What do you mean I'm a cultivator?-Chapter 47

Days flashed by, as Cheng kept reading the books master Liu gave him, over and over again, trying to make sure every word was committed to his memory.

Mundane chores passed by in a blur of obligation, as he read and read.

But his work really began when the sun dipped low and shadows crept into the corners of his cabin. That's when things got lively. It was during the cover of the night that Cheng understood and experimented with the arrays he now knew, the fragment of wood gained during that fateful mission being a constant, hidden beneath his robes.

By now, Cheng could actually sense it. Truly sense it. He didn't even have to focus. Their link had deepened to the point that he could tell where the fragment was at all times. And the best part? That deepening connection was the reason its gathering powers kept rising.

Throughout the long nights, the warmth stone, being what he aptly named the product of a stone layered with a double warmth array, had become something constant, quiet, and undeniably his. Each time he held it, it reminded him that progress was a slow path.

It grounded him. It reminded him that he was no heaven defying genius. Just smart.

But Cheng wasn’t satisfied. He couldn’t be. Not now. Even though he knew that cultivation required time, he couldn't help but wish he was just a little faster. But that was a slippery slope.

He needed time. He had been slowly approaching the peak of the twelfth stage, but there were ways to go faster. Slave away on missions and consume pill after pill, doing nothing but scrambling from mission to mission.

Fang Lin had done so. There was no other way she had progressed that fast otherwise. But what then?

He was no Fang Lin. He was Jiang Cheng.

Cheng knew that pushing that fast was stupid. At least in his case. He was not ready to enact his slowly forming plan of creating a so called perfect foundation.

And showing that he had slowed down, unable to break through to foundation establishment would bring the elders' interest to fade.

His next goal was clear. Master the Sealing Array. Or, at the very least, understand it without destroying everything around it.

Sure. Destroying was a strong word. But as he was right now, any attempt to layer the sealing array over the gathering array made it deteriorate rapidly.

The problem was that the gathering array just brought Qi closer. It had no way to contain it on its own.

That was why the sealing array was needed.

Because they contrasted one another in this way. The sealing array was inscribed with the meaning of seal everything. No come, no go.

But the gathering array needed to bring the Qi close. This was not the way to go. He had to experiment more. There had to be another way after all.

This was a critical problem to solve. Because if every piece couldn't fit together, then this perfect foundation would not be possible.

Night after night, Cheng worked in silence, refining tiny test stones, activating and deactivating arrays, his brows in almost a perpetual furrow.

An assessment came and went without any problems. His cultivation progress had slowed, but it was enough to make sure he didn't seem to be stagnating.

Then, during one particularly long evening. After two failed stones.

In his anger at nearly a month and no visible progress, he accidentally formed the sealing array wrong.

Unlike the standard array, in his frustration, his intent was not exact. This caused the array to have a small gap, where it was not sealing.

As he stared at the array, Cheng realized something obvious.

Arrays didn't really exist. But what they represented did.

Arrays were a way to connect to the world. Bend Qi to do what one wishes. Intended. Commanded.

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The warmth array didn't work because some symbols and squiggly lines moved it in various ways.

It was the intent. He wanted it to be warm. And he connected with the material. The array was simply a way to express that.

It was another aspect of Qi Cheng that had slowly come into contact with. Qi held memories. Intents.

He had even seen that with his own eyes. How did he learn to read? Those wooden plaques retained intent. Qi was simply a medium. Words on paper.

"Let paper be the world, and Qi your pen." Cheng mumbled suddenly, still staring at the array, feeling like things just clicked.

Cheng may not have known it yet, but this was one of the defining moments that allowed his seemingly average talent to pave a path much longer than anyone could have predicted.

And so, Cheng just sat on that straw mat that had started his journey as a cultivator, and simply stared outside the window at the sunrise. He didn't think. Nor did he speak. he just looked.

But of course, things weren't so simple. Despite his newfound epiphany, arrays still needed structure.

He knew that the structure didn't really matter. intent did. But the structure arrays brought, made it that much easier to will Qi to move in ways unlike its natural state.

