This was it.
I looked up at the tribulation hall, nervous.
Insects buzzed in the air as the sun beat down, harsh, making me sweat.
The air was stifling, the hot summer of the southern lands driving nearly everyone indoors.
I felt a hand in mine and I looked over at Zhi.
He was disguised in his human illusion, bland and nondescript, but I could always pick him out from the crowd.
Even in his illusion, there was the way he walked, the way he stood.
He gave me a smile, trying to comfort me.
“We’re making history here Ming.
Everyone’s heard of dual cultivation, but dual breakthroughs?
We’re going to set a new trend I’m telling you.”
I cracked a smiled at his cocky attitude he put on for my sake, but I couldn’t deny my nerves.
I swallowed and we walked into the tribulation hall, through the massive gate and into the dusty field where we would ascend to Core Formation.
The gate closed behind us.
Xiu was waiting for us.
“You’re here, good.
Everything is prepared for you, and I have the head doctor on standby.
Are you… sure you want to breakthrough together?”
Zhi scoffed, taking off his ring and beginning to undress.
“Well, I’m not going to let my wife get more lightning strikes than me!
The max number of lightning strikes recorded is twenty-nine.
Watch us smash that out of the park!”
He grinned, but she didn’t return it, only sighing.
“Very well.
I’ll be ready to assist you for when you finish.
Good luck.”
We removed all our treasures and clothes, giving them to Xiu for safe-keeping.
Then we headed to the middle of the tribulation grounds.
I sat next to Zhi, and we linked our hands.
“Zhi, you… you really don’t have to do this.”
The sun glinted off his glossy fur, making me blink.
He shook his head.
“No.
I want to do this this way.
Records show that if two cultivators ascend together, heaven will take the average between them for the lightning strikes.
And I can take it.
We’ll either ascend together, or we’ll fail together.
I won’t have it any other way.”
I could try and fight with him about it, but he refused to ascend unless it was with me.
And we’ve already fought in circles over it.
But I couldn’t deny.
It felt comforting to hold his hand.
I took a deep breath and let it out, the hot air doing nothing to calm me.
“Okay.
Ready when you are.”
“Then let’s get started.”
I closed my eyes and felt my dantian.
It was stuffed with liquid true chi, and I could feel the pressure on my chi channels.
We were both filled to bursting with true chi.
I started withdrawing all of my chi to my dantian, squeezing it tighter and tighter.
Meanwhile, I felt something sparking in my dantian and begin to swirl.
My soul.
This was when the soul began growing and tangling with chi, allowing cultivators to use truly extraordinary powers.
It why the growth of the Dao was so vital, providing a vehicle for the soul to grow alongside the body.
This was to expand my soul, as much to strengthen my body.
To begin integrating it into my chi and seriously pursuing a Dao.
I squeezed my chi and connected to my soul, solidifying both.
Sweat began dripping down my brow from the effort.
No.
Not just from the effort.
From… heat.
I felt fire lick at my fur and gritted my teeth as we caught fire.
I tightened my grip on Zhi’s hand as I pushed forward, ignoring the pain the best I could.
It felt like I was being cooked alive, the heat seeping deep beneath my skin and interfering in the process of squeezing my chi.
I pushed through, and I could feel the heat sinking into my true chi, agitating it.
I felt some of the flames sinking into it, and it solidified, into my core.
I felt my stirring soul seep into it, and it began interacting with my chi, flavoring it with my uniqueness.
Slowly, the agonizing flames abated as well.
Once I no longer felt them licking at my face, I cracked open my eyes and looked over at Zhi.
He groaned, all his fluffy dark fur gone.
Oh no.
Nono.
I looked down at myself.
Fuuuuuuuuck.
We were both bald.
He coughed and groaned.
He opened his eyes and saw me.
He fell back, letting go of my hand.
I did the same, exhausted.
Xiu ran up to us, but even though I could see her mouth forming words, I couldn’t hear her.
Just a dull ringing in my ears.
My vision swam as she ran away.
And it faded to black as she brought the head doctor to us.
I groaned, slowly coming to.
I blinked at the light, exhausted.
I turned and looked around.
I was back in the infirmary of the tribulation hall.
It was bright out, meaning it was still daytime, and my skin felt raw as it brushed against the silk sheets, painful.
The thick smell of herbs hung in the air, as well as The doctor was at a workbench, mixing something bitter.
He turned at my groan.
“Ah, I see you’re awake too.
Very good.
I have a healing pill you should eat here.”
“Zhi…”
I heard coughing and turned a little more.
Ah.
Zhi was looking at me, from the other bed.
His skin was bright pink, and raw like mine, burns covering it.
He gave me a pained smile before grimacing and groaning.
“I’m alright Ming.
