Ch-16-The Old Technique's

Flinching back and covering my ears with my hands while my tail wraps around my waist, I sit there and wait for the ringing to stop.

Raina, now standing, has a look of surprise cross her face before she sits down again with a blush from embarrassment creeping across her face.

This time, the ringing was like that caused by a gunshot, and I had to sit there for a few minutes before the ringing finally stopped.

Now that I am thinking about it, I strangely have never had this happen when using my rifle.

Regardless, the ringing stopped, and I no longer needed to cover my ears.

When Raina saw me removing my hands she cleared her thought before asking, "What do you mean you did not use a spell?"

Still huddled back in the chair and not moving, I glared at her while answering, "I mean that I did not use a spell and just had the idea to try it. So I just willed my Qi to follow my commands, and It did."

The look Raina gave me when I said that was a mix of both exasperation and surprise that left me feeling guilty.

She then sighed and asked, "How much Qi do you have?"

Recognizing that tone, I answer in a small voice, "I have four cores, all at the size of someone in the third stage of Qi-Gathering. Though for some people, it would be at either the second or fourth stage."

Raina's eyes widened slightly at this before sighing and going quiet for a few minutes.

This caused me to feel like I was being suspended off the edge of a cliff, waiting for the person holding me to let go.

This tension broke when Raina sighed once more and asked me, "What techniques are the stage two equivalent of what you have?"

Calming down slightly and feeling as if I had been pulled away from the cliff due to the easy-to-answer question, I say, "It is mainly those old techniques that don't work anymore or two of the five demonic techniques that are found in the library."

Raina then showed alarm after I said the last part of that sentence, and she immediately asked, "What techniques in the library are demonic techniques?"

Pausing for a second at her panic, I then think for a moment before answering, "I don't remember the names, but I do have a research copy of each one in the library here. So I will be able to show latter."

Raina thought for a moment before calming down and then asking in a more calm tone, "What about those old techniques alow for their cultivators to have more Qi? Is it because of the great circulation that they talk about? If that is the case, I don't remember there being anyone on the known parts of the continent who has been able to do that in this day in age."

With an easier question being asked and Raina having calmed down, I calmed down myself and answered, "It is actually due to the way the cores are awakened that increases their capacity. The way I did it caused my cores to be expanded to the greatest degree possible at the moment of awakening, while the demonic techniques require something similar for their specialties to function.

"The old techniques, on the other hand, do not do any of this and instead get around it by using the body as the core. This is only possible because, from what I have been able to tell, their body tempering was always one step ahead of their cultivation realm, and thus, their bodies were able to handle it back then.

"This means that the great circulation was actually a way for the body to store Qi instead of their core, as during that time, it was treated as any other meridian."

She then looked at me, confused for a moment, before asking, "So all of those manuals are body tempering techniques and not cultivation techniques?"

Shaking my head, I clarify, "They are still cultivation techniques; they are just meant to be used in tandem with the old style of training methods, which prioritized body cultivation. The state of the world was also most likely different at this time if what some of the things mentioned in them were true at that point.

"That would mean that this was the only way for them to cultivate as their bodies needed to be tougher to withstand the impact of their Qi. This does not mean that their techniques are useless though as they could be integrated into modern body tempering techniques to make them far stronger and have a different purpose to their practice."

After I finished talking, Raina looked at me confused for a moment and then asked, "Wouldn't that make body cultivation techniques a completely separate power system?"

Shaking my head again, I explained some more, saying, "It would actually bring body tempering more in line with traditional cultivation while helping with a person's fine control over Qi as well as expanding their Qi capacity. It would also cause a person's Qi and techniques involving their body to be even more effective while costing slightly less."

With my explanation finished, Raina stared at me for a few seconds before asking, When would you be able to start working on creating such a technique?"

My eyes started to expand after hearing her question before stopping as I realized that I should not be that shocked after what happened last time.

Shaking my head again, I reply, "I already have too much on my to-do list, so I won't be able to start my research until after I have entered the foundation establishment stage."

She looked at me confused after hearing what I said, so I explained, "I first have to work on some of the machines, then I need to do research on spell structures, followed by formation, and finally, I have to find time in the middle of all of this to train and cultivate."

She just paused for a moment after hearing my to-do list before getting up and asking me, "Well, with that done. What would you like for dinner?"

This question got me very excited as I wanted something I would never ask for here as I was unsure if they called it something different.

So, with a smile blossoming on my face and my tail wagging around at five hundred miles an hour, I shouted at a volume that was still somewhat friendly to kitsune ears, "Brisket!"

Raina then froze for a moment and then looked at me in confusion, telling me, "That would take almost an entire day to make, so you need to choose something else."

With my tail now nearing supersonic speeds, I countered, "I can wait for the brisket to be done."

She only chuckled at my response, saying, "I can start a brisket in the morning, and we will have it for dinner tomorrow. However, we still need to make something for tonight. So what will it be?"

Not letting my excitement stop for even a moment and thinking that I just heard a small explosion from behind me I shout, "Tacos!"

Her chuckle had now become a full-on laugh after hearing my shout. She then motioned to someone behind me and said, "Yuki, I need you to help with making the tortillas while I work on the other parts. Be sure to pay attention, though, as we will be having this meal many more times in the future."

When I heard Raina's words, my entire body froze, including the tail, which was moving so fast that it should have thrown me across the room from its sudden cessation of movement.

Turning around slowly, I come to see Yuki standing there in the entrance to the hall way standing in her normal neutral posture and looking like she had just gotten out of bed.

She then responded to Raina, saying, "Right away, Ma'am. I will make sure to learn to the best of my abilities."

I then heard Raina say behind me, "Good. Vale, Tacos will be ready in around thirty minutes."

Nodding slightly to show Raina that I heard her words, I turn to walk out the door with my tail starting to wag around again.

I heard some chuckling behind me, but I ignored it and walked to the library.

Once I was in there, I grabbed the piece of paper on which I drew the copy of Yuki's slave seal as well as the research copies of the demonic techniques.

With those things in hand, I then walk back over to the house and sit down at the dining room table.

Placing the books off to one side I then place the piece of paper in front of me and grab a few additional sheets from my inventory.

I then tried to abuse my trait by slowly removing or fixing parts of the seal and hoping that I would somehow get either the knowledge or even a faint feeling of what was wrong.

While the former was not working, the latter started to show progress, until I heard the sound of someone walking into the dining room from the kitchen.