The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

The skies trembled, as the Azure Dragon appeared with a roar, shaking the very heavens themselves. We all stumbled back, watching the Divine Beast make an appearance. The giant dragon flew into the skies, the heavens crackling above us with a storm. The Qi around us shivered and vibrated with power and a power aura filled the entire Cradle. Across the valley, I could feel the attention of all the dragons now focused in this direction.

I wanted to reach out to the Azure Dragon, call it out and make it hear us, but I paused as lightning crashed down near me and I realized something. The Azure Dragon wasn’t listening. I could see it in the dragon’s eyes, there was no rationality there, only rage, as it continued to lash against unseen forces.

The world crackled, lightning striking down once more as the Azure Dragon continued to roar, stuck in a haze of anger and fury, blinded by it. The entire valley began to shake, all the Qi within it starting to flow inwards and towards the Azure Dragon, only further adding to its anger and power. I needed to do something, and fast. But what? My entire body was on the verge of breaking apart, I felt like I’d been blasted and sizzled completely from the inside by my own power and channeling Harmony once more gave me the feeling that it’d break me into pieces. I clenched my fist, my mind racing to come up with a solution.

“Boy, let us out,” Xuanwu said, his voice resonating in my soul.

For a second I wanted to ask if he was sure, but I didn’t. My body was on the verge of breaking and challenging Xuanwu… was going to be a challenge, but I reached into my soul, to the Divine Beast present within and let him reach out.

To my surprise, Xuanwu didn’t mingle with my spirit, he flew straight past it. I opened my eyes in shock as power flooded out of me, flowing into the world and gathering together as a giant silhouette appeared in front of us.

The world shook, a chill snowy storm now forming through the skies, pushing against the thunder clouds and storms as another roar shook the valley, as the Black Tortoise appeared into the world.

I stepped back, all of us did, as the two Divine Beast stood in the Cradle of Dragons. Spring and Winter. The two collided in this place, in this moment, the wrath of both tearing the world apart, and confusing the weather as rain and snow continued to intermingle and pour down onto the world, creating a fog that began to permeate the valley.

“Qinglong, cease your rampage this moment,” Xuanwu said to the Azure Dragon, voice echoing with power. “Are you going to run? Would you abandon everything after causing all that you have?”

The Azure Dragon did not react, still stuck in a trance of rage, simply roaring and fighting phantoms that did not exist.

“We thought time would’ve changed your nature. But we were wrong,” Xuanwu said, rumbled. “You’re still just a coward.”

For the first time, there was a change. A reaction elicited from the Azure Dragon as it focused on Xuanwu and then, rage flooded the divine beast as a powerful bolt of lightning crashed down near Xuanwu and I realized something terrible.

They were going to fight.

The moment I realized that, I rushed towards my friends, grabbing Liuxiang and picking her up as Elder Yan picked up Yan Yun. Zhang had already begun coming to, and I helped him up on his feet before carrying Liuxiang on my back. We leapt off into the skies moments before the two Divine Beasts crashed, and the battle began.

The world seemed to split in two.

Qi and Gu rumbled, colliding against each other. The dreary death of winter, the cold embrace of its chilling nights descended onto the torrential storms of spring, the rage with which new life budded anew, breaching the surface and appearing once more.

The shockwave nearly blew us away as Elder Yan and I landed on one of the peaks, far enough away for now. I set down Liuxiang against a rock next to Yan Yun as Zhang stumbled and sat down to rest as well, and then we faced the Cradle, and watched the two Divine Beasts clash.

It was like watching two titans wrestle, as the world itself crumbled apart around them. The Azure Dragon roared as The Black Tortoise shot beams of water at the dragon. The serpent coiled around his back hissed to life, striking and biting into the Azure Dragon, seeping potent and poisonous Gu into the Divine Beast.

The Azure Dragon did not take that standing still, golden bolts of lightning struck down with the wrath of the very heavens and I watched in awe at the might that formed the pillar of this empire.

Entire mountains crumbled under the strike, the valley burning around us as the Qi raged in the heavens.

I felt Labby come out of my spirit. Ash accompanied her as well. She could see and feel what was happening, and I did not stop the two of them as they stood next to me, watching as well.