Worry about yourself.” His voice was also a little raw, croaking.
Oh thank god.
The doctor came over with some water and a large brown pill.
He helped me sit up and I took the pill, chasing it with some water.
I coughed again, just drinking water feeling like swallowing thunder.
“Cycle your chi.
You should improve in a few minutes as the pill processes.
Take this time to check your cultivation and core.
Make sure everything is working correctly.” The doctor stood next to the bed, watching over me carefully.
I closed my eyes and did as he said, cycling my true chi through my chi channels.
I could feel the chi from the pill rushing through my channels, seeping into my muscles and body.
I could feel my skin begin to knit back together, the damage from the fire healing.
And I felt my new core.
It was still rather small.
But I could feel my soul stirring within it, processing my chi and slowly adding true chi onto the shell of my core.
Slowly growing it.
Whew.
It seemed to be working just fine.
I took my time healing, trying to get my throat into decent shape before sitting up and opening my eyes again.
I looked over at Zhi, and saw the doctor watching over him.
He was doing the same thing I just did, taking a healing pill and healing himself.
As he finished, he looked over at me and sighed.
“Fire.
Damn it’s tough to tell how strong you are when heaven doesn’t send lightning.
Hey doc, how intense were the flames?”
The doctor was packing up his bag.
“I felt them from in here, and were completely white in the center.
While I can’t really make a comparison to the heavenly thunder, I would say the two of you had a top-tier tribulation.
It was more intense than any other fire tribulation I’ve seen.”
Zhi smirked.
“I guess I didn’t drag Ming down then.
Good to know we’re both top-tier.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t resist smiling at his cocky attitude.
Same old Zhi.
“How did your cultivation turn out Ming?
Everything’s good on my end.”
“Everything’s in order with me too.
We’ve reached Core Formation now.”
He grinned before flopping back down.
“Yeah, but man I’m beat.
And bald.
You look hilarious.”
“Ha ha.
I’m sure I don’t look as funny as you do.” I laid down too.
He snorted.
“You were fluffier than me.
You look twice as small now.
Ugh, do you think it will come back as soft?
I loved your soft and fluffy fur.”
I smiled.
“I’ll use some oil as it’s coming in.
I think I can make something to help make it nice and soft again.”
The doctor chuckled.
“It’s good to see the two of you so upbeat after that.
Get some rest.
In a day or two you should be on your feet again.”
Doctor’s orders.
I closed my eyes, just glad this went alright.
However, this would be our last easy tribulation.
Golden Core ascension happened the moment your Dao solidified, so it could happen anytime, anywhere.
We would have to be prepared for it.
In the meantime, we could just take our time growing our cores.
Nice big healthy cores were essential to grow a new soul and reach Nascent Soul.
I relaxed, gently drifting off.
We went home two days later, our stubble just starting to grow back.
To help it grow back nice and soft, I used oils and some homemade conditioner, making it nice and fluffy, how I liked it.
Zhi declined any fur treatments, letting it grow back rough, and it drove me crazy.
So fucking rough.
I missed his glossy black fur.
Now it was rough and sharp, dull.
He liked it.
Said it made him manly.
I hated it.
I tried to sneak conditioner and oils into his bath, but he could always tell.
I think he kept it that way specifically to drive me crazy.
It took a few weeks for our fur to grow back in and out burns to heal completely.
Meanwhile, we prepared to embark on our journey to deepen our understanding of our Daos.
Xiu helped provide a few treasures for us.
A small spatial ring for Zhi to keep some essentials on hand.
A handful of healing pills, and a smattering of other alchemical supplies at my request.
I wanted to learn alchemy while on the road, using materials I find.
But, our preparations soon came to an end.
We had everything we need to set off on our journey.
If only we could settle on a route.
I growled at Zhi, sitting next to him at our reception table.
Xiu sat across from us, rubbing her forehead.
“What’s wrong with heading east first?!
I want to go along the coast!
Once we reach the eastern edge of the empire, we can go north!”
He crossed his arms.
“Traveling to the northern edge of the continent and finding the clan of Ice Blades has been the tradition of the Liu family for every journey!
I want to get that done first so I can perfect my water techniques!”
Xiu massaged her temple, thoroughly done.
“Can’t the two of you come to a compromise?
Perhaps you can cut through to the northeast until you reach the capital.
From there, we can head north along the coast.”
Ugh.
“I want to head along the coast to get practice in gathering alchemy ingredients.
A lot of precious ingredients grow in the humid southern lands.
I just want to maximize our time so I can get lots of ingredients I can’t get anywhere else.
If we just cut straight to the capital, we’ll leave the lands too soon.”
“Well, I want to get to the northern edge of the continent sometime this century.
