Kahel found Arla again that same evening, seated alone on a wooden bench at the edge of the town square. The golden light of the setting sun caught the threads of her crimson robe, making them glow faintly like coals in fading firelight.
He approached carefully, Velka padding beside him. She looked up as he neared, but didn't tell him to leave. That, he took as permission.
"Still exploring?" she asked.
Kahel nodded. "And still clueless."
That earned him a faint smile.
He hesitated, then sat at the far end of the bench. "You said I'm barely a cultivator. I figured that out the hard way. I've heard terms like 'Core Formation' and 'Qi Gathering,' but I don't know what they actually mean."
Arla crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms. "That's because you're fresh. No sect, no training, no background. But if you're serious about cultivation, you need to know the structure. Without it, you'll hit a wall you can't climb."
Kahel leaned in slightly, listening.
"There are many systems," she continued. "But most follow a general path. The names might change between worlds or sects, but the foundation is the same."
She held up a hand and began counting off on her fingers.
"First, Body Tempering. That's where you are now. Strengthening the flesh, bones, and organs so your body doesn't shatter the moment you draw real energy into it. It's the most brutal phase."
Kahel nodded. That much he knew already.
"Next is Qi Gathering. You begin to absorb and circulate energy—Qi—from the world around you. That's when cultivation becomes real. After that, Foundation Establishment, where your inner core forms. It's the foundation of every technique you'll ever learn."
She paused.
"Then comes Core Formation, which is where true power begins. From there, the stages grow more abstract and rare—Nascent Soul, Ascension, and higher. But most cultivators never reach them."
Kahel absorbed every word. "What about spirit beasts? Like Velka?"
Arla looked down at the fox. Velka, now comfortably stretched out in the grass, gave a lazy blink.
"They cultivate too, but their path is tied to bloodline and instinct more than technique. A nine-tailed fox… that's rare. Most don't live long enough to awaken."
Kahel's gaze sharpened. "He will."
Arla tilted her head slightly. "You're attached."
Kahel didn't answer.
They sat in silence for a moment as the town settled into dusk.
Then a sharp voice broke the peace.
"Well, well. Looks like the town let in beggars again."
Kahel turned. A young man approached, draped in fine blue robes with silver trim. His face was sharp, with a smug smirk and cold eyes. He wore a pendant engraved with the mark of a lesser sect—Kahel didn't recognize the symbol, but he could feel the air around him hum faintly with controlled energy.
A cultivator. Likely in the Qi Gathering realm.
"I saw you poking around earlier," the man said, looking down at Kahel with thinly veiled disdain. "You reek of low-level energy. Filthy and untrained."
Kahel stood slowly. "Is that how cultivators treat strangers?"
The man stepped closer, not bothering to hide his sneer. "You've got no clan, no sect, no coin. You're trash walking in robes you haven't earned."
Kahel's fists clenched.
Arla stood, stepping between them. "He's with me."
The man raised an eyebrow. "You're vouching for him, Arla? Strange choice. I thought you had standards."
She didn't respond.
After a moment of silence, the man scoffed. "Don't get in the way of real cultivators. Both of you." He turned and walked away, robes snapping in the breeze.
Kahel stared after him, the ember in his chest pulsing faintly with heat.
"I should've hit him," he muttered.
"And started a duel you can't finish?" Arla said calmly. "He's stronger. You're reckless, not stupid."
Kahel exhaled slowly, the tension easing from his shoulders.
"Is that what the world is like?" he asked. "People walking around with power, ready to crush anyone weaker?"
"Yes," Arla said without hesitation. "That's exactly what it's like."
Kahel looked down at Velka, then back at her.
"Then I need to get stronger. A lot stronger."
She gave him a nod.
"You're on the path now. But the road ahead is long, and it gets darker the farther you go."
Kahel looked toward the horizon, where the last traces of sunlight faded beyond the hills.
"I don't care how dark it gets," he said. "I'm not turning back."