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The potential pitfalls associated with cultivating my soul were very real, but I couldn’t continue just ignoring the problem.

At the appointed time, all five of us arrived in the classroom together for a short lecture from Instructor Yuan.

“The soul is one of the most important aspects of what it means to be a cultivator. Outside the walls of this Academy, people have strange and misguided notions of what it means to cultivate the soul and how to go about it. Their information comes third or fourth hand from failed students, and most of the important details have been lost.”

She looked at each of us to ensure we were paying attention. “The Yellow Orchid Academy has the best information on soul cultivation from the brightest minds of the Central Continent, but it’s only available to a select few. You haven’t been taught anything about soul cultivation until now because we first needed to ensure that you are both capable and mature enough to make the right decisions.”

She took out four cultivation manuals and set them down in front of us.

“These are considered the best soul cultivation techniques in the world. They are freely available on the Central Continent, but their distribution has been intentionally limited on Nine Rivers to prevent them from causing more harm than good. Those who are blessed with the ability to evaluate such things say that they can be considered Peak-Yellow techniques. This may seem low, but no one has been able to develop anything better, and many have tried.”

She picked up one of the manuals and showed it to us. Then, she set it down and arranged all four so that everyone could see them.

“Using these techniques, you will pull qi from the environment, through your acupoints, and into your soul. This will cause your souls to expand and strengthen themselves. These four techniques achieve this in slightly different ways, but the basic principles are all the same. Draw qi into your soul, use it to force your soul to grow, then expel it. With a solid qi cultivation technique and a Peak-Yellow soul cultivation technique, all of the energy you use to grow your soul will be drawn out when you are not actively cultivating so that your soul remains in a pristine state.”

Wait… But that… Did that mean I had been worrying about nothing all this time? If a Peak-Yellow technique left nothing behind to affect me and only expanded my soul, it should be safe to cultivate, right? I had to ask.

“Does that mean that soul cultivation techniques don’t have mental effects like qi cultivation techniques do? They won’t change who you are?”

“Cultivating your soul will

change who you are, but the way it does so is far more complex than the simple mental effects of qi cultivation. When cultivated with a Peak-Yellow technique, your soul will grow. You can imagine your soul as a garden. When you expand your soul, you are adding plots of land for new plants to grow.”

Not having a prop prepared, Instructor Yuan tried to gesture with her hands to demonstrate.

“These new ‘plots’ will be completely empty with nothing growing in them. That is to say, the new areas of your soul will lack any kind of identity. Practicing a cultivation technique only expands the garden. It doesn’t plant any seeds. However, depending on the technique you chose, the ‘soil’ of these new plots will vary, and different seeds grow better in different soil. Meaning that when your cultivation technique expands your soul, while it doesn’t give the new parts of your soul an identity, your choice of technique will make your soul more receptive to certain ideas.”

“But… what if you grow your soul without cultivating? I’ve heard that performing alchemy, for example, can grow your soul through the exertion of will.”

She nodded. “Anytime you grow your soul, the new bits must be given an identity. If you grow it through alchemy, being an alchemist will become more core to your identity. If you spend a year cultivating in isolation, being a person who cultivates in isolation will become a core part of you.”

That worried me. Had I been spiraling down a path without recognizing it? When I started in South Gate City, I had wanted to focus on formations, but everything kept coming back to alchemy. Was this part of the reason? Had I grown my soul so much with alchemy as my focus that it had become a core part of who I was?

Instructor Yuan didn’t wait for me to solve my inner turmoil. She simply continued her lecture.

“Rapidly expanding your soul through cultivation is dangerous. If you aren’t careful with the identity you feed your growing soul, you will quickly lose yourself in a way that outwardly resembles the madness imposed by qi cultivation. To combat this, the scholars of the Central Continent have developed four different paths for one to walk when cultivating their soul. These paths combine a rich, well-studied philosophical framework with a specially designed cultivation technique. These four paths have been developed over millennia and are valued for their reliable, consistent results.”

She picked up one of the manuals that had been sitting in front of us.

“The first path is that of Traditionalism. The ideals of the Traditionalists are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. They care deeply about filial piety and order. A prince should be a prince. A minister should be a minister. A father should be a father. A son should be a son. By upholding the virtues of a Traditionalist, one will live in harmony with the laws of Heaven.”

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She moved on to the second manual.

“A path that has similar moral goals but approaches them in a very different way is Universalism. To cultivate as a Universalist is to accept that all beings are equal and worthy of the same universal love. One should have the same love for both a stranger and their child. Unlike the Traditionalists, Universalists do not value ritual. They value living by a constant moral guide. By following this moral guide, they aim to maximize the utility of all members of a society.”

She lifted the third book to show us.

