"You walk the path of the blunt weapon," Granny Tie observed. Her voice sounded like grinding stones. "A sword cuts, a spear pierces, but a staff... a staff commands. It dictates the space around you. But your defense is lacking. You rely on the staff to block but what happens when the force is formless?"

  She reached for a pile of clothes on a nearby bench and tossed a grey, unassuming robe at Li Yu. "Take this. I twisted the stitching near the collar so I was going to throw it in the fire. It’ll keep the rain off you at least."

  Li Yu caught the robe. It felt lighter than air. He ran his thumb over the fabric. It wasn't cloth. It was woven from some kind of material that he couldn’t recognize. It was interlocked with some metal threads that he also couldn’t identify. A "mistake"? This was probably the strongest defensive robe he had ever seen.

  "Senior Tie, I cannot accept such a heavy gift!" Li Yu protested and was holding it out. He was too bewildered by this strange village. They kept giving him gifts. Not just ordinary gifts either. Grand gifts.

  Granny Tie frowned and picked up a pair of tongs. "Are you saying my trash isn't good enough for you, boy? Put it on. Or throw it away. I never take back what I give! Just get it out of my sight." She turned back to her anvil and was effectively dismissing him.

  Li Yu clutched the robe. After a little bit he bowed deeply. "This junior thanks you for your generosity."

  As they moved deeper into the village, the pattern continued. Li Yu felt like a beggar walking through a treasury, being showered with gold by people who thought it was copper.

  He met Grandpa Hua, the herb gatherer. He was a gentle, effeminate man with soil under his fingernails. He was tending to a single flower that Li Yu recognized from texts as the Nine-Petal Soul Reincarnation Lotus. Said to be able to greatly strengthen the soul and most importantly heal the soul from near death.

  "You have some chaotic Qi within your body. The balance is already good but it can be even better.” Grandpa Hua noted gently while looking at Li Yu. "You have been pushing your cultivation too hard. Too fast. Been rushing and only slowing you down."

  He plucked a "weed" from the base of the lotus. "Here, chew on this. It’ll settle your stomach."

  The "weed" was a plant that radiated enough life force to resurrect the recently deceased probably. Li Yu took it with trembling hands as he was forced to. He was then listening as Grandpa Hua explained the Law of Growth—how to nurture energy, life, rather than force it. His words unlocked a bottleneck in Li Yu's understanding of the Law of Life that had plagued him.

  Li Yu ate the plant and didn’t feel much. However, it was cleansing his body and his cells greedily absorbed in the life force the plant provided.

  Next was Scholar Wen, a stern-looking woman wearing refined robes and sitting by the river with a brush in hand.

  "The brush does not move the ink," Scholar Wen said softly as Li Yu approached. "The intent moves the world and the ink merely leaves a trail. It is the same with your staff. You strike with your arms, not your will."

  She handed Li Yu a discarded piece of paper. "I messed up the character for 'Mountain'. It’s too heavy at the bottom. You can have it."

  Li Yu took the paper. As he looked at the calligraphy, he felt an immense pressure press down on his soul. The character wasn't just a word; it contained the actual weight and conceptual intent of a mountain range. It was a talisman of catastrophic power and it was discarded as a doodle. He stored it away to study at another time. He was waved off again after listening to her talk a bit.

  Then there was Uncle Liu, a jolly, round man who ran the small inn and cookhouse. He forced a steamed bun into Li Yu's hand. "You look like a skeleton! This won’t do. A man needs a belly to have authority! Eat!"

  The steam rising from the bun formed shapes of dragons and phoenixes. One bite and Li Yu felt his meridians expand and his body getting slightly stronger. Uncle Liu spoke of the Law of Alchemy through cooking—balancing flavors to balance the five elements of the body.

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  Grandma Gong, the hunter, was sharpening arrows on a whetstone. She was a lithe, dangerous-looking old woman with hawk-like eyes. She tossed Li Yu a bone charm. "From a wolf I caught eating my chickens. Keep it, might scare off the pests."

  The bone radiated the aura of a beast even stronger than Tekton. Just by being close to it Tekton was slightly trembling on his arm. Li Yu quickly stored it away. She explained the Law of Pursuit—that a strike need not be fast, it simply needs to be inevitable.

