fairly young and does not understand her own abilities," she explained.

"Does that happen very often? To awaken an ability without truly understanding what it is?" I asked.

"Indeed, it does happen, although it is not exactly common. Sometimes people unlock insights that they do not understand consciously, but they do understand it instinctively. I suspect Mo Lin knows exactly what her ability is; she just doesn't know it consciously," Yan Yun said.

"Do you think it could work on people, her ability?" I asked.

Yan Yun shook her head. "Not without complete mastery, at least. But I think it is something that works on objects, at least for now. The Chi she uses seems to infuse life into them."

I frowned, thinking over Mo Lin's abilities and what it meant for the sect and the future. She was just the start, a harbinger of others like her who would appear, people all with their own unique kinds of Chi. More so than anything else, she seemed to represent a path of Chi with a kind of freedom that traditional Qi or Gu lacked. It would be a fundamental change in the way cultivators and society as a whole operated. What were the limits? Could anything be a form of Chi? I didn't know the answer, but it was clear to me that I would need to walk into the darkness myself to try and seek them out.

"What are you thinking?" Yan Yun asked, observing the contemplative look on my face.

"Just about how we lack enough people to fight against a large force of demons. Even against the demonic beasts, it's only because of the Drugnades that I feel some amount of confidence in being able to hold the sect and the city. But it's just the villages nearby. They’re rushing to different peaks, including to the seventh peak itself. Even if we manage to hold them for winter, somehow, and fend them off within the city itself, the demons' passage through their villages will have destroyed their homes. If possible, I want to avoid that outcome, so I was thinking, what if we did have to use people to fight demons?"

"She is just a child. She will not be nearly enough, not to mention the burden it would put on her as a whole," Yan Yun said, her tone reflecting concern.

"I know, I know that very well. I don't want to put that burden on her, or anyone, for that matter. But your abilities can give her the Gu she needs, and by drawing Qi from everyone, we could give her pieces of it. I'm sure that if the worst were to come, she would want to protect our home as well," I reasoned.

Yan Yun frowned, contemplating my words. She glanced back at Mo Lin, the little sleeping girl, with her small doll standing protectively next to her. After a moment, she gave a small nod.

"We should rest, though. Don't try to do everything yourself," Yan Yun advised.

I laughed lightly. "If it was all on me, we'd have been sunk by now. It's solely because of all of you helping me that we're getting anywhere," I said, appreciating the support of those around me. Then, shifting the topic slightly, I asked, "By the way, what is Lei doing?" I asked.

"Lei, he's been in his chamber, meditating very often and hasn't been coming out much," Yan Yun said, her expression contemplative. "I can't fault him; a lot has changed in a short amount of time for him. I'm sure he has stuff to think through," I replied, acknowledging the complexities of Lei's situation.

"You should let Mo Lin play with Labby. Watching Labby might inspire her a bit. And, given how close they are in age, relatively speaking, I think they'll become good friends," Yan Yun suggested, thinking about the potential benefits of the interaction.

"I will. Labby herself has been training with Zhang very often. She's been feeling the need to grow stronger, to keep up with me," I noted, understanding the drive for improvement.

It's a sentiment I could relate to, having once hoped to make my grandfather see my worth and be proud of me. Yan Yun nodded in agreement, understanding the parallels. "I'll have to check on Lei later. Maybe send Mo Lin and Labby to play and talk afterwards," I said thoughtfully.

"I will. Try to get some rest yourself, Lu Jie," Yan Yun said, her concern evident.

I turned to leave, stepping to the edge of the chamber. "You too," I responded, before taking to the skies and disappearing into the distance, leaving the tranquility of Yan Yun's chamber behind.

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