The sooner we get there, the sooner I can learn their techniques and practice them.
Plus, it’s not like you’re following an alchemy Dao, and there’s ingredients in the north too.”
Not to mention we’ll have to travel on ice over the ocean too!
Lot of fucking plants out there isn’t there!”
Xiu glared at both of us and abruptly stood up.
“I can’t take this anymore, and I’m getting severe doubts about my offer to escort you to to the edge of our border.
I’ll be here, packed and ready to go tomorrow morning, so the two of you better know where we’re headed by then!”
She stomped out leaving me and Zhi, shocked.
Silence settled after she left and Zhi and I looked at each other.
I looked away, still mad.
But as the silence gnawed away at me, doubts crept in.
Zhi and I were both stubborn, and we wanted things our way.
But… we were married.
We couldn’t just fight all the time.
Especially not on time sensitive decisions like this.
I heard Zhi shuffle.
“What about… west?”
“Huh?” I turned back to him.
He was looking down, not meeting my eyes.
“There’s a lot of ingredients in the mountains out west, and we can hunt for demon and spirit beast cores to help with your alchemy as we head north through the mountains.”
Ah… those would help… I nodded.
“We don’t have to spend long collecting them.
And I can buy ingredients in towns too.
About when would you want to find the tribe?”
“It can wait a few years.
It’s not like we’re in a rush.
But I have five more techniques to earn for the traditional Liu journey.
It always starts with the Ice Blade Tribe, then we head east to get to the eastern continent and the Green Roots Clan.
Then we sail south to find the Flame Tail Family, head to the middle of the empire for the Deep Cave Clan and round things out by heading west to the Steel Forge Clan.
Once I learn the combat techniques of the five elements, I’ll be ready for my ascension to Spirit Transformation.
And… I’d like that to happen quickly.
We have so many enemies, and we’re both vulnerable.
I just… want to protect you.
I’m sorry for yelling earlier.”
Ah.
I swallowed and tried to come up with the right words for my apology.
“I’m sorry too.
I just… I want to try and protect you too.
But since I can’t really use offensive techniques, my support skills is all I have to do it.
But you’re right that I can practice alchemy anywhere on the road.
I’m rushing because it seems like having access to elixirs and pills will be a huge benefit to us.
But we can head north if you feel like you really need to.
You have a set path, and a concrete Dao you want to follow, while I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“No, I’m rushing.
The entire point of a journey is to take your time and learn about yourself.
Let’s head west.
And… we can check up on your old troop too, while we’re in the area.”
Ah.
That sounded nice.
I smiled gently at Zhi.
“Thanks Zhi.
That means a lot.
I do want to know if they’re doing well, even if I’m sure all the monkeys I once knew are long gone.”
He smiled back.
“Then it’s a plan.
Let’s get some sleep, and we’ll tell Xiu we’re headed west in the morning.”
He stood up and offered me a hand.
I took it and he helped me up as I chortled.
“Won’t she be surprised?
We were arguing over whether to head east or north and we end up going west.”
“I think she’ll just be relieved we aren’t fighting anymore.”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll find something to fight about on the road.”
His smile dropped and he sighed.
“We… we do fight a lot don’t we?”
I patted his arm.
“Hey.
I know we aren’t the most harmonious of couples.
But we’re both doing our best to make it work.
And I think airing our grievances and talking them out is a lot healthier then just burying everything until we grow to hate each other.”
“Is it?
I know couples fight sometimes.
And I feel like most of our fights are harmless and even a little fun sometimes.
But not this one.
When we both think we’re right, we tend to butt heads.
We need to learn to give a little, and work things out without yelling too.”
Ah.
We got to our room and as the door shut behind us I nuzzled into his arms.
He hugged me back, letting out a relieved sigh.
“You’re right.
Our bickering isn’t a problem, but we need to get better at conflict resolution.
What… what if next time we hear the other one out fully before responding?
Just try to understand their position before jumping in with our own idea?”
He nodded and pulled back so I could see his face.
“Yeah.
Let’s try that.
And we can work on compromising too, trying to work in both of our ideas, like heading west instead of straight north or straight east.”
“You know, there was a saying back in my old world.
A good compromise is one where neither party is happy.”
“Then it must be a bad compromise.
Because I’m happy that we aren’t fighting anymore.”
“Gah!
You and your smooth lines.
What are you trying to kill me over here?”
He got his flirtatious smirk.
“No, but if you want, I can try to kill you?
I know just the sword to use…”
I snorted at his flirting, letting out a few laughs.
“Save the one-liners for another night.
We need to get up early tomorrow.”
He dipped down for a nice sweet kiss before withdrawing.
“If we must my beautiful wife.
Cuddles?”
“Of course cuddles.”