Chapter 4: Classes on Cultivation

Morning arrived quickly for Harry and while the exhaustion from the previous days activities had been minor the fact that he was allowed to sleep in an actual bed had him sleeping better than he ever had before. In fact it wasn't his choice to even wake up from his deep sleep it was a soft knocking on his door that awoke him. His instincts drove him to quickly awaken and prepare to make breakfast before the previous days memories returned to him. Answering the door Harry was met with a older boy that looked to be around 15 or 16 years old. The robe he wore was slightly different to the one he himself had received the previous day. The older boys robes were a deep forest green with Jade and Amethyst highlights whereas the robe he himself had received the previous day was the same deep forest green but with Jade and Amber colored highlights. Now that Harry thought on it the Elder's Robes had been just slightly different as well. Where as the Forest Green and Jade had been the same the other color had been a shimmering Ruby color.

Interrupting Harry's thoughts the boy in front of him started speaking. His words seemed to be slightly out of sync with what he was saying. "Younger Brother, I was instructed that you had just arrived yesterday and might need assistance in making sure you awake on time. I was also instructed to take you to the dining hall before I am to take you to your Morning Cultivation lesson." Harry quickly nodded to the older boy before turning to get his robe on for the day.

It only took 10 minutes for him to clothe himself and the two of them to make it to the dining hall. The number of those there surprised him slightly. What surprised him was the fact that there was around 40 or 50 others in the dining hall at the time. He had half expected the room to be packed like he had read about the giant sects in his Xianxia books or he had expected the room to be almost bare with only a few people since he had not heard of Cultivation being a large subject in the world. The older boy, Senior Brother, Harry corrected in his mind was moving off toward the right side of the room. Platters were stacked there and what looked like a buffet line was laid out. When Harry approached it he could see a few different things few of which looked similar to something he had eaten before.

Near the beginning of the line bowls of what looked to be plain porridge but further down the from that was small containers filled with different fruits, vegetables, and meats that Harry could see Senior brother adding to his bowl. Further down the line small containers filled with what looked like dough balls and further down from that containers of noodles and different toppings lay. Watching as a few of his Senior Brothers and Sister grabbed plates some would get the porridge and fill it with random ingredients, some would pick the small dough balls and some would get noodles with other items added. A few got some of each. When Harry looked at those eating he could see when others took a bite of the small dough balls the interior was filled with different vegetables and meats.

As he looked at the buffet laid out before him the same Senior Brother that was showing him around finished gathering his meal before turning to him and walking over before speaking. "Ah you don't know about the food?" Harry gave a shake of his head. "Its simple this is Congee." he pointed to the porridge, "Its pretty bland and lacks any flavor like it is but we pick out other stuff from over there and it really makes it taste good. Over there is the Steamed Dumplings." He pointed toward the small dough balls now, "Those are all filled with different meats and vegetables they really fill you up and taste great. Lastly we have the Hot-Dry Noodles." pointing to the last section "To eat that you take the noodles and just put a bit of sesame sauce, a bit of the vegetables and the chili oil and your ready to go." He finished his explanation to Harry before walking over to an open section before he began to eat.

Wanting to try a bit of everything Harry set about gathering a small breakfast for himself. A small bowl of Congee with butter, steamed vegetables and strips of pork, two dumplings and a small pile of noodles which harry decided to add a few slices of chicken to as well went onto his plate. The smells from the food was tantalizing and it only took him a moment longer to find an empty spot at a nearby table. Finding a set of chopsticks Harry was glad he had forced himself to learn to use them when he had gotten really into the Wuxia and Xianxia reading. The meal ended up being in Harry's opinion the best he had ever had.

Forty Five minutes later Harry and his Senior Brother were out of the Dining hall and heading toward a large open courtyard nearby. In the middle stood an older man dressed in the robes of an Elder while boys and girls dressed in the same robes Harry wore sat on padded mats surrounding him each in deep meditation. Upon entering the courtyard the Elder turned toward the two.

When Senior Brother reached the center with the elder he gave a deep bow. Harry seeing this happen did his best to imitate the bow that was given. After two seconds had passed the Senior Brother spoke. "I have brought Junior Brother as instructed Elder Cho."

"Very good you are dismissed." The boy quickly rose from his bow and turned to leave the courtyard. Harry not having been given any leave to rise from his bow missed his departure but did not miss as Elder Cho spoke to him. "That's good enough Initiate Potter. You are only required to bow before an Elder for up to five seconds unless told otherwise. Now Elder Won told me that you are not from our region last night and that you have started your cultivation via one of the Cultivation Manuals that the Sects send out in mass. As you have reached the 3rd stage of Body Tempering without outside help I would like to see your cultivation method you use. Please take a seat at this mat and begin cultivating." Elder Cho pointed toward a unused mat nearby.

