After a six-day ride north of the city, Liang and the old man arrived at a small trading town that stood in the foothills of the TianTai Mountains. The town was surrounded by a tall, thick, stone wall with many rough looking guard’s holding spears and bows. With less than 100 buildings in the town, most being shops, the level of security was surprising.
Beneath the mountains was a large dense forest that was home to numerous savage beasts. The area was popular with cultivators who hunted them for their cores and bodies, which were useful for many things. A few martial artists wore emblems on their clothing, such as a sun or a lotus, signifying they belonged to a sect but most looked to be free martial artists looking to earn money.
The old decided to leave the horses with a stable manager experienced with the breed. After arrangements, he paid the manager enough money for one year and gave him a stern warning to take care of the horses properly and not to sell them.
They spent the night in a local inn before rising early the next day to search for an area further than most hunters would travel. For now, the old man was trying to avoid conflict because he said they had limited time and he wanted Liang to improve quickly. However, he hinted to Liang that they would not avoid trouble on the way back if it found them.
Despite it being the hottest time of the year, nights in the foothills were especially cold and Liang understood the need for the warmer clothing and heating stones. The days struggled to rise above freezing and at night and there were occasional snow flurries.
However, the weather did not appear to affect the old man at all. The entire time the only thing he did was drink tea, eat steamed buns, and criticize Liang. Every day Liang had to chop a large tree into sections using the hatchet they purchased from the overpriced shop with his right hand. An array made the hatchet nearly indestructible.
The old man showed him how to squeeze the handle tight while still keeping a flexible wrist until the moment of impact. It sounded easy, but doing it precisely as the old man had shown him took longer than he thought it would.
When his wrist was too flexible, the hatchet would bounce back and a few times, it had twisted his wrist on the rebound. If his wrist was not flexible enough before it struck, the hatchet was slow and he felt the muscles in his shoulder and back tense up leaving his body rigid.
It was such a simple movement but it required a fine balance. When the old man demonstrated the proper method he did not look like he was chopping wood, instead every movement looked ethereal. Growing up in a small village everyone chopped wood but right now, if the old man asked he would say this was the first time he saw an axe.
After two weeks of slow improvement, the old man had him alternate days with a backhand technique. Holding the hatchet backwards with a tree slightly behind him to his right, the old man had him twist his upper body at the waist to chop the tree. Simultaneously he would lift his left arm towards his chest as if shielding it from attack.
This required a considerable amount of flexibility in the right wrist and waist, practicing often gave Liang sharp pains when twisting quickly. Seeing this the old man began a rigorous stretching schedule that required him to wake up well before sunrise.
Chopping wood was not exactly what he imagined he would be doing but Liang could feel the improvements in his body as he slowly progressed. Due to the constant muscle training and the qi being stored in his body from the core, the old man continued to amplify his training.
With only one core from a degraded species he told Liang his improvement would be slow, but not to worry because they were actually here to collect their next target. He would not say what they were after, but Liang thought it did not matter as long as they were able to find it.
With the old man’s words constantly in his mind, Liang practiced the different techniques taught to him without question. They were all simple movements, but it took hours every day for his body to get used to them and control them. He was constantly in pain but he was always able to recover with a nights rest.
Finally, after two months the old man told Liang to only stretch in the morning and wait for him. The thought of learning to do more than chop wood excited Liang and that day he chopped down more trees than the last three days combined.
After he completed his stretches the next morning, the old man walked out from behind his tent and signaled for Liang to follow him to a grove of very tall thick trees. They were far larger than anything he had chopped so far and he almost felt like crying at the thought of having to chop those trees as well.
The old man became more serious than Liang had ever seen him telling him, “Everything you have been doing was to prepare your body properly but I am sure you already know this. You are stronger, more flexible, and have quicker reflexes than when you first arrived.”
“You have used a hatchet to train because the Khopesh is both a sword and a hatchet. Chopping is the most fundamental movement of the Khopesh but that does not mean it is unable to slice or stab an opponent.”
“The blades tip is directly in line with the pommel allowing you to stab forward like any other sword, and sliding the blade across your enemy will leave a deep gash. The weapon has faults, but all weapons have faults.”
“However, with the arrays I have placed the major faults can be compensated for. The Khopesh is short but you can activate the array that extends out a qi blade. The large curve will cause weak swords to bend or snap, yours is unbreakable.”
“I chose not to spend centuries learning thousands of silly movements with nonsensical names. Instead, I learned different ways to enhance myself. I’ve always felt that only stupid people get into fights that last for days and waste years learning the 81 steps of some b******* technique. But that does not mean you will not need to practice and refine your movements.”
“You will also need to learn how to fight without a weapon. I have not taught you that yet as you are still unable to activate your qi properly. However, you must remember that strength and speed matter most.”
“Despite me telling you this even the most low-key cultivator will fight hundreds or even thousands of battles over their lifetime. You must be decisive and end your fights quickly, gauge your opponent properly, and attack without holding back. Hot blooded-fools die quickly. Think clearly on whether or not to do battle. Ignore the minor characters in life whenever possible and send your true foes to the Yellow Springs. “
The old man took Liang’s Khopesh and told him to watch his movements before gracefully felling every tree near them using the simple techniques Liang had been practicing. It was unlike anything he had seen and it reminded him of the legends he heard before.
Walking over to Liang the old man said, “What I did there is not impressive. The strength to fell these trees quickly with one swing is roughly the upper limits of the Foundation Stage. You are not at that level yet, but within the next month I believe you with be able to do the same as I have done to trees half this size, equivalent to the initial Foundation.”
To Liang the Foundation stage was something he had dreamed of reaching. He believed it was the realm of immortals, however, the old man said he would reach it after three months. He noticed slowly that he had begun to question his views on life and looked forward to learning what true immortals were.
Placing the Khopesh back in Liang’s hands, the old man brought him to an area of saplings, telling him as he progressed skill wise he would also progress with the thickness in trees. He would treat the trees as if they were foes and he needed to learn how to attack swiftly. When he was able to fell the trees he had been chopping with the hatchet in one swing, they would begin to hunt.
