Going Beyond

The first thing that Rikura learned when practicing the transformation technique was to transform everything at at once. Making the mistake of unevenly transforming one's body was not an experience someone would soon forget. After some trial and error, It took Rikura an entire day to learn how to use the marking's abilities in the technique.

The markings transformed qi into a form that is similar to physical energy. This gave him the ability to build up qi and unleash it as a single explosive movement. He had learned that the markings connection to the physical body went even deeper.

The body uses its energy for many things. It occurred to Rikura that his markings could be used in other ways, it was possible that the markings could be the key to imitating growth. However, the concepts of both kinds of energy are very different. The uses are sure to be different as well .

Hie realized that his original line of thinking was on the right track. He learned that the markings power could help him transform. However, it was different that he anticipated. Rather than imitating the bodies natural growth, he learned that he could use his qi to force changes in his body with the help of his markings.

His first mistake was attempting to grow only his muscles and organs. With the slightest growth he had nearly broken every bone in his body. At the time he felt like he was dying, but the lesson he learned was invaluable. Like a persons traits, everything must change all at once.

It took him three more attempts before he learned how grow to a fully adult form. He could return home now, but he wasn't done. 'In this form I can use my fully use my qi without breaking my body'.

He concentrated on his body and focused on his breathing. He felt like he had entered a void as he became more and more one with his body. He built up energy in his markings and sent it deep inside his body. Rather than release it as raw energy, he used it to sense every muscle, organ, bone, and tendon, in his body.

He realized his flaws prevented him from taking the technique to the next level. He looked deep inside himself, as if turning his head to a mirror that bore a reflection of his true self. 'SELFISH PRIDE' he screamed with anger and self hatred in his mind.

It hurt, the truth always hurts, but the pain his ego caused hurt more. He would rather feel terrible and be a better person than feel comfortable and be a selfish child. He remembered every moment that his pride had affected his choices, every time he was an asshole, and every time he let it swell at the sight of a fallen beast.

His qi surged with renewed intensity alongside his mental focus. He knew his eyes were slowly opening to the realty. The moment they fully opened, his old self would be no more. He looked forward to that day. The suffering that once stood like a mountain on his path was nothing before the pain he carried. The pain he had caused.

His internal screams of anger mixed with pain untill they reached his throat. A sound that would haunt all who heard it for the rest of their lives echoed through the cave. His anguish and self hatred became his strength as he pushed through the transformation with everything he had. He felt the cave begin to resist the changes in his body, but It could not stop him.

He felt a pressure he could only describe as an entire lake rushing into a bottle as the energy became one with his body and the transformation neared completion. Rikura's body size peaked after what felt like an eternity. He looked down and to his surprise his head was now nearly ten feet from the ground. He was not done yet, he had yet to tap into the full potential of his newfound mental strength.

Finally, he had become a direwolf. He let out a dark chuckle at the irony of the situation. ' A direwolf huh?'. Painful thoughts aside, his mind and body where finally ready. As a human he had sought knowledge about qi and heavenly energy, and as a wolf he sought to learn how to use the power of the markings. Now it was time for him to use both as one.

From here on out he wouldn't need to endure much suffering, but his life would be on the line. He needed incredible delicacy to achieve his next goal. Before he had simply been changing the size of his body. Now he sought to change it all together.

He would need both his markings and his knowledge from his past life. While the markings could be used naturally, like a limb, this technique was more complicated. Like his markings, any human technique fundamentally transforms qi. However a technique was limited by how much the person can transform at once. the more complicated the transformation, the less qi a person can use while maintaining the technique.

In a fight between two cultivators with the same body, mindset, mental purity, and techniques, the one with more qi will not necessarily win. This is because qi has another trait, density. Even if he had infinite qi to spare, it wouldn't necessarily make a technique more powerful. The power of any technique depended on the persons skill and the density of their qi.

How much qi you can draw out depends on experience and mental strength. How pure it is depends on personal maturity. Finally, how dense it becomes relies on the strength of the core. The stronger the core, the denser the qi.

A stronger core will give an advantage in how much qi you can use , however the real benefit from nurturing the inner core is the greater power from the qi within. A persons core naturally undergoes a change once it is nurtured to a certain level. When it does, the density of its qi rises explosively.

This is know to some as entering the next stage or realm. Many different people have different words, but they all represent a cores evolution. Having both pure and dense qi is the hallmark of a powerful cultivator.

Rikura began technique without hesitation. The danger had yet to come, but he found himself exited by what was to come. His towering body stood motionless for hours as he completed the first half the his plan. Finally, he had completed his task.

He had gained something he longed for. The word "Hello" echoed throughout the cave, not as a bark, but as a human voice.