Three days later, the experiment was ready.

Two stones sat on the floor of his cabin.

One had a basic Gathering Array etched deep within its core. The internal spiral was etched precisely using the inner-crafting method he’d grown so fluent in, under the hands of his master.

The second was a stone that contained the Sealing array. But unlike a typical one, its character was more akin to letting everything in, yet nothing out.

Instead of a sealing array, A more apt name would be a Containment array.

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As he sat, legs crossed, Cheng exhaled slowly. Then, he sent a pulse of Qi and watched the arrays start working.

This time, it was a perfect fit. The arrays worked without one bothering the other.

The Gathering array pulled the ambient Qi close, and the sealing array contained the gathered Qi into itself, storing it. Almost like a container.

Cheng let out an exhale, as he finally reached a conclusion. Step one was complete. It worked as planned.

The gathering Array would bring the ambient Qi, and the containment array would take the Qi, holding it for later use.

And the best part was that the gathering array would raise no suspicion. Cheng had understood that the larger the material, the better the array would work.

With such a small rock being used as the material, the gathering Qi brought just enough to not cause any suspicion.

Because if it did, someone might just be tempted to break in in search of the supposed heavenly treasure hidden in the cabin.

Cheng leaned back against the wall of his cabin, eyes scanning the stones in front of him. Constant flow of Qi towards the array was calming, almost as if the rocks were breathing.

It was working. The two arrays were cooperating, pulling Qi from the air and sealing it within, like the pulse of a heart that beat without hesitation. His first real success in combining two arrays felt like a monumental achievement, a step closer to the perfect foundation he envisioned.

But even as the stones pulsed softly with energy, Cheng’s thoughts drifted to his master.

Master Liu had been more than just a teacher to him.

The old man was the one person who had taken him in, not out of obligation or to fulfill some sect requirement, but because he saw something in Cheng.

He often wondered if master Liu had known from the start that Cheng wasn’t just another run of the mill disciple.

The books, the training, the endless hours spent refining his craft, it wasn’t just for his own growth. It was master Liu's investment in his potential. And the more Cheng reflected, the more he realized just how much he owed his master.

"Why would someone like him care so much?" Cheng thought to himself, fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of the rock as the warmth radiated from it.

Master Liu had never been one for displays of affection. His gruff demeanor, the way he never smiled, and the cold exterior he possessed.

None of that had ever deterred Cheng. Instead, it made him think. The old man was sharp, calculating, and direct.

He had been through a lot. Cheng couldn't begin to understand how it felt knowing that your cultivation was practically destroyed, and having to live for decades after that, as some Qi condensation tool maker. It wasn't even actual swords. It was practice swords.

As if done as a reminder. A reminder that this was his position now.

He didn’t waste time on frivolous things like flattery. The teachings were his way of guiding Cheng, not just as a cultivator, but as a person. It was in his own unique, albeit strange, way of showing care.

Perhaps it wasn't just that. It was a way to leave a piece of himself to the world. Teach someone promising. And see them continue your legacy.

But there was always that nagging feeling, the doubt that clung to him. He couldn't help but wonder if Liu had his own reasons for being so involved with him.

Was it simply the potential he saw in Cheng’s skill? Or was it something deeper? Cheng didn’t know, and that uncertainty lingered at the back of his mind.

Still, as much as he questioned his master's motivations, Cheng couldn’t deny the growing gratitude he felt. Liu had seen something in him when others hadn't. When he didn't understand something, master Liu was there. Albeit with sharp words and a stern glare, pushing him forward.

Hell, the books he was given were proof. He saw something in him.

Cheng stood up, stretching, the weight of his thoughts hanging heavy in the cool air of the cabin. The early morning light filtered in through the cracks of the wooden walls, casting long shadows across the floor. For a moment, he stood still, just observing, letting his mind wander.

His connection with his master was something Cheng couldn't fully explain. But the more he learned, the more he understood this relationship. This subtle, quiet bond was just as much a part of his cultivation as the arrays he etched into stone.

Everything was a piece of a bigger whole.

And with that thought, Cheng sat back down, refocusing on his work.