Fate Shift - Chapter 17

The third trial’s setting was a log cabin surrounded by a small clearing and a gently-flowing stream. Most of the people who entered the third trial were only able to notice that much straight away, as their attentions were soon diverted.

Shortly after the remaining novices entered the third trial, they heard the Sword Hall’s creator speak. “My self-created style of cultivation was designed to solve certain problems I faced as a Qi Cultivator or saw others face. Perhaps the most important of those problems was a lack of strength, of specialization. Today that may not seem like an issue for most cultivators but I’m an old man. I watched the system of Qi Cultivation develop and witnessed countless failures amongst the many cultivators blindly searching for a way forward.

Let alone third generation Qi Cultivators like me and my peers, even fifth generation Qi Cultivators tended to be almost completely unaware of how to cultivate. I’ve seen too many people in my life who didn’t understand their Qi type or had no idea which Cultivation Realms to enter when. It wasn’t till around the eighth generation that the first strong cultivators started popping up, with a few rare exceptions.

Those exceptions, they became the real powerhouses of the modern era. The Two Supremes of Kahzareem, Storm Lord Angkik, Scorched Flower Sarason, Martial King, the Ancient Fiend, and the others who’ve remained hidden in obscurity: these are the people who’ve shaped our world into what it is today. Each and every one of them developed a specialized role as Qi Cultivators. Storm Lord Angkik focused on studying and applying the powers of weather. Scorched Flower Sarason derived her inspirations from nature. Martial King relied on the martial arts of his ancestors. The Ancient Fiend even transformed puppetry, a type of entertainment in the Mortal Era, into a deadly style of cultivation.

Out of all those great figures, the two most impactful ones were the Supreme Healer and the Supreme Slayer. The Supreme Healer not only survived the brutal Necromantic Wars but was able to revive necromancy despite the danger it represented. Her ingenious use of that terrifying system to heal myriad ills changed the face of necromancy forever. The Supreme Slayer was no less impactful. Using his countless treasures, the Supreme Slayer was unstoppable. Before he rose to prominence, the Armament Bonding Realm didn’t even exist!

If my style of cultivation could have half the impact of one of those figures I’d feel fulfilled. So I set out to create a system that could match what these prodigies crafted. I studied many, many different aspects of cultivation. Sorcery, necromancy, summoning, body refinement, artificial meridians, armaments, martial arts, spells, Qi types, and every other bit of knowledge I accumulated over the years were put to use.

I condensed what I learned into what I call the One Weapon Thousand Purposes Style. This style of cultivation is designed so that one can concentrate their various types of power into a single area. In this case, that area is one’s Armament. In fact, the Armament is so integral to the One Weapon Thousand Purposes Style that in my style the Cultivation Realm after Meridian Opening is Armament Bonding instead of Soul Inception.

While this allows for some interesting possibilities, it also has some limitations. First off, one must be in the Armament Bonding Realm to start really learning my style. Secondly, people who cultivate too slowly can’t use my style for fear of aging. After all, until one forms a soul there’s no hope of living after death. Thus, the thing I’m testing in this third trial is cultivation speed.

All you have to do to complete this trial is to cultivate through Meridian Opening. So long as you open 113 meridians in a timely fashion, you’ll be considered to have passed. As for artificial meridians, I recommend waiting till after the third trial. If you pass you’ll learn why. Ah and as for the time limit, it’ll vary according to your current cultivation.”

Unlike previous trials, this one was a pleasant surprise to most. Having a chance to peacefully cultivate was more than welcome; especially once it became apparent the area the third trial was located in had an abundant amount of Qi.

Still, this trial was truly a trial for some. Gazeen knew he’d have to devote himself to survive this trial. Like most demons he was born in the Qi Birth Realm so he only had to complete one realm of cultivation. Unfortunately, Gazeen was one of those rare sand wraiths that only possessed a Mortal Breath. His cultivation speed was truly rather slow. His only hope was that he could abuse his other natural advantages as a sand wraith to finish cultivating in time. After all, he didn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep.

The last remaining member of the Dark Earth Tribe, Sabsreck, didn’t choose to cultivate inside the log cabin. Instead he dug a hole in the ground, jumped into it, and then cast a spell to cover the hole with earth. For members of the Dark Earth Tribe, this was the best cultivation environment.

Like Sabsreck, most of the people in the third trial had their own tricks or preparations to settle before focusing on cultivating. The only major exception to this was Wesh. Wesh’s Acceleration Qi and Flash of Brilliance Cultivation Art both specialized in speed. This was perhaps why her Divine Sense Tribulation was so short and also trivialized this trial in particular.

Still, even with Wesh’s speed it would take at least a week to cultivate through the Meridian Opening Realm; this trial was going to last much longer than the other trials.

Despite its length the trial proved uneventful. All seven who attempted the trial passed it. Wesh was naturally the first to finish, followed by Dregg and Xumnuh. Obbun, Gauffrir, and Sabsreck were the next three to pass. Thanks to his Mortal Breath, Gazeen finished last.

Gazeen was rather pleased with his success. Although Meridian Opening tended to be easier for demons, opening all 113 was still an accomplishment worthy of praise, at least in the Sand Wraith Tribe. His celebration was sadly cut short by another lecture.

“Now that you’ve opened all your natural meridians you’re finally ready to start practicing my One Weapon Thousand Possibilities Style. You’ll find a circular plate of jade on the log cabin’s doorstep; it contains everything you need to know to start practicing my style up to Qi Transformation. I don’t expect you to actually cultivate that far right now though, just focus on Armament Bonding. Use the weapon you selected as your Armament or, if you have something better, you can use that.

Don’t worry about spending time while cultivating my style, treat this as an interlude. Without a strong grasp on my One Weapon Thousand Possibilities Style and significant progress in Armament Bonding you won’t be able to complete the fourth trial.”

I mentioned it in the previous chapter’s author’s note but I’ll say it here too. I messed up with chapters 15 and 16 by leaving the parts about Wesh out. I went back and edited those in this morning. It isn’t too important but if you want you can go reread those chapters.