“Master…” Labby said, holding onto my sleeve. “How long will they keep fighting?”

I glanced down at Labby, before turning back to face the two Divine Beasts. They continued to clash, the valley crumbling around them from the wrath of their powers and finally, I noticed the creatures that were running. Animals, spirits and even dragons were making their escape as the two titans collided, and the aftermath was leaving this valley, this place meant to rear the young, this safe haven, into a barren land.

Even if the two divine beasts stopped fighting soon, the Cradle would not survive the battle, and the birthplace of dragons would forever be crumbled to ruins.

We needed to stop the two of them. Bring them back to their senses.

I glanced towards Elder Yan, feeling uncertain about what I wanted to say.

“Go,” the man interrupted me. “I’ll keep them safe.”

I paused, and then nodded towards him in thanks.

“Labby, Ash, stay here and watch over our friends okay?” I said, and my spirits nodded dutifully. I smiled at Labby, glancing at Ash who met my gaze with an understanding of what he needed to do.

I nodded, and then turned, and began to run towards the battle, leaping off the edge of the mountain before soaring through the skies.

I rushed towards the battle, the wind soaring past me as I flew. The world crackled around me, the clash of two titans tearing apart reality. Xuanwu gathered a stream of Gu around his mouth. Qinglong roared, lightning gathering across its body.

The two beasts shot towards each other.

Qi met Gu.

The world collapsed under the weight of their forces.

I was thrown off by the shockwave, as I crashed into a mountain side. I pulled myself up, looking forward and my eyes widened at what I saw.

I glimpsed through the cracks in reality, into the void of the beyond, the darkness that permeated the nothingness which existed at the seams of my own reality within my soul, trying to pull me inwards.

The cracks in reality mended themselves rapidly, but more strikes continued, and more cracks began to appear.

Neither of the two were listening to sense now. This was a battle of two primal forces, and it was rending this place apart down into nothing. It wouldn’t just be the Cradle that would be destroyed if this continued, the entire fabric of reality here would be ripped apart.

I rushed forward again, channeling my Chi. My spirit and body ached in protest, I was beyond my limit, and I knew this would cause damage, but that was the price I’d have to pay to stop the two divine beasts.

I rushed forward, Chi flooding my body, breaking apart strained pathways as I Stepped and the world… did not budge.

I felt a resistance around me, like the weight of the world itself was anchored down around me, and I realized a moment later why. The divine beasts. Just their presence alone was weighing down reality, anchoring it here in this place, under their authority, under their domains.

They were molding the world, they wielded the authority here and it was not my place to rip through it.

I grit my teeth. I’d have to do this the hard way.

I flew through the torrential storm, as the battle continued. Blasts of Gu, and lightning, pouring down rain and hail and storm and winds continued to blast all around me. Chunks of rocks flew, dust clouds rising in the sky as the two divine beasts collided and swept through entire chunks at their massive sizes that’d make Godzilla blush.

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My body continued to ache the closer I got, the pressure on me growing and the force needed to keep moving forward becoming worse and worse by each second. My skin began to crack, and I was clenching my teeth so hard I could feel my jaw aching. Reality itself was rippling. The world was being torn, it was like being around a black hole, except instead of pulling me in, this one was pushing me back, and the closer I got the harder it got.

A giant chunk of rock blasted my way as Xuanwu was tossed into a mountain, the entire hillside shattering and rumbling and I barely dodged that, almost getting crushed by the debris. Qinglong roared, striking down and ready to wrap around Xuanwu but the serpent on his back struck back against the Azure Dragon. Xuanwu roared, biting Qinglong’s throat as Qinglong roared in pain, tail flicking as it smacked Xuanwu tossing him aside.

Xuanwu stepped back, and Qinglong flew in the skies as the two separated and then began to gather their strengths and I found my heart sinking.

I could feel it. Their domains.

The winter landscape began to manifest behind Xuanwu, as the storm began to intensify behind Qinglong.

The world began to shake, as if vibrating angrily and being pulled from two sides, as cracks began to appear where the two domains were starting to meet.

No, no no no, this would not end well.

