For several days after meeting those young men, my life with LiTing alone in the forest continued as normal, and we cultivated our souls while discussing philosophy. Unfortunately, the peace and tranquility of our seclusion was broken when an alarm formation alerted me to the presence of a large group approaching our location.
I went outside to investigate and saw seven people, four men and three women, standing a couple of meters outside the palisade surrounding our cottages.
While remaining well within the protections of our defensive formations, I walked to the opening in the wall to see what this was about.
I recognized three of the men in this group as the three I had tried to teach about soul cultivation. Before I could say anything or ask any questions, all seven gave me a deep bow. As they did, the man who had taken the lead in speaking to me last time assumed the role of the group’s spokesman.
“Please guide us, Teacher.”
My upper lip twitched. What had I gotten myself into?
Yes, I should have expected this, and I did, to a minor extent, but now that the results of my meddling had presented themselves before me, I felt I might have made a huge mistake.
Channeling Emperor Li’s stoic demeanor, I did my best to remain composed. I needed to understand exactly what was going on.
“Who are these others?”
The man grinned, assuming that the question implied I had already accepted the original three as my ‘students.’“After you left, we read the information you left for us. We were skeptical at first, but as we continued reading, we could feel the effects of the knowledge on our souls. Even though we hadn’t been cultivating to grow our souls at the time, we still felt the pressure of this place ease its grip on us. We knew this was all thanks to your guidance, and we immediately set out to find you.”
He gestured at his new companions. “These are fellow cultivators we met during our search. They also wish to learn from you. Please, Teacher, do not send us away.”
I wanted to rub my forehead or massage my temples, but that would be a sign of weakness. Instead, I resorted to surreptitiously tapping my teeth together as I thought.
I didn’t know what to do here. I needed to help others. I had told myself that. Could I just send them away when they had come asking for help? That felt wrong, but was I willing to risk having seven strangers this close to our sanctuary?
As I was contemplating my decision, LiTing walked out of her cabin and made my decision for me.
“We welcome all who seek enlightenment. However, as the Great Teacher’s first disciple, I ask that you respect his boundaries. Do not attempt to enter within his private enclave. Our lessons will begin tomorrow at daybreak. Any who wish to join us may do so at that time.”
She smiled at them and gave a short bow of her head.
“Meanwhile, I would suggest that you all see to your accommodations in the nearby forest. The path of soul cultivation is not short. It will take time for you to reach your full potential.”
As the group gave LiTing a deep bow, their leader conveyed the group’s respect.
“Thank you, Senior Sister. We will return tomorrow.”
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Once everyone had left, I looked at LiTing.
“What was that about? Aren’t you worried about having strangers around while we’re trying to cultivate?”
She giggled. “I’ve seen how much you’ve improved while teaching me. I need that too. I’ll take the lead with these guys. You can sit back and play the ‘Great Teacher.’”
“Alright, but let me arrange a few protections first. These fellows look harmless enough, but you can never be too sure.”
I got where she was coming from, but we still needed to be safe. That group was acting extremely respectfully for now, but that was only because they thought we could ease their way down the Path of the Soul. It was impossible to know what they would do once they learned everything we had to teach them.
She just nodded and patted me on the shoulder.
“Maybe you were right about these disguises. Those people would have never been so courteous to us if we looked too young. I might have to thank this woman you turned me into. Still, you should have at least warned me about it.”
Before I could respond, she turned around and returned to her cottage.
I watched her leave and then turned to look at the small clearing in front of our palisade. LiTing’s offer may have been the correct decision, but as things stood, it put us in far too much danger.
The area in front of the palisade needed a complete redesign. We needed a large, open area where multiple strangers would be able to freely enter and exit while also keeping everyone, most notably LiTing and me, safe.
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I stayed up all night working on my project. When LiTing came outside the next morning, her mouth was open in amazement.
“What did you do?”
The small forest clearing that had existed outside of our palisade was no more.
The ground was now entirely covered in gray paving stones. Immediately outside the opening in the wall was a raised dais with two cultivation mats. In front of them, seven beige canvas mats sat on the stone ground. This would provide a forum where our ‘students’ could listen to us discuss soul cultivation.
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The beige mats were not proper cultivation mats. I didn’t bring enough proper mats for a large group, and creating new ones required knowledge of woven formations, which I had yet to learn. However, the paving stones were from an outcropping of novaculite I had found in the nearby area. It was good enough to hold Rank 4 formations, so beneath each mat, I carved out a few of the inscriptions to increase everyone’s concentration.
As for protection, I took that very seriously.
The entire area was encased within several powerful Rank 4 defensive formations. Looking in qi vision, one would see small formation nodes placed throughout the paved area to power these defenses.
If one looked closer, they would see that these nodes were fake. A careful examination would show that the real formation nodes were encased in rhyolite to mask their presence. The more visible ones were just a distraction.
However, in truth, all the formations were empowered and controlled from within the palisade. None of the nodes outside the walls had any meaningful effect on our defenses. Out of a bit of paranoia, I had set up two layers of deceptions to alert us of any potential betrayal before it became a problem.
As long as LiTing and I stayed within the palisade walls or on the dais, no mere Lord would be able to do anything to hurt us.
I put a hand on LiTing’s shoulder.
“This will give us a safe place to discuss soul cultivation with anyone who wants to listen. If the people who come here attack each other, the formations will teach them a lesson. If they try to attack one of us, they won’t need to worry about any lessons.”
