Cultivation Nerd (xianxia)

 

A brisk, calm morning wind brushed against my skin, carrying the crisp scent of dawn. 

I stood at the gate with Fu Yating, the ancient metallic gate towering above us. Her dark eyes, deep and enigmatic, stared intently into mine, reflecting a mix of shadows and flickers of light.

The silence between us was palpable, broken only by the distant chirping of morning birds and the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze.

What was I even supposed to say here? Even though we had spent some time together, it wasn't like I learned much about her.

"If you have any last words, feel free to tell me," I said.

She looked to the left and then to the right as if checking to ensure no one was around. 

"Sometimes your eyes observe every small detail like you're trying to read me like one of your books," Fu Yating said. "You look scary."

Wow, okay. At least she was honest.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, when you eat, you move like a puppet. Your manners are perfect, but they look unnatural like they were practiced," Fu Yating pointed out. "I don't know how you do that since you're usually an outstanding actor."

"Thanks, I will keep that in mind," I nodded and with a thought caused the metallic gate to swing open like it was done by a ghost. There was even a loud screeching sound as it opened. Half of the noise came from the rust in the gate's hinges; the other half was because I had explicitly put an array that would make a noise like this. I had a lot of useless arrays like this around the house. 

As she was about to walk out, I took in every detail of her appearance. Thankfully, we had ended things on good terms. However, I still had some questions.

Could I risk this comfortable relationship we had built due to my curiosity?

The answer was… yes.

"What is your end goal?" I inquired.

Fu Yating stopped walking, her eyes widened, and she seemed surprised at my question. Perhaps it was my straightforwardness that surprised her. Either way, she took some time to think before speaking.

"I have no idea…" she said. "I learned long ago that I have no control over what happens around me. The only thing I can control is my reaction to such events. As for my goal? It might change depending on the situation."

That was the greatest non-answer ever.

"What about you?" she asked.

Song Song had once asked me the same question. Back then, I had yet to decide what I wanted. Unlike my fiancée, I chose to be honest.

"My goal is to learn many martial techniques, discover all the secrets about cultivation, and explore the highest levels of Alchemy, Artifact Creating, and Array Conjuring." I looked her in the eyes, trying to read her, and kept my gaze as unnerving as possible.

Her heartbeat was normal, and she was not scared—she hadn't been since the water bottle incident. While I wouldn't say that she felt completely safe around me, it seemed like she had formed her own opinion.

Napoleon said something about not getting in the way of an enemy as they were making a mistake. Though we weren't exactly enemies.

Fu Yating and I have at least built a friendly rapport. Or perhaps I was the only one who saw things that way. 

"Liu Yating…" she suddenly said. "That name has quite a nice ring to it. Perhaps the next time we meet will be during our wedding day, and this will be my name from then on."

After saying that, she walked away, navigating the grass and uneven roads that led to the mansion. Her shoulder-length hair bounced and got stuck in a branch; she had to untangle it.

I chuckled, seeing her struggle. It made the words she left on sound less cool.

It was still a mystery whether she was a master manipulator or a clumsy girl who knew how to act.

"Oh well, I have to go visit the librarian anyway," I said, taking out my flying sword from my storage ring. It was a simple Jian sword with a white handle, nothing special.

The blade hovered a foot above the ground. As soon as I put my feet on it, I balanced myself and activated some of the sword's properties that wouldn't allow me to slip. A flying sword couldn't be just any sword; it was an artifact explicitly made for flying.

I shot toward Fu Yating like a bullet and scooped her up by her waist. She yelped when I grabbed her and went flying above the treeline.

"How can I let my pretty fiancée walk back to her Sect alone," I teased her.

But Fu Yating had no time to get embarrassed and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. As a Body Tempering cultivator, she exerted quite a lot of strength. She would have broken most people in half, but I barely felt it.

Now that we were close, I couldn't help but think of how short she was. She barely reached my chest.

Neither of us was concerned about anything during the rest of the ride—only a handful of minutes—which wasn't long. However, Fu Yating would tell me to go slower whenever I picked up speed, and I complied.

We reached the part of the inner Sect where trees with striking red trunks and delicate pink leaves stood proudly. Their vibrant colors contrasted beautifully with the surrounding greenery, creating an enchanting and almost surreal landscape. The leaves rustled softly in the breeze, adding a gentle melody to the serene atmosphere.

