Hou Lei led Ishin through the corridors of the Eight Oaths Resolve School until they arrived at a narrow hallway lined with wooden walls and periodic sliding doors. The hallway stretched on for nearly a hundred feet. One door slid open, and a tired-looking disciple stepped out into the hallway, yawning. His hair was disheveled, and he looked a year younger than Ishin. Ishin and Hou Lei had to press themselves against the wall to make enough space for the young disciple to pass.

  Once the hallway was clear again, Hou Lei explained, “This is the school’s Reprieve Barracks.” He walked over to a door and slid it open. Peering inside, Ishin saw that it contained only a small resting place with a straw mattress and pillow. There was just enough space to lie down—barely enough to sit up.

  Hou Lei tapped the wooden space beneath the bed. The application of pressure caused the wooden planks to extend out, revealing a small cubby the same size as the sleeping quarters. “You can keep your stuff in here. It’s not large, but disciples who train at late hours will often sleep here instead of traveling back home. You can stay here while you're with the school.”

  “Is this where you stay?”

  “Not at all,” Hou Lei laughed. “I stay at my family’s house elsewhere in the quarter. Fortunately, it’s only a few blocks from here, so it doesn’t take long for me to come and go.” He pointed a finger at the open storage space. “Why don’t you put your stuff away, and then we can talk more. I hope this will suffice for your needs.”

  “Thank you,” Ishin said, placing his pack into the cubby. After a quick examination, he was pleased to find that it was long enough for his spear to fit as well. It’s more than enough. Any free bed will work.

  “Good. For meals, the school has a dining hall at the northern end with free food for disciples. Nothing fancy—just rice, soup, and fish.”

  That sounded like more than enough for Ishin. “That is very generous of the school.” The accommodations were similar to the Daihu Tribe’s Martial Hall, but that had been sponsored by the tribe. I wonder how the Eight Oaths Resolve School can afford to provide such free services?

  “Pardon me, but is the school sponsored by the city or a clan?”

  Hou Lei barked a laugh. “Of course not, Junior Brother Ishin. Why do you ask?”

  Ishin jabbed a thumb at his new sleeping quarters. “This place, and the free food you mentioned. Senior Brother, how can the school afford to provide these if no one supports it?”

  “Ah,” Hou Lei said in understanding. “It’s a school, Junior Brother. The students pay a fair tuition in exchange for the training.” He looked at Ishin and shrugged. “Most of the time, at least. If the Grand Master approves, then tuition can be waived, but that’s how the school earns money.”

  “I see.” That made a lot of sense, and Ishin was surprised he hadn’t realized it earlier. “So the school’s grand master is Senior Sister Zhu’s grandfather, and she’s going to ask him to forgo my tuition while I’m here.”

  “Pretty much,” Hou Lei confirmed. “Rhee has a good relationship with her grandfather, so I’m sure she’ll get it approved.” A white-toothed grin spread across his face. “And she put me in charge of your training! Isn’t that exciting?!”

  “It is,” Ishin offered. In truth, he was happy to receive any tutelage he could—and Hou Lei was stronger than him by two stages. He only had one concern. “But Senior Brother Hou—”

  “Call me Senior Brother Lei,” Hou Lei interjected. “Actually, you can forgo the honorific altogether. I’m the one who found you, after all. Address me as Hou Lei!”

  “Okay,” Ishin said gratefully. “Feel free to address me as Ro Ishin, if you wish.”

  “Excellent!”

  Despite only knowing Hou Lei for two days, Ishin liked the man. It felt like they had already become friends, somehow. “Hou Lei, what training regimen did you have in mind? Are you able to offer any guidance on lightning techniques?”

  Slowly shaking his head, Hou Lei replied, “Not at all.” He held up a strong fist. “I’m a blood cultivator, so you’ll have to learn that on your own. Instead,” he pounded his fist against his palm, “I’ll teach you how to fight!”

  Uh huh. Ishin struggled to phrase his response without offending Hou Lei. “Senior—Hou Lei, I pursue the Spear Dao. Do you have any pointers to share with me on the Dao?”

  “None at all,” Hou Lei replied with strange enthusiasm.

  Ishin expected as much. “Then what will you—”

  “Your fists!” Hou Lei declared, as though it were obvious.

  “My fists?”

  “Your fists!” Taking a step toward Ishin, Hou Lei elaborated, “I noticed in all your fights, both here and at the Dueling Pit yesterday, that you primarily use your spear. That’s a fine weapon!” He held up a finger. “But I also saw that you have a habit of discarding your spear when the need arises. In fact, in all three of your fights, you lost your spear at some point. It’ll be good to train you in unarmed combat so that you’re not useless without it!”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Ishin opened his mouth to respond, then closed it, thinking. He’s right. I did lose my spear in all of my previous fights—even if willingly. Twice I did so to win, and it worked. But if I’d missed or my opponent had dodged, I would have been left at a severe disadvantage. I wouldn’t have noticed this flaw in my style on my own—but Hou Lei did.

  Offering a deep bow, Ishin said, “I welcome your tutelage.”

  “Great! I’ll reserve a training courtyard, and we’ll start at dawn tomorrow!”

  The day passed quickly. Ishin spent the rest of it exploring the Eight Oaths Resolve School, finding the dining hall and the various training rooms. He was pleased to discover that the school possessed an impressive armory—but disappointed to learn that, as a probationary disciple, he was not allowed to borrow any of the weapons.

