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While fighting was good for growing stronger, needless fighting was only good for just that. It would lead to growing stronger in the wrong ways. Thus, being at peace with those who actually gave the opportunity was the preferred approach. Technically, the nearby city with the troublemakers had also eventually given the chance for peace- because they hadn’t caused further trouble.
A few years passed, enough for their new students to start reaching second tier. Barrett found that teaching different types of students actually helped his own growth as well. Maybe not much, but he noticed small things. The rest of his students back at the Immortal Berserker Sect could have been said to be mainly one type. They were those who wanted to be Immortal Berserkers and couldn’t cultivate energy for one reason or another. Their personalities, while differing, were already at least somewhat filtered for him. The Immortal Berserker Sect had a reputation and intentions to uphold that reputation. Thus, students who refused to attempt to follow a righteous path were quickly flushed out.
Now, Barrett had to do that himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t allow his students to make mistakes or have flaws… it was not even trying that was the problem. Simran had already shown herself reasonable in that regard. Several of the others- especially those who had just recently passed his tests- had yet to really be put on trial. If there was never an opportunity where it was useful to act in an unrighteous manner, only the most sadistic people would do something harmful to others with no benefit to themselves. Rudeness was one thing- for some it was a front to protect themselves and seem strong- but life was more than just words.
If cultivation wasn’t such work, Barrett might have said that his days were lazy. It might have seemed like that on the surface to some extent, with long periods of time sitting still… but he was still using that time to further break down his body so that he could build it back up. Time was the biggest factor in whether he would reach grandmaster now, though there was some possibility that he was missing some factor he didn’t know. However, he was fairly confident he had already touched on the right path many times. But, as Nilima had mentioned… just reaching seventh tier wasn’t good enough. He had to be good. Still, he had no reason to believe he wouldn’t be. As he got closer and closer, his confidence remained high.
Nilima seemed to be learning something from her teaching as well. The first thing was… not all students are excellent. While she might have worked hard, she was also exceptionally talented. Students with less natural talent, even with effort, just weren’t the same. Could effort beat talent? Indeed it could… but not if the same amount of effort was applied by those with the talent.
When Barrett had first met Nilima in Verton, she had spent all her time dueling others. That was the nice way to say it, anyway. He could have also said she spent all her time brawling. Continuously challenging the next person and the next, though she didn’t stretch far out of her tier. Still, most people weren’t prepared to fight her style, so it didn’t matter if they were technically stronger. Even if she wasn’t killing them, bouncing around their internal organs a bit would bring anyone down.
Now, she wasn’t fighting. She was watching her students learn gentle energy or more rarely berserk energy, seeing how they adapted differently. It was unlikely they would show her anything new, but they might cast new light on things she had already long understood. But perhaps that wasn’t the reason at all. Maybe she would learn nothing from them, but instead from the place. Either she might learn from Cangui as a whole or the village that had once existed and had faded until even its name was gone.
Barrett, as either a follower of the nameless God or perhaps just a person who liked their traditions, had first implemented the weekly meals. That meant hunting and preparing the food himself. While Nilima wasn’t much for food preparation, at some point she had also started contributing food, though she didn’t need to. As their following grew, more people brought food for the meal and more people ate. Nobody went hungry, but food left over for the next day was also unheard of.
When people had come from other villages to eat, Nilima had been the first to accept them. Barrett understood. When people woke up in the early morning to walk half a day for a meal… they were quite hungry. They needed it. Quite frankly, Barrett had been surprised at how many people actually arrived since they didn’t seem like they could move far at all, with skinny arms and legs and emaciated stomachs… but if they couldn’t survive a little effort, they would have likely died sooner.
Sometime after the first year, the community of their students had grown significantly. Many had large fields and hunted food, and they willingly shared with newcomers, though they didn’t have to. It was encouraged when they did, but it hadn’t been mandated. Not everyone shared so much, but these were desperate people who were willing to work hard just to get food in their bellies- and they hadn’t had the opportunity elsewhere. Even if there had been land available, they couldn’t farm on it and had little money to buy seed. Cangui was poor… at least, the poor in Cangui were very poor indeed. Barrett still remembered the wealth in the larger cities.
As the area of their village began to run out of room- places for people to live and fields for them to grow- they had to actually start regulating things beyond the level of just not taking from others. Each person was assigned a plot- large enough to grow food to sustain themselves and have a small home. There were sufficient materials around to construct at least a serviceable home, and many of the more established students helped others get started. Those who hadn’t quickly forgotten what poverty was like, anyway. The land itself had varied in height quite a bit… but Barrett had taken to leveling out areas and removing trees- though smaller bushes and weeds were left for future residents to deal with. Tearing up a tree to the roots wasn’t so difficult, especially when he could even convince the dirt to push it out. Flattening fields was much the same. It rained often enough that the fields seldom needed additional watering, but more wells were made available throughout the space.
Even though there had been much growth… in truth, it was still a small village of several hundred people. Among those people there were some skilled in all sorts of crafts, so people took on different tasks- and those who didn’t need their full plot often rented it to others. As long as nobody tried to swindle others, no interference was necessary. Very few even thought about it and fewer tried- because it was quite clear that Barrett wouldn’t tolerate any trouble. As for Mistress Nilima- she had never taken a surname, and likely hadn’t been born with one- nobody understood quite what she wanted… but she certainly cracked down on squabbling among students training with her. A small handful of students had been thrown out by her- quite literally, in one case.
Barrett understood that even running a small village was much below what he could do. He had the potential to do so much more… but he didn’t really want to. What he actually wanted was for the village to run itself- and perhaps become larger. The important part was establishing it in such a way it could sustain itself, and sustain the principles he wanted. Everyone had slightly different ideas of fairness, and there were certainly quarrels, but very rarely was he or Nilima called on to mediate any disputes. At some point growth would require formal laws being established, but for the moment this strange sect could handle itself. Still, it would be quite fragile without the two founders, and a few more years would help stabilize it and hopefully make it last.
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Barrett knew that some of the cities and cultivation sects nearby didn’t like what they were doing. Others growing stronger threatened their own power. On the other hand, the local lord seemed to appreciate what they were doing. He sent various inspectors to watch the village for a time, not just to appraise things for taxes but more than that. If he was a foolish lord, he might have indeed increased taxes- technically, the village could bear higher taxation. Higher taxes wouldn’t even have been unreasonable in the surrounding areas. But he wasn’t a foolish lord.
Not that Barrett had met him. Still, a lord who sends competent subordinates and makes competent decisions wasn’t foolish. Even if such a lord relied entirely on advisors to make decisions, listening to the decisions of others who are wise is in itself wisdom. In a way, perhaps not visiting a small growing village could also be deemed wisdom… especially when such a village was watched over by people with great personal power.
Still, without raising taxes… the lord got more taxes. Since the taxes weren’t too burdensome, the village grew more prosperous- and the things that were taxed increased as well. During the first year or two it hadn’t been obvious, but by the third year the emphasis of the small village on growth was obvious. Not just economic growth, but personal growth. The people came to be better, and cultivation allowed them to do so. Even those who just wanted a chance to escape hunger continued to improve themselves beyond the point where they would previously have said they would be perfectly content- a full belly every day, for example.
Such desires were good, as long as they were tempered. Barrett knew a desire for improvement could easily turn into greed in the wrong circumstances… but with the way the community was at the moment and how they had started, they would never turn out any worse than just a normal gathering of cultivators. Hopefully, it would be something better.