I gathered the last of my strength, pushing my body with all I had. I needed something. Something to stop them. But what?

I thought, trying to come up with an answer and soon I found it. I grimaced. It was going to hurt.

I shot forward as the two divine beasts roared, their fury rising. The winter storm manifested behind Xuanwu, Gu spreading through it, calling any and all into its cold arms of death. Qinglong’s storms roared on the other end, brilliant lightning crashing down onto the earth, ready to sear any who would dare rise against the mighty dragon.

The two divine beasts looked at each other, and then the weight of their entire domains crashed.

Two mountains collided, and for a brief moment reality itself bucked, ready to be ripped completely apart.

And I stepped right in the middle of the two of them.

Winter collided with Spring. Death with Life.

And I let both in my embrace, as I let the Divine Tree manifest into reality as my domain unfurled between the two of them.

The world crackled as the Divine Tree appeared in the world and I channeled an authority I had not called upon since the day I had realized the first truth.

I called upon Qillin. The spirit of the Divine tree. The Divine Beast of Earth.

In the distance, I felt my connection to Twilight become a tangible thing as the seed planted in her arrived in my core, as I channeled the authority of the spirit of nature within me.

Gu and Qi mingled, and the tree unfurled, taking in both. The lightning strikes shot at the tree’s branches, singeing portions and setting leaves aflame. The wintery torrents flooded death into its roots, drying them up.

I felt my body literally ripping apart in pieces, and for a moment I was sure this would be the end of me, but Qilin’s spirit rose, and I felt the tree push back against the two Divine Beasts, before taking them in.

Gu flowed through its roots, Qi through its leaves. The flames across the tree slowly faded, the broken branches turning to ash and feeding the roots of the divine tree. The Qi birthed new life, small leaves sprouting from those burnt branches, which grew out soon, recovering the damage and coming out stronger than before.

The lightning surges melded, the rain and flood washed away ash, revealing the death it had left behind as they sank into the earth, being embraced by the earth and turned into nutrients for the life that had remained and survived to be nourished and enriched. The tree’s roots spread outwards, into the snowy landscape and then through the chilling expanse, life began to sprout, little sprouts, hardy trees, the sleeping death underneath giving way to life.

The branches grew outwards grabbing the Azure Dragon, and the roots rose from the earth, wrapping around Xuanwu as the two divine beasts thrashed for a moment but the tree continued, simply soaking in their Qi and Gu.

All of Gu flowed into Qi, and the two united within the tree, both life and death, now in Harmony.

I opened my eyes and regarded the two of them, Harmony humming in my soul, manifesting through the Tree around me and I regarded the world now.

I felt… one with the world. No, not one… the world was a reflection of me. Of the pieces of my soul that made me who I was.

This was my domain. But it was incomplete.

There was a piece missing still, I could feel it in my spirit, the fourth spirit circle in my soul, waiting for an answer to fill the void there.

But now was not the time.

I turned towards the two divine beasts, and faced them down.

“Are you two calm now?” I asked.

Xuanwu simply grunted, which, now that he was out here, was an earth shaking rumble at his massive size. He was a walking mountain, a half dragon half tortoise with a serpent coiled around his black. At his size, a full grown Sheldon next to him would look like a hatchling.

I turned towards Qinglong, and the Azure Dragon regarded me silently. But I could tell he was sane now, not lost to the madness that had blinded him.

“You are insolent, to speak to us like so.”

“Are you sure? You could try again if you want,” I asked, raising an eyebrow, challenging his authority.

The Azure Dragon stared me down, our auras collided for a moment. I was nothing, even in this position, against the Divine Beast. But in this moment, I held him.

Qinglong snorted.

“Why have you arrived now, after all this time, wayward brother?” Qinglong asked, turning to face Xuanwu.

“You know very well why we have had to. It has been centuries since our argument. Look at what it has done. The cycle is in shambles, the world is broken and vile demons have risen taking even your empire.

Worse, that demon has taken Zhuque and Baihu under itself. And would have had you, had it not been fate that would give you the chance to flee,” Xuanwu said.

“We did not need any help. That demon can have the empire. Our word was to the emperor and just him alone. With him dead… we are not bound to it anymore,” Qinglong replied.

