"Gates do not just give a permanent boost," Breaker said. "Once opened, they can also be activated by flooding them with qi, which enhances their effect further. We call this invoking."

"Can you invoke multiple gates at a time?" Rix asked.

Breaker grinned. "Now you're getting to the real essence of early stage soul cultivation. Yes, you can invoke multiple gates at the same time, or one after the other, or in any combination, to achieve your desired end. In combat, this means cultivators with all seven gates open have almost infinite combinations to pursue, and therefore almost endless scope for refinement. But it is a slow process that takes time to learn. Many cultivators spend decades simply mastering the art of invocation. My masters likened it to playing the dragon harp. Anyone can strum a few basic notes, but it takes a true master to play a symphony."

Rix's eyes grew progressively wider as Breaker spoke. While the System offered strength, it didn't offer nearly that level of interactive control. There was skill in the way you expressed yourself with your weapon, in the way you deployed your style and techniques, but your actual physical improvements were something of a blunt instrument. You forged your essence at certain thresholds, and that was one of your only vectors for improvement. With everything Breaker had explained about cultivation, it really did seem like the possibilities were limitless.

"Of course, it's not as simple as just using the right gates at the right times," Breaker continued. "You must also balance your qi reserves. Invoking a gate burns the qi you flood it with. Part of being a smart cultivator is knowing how to leverage your supply efficiently."

"Now this might actually be worth all the sitting," Luna said.

"I'm glad you approve of this aeons-old power on which the universe is built," Breaker said drily, though there was a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke. He did genuinely seem to be treating Luna better since they'd returned.

Luna had the grace to look a little abashed. She gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Just sounds like fun, is all."

"Fun?" He said it as though he hadn't considered it from that angle. "I suppose it is, in a way. Though it is hard work to get there. Opening gates isn't easy. You not only have to have the required qi to cycle, but each gate has its own unique set of challenges or trials you must undergo while cycling in order to open them."

"Is that why I've never made progress with my Wind Gate?" Rix asked.

"Yes. It is not enough to merely hammer the gate with qi, as you are doing. Though that does produce some small benefit, it is horribly inefficient. I won't go into the specifics of opening gates now as neither of you are at that stage yet. For now, you must focus on building your supplies of qi."

He looked to Luna. "For you, Kai Luna, you must first find the qi. The meditation you were practising before will lead you there, eventually, assuming you can stomach it for long enough." He raised his eyebrow in challenge.

"For what you're promising, I can stomach a lot," she replied. "Might still complain a little though."

Breaker turned to Rix. "For you, Zao Rixian, you must practise the Breath Bridge until it becomes second nature. Once you can summon it for minutes at a time, we can begin the exercise to expand your dantian and increase your qi reserves. Taking into account your experience and the speed you grasped the concept, I believe it will not take long. A few weeks, perhaps."

Rix gave a firm nod. "I'll keep working on it. We have more than enough downtime in our cells at night."

A series of emotions played across Breaker's face. "You are prisoners?"

"You didn't know?" asked Rix.

Breaker shook his head. "Is that true for all the people diving this realm?"

"I think so," Rix replied.

"I assumed you were all part of the same clan," Breaker said, his expression growing pinched. "This is…why do they even send you to the realm?"

Luna fished a treasure out of her pocket and held it up. "We're treasure hunters," she said, her voice containing more than a little hint of mockery.

"Without any of the benefits of your labour, I assume?" Breaker asked.

The two of them shook their heads.

Breaker let out a sharp breath. "That is an…unfortunate situation." He looked as though he was reevaluating them, though in what way Rix couldn't say. After a moment, he clapped his hands. "Well, the sooner we grow your cultivation, the sooner you shall grow strong enough that no cage can hold you. I will continue to observe while you perform your exercises."

Rix and Luna shared a look. "Uh, we should probably continue our dive," Rix said. "Our time in the realm is limited, and we do still have another path to pursue."

"Like Rix said, we have plenty of downtime back in the prison," Luna added.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The way the man's expression darkened, Rix immediately realised they'd made a mistake. He should have understood that with the way Breaker was fixated on his escape, he wouldn't have much tolerance for anything that didn't work towards that end. But what else could they do? He didn't want to give up the Martial Path just because a new way had opened before him. He needed every scrap of power he could get. Beyond that, the Martial Path was the language of the city, and everyone around them was fluent. Right now, his occasional burst of speed from Energy Surge went unnoticed, but that wouldn't hold true forever. If he and Luna progressed their cultivation exclusively, eventually somebody would wonder how simple Whispers had grown so dangerous.

"After all I've shared about the possibilities of cultivation, you cannot seriously wish to continue pouring your efforts into this…paltry echo of true power!" Breaker shook his head. "No, it is not possible. Cultivation requires dedication and focus. We had a deal, and I do not have time for you to split your attention in such a way." He pinned Rix with a look. "Your investment in this needs to be total."

