Elder Cultivator

Anton knew that a large part of the reason people would have chosen him as a teacher was to learn Horizon Shot. In truth, making optimal use of your body wasn’t the main requirement for that technique. But Anton was here to make people the best they could be, and that meant starting from the basics. Besides, the requirements for Horizon Shot also involved years of training in sensing energy at a long distance- in the weeks Anton had available he could at best teach people to shoot to the limit of their vision. Useful, but not necessarily better than having good basics and being efficient with their energy.

It was inappropriate to have favorites in this competitive setting, but Anton couldn’t help it. Besides he did his best to train everyone- he just couldn’t help but focus on the front and rear of the pack. Nthanda was clearly very experienced with archery. If she had any flaws, Anton would say that it was a lack of proper instruction. If a cultivator was going to focus on training their body beyond the normal levels, most focused on the use of melee weapons. A sword could be swung with more force just by strengthening it with natural energy. A bow wouldn’t provide more force beyond its limits, and reinforcing it with energy would only prevent it from breaking. There were techniques to change that, but that was the basic idea. Archery did make great use of physical strength, but it had the drawback that it became heavily dependent on the quality of the bow and arrows used. The Spirit Arrows technique removed the need for physical arrows, though specialized ones were still useful if available.

At the opposite end was Ingram. He was still in the basic stage of Body Tempering- either because he was new to cultivation or not particularly talented. Anton wasn’t fairly certain he had no experience with a bow. Yet he’d chosen to study with Anton regardless. Anton had to admit he could teach other things, but if he was dealing with a group then it was most efficient to mainly cover his specialties.

The first round of tests… didn’t go well for Ingram. He lost his matches and had no particular strengths outside of combat. In a normal tournament that would have meant he was out for good- but this one focused on improvement. Higher ranking cultivators were still going to get better resources because they could actually use them, but even someone like Ingram could get a huge boost to their success if they managed to perform well. Even though nobody was forced out, some people quit after the first rounds, seeing what they were matched against.

None of Anton’s students quit though. At least, not those who had stayed through the initial training. He wasn’t a harsh teacher, but he did have high standards. If students weren’t giving their all, he would look at them with supreme disappointment. Anton didn’t have time to delve into the depths of people’s lives to see what might cause them to do poorly on certain days, but he got them back on track however he could.

“Remember,” Anton instructed Ingram. “Circulate your cultivation even as you use your muscles. It is how they grow best in the Body Tempering stage.” He was shooting at a stationary target no more than a hundred meters away. “Keep your eyes off of what the others are doing,” Anton reminded him. “You’re not at the optimal point to learn from watching them.” He might also grow discouraged from seeing people who were better- regardless of whether or not he might achieve the same level. Anton couldn’t tell just yet. Others had moving targets or even volunteer cultivators. Anton was watching everything, if not with his eyes then with his senses. The combined rate of fire of all of his students was easier to track than just Grand Elder Kseniya, so he was able to provide everyone the advice they needed. Shooting faster, slower, holding their breath before they released, or a slight adjustment in stance.

“Elder Anton,” Nthanda said as he came to her. “I don’t understand the creation of the string. It’s not… right.” She was using the bone bow that came with no string. Forming one out of energy was difficult, especially for a cultivator that focused more on continued body tempering. Admitting a lack of understanding was difficult for everyone, and Anton felt that was especially true for her.

“Here, let me show you.” Anton formed a string in the air in front of her. “I prefer to start from a single point and work outward, but that might not be best for you. You can also work from one side, even making the motions as if you are stringing a bow while you form the connection,” Anton demonstrated. “As for the properties you want, focus on the maximum amount of snap you can get. Go ahead and feel this one. It should be about right for you.”

As Nthanda reached out to touch the string, Anton anchored it in place so it would act as if it were attached to a bow- specifically the bone bow she was using. She couldn’t use it in the competition since it wasn’t hers, but it developed her muscles by actually being tough enough to resist. Training her energy with the string was also useful, as ultimately it would allow Nthanda to surpass the limits of her bow. With just a portion of it requiring the use of natural energy, it actually suited her better. Ultimately, however, her ability to draw a bow was only going to be part of what she needed.

Beyond shooting as many arrows as they could fit into the day, Anton trained his students in fighting against other archers and against melee opponents. If an archer was far enough that their opponent couldn’t counterattack, then target-style shooting was good- but usually they would have to defend themselves. Attaining distance was best, but even if that wasn’t possible because of a faster opponent there were ways to use a bow in close combat. And for when that didn’t work, Anton taught them how to quickly switch to their favored weapons without just abandoning their bow or leaving it awkwardly draped over them. Sometimes that involved using just a single hand to fight in melee while holding their bow securely in the other, and other times it meant quickly using a storage bag. The latter was inconvenient for rapidly switching back to their bow, but sometimes necessary.

