Chapter 122
The Third Disciple
Life in the Hidden Blossom Sect was peaceful, except for the short bursts of slaughter when Blossoms venture out into the world to find those in need of rescue. Tobias walked through the gate carrying a scarred, catatonic boy who had experienced things no child should have to experience, and handed him to Blossom Genji. Tobias had searched far and wide for him, dealing with bandits and many other threats that arose on his journey, all to find someone only their sect could help.
Blossom Genji accepted the boy and clutched him to her chest, saturating him with her dao. By morning, he would be no different from the girls they had saved.
Tobias had studied the process that transformed the children and figured out how to block and accelerate it, but he hadn't discovered how to reverse it. He needed more data points to draw clear conclusions. He doubted the boy he'd found would turn out to be the piece he was missing, but he could not deny that the beautiful dream he would live in was better than the hellscape Tobias had found him in.
Blossom Genji offered Tobias a beautiful smile. "Do you know his name?"
Tobias shook his head. "He hasn't said a word. He's too far gone."
Blossom Genji rocked the boy gently and opened her mouth to ask another question.
Tobias wanted to sigh, but didn't, answering the question she was about to ask. "I removed that which is ugly."
Blossom Genji nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.
Tobias had taught the Blossoms how to cultivate, and over the past few years, many had entered the core realm and learned his dao cultivation method. Knowing how to gather dao insights and weave them into comprehensions to form a dao enlightenment allowed the Blossoms to progress rapidly, gaining a second petal, a second enlightenment for the dao of hidden beauty, along with many other enlightenments which left them physical stronger and more resilient. However, despite their improvements, they remained influenced by the dao of hidden beauty.
The dao of hidden beauty had an addictive element that Tobias hadn't expected. Why deal with your problems when you could replace those problems with a beautiful dream? Many of the Blossoms struggled to restrain themselves from drawing on it, allowing it to influence their minds and actions rather than facing the horrors of their pasts.
Tobias wasn't concerned. Within a decade, their bodies would be completely within their control. After that, those struggles would no longer exist, and they would be able to process what had happened to them, free from the burden of their emotions. Until then, they would remain more prone to violence, removing the ugliness from the world wherever they found it.
Blossom Genji looked over her shoulder as she walked away. "Ming Dia Lu has reached the peak of the foundation realm and has been waiting in your pavilion for over a week. She claims she won't leave until you see her."
Tobias expanded his aura and spotted Ming Dia Lu meditating on his veranda. Like her sister and the Blossoms, Ming Dia Lu could walk the path of the conscious dao. She had cultivated with nothing but spiritual energy. While this made her weaker than other cultivators at the peak of the foundation realm, it would soon change. Tobias held no doubts that she would be able to gain enlightenment for sword dao before reaching the core realm. She might not have had her sister's extraordinary talent, but there were only a handful of prodigies Tobias had met who could keep up with her. Despite her temporary weakness, only Patriarch Ming could stand against her, and even then, his time at the top was limited.
Tobias cupped his hands behind his back and began strolling down the path as Blossom Genji walked off with the boy. As he walked, he smiled in Hun Fen's direction.
She was having an animated discussion with her latest suitor, who was in his eighties. The Sword Blossom was the Hidden Blossom of the Silver Blossom Pavilion and the most expensive among them. Tobias had met many sword masters and sword saints while he wandered across the continent. All it had taken was a conversation with Patriarch Ming for his network to track them down and deliver an invitation to speak with her.
The rates she charged for her time were outrageous, even for a Blossom, and especially because her conversations with them deepened her understanding of sword dao and swordplay, yet her suitors were happy to pay. And those who couldn't afford her time were sponsored by Tobias, because they would further her understanding of the sword in ways he could not.
Hun Fen had the ability to take their life's work, understand it in an afternoon, and improve upon it in an evening, showing them what they were missing. Many left her pavilion with grateful tears streaming down their cheeks, kissing the hem of her robe in gratitude before departing. They could all recognise the mortal goddess walking among them.
Tobias had long since reached the end of what he could teach Hun Fen while she remained a mortal. She knew all his tricks, and he didn't understand half of hers. But that didn't mean Hun Fen had reached her limits. She needed introductions to new ideas and philosophies, and to methods so unorthodox that only one or two had mastered them. This was the only way for her to push her boundaries, to come up with ideas no one else had considered.
Tobias was always happy to be her test subject. To give her a target she could practice her creativity on. His time as her master had led him to understand the living sword on a deeper level than he'd thought possible, transforming his understanding of sword dao in ways he never imagined, but he would never keep up. He was aware of his limits and did not mind. Watching her develop had been one of the most fascinating experiences of his life.
Tobias walked onto the veranda around his pavilion. He watched Ming Dai Lu's eyes open and a smile appear on her face. The smile lines around her eyes crinkled, proving her sister's claims about wrinkles false since she had clearly consumed the divine beauty pill he'd given her.
Tobias returned her smile, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Blossom Sage greets Elder Ming."
She beamed as she cupped her hands and returned her bow more deeply. "Elder Ming greets Blossom Sage."
