Chapter Nine: A Journey of a Thousand Miles

"The path of cultivation begins first with breathing, second with blood movement, and what comes after?" Spurred by Su Ziye's words, Liu Ru couldn't help but ask, her curiosity piqued.

Of course, what Liu Ru was truly eager to know was: what level had Su Ziye attained? The two of them seemed much alike in appearance. The boy before her looked no older than herself, just another youth not yet fully grown. Yet the gulf between them was unmeasurable.

"Internal breath, blood movement, meridian shifting, and wholeness—these are the four stages of the Realm of Investigation. No need to reach too far too soon; just follow the steps and cultivate steadily," Su Ziye said, gazing calmly at Liu Ru.

"And what about you?" Liu Ru pressed, unable to resist.

Su Ziye chuckled, reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. With a hint of playfulness in his expression, he replied, "You'll find out in time."

…

…

The journey of cultivation is both lofty and arduous.

Apart from the fifteen days spent on breathing exercises, during which Liu Ru and Su Ziye remained stationary amidst the snowy mountains, the rest of their days were spent traveling. As Su Ziye had explained, he was bound for a place far, far away—so the road would be long indeed. Liu Ru wondered if bringing her along would make them late, but Su Ziye merely smiled and said that without her, he would surely arrive early. Walking itself was a form of cultivation, just as Liu Ru never imagined she could traverse such a great distance.

They set out from the borders of the Sterling Empire, first entering the endless snow-capped mountains. Upon those peaks, Liu Ru completed her initial cultivation. After fifteen days, Su Ziye led her down from the mountains.

Below lay a barren, icy tundra. Coniferous forests and mossy permafrost stretched for hundreds of miles, with scarcely a soul in sight. Yet Liu Ru covered nearly two hundred miles each day.

She need not worry about food; Su Ziye always managed to hunt game, and even if luck failed him, he seemed to possess an inexhaustible supply of provisions. Since cultivating the breathing method, as long as she had enough to eat, Liu Ru never feared the cold—she felt nearly boundless strength, so long as there was endless food to fuel her.

Then, Liu Ru began to practice the second stage known as blood movement.

As Su Ziye had said, the internal breath stage was already formidable, but its shortcomings were clear—the greatest being its lack of endurance. Hunger came quickly. All the girl's energy was drawn from food; the internal breath stage efficiently burned these calories into power, which did not linger in the body, with any excess expelled as heat.

Blood movement arose to remedy this flaw. Liu Ru had once questioned why the focus was on blood—according to her logic, eating built muscle, so wouldn't it be more reliable to store energy in muscle or bone rather than blood?

Su Ziye's answer was brief: Blood flows throughout the body, supplying energy to every extremity and organ, mobilizing the fastest and most effectively.

Just as the first step of cultivation is breathing, everything must proceed from the simple to the complex, advancing gradually and methodically. If she were told now to absorb the essence of sun and moon for cultivation, she would fail—what use would that be?

So Liu Ru began to learn blood movement.

Compared to internal breath's pain and rapid progress, blood movement seemed to require slow, patient work. Following Su Ziye's method, Liu Ru continued her daily breathing exercises, but now she consciously directed the energy gained from food into her blood. Su Ziye even taught her human circulatory diagrams, helping her understand how to adjust blood flow. This stage was a gradual process of increasing the weight and speed of her blood.

When mastered, blood movement would allow, as with Su Ziye, a single drop of blood to contain tremendous energy—a circulating network that supplies and recycles energy throughout the body.

Through the cycle of eating, breathing, and traveling, Liu Ru gradually felt her endurance grow stronger. Though her physique changed little, her strength slowly increased. When she looked at Su Ziye, the mysterious power he displayed became just a little less inscrutable.

Of course, much remained beyond her comprehension. Yet at last Liu Ru realized that Su Ziye, too, was a cultivator; what she was doing now, he had once done himself.

If so, what kind of place was Nightleaf Academy, the destination Su Ziye sought? Was there still something for a person like him to learn? He could instruct her with ease—could such a one still be a student?

With these thoughts, Liu Ru pressed onward day by day. Walking, cultivating, growing stronger.

A month passed before Liu Ru and Su Ziye finally emerged from the boundless icy plains and arrived at the first city of humankind.

Upon entering the city, Liu Ru enjoyed a comfortable hot bath at last.

Everyone in this city spoke a language unfamiliar to Liu Ru, but over the past month, Su Ziye had never neglected to teach her this new tongue. Only now did Liu Ru truly feel it: she had long since left her homeland, entering a new country.

Its name: the Empire of Lanleaf.

…

…

Within the inn of this city, Liu Ru completed another cycle of cultivation.

"You know what you're here for now, don't you?" Su Ziye asked, smiling at Liu Ru.

That gentle smile always seemed to invite closeness, but Liu Ru, having seen it so often, knew it was part of his mask.

Liu Ru nodded silently.

"Do you really know?" Su Ziye seemed a little surprised.

Liu Ru looked at him. "You want me to take the Nightleaf Academy entrance exam with you, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't go to such lengths to teach me cultivation."

"But your talent for cultivation is excellent, and your resolve is among the strongest I've seen," Su Ziye said with a faint smile. "Someone like you would be wasted if you did not pursue cultivation."

"But that's not why you chose me," Liu Ru said softly.

"And what is the reason I chose you?" Su Ziye asked.

Liu Ru looked up at the ceiling.

"I have no past, right?" she replied.

Su Ziye's eyes narrowed. He gazed at Liu Ru, then finally sighed. "You're a bit cleverer than I'd expected. But that's all right—the smarter you are, the happier I am."

"Yes, now you are also a nobody," he said.

Liu Ru nodded quietly. "What do you want me to do for you?"

"We are already very close to our destination."

"You didn't say it before, but now it seems you can."

Su Ziye nodded, looking at the girl before him. "I want you to become me. Can you?"