  He spent the remainder of the day cultivating, but as expected, there was very little ambient lightning qi on the school grounds.

  At sunrise the next day, Ishin was dressed and ready for his first training session with Hou Lei. He wore his tribal leathers, intending to train in the same garb he would fight in. When Hou Lei arrived at the Reprieve Barracks, a bundle tucked under his arm, he burst into laughter at the sight.

  “I love your warrior spirit, but you don’t need to wear those.” He handed Ishin the bundle, which turned out to be a set of cultivator’s robes in the blue and orange colors of the Eight Oaths Resolve Martial School.

  “You obtained robes for me already?” Ishin had expected it to take days.

  “You’re one of us now! Even if a probationary disciple, you should still wear our school’s colors with pride. Those are also what you’ll be wearing during the tournament, so best to get used to them now.”

  Ishin nodded in agreement. “Thank you, Hou Lei. Give me a moment to change.”

  He stepped away to the shared bathroom within the Reprieve Barracks. A minute later, he returned dressed in the blue and orange cultivator robes, his previous warrior leathers in hand. He quickly returned the leathers to his cubby and reached for his spear.

  “You won’t need that today, Ro Ishin.” Hou Lei smacked his fists together. “Today is all about using these.”

  Ishin retracted his hand, leaving his spear behind. “I look forward to it.”

  Hou Lei led Ishin to one of the outdoor training courtyards. It was a spacious area with multiple wooden training posts and a sand-lined floor. Tall wooden walls surrounded the courtyard, concealing its interior from the outside world. Hou Lei explained that the school maintained two dozen outdoor courtyards and that they were especially popular in the summer months. Gazing up at the clear blue sky and the luminous sun shining overhead, Ishin understood why.

  “Have you had much training in hand-to-hand combat?” Hou Lei asked. He walked over to one of the wooden training posts. It stood as tall as an average man and had four protruding arms near shoulder height, right above a wide torso. It was clearly designed to simulate an adult opponent.

  “I trained in a martial arts style called Ka-Tai back in my tribe.” Ishin approached one of the posts until he stood an arm’s length away. “It wasn’t my primary focus, but I became proficient.”

  Ishin took a preparatory stance in the Ka-Tai style and struck at the training post’s central torso. His fist collided with a loud impact. The moment it made contact, the post rotated, and one of its arms knocked him squarely across the jaw, sending him to the ground.

  What?

  Hou Lei’s laughter echoed beside him. “A valiant attempt, my friend. But I should have warned you—these training posts fight back.”

  “I can see that,” Ishin muttered as he climbed to his feet, rubbing the new bruise on his jaw. “That was stronger than I thought.” He glanced down at his knuckles, which were red from the impact. “The wood is harder too.”

  He considered the post again. Its wooden torso was unmarred. In his youth, Ishin had trained by punching wooden poles that didn’t strike back, to strengthen his fingers, bones, and skin. It was a basic conditioning method for all aspiring martials. But back then, he hadn’t been a cultivator. Now that qi coursed through his body, he had expected to break the outer layer of the post. That hadn’t happened.

  It felt like I was crippled all over again.

  “That’s not ordinary wood, is it?”

  “Quite right,” Hou Lei said, resting an arm against the post. “These are crafted from aged Ash Bark Willow trees and then bathed in some alchemic concoction for strengthening. They’re designed to simulate the durability of a cultivator at the Adept Realm. You’ll find it hard to damage them—but that makes them excellent for training.”

  “Interesting.” Ishin approached again, intent on punching it while cycling qi into his fist this time. Then he remembered the rotating arms—and the pain—and paused. That strike earlier must have simulated the unenhanced strength of an Adept Realm cultivator.

  “What is the purpose of these?” Ishin asked, gesturing at the posts. “I can’t really practice my martial arts against a target that can only swing at me.” Then, realization dawned. “This is to improve my speed and reaction time, isn’t it?”

  “It is!” Hou Lei rapped his knuckles against the post’s head. “The durability and strength of the training post matches a first-layer Adept, but the rotation speed is only that of a peak Initiate!”

  Ishin rubbed his chin. So the speed of someone five stages above me. It was one thing to understand that a cultivator’s physique improved with each stage—but another to experience that gap firsthand.

  Despite the fresh ache from earlier, Ishin moved in front of the post again. Hou Lei stepped away, grinning. Ishin snapped a punch at the training post’s heart. Immediately he tried to retract his arm and dodge. He managed to pull his arm back—but he was too slow stepping away. The arm swung and clipped his chin. His vision blurred, and he dropped to a knee.

  “It’s fast,” Ishin managed after a moment. But I saw the strike this time.

  Dragging himself upright, Ishin tried again. This time, he blocked the attack with his retracting arm. The strength still knocked him off his feet.

  A fresh bruise spread across his forearm. I can’t underestimate the strength of the Adept Realm. But again, he pulled himself up.

  “How do you like the challenge?” Hou Lei inquired, arms crossed.

  Making his way back to the training post, Ishin replied, “It’s not what I expected, but I understand the importance.”

  Originally, he had thought they would spar—but while sparring would offer valuable experience, this training post was an even greater challenge.

  Squaring his shoulders, Ishin readied himself. If I can land a strike and dodge the counterattack, my evasion will improve drastically.

  “Let’s try again.”