Chapter 10: Chapter 8 - Learning The Saber
The first step was followed by a second, then a third. Then three steps back. "Look to your left," Teacher Xie barked sharply. Everyone looked, unsure what they were supposed to see. "Now right," he barked again, and again, everyone looked, still unsure what they were supposed to see. "When you began, you all stood in a neat line. Now look at you! Ragged and disorderly in just six steps!"
"Teacher Xie," Jun Ben said, his voice protesting at the perceived unfairness of the task. The young man possessed a wiry, athletic build that emphasized flexibility and speed over brute strength. Though one of the shorter boys, his slender frame hid corded muscle forged through long hours swinging blades. He moved with springy agility, often bouncing on the balls of his feet rather than standing still. "We aren't soldiers trained to move in formation. Staying in line wasn't part of the instruction. If we knew…"
"Idiot," Teacher Xie said, striking out with the pommel of his wooden saber, striking the young man in the gut and sending him sprawling in the dirt, staining the silk outfit he'd insisted on wearing despite their rough training conditions. "And weak as well," Teacher Xie said with scorn. "Someone tell me why Jun Ben is wrong," he said, scowling at the line of youths. "Jun Xiang," the teacher called, pointing at the young woman who'd woken Ao Wen this morning.
"Teacher Xie," the young woman said after a moment's pause. "We took three steps forward and three steps back. Even if our steps weren't the same length, we should have returned to where we started, properly in line."
"Good," the teacher said, gesturing for the unfortunate Jun Ben to stand and rejoin the others. "A warrior must master their own body before they can master terrain. You must master terrain before you master your surroundings. Only when you have taken control of your surroundings can you truly hunt your enemy. Today we will take steps. Follow my commands precisely. Failure to arrive where you started at the end of the sequence will be punished. Do not disappoint me!"
In the following two hours, a seemingly endless string of commands followed. Teacher Xie started with sequences eight steps long, then twelve, then sixteen! Each time someone failed to return properly to where they started, they were given ten breaths of time to complete ten push ups and return to position for the next sequence.
At the end of two hours the day had begun to grow warm though the sun still had a considerable distance to go before reaching its zenith. Sweat dripped from everyone's body, their clothes already becoming foul with the mixture of sweat and the dusty air. "Stop," Teacher Xie said at last. "You have the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn to return to camp for a meal. You are not permitted more than two cups of water. Do not return late!"
Exhausted, the eight students shuffled their way to the cook fire at the center of camp. Thoughts of warm congee and fluffy eggs filled many of their minds but the sight that greeted them differed significantly from the comfort food they'd hoped for.
"Eat up," an older woman with leathery skin and graying hair said as she passed out plates stacked high with cold scallion pancakes and strips of salty smoked goat's meat. "Pancakes first," she said as Jun Ben began gnawing at the dried goat's meat. "They go down quicker and you don't have much time."
Ao Wen followed the older woman's advice, quickly devouring the pancakes and gulping down a cup of water before tearing at the goat's meat. While the food might be simple, her body craved the salt and water more than anything. Stuffing the last strip of meat into her cheeks she started to jog back to Teacher Xie, still chewing as she went. This time, she refused to be late, even if it meant eating on the move!
Back at the training site, Ao Wen's jaw nearly dropped in amazement. Teacher Xie drove a black bladed saber into the earth as dark coppery energy swirled around him. Moments later, he withdrew the saber, pulling forth a pillar of solid stone two meters tall and half a meter in diameter. Six pillars already stood in a neat line where they had practiced earlier. Finally, he produced a ninth pillar, just as tall but twice as thick. By the time he finished, the rest of the students had gathered to watch.
"Every weapon art consists of innumerable minor techniques. Many of these techniques are shared across countless arts," Teacher Xie continued. "A horse stance is a horse stance, a mule kick is a mule kick. The techniques are the same. Arts begin to diverge in how they combine and utilize these minor techniques. Iron Boar Ax fighters use a bridging step to deflect an opponent's weapon with one ax before flowing from horse to forward stance to cleave an opponent. We do the same but without the bridging and blocking because the long saber has greater reach. In this way, a handful of techniques produce endless variations and fighting methods. For mortals, these foundations are already enough to dedicate a short lifetime to. What makes the fighting arts of cultivators different from the arts of mortals? Jun Yang," Teacher Xie asked, pointing at the tallest and most muscular of the gathered youths.
"The addition of martial energy?" Jun Yang answered hesitantly, unsure if he was correct or not.
"Half right," Teacher Xie said, his tone disappointed. "Jun Biyu," he said, pointing at Ao Wen. "What else?"
Ao Wen swallowed, her mouth instantly dry. "Legendary techniques?" she answered, recalling stories she'd heard about her great grandfather's adventures. "Named techniques of great power," she said with more confidence.
