26 Practicing Qi Techniques

Yae was watching Yu Tian's breakthrough some distance away, grooming her golden fur. Compared to him, her cultivation had already reached Rank 3 for demonic beasts.

She can almost fight on par with Dou Generals now. Not only has her size grown, but her fur has become even more shinier and pristine as opposed to before.

More importantly, her illusion arts have improved. Yae had the ability to hide her presence with the power of her royal spirit fox bloodline, and it has only gotten stronger. Even a War Grandmaster like Li You Zi would have a hard time finding and catching her.

People in the clan noticed her, usually staying beside Yu Tian. However, she would never make herself known otherwise without him there.

Yae glanced over at the young boy. Seeing him struggle so much just to break into Qi Warrior made her feel complicated. Back then, the demonic beast had witnessed him break through several levels without breaking a sweat with his massive talent of absorption.

However, ever since what happened during that tournament years ago, his progress stagnated to a tortoise's speed. Even with absorbing so much Qi into his body, Yu Tian's progress was like filling up a bucket with only one water droplet at a time.

This unfortunate loss of talent was another boulder of burden on his shoulders, yet Yu Tian continued to persevere.

Both the fox and the boy had gotten closer over the years. She was the only person who usually accompanied him in this time, aside from that other boy from the Shan clan, Shan Jun.

As for that girl Shan Qian Xue... Her relationship with Yu Tian has deteriorated to acquaintances. At most, their conversation was limited to short, polite greetings before he finally had to unwillingly give up on their friendship.

Even if Yae wanted to deny it, she admits that she has begun to grown fond of him, although his stupid name for her always was a sore spot. Yae can't wait to progress enough to form human speech and make this idiot respect her as older sis.

...

"Zi Jin, let's head outside." Turning around, Yu Tian gave a soft smile and beckoned the exasperated fox to come with him.

After a short breather, Yu Tian decided it was best to start practicing techniques where others couldn't see it. Picking up the fox who had grown larger over the years, he chuckled and looked into her deep amethysts, feeling around her body. "You've gotten bigger and fatter again."

"Hiss." Yae was not amused and smacked him hard across the face with her paw, feeling violated.

"I was just joking!" Yu Tian gave her a wronged look back. Rolling her eyes, she climbed onto his shoulders and perched there like a fluffy scarf.

Both boy and fox exited the clan, heading into the large backyard. Most of the damages have been repaired over time, but there were still scars and craters that marred the once beautiful area.

While walking into the forest, Yu Tian subconciously kept stroking Yae's fur as he became lost in thought. Her company is something he really appreciated, motivating him through the hardships of every day.

During the time he wasn't training, he started helping out in the mines with Starlight ore this year with some of the other boys who came of age. Yu Tian's hands have already began to grow stiff calluses from moving the large amount of rock.

Without the ore, the Li clan would've all starved to death by now.

Yu Tian also noted for himself to also check on Shan Jun soon. He had asked Shan Qian Xue for books and information about him, but ever since then they hadn't talked at all.

No matter what he did, there was still that look of fear and reluctance in her eyes.

As for Shan Jun, it turned out he was very talented in manipulating earth Qi. Yu Tian was amazed at how fast and detailed he could control the earth after a few sessions, and he was able to deduce that Shan Jun's expertise lies in defense.

Once Shan Jun achieved Qi Warrior, Yu Tian thought of testing his Qi techniques against the earth barriers he could produce.

"Here is a good spot." Yu Tian glanced around. It was a large, open area that only contained the thick trunks of huge trees.

Placing Yae down on a large stone nearby, the fox opened an eye lazily before closing them. Unlike humans, demonic beasts simply need to eat and rest to cultivate naturally.

If she had access to food with high spiritual energy, Yae's cultivation would progress much faster than now.

Inhaling deeply, Yu Tian closed his eyes and searched his memories for techniques in his past life. The first one came naturally to him.

[Shockwave]

Lightning Qi condensed in his arm before shooting out of his palm, expanding into the air before dissipating. Yu Tian frowned at the small range and tried again.

The former god kept repeating this process until he felt drained. With only his cultivation having just stepped into Qi Warrior, his maximum range at shooting this lightning technique seemed to be capped at 15 metres.

It was a low lethal but silent attack, capable of being used in a split second to repel and stun enemies. Of course, the higher his cultivation became, the stronger and more potent the effect would be.

Yu Tian then looked at his hands, thinking of the second element he wielded as a god. He couldn't feel any way to condense ice Qi at the moment, so Yu Tian assumed it might have some connection with his second martial spirirt.

It was only speculation of course. There were far too many questions on Yu Tian's mind with the things that happened in this new life of his.

