Molting the Mortal Coil

Sage had never really released his aura like this before. It was similar to cycling his Qi Cultivation Technique, but in reverse. Normally to train, the breathing exercise would draw in the energy of the heavens and earth. Then using the route specified by the cultivation technique take the energy gathered by breathing and circulate it along the meridians. The meridians in the body were like an unfinished circulatory system. The pathways that the blood followed were sealed and perfect. Each pump of the heart pushed out newly oxygenated blood and drew back the spent blood from every part of the body. As long as it beat and the body wasn’t wounded it made a perfect system.

On the other hand, the meridians weren’t a fixed and finished path. A Cultivator would have to follow a path outlined in their cultivation technique and manually circulate their energy on this path. To this end, every cultivation technique had very drastically different effects and effectiveness. Mediocre or miraculous effects could all be possible due to different cultivation techniques. Each person also had their own unique sets of meridians and depending on the characteristics of the individual there might also be very difficult sets of results. Usually the most powerful cultivation techniques were specially tailored to specific types of special bodies. Generally the more meridians in the body that could be taken advantage of the more powerful the technique. The more of the body that could be involved the more powerful the effect. It turned into a balancing act between using more of the meridians without using too many to require a special body type.

As the energy in the body followed the path of the meridians it would be transformed and purified, each technique forming its own unique energy signature. After being changed in this manner, the collected energy would be stored in the dantian. To release aura and Qi in general, it was in the opposite pattern. Drawing the Qi from the dantian, circulating it through the meridians and then releasing it through Qi pores. Circulating it through the body made it move faster and gain power just like building pressure in a water system with a pump before opening the tap. For most techniques the idea was to use specific Qi pores and control methods to get the most pressure and power. Releasing aura was to just let it leak out of every Qi Pore at the same time. There no focus, just showing off your energy and making a mess.

As Sage circulated Verdant Firebrand outside of his body he started to notice some problems. With his Qi just leaking away to put on a show, he realized how wasteful Verdant Firebrand was. The Qi in the core was so strong and vibrant yet so much of it was rapidly dissolved in order to change it into the perfect fuel for flame techniques. It really deserves its reputation of being a low ranked cultivation technique.

Changing the nature of his Qi was truly wasteful. Going against his innate nature to save money was truly a silly decision. He’d seen other release their aura and when they were finished they usually were able to pull back in the majority of the qi they had expended. Sage on the other hand found that his energy was actually evaporating away into the air. He was rapidly losing energy. Was it the same when he drew it in? How wasteful was this technique anyway?

After just a minute, Sage felt that half of his energy had already been drained away without him even accomplishing a single thing. Wondering what this test was about, he sure hoped it wasn’t going to be something related to endurance since it seemed his cultivation technique was very deficient when it came to exuding aura. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait much longer as he heard the voice of the old man come from above.

“That’s enough.”

Sage withdrew his aura, actually starting to get a bit anxious as he knew his personal capabilities as a cultivator really weren’t impressive in the least. All he had was a handful of strange and unusual tricks to rely on. Just as he was worried about what might come next, one of the doors of the training grounds opened up and an armored man walked into the room. He was covered in thick armor from head to toe that looked to be constructed out of bronze. As the man walked closer, Sage realized it wasn’t actually a person, it was some sort of automaton or puppet. The face was the giveaway. Although it wore a facemask there was no skin between the gaps and the eyes looked like glowing orbs.

“Next test. Battle with this Bronze Soldier using only your physical body, do not use any Qi or Spirit techniques.”

Sage was immediately put off guard, he had been expecting a fight when he saw the Bronze Soldier, but not in this manner! Using only my physical body?

Ever since his legs had been transformed into a snake tail, Sage had been unable to use the few martial techniques he had learned in the past. The Golden Mantis Body along with anything else that made use of the legs were near impossible for him to perform. Many others that made use of the core and overall strength of the body also needed to get modified in a way that Sage hadn’t had the time to explore yet. He had set a timetable and that training schedule didn’t include training techniques for snake people, let alone where he was going to get those techniques from.

He didn’t get any more time to dwell upon the situation as the Bronze Soldier was suddenly upon him. Marching forward in a slow yet orderly fashion. Its movements were smooth and minimalist nothing at all like Sage imagined a robot or puppet might move. It was more like a highly experienced soldier, no motion was wasted to conserve energy and maintain perfect balance. Sage didn’t immediately understand these things, it was something that he reflected on later. At the current time, he was busy getting smashed around by the Bronze Soldier. The first punch that came towards his face, Sage was able to dodge. His serpentine lower body made him very agile when it came to shifting his center of gravity. Even without any specialized techniques or training it was much easier for him to duck and dodge around when compared to a normal human. On the other hand, without legs he couldn’t take large steps to the side or make quick jumps. Instead he had to coil up the tail beneath him before he could make a leap. That single leap was very fast and powerful, the same motion a snake used to strike, but it also took time to prepare for and recover from.

After its first few punches were dodged, the Bronze Soldier darted forward quickly and stomped on the end of Sage’s tail. The pain and damage from the metal foot weren’t that severe, it was what came after that hurt. With his tail pinned, Sage lost a lot of his agility and he got to try out the toughness of his scales for the first time in combat. A bronze fist slammed against his body over and over again. A few hits in the same spot caused some of his scales to be knocked off, blood flowing from the damaged location. After getting hit a dozen times, Sage finally managed to push the Bronze Soldier back and free his tail.

Sage kept on the move after that, slithering quickly around the ring. He instinctively used a tactic that was embedded in his memories from the Twin Ringed Soul Serpent. Quickly moving away to build distance between himself and the opponent before turning around and coiling up. When the enemy closed in he struck with full force just like as if he was a giant snake. The first strike he actually opened his mouth and bit down on the Bronze Soldier. Unfortunately, his target was made of metal which even his strong fangs couldn’t puncture. In addition, the target didn’t have a soul so his venom was utterly ineffective. The next two times he struck he darted forward and swung his fists.

From the time he’d left the remnants of the Lang Clan, Sage had never again practiced Golden Mantis Body. During his time as a caravan guard he trained in a few low level fist techniques and it was one of those he used now. It wasn’t a very good technique to begin with, and only half effective now given his unusual body type, so it was actually quite surprising when these strikes hit the Bronze Soldier hard enough to knock it back a dozen steps.

Hey, I might just have a chance!