What followed were a lot of questions from Jasmine that Stella realized she didn't have good answers to. She may have a library of information in her head, but she could not access that latent knowledge if she didn't take the time to research something in depth.
I never had anyone to teach me how to cultivate correctly, and I never went to the academy or had tutors to learn about the different affinities. Maybe Tree was right, and I am not cut out to be a good Master... no that's not fair. This might not be my area of expertise, but I know someone who could answer all of Jasmine's questions far better than I ever could. Having connections with powerful people who can help guide my Disciple makes me a good Master, right?
"Jasmine, those are all great questions," Stella patted the girl on the head, "It's good that you are putting so much thought into this and are so inquisitive. Being interested in the world around us is key to becoming a great cultivator."
"So what do you think I should do, Master?" Jasmine asked.
Stella rose to her feet, "I think... we should ask someone who knows better than me!"
Jasmine frowned, "You don't know, Master?"
"Silly girl, let me give you a life lesson," Stella crossed her arms, "Nobody knows everything. We all have our strengths and weaknesses in every area of life. Would you judge a master alchemist for their poor swordsmanship? No, that would be unfair. The alchemist spent all their life studying rather than training to fight."
Jasmine nodded her head as she listened along. Despite her young age, she seemed good at listening and understanding.
"Remember what I said about my parents leaving? I didn't have anyone to teach me how to cultivate properly, and I never studied the advantages or disadvantages of each affinity and how dual cores work. Wouldn't it be better if we spoke to an expert than I pretend to know the answer and cause you to make a wrong choice?"
"That does sound like a good idea," Jasmine said, "May I ask what Master is an expert in?"
What am I an expert in? I'm not as bright as Elaine, as strong as Larry, or as caring as Ashlock. Douglas works far harder than me, and Diana has a better handle on her bloodline. Even after practicing swordsmanship as much as I have, I still lost to Nox. I am above average at making pills, I suppose, but that's not very remarkable to a child.
"I'm not impressive at all," Stella muttered. Realizing what she had said before her Disciple, she coughed into her hand. "Anyway, we are talking about you right now, not me."
"Didn't you just say everyone has their strengths?" Jasmine tilted her head.
"That's the end of the life lesson. Let's go."
"Stella, don't sell yourself short, especially before your disciple who looks up to you," Ashlock said in her mind.
"I didn't lie, though," Stella mentally replied, "I'm not an expert in anything."
"You have a twisted view of what expert means. It must be because of how easy things come to you due to your bloodline; it devalues your achievements and takes away your confidence."
"If you say so?" Stella frowned, "I don't think I have accomplished all that much."
"Anything you do will be amazing to Jasmine. Remember, she was a mortal until YOU changed her fate. To her, you are more than amazing. Think about it some more. Oh, and before you go, can you take these truffles I've been growing for a while to the Redclaws?"
"Sure."
The ground began rumbling as ethereal black roots rose from the stone.
"Master, what's happening?" Jasmine trembled beside Stella.
Stella rested a hand on Jasmine's head to calm her, "I know it's hard not to be scared of things, but so long as I am next to you, everything will be fine. Okay? Just relax."
Jasmine shifted her head to look up at Stella, and their eyes met. "Okay..." she said, "I trust you."
Stella smiled, "Good. This will be over soon."
The ground stopped shaking a moment later, and they were surrounded by dozens of roots poking out of the stone like a forest of bamboo.
Stella closed her eyes and entered the spatial plane. Her Star Core pulsed as she became wreathed in spatial flames and spread out her control. Targeting each truffle growing from the roots, she used telekinesis to free them and float toward her.
"Master is amazing," Jasmine whispered.
Stella waved her hand, which shone with a silver light as her spatial ring absorbed the truffles. It only took a few minutes to harvest around a hundred truffles.
"Alright, let's see Elaine first and then head over to the White Stone Palace to see the Redclaws." Stella released her control over the area and set an anchor point near the illusion grove. Clicking her finger, a rift tore itself into existence.
With her eyes still closed as she was in the spatial plane, Stella took Jasmine's hand and led them through. Her ears popped at the pressure change, and her hair and clothes rustled as the rift collapsed.
"It's warmer here," Jasmine noted as she glanced around.
"We are in the forest of fire affinity demonic trees. Do you see those crimson flowers growing along their trunks? Those are Blaze Serpent Roses. They release fire Qi into the air so it will be warmer near them." Stella pointed up at Red Vine Peak that loomed to the south, "We were up there a second ago."
Jasmine followed her finger and blinked in astonishment, "That's so far! Walking down to here must take hours, but we arrived in a second. You sure are amazing, Master."
"It's nothing, really," Stella waved Jasmine off as she walked down the mountain path. It forked down either side to various groves, and there were even signposts hanging from the branches of the trees near the forks.