"Legendary techniques," Teacher Xie said with an ironic chuckle. "Only if you make yourself a legend using them. Are you going to become a legend Jun Biyu?"
"All paths lead to one summit," Ao Wen said, repeating what she had learned from her previous incarnation. "I will reach the summit," she said with determination she didn't know she possessed.
"Good," the teacher said with a smile. "You don't get to decide to become a legend or not. If your journey to the summit is filled with grand deeds, others will turn your story into a legend. If you chase fame, you will find your path winding away from the true summit. Jun Biyu is correct," he said, turning to the rest of the students. "Named techniques of great power that harness your martial energy are what make the fighting arts of cultivators different from the fighting arts of mortals. Today, you will experience the first named technique of the Obsidian Night Scorpion Saber Art."
Drawing his black bladed saber, Teacher Xie stood before the thick pillar, gathering a small swirl of coppery energy. Suddenly, his wrists spun the blade into a flat arc, striking the right side of the pillar before seeming to bounce away, striking the left side directly opposite the first strike. The energy waves from both sides met in the middle explosively, tearing the stone pillar in half, sending the upper half crashing to the ground.
"Obsidian Night Scorpion's First Form; Rending Pincer," Teacher Xie said to the gawking students. "Against a person, you can split them at the waist or cleanly sever the neck of even armored foes. Against giant beasts you may sever limbs, break tusks, even clip the horn of a dragon. To do this you must know your body and your blade. You must strike with speed and accuracy. If you are not fast enough, the energy of the first strike will disperse before the second strike arrives. If you are not accurate enough, the energy will not meet in the middle and you will fail to rend your opponent. Do you understand?"
"Yes Teacher," the students called.
"Good. You will face a pillar age practice what you have seen. Fast. Accurate. You must be both. Begin!"
Some of the students rushed quickly to a pillar, eager to replicate Teacher Xie's display of force. Jun Ben flailed rapidly at the pillar, producing a clatter of impact sounds but displaying none of the imposing elegance of Teacher Xie's perfect strikes. Jun Yang moved more slowly, slamming his wooden sword into the pillar with the strength of his muscles but his only result was to inflict greater damage on his wooden sword.
Seeing the boys struggle, Jun Xiang closed her eyes and moved slowly, visualizing Teacher Xie's perfect form as she tried to replicate his posture and movements precisely.
Ao Wen moved last, her eyes casting around the ground before picking up a soft piece of sandstone. Standing with her saber parallel to the ground, she used her wooden blade as a guide to scribe a series of reference rings around the pillar.
"Hey, isn't that cheating?" Jun Ben asked indignantly when he saw Ao Wen's actions. Teacher Xie raised his eyebrow but didn't comment, waiting for Ao Wen to respond.
"We have to be accurate," she said, glancing at Teacher Xie before continuing. "If a stonecutter needs to be precise, he will mark his stone with a guideline for his chisel to follow. The principal here is the same," she explained, her eyes focused on Teacher Xie, scouring his weathered face for the slightest indication of approval or disapproval.
"But you have multiple lines," Jun Yang said, pausing his heavy strikes. "Why not just one?"
"Because we have to be fast," Ao Wen added, as though it were obvious. "If I'm slow, I won't miss. The faster I go, the harder it is to be accurate. This way, when I miss, I can measure how much I missed by and in which direction."
"Your enemies won't have such convenient targets," Teacher Xie said sternly.
Ao Wen still couldn't tell from his tone whether he approved or not but she pressed forward anyway. "They won't stand still to be hit either," Ao Wen replied confidently. "Shouldn't I make the most of this opportunity to practice the best way I can?" When practicing stone carving, her father always warned her that once material was removed, it couldn't be restored. It was important to make the most of each practice stone, especially more expensive stones because once you struck in error, the damage was done.
"Then show me how you practice," Teacher Xie said, gesturing for her to begin. "Everyone else, get back to your own practice!"
Slowly, Ao Wen began to replicate the strikes she'd seen Teacher Xie make. Her first attempts were poor, the second strike landing between five and ten centimeters above or below where the first strike had. Seeing her results, she slowed even more, aiming at a specific line and then moving to hit the same line on the opposite side. After a few repetitions she started to realize the problem stemmed from her left side. On the right strike, her left wrist was above the right, but it was opposite on the left strike. If her left wrist stayed locked at the same height as a pivot point, her left strike would be above the right! But how should she correct the motion? Drop the left shoulder? Bend more at the elbow? What had Teacher Xie done?
Watching the students struggle to work things out as the sun rose higher in the sky, Teacher Xie smiled slightly. While none had reached the answer yet, they were starting to figure out their own paths to discovering it. They might be starting roughly, but if they could maintain this focus in the days to come, perhaps more than half of them would survive to return to the clan.
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