“Next is the path of Legalism. The Legalist believes that all humans are inherently selfish and will always care only about their own wealth and power. As such, it is impossible to expect morality from anyone. Instead, they work to create systems whereby when people work to benefit themselves, they benefit their Ruler. For example, the rules and responsibilities of ministers should be constructed so that the ministers have ways to enrich themselves, but when they do so, the ultimate result is one that further empowers their Ruler. Legalists believe there should be clear rules for advancement and clear, impersonal laws and regulations.”

She moved to the final book.

“Last is the path I follow. The path of Daoism. Daoists believe that any attempts to improve the world will only make it worse. Therefore, one must strive to limit their interference with mortal affairs. Daoist Rulers might be seen as aloof as they will rarely if ever involve themselves in the activities of their domain. Mortals should handle mortal affairs. Cultivators should handle cultivator affairs. A Daoist Ruler will only be involved in situations concerning other Rulers. It is a path of separating yourself from the mundane and embracing what it means to be a cultivator.”

She placed this book back down and gestured widely to all four.

“There are powerful factions on the Central Continent that center their societies around each of these paths. You may choose freely without worrying about any of them being inferior to another. Also, while these cultivation techniques are designed to work best with their intended path, you may choose to mix a technique with a different path if you so wish. Daoist flowers would grow best in Daoist soil, but if you cultivate the Legalist technique, they can still grow with enough effort. You may use these techniques to develop your own way forward. While these four paths are the best that we know of, they are not necessarily the best paths possible.”

It seemed like the instructor’s lecture was nearly finished, so I had to take the opportunity to ask about one of my concerns.

“What if we change our minds in the future? Is there a way to undo soul cultivation like there is for qi cultivation?”

“There is no simple pill that can return your soul to its previous state. Once your soul grows, it will never return to the way it was before. However, with time and effort, you can work to change who you are. Returning to the analogy, if you work hard enough, it is possible to cut down everything in your garden and use it as fertilizer to grow something new. But if you do that, you might find that weeds from the plants you removed will still sprout every now and again.”

With everyone in thought and not asking any more questions, Instructor Yuan brought the class to a close.

“You now have access to the soul cultivation library. You will not need tokens to enter. You are free to visit and read any books you desire. I suggest spending a significant amount of time there before making any decisions.”

Once the instructor left, the five of us remained in the room in deep thought. I looked at Yan to see if he had anything to add.

“Can you tell us anything more?”

He struggled a bit in trying to decide how to phrase what he wanted to say.

“From what I know, everything the instructor said is correct. The only thing I can tell you is that the most powerful clans on this continent all follow a combination of the Daoist and Legalist paths. The leaders are Daoists, and they encourage those under them to follow Legalism. Morality is not their concern. Those in charge care only about everyone following their rules and promoting the advancement of their clan.”

That seemed to fit, but… “Why wouldn’t they force everyone in the Academy, everyone on the continent, to follow the Legalist path? That would make everyone more compliant and more willing to follow the rules they create.”

Yan struggled to find the right words to explain things within the limits of the oaths that bound him.

“They… cannot. It would be… counterproductive. To achieve one’s full potential, they must follow a path of their own choosing.”

Knowing I had been pushing things, I backed off and changed the topic to avoid any fatal mistakes.

“Do you have any recommendations?” I looked at the others. “Does anyone?”

YuLong spoke up. “My family views filial piety as the most important virtue and are extremely loyal to the main branch. They have never spoken much about it, but I believe they must be following the Traditionalist path. Even when the main branch degrades them, they still hold firm in their support since that is what is proper.”

Yan shook his head. “We should all go to the library and read the teachings available there. We need to make our own choices without being influenced by each other. This choice will change who you are as a person. It isn’t one anyone else can make for you.”

I needed Yan’s opinion, but I couldn’t ask about certain topics openly. I looked nervously at the other three, worried about saying too much, and hoping that the letters I had given them were enough of an explanation.

I focused on Yan.

“With everything you learned from the information I gave you, is this something you think I should do? We can passively grow our souls over time. Cultivating them and permanently changing ourselves like this… Is it a good idea?”

He looked at me in understanding.

“Who you are is always changing. Cultivating your soul allows you to choose who you will become. If you don’t do this, that choice will be made by chance and circumstance. It will be out of your control. As Yuan said, the path you take will be difficult to change, but it can be done. It isn’t truly permanent. Even if it were, with enough growth, if you choose a path now and change it later, the portion of your soul that follows this choice will only be a small part of who you eventually become. To me, growing my soul without guidance is far more dangerous.”

I understood what he was saying, and I could see evidence of it when I reviewed my own history. I couldn’t say I was always happy with the direction my life had taken. This might be something I needed to do.

Still, it wasn’t a decision that could be rushed. I would study in the library. If needed, I could check the System to see if I could learn more from it. Emperor Li’s warning made me cautious of that, but it was one of only two sources of information I had access to. The information in the library was curated by the people who ran the Academy. The information from the System was potentially curated by the Earthly Dao.

Neither source could be fully trusted when it came to altering my soul. I could only hope that by combining them, I would be able to put together an acceptable path forward.