I slowly drew the connecting lines between the triangles, channeling a steady stream of qi to make sure that the flow of energy would be stable. The formation wasn't complicated, but it had to be resilient—each line had to be exact, each angle precise.
"Done," I announced, standing back to survey my work.
The formation covered a circular area perhaps twelve feet in diater, its chalk lines stark white against the dark earth. The three foundation triangles were placed at perfect 120-degree intervals to one another, their points facing in to create a stable energy matrix.
"Quite neat," Elder Chen Yong muttered. "Hong Yue, what do you think?"
The massive bear leaned forward, her giant head almost touching the ground as she examined my work. Her shiny eyes went over every line of the formation with incredible attention to detail.
After a mont, she straightened up and made a series of gestures that seed to indicate grudging approval, followed by cracking her knuckles ominously.
"Shall we begin?" Elder Chen Yong stepped into the formation circle, gesturing for to join him. "Rember, ten seconds is all you need."
I moved to stand beside him, trying to project more confidence than I felt. "Right. Ten seconds. Against a ninth-stage beast pretending to be third-stage. Simple."
Hong Yue's grin widened as she backed up several paces, dropping into what looked disturbingly like a professional fighting stance.
"Ready?" Elder Chen Yong asked as he raised his hand.
I nodded, channeling qi into the formation. The chalk lines began to glow with a soft white light as the barrier took shape, a translucent do of energy rising around us.
"Begin!"
Hong Yue didn't waste any ti. One mont she was standing there, the next she was charging straight at us like an avalanche of red fur and killing intent. Even suppressed to third-stage, the spiritual pressure rolling off her was impressive.
The barrier flared as her massive paw slamd into it. The impact sent vibrations through the ground beneath our feet, but the formation held. Barely a second had passed.
Hong Yue's eyes narrowed. She started to circle the barrier, testing it with quick jabs from all angles. Each impact sent ripples through the energy field, but the triangular support structure distributed the force evenly, preventing any one point from taking too much stress.
"Four seconds," Elder Chen Yong announced cheerfully, taking another drink. "Holding up nicely so far."
Hong Yue seed to take that as a challenge. She reared up on her hind legs, towering over the barrier, and brought both front paws down in an overhead smash that would have crushed a small house. The impact made the barrier flash blindingly bright, and I felt the strain in my qi channels as the formation struggled to maintain integrity.
"Six seconds! Nearly there!"
The massive bear dropped back to all fours and began a rapid series of strikes, her paws moving faster than sothing that size had any right to move. Each hit ca from a different angle, testing for weak points in the barrier's structure.
"Eight seconds!"
My confidence started to grow. The formation was holding. Two more seconds and—
Hong Yue's grin suddenly turned wicked. Her eyes flashed, and I felt the spiritual pressure around her spike sharply.
"Oh no," I muttered as Hong Yue's aura surged to fourth-stage levels.
The bear's next strike hit like a teor. The barrier shattered with a sound like breaking glass, chalk lines disintegrating as the formation collapsed. Hong Yue's massive paw stopped just inches from my face, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her fur.
"Nine point eight seconds," Elder Chen Yong announced. "That's naughty, Hong Yue."
The enormous bear sat back on her haunches, looking entirely too pleased with herself. She made a series of gestures that seed to say "I have no idea what you're talking about" while maintaining the most innocent expression I've ever seen on a bear's face.
"She did that on purpose!" I pointed at the bear.
Elder Chen Yong laughed. "True, but don't worry, you still passed. The requirent was to hold against a third-stage beast for ten seconds. The fact that Hong Yue had to go to fourth-stage to break it is actually quite impressive for a first attempt."
He reached into his robes and pulled out what looked like a jar of golden liquid. "Here you go, you troublemaker. Paynt for a job well done."
Hong Yue's eyes lit up at the sight of the spiritual honey. She delicately plucked the jar from the elder's hand with two massive claws, displaying surprising dexterity for sothing her size. Then she unscrewed the lid and tilted the entire jar into her mouth.
The sight of a twenty-foot-tall spiritual bear daintily licking honey from her claws while making appreciative humming sounds was... surreal, to say the least.
As Elder Chen Yong raised his hand to transport us back, Hong Yue caught my eye. She made a quick series of gestures: first pointing at , then miming a much more violent barrier-breaking sequence, followed by an exaggerated sad face.
The ssage was clear - next ti, she wouldn't go so easy on .
The world compressed around us, that familiar spatial distortion effect taking hold. When reality settled back into place, we were once again in the elder's quarters.
"Now then," he said, settling into one of the comfortable chairs. "I believe it's ti for your end of the bargain."
I nodded, already knowing what he wanted to see. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused inward, reaching for that familiar presence in my inner world. The blue sun's light was constant, eternal, its energy both comforting and dangerous.
Carefully, I drew upon its power, feeling it flow through my body. When I opened my eyes, I knew they would be glowing with that distinctive blue light. A pale azure aura began to manifest around , its nature fundantally different from normal spiritual energy.
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The elder began pulling bottles from thin air, downing them one after another with incredible speed.