  Grandpa Si, the weaver, sat at a loom and was weaving patterns that seemed to dizzy the eye. He gave Li Yu a sash. "Keeps the pants up," he muttered. The sash rippled with defensive formations.

  Granny Mu, the carpenter, was carving a toy horse. She tossed Li Yu a wooden block. "Practice your carving. It steadies the hands." The wood was from some sort of tree that was incredibly tough and dense. He didn’t know what he would do with a wooden block but perhaps he could throw it at someone?

  Granny Yu, the fisherwoman, sat by the stream with a straight hook. She didn't give him a fish, but a small smooth river stone. "Patience," she said. "The fish comes when it wants to be caught." Her words made him think of his own Fisherman Soul.

  Auntie Bai, the farmer, was tilling the soil with a hoe. She wiped sweat from her brow and handed Li Yu a handful of seeds. "Plant these when you find a home. They grow good shade." They were seeds of a Bodhi Tree.

  Li Yu found an island spot in his Koi Sanctuary and planted the three seeds. The massive Lotus Seed that was floating in the ocean where Khaos was, seemed attracted to these seeds. It finally left Khaos’s side and was now floating next to the island.

  Each interaction was a revelation. Li Yu realized that these elders were not simply high-level cultivators. They were Grandmasters who had touched the origin of their respective laws. Possibly Daos as well. They might have reached that level but kept things at the law level so he could understand.

  They had reached a level where their skills had returned to simplicity. They didn't need to emit pressure or fly on swords to prove their strength. Their very existence warped the reality around them into a paradise. Or so it seemed. Li Yu’s understanding wasn't deep enough.

  And the strangest thing of all was that they were treating him like a lost grandson. The strange thing was he felt like he belonged here. That inner voice that told him when people were evil was now telling him that he belonged.

  Li Yu’s initial wariness had melted into a reverent awe. He walked with the utmost care, listening to every word they said and engraved their casual advice into his soul. He realized that the "lessons" they were giving him about how to hold a hammer or how to plant a seed were actually high-level mantras explaining the fundamental laws of the world.

  By the time he reached the center of the village, Li Yu was laden with their "junk"—Jerky, robes, scrolls, wooden carvings, and steamed buns—that would start a war if known to sects outside.

  "The Village Head is waiting for you," Auntie Tu called out from down the road, waving her cleaver. "Go on, don't keep her waiting. She gets cranky when her tea gets cold."

  Li Yu took a deep breath and was composing himself. He signaled for the girls to wait outside the small central courtyard. For some reason he felt like this was a meeting he needed to face alone. He felt it instinctively rather than through his brain.

  He approached the central cottage. It was no larger than the others but the wood seemed ancient, weathered by countless eons yet unrotted. The door was open.

  Li Yu stepped inside.

  The interior was sparse. A simple straw mat, a low tea table and an incense burner emitting a thin blue smoke that smelled of sandalwood and old memories.

  Sitting on the mat was an old woman.

  She looked ancient. Her skin was like crushed parchment, covered in liver spots and her hair was a thin halo of white wisps. She wore a simple hemp robe that was frayed at the cuffs. Unlike the other villagers, who radiated a hidden, vibrant vitality, this woman felt... finite. She felt truly old.

  But Li Yu knew better. If the monsters outside respected this woman then she was the terrifying existence that bound this miniature realm together.

  The Matriarch looked up. Her eyes were milky, perhaps blind but they seemed to see right through Li Yu’s physical form, through his cultivation base and straight into the karma of his soul.

  "You have carried a lot of heavy things to reach this place, child," the Village Head said. Her voice was like the rustling of dry leaves, raspy but filled with a strange, harmonic resonance. "And that staff...."

  Li Yu placed the gifts he had received on the floor—a pile of priceless treasures treated as common goods—and bowed so low his forehead touched the cool wood.

  "Junior Li Yu pays respects to the Senior Village Head."

  The old woman smiled. It was a toothless but gentle expression. She gestured to the empty spot across the tea table.

  "Sit," she said. "The tea is steeping."