But Now...

Ryu panicked. This was the first time he didn't seem to have absolute control over his qi and it was ironically because he was exerting too much control, so much so that he was on the verge of draining an entire Plane of its energy. 

On the surface, this might seem benign to some. But in the martial world qi was as fundamental a part of an ecosystem as even oxygen was. Suddenly sapping it all away might not have drastic immediate effects as an equivalent loss of oxygen would, but over time, the result might even be worse. 

Ryu's skin glowed like it was a beacon. He had always been able to absorb qi through his skin, speeding up his cultivation speed far beyond most who could only absorb it through their mouths and noses, but this was ridiculous. It felt like the number of Qi Pores he had had increased a thousandfold.