Regardless, he needed to focus on practicing other techniques. The inter-clan tournament was about to occur soon, and he couldn't afford to waste time.

...

Yawning, Yae woke up groggily from her nap to a strange sight. Yu Tian seemed to be moving so fast around the trees that it caused slight afterimages, shocking her.

It was strange footwork combined with movement. Multiple Yu Tians seemed to be blinking short distances as he shot from tree to tree.

Breathing heavily, Yu Tian had to lie against a tree branch and rest, fully drenched in sweat. His leg muscles stung from the exertion, but it was also a nice feeling to know that his movement was continuously improving.

The first stage was the footwork. For this technique, having the proper balance and speed allows one to close distance in an instant.

Second stage was the movement. The whole body must support the feet and maneuver properly to avoid obstacles and attacks.

The final stage was offense. While mastering the first 2 stages, the user needs to attack at the same time to make it appear that all of their strikes occur at the same time.

Yu Tian felt his body nearing the bottleneck of the second stage, able to properly manuever his feet with the proper movements. Deciding to limit test, he launched punches at the trunk of a tree while using the technique.

[Alpha Force]

Huge thuds seemed to combine together into one as Yu Tian blinked and struck out at once. Yae was stunned to see 4 distinct fist imprints in the trunk distances away.

Now to test it with his eye.

[Eyes of Eternity]

[Alpha Force]

This time, Yu Tian's fists managed to impale and create a huge crack in the trunk. He grunted in exertion and repeated this process several times, finally managing to force the tree to fall with a thundering crash.

His eye's ability has also grown stronger. The duration of the ability seemed to have increased to 2 full seconds, which will allow Yu Tian to see further ahead on where his opponents would attack.

The former god was sure that as long as he kept using it, his ability would continue to grow.

Panting heavily as he landed on the forest floor, Yu Tian nodded in appreciation at his improvement. Like all Qi techniques, the higher his cultivation would result in upgrades to the move's lethality.

"Hah!" Grunting in exertion, Yu Tian began to launch spears made of lightning against the tree while Yae continued to watch him train, amazed and deep in thought.

Although Yu Tian's cultivation was low, his strange techniques and battle IQ seemed second to none. Yae noted his unbelievable speed at comprehending these Qi techniques, as the boy had only became a Qi Warrior today.

For even the most talented geniuses, to comprehend the basics of a Qi technique takes weeks, if not months. Most average cultivators require years to learn and advance when faced with a new Qi technique.

However, for Yu Tian, he seemed to be able to comprehend these techniques almost instantly. Yae could tell that his ability at understanding and mastering martial techniques was as easy as one would read a book.

Of course, the little fox didn't know about Yu Tian's Divine War Physique, nor his past life as the god of war.

...

Nighttime soon approached. Yu Tian had hunted down some rabbits and had neatly skinned and prepared them. He was exhausted and starving from all the training he had done, but he was pleased with his personal progress.

The former god will continue to temper his body, and each time he does so was a step closer to achieving his original combat prowess.

Of course, the main goal was to saving Li Mei Ling and waking Qiu Xue.

The twinkling lights from the sky above seemed brighter than usual. Yu Tian found it relaxing as the warmth and scent of the crackling flames soothed his soul.

Soon, the scent of cooked meat permeated the air. The former god sprinkled some spices and seasonings like how his mother taught him before.

Seasoning with salt and pepper, a bit of cumin but don't cook it too long because it'll get bitter...

Yae couldn't help but gulp in a mouthful of saliva at the tantalizing aroma. Her little tongue snaked itself out to wet her lips.

The demonic beast admitted Yu Tian had some unbelievable talent in cooking. Ever since Li Mei Ling fell into her coma, the boy preferred to cook most of his food personally.

It was also perhaps this food that she began feeling closer to him.

His cooking was unbelievably delicious to Yae, who was no stranger to royal cuisine from her family. Her face also became a bit despondent like Yu Tian's when everything reminded her of her parents.

Seeing that the meat was ready, Yu Tian was broken out of his thoughts and quickly took the makeshift spits off the hot flames. He tore off a large chunk off a spit for the little fox before taking a bite.

"Is it good, Zi Jin?" Yu Tian smiled at the demonic beast wolfing on the piping hot meat, seemingly unaffected by the heat.

Hearing her half growl and purr in response, Yu Tian chuckled softly and tore off another large chunk for her.

Soon, all 3 rabbits were finished between the boy and the fox. Yu Tian gave a soft burp and rubbed his stomach, fully sated.

Wearing a melancholic look, the former god gently stroked the little fox's head. She crawled into his lap in a rare show of affection, curling up for warmth. Her bright purple eyes glittered against the fire.

Both of them stared above into the endless starry sky, each unsure of the future, yet determined with their own goals.