"Fasshhhinating!" he exclaid, swaying slightly as he circled , though his spiritual sense remained razor-sharp as it probed the aura around . True to his word, he didn't attempt to penetrate my body's defenses. "The... the energy... structure! Yesh, that's the word. 'S like qi, but also not like qi. The... the resonance…is all wrong. Or right. But differently right!"
He stumbled slightly, caught himself, then took another long drink. "Y'know what's really weird though? Your head! Should be all..." he made an exploding gesture with his free hand, nearly dropping his bottle, "BOOM! But it's not! Foreign energy like this usually makes cultivators go all cuckoo in the head. Even the nice energies! But you're fine! Probably. Are you fine? How many fingers am I holding up?"
He wasn't holding up any fingers, just another wine bottle.
I remained silent, mories of the Two Suns' priests flashing through my mind. I'd seen firsthand what happened when people were overwheld by the blue sun's power - the religious fervor, the obsession, the eventual descent into zealotry.
"Reminds ..." he hiccupped, "reminds of them ancient bloodlines. But those're usually all..." he made a series of increasingly elaborate hand gestures that nearly caused him to fall over, "specific. Transformations an' stuff. This is more... more..." he squinted, searching for the word, "fundy-ntal! Raw power! But weird raw power!" He peered closely at sothing only he could see. "An' it's almost like... like it's alive! Got its own brain going on..."
I kept my expression neutral, but I felt my pulse quicken slightly. He was right, both suns seed to have their own personalities.
"An' the healing!" he continued enthusiastically, now talking to a nearby wine rack. "Most healing is all neat an' tidy, everything in its proper place. But this! This just goes wherever it wants! Sees sothing broken an' goes 'pfft, I can do better than that!' Makes improvents! Very cheeky energy you've got there, very cheeky indeed..."
Before he could pursue that line of thought further, I felt the blue sun's energy recede. The aura faded, my eyes returning to their normal brown color.
"Is…that it?" he hiccuped.
I nodded. "I can only maintain it temporarily."
"Hmph." He studied for a mont longer, then brightened as a new thought struck him. "Well! Ti to process all thish... information!" He reached into his robes and pulled out a bottle that looked different from his usual wine - the liquid inside seed to shift and swirl with its own inner light.
"Been shavin' this one," he announced proudly, holding it up to the light. "Speshul occasion wine! An' this definitely counts as speshul!"
"About our lessons," I prompted, not wanting him to get too distracted by his drinking plans.
"Lesshons? Oh! Right!" He attempted to wave dismissively but mostly just wobbled in place. "Once a week! Plenty of ti for practice... lots of books in the library... very good books. Can't do more often 'cause I'm very busy. Very very busy."
I raised an eyebrow. "Too busy being drunk or pretending to be a crippled rchant?"
He drew himself up with exaggerated offense, which caused him to stumble backward slightly. "I'll have you know..." he declared, pointing at a spot about two feet to my left, "that being a fake cripple is very hard work! Lots of... of acting! And running a business! Do you know how much math that involves? So much math." He brightened, holding up his special bottle. "But right now, gotta do important research on your weird energy! This particular vintage will help think better. Yes, that's definitely it!"
I couldn't help but smile. For all his apparent laziness, I was starting to suspect that Elder Chen Yong's carefree attitude was at least partially an act. No one achieved his level of power without serious dedication, drunk or not.
"Sa ti next week then?" I asked.
"Yesh!" he nodded, already uncorking his precious bottle. "Don't forget to practice! And try not to..." he hiccupped, "not to get into too much trouble before then." He paused, squinting thoughtfully. "Though given what I've heard 'bout your adventures so far, that ship's probably already sailed. Crashed. Whatever ships do when they're troubleso."
Before I could defend myself, he waved his hand. The world twisted, and suddenly I was standing in one of the outer sect's courtyards. The afternoon sun was starting to set, casting long shadows across the stone paths.
"Master, that was an…interesting first lesson."
I snorted. "That's one way to put it. Though I have to admit, I didn't expect the giant bear."
"At least she seed to like you."
"You call that liking soone? She spent half the ti threatening to eat !"
"I think she enjoyed the entertainnt value you provided."
"Glad I could amuse her," I muttered, but there was no real annoyance in it.
Despite the sowhat terrifying test, I had to admit the whole experience had been oddly fun. How many disciples could say they'd had their formation tested by a ninth-stage beast who liked to do cody routines?
As I headed back toward my quarters, I was already planning how to improve the barrier formation. Next ti Hong Yue wouldn't break it so easily, even if she did cheat again.
"Master," Azure interrupted my thoughts, "weren't you supposed to et Wei Lin and Lin i for dinner?"
I stopped mid-step, suddenly rembering the plans we'd made earlier. "What ti is it?"
"Based on the sun's position... about half an hour past when you were supposed to et them."
"Why didn't you remind earlier?!"
"I was rather distracted by the giant bear trying to crush us," Azure replied. "Besides, you're the one who made the plans."
I broke into a run, heading for the disciples' dining hall.
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