Harry not wanting to get on his instructors bad side on his first day did as instructed. Sitting cross legged just as everyone else was doing Harry let himself fall into his Meditative state. Finding his Core was much faster than it had been when he first started cultivating and it wasn't a matter of seconds after he sat that he began circulating the Qi he had through his body. Just like the last time he began cultivating his Qi felt thin and diffused. He could tell that even though he was making slight progress on furthering his cultivation it would take months to advance further. It wasn't five minutes into his circulating that Elder Cho spoke and pulled him out of his meditation.

"Why are you not fully cultivating Initiate Potter?" Was the question that pulled Harry from his meditative state. Not understanding Harry only looked at Elder Cho silently a moment before answering.

"I do not understand Elder Cho. This is the way the manual described cultivating and I have not cultivated any other way." The Elder looked started at young Harry's statement if only for a moment before falling into thought. Harry though gave a statement that was the answer to his thoughts. "Though from what I was told by Elder Won the manual I was using was not all there. The pages after the section on how to circulate your Qi was missing."

Elder Cho's eyes once again widened in surprise for a longer moment this time before his mouth opened and he asked a question.

"Are you telling me that you were able to achieve the 3rd stage of Body Tempering with only your internal Qi?"

"Yes, Sir." The look of shock that showed up on Elder Cho's face was much larger this time.

"That is incredible Initiate We haven't had a member of our sect be able to reach that level of cultivation since the Sect Master started cultivating over 500 years ago. Your Core must be massive." The Elder spoke as he paced back and forth in thought.

Harry wondering about his core asked the questions that this statement brought up. "Does having a large core mean its easier to progress? Are there any downsides to having a larger core?"

Snapping his head back toward Harry the Elder spoke. "Yes and no to the first question and this will also answer your second question. Having a larger Core means you more Qi Storage and a larger Qi Reserve. This however doesn't tell us how fast your Qi absorption is. If your absorption is fairly fast you will be able to pass through Body Tempering fairly quickly and Core Foundation is not about how much Qi you can hold so much as using the Qi you do have to open the Dantians in your body. Over all having a larger Core will mean you can advance through certain Realms faster while others are slower. Anyway first we need to get you started on absorbing new Qi."

The Elder spun back around and walked to the center of the courtyard before speaking further. "Begin Meditating again and let me know when you get to your Core." A few seconds passed before Harry gave him a brief nod signaling that he had reached it. "Now if you feel your core it should feel as though the Qi in it is thin. That's because the Qi in your Core and the Qi spread through your body is at an equal amount. To advance further you will need to draw in the Qi from around you to fill your Core thus allowing you to further your cultivation. Now to begin drawing in Qi I want you to envision a whirlpool forming in your Core. Don't worry about the direction as your Core will only spin easily in the correct direction."

Harry hearing this description reached for the thin Qi stored inside his Core and gave it a shove. It seemed to grind and not want to rotate. With a shift he pushed it the other way and the grinding stopped to give way to a slight twisting sensation. Though this time ti flowed smoothly. Feeling emboldened by this spin Harry began spinning the Qi faster and what felt like a tugging sensation formed in his center. The Qi which before was thin and almost intangible began to thicken and solidify. Feeling this new Qi Harry quickly began to push it through his body. Where as before the Qi circulated weakly it now flowed in small eddies growing stronger as the Qi in his core got thicker and thicker.

Before he could further his cultivation Elder Cho's voice cut into his meditation. "Initiate Potter!" The loud barking command he heard in this call fully pulled Harry out of his meditation. "There your out. Are you well?" Elder Cho looked slightly concerned for Harry as he spoke further. "You were pulling in so much Qi there that it was beginning to pull it from the other Initiates grasp."

"Really? It didn't feel like I was doing anything special I just felt the Qi in my Core getting thicker." Harry looked up in confusion. Elder Cho looked at Harry carefully for a moment before looking around. When Harry followed his gaze all the other Initiates were out of their Meditation and staring at him. Elder Cho looked back at Harry and continued. "We might need to have you Cultivate separately from the others for now. When you breakthrough to Core Foundation you should be able to start cultivating with the rest of the Initiates again. At that point you and they can feel the Qi better and not cause problems. For now return to your Room and cultivate on your own I will send a Senior Disciple to keep an eye on you in case anything goes wrong."

With a bow Harry quickly escaped from the courtyard. Unsure what had just happened all he knew was that his cultivation speed had returned to its previous levels and he would be sure to advance through Body Tempering as quickly as he could.