"I see..."
Ochazuke followed Zaofan a measured distance as he heard his tale, and while the man's congenial nature thawed his stoicism to a point, the mention of these two specific techniques and the result gave him immediate pause.
"The inner energy workings have many names," he said, "The Tenryu Kokyo Ho you speak of, it may have its origin in the same root. In the Crane school, they call the same practice Kikojutsu."
How bold - and foolish - a practice! To so hungrily pursue the upper echelon, those forbidden techniques...but the good humour in his voice seemed to suggest the imitation was borne of something other than a murderous end.
"Indeed it takes many years of inner cultivation to properly induce the faculties to that level. The demands of the Kikoho are not meant for the novice, no matter how adept an understanding they may have. Still...I commend that you have found a way within the bounds of your own experience to go beyond your limits."
Brusquely thumbing his nose, he cleared his head with a short exhale, "it is a shame. It seems that your teacher humored your talents by playing with your expectations. The Dodonpa is meant to teach Crane Orthodox students the meaning of efficiency."
Concentrating ki into his palm, Ochazuke set it aglow. Then balling his hand into a fist, it converged into a halo. Raising his index finger, a single shining point without wasted radiance.
As Zaofan inquired about his own experience, a flash of the bitter past, the grueling labours under the bloodstained tutelage, boiled his blood and darkened his aura again.
*
"You say you survived your energy practice by mastering it in your own way. You'd be considered one of the lucky ones," he said, "Adepts of the Crane School fall into two tiers of consideration. Masters, or fodder."
Dispersing the ki in his finger, he clenched a fist for a moment, then loosened his grip, "which is why I disavowed them long ago."