Wind-Cloud Steps

Only Hao Nhien and Tieu Lan remained in the room.

The moment the door closed, the noise outside was immediately cut off by the sound-isolation formation. The wooden case containing the spirit-stone card still rested on the table, along with the two jade boxes holding the medicinal ingredients and tools that Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had just delivered.

Tieu Lan stared at the items for a long while before finally giving in to her excitement and wrapping both hands around Hao Nhien’s arm.

“Young Master, nearly fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones.”

Her voice carried a joy that was almost impossible to hide.

“Back then, I already thought selling a single bottle of medicinal liquid for that much was incredible. This time, it was only fifteen pills…”

Hao Nhien laughed and gently stroked her hair.

“Don’t look only at the number of spirit stones. What matters more is that we have proven there are people who genuinely need what we produce, and Heavenly Treasure Pavilion wants to continue working with us. Spirit stones will eventually be spent, but a stable trade route can keep bringing resources back again and again.”

Tieu Lan nodded, then opened the notebook beside her and quickly added several lines beneath the section recording the materials they had just received.

Hao Nhien watched her work, feeling some of the pressure in his heart ease. With the resources they had just acquired, several plans that would otherwise have needed to wait could now be advanced, but he had no intention of expanding everything at once simply because one transaction had gone well.

“We need to keep part of these spirit stones in reserve.”

Tieu Lan looked up.

Hao Nhien continued,

“The first medicinal crop could run into problems, and our future refining attempts will not always go smoothly. Trade routes can be interrupted, and the situation in the Western Wastes still isn’t truly stable. Having more resources does not mean we are allowed to plan everything according to the best possible outcome.”

Tieu Lan nodded seriously.

“I’ll recalculate the list and buy only what we truly need first.”

“Good.”

Hao Nhien looked at the hand holding her brush, and his expression gradually became more thoughtful.

Tieu Lan had changed greatly since they had left Thanh Van City. She no longer merely recognized medicinal herbs and treated injuries as she once had. Now she could independently classify ingredients, adjust proportions, record processes, inspect finished pills, manage medicinal cultivation plans, and directly negotiate with people from Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

Her value was increasing very quickly.

And the greater that value became, the closer danger could sometimes come.

If some force wanted a pill formula but could not pressure Hao Nhien directly, the person beside him who understood the ingredients and refining process best might become the easier target.

That thought slowly dimmed the joy in his heart.

Quan Nha was far stronger than Tieu Lan. She had already reached Foundation Establishment, possessed artifacts, and had experienced plenty of combat, yet she was now out of contact, with no one knowing where she was or what she might be facing.

If one day the person who disappeared was Tieu Lan…

Hao Nhien’s hand unconsciously tightened against the tabletop.

Tieu Lan immediately noticed the change in his eyes.

“Young Master?”

Hao Nhien looked at her for a moment before speaking.

“You need to become stronger.”

Tieu Lan paused.

“I’ll work harder on my cultivation.”

“Not just your cultivation.”

Hao Nhien shook his head.

“Cultivation takes time, and combat experience cannot be accumulated in only a few months. I cannot instantly turn you into someone capable of fighting cultivators stronger than you, but at the very least, you need to learn how to survive when I’m not beside you.”

Tieu Lan set down her brush and looked at him seriously.

Hao Nhien continued,

“You won’t be able to remain inside the Medicine Room forever. You’ll need to visit the Medicine Garden, inspect seedlings, meet caravans, and sometimes leave safe areas. I cannot always go with you.”

Tieu Lan nodded gently.

“I understand. I also don’t want Young Master to always have to divide your attention to protect me.”

“I will still protect you.”

Hao Nhien looked at her.

“But you also need the ability to protect yourself. For now, you don’t need to defeat anyone, much less kill an enemy. I only need you to be able to avoid the first attack, create distance, preserve enough true qi to keep moving, send a distress signal, and survive until help arrives.”

Tieu Lan’s expression gradually became more serious.

“Young Master already has an idea?”

“I have a direction.”

Hao Nhien stood.

“Let’s go into the courtyard.”

A night breeze passed through as the two stepped outside.

