The Magistrate: Chapter 43 (Patreon)

Every writer I've talked to has told me that I need to break this giant book into a trilogy. I've already written this book in III Acts, and this chapter is the end of Act I, so I would love to hear your thoughts on what you've read so far and whether you would be okay or furious with me ending a book here.One of the major issues with publishing this book as one book is that it's too long to have it printed through normal means, so it will likely never come out in print.

Chapter 43

Autumn's End

Time passed and seasons changed. As the end of Autumn approached, Tobias stood in the sect's training ground ready to share his final findings. There were many improvements he could make to how they trained, but those improvements would be minor and tedious, and Tobias had no interest or need to be a part of that research.

The disciples sat in rows depending on seniority, giving him their full attention. They knew their training under him was over and were showing him the highest respect they could.

Tobias cupped his hands before him and bowed. "Magistrate Finch thanks the disciples of Cloud Sect for their assistance with his research."

The disciples cupped their hands and returned the bow.

Tobias flicked open his folding fan and tucked his empty hand behind his back. "I know that many of you consider our time together to have been fortuitous. However, what we have done here will not only improve you but fundamentally change the cultivation world. Through your hard work, we have proven that building muscle up to the peak of the foundation realm makes expanding and strengthening body meridians faster and easier. You should all be very proud of this."

Tobias turned to a small group of the grotesquely muscular disciples. They were so bulbous that they struggled to care for themselves, requiring servants to assist them with many of their physical needs.

"We have also proven that there is an absolute maximum for how effective building muscle is and that to go beyond this point causes meridian instability."

Tobias snapped his fan closed, signalling for the others to copy his following actions, before cupping his hands and bowing to the grotesquely proportioned men.

"We pay our respects to those who have taken harm to prevent others from harm." Tobias rose from the bow. "Had you not agreed to this training, the elders who will attempt to lower disciples' chi density through other means might have done irreparable harm to them."

The massive disciples did their best to return the bow, but their arms were so large that they could not make their hands meet to cup them. After this final meeting, they would go directly to chi chi-saturated cultivation chambers to correct their meridian instability. Access had been granted because of their personal sacrifice.

Tobias turned his gaze towards the main group. "Here is what I have learned with your help. The stomach meridian passively draws in chi from its surroundings, before moving it down multiple pathways to the next meridians in the body meridian network. During this transition, some of the chi leaks from the pathways, changing its nature so that it can infuse the surrounding bones, muscles, and organs. This infusion reinforces and changes the body, allowing it to adapt more quickly and become stronger. However, this chi density also applies pressure to the greater body meridians, making it more difficult for them to expand and strengthen. The amount of chi leaking from these pathways is proportional to the size and strength of the meridians, so is the pressure placed on the greater body meridians. This is irrespective of one's cultivation, divinity and talent. Reductions in the body's chi density can successfully reduce the difficulty of expanding and strengthening greater body meridians. This can be achieved by increasing the amount of muscle a body possesses. This reduction in difficulty is irrespective of one's cultivation, divinity, or talent.

Furthermore, the body possesses a natural limiter, an inability to easily adapt once the additional muscle begins harming body meridians. This limiter can be overcome through excessive strength training to build muscle, but it is not advised because it causes meridian instability, as the chi density in the body helps to maintain the structure of body meridians as they are expanded and strengthened. Because of this, it is advisable to stop attempting to grow muscle once muscle growth has drastically reduced. The effectiveness of this body cultivation method will enable even a cultivator at the end of their natural path to expand and strengthen their greater body meridians by no less than one-third. For those not at the end of their natural path, it can increase the speed they expand and strengthen these meridians by no less than a factor of four."

The lowest increase in size and strength of the greater body meridians among those at the end of their natural path was actually a little over 50%. However, Tobias wanted to be realistic. There were cultivators out there who lacked the disciple's abilities and training. The same went for the factor of four estimate for speed. The slowest disciple had seen an increase of a factor of six, and the highest had seen an increase of a factor of fifteen.

These higher numbers did not matter as the base numbers he supplied indicated that this would be the preferred method, naturally expanding and strengthening the greater body meridians going forward.

Tobias motioned to Lingling, encouraging her to begin handing out the manuals he'd prepared. The looks of surprise and the chuckling that followed indicated he'd chosen the correct name.

The Weary Disciple Body Cultivation Manual would eventually be known throughout The Three Kingdoms and become the first step for any cultivator on the path to body cultivation.