Rix swallowed hard, feeling himself wilting under the man's gaze. He briefly considered trying to explain their situation more fully, but there was a sharpness in Breaker's eyes that made him confident the man wouldn't accept anything as nebulous as 'it would look strange if we stopped progressing our Paths.' No, he needed something absolute.

"We have quotas," he said, doing his best to keep his voice level. "If we don't bring back two treasures each dive, we're punished. Likewise, if we don't progress our Path at the required rate, we're punished, and part of that includes being banned from diving at all. If you want our help, we have no choice but to dedicate at least some time to the Martial Path."

A quick tongue had been as handy as quick hands on the street, and he'd often found that half-truths were the best foundation for deception. They worked because they started with something real. If he'd merely explained their treasure quota, Breaker could have volunteered to collect them while they sat in meditation. This way, he made it sound like they were required to kill fades.

Rix's eyes flicked briefly to Luna. The girl's expression was mostly neutral, but he thought he could see the barest glimmer of a smile at the corners of her mouth. She understood what he was doing.

Breaker drew in a long breath before he, too, turned his attention to Luna. "What do they get out of you being stronger?" His voice betrayed nothing, but there was a calculating glint in his eye. He was probing for holes in Rix's story. It was a smart way to expose a lie — divide and conquer — but Luna surprised Rix.

"We have a technique to make heartstones — basically condensed mana," she said. "They sell them. It's another way they profit off us. The stronger we are, the better the stones we make."

Rix couldn't help but be impressed by how smoothly she'd followed his lead. Like him, she'd muddied the waters with truth.

Breaker looked between the two of them for what felt like an eternity, as if searching for the lies on their faces.

"How many do you have to kill to maintain your required progress?" he asked eventually.

Rix felt some of the tension bleed out of him. He wasn't certain whether Breaker believed them, or had simply decided it was not a battle worth fighting, but in truth, he didn't really care. As long as he could progress both paths, he was happy.

"That depends," Rix said. He and Luna explained a little about the way the System worked, the ranks and tiers, the escalating strength of the fades and their respective essence values.

Breaker spent a few moments digesting this. "Okay, this is how we will proceed. You have a six-hour window where the realm is safe each day. We will spend half on this Martial Path of yours, and half on cultivation. I will help you hunt the fades. My condition stops me from actually being able to hurt them — any true physical interaction with the world drains me greatly — but it will be trivial for me to track them and round them up on your behalf. I believe that with my assistance you will more than meet your targets. And the price of three hours a day should not be truly detrimental to your cultivation, provided you are adequately dedicated in your off hours."

There was an edge to his voice there that said this was not a suggestion.

Rix gave an eager nod. "That sounds perfect."

An even split was exactly what he wanted. While his current workload was leaving him physically drained, it seemed like much of what Breaker was asking of them would be more peaceful. He should hopefully be able to continue dedicating his mornings to training and then spend his evenings on cultivation.

He filed away that note about Breaker's condition. It explained why he hadn't simply killed Yutaro himself during their first encounter, but it also somewhat undercut his air of danger. The wording suggested that if push came to shove, he was capable of causing damage, but it wasn't something he would just casually deploy.

"Well then, let's begin," said Breaker. "We wouldn't want you falling behind your peers." He said that with undisguised scorn.

It turned out that having Breaker's help was a huge boon. By that stage, they had about half their dive left, yet in that time they made more progress than Rix would have expected in the entire six-hour window. Their new mentor shifted back to his fadeborn disguise to take part in the hunt. Despite his comments about his physical abilities, he was capable of inhuman bouts of speed. He'd race off into the fractured realm, and, as he explained later, by pulsing his aura, he would drive groups of fades directly into Rix and Luna's clearing.

Rix and Luna still had to do the killing themselves, but by this point, High Whisper fades were a manageable challenge. It was a novel experience having them delivered on a platter. The first few times, Breaker reappeared between waves to watch them work, but once he seemed satisfied, he just stayed out there finding the next group while they dispatched the current one.

This was going smoothly until right toward the end of the session, a new sort of enemy slipped through the scrub nearby and let out a kind of keening hiss. It was the most humanoid fade Rix had ever seen, walking on two legs with roughly the same proportions as him. Slim and sinuous and uniformly silver in colour, the creature almost seemed like it was made of liquid metal. Its mostly featureless face was dominated by two huge eyes, black and fist-sized.

At least it had eyes.

As it took them in with its unblinking gaze, it raised its two arms, arms that both tapered to heavy cutting blades, like butcher's cleavers.

"Now what have we here?" Luna said, a grin painting her face. "Looks like Breaker decided we needed a little fun."

As Rix had grown stronger, his spirit eye had developed to the point where he was beginning to be able to identify a fade's strength just by looking at it. This one was clearly at Peak Whisper. He didn't know if Breaker had sent it on purpose, or if he simply hadn't realised it was stronger than the rest. Not that it mattered. Rix felt himself smiling as well. A challenge was exactly what he felt like after hours of sitting.

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