D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

“Yeah I don’t blame you… that was brutal…” mumbled Bing.

“What… what just happened exactly?” asked Kat.

“Eh… it’s not something that comes up often. See, there are two main things that people care about when you’re tested for cultivation potential. Your affinity for qi, which is basically how fast you can potentially cultivate, and what element your qi naturally aligns to. The first is obvious, no sense picking up a disciple if they’d take a hundred years to get to Rank 1 and die shortly thereafter. Some sects can be a bit draconian about how compatible they need their students to be with qi…

“But there are ways to improve it, if you’re very lucky, very rich, or very stupid,” seeing the question on the other girls’ faces, Bing elaborated, “a lot of methods require you to live through or just stay conscious during painful procedures. It’s considered ‘for idiots’ because brain damage is a very real risk in most of them… but if you’re already an idiot… might not be such a big loss,” Sue gave a nod at that but Kat and Lily winced, “yeah… anyway, that’s just one half of the equation.

“The second part is your affinity, and if the sect has the resources to get the most out of it. If they don’t, and your affinity for qi is high they’ll try and trade you off to a sect that can handle you better… or if you’re really good keep you anyway. However… there is also a third thing that people only sometimes test for. Normally it’s not important but…

“There are levels to elemental affinity. I don’t really know what they are exactly, and my parents were never willing to share… apparently just knowing your own affinity can stifle your growth. Not sure I believe it but… what you just watched was a good cultivator, Bonnin, fight a good cultivator… who is beloved by their element. It normally doesn’t matter that much, not at our level and not against most opponents… but when your affinity matches your opponent and you’re the same rank…” Bing gestured at the arena.

“That’s… well I guess it makes sense but that’s pretty brutal…” mumbled Kat.

Bing just shrugged, “Cultivation is known as a considerably unequal path in life. Talent is everything, and while many cultivators can mitigate it… the fact that they managed to become cultivators at all is already a massive stroke of luck. The fact that some of us are even more lucky? That’s just how this sort of thing works.

.....

“Though… normally we’re not quite so easily slapped in the face with that knowledge. Bodeir’s right this will probably become a heart-demon for the poor girl. Something that many people forget when they become a cultivator, even those successful ones… is that we are already exceptionally lucky… and someone is always luckier…” finished Bing trailing off.

“But… you, your brother, and Bodeir are all competent cultivators in your own right… doesn’t that mean it’s hereditary?” asked Kat.

Bing winced again, looking somewhat physically pained. “It… sort of… it’s more complicated then that… but normally it’s hereditary… but also… not all that consistent. Bodeir Sr, and my parents were both very lucky that their first children were born with high levels of talent… assuming we are the first children our parents had…”

“Is… is that likely?” asked Sue looking somewhat horrified.

“I can’t say. Bodeir probably is… it was a big deal when his mother passed away and from what I know I doubt she was physically capable of having two children. My parents… my parents I really do wonder about. I’d like to think they wouldn’t be so cold… we are the HOLY Icy Wind Sect after all… but the ICY part of that name is still rather apt. I know that there are a number of things a cultivator can do to increase the chances of having powerful children… but many of them are risky, sometimes to both parents.

“I don’t know too many details, just the broad strokes. Apparently, it was necessary I learn those details. The simplest method to increase a child’s affinity is to keep them inside the mother’s body for an extended period of time using either a special technique or medicine. This is believed to give the child abilities more closely linked with their mother… which statistically is a good thing… but some worry it might reduce the talent of the child if the mother is the weaker of the two.

“The other option is to try and force the child to take a piece of their parents’ cultivation when they are conceived. It’s… potentially horrifically wasteful for the parents. The child can’t hold onto the energy, and it will dissipate… assuming they survive the process. It has a high fatality rate and the adults don’t get a refund on their cultivation, so normally this method is only attempted when they use other medicines to ensure they will conceive… because if they don’t even do that?” Bing left the statement hanging.

“I think I know more than I ever wanted to know about cultivator sex,” said Kat.

“Well… I somewhat agree,” said Sue, “At least this aspect of it. I do however want to know more about cultivator sex, maybe your brother would like to teach me?”

“I believe I already mentioned my parents’ stance on that for myself? Why would it be different for my brother?” asked Bing.

Sue shrugged, “Some people are hypocrites… or misandrists, or misogynists, or just idiots. That and well… what Fend does or does not tell his parents is none of my business is it?”

Bing gave Sue a flat look, “I’d tell them if he didn’t. No way am I letting him get away with trying something like that without me, and without consequences,”

“Oh? Well if you were interested in a threesome why didn’t you just say so?” responded Sue with a grin.

Bing slapped Sue lightly on the back of the head, “Get your mind out of the gutter,”

“Girl, I built that gutter. It’s my home and I will not have you disrespecting it,” retorted Sue.

“I cannot believe you can say such nonsense without being stopped by our truth curse,” grumbled Kat.

“Metaphor is a perfectly valid way of speaking Kat, I’ve never built a real gutter in my life, and I could still say it. The curse, if it is a curse I suppose, isn’t all that anal about a lot of things. You can sneak a whole bunch of things around with a bit of thought,” said Sue.

“Right whatever,” said Kat with a sigh, “How about we change topics?”

Sue gave an innocent shrug. She didn’t really think she’d pushed that far, but she supposed that for Kat and perhaps Lily as well they’d gone from one questionable topic to another. Interesting though it may have been… certainly wasn’t the happiest thing to think about. A number of questions were notably not asked about what might happen to the children that didn’t meet standard. There were… acceptable answers and others less so… best not to confirm anything.

Bing gave a bit of a nod at the suggestion. She didn’t particularly like speaking on such dreary topics and Sue’s attempt to shift the tone hadn’t worked all that well, at least in her mind, so she was up for something different.

“Well, good,” said Kat with a smile. “See, during the last match Lily and I were wondering how long a cultivator can hold their breath for? Bonnin had that swim through earth technique, which was cool… but she can only stay underneath for as long as she can hold her breath right? Even if she made pockets of earth down there, it wouldn’t magically by filled with air, so that’s got to be a major limiting factor right? Oh and do you need more or less air because you’ve got a wind affinity?”

Bing laughed a little at the question, Kat had been so seriously with the delivery but Bing couldn’t help but find it so funny. It was a rather niche thing all told, but it was intriguing. “Right so… um… hmm… that’s not really something I know off the top of my head Kat. I’ve never…” Bing paused to stifle her giggles again, “…that’s not really something I’ve ever asked anyone. I’d guess that… I probably need less? Or no… maybe not? I guess it depends on how you’re using your techniques. I know breathing is a big thing for most of them… though I do think lung capacity would go up as we gain power…

“That’s mostly because cultivation is all about refinement… and what else would a better set of lungs do but be able to hold more air and use it more efficiently. I’m just not sure if I would need more or less… it’s not something I’ve ever really compared with anyone… but now I’m thinking about it… it’s probably something I should. It would increase my understanding of air in unique ways. Thank you for the question,”