Tobias watched as the chuckling slowly spread as each disciple was let in on the joke. They had all worked painstakingly hard for him, and they all found the thought of others suffering as much as they had amusing.

Once the last of the manuals was handed out and the laughter died down, Tobias motioned for silence and folded his hands behind his back. "This concludes our training together. Starting tomorrow, you will return to training under the elders of Cloud Sect. The manual you hold has everything you need to make progress without my assistance. However, should you need advice anytime before the New Year Festival, my door in the state assignment hall is open to all of you. You may return to your duties."

The disciples rose to their feet, and Disciple Pon stepped forward. He cupped his hands before him. In one motion, every other disciple did the same.

"We thank Magistrate Finch for his assistance on our journey to immortality," they spoke as one. "We recognise the debt that is owed."

As one, they bowed, bending below the waist, offering the highest respect they could without kowtowing. It was a gesture of gratitude from students to a beloved teacher.

Tobias returned their bow with the bow of a teacher to a valued student, accepting the respect that was offered.

None of the disciples before him were claimed by the elders. None of them had any backing. None of them were ever going to be core disciples. Everything they had achieved was achieved through hard work. For many in the foundation realm, this had been the first assistance they had received in decades. The sect expected them to thrive or fail on their own. Tobias knew that this was a waste of their potential.

***

Xu Ling put down her copy of the Weary Disciple Body Cultivation Manual, having groaned through the entire training section of the manual as she remembered the intense physical training she had undergone. Her body was now slightly toned, with a bit more muscle. Despite her grumbling, Tobias knew she was quite happy with the change.

Xu Ling rolled from her stomach to her back and rose to a sitting position, moving the cushions she'd been resting her head on in his viewing room, under her backside.

Tobias smiled. "What do you think?"

Xu Ling scowled. "It's brilliant and I hated every moment I spent reading it."

Tobias chuckled. "Because it reminded you of training?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't make me beat you with the strength you gave me."

Tobias smirked. "Is that any way to speak to your master?"

Xu Ling picked up another cushion and threw it at him.

Tobias caught the cushion and tossed it aside. "I've finalised the next series of cultivation exercises for when you're ready to move onto energy meridian opening."

Initiate realm cultivation was significantly more complex than the mortal realm cultivation, and it had taken Tobias longer than he expected to categorise everything in his library for the Lee Clan to develop the next exercises she needed.

Tobias had even postponed categorising techniques to save time and was glad he had.

The cultivation world considered anything a cultivator did with chi or spiritual energy that didn't improve their cultivation to be a technique. The only distinction they made was whether techniques were offensive, defensive, mobility, or utility, despite there being apparent differences between certain types of techniques within these distinctions. Unravelling that mess and creating something coherent to build exercises with would likely take him a couple of years and require him to write several books.  

Xu Ling flopped onto her back and groaned. "You're a monster. All you do is make me train."

Tobias winced at the accusation.

Since they'd perform the master servant ritual, Tobias had been pushing her quite hard. He'd been pushing himself just as hard, but there wasn't really a need for him to push her as hard as he was pushing himself, besides a concern that he might not be there to see her training to the end.

Xu Ling was making steady progress, progress that was much faster than he assumed it would be. Even with his improved intellect, her learning speed was still superior to his. That, more than anything he'd been told, finally made him accept there was something to being a prodigy, something that went beyond having divinity so high it couldn't be tested.

Lingling was still working through the first set of exercises. In the same time, Xu Ling had learned all three methods, progressed through meridian cleansing, and body meridian expanding and was close to finishing the methods for strengthening. She would soon be working on energy meridians, and Tobias didn't believe she would find that any more difficult than she had found anything else.

In the beginning, she made the same mistakes his sister had made. However, those mistakes were overcome more quickly. Every test he'd run said she wasn't more talented or intelligent than other cultivators. Instead, it appeared that her practice was more effective.

Tobias had only figured this out because her father had been diligently recording her and his sister's progress. Based on the data, Xu Ling seemed to gain as much experience from performing an exercise once as his sister did from performing the same exercise twenty-eight times.

There weren't enough subjects to conduct a comprehensive study, but the findings suggested that the matter requires further investigation.

As those thoughts crossed his mind, Tobias realised he was being unfair to Xu Ling. He was treating her only as his first disciple, not as his friend.