-----

Inside of the arena, Ingram took a deep breath. It wasn’t a steadying breath as he drew his bow, but simply to calm himself down. He had completely screwed up the first rounds of battle, and though the competition was all about improving it would still be held against him. After all, if a bad start gave better results in the end everyone would throw their first matches. That was also why there was a week of training beforehand, so everyone could at least have some amount of control over their results.

He had been hoping to break through to the next level of his cultivation technique before this match. He wasn’t even at the peak of Body Tempering yet, but he’d been making significant progress training under Anton despite being middle aged. In fact, that was the main reason he had sought the man out. His skill in archery was of secondary interest compared to his general ability to train people. Having started when he was older- much older, if the rumors were true- he had an idea of the various pitfalls. Ingram hadn’t even realized how much his core technique had focused on exercise as the primary part of Body Tempering, minimizing the emphasis on how natural energy helped with recovery and growth during that process.

But now he’d definitely learned something, and that was why he didn’t want to lose. It would make Anton look bad. Well, he also wanted whatever resources he could obtain for the sake of his future growth. That was only natural.

His opponent was a man from the Desert Lizard Sect. Ingram didn’t know much more than that, because they were a small sect from the local area. He was from a whole different continent. However, there were some things his eyes told him. Like the fact that the man had scales. That was… not completely abnormal. Some cultivators tried to radically change their bodies to gain the strength of animals, and when it worked it was quite effective. Other times… they caused harm to themselves. At least this man didn’t seem to have done that.

Beyond the scales, he also had claws. Seeing no other weapons, Ingram assumed that was how he would attack. The arena they had ended up in had some beneficial features for Ingram, including slopes and boulders to get in the way of a charging attacker. All he had to do was make use of what he had been taught.

When the match began and he drew his bow, Ingram almost broke it. He was used to pulling back with his full force to get the string just barely to his ear, and his arm almost went past that. Fortunately, he stopped. At least he knew his strength had improved over the last couple weeks. His first arrow flew forwards towards his opponent, who blocked with… his arm. It was a combination of gathering energy to dampen the blow and letting his scales do the rest of the work. Ingram knew he would have to be less predictable or have more powerful shots or both to really damage the man.

He had time for a couple more shots before the man got close. Ingram was already circling around a boulder, ready to shoot the man as he ran around it. He didn’t expect it to be broken in half. At least he was able to sense the buildup of energy before it happened. When it shattered to pieces, it was clear the man didn’t have much momentum left to attack him. Ingram got his first hit, but it only cut along the man’s shoulder, partially dodged and half deflected by the scales.

It seemed to have been a massive waste of energy and an obvious opening for nothing until the man stomped, sending a cloud of dust and sand into the air- and towards Ingram. At their level it could only really cover one person, but being unable to see his enemy was a huge disadvantage for an archer. If Anton hadn’t covered some better sensing techniques, he would barely even be able to target the man’s torso.

The sand wasn’t just blocking his vision but grating against his defensive energy- which was better than it scraping off layers of his skin. He ducked and dodged away from slashing claws while trying to find opportunities to shoot. Eventually he won, but not because of anything particularly amazing on his part. His opponent simply wore himself out, the boulder smashing and constant control over a cloud of sand being too much for cultivators of their level. It was anticlimactic, but if Ingram hadn’t improved so much he likely would have been taken out. He just hoped he’d perform well in the following matches.

-----

Nthanda looked up at the tower in front of her. “So you say that once I go through the tower, I will be stronger?”

“Of course,” Anton said. “It trains people to control and resist energy… but for you I believe it would be something that could be accomplished without external use of energy.”

She frowned. Somehow the man had known some techniques to supplement her training with Western Steel Body, even though he clearly didn’t use them himself. She didn’t mind, but the man had quite a bit of knowledge. Then again, some of the clans in Ambati had suddenly begun to grow rapidly in power from new techniques- it wasn’t strange if it happened with others.

“I’ll try it,” she said. There was nothing to lose from making an attempt. So far, he had been a good instructor- even though he’d said he might not be the best for her. But he was a powerful archer, and Nthanda had heard the other from his sect was… difficult to learn from.

She stepped into the tower. She did feel the pressure. It was like a Body Temperer standing right next to her, maybe pushing on her a little bit. It increased as she walked up the tower, but even halfway she found it almost trivial. Towards the top it became more of a challenge, but she pushed against the heavy sensation. She was rather disappointing, but brought her prize back.

“I completed it,” she said.

The old man looked at her. “What do you mean? You just started.” He pointed to stairs that led down- stairs she could have sworn hadn’t been there before. “You merely picked up the key to the entrance.”

When she stepped down the first stair it was like she was hit by a boulder. Nthanda grinned. Maybe she would get something from this after all. Each step forced more weight on her… and she thought that maybe she could actually improve some muscles that hadn’t found a challenge in a long time.