“What about Qilin? Would you not even respect her wishes?” Xuanwu said, and Qinglong visibly hesitated.

“Listen… I don’t know the history between all of you siblings. Divine Beasts and such, you are immortal beings who have lived for a really long time. I’m sure you have a lot of history… but right now, the empire and the world needs both of you,” I said.

“You understand nothing, human child. We have lived through many eras. The one of the Tree of Unity is not the only one that has existed. We have seen earth and sky be forged, seen the first flames descend upon this earth, seen the rise and fall of many empires. It is the nature of such things to come to an end. What concerns should we have?”

“Because the people of this empire have depended on you. Because your oath was not just to the emperor, but to the empire itself. This empire, its very name, is based upon you. The Azure-Jade empire. You are akin to a god to the people of this empire… and they are waiting for you,” I said, looking up at the Azure Dragon and meeting its eyes.

“Your siblings as well. They are waiting for you to free them as well. If you two join me… we can have a chance to do that. To reclaim all that has been lost,” I said, putting a hand on my chest as the Azure Dragon stared down at me.

I looked at the giant creature, at this Divine Beast that had existed through the start of time itself, and I’d been expecting judgment, or for the Azure Dragon to test my will, but instead… I saw an emotion I was deeply familiar with.

“It’s okay,” I said, looking at the Azure Dragon. “It’s okay to be afraid. Frankly, I’m terrified out of my mind right now. I almost lost my friends in a battle against that demon. I almost let them die. Let myself die. It could’ve all ended right there. All of it. Because I was not enough. All of this is so beyond me. I’m just a guy, I’m not supposed to be somebody special, I was never supposed to be, and yet that is the role I am meant to play and it crushes me with its weight. Every time I have to do this, I wish I could just run away, to go somewhere. From the start I’ve spent my time wishing to run away. When I joined the sect, when I failed to rise in strength, when I regained my other memories, and throughout most things, my first thought is always to run and escape,” I said, clenching my fist.

“But I hold on. Because the people I love rely on me. Because I cannot let them down. And deep within, I know that if I run and abandon it all… that life would not be worth living,” I said, and looked at the Azure Dragon, and then I did something I hadn’t expected myself to do.

I let go of the Divine tree as it vanished and the domains ceased. I turned towards Qinglong.

“I’m not running. Even if I die, even if everything I am ceases to be and all that awaits me is a painful end, I am fighting, for this world, for this empire, and for my friends. I’m terrified, I’m scared, but I will not run, and so I only ask you this,” I said, extending my hand outwards. “Will you join me?”

The Azure Dragon regarded me silently, and then turned towards Xuanwu.

“Is this why you chose this child?”

“You’ll get used to it. And it was Qilin who chose him. She had always had more foresight than any of us,” Xuanwu replied.

I stared, a bit confused at what was happening, as the Azure Dragon turned back towards me.

“Child. You fail to even understand what it is you do, that much is apparent on that confused look on your face. In the past millennia we’ve learned to read human emotions at least that much. But perhaps that is why she chose you.

What you ask… it is a Divine Oath. One not given so easily. The basis of the empire that had been formed in this land that you are trying to protect. You say the burden crushes you, but this burden is greater than that which you hold even now. Would you not falter under its weight?”

I looked at the Azure Dragon in surprise, and then after a moment, smiled and shook my head.

“No. Because I already carry something heavier on my shoulders,” I said.

I did not have to elaborate. I simply glanced at the distant mountain side, to the people I was bound to, to the world which, for a moment, had felt like a part of my own body.

“Very well. You are much like how the emperor had been, when we first found him. He had offered us consolation as well, acting much like a friend. But unlike him… you lack any ambition. It is not something we see in someone in your position, but perhaps that is why you succeed where he failed,” The Azure Dragon said, rising in the sky.

“But beware. Your soul would have to hold not one but two divine beasts. Not many have ever achieved such a feat.”

I nodded. I knew that much.

Xuanwu and Qinglon met eyes, and then, as one the two divine beasts melded. Into a torrent of power, into Qi and Gu, and began to flow into me.

The world hummed as I challenged Harmony, and began to absorb their powers.