Quan was wrestling with Rukh Khan and Zinta at the edge of the woods behind Asha's house as the sun was starting to rise. They had built a small enclosure for the tigers to claim as their own and shelter at night. In the past months, they had grown tremendously, reaching almost mid-thigh when they ran beside him. They would stalk up to jump him then run away as fast they could when he turned to grab them.

"Once again, shouldn't you be practicing?" Asha joked as she approached in her training outfit, though with perfect hair and poise despite the early hour. As soon as she spoke, Zinta bounced over to Asha instead of Quan.

“It’s early! A little time to relax does wonders for you,” he laughed, “besides, Rukh is starting to talk to me. That deserves some playtime.”

“Verbally or mentally?” Asha asked.

“Just in my mind,” Quan said, “No Disney talking yet.”

“Zinta has spoken as well, though I’m not sure what Disney talking is.”

“Sorry, old-world reference.”

Asha sat beside Zinta and offered her a bone with stands of meat still attached. They engaged in a tug of war in the early morning for a few minutes before Asha spoke again.

“I wanted to follow up on our conversation yesterday before we got interrupted by your breakthrough,” Asha announced.

“I was kind of hoping to talk to Mistress Trang before I brought it up with you since the books she’s been having me read are part of what led me to it.” Quan started. “So it’s just a theory at this point, I lack enough facts to really support it, but I think it bears further investigation before saying it’s true or false. Right now, there are more than a few wild speculations in my theory.

“Everyone has been saying there might be war since I joined this sect. Whenever something bad happens, someone hints at the Chao Kingdom doing something sneaky. They are testing the new king, everyone says, something every new king gets when they inherit the throne.

"Then I found out he became king fifty years ago. That blew my mind. The new king had been ruling for fifty years. I spent a lot of time rereading books and really considering the impacts of long life. Not just the king, but the entire ruling class, most of the bureaucracy as well, I imagine.

"Then I started to imagine what I'd do if I was going to live forever and was super patient. How would I mess with my neighbours if I was king or spymaster?

"When you read the history, cultivators have these famous duels for stupid reasons. Nations rise and fall on a whim sometimes. Face is everything to so many, and all that distraction would be so easy to hide in.

"So here I am, Master spymaster. I look for people that won't advance in cultivation anymore but are loyal and long-lived. I find ways to insert them in positions in the nations around me. They can start small and work up. They have time. Now my rival is paying the expensive upkeep on my cultivator, and I have an agent. That agent might sit for 100 years, but I'm patient. Win all around for me.

"Now we have a new king. He sends out a boatload of changes when he takes the throne. Tries to reform some things like the tax code to save money. So I have my agents slip in a notice to the cities. Keep offering the cultivation bonus to parents, but stop searching for kids, cancel the annual event. Maybe in another city, they are told to raise the requirement.

"I bet there are a thousand small orders that could get sent and lost in the shuffle that only matter as they add up. We live on the edge of cultivated lands. Why aren't we visited by a stream of wandering cultivators testing themselves beyond the peaceful lands? It used to be one of the sect's main incomes, according to Mistress Trang.

"So maybe I'm wrong, but I see holes in the sect. And I think I see them because I have fresh eyes. Changes were made slow and steady, so people didn't notice it, kind of slowly boiling water you're standing in. One degree at a time, and it doesn't feel too hot till you're dead. But I think someone has been weakening the sect, and probably at least this area of the kingdom for quite a long time."

Asha closed her eyes. "You've made such a huge theory based on very little. There could be so many other reasons."

"Oh, I know, it needs someone to go look for facts to either prove it right or kill the idea dead. There is one more part to my conspiracy theory."

"The Ki is increasing all around us. I thought it might be my fault by releasing the remnant."

"No, that's an issue we've been noticing for a while. Your remnant created that pool at best. It didn't have the power to saturate the whole region."

"Perfect, so what if the problem started in the kingdom beside us?" Quan asked. "I mean, it's not even a problem except we have to adjust. It'll help everyone cultivate better, and more children will be able to learn. Basically, the area goes up in value."

"It becomes a buy low sell high situation. Suppose they know what's going to happen because it spread from them. They invade and claim the land before the kingdom is ready. Or because the kingdom doesn't think this region is worth the cost to defend, then its value goes up."

"Okay, now you've really pushed the limits of a believable story. We have no idea what the cause is, let alone assume they caused it."

"I didn't say they caused it, just experienced it first and had a chance to study and predict it already."

"So a brilliant patient spymaster and a land about to jump in value."

"Wow, way to simplify it!" Quan protested.

Asha shook her head, "That's one hell of a theory with very little to support it."

"I agree. It’s why I haven't said anything sooner. I'm not even sure how we could investigate."

"The sect isn't part of the government. We are, at best, an add-on to the military except those that become powerhouses. As a sect, get some support from the kingdom but not enough to have any real obligation," Asha explained. "Which also means we can't go investigating crazy theories. I can get a few masters, maybe an elder, to go town with me and look into the compensation issue. So I suppose that's step one. If you're right on that, we will press hard to find out why and see where it leads."

"If it leads nowhere, I expect you to reconsider your theories."

"Theories should always be reconsidered with new facts!" Quan said happily. "Honestly, you're taking this way better than I imagined."

"I'm reserving judgment for now. That's all."

"Fair enough, may I ask some questions about the dao now?"

"Go ahead."

"Is there a list somewhere of all the dao? Helpfully split into power tiers, perhaps."

"No, nothing so simple and easy. Nearly everyone's first insights are into one of the nine elements they have an aptitude for. As I said yesterday, it will be some small part of the whole. Perhaps spark for fire or heavy for earth. You can't really pick what you get beyond what you consider. Inspiration strikes as it wants, and seldom at our will."

"Some stay with that first dao element or weapon trying to become true masters of it, and many find power that way. Others will later gain insight into a deeper dao and focus on it."

"What are the deeper dao? Are they more powerful?"

"Some say they are. I think it's a matter of insight. The deeper dao usually are more of a concept: Death, life, time. Things of that nature. Some say there is a further tier of godly daos that maybe your remnant friend had access to, but if so, I've no idea what. It might be false too."

"Hmm, maybe the four fundamental forces,”' Quan mused. Could I skip straight to them? Would Einstein be a god if he was here?

“It seems like the knowledge of my world will help here. I have many insights into how things work that aren’t explained here. I’m not an expert, but I know a bit about thermodynamics, water cycle, non-Newtonian fluids, etc. Those have to give me some dao! I’ll start there!” Quan declared.

“Good luck with that. We’ll see how you do. But for now, Reset.”