"Wait up, Master!" Jasmine ran to keep up, "Where are we going? Is this where Elaine lives?"
"No, silly," Stella took a left, "We are going to where Elaine is cultivating."
"Who is this Elaine person? Are they Master's friend?"
"Something like that."
"Why are your eyes closed, Master?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions," Stella grabbed Jasmine's hand, "My eyes are closed because I don't need them to see. The world has a habit of lying to you, especially when illusion Qi is involved. So stick close to me. I will lead the way."
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Jasmine sealed her lips shut, but her self-enforced silence only lasted a minute. "Master, where did all the trees go?"
"Did you not listen to a word I said?" Stella sighed; inquisitive children sure were annoying. "This is a grove of trees that have the illusion affinity. They are also covered in Dreamweaver Orchids, which alter the environment's appearance. The trees aren't gone; it's illusion Qi playing tricks on your mind."
"Oh..." Jasmine wasn't convinced, so Stella led her to a nearby tree and planted her hand on its bark. That earned an utterly shocked expression as she met an invisible wall.
"Happy now?" Stella sighed as she continued guiding Jasmine down the path.
"Illusion Qi is scary," Jasmine said as she stuck closer than before.
Stella could see Elaine just up ahead in the spatial plane. She would have used a portal, but the dense illusion Qi made it difficult, and since it was a short walk, it wasn't worth wasting the spatial Qi to force a portal open.
"Elaine, sorry to bother you," Stella opened her eyes and left the spatial plane. Sure enough, it looked like she was in an empty clearing, but to her trained eye, she could see it wasn't quite right. The sound of rustling leaves in the wind was too close, and the sunlight on the ground was broken up as if sneaking through a canopy.
The illusion faded, revealing a pink-haired woman wearing glasses sitting cross-legged under a tree. The rest of the grove also materialized as the dense illusion Qi that had gathered here dispersed.
"Stella! It's rare that you come and visit me. I'm glad to see you recovered from your fight with Diana." Elaine got to her feet and flicked off the leaves that stuck to her robe. "Oh, who is this?"
"This is my Disciple—"
"You took on a Disciple?!" Elaine ran over and placed her hands on Jasmine's shoulders, "Dear, did she kidnap you? Threaten you with death? No... she must have tormented you by dangling you through a portal to become her Disciple, right?"
Jasmine scrunched her face in thought, "I don't think so."
"Elaine, stop saying ridiculous things to my Disciple. You're making me sound like some kind of monster."
"Ridiculous? I speak nothing but the truth." Elaine hugged Jasmine as if protecting her.
Stella rolled her eyes, "Okay, not ridiculous, but I don't do those things anymore."
Elaine squinted at her as if studying her expression before letting go of Jasmine, sighing, "Fine, I won't say anymore. Did you come here to introduce me to her?"
"That was part of it," Stella crossed her arms, "But we also came to you for advice. Ash had a good look at Jasmine and determined that she was best suited to the nature affinity. However, there were a variety of other affinities that she also seemed suited to, and as a dual-core who also got to pick their second affinity, I felt you would give us the best advice on what to do."
"Fascinating," Elaine pushed up her glasses, "I have never heard of such a thing before. Either Ashlock has discovered something unknown to the world thus far, or Jasmine here is very unique. Usually, dual cores result from horrific techniques like nocturnes, though some are born with an equal capability for two affinities."
Stella placed her hand on Jasmine's head, "She isn't a nocturne and wasn't born a cultivator either. She was given the ability to cultivate by Ash's truffle."
"A mortal turned into a cultivator," Elaine tapped her chin, "That might explain it. Usually, being attuned to a particular affinity is passed down through a bloodline. But if you never had a bloodline, to begin with, forcing you to pick a certain affinity, I suppose there's no reason you couldn't cultivate any affinity you wanted. Anyway, I am getting off-topic; what was your question?"
Stella nudged Jasmine.
"Um, Mistress Elaine," Jasmine seemed shy toward Elaine as she diverted her gaze, "Stella told me that cultivating two or more affinities would be bad. Is this true?"
"Great question!" Elaine's spatial ring flashed, and a bowl appeared in her palm. She crouched down and began piling leaves off the floor into the bowl. "Imagine this is your Soul Core; it's something you will form within your body in time, and these leaves represent nature Qi. The job of the Soul Core is to store Qi that you absorb during cultivation. It also forcefully converts untamed Qi into your affinity, but that's inefficient."
Elaine filled the bowl to the top with leaves, "When your Soul Core gets too full, it will grow bigger." She brought out a bigger bowl and dumped all the leaves into it. "This is what cultivation is; not that complex, right?"
Jasmine shook her head, "I like how you explain things."
