Mira, Maria, and the other disciples also dispersed after the Sect Master left. They now had plenty of homework to do, especially Mira, who had many different manuals to read and techniques to learn, all in just a month.
Fortunately, she had enhanced comprehension and could put herself in a semi-enlightened state, so she didn't think it would be impossible to learn everything.
Maria, on the other hand, was thinking about something else entirely. Scenes of Mira getting beaten helplessly kept resurfacing in her mind, and she didn't know how to stop it.
It's not like she was losing her respect toward Mira or anything, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was something she could've done that would've allowed Mira to stand her ground more against Nova.
This isn't just about her fight with Nova but for the future as well. What if she comes across an opponent down the mountain that she could've beaten if she was just a bit stronger but ended up dying because she wasn't?
After walking in silence for several minutes, Mira knew something was wrong, "What's wrong, Maria?" She asked, but didn't stop walking.
Maria stammered, and her eyes wandered as if she wanted to avoid eye contact, but there were no eyes to avoid, "Ah! Eh? U-Ummm… Wh-What do you mean?"
Mira shrugged, "You're way too quiet, and I can sense something's been on your mind ever since I lost to Nova in that spar," Then she remembered that she'd never really lost in front of Maria, "That must've been your first time seeing me lose, huh? But is that really something for you to get so worked up about?"
Maria reflexively answered, "Yes! AH! No! I mean, no! That's… That's not what I'm worried about," She paused to take a breath, and Mira stayed quiet to let her finish, "It's just… I can't help but think that being a healer might not be all that great."
Mira stopped in her tracks and turned to Maria, who instinctively looked a bit ashamed that she was showing this side of her to Mira.
Suddenly, Mira chuckled, "Fufufu~ So, that's what you're worried about? You're worried I'll get so injured that I'll die before you can heal me, so now you're starting to think being a healer is useless, right?"
Maria meekly nodded her head. Mira chuckled again at that sight, walked up to her, and patted her on the shoulder.
"Well, you aren't wrong."
"Eh?"
Maria looked up with a bewildered expression, but Mira continued.
"If you look at it like that, being a healer is pretty useless. What's the point of having that ability if the one you're trying to save dies before you can even get there?"
Maria opened and closed her mouth repeatedly like a fish, but she didn't know what to say. Still, Mira kept talking.
"Then what's the solution to this problem?" Mira asked, but didn't wait to hear her answer, "It's to be there, right next to the person you're trying to save! And how do you do that? By getting stronger!"
"In the end, strength is all that matters!"
Too bad this solution didn't help Maria out, as she didn't feel she'd ever be strong enough to fight on the same battlefield with Mira without being a burden.
Mira saw right through her thoughts and pondered for a bit. Truthfully, Mira didn't even want Maria to have to fight next to her. Similar to how a husband wouldn't want his wife to go to war.
"I see. Well, isn't this a relatively simple problem to fix? While strength is still necessary if you want to stick with me long-term and should always be your main priority, there are other ways to help me out. For example, I'm often busy training and don't have time to put my subordinates to good use. You can do something with them. I also need tons of resources for my cultivation, so it could be your job to get them. Fighting isn't the only way for you to help me."
With that said, Mira kept walking, leaving behind a few more words, "Just remember, strength is the easiest and most reliable way to gain status, and it's the only way to keep it once you have it."
Maria just stood there in a daze as she watched Mira make her way down the mountain with her fists clenched.
***
Not long after her talk with Maria, Mira appeared in an isolated room back inside her cave house, free from any distractions. She took out the three books Aelina gave her and read the titles.
[Basic Applications of Qi]
[Master Qi Manipulation]
[How to Utilize the Strength of Your Body in Long-Range Fights]
Although Mira had several other manuals and techniques to read that would certainly give her a more noticeable boost in power, she felt these would increase her foundational knowledge and long-term strength.
So, she decided to start with [Basic Applications of Qi].
Opening it to the first page, it read:
["Qi is a source of energy with nigh-infinite possibilities, many of which we will never understand. It can make plants and inanimate objects sentient. It can enhance the volatility of natural phenomena. It can increase the durability of the earth and even allow someone or something to unlock its full potential. While we don't know where Qi comes from or all it can be used for, we cultivators have understood how we can use it."
"To put it simply, how you want to use it depends largely on the intent or will you put into the Qi you want to use. While the rest is how well you alter your objects, abilities, and techniques to suit your needs."
"Although there are many ways one can use Qi, for us cultivators, there are mainly 5 basic applications and 5 auxiliaries."
"The 5 basic applications consist of Fortification, Enhancement, Augmentation, Manifestation, and Materialization. While the 5 auxiliaries consist of Nullification, Amplification, Regeneration, Infusion, and Omission."
"Some of these may seem similar, but they are, in fact, very different. For example, Manifestation and Materialization may seem the same on the surface, but they are completely different!
"Manifestation is when you want to make a sword out of Qi, so you picture it in your mind, and it appears in your hand. However, this sword will continuously drain your Qi while it's in your hand and dissipate when you run out."
"Materialization starts the same, but when the sword appears in your hand, it doesn't consume your Qi and doesn't dissipate when you run out."
"Now, let's move on to the details of each application of Qi!"
"Fortification is essentially just adding an extra layer of Qi to protect whatever it is you want to protect, similar to a suit of armor, but it's a little more complicated than that. Fortifying something isn't just about surrounding it with Qi and calling it good. There are generally two ways to fortify something: you temporarily alter the object's composition to something more durable, or you layer your Qi in such a way that it is denser and tougher than whatever it is you're trying to protect. You can do both, but that's a bit overkill.
"This will take tons of time and practice to get right, and what you can reinforce mainly depends on your hard work, cultivation, talent, foundation, and understanding of the world around you."
"Moving onto Enhancement, which is similar to Fortification, except instead of trying to protect something, you are trying to elevate certain aspects of an object. Take a sword as an example. While Fortification would increase the durability of the entire sword, to Enhance it, you might only want to focus on the edge of the blade to increase its sharpness.
"There are several ways to do this, and one of them is to temporarily change the composition like with fortification, but that isn't very efficient. For this example, the best way would be to create a much thinner and sharper point with your Qi and surround the edge of your blade with it."
"Augmentation is similar to the previous two but is all about increasing or decreasing the size of an object, not about making it stronger. This is hard, or in most cases, impossible to do on real objects like a sword, shield, or suit of armor, and even if you can, it'll drain tons of Qi. Therefore, the best and most used way to use this is to manifest something with your Qi, then augment it."
"I already talked a bit about Manifestation and Materialization, but out of all 10 Qi applications, Manifestation is by far the most used, especially among weaker cultivators. Materialization is mainly only used by those in the Mortal Shedding Realm and above."
"Manifestation is almost entirely based on the image in your mind and your intent. For example, if you wanted to create a fireball but only have a blurry image of what a fireball is, it'll be weaker than what you're capable of producing. Therefore, when you manifest something, be sure to have a clear image in your mind and a good understanding of what you want it to do. However, while this application is largely based on your intent, you can't just make fire cold and ice hot."
"Materialization is, well, essentially creation. That's why only those in the Mortal Shedding Realm and above can only use it. How is being able to create something from thin air an ability a Mortal should have? Hence the name "Mortal Shedding". Though, of course, that's not the only reason for that name."
"Alright, enough of that! Let's move on to the Auxiliary applications!"