Moonlight covered the small courtyard behind Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. An old tree beside the wall swayed gently, and several dry leaves broke free from its branches and spun slowly through the air.

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Hao Nhien stood opposite Tieu Lan and lightly drew upon his Wind affinity. A faint current of air circled through the courtyard, lifting one falling leaf slightly higher.

Tieu Lan watched attentively.

“My Wind affinity and Spirit Wings both came from opportunities unique to me, so you cannot copy them directly,” Hao Nhien said. “But after spending so much time flying on the sword, using the Spirit Wings, and fighting in the Western Wastes, I realized that some principles behind movement do not necessarily require Wind affinity.”

He lowered his hand and allowed the leaf to continue falling.

“The faster person is not always the one using more force. Sometimes they simply know when to place their foot, shift their center of gravity a moment earlier, and avoid the direction with the greatest resistance.”

Tieu Lan thought about it.

“Young Master wants to turn those principles into a movement technique?”

“I’m experimenting with it.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“It cannot be called a complete technique yet. Before now, I mostly used these things instinctively because my Wind affinity let me sense airflow more clearly, while my body became accustomed to changing direction with the Spirit Wings. If I want to teach you, I need to remove everything that only I can do and keep only the principles that someone without a Wind spiritual root can still practice.”

He looked across the courtyard.

“For now, we can temporarily call it the Wind-Cloud Steps.”

Tieu Lan repeated the name softly.

“Wind-Cloud Steps…”

“It’s only a temporary name.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“If we later discover the idea does not work, it won’t be too late to rename it.”

Tieu Lan smiled faintly.

“Then where do I start?”

“First, by sensing the airflow.”

Hao Nhien stepped closer.

“Close your eyes, relax your shoulders, and don’t use Divine Sense to search for some distinct mass of wind. Just feel the places where the airflow touches your body, from your cheeks and neck to the backs of your hands and the edges of your sleeves. You don’t need to hold onto it. You only need to recognize when it arrives and when it leaves.”

Tieu Lan obediently closed her eyes.

The night breeze brushed across her face. Loose strands of hair moved gently, and her sleeves shifted with tiny changes in the air. At first, all of the sensations blended together without any clear direction.

Hao Nhien did not hurry her.

He slowly walked around her, each step subtly changing the air currents in the courtyard.

“Airflow never stays still. Some currents are blocked by your body, some pass around your shoulders, and others move close to the ground. Don’t try to remember everything at once. Just find the clearest change.”

After a while, Tieu Lan’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

“From the left.”

She spoke quietly.

“There’s a current moving from left to right.”

Hao Nhien did not confirm it immediately. Instead, he silently created another faint current behind her.

Tieu Lan tilted her head slightly.

“There’s another one behind me, but it’s very weak.”

Only then did Hao Nhien nod.

“Good. Open your eyes.”

Tieu Lan opened them.

Hao Nhien drew upon his Wind affinity and created a faint current moving close to the ground.

“Now try stepping in the direction it’s flowing. Don’t control the wind and don’t try to let it push you. Simply place your foot along the direction with less resistance.”

Tieu Lan tried.

On her first attempt, she used too much true qi in her legs, causing her foot to land on the stone floor more heavily than necessary.

Hao Nhien immediately shook his head.

“Too much force. You’re using true qi to replace technique.”

Tieu Lan drew her foot back.

On the second attempt, she reduced the force, but her body leaned forward too early.

Hao Nhien reached out and steadied her shoulder.

“Your center of gravity cannot leave a safe position before the next foot is firmly planted. If the wind suddenly changes or someone pressures you from another direction, you’ll make yourself lose balance.”

Tieu Lan carefully committed the lesson to memory before trying a third time.

Her step was still not fast, but it was clearly lighter than before. When her foot touched the ground, her body was no longer as tense.

She immediately looked at Hao Nhien.

“It feels different.”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“The wind isn’t pushing you forward. You are simply reducing some of the resistance and placing your foot at a better moment. The effect is very small right now, but in combat, even a little extra distance can be enough to avoid a sword.”

He stepped back several paces.

“Try three steps in succession.”

Tieu Lan took a deep breath and began.

