Corvus made his way across the wooden bridge leading to the servant district, which was mostly empty since most servants were attending to their chores.
He couldn't help but wonder which duties he would be assigned. He didn't have any specific preference, aside from wanting to avoid the hunting duties, not because of the inherent dangers, but because of the time required below the mountain, which would leave his grandmother all alone.
He made a beeline for the narrow pathway that led to his hut. Finally reaching home, he pushed the front door open and stepped into the dim interior of the small hut.
The familiar scent of old wood and dried herbs greeted him, but he immediately turned his attention to the corner where his grandmother lay resting, her breathing shallow but steady.
A wave of relief washed over him. Part of his drive to reach the Spirit Channeling realm was the hope that his increased status, and the wages that came with it, would finally allow him to afford the restorative tonics she so desperately needed.
He moved quietly to the small wooden table, setting down the leather scroll and the thin manual Cyprus had given him.
Beside them sat the spirit marble he had received from Overseer Fei, glowing with a soft, translucent light. It was a concentrated orb of qi, coalesced at the bottom of a spirit pool a treasure worth hundreds of silver sekers.
If only it could be sold, Corvus wouldn't have bothered waiting for his wages; he would have headed straight to the market district to trade it. However, doing so was strictly forbidden, and the penalty for such a crime was death.
Corvus sat on his own straw mat, his eyes flickering between the marble and the manual. He knew that the moment he began his new duties, his life would no longer belong to him, but to the clan's whims not that it ever truly had. Every second of peace he had now was a luxury.
He picked up the spirit marble, feeling the cool surface against his palm, but decided against consuming it just yet. He could feel that Red Ball had calmed down; it was now merely a slow-spinning orb of crimson light swimming within the small qi pool in his core. It had stopped devouring every speck of qi as if satisfied for the moment, which was why he felt he shouldn't use the marble just yet.
Corvus picked up the martial arts book, feeling the need to find a technique that would perfectly fit Red Ball's abilities. However, he knew he couldn't draw suspicion to himself, having already lied to Cyprus about his spirit's power. He only hoped his hunch was right that Red Ball probably strengthened every part of his body.
He began to flip through the pages, seeing different styles ranging from the simple fist-and-foot combos he'd been taught since he was twelve to complex ones involving the strengthening properties of spirits.
He easily spotted a martial art he felt would perfectly fit Luna; though he didn't truly care, his curiosity led him to look through it.
It was called the Supreme Boundary Technique, a method that focused on the full refinement and usage of the internal organs: the heart and lungs for increased endurance, and the orifices for enhanced sensitivity and more.
It truly showed how efficient and effective Luna's spirit could be if used correctly. While he suspected she wouldn't necessarily be a powerhouse in battle, her spirit functioned more like a support spirit by boosting her overall capabilities.
And who knows? Perhaps it was. After all, support spirits often held more social influence than battle spirits; a spirit master with one could become a healer, formationist, buffer, forger, or even the elusive alchemist. Yet, the strength affinity didn't necessarily lean toward support at least not in the early realms, as far as Corvus knew.
Anyway, Corvus continued scanning the pages until he finally spotted a martial art that seemed inclined toward spirits that strengthen the fists. He felt he should skim through it to understand its fundamentals.
Knowing he couldn't practice within the small confines of the hut, he rose to his feet and stepped outside toward the back of the building.
He skimmed through the leather scroll Cyprus had given him once more and moved toward a rock enclosure behind the hut, where many chopped logs were neatly arranged. He picked up a single log about the size of his thigh and placed it upon a stool.
Closing his eyes, he looked inward, simulating the new breathing method in his mind.
He followed the instructions while keeping his eyes on his core and Red Ball. He quickly noticed the quick and efficient way his liquid qi evaporated into its gaseous form. However, this time it didn't extend beyond his core; instead, Red Ball rose from the liquid pool and surprisingly sucked in the entirety of the pure gaseous qi. When it spat the qi back out, the mist had taken on a distinct reddish tint.
The amount of qi had lessened slightly, revealing Red Ball's gluttonous side. Nevertheless, the now-reddish qi flowed through his invisible pathways and into his arms as he had willed.
Corvus opened his eyes and saw his hands glowing with a dim, barely noticeable crimson light.
He had to focus to see the faint radiance wrapping around his fists, made visible only by the darkening sky. Most of all, he could feel a strange tightness and heaviness settling over his body, reaching all the way from his skin and muscles down to his bones.
"Hmm, so that's how it feels," Corvus muttered with a smile, sensing the sheer difference between qi with a spirit's affinity and spiritless qi. He clenched his fist, feeling the newfound toughness, but also a certain rigidity in the motion.
"It impedes mobility," Corvus mused, feeling he wasn't far off the mark; the added weight he felt was telling enough.
He moved toward the log and took a battle stance, both fists raised and his legs slightly lowered then punched forward with his right fist, slamming it against the wooden log and sending it flying to clatter against the rocks behind.
Corvus grimaced as a stinging pain shot through his fist from the point of contact. It made him doubt if he was strengthened at all; after all, sending a log flying was a feat he could already achieve with normal qi.