Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang (simple e reader TXT) 📕

and into a courtyard framed by large, modern buildings of glass and metal. The sign above the door central doors marked it as Honnoji Academy.

“There.” Kentaro pointed to the far end of an athletic field, at a stone well. “That’s where the girl from Aran’s world retrieved the Dragon Pearl earlier this month.”

When they made it to the other side of the field, they looked down into the well.

“What’s so special about this place?” Ken asked.

Aya’s eyes glazed over for a split second. “Remember when we talked about Feng Shui and the energy in Kyoto? This spot is like a keystone.”

Master Ryu nodded. “The elders of our sects agree. In the World of Rivers and Lakes, this spot is considered a nexus. The Dragon Pearl’s presence here in this world was also felt over there, and its energy closed off the portals.”

“Wait.” Ken held up a hand and looked at the Elestrae. “Aran said you entered into that world. How were you able to do it, if the portals were closed?”

“A dragon took us through.”

The master nodded. “That explains the mural I saw in the Sun-Moon Sect.”

She nodded. “Yes, we stayed with their clan for a year and taught them our fighting style. Aran and Kiera even Advanced to First Rank.”

“And you didn’t?” Aya asked.

“I didn’t take it seriously enough.” She shrugged. “I always preferred my guns.”

Ken couldn’t imagine giving up the chance to get stronger. “Why didn’t you stay longer?”

“We had to get back. Our people were losing an intergalactic war with the Tivari because they’d discovered a massive source of istrium. Our team had been tasked to find it. But that’s another very long story.”

With no sign any more of this long story was forthcoming, Ken looked to the master. “What does the pill do?”

“Not just the pill,” Master Ryu said. “By itself, it wouldn’t connect to the veins of energy that course through the city. It needs a conduit.”

“What kind of conduit?” Ken looked down into the well, seeing nothing but darkness.

Aya’s voice came out as barely a whisper. “Not what. Who.”

“That is right. I was to be the conduit.” Master Ryu looked from her to Ken, then held up the sparkling violet pill. “I was to take the Impurities Scouring Pill, then the Infinite Energy Pill, and execute a unique Supreme Ultimate Fist form.”

“And then your mission is complete?” Relief washed over Ken. “What will we do then?”

The master fixed his gaze on him. “The question is, what will you do?”

“I will follow you wherever you go.”

Master Ryu shook his head. “I will be the conduit…forever.”

What did that mean? Ken’s intestines knotted. “Does that…does that…” the words choked in his throat.

“I am never coming out of the well.”

What? Ken shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “No!  You can’t!”

“I have to try.” Master Ryu glared at Siena. “It would’ve been easier with the pill.”

Unashamed, she met his gaze. “With this new power in my Core, I can sense the veins of energy rippling through the world. I will help you.”

Would that work? Ken gave her a dubious look.

Master Ryu, however, studied her. “You are only Level One, but your Core is so impossibly dense, your energy is equivalent to a master. With both of us, it might just work.”

“How?” Ken asked.

“Siena will connect with the meridians of the world, and I will merge the energy of my Core into it.”

What did that mean? Ken couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His voice cracked. “Won’t that kill you?”

Master Ryu laughed. “Quite the opposite. I will become one with the network of energy that permeates the many layers of the world.  I will see everything. It’s the closest thing to godhood one can attain.”

That made Ken feel a little better, but he’d never see his master again. Fighting back tears, he sniffled. “Who will teach us?”

“The Heaven’s Dawn Sect in the World of Rivers and Lakes will teach you.”

“But you’re closing the portals.”

“Once you attain First Rank in all Five Paths, you will be able to pass through a thinly warded portal at Shirahige Shrine on Biwa Lake.” The master pointed northeast. “That’s how I first entered the World of Rivers and Lakes.”

“But I’m only First Rank in three Paths.”

“I’ve taught you all the exercises you need to Advance to First Rank in all Five Paths. You have enough Cores in my staff and the walking stick to provide the energy for that to happen.”

“What about Aya?” Ken looked to her and found that tears had welled up in her eyes, too.

“She is ready to advance, and there are enough Cores for both of you,” Ryu said. He tapped her on the head. “But to do so, she has to rid herself of the wiring that allows her to hack into the EtherCloud.”

Aya gasped. She shook her head. “Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible. It would require multiple surgeries, recovery time—”

“My final gift to you.” Master Ryu took her hand and set the purple pill into her palm. He closed her fingers around it. “The Impurities Scouring Pill will convert your wiring into useable Qi and heal the pathways they replaced.”

Aya opened her hand and stared at the pill for a moment. She then looked to Ryu. “What would you do in my position?”

“It’s your choice. You now know the exercises to control your disease, and you can stay the way you are and continue wreaking havoc on the government’s computer systems for years to come.” He grinned at her, though with an obvious underlying sadness in his eyes. “Or, you can give it all up and join Ken-kun in the World of Rivers and Lakes.  Just know that you are tied to each other. Yin to Yang.”

Ken’s