Present - The Immortal Vale - Talen

“Concentrate Talen,” shouted Master Wu.

Talen ducked under the kick aimed at his head, narrowly missing getting knocked over for the fifth time this morning.

Pulling Kai up from the ground as fast as he could, he initiated his Unmovable skill as his training partner, Mei Ling, attempted to sweep his legs out from underneath him.

A dull thud, accompanied by some choice words, showed she hadn’t spotted him engaging his wood clan skill. She stood up, all her weight on her other leg, while preparing to continue the fight.

“Okay, stand down,” Master Wu said. “Go and put some Dragon Balm on your ankle Mei Ling.” He waved his daughter toward the bench at the side of the courtyard. “Talen, that was better. You still have a long way to go, but at least you’re on your feet for a change.”

Scowling, Mei Ling, stalked over to the bench and grabbed the bottle of foul-smelling green gel that was the Dragon Balm. So far this morning Talen had been the only one to need the healing ointment. He still had the residue of it on his neck, back and both his upper arms, so it was time someone else needed to use it.

Mei Ling’s nose turned up as she opened the bottle. Trying and failing to smother a cough, she turned her head away from the smell and spread the sticky gel liberally over her right ankle. A tiny sigh escaped her lips as the heat from the gel got to work.

“Remind me what level you are in your cultivation studies,” Master Wu said, pulling Talen out of his smug satisfaction at finally having bested Mei Ling.

“Level 2 sifu,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

“Well you’re doing better than I expected against a level 11 opponent.” Master Wu nodded, roughly patting the young man’s right shoulder.

Talen winced at the heavy touch. He’d been training with Master Wu and Mei Ling for the last seven days and had the bruises to prove it.

“We’ll get you up to Mei Ling’s level soon enough,” Master Wu said, turning to include his daughter in the conversation. “Now, I want you both practicing Clouds Blowing in the Wind.”

With a groan Mei Ling got up from the bench and joined Talen in the center of the courtyard.

“Full horse stance,” Master Wu barked as she tried to get away with an easier version.

Even after only a week of working with his new teacher, Talen could have told her there was no possibility of getting away with anything. Master Wu’s eyesight seemed to be better than the legendary great eagles that lived at the top of Sun Long Shan.

They both spread their feet apart and sunk down until their thighs were parallel to the ground. Focusing on their breathing, they started moving their hands in unison, one after the other in front of their faces.

“Keep going until I come back,” Master Wu said, seemingly satisfied we were both getting it correct.

He walked away to talk to one of the servants who stood to the side waiting to be noticed.

“Bet I can hold this longer than you can,” Mei Ling whispered, just loud enough for Talen to hear.

Talen tried to ignore her and stay focused on the exercise, but his legs were already burning slightly. He’d never trained this hard before. Growing up, to the shame of his entire family, he hadn’t been able to cultivate Kai. All of the teachers eventually abandoned him as a lost cause, leaving him to simply work on the farm and remain a level 1 cultivator. Knowing it was a death sentence and not wanting to lose a functioning member of his village, the Wood clan had chosen him as their representative in the Imperial Games. He’d been sent to a new realm, the Immortal Vale, to find the Eternity Stone and while there something had shifted. He had no idea how it had happened, but he’d miraculously advanced to level 2 and been offered the opportunity to become the apprentice to the immortal Master Han. Since then, everyone seemed intent on pushing him to his limits and beyond.

He’d been told they’d make a fighter out of him despite the slow start, he just had to trust Master Wu and follow his training. At this rate, however, he wondered if he’d survive that long.

“I heard that Mei Ling,” Master Wu shouted without turning around. “I will give you both twice the time I was going to let you practice, just so you can prove yourself.”

Talen groaned quietly and turned his head to pull a face at Mei Ling. She was going to be the death of him.

His left leg started to tremble and little drops of sweat ran down the sides of his face. He clenched his jaw. He couldn’t let her win this easily, especially since this extended practice time was all her fault. Pulling Kai from the earth up through his feet, he concentrated on circulating it into his legs to make them stronger, like he’d been taught. A tingling wave of freshness and warmth enveloped his legs and they stopped shaking. He went back to focusing on his breathing, and gathering and circulating Kai. It was the only way he had a hope of beating Mei Ling.

***

“You’re both still going, good,” Master Wu said, as he returned from wherever the servant had taken him and sat down on a nearby bench. “Well, don’t stop now. After all, I wouldn’t want to put an end to your challenge.”

Despite his best efforts Talen’s legs were now shaking uncontrollably. Mei Ling also appeared to be struggling as well, giving him the hope that he might outlast her.

Talen desperately tried to pull in more Kai through his feet in an effort to stabilize his legs. His channels were already full however, so nothing happened. The burning sensation flared, spreading from his thighs, up his back and into his arms. Refusing to hold him up any longer, Talen’s legs collapsed and he fell into a heap on the stone courtyard.