"You're right. I am pushing you too hard. However, there isn't much to do in Cloud City until my shopping and entertainment district is completed, so how about we visit my friend Patriarch Lee?"

Xu Ling sat up. "With or without my father?"

"That will be up to him."

Xu Ling had been his guest for long enough that it wasn't considered improper for them to visit Tobias's friend alone. She was also a cultivator, which offered her more freedom. However, that freedom was limited by her status as Xu Feng's daughter and heir. She was supposed to act above reproach. But she was also Tobias's first disciple, so that gave her a little more freedom, too.

Xu Ling grinned and leapt to her feet, racing out of the room to badger her father into allowing their outing.

Tobias went to the other room, composed a quick letter, and passed it off to his servants to deliver to the courier when the end-of-day manuscripts arrived.

The Lee Clan was still translating his library and making increasingly faster progress. Patriarch Lee was doing everything in his power to ensure Tobias had what he needed for further insights, which were now coming more frequently.

Tobias stopped by his sister's bedroom on his way back.

She was seated on a cushion in the centre of the room, practising her cultivation exercises. Xu Ling's rapid progress had warped Lingling's perception of what cultivators typically achieved, and she had thrown herself into her studies. Tobias had tried to point out the age difference and brought up numerous times that Xu Ling was a prodigy, but she hadn't listened.

Lingling opened her eyes as he entered.

Tobias smiled at his sister. "Would you like to visit the local patriarchs of the Great Clans with me? I need to deliver the manual and manuscript I created, and having you there will open up your marriage prospects if things don't work out with the Lee Clan"

Lingling considered the offer. "Will this be a formal meeting?"

"No. It will be a social visit."

"Do I have to visit the Lee Clan?"

"No. Xu Ling and I are going to do that."

"I'll come with you." Lingling reached behind her and picked up her copy of the Weary Disciple's Body Cultivation Manual. "I have a question about your body cultivation method."

"Is there something you don't understand?"

"There is, but I actually have a question about something that's not in here."

Tobias frowned. "What's not in there?"

"You don't mention whether or not growing muscle helps open and cleanse body meridians."

"I do, but indirectly. On the second page, there is a line that states growing muscle is unnecessary before the initiate realm."

Lingling scowled. "That's too vague. It doesn't explain why it wasn't necessary."

"The twelve greater body meridians are spaced far enough apart that they don't generate enough chi density to affect the opening and cleansing of each other. This only changes after opening and cleansing the greater meridians, which creates enough pressure to open and cleanse the lesser body meridians."

"That makes sense, but why isn't it in here?"

"You don't need to understand that to practice my body cultivation method."

"Oh."

"What's your other question?"

Lingling frowned. "I understand why opening and cleansing the greater meridians causes the lesser meridians to open and be cleansed, but I don't understand why expanding and strengthening the greater meridians cause the lesser ones to change, too."

"That's because the nature of the chi travelling through the body meridian network changes as you expand and strengthen your greater body meridians. This change enriches the chi within you, allowing it to nourish your lesser body meridians, enabling them to adapt. This adaptation causes them to mimic the greater body meridians by expanding and growing stronger."

"That doesn't make sense. Your manual stated that meridians are the entry points for chi into the body meridian network. How can something that is travelling through the network affect something outside it?"

"Ah, I see where you're confused. You've misunderstood the terminology used in the manual."

"I have?"

"Yes. Your body meridian network is the term cultivators use to collectively refer to all your body meridian pathways. Pathways are the channels that carry chi between two body meridians. These pathways can be between both greater and lesser meridians. It doesn't matter what sort. The only body meridian that actually allows chi to enter your body meridian network is your stomach meridian. This is because the stomach meridian has the ability to break down foreign contaminants and filter them out, preventing them from corrupting the body. The rest of your body meridians alter chi and facilitate its movement through your pathways, depending on how they've been expanded or strengthened."

"You should explain that in your guide. I didn't understand it."

"That's because you're not an initiate realm cultivator. You haven't studied cultivation to the extent that those who read this manual will have."

"You keep telling me that cultivators don't understand cultivation, that they just blindly follow tradition. Why would they know more than I do?"

Tobias groaned because Lingling was right. He'd made an assumption that he shouldn't have. "I'm going to have to write a manuscript that explains all this."

"Why not add it to this one?"

"That manual is about muscle growth and its effects on body cultivation. If I add too much unrelated information, I'll confuse the reader, so it's better to create a manuscript that teaches them what they need to know before they read that manual."

