9 Quick Progress

Grabbing the towel from the rack, Lucian dragged himself out from the tub. "I can't believe i spent the whole night in the bath." The tub was made in a way that prevented whoever was inside the tub from drowning. The area for the head was elevated ever so slightly to keep their nose out of water.

Lucian reached into his drawer and pulled out a black sweatpants and a white long sleeve shirt to wear. "This'll do." Lucian's favorite outfit consisted of black sweats, usually accompanied by a black t-shirt.

Never before had he fallen asleep in the bathtub. This was a testament to how draining the previous day was. He made his way into the meditation room of his residence and took a seat on the mat that was laid out before the water feature.

Heresy Manual. It's time.

Lucian had that thought in his mind as he shut his eyes and crossed his legs. Gradually the method of training in the Heresy Manual came to him. Gather the shards of god qi and circulate it through your meridians. He attempted to shut off his senses and focus on locating the god qi.

Quite some time past yet Lucian had noticed no change in his surroundings. "How am i supposed to do this when I don't even know what I'm searching for." , he said in disappointment and frustration.​ He suddenly thought about the strange phenomenon that happened when he was in the library.

My eye.

Lucian opened his eyes hoping for the best. At first, he saw nothing different, but as he concentrated more and more, green glints could be seen flashing throughout the room. He saw them in the sky through the balcony door too.

"God qi," He said aloud, "just like in the vision." The god qi was all around him. He assumed everywhere in the world as well. However, in comparison to the qi that normal people utilized, the god qi was just too scarce.

Now that he found the qi, he discovered a new obstacle. He had no clue on how to draw the qi toward him. "Um, Come." He said, "Please." There was no change.

By some miracle, the qi began to draw near him. When the shards got within a meter of him, all but one stopped. The shard flew towards his chest and sunk beneath his shirt and skin. Although he could no longer see the qi shard, Lucian could feel that it was within him.

He recalled the method of training in the heresy manual and willed the qi shard to follow the meridian path stated in the manual. The qi followed the meridians for two cycles and on the third cycle, the qi shard began to diminish in size and spread into the rest of his body.

This part was painful. It took all the strength Lucian possessed to not cry out in pain. The green qi moved through his bones, muscles and even his skin. Every piece of body that it moved through, it would lose volume. Three hours later, the qi shard was depleted and for the first time in his life, Lucian felt true power in his own control. Within Lucian's chest cavity, a small red light shone.

Lucian entered a unique cultivation state and only regained consciousness ten days later. During this time, he had used 15 pieces of qi. And the red light within his chest was now a bright solid yellow.

A devastating hunger was the first feeling to return. Followed by a strong thirst and lastly a horrid stench. Looking at his body, Lucian was shocked. His previous white shirt was now drenched in black and his skin was covered in a black substance. It was dried liquid. Instinctively, Lucian knew what happened, "Body Cleansing."

During his special state, his body was cleansed of some impurities. He felt cleaner and... lighter? Lucian had heard about body cleansing but it is a completely different matter to experience it yourself.

Unable to resist the thirst any longer, Lucian leaped to his feat but sprung much higher than he had anticipated. He had almost hit the roof with his initial leap. A gasp escaped his mouth. This was just too shocking. To think he could leap almost 5 meters. Returning to his original intention, he shot his head into the water feature. He knew the water was clean from the taste.

"Ahh, so refreshing." After ten days of no drinks or food, some cool running water, was just what he needed. Next, Lucian took another bath to wash of all the black substance. Looking in the mirror after the bath, Lucian realised that his skin was clear and extremely soft to the touch. This was a stark contrast to his previously rough skin that contained a few pimples.

Loud bangs were heard from his front door, followed by a thundering voice, "Lucian, are you okay?!". It was Yusuf. He had knocked on the door three times everyday to check if Lucian was alive and well. Unfortunately he couldn't check for himself as the doors could not be opened, unless the room's owner allowed it.

Slightly startled Lucian responded, "Yusuf! I'm good. I'm coming out now." After an internal struggle to turn away from the mirror, Lucian grabbed another pair of black sweatpants and a white Jacket. He saw the wind blowing the plant leaves on the balcony into drastic angles so he anticipated that it would be chilly before stepping out the door in a rush.

Seeing the new and improved Lucian, Yusuf was at a loss for words "Your skin... it looks like a baby." Yusuf extended his hand to stroke Lucian's cheek as he spoke, "and your muscles... Have they gotten larger? What happened to you in these ten days Lucian?"

"Ten days! Has it really been that long? Don't do that Yusuf!" Lucian slapped Yusuf's hand away before it could contaminate his skin. "I started cultivating, I didn't think so much time would pass though." Lucian's stomach growled before he could say more. Letting out a sheepish chuckle Lucian asked, "Come with me to the cafeteria?".

"Yeah, i"m feeling peckish as well."

Lucian now felt the extra power in Yusuf's step and now sensed that he had advanced his cultivation as well in these ten days. Seems that everyone made some progress.