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Shortly after the sun rose, the cultivators returned to our small clearing. As experienced Lords, they weren’t too taken aback by what they saw. An earth cultivator paving an area of stone in a single night wasn’t that impressive after all.
LiTing’s reaction had been more for the formation designs than the physical changes. She had been around me long enough to pick up a bit of basic knowledge about formations, and she had known to closely examine the area in qi vision the moment she saw it. Our guests had no such experience. They only saw a nice, newly paved courtyard.
LiTing and I took our positions on the dais first, and then our visitors sat down on the mats I had laid out before us.
LiTing assumed the role of ‘First Disciple’ under the pretense that she was the first student I had accepted and had spent several years studying my teachings. LiTing controlled the discussion on soul cultivation by doing her best to answer any of the students’ questions and by asking them questions she felt were worth considering.
In my role as ‘Great Teacher,’ I was a silent observer during the bulk of these discussions. As LiTing and the others debated a topic, I listened to everyone’s opinion, and then after they reached an impasse and couldn’t develop the conversation any further, I would offer an authoritative opinion on the subject.
This position was exactly what I needed because while I had spent a great deal of time studying the various philosophies, I was no expert in them. As LiTing and the others discussed various ideas, I frantically flipped through my mental library to pull up relevant passages from the multitude of books I had stored there.
My ‘authoritative opinion’ was rarely my own. Instead, I almost always just provided a rough amalgamation of the views of various ancient philosophers.
At my insistence, LiTing did not directly advise anyone on which path of soul cultivation they should walk. These needed to be open discussions on the nature of the different paths available and the implications that came from walking them.
I hadn’t expected to gain much from my role as an observer, but the position added a whole new dimension to the way I thought about my knowledge and understanding of the ideas that underpinned the four paths.
The first two days of these classes went well, and everyone made solid progress. The third day, I got an unwelcome surprise. Three new people had joined the group. The fourth day, another five joined.
I wasn’t sure how many people this section of the Path of Soul held, but I was worried that we would soon be overrun, so before starting our lesson, I needed to address this issue.
“Welcome everyone. I would like to know, how did you all learn of this place?”
The leader of the original group, Wu SiDa, stood and bowed.
“Teacher, we have been spreading news of your lessons. Many have found themselves stuck in this place for weeks or months. Your lessons can provide them the hope they need to finally advance.”
I clicked my teeth together several times in annoyance while doing my best to hide any outward signs of it. I didn’t want to deal with this, but… isn’t this what it means to help indiscriminately?
I looked at LiTing. She smiled, nodded at me, and then addressed the group.
“If too many people come here, it would harm both them and us. We will limit our lessons to the fifteen gathered here today.”
Wu SiDa looked like he wanted to say something, but LiTing just continued speaking.
“As Teacher has passed down his lessons to me, and I have passed them down to you, you shall pass them down to any others who come here. Form your own enclaves in the surrounding area and teach those who wish to learn from you. You will find the benefits from doing so will exceed your expectations.”
I didn’t outwardly react to LiTing’s speech, but inwardly, I smiled. It was the best solution. We should offer help to everyone, but that didn’t mean we had to do all the work ourselves.
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I had expected us to only spend a few months on the Path of Soul. In the end, we stayed there for over a year and a half.
LiTing was ready to advance far earlier than that, but we had both been making such extensive gains in soul strength from this experience that we decided to remain longer than originally planned. While my heart was set on ascending to Emperor as soon as possible, any gains I made in strengthening my soul were permanent, so this was one of the best ways I could spend my time.
The small community we had started with grew to over six dozen members. Compared to a city, this size was nothing, but it was a group of over seventy Lords. Together, we possessed a combined strength that would rival many kingdoms.
To keep everyone fed, an herbalist started a small garden to grow the ingredients needed for Fasting Pills. This wasn’t ideal since Fasting Pills would harm one’s body if relied on for too long, but it was the best solution available to us. Housing was provided by wood and earth cultivators, and water cultivators made sure we had a supply of clean, fresh drinking water.
The setting was idyllic, and I wouldn’t have minded staying there for years, but we had people waiting for us. We had planned to meet with our classmates after only three months. They had to be worried about us at this point, and there was no good way to send them a message. We needed to leave and reconnect with them.
After a final lesson with our original fifteen students, I stood to make an announcement.
“Tomorrow morning, the First Disciple and I will be continuing down the Path of Soul. We have learned much from each other over the past year, and I hope you will continue passing this knowledge down to your fellow cultivators in the future. I wish you all good luck.”
The men and women scrambled to their feet and gave deep bows. Wu SiDa spoke as their representative.
“Teacher, we will go with you. We are ready to move forward as well.”
I smiled at him. “No. The First Disciple and I have our path. You have yours. We will meet again in the future if fate allows it.”
While having several Lords journeying with us would have certain benefits, I wanted to try and keep a low profile in Profound City.
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That evening, before the sun even set, LiTing and I vanished from the encampment. I had felt I needed to say goodbye, but I couldn’t risk anything going wrong with our departure. Outside of our protected enclave, we would be vulnerable, and the soul pressure from the path would no longer provide us with any advantages against those we had been teaching.
We quickly passed through the fourth section, and upon entering the fifth, LiTing didn’t even flinch. We easily ran to the end of the path and found the exit. It was another stone arch.
As we approached, I was wary.
“This is going to teleport us somewhere. I don’t know if we’ll be together or not on the other side.”
“Don’t worry, Teacher. We will be able to handle whatever comes.”
With a quick smile, she rushed into the arch and vanished.
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