Chapter 185: Qi and Mana and Chakra

Chapter 185: Qi and Mana and Chakra

Life took so many unexpected turns. Once, Zae Zin Nim had known exactly how her future was going to progress, down to the year she would achieve each cultivation stage. Then had come the blockages, Deadwaste, Kai, and so much else... and now Omilaena.

They had taken over the estate for now, to give themselves time to recover and regroup. Zae Zin Nim had seized the resources that she had formerly tried to steal, which were now hers by right. Unfortunately there weren't many left, but she had plenty of pure qi from home to fuel her cultivation. That made her feel slightly better about the entire experience.

It was when she went down into the basement that she became less certain. Omilaena waited there, obediently trapped in the chakra prison yet still dangerous.

"What is this?" Zae Zin Nim asked, holding up a yellow rock from the vault.

"That's a chakra stone." Omilaena peered at it for the briefest of moments, then shrugged. "I could tell you more, but it wouldn't matter. Having trouble tapping it, huh?"

"Tell me the secret. Or is it some Rosemount mystery I couldn't comprehend?"

"Oh, you could get it, even without my help. You're a pretty good cultivator. But I really don't recommend grabbing just any old source of chakra you can find. More than qi or mana, it's absolutely essential that what you absorb is aligned with your body."

That sounded like a mix of bullshit and what she already knew. Zae Zin Nim stared down at the colored rock and frowned. "So it's similar to a qi crystal?"

"In a simple sense, as an object that stores energy, sure." Omilaena stepped closer to the boundary, eyes alight. "In the technical sense, not at all. Qi crystals are just temporary storage containers, not that exciting in the end. When chakra is stored in an object, the energy alters the matter permanently. The process is fascinating and I'm not sure I understand it fully yet."

"You said the crystals here aren't interesting... then why come to Krysal?"

"I had such high hopes for this place." The other woman sagged against the energy wall. "Their crystal cores are like little external dantians, it's fascinating. I really thought that studying them would be the breakthrough I needed, but it wouldn't actually benefit me. The soul only has so many capacities, you know, and you shouldn't fill them with weak powers."

"I am aware." Zae Zin Nim raised one hand and let some qi flow from it, tinged with blue mana fire. "That's why you wanted to experiment on how I use mana."

"Yes, you have one of the best fusions I've seen. In your case, it's like you've learned to draw mana into your cultivation, yet you also gained some mana-like characteristics without polluting your qi. I can't duplicate it, but it was instructive."

"Why did you have to come here to experiment? You should have plenty of qi on Rosemount."

"Ah, but it isn't that simple." Omilaena wagged a finger. "The structure that develops depends on all types of power in a region, not just the existence of one. Haven't you ever wondered why you don't have Classes on Cloudspire and you had to come all the way out here to develop one?"

Zae Zin Nim blinked as she considered that idea. She had always been taught that they could have such powers, they were simply inferior to cultivation. Now...

"Areas with lots of mana but not much qi turn out differently than regions where both coexist. It makes cultivators angry, but what you view as 'pure' cultivation is actually the form that exists only when there are reasonably high levels of all three types of energy."

"I was told it made the qi richer, but..." Zae Zin Nim frowned as she considered it. "But I was always taught to avoid drawing on the chakra or mana."

"So it seems."

"I wanted to float the idea of working together with her more." Kai spoke hesitantly, as if expecting an argument. "We need to make a decision soon, and-"

"That is acceptable." Zae Zin Nim nodded briefly.

"Are you sure? I thought, after she captured you, that you might hold it against her."

"I do, but that does not preclude us working together. I think she would be useful to us." She raised a finger. "For one, she is a far more obvious target than we are. She was already considered a menace after taking this city, and the theft at the auction only worsened her reputation. So long as she is active, we have a ready-made distraction."

"Good, I was thinking the same thing." Kai smiled in relief. "Plus, she's one of the only people who Suortril hates even more than us. She might betray us, but she can't really betray us to most of our enemies because they'd never trust her."

"Then you do want to go to war against the crystalliers."

"Well... yeah, I guess that's what I'm thinking."

"I don't care," Zae Zin Nim said, "but how do you expect that to end? If the Krysali all kill one another, they won't be ready for the next monster incursion. And isn't that what matters most to you?"

"Matters most? I don't..." Kai abruptly shook his head. "In any case, you're right. Ideally this would happen as a slow, quiet revolution. We keep arming the workers, in both the mines and the pits. Make them strong enough that it's not economical to keep them imprisoned anymore. It might hurt some profit margins, but they'll have to adapt if the change is already so far gone that it can't be easily rolled back. War hurts their profits too, after all."

"The top merchants have too much invested. You don't think they'll go peacefully, do you?"

"No." Kai met her gaze and she saw the monstrous hunger in him then. "Even if everything goes well, the most powerful people in Krysal will send out their crystalliers. If not checked, they'll slaughter the workers to try to turn back the tide and break their spirits. We need to be prepared to fight Diamond Crystalliers."

"Good. I agree." Zae Zin Nim hesitated, then gave him a slight bow. "I doubt I will be much use helping the peasants, but when we face our elite foes, I will fight at your side."

"And I'll be glad to have you there. But we need others too, including..."

"Let Omilaena stay in her prison a while longer. She has been misbehaving." Zae Zin Nim stepped past him, irritated again. "I believe she will fight with us, but we should not plan on her remaining with us in the end. As soon as is convenient, she will abandon us."

Kai was quiet for a while, his thoughts unknowable, but eventually he nodded. "You're right. We can't rely on her."

So they had a plan: revolution to overthrow an entire country. Zae Zin Nim had studied some political methods, but they primarily relied on a cultivator with overwhelming personal strength who could decapitate the leadership structure and dictate from above. This kind of more complex war, with so many different forces, was not a conflict she was suited to.

Still, through qi or mana or chakra, she would be ready. For the battles that day, and the day after, and beyond the horizon.