“Yes.” Mei Ling punched the air above her head and went to stand up.

“Not so fast daughter,” Master Wu said, frowning at her. “I think we should see just how long you can last.”

“Yes sifu.” She bowed her head, hoping to hide the glint in her eyes from her trainer.

A few seconds later her legs began to tremble. Before she could fall over, probably more gracefully than Talen had, Master Wu stood up and walked toward her.

“Why are you pretending to have run out of Kai? Or did you forget your trainer can see how much you have left?” Master Wu looked down at his daughter.

He could see our Kai? That was news to me.

“You will stay in horse stance and meditate on why you feel the need to dishonor your teacher,” Master Wu said. “You may finish when the dinner bell rings.”

With that he walked out of the courtyard, leaving Mei Ling standing solidly in horse stance, mouth and eyes wide open.

The dinner bell was ages away, easily ten times longer than Talen had managed to hold the stance. Master Wu would have judged her reserves correctly, however, pushing her just beyond what she could manage and forcing his daughter to push past her limits. It was a very clear reminder of just how far Talen had to go if he wanted to beat his training partner. Before he could say anything, a servant rushed out toward them.

“Master Han has requested your presence in his study, honored student,” he said, bowing deeply.

Talen got to his feet and with one last glance at Mei Ling, he followed the servant away from the training courtyard.

Despite the progress he’d achieved in the week since the Imperial Games, Talen still didn’t understand why the immortal Master Han wanted him for an apprentice. Clearly Mei Ling, or just about anyone else, was a better choice than him. She was already at level 11, the highest cultivation level anyone could get to. To add insult to injury, she’d even proven she could beat him in a fight with her eyes closed. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing the servant to glance back and beckon him onward. What if being the immortal’s apprentice was just another death sentence? A job only given to someone he could afford to lose? Talen shook his head. That couldn’t be it. He had no reason not to trust the kindly gentleman and take him at his word. Talen sighed. Even if he was right, he could at least not keep his new master waiting. He started walking again and the relieved servant ran on in front of him trying, and failing, to speed Talen up.

***

“Ah good,” Master Han said as the servant ushered Talen into his study. “Sit.”

He waved his hand at the space next to him and a plain wooden chair appeared out of thin air. Walking over, Talen bowed low before sitting down.

“It’s been a week since we last talked. I know you’ve had some training from Master Wu so you have a better idea of what will be involved on the martial side of things if you do agree to become my apprentice. He has told me you are doing well and he’s very happy with what you’ve learned.” Master Han smiled.

Talen’s mouth dropped open briefly before he remembered who sat opposite him. He was still only level 2 and the only thing he’d managed to do all week was get beaten up by Mei Ling. Maybe immortals didn’t know everything after all.

Master Han chuckled as he stood up. Patting Talen kindly on the shoulder, the older man began to walk around the room.

“I think it’s now time for you to understand a little more about the cultivation side of things,” he said. “After that I will be asking for your decision because if you do desire to become my apprentice, there are a lot of things we will both need to do to prepare for the formal apprentice ceremony.”

Master Han stopped walking and turned to look at Talen. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water Talen finally came to a decision and dropped his head briefly. While Master Han had expressed his dislike of formalities before, it was too much to expect a simple farmer to be comfortable treating one of the great immortals like an equal, even if he had requested it. Master Han graciously took Talen’s nod as a signal to continue.

“What I’m about to tell you is unknown to anyone outside of the immortals and those who choose to dedicate their lives to assisting us,” he said, sitting back down again. “While it isn’t secret knowledge, I would prefer you told no one outside of this castle what I’m about to tell you.”

“Of course, Master Han,” Talen said, attempting to bow without getting out of his chair.

“What, as far as you know, is the highest cultivation level?” He looked at the young man next to him.

“Level 11. No one has ever advanced beyond that no matter how much cultivation and meditation they do. Even a small child knows that,” Talen blurted out, looking Master Han straight in the eyes and completely forgetting all formalities. “Honored immortal,” he added, his face turning bright red as he belatedly remembered who he was talking to.

Talen dropped his gaze and started absentmindedly rubbing a small black mark on the back of his left hand. Master Han glanced briefly down at the mark. It was a circle inside a small triangle. His eyebrows rose up slightly.

“Well, even small children have been known to be wrong about things,” Master Han said, pausing until Talen looked back up. “The highest level anyone can reach is actually level 33.”

Talen’s mouth dropped open again.

“You will have to go through three different ceremonies to get there, as well as reorganizing your Kai, purifying yourself and learning new cultivation skills at each stage. None of it will be easy to do, however, nothing worthwhile ever is,” the immortal said. “So, I need to know if you are willing to undergo these challenges and formally become my apprentice.”