Her first step was still slightly stiff, and the second was already lighter, but just as she took the third, Hao Nhien suddenly changed the direction of the airflow.

Tieu Lan continued according to her previous momentum, and her center of gravity immediately shifted away from her supporting leg.

Hao Nhien appeared beside her and caught her before she could fall.

Tieu Lan steadied herself, her face slightly red.

“I didn’t notice when it changed direction.”

“That is the difficult part.”

Hao Nhien released her.

“In a real fight, airflow changes because of footsteps, sword qi, spells, moving people, and even the surrounding terrain. You cannot memorize one fixed path. You have to notice the change first, then adjust.”

He used the tip of his foot to mark three small points on the stone floor.

“For now, remember three parts. First is sensing the air, recognizing the airflow around you. Second is following the flow, placing your steps along the direction with the least resistance. The last is shifting your weight, moving your center of gravity before changing direction without allowing your body to lose balance.”

Tieu Lan looked at the three marks.

“Only after I become familiar with those three should I use true qi to increase my speed?”

“Exactly. If you use true qi too early, you’ll only turn this into a movement technique based on brute force and lose the entire purpose behind it.”

She nodded.

“What about the Qi-Recovery Pill?”

“That comes later.”

Hao Nhien answered.

“First, we need to know how much true qi this movement technique actually consumes at your cultivation level. Once we have enough data, then we can decide on dosage. You are not going to run around swallowing an entire pill based on instinct.”

Tieu Lan did not object.

“Then how long do I practice tonight?”

“No more than half a double-hour.”

Hao Nhien replied.

“Your body isn’t used to shifting its center of gravity this way. If you train for too long on the first day, your legs will only ache tomorrow without gaining anything useful.”

Tieu Lan looked somewhat reluctant, but still nodded obediently.

“Yes.”

Her progress during the following attempts was slow but steady.

Hao Nhien repeatedly changed the direction of the faint air currents in the courtyard. Sometimes he sent them close to the ground, at other times around Tieu Lan’s shoulder or from behind her. She did not detect every change, and sometimes reacted incorrectly, but the number of times she lost balance gradually decreased.

After nearly half a double-hour, Tieu Lan could change direction for several consecutive steps without disrupting her breathing.

Her speed remained slow, and each step was only slightly longer than normal, but her footwork had clearly become lighter.

Hao Nhien created another current from the left.

This time, Tieu Lan did not immediately move with it. She held her center of gravity steady, waited for the current to pass, then shifted her foot along the next flow appearing ahead of her.

Hao Nhien smiled.

“You’re starting to understand.”

Tieu Lan breathed lightly.

“But I’m still very slow.”

“Being slow doesn’t matter.”

Hao Nhien walked toward her.

“On the first day, not making yourself fall is already enough.”

Tieu Lan looked at him, clearly still wanting to continue.

“I can practice a little longer.”

“No.”

Hao Nhien used his sleeve to gently wipe the sweat from her forehead.

“We stop here. Starting tomorrow, practice for half a double-hour each day. Once sensing the air, following the flow, and shifting your weight are all stable, then we increase the speed. After that, you can learn how to move while avoiding attacks, sending messages, using medicine, and finding your way toward a formation.”

Tieu Lan nodded seriously.

“I’ll practice every day.”

The night wind passed through the courtyard again, lifting several dry leaves from the stone floor.

One leaf spun sideways in front of Tieu Lan.

She did not reach out to control it, nor did she try to affect it with true qi. Only after sensing the current flowing past her right side did she lean slightly and extend one finger into the place the leaf was about to pass.

The leaf lightly brushed her fingertip.

It did not stop, but shifted to one side, spun another half-turn, and finally fell onto the stone floor.

Tieu Lan looked at the leaf, a smile slowly appearing on her lips.

She still could not create wind, much less control it, but for the first time, she had recognized the flow before it passed her.

Standing beside her, Hao Nhien looked back at the steps she had just taken.

The Wind-Cloud Steps were still extremely crude and could not yet be called a complete movement technique, much less compared with the Spirit Wings or the true movement arts of the Free Roaming Sect. But this first attempt had at least proven that the direction was possible.

The rest could only be recorded, adjusted, and tested one step at a time.