Tobias continued to smile. "Congratulations on reaching the peak of the foundation realm."
Ming Dia Lu's grin stretched further, but her eyes widened as he walked past her into his pavilion and took a seat.
Ming Dia Lu had prepared the pavilion for her kowtow, a ceremony from a student to their teacher, so leapt to her feet and followed him inside the moment she realised he did not object. Her actions were beautiful and smooth, but only to a mortal. To Tobias, they were awkward and untrained.
She placed her hands on her thighs as she knelt, still beaming at him, ignoring every rule of etiquette that required her emotions to be hidden. "Teacher, will you accept my kowtow?"
Tobias flicked his fan open, bathing the pavilion in the dao of beauty, seeing the secret heart that lay within her. She desperately wanted to show her respect. She could not be more grateful for what he had taught her or for putting up with her demands, like making him call her Princess. In her eyes, he was the perfect teacher. One who did not take himself too seriously and was free with his knowledge and light on demands. She desperately wanted to be his disciple, as she had for so long, but now she also wanted to change her clan and remake it in his image.
"You may offer your kowtow."
Tobias immediately saw Hun Fen's influence as Ming Dia Lu cupped her hands. She had spent time improving her posture and position, making it more beautiful. It was not filled with the dao of beauty, but that was to be expected. She had not spent enough time as a cultivator to understand it. And her time at his pavilion was too filled with study for her to notice what he was trying to teach her.
Ming Dia Lu remained down for a moment longer than necessary on her last bow to show her sincerity before rising with a grateful smile.
Before she could utter a word, Tobias waved his hand and the room shifted, filling with everything needed to perform the master disciple tea ceremony. Ming Dia Lu looked around with obvious shock, and then grateful tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
She only had the composure to say three words. "Thank you, Teacher."
***
A few days later, Tobias sat on the veranda of his pavilion watching Hun Fen and Ming Dia Lu spar in the air above the spirit garden. He'd shrouded them from the world around them, so no one except him knew they were there. They were only a few feet off the ground, just high enough that they didn't harm the spirit herbs below, and they were limited by what they could do.
Hun Fen wasn't allowed to project sword dao, and Ming Dia Lu wasn't allowed to project her chi, so they were evenly matched, taking the offensive and defensive positions evenly. This was a match of skill versus speed and strength.
Blossoms walked past without noticing the two exchanging pointers, and suitors and Flowers looked in Tobias's direction, catching quick glances of Ming Dia Lu's illusion. Her delayed cultivation and then her sudden explosion of growth had made her the talk of the city. No one doubted her anymore, and everyone wanted to see what she would do next.
Hun Fen swept her sister's legs with a low spinning kick and a dao pummel strike, sending her to the ground, landing four quick strikes with her sword before Ming Dia Lu finished falling.
Tobias replaced himself with another illusion and then appeared beside his new disciple, offering his hand. "What did you do wrong?"
Ming Dia Lu accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She threw a questions glance at her sister, but Hun Fen just shrugged. Ming Dia Lu sighed. "I don't know, Master."
Tobias smiled. "You did nothing wrong, which means what?"
Ming Dia Lu paused. "I encountered a sword form that I've never seen before and didn't know how to respond."
Tobias nodded and turned to Hun Fen. "You'll use the faint and that spinning kick three times in your next exchange before you go for the winning blow."
Hun Fen frowned. "What if I don't see the right opening?"
"Then you'll make the right opening."
Hun Fen grinned, finding the challenge intriguing.
Tobias motioned for them to continue and then returned to the veranda to watch. Tobias had never allowed Hun Fen and Ming Dia Lu to spar in the past, because there was little point. Ming Dia Lu couldn't possibly keep up with Hun Fen's skill without being a peak foundation realm cultivator, and Hun Fen couldn't gain anything from sparring with her sister unless she was a challenge.
Tobias knew there was no longer any doubt in Ming Dia Lu's mind that Hun Fen was better than she was, but he knew she still hadn't grasped how large the gap was. Tobias was allowing her to learn for herself.
Tobias watched them spar through the morning, but didn't let them stop when it came time for lunch. As the day wore on, Hun Fen began to lose more matches until the late afternoon, when she suddenly began to win again. In the space of a day, she had learned how to conserve her energy and fight exhausted, something Tobias had intentionally never taught her to do.
She had also discovered how to use her sword dao to cut away her fatigue, creating a situation where she was exhausted but did not feel it or react more slowly because of it. This was a very dangerous thing to do, but her conservation of energy showed Tobias she understood.
An hour before sunset, Tobias called an end to their training and sent Hun Fen home to eat and rest before inviting Ming Dia Lu to join him on the veranda. Without even thinking about what she was doing, Ming Dia Lu lay down beside him and rested her head on his lap. She had been doing it for so long that neither of them questioned it.
Tobias watched the sun lower in the distance. "Did you see her improve?"
Ming Dia Lu stared at him for several seconds, processing his question and the implications behind it. "Are you saying I didn't imagine that?"
Tobias nodded.
