Hopping across the riverside stones, Jun Li approached the small waterfall that had become a second home to her by now.
Settling in for her nightly training, she tossed a small satchel filled with what few possessions she kept on hand these days, a crude sewing kit, some dried fruit from the orphanage, and her patchwork hat.
Jun Li stepped behind the waterfall and slid into a horse stance before plunging her hands into the flow of the waterfall.
Through trial and error, she had found this form better suited to her training here than the lotus position that her memories told her was near-universal for Cultivation.
She was only able to hold this stance for ten minutes at a time before needing to rest, and in those ten minutes, there was no guarantee she would be able to sense even the slightest hint of Qi from the waterfall. But even so, the tension and focus she maintained in it was a deciding factor in her ability to react to the flow of Qi.
Her breathing was deep and steady, the pace kept in line with what her memories told her should make her internal energies more turbulent and vigorous, making it far easier for an invasive strand of Qi to 'catch' onto her.
'There!' The instant Jun Li sensed a strand of Qi, she pushed her arms down the waterfall, moving with the flow of the water before pulling her arms back, out of the waterfall and to her side.
As soon as she confirmed the strand of Qi had been entangled into her arm, she adopted the lotus position and steadied herself.
With each breath, that errant strand of Qi shifted slowly through Jun Li's Meridians, closer to her Dantian, which rested centrally in her chest, just above her heart.
With luck, that sliver of Qi would naturally incorporate with the few others Jun Li had accumulated.
It had been well over a year since Jun Li had found this place, but she had only become able to redirect the flow of Qi enough to absorb it four months ago.
The rest of the time she spent here was in figuring out how much of her knowledge of Daoist Cultivation she could adapt to Martial Cultivation, mostly through trial and error, though she couldn't test anything outside of the absolute fundamentals.
By her current estimate, not even a fifth of her memories of Cultivation were applicable to the world she lived in, so trying to improvise the rest was a tall order indeed. It surprised even herself that she was able to get this far, even with the confidence and ambition her inherited memories gave her.
After making sure that sliver of Qi wasn't going anywhere, Jun Li collapsed backwards, exhausted, but successful.
As she closed her eyes, she focused intently on her Dantian, which she had only become able to sense with clarity after a full year of practice. There, she saw what little Qi she was able to accumulate. Though, oddly, it didn't bring her any joy.
Despite her efforts and the Qi she had gathered, there didn't seem to be any meaningful results. She hadn't become any stronger, faster, or more perceptive. All that had resulted was that she was more able to sense and manipulate Qi, though even that hadn't improved for months.
She was almost sixteen years old now and knew that the deadline to enter the Glass Cloud Sect was approaching. They only admit students at sixteen years old, and only once a year. There were no second chances.
The day of the entrance test was a mere four months away, and these days Jun Li had been spending more time at the waterfall than the orphanage, getting desperate for some kind of breakthrough.
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Jun Li grabbed her satchel and stumbled back onto her feet. She didn't want to keep Cultivating all night, especially when she knew how busy tomorrow was going to be.
It was the end of the year, and as was tradition, her Auntie would be heading into the city to trade some simple crafts in the hopes of getting some decent meat for the kids to eat during the celebration of the new year.
'I should ask Auntie to only buy enough for her and the younger kids...' Jun Li got lost in thought as she walked back home, struggling to keep her mind off the possibility that she might be unable to pass the Glass Cloud Sect's entrance test in four months time.
...
Just before the sun set, Jun Li and her younger siblings were playing with a handmade Cuju ball. Since they didn't have any good way to make a proper net, they mostly played improvised games.
Right now they were taking turns trying to kick the ball into Jun Li's patchwork hat from ten steps away.
Today, Jun Li had taken a break from her Cultivation to take care of the orphanage while her Auntie was out in the city. It was a welcome change of pace, and Jun Li was happy to put in a bit more effort, as she felt her nightly cultivation had been cutting into her helpfulness around the orphanage.
Just as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon, and the children were getting tired, Jun Li finally spotted her Auntie making her way home, the basket of crafts she carried on her back now hanging lightly in her hand.
"Ah! Auntie's back, get ready, everyone!" One of the younger kids, Duan Shu, called out, with the rest of the younger kids seemingly understanding him.
'Get ready? For what? Dinner's still an hour or two away, surely.' Jun Li was a bit confused by the kids' rush, as they grabbed the various toys scattered around the yard and clamored to get back inside.
Despite her confusion, Jun Li followed along, stopping on the way to welcome her Auntie back.
"Jun Li, let's head on inside before anything else." Auntie smiled and ushered Jun Li to gather with her siblings inside. By this point, Jun Li had become a bit anxious, but she played along.
"Here, take a seat!" Duan Shu, who had gathered the rest of the kids, pulled out a chair for her, though nobody else was seated. Taking the seat, Jun Li tried to remain silent until her Auntie was ready, for whatever was happening.
Pulling a small box out of her basket, Auntie presented it to Jun Li. It appeared to be made of sandalwood, with some sort of dark leather on the lid.
Seeing how expensive it looked made Jun Li's heart jump, and she could only look at her Auntie with complete confusion. "Happy New Year, Jun Li!"
Jun Li, still stunned, looked to her younger siblings. "Surprise!" The kids cheered, led by Duan Shu. Jun Li's Auntie, seeing how confused she was, explained herself.
"Everyone here knows how hard you've been working to pass the entrance test, so... this year we saved up extra, decided not to spend on anything else for this New Year's celebration, and got you this as a joint present instead!"
Auntie opened the box, revealing a tiny, luminescent purple stone.
Jun Li's eyes widened upon seeing it. She could sense that it had Qi in it, more so than anything she had sensed at the waterfall; perhaps more was contained in that stone than she had taken in throughout the past year.
"This... is Purple Jade?" Jun Li held her hands out to the box, but felt unable, or perhaps undeserving of holding it.
Jun Li had heard from her Auntie about this substance, that it was something young Cultivators used to improve their cultivation, and that it was used as a type of currency among Cultivators, both in Sects, and even in distant nations.
But to see it in front of her, she knew that it would have cost much, much more than a mere dozen servings of decent meat to buy even this small shard.
Jun Li looked to her Auntie and siblings yet again, struggling to believe what they had done for her. "Everyone..." Jun Li, who was already tearing up, couldn't say another word before she began crying.
"We're here for you, Jun Li. If you ever get tired or struggle, you can always rely on us." Auntie put the box down and held Jun Li close as she calmed down.
As Jun Li tried to hold back her tears, she thought of everything her family had done for her, and felt she hadn't done nearly enough for them.
'I can't let this go to waste...' Jun Li became further determined to pass the entrance test, to become a Cultivator, and to bring her family wealth, comfort, and security for the rest of their lives.