A blue-walled palace stood majestically amidst the vibrant trees, its walls painted in a deep, rich azure that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. That was where the Azure Frost Sect was staying, and the place had changed a bit since I was last here.

I flew down with the sword, slowing to a perfectly soft landing, and put Fu Yating down. When her feet touched the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at me.

Her eyes were unreadable as she stared at my face. She was cold as always and a tough nut to crack. It felt like she was constantly in control, no matter what. But I couldn't help but feel like saying something obscene and out of nowhere to derail her train of thought.

"What? Want to give me a goodbye kiss or something?" I jested.

The lost-like look on her face immediately went away, and she frowned. "I know you say that stuff out of nowhere just to jumble my thoughts. Way to ruin the moment, dumb fuck."

Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said, and she opened her mouth, ready to offer an apology. 

"I think this is the first time you have been honest." I laughed, interrupting whatever she was about to say. "I like you more this way."

Before she could respond, I shot away like a bullet, using my flying sword to go as fast as possible, staying just above the treeline. I think there was a rule in the Sect about using flying swords, so I wasn’t going to fly too high. 

As I approached the gate separating the inner Sect from the outer Sect, I stopped using my flying sword and stored it in my storage ring. I immediately shifted from a stationary pose, like riding a skateboard, to using the Galloping Horse Power Technique.

The leaves brushed against my clothes, but no branches caught on my uniform or grass stained my pants. I moved through it all with unnatural grace.

Since I had been training and using Galloping Horse Technique, I had gotten the hang of it. Though in terms of pure mastery, it was nowhere near my other techniques. Also, I wasn't sure if I would ever hit Trace with this technique.

Usually, Trace was activated during combat when the user's concentration peaked, and the technique was used perfectly. A Trace was more likely to land with combat techniques than movement techniques, especially since cultivators train to use movement techniques like second nature without focusing.

The guards at the gate let me pass without much fuss, and as I walked past the gate, I felt an array wash over me. The most noticeable thing about the outer Sect was that Qi was less abundant here than the inner Sect.

But I didn't dwell on that and headed to the Dining Hall, the xianxia-equivalent of a cafeteria.

Since it was early, few people were here to eat. But even those few stared at me with surprised and envious looks in their eyes. The servants behind the counter also seemed cowered by my presence, and none of the cooks and servers I was familiar with were around.

"Hello, can I get four cups of tea?" I asked.

The servants behind the counter nodded and hurriedly brought me the four cups of tea on a tray. I didn't bother grabbing the tray; instead, I put the teacups in the storage ring and walked out.

I looked at the library pagoda in the distance, and the world around me blurred as it took a brief second for my eyes to adjust to moving at blitz speed.

Having things in a storage ring didn't mean time was stopped in there or anything like that. But the place was like a void.

As Newton's first law stated, every object would remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.

Well, there were better examples here. But that was the first thing that came to mind when thinking about how storage rings were good at preserving things. Since the cold morning air wouldn't touch the teacups, they would keep their heat longer.

Within an instant, I was in front of the library. The doors were wide open, and a familiar feeling washed over me as I couldn't help but smile.

As I walked into the library, it felt like time hadn't moved since I had left. The librarian was behind the counter, cleaning his Harry Potter-like glasses. His gaze turned toward me while the old man was dozing off on a chair with his broom leaning against the table.

Thankfully, it was still too early for anyone to visit this place, and we had it to ourselves. The smell of books alone was enough to wash away all my problems.

"Good morning," I greeted the librarian as I walked toward the old man, got the four teacups out of my storage ring, and put one close to him.

The smell of tea seemed to rejuvenate the old fossil as he opened his eyes and stared at me. "Please tell me this is a nightmare."

"Nah, you finally died and are in Tea Heaven, old man," I responded, taking one of the teacups and putting it on the librarian's counter.

"It's more like hell with you around," the old man grumbled, but he still sipped his tea.

"How have things been around here?" I asked.

"Much better without you around," said the old man.

Nonetheless, the librarian gave a more serious answer, "Nothing much. There will be a tournament again about who will go to the inner Sect."

Thinking about it, it had been a year since I came to this world. That was quite something… So many things had happened.

"Well, I will be back in a bit. I will also deliver a teacup to the owl on the third floor. It would be a shame if he got cold tea," I said.

"Owl on the third floor?" Xin Ma looked confused.

What? Was he pulling my leg on this? We had talked about the owl on the third floor, and I distinctly remember him not liking the monstrous beast.

 

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