Lingling nodded. "Can I continue delivering skewers to the disciples?"

"You can deliver mortal meat for those in the initiate realm."

"Why not initiate realm cloud ram meat? You said they needed it."

"Now that my research is concluded, the elders are no longer funding the disciple's growth. I would have to pay for that myself, and I'm not willing to do that."

Lingling scowled. "Don't be cheap. They helped you a lot."

"Feeding them for one day would cost more than the land I bought for our family to farm."

Lingling's mouth dropped open. "How is it so expensive!"

"Cloud Sect's hunters are only allowed to kill cloud rams that have reached the peak of a realm and cannot break through to the next. This means there are only a few dozen of them wandering through the Cloud Mountains each season."

"But the disciples eat it every day."

"By the time a cloud ram reaches peak initiate realm, it is four times the size of a fully grown bull. They're enormous and take a foundation realm cultivator or a group of initiate realm cultivators to bring them down."

Lingling frowned. "Cultivator Pon is a foundation realm hunter. Can I ask him if he would like to supply the meat they need?"

"You can, but you must clearly state that it's a personal request, not something I'm endorsing. I won't have you using my name to manipulate the disciples."

Lingling grinned.

***

A few days later, Tobias led Xu Ling through Patriarch Lee's garden and stopped before the old man's table. After badgering her father relentlessly for two days, Xu Feng finally agreed to allow her to visit alone. Xu Ling didn't know, but Xu Feng had only agreed because Tobias had said he would introduce her as his first disciple. Attending a social gathering in such a way was far more acceptable.

Tobias stopped before the table and bowed. "Patriarch Lee, allow me to introduce my first disciple Xu Ling, daughter of Xu Feng, owner of the House of Sound."

Patriarch Lee cupped his fist and gave a small bow.

Xu Ling rose from her bow, turned, and then scowled at Tobias. "You didn't say you were going to introduce me as your first disciple."

Tobias was shocked by her public outburst. Tobias didn't know how powerful his friend actually was, but he knew that most cultivators were terrified by the thought of him. Her accusation was so far outside the bounds of etiquette and tradition that Tobias didn't know how to react.

Thankfully, Patriarch Lee chuckled. "You must like me to be so forthright, young lady."

Xu Ling flashed him a grin. "If you were a few thousand years younger, I would try to marry you. I see why the two of you are friends."

Patriarch Lee returned the grin. "And I see why Tobias likes you so much."

Xu Ling forgot her indignation as she took a seat at the table, motioning for Tobias to join them. "Magistrate Finch mentioned me?"

"On several occasions. He feels you are one of the few people he has met who could pursue your own dao."

Tobias finally recovered from his shock and took a seat, placing the two manuals he'd written in front of Patriarch Lee.

"Has he mentioned I'm trying to marry him?"

"He did. He was undecided on the matter, which, now that I have met you, is a strong mark against him. You're beauty lives up to its reputation."

Xu Ling smiled, accepting the compliment, before finally remembering her manners. "Xu Ling greets Patriarch Lee."

Patriarch Lee inclined his head and finally relaxed, shifting his gaze to the manuals. "Patriarch Lee greets Fairy Xu." He picked up the second manual and glanced at Tobias. "This isn't the body cultivation method you've been working on?"

"You said that the Great Clans would consider my notes on breaking down cultivation methods valuable enough to be a fair exchange for letting me permanently keep their libraries, so I formalised the information into a manual that explains how to do so. It's now simple enough that anyone should be able to understand and use my method."

Patriarch Lee thumbed through the pages. "This is more extensive than the notes you gave me."

"I've had more time to think and study. That's allowed me to refine the method to be more versatile. You'll be surprised at some of the insights you can gather with that manual. You should easily be able to create cultivation exercises for your unique techniques."

Patriarch Lee gave an excited grin. "Have you verified if these cultivation exercises work?"

"I thought your clan was working on that?"

"We are. I want to know if your experience has been different to our own."

Tobias motioned to Xu Ling. "My first disciple has made great progress in her ability to cultivate by using the exercises your clan created."

Patriarch Lee turned to Xu Ling. "How significant are these improvements?"

Xu Ling blushed. "Magistrate Finch overestimates my progress."

Patriarch Lee frowned. "How so?"

Tobias decided to answer, to help her save face. "Xu Ling has only mastered the mortal realm exercises and does not believe that this should count since they will no longer help her progress."

