Heavenly Shae

Epilogue 1: Practice Shapes Skill

Shae, these final notes should remain sealed until you are at your destination, or feel you have sufficiently completed the Manifold Journey practices.

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Dearest Shae,

by now you may have understood that all these practices are not parts of a greater whole. Each is simply a stepping stone towards a more fundamental kind of qi flow that all techniques are built upon. I would give an example, yet these are for beginners, so any of my examples might seem like quite the stretch.

Of course, these practices have not covered everything you will need to learn during your first year as a cultivator, but we monks hope you have gained some familiarity with your qi.

According to its creator, Wise Wuan, the practice as a whole does have a grander purpose. Though, it has been difficult for him to confirm. Many cultivators only gain a faint sense of progression from the overall practice. We believe this is because they are incapable of adequately completing the very first step. That practice, and the final one are the true trick to the whole endeavor.

Put simply, the first practice aims to occupy your mind. To fill your working memory with the journey ahead and leave little room for much else. The key premise here is referred to as conceptual memory, and I've not the paper to explain it properly. Similar to something like mental focus, most young cultivators are unable to harness enough of it to fully utilize the practice.   That is the real reason it is so rarely used.

Having your mind constantly occupied would cause incredible strain, thus it only works while you're performing one of the practices. Our minds are quite flexible, especially while young, so each practice adds a small fraction to the whole, growing the mental burden. Some feel this change, sensing the progress as the construct grows, some cannot.

When you arrived at your destination and used the final practice, you might have felt the change as you imagined the burden be sealed and destroyed. If so, the whole practice was likely quite successful. Most don't notice until we point it out. If you felt nothing, please do not be disappointed.

While the change might be subtle or unnoticeable, I assure you it has improved your abilities as a cultivator. Even just using the other ten practices will have done that. On that subject, if you are concerned that your cleansing is going slowly, relax. That progress will come with time, it is easy. Working through qi practices, physical exercise, and martial arts are the cornerstones of cultivation. They are the hard work you will need to do to ensure you have a solid foundation to cultivate upon. And you'll need to work harder since your cleansing is ahead. Had your accident cleansed your whole body and meridians, you might be no better off than a mortal. Having power means nothing if you cannot use it effectively.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

That is all to say, relax and take things slow. Your kind are always rushing forwards, expecting the heavens to open up for you at every turn. Even if your journey was eventful, your time at the sect will be dramatically less so, trust me.

Wise Wuan has asked that you inform him of your experience with the Manifold Journey practice. I imagine a letter will reach us far before you can yourself. So please do write to us, even if you have nothing for him, I would love to hear of your journey and time in the sect.

If you have any trouble getting into the sect, please treat this letter as a recommendation from myself and Wise Kwan. Swing our names around like a club if you have to. Though, I can't imagine you'll have any issue with that peace-bound sword at your hip. Centuries ago that would be as good as a noble title at your age.

According to Wise Kwan, at least. I've not been around that long. Though you may have offended him at the end of the night, he was still quite impressed with your qi mixture and would like to see it once you've stabilised and refined it further. No need to rush, however. There will be many small steps on that path before you are finished, and most are never finished with that task.

On a lighter note, we did promise to visit didn't we? Among cultivators that means something quite different than when mortals say it. With so much more time on our hands, our interpretation of soon stretches far beyond reasonable meaning. Don't try to rush here just because you said you would. They likely won't let you out of the place for a year or three. Considering schedules and ability to travel I'll likely come to you first!

It seems that I'm running out of paper. So let's wrap up. After knocking our heads together, Diviner Mei suggested you read a particularly saucy romance novel, though she couldn't recall the title. And honestly I'm not sure I would feel comfortable writing it down. In lieu of that, fiction can be an interesting source of inspiration if you cannot decide on your path, and it's good to have a hobby at the sect other than just cultivating as hard as you can. I would recommend the dueling pits. Or at the least, sparring with martial cultivators once a week. Everyone always underestimates the importance of real combat experience. Kwan suggests alternating saunas with ice baths. I'm not sure if he's suggesting it as a hobby.

It was great meeting you, Shae.

Until tomorrow's light shines upon us both.

Wise Kaiun Yungfan