"I am a teacher, you know," Elaine winked, "It's my job. Now let's imagine you picked water as your second affinity."
Elaine poured some water from a water pouch into the bowl.
"Do you see any water?" Elaine held up the bowl.
Jasmine peered into it, "A little below the leaves."
"Could you easily scoop out a handful of water?"
Jasmine shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because the leaves are in the way."
"You mean the nature Qi, but yes. The leaves are in the way." Elaine poured more water into the bowl, turning it into a leaf soup. "What about now? Could you get some water out?"
Jasmine dipped her hand into the bowl and managed to scoop some water into her palm. A smile bloomed on her face, "I did it."
"Yes, it was much easier when there was an equal amount of water and leaves, right? This is what having a dual-core is like. Not only do you have to comprehend heaven's whispers from two separate affinities, but you must also keep a constant balance between the two affinities within your own Soul Core. If you have too much nature Qi, your body cannot draw from the water Qi as easily, even if it's there."
Stella found herself listening to the lesson with as much interest as Jasmine.
Diana mentioned many times about an imbalance in her Soul Core. Was she referring to this?
Elaine set the bowl to the side, "Despite the challenges, having two affinities does have benefits. You aren't as easy to counter in a fight; it gives you access to a broader variety of techniques and even different fighting styles."
Jasmine looked down at the bowl filled with damp leaves, "Is nature affinity any good?"
Elaine gave a thumbs up, "Absolutely. Nature affinity is great, one of the best even. Its Qi is abundant, it's one of the easiest to comprehend as we are surrounded by it, and it's not an abstract concept like spatial or void. In fact, its ease to cultivate is why I would suggest you should pick a second affinity."
"Really?"
That surprised Stella. Until now, having two affinities sounded like a real hassle. There are so many downsides, especially since even with Ashlock's truffles and her bloodline, she still struggled to comprehend even a dozen techniques for a single affinity, let alone two.
"Yeah, though there are some conditions to that statement." Elaine raised her fingers, "One, you have to pick an affinity that is also easy to cultivate. Nothing too rare or complex like my illusion affinity, for example. Because you have to cultivate the two affinities in parallel, you will get held back if one is vastly easier than the other."
Elaine really is amazing, Stella suddenly realized. She is cultivating void and illusion Qi, both of which are rare yet managed to ascend many stages in the last Mystic Realm... I really am no expert.
Stella bit her lip. I need to improve and faster. Otherwise, I will be a worthless Master for Jasmine.
"Second," Elaine continued, "You need to pick an affinity that works harmoniously with nature. For example, fire or ice would be a no-go. But earth and water would be fine. Lastly, pick an affinity that you think is cool or have an interest in. You will spend many years cultivating and listening to the heaven's whispers about whatever affinity you choose, so you better find it interesting!"
Jasmine nodded with determination, "I want another affinity."
"Great! Do you have any idea which one?"
"Nope!"
Elaine chuckled and patted her head, "That's fine, it's a big decision. Maybe after trying to cultivate nature Qi for a while, you will change your mind about wanting two affinities. Either way, come back to me when you have decided, and I can advise you if it's a good choice."
Stella smiled wearily at Elaine's words. I don't think she will change her mind. She seems a bit too stubborn for that.
Since the conversation seemed to have concluded and Jasmine had no more questions, Stella summoned her flying sword. "Elaine, we will leave now, as I still have some errands to run for Ash. Thank you for this very insightful talk."
"You two are welcome here anytime," Elaine went to sit back down below the tree. Once she closed her eyes and breathed in, the trees around them began to vanish once more.
***
Stella landed in the White Stone Palace's courtyard and helped Jasmine off the flying sword by holding her hand. During the short trip, Jasmine seemed lost in thought about what affinity to choose, so Stella enjoyed the short silence as she also had much to think about.
A lot has happened today. I wonder how I should teach Jasmine moving forward? If she's always sticking around me, she won't be able to progress her natural affinity, as I will drown the area out with spatial Qi.
Unfortunately, the peace and quiet would never last long anytime Stella stepped foot in this forsaken palace of white stone.
"Welcome, Mistress Stella!" The Redclaw Grand Elder, having likely spotted them flying across the sky from his study, was the first to greet them with a near-horizontal bow.
"Hello, Grand Elder, I hope you don't mind the intrusion. I just have a few things to give you." Stella said.
The Grand Elder straightened up and gave a warm smile, "Certainly. Would you be willing to follow me to the meeting room?"
"I would rather just give it to you here—"
"Please," the Grand Elder's smile faded slightly, "There are two people who are eager to have a chat with you, and I also have some things to discuss."
Stella clicked her tongue, "Who are these two people?"
"Sebastian and Ryker Silverspire," the Grand Elder said as he led the way.