Patriarch Lee examined Xu Ling, sensing her cultivation. "What are you basing her progress on, then?" 

"Her ability to cultivate. Before she began, her technical ability to perform the exercises was significantly below that of her father in these aspects. They are now noticeably above his."

"Why is that relevant?"

"The vast majority of prodigies have little cultivation skill, because their divinity doesn't require them to master basic cultivation skills. Without these basic skills, they quickly reach the core realm. However, once there, their divinity is no longer enough to protect them from chi deviation. This lack of basic cultivation skill eventually leads them to produce a cataclysmic chi deviation, which either kills them or cripples their cultivation for life."

"What are you basing that assumption on?"

"The Great Clans and sects' records. They demonstrate a clear link between the speed at which a prodigy reaches the core realm and their likelihood of dying from chi deviation. This link is also replicated for those with naturally high divinity reaching the foundation realm at a younger age."

"And you believe these cultivation exercises will eliminate the chances of chi deviation."

"No, but they will drastically reduce their occurrence and indicate to the individual where their capabilities lie in relation to cultivation methods and techniques."

"If this manual does everything you promise, the Great Clans will be in your debt. This is worth significantly more than access to our general libraries and publicly protecting your family."

"A good relationship is all I need for these manuals."

Xu Ling smirked.

Patriarch Lee caught the smirk. "You have greater insights still to share."

Tobias nodded.

"Insights you don't intend to freely share."

Tobias nodded again.

Patriarch Lee glanced at the manuals. "You're giving us these now so that when the others are ready, the Great Clans and sects will know the true value of what you offer. They will also do everything in their power to make sure you and your family are protected."

Tobias nodded yet again. "Has your clan found the exercises beneficial?"

"Our new generation is progressing faster than any generation before them, and that's all I will say on the matter."

Tobias had assumed the exercises would work based on what he'd seen with his sister and Xu Ling, but they hadn't put what they were learning into practice, so he couldn't be sure. Patriarch Lee's words had confirmed that creating the second manual was worth his time and effort. That he'd taken the right actions to increase his family's security.

Tobias smiled.

Patriarch Lee returned the smile and picked up the body cultivation method Tobias had created. "Let me see what you've created."

Tobias and Xu Ling sat in silence as Patriarch Lee began to read. With his cultivation, he was able to read the manual in only a few minutes. Then he moved on to the manual for creating cultivation exercises. Unlike the pile of notes he'd been given the previous Winter, this had a formal structure that was easier to understand and implement.

Patriarch eventually put it down and met Tobia's gaze. "When you brought me your notes, there was no doubt in my mind that you would be able to convince my clan of your ongoing value. These two manuals are more than I hoped for. I promise you that within a few days, The Three Kingdoms will know that the Finch Family is under the Lee Clan's protection."

Tobias swallowed. "Will they be safe now?"

Patriarch Lee paused. "I can't promise that your enemies will leave your family alone, but I can promise you that there will always be an elder of the Lee Clan standing in their way."

"For how long?"

Patriarch Lee's gaze softened and lifted Tobias's body cultivation manual. "You do not understand what I hold in my hands, my friend. Eight thousand years from now, I will be surrounded by members of my clan who will struggle to believe that I was once friends with the man who created such a foundational body cultivation method. Children will listen with rapt attention, like their parents before them, as I share the story of our friendship. Whether my clan has to keep your family safe for decades, centuries, or millennia is of little consequence to one like myself. The youngest child in your family will die of old age before our elders give up their watch, because I will not be able to tell that story before my clan with pride if we do anything less. It is an honour and a privilege to call someone who created something so foundational my friend."

Tobias stared back, finally understanding how much different their perception of time was. Patriarch Lee intended to protect his family for centuries, not because their friendship was that strong, but because his life was so long that the commitment held a different meaning for him. Tobias's family would die of old age without ever experiencing a fiftieth of the years his friend would experience, so protecting them was not a significant commitment.

A wave of relief overwhelmed Tobias as that sank in.

Patriarch Lee saw that he understood and turned to Xu Ling. "I expect you're about to have a lot of competition. Tobias has just become the most eligible bachelor in The Three Kingdoms."

Xu Ling scowled. "He's going to marry me. He doesn't have a choice in the matter."

Patriarch Lee chuckled. "I believe my friend would disagree."

"Once again, the magistrate doesn't have a choice in the matter."