"She truly figured out how to fight effectively while exhausted and then how to use energy more efficiently in a single afternoon."
Tobias nodded.
"Do you know how she improved so fast, Master?"
Tobias smiled. "I have theories, but no proof, and even if I'm right, it doesn't matter because no one will be able to replicate her actions."
Ming Dia Lu returned the smile. "You once held me in your arms and told me my clan didn't know what they were talking about when they compared my accomplishments to hers. I've known you were right for a long time, but I have only just come to realise how wrong they were."
"Good. Then today served its purpose. From now on, I would like the two of you to spar three times a week."
Ming Dia Lu winced. "Master, that's going to be a little expensive."
Tobias chuckled. "I never said you had to do so here or under my supervision. You can, if you wish, but you can also invite your sister to visit your clan's palace. I'm sure your patriarch will be happy to host her."
Ming Dia Lu hesitated. "I'm not sure if my clan will treat her kindly."
"Hun Fen has nothing to fear from your clan except cruel words."
"I'm not so sure about that."
"Nothing they do can harm her."
Tobias wasn't exaggerating. He'd trained her dao to block poison, venom, acid, blades of all forms, the elements and everything else he could imagine. Patriarch Ming would need to go all out to scratch her, and that would require her to not be paying attention.
Tobias summoned a manuscript from his storage ring. The moment Ming Dia Lu saw it, she tried to snatch it from his hand, assuming it was the core realm arrays she'd been coveting for years. Tobias stopped her with a dao block.
Ming Dia Lu's eyebrows rose. "How did you do that? I didn't sense any chi."
Tobias smiled. "Dao."
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
"It means you are ready to progress from the basics of cultivation to the realm only a few can walk."
Tobias handed her the manuscript.
She read the title and frowned.
"I've intentionally kept this knowledge from you, so your sister didn't corrupt your understanding."
Ming Dia Lu groaned. "Is this how she does her tricks?"
Tobias nodded.
"I can't learn them. I've tried."
Tobias chuckled and offered her a piece of melon that had been sitting on a plate she arrived at that morning because he knew she was hungry. "Your sister is a terrible teacher, Princess."
Ming Dia Lu accepted the piece of melon before replying. "Her suitors don't seem to think so. The old man she was talking to the other day cried three times before lunch."
"She was not teaching him. She was solving his problems for him. He has no more ability to come to the conclusion she did now than when he arrived."
"She still made him happy."
"She did, but she did not teach him."
Since she wasn't excited, Tobias retrieved another manual from his storage ring. He waved it in front of her face, showing her the title. It was the beginner's guide to core realm arrays. It was a few centuries behind what they were teaching in The Three Kingdoms, but years ahead of everything that she would learn here. Tobias had never shown her any blueprints. All he had shown her was how to make her own, helping her understand the founding principles and come to her own conclusions.
She snatched the manual from him and clutched it to her chest excitedly, squealing with delight. Tobias retrieved his fan and fanned himself, weaving the dao of hidden beauty around her so she would gather insights.
Ming Dia Lu noticed the moment he started. "Stop that. It's distracting."
"Your world has opened up, and this will be part of your lessons from now on."
She scowled. "It makes it hard for me to focus."
"You'll learn with time."
She sighed with annoyance before opening her mouth.
Tobias fed her. The action was so beautiful that it made her eyebrow twitch. She chewed with annoyance.
Hiding the source of her knowledge would be much easier if she could grasp the dao of hidden beauty. It would change her creations, remaking them into arrays that those in The Three Kingdoms would not recognise as their own. Her foundation realm creations were easily explained away with her being a prodigy, but core realm creations would be harder to disguise.
Spending over a decade in one place was far too long.
Tobias had seen his servants snooping around the city with more frequency. They knew the signs of his presence and were slowly drawing closer.
However, they could not find him.
Tobias could now wield the dao of hidden beauty, and he had spoken directly to several in the past year without them recognising him or his cultivation. They had shown him a drawing of Lung Mei that was years out of date, depicting her old, childlike face on an adult-sized body.
She had grown up since then, was now at the end of her awkward teen years, and couldn't spare him the time of day unless it was to do something she wanted. Her actions reminded him very much of his daughters in his first life. They had been exactly the same, but within a few years, they were back to liking him being around.
Tobias didn't expect her to be any different.
Lung Mei would be how his clan found him, but he was not willing to leave the Hidden Blossom Sect. Lung Mei was growing up and changing. In a few more years, her mind would catch up to her body, and she would be as mature as any twenty-year-old. Tobias was concerned about what would happen if she were not with Hun Fen. The two were once again inseparable, and she was the only reason Lung Mei wanted to grow up. That had not changed. Tobias had seen that when he looked into her hidden heart. She wanted a friend as much as she wanted her mother to love her. Tobias had given her enough attention and love over the years for her to be content in other ways, but he could not fill those roles.
Ming Dia Lu opened her mouth, and Tobias fed her, weaving the beauty of teaching into his actions. She glared up at him, and he laughed beautifully, causing her to add a scowl.
Tobias chuckled with only one thought in mind.
Life was good.