Qi Explosion

"Whatever you are going to do, you are right. I don't want to know." Huang Ji sighed as he looked the seven year old over. No matter how he looked at the boy, he couldn't believe he was the age his eyes told him he was. Hong Zhao was of the physical level of a seven year old, yet his maturity was close to his own. For some reason, he felt like he could trust the boy to his word. "The tournament is over for the day. We will start the finals two weeks from now. Since you and Ren Cai are sixth star students, things will not be so simple for you. The matches will be stacked against you. Both of you will have to face more opponents than the four star students. Do what you can to get stronger during the break." Huang Ji narrowed his eyes at Hong Zhao. "I do not want anything to happen to Huang Yi while the tournament is in play. If you wish to do anything, do it after." With that, the old man turned and left.

Hong Zhao watched Huang Ji leave the estate, yet he didn't follow. Instead, he went up the stairwell to the Village Elder's study. Opening the elaborate double doors, he made his way through the wall of books to the one that he had noticed before. He quickly found the book which had dust collected under it. Careful not to smudge the dust underneath, he leaned the book towards himself and a section of the book case opened next to him.

Since Hong Zhao had already found the entrance to the secret tunnel outside of the Village, he let the book fall back to its original position, which made the door within the bookshelf close. Instead of heading out of the room, Hong Zhao climbed the shelves of books until he reached the top. Though the shelves were as tall as the walls of the room, there was a small amount of space where he could crawl at the very top. He then noticed something that made him smile. Even in a world that mimicked medieval China, the rooms still had ventilation.

Hong Zhao dropped himself back to the floor without a sound and brushed off the dust from his black robes. All of the books within the room may have been dusted, but the top of the stacks seemed to have a fine coat. He would have to be careful not to disturb too much of it, or he might risk being caught.

He knew Huang Ji was right about not harming the grandson while the tournament was in play. If something were to happen that wasn't within the tournament rules, Huang Ji wouldn't have a choice but to punish the perpetrator.

Having brushed off the dust, Hong Zhao once again used the hidden lever in the books to open the secret tunnel. He took one last look in the room before entering. On the other side, there was another lever to close the tunnel door once more.

As the door shut, Hong Zhao activated his Eagle Vision. His eyes began to glow with the Qi that surrounded them. A faint glow lit behind his eyes, allowing him to see shades of the walls around him.

He quickly found that the tunnel itself was somewhat of a maze. As he walked, he ran into many dead ends, as well as those that seemed to drop into nothingness. If it weren't for his vision technique, he would most likely have fallen to his death. At first, the thought disturbed him, yet then it just gave him ideas as to how to lose pursuers should they find their way into the tunnels behind him.

Hong Zhao made his way slowly through the maze, mapping each turn within his mind, yet also followed the mental image of where he knew the exit would be. He found himself going down a flight of dark stairs, which slowly leveled off. A dull light illuminated the tunnel up ahead, showing him the exit to the Village Elder's emergency escape tunnel. As he emerged, he made sure to cover the entrance as best he could. It wouldn't do for others to find the small enclosure.

"If I'm going to get stronger, I have to leave the village for the two weeks to train on my own." Hong Zhao said to himself as he took a small jade vial from his storage ring. opening up the vial, he dumped one of the Qi Absorption Pills into his hand.

Examining the pill, he noticed that it was a few shades darker of green than the Qi Grasping Pill. The scent of the medicinal pill was something. Just the scent was enough to give a slight pull to the energy around him. With a second thought, Hong Zhao also took out one of the Qi Stones he had discovered in the snake's cave. Sitting in the lotus position, He swallowed the Qi Absorption Pill and held the Qi Stone in his hand while he cultivated.

He immediately fell into a trance as the energy around him swirled into a vortex. The Qi from the stone glowed a pale white as the energy collected around it. From the stone, the Qi swirled around Hong Zhao until it reached his center, to his dantian. If others were to see him cultivating, they might think it strange that the energy first entered through the stone itself before entering him.

The grass within the prairie swirled around him keeping in time with the energy that entered him. Hong Zhao could tell that the Qi that was entering his body was many times the amount he would normally be able to cultivate in even a few days.

Hong Zhao sat in the lotus position as the sun set on him, then he continued through the night. He didn't feel when hunger hit him, nor did he stop when his bodily needs arose. He continued to refine the Qi well into the early morning hours. When he knew he could go no further, he finally stopped and took out some shadow panther meat. After he ate his fill, he could feel the Qi roiling within him almost set to burst.

Feeling the sense of a full stomach and dantian, Hong Zhao went over the mental instructions for the Qi Explosion technique that Lan had left for him. He only had two weeks to gain some understanding of the way the ability worked before the end of the tournament. He would need at least that little understanding in order for his plan to work.

Hong Zhao led his Qi through the meridians the technique required, then allowed for the Qi to enter through his hands. The result was a transparent yet dimly glowing mushy substance that entered the palm of his hand. He began to form a ball, much the same as he would make a snow ball when he was younger in his previous life.

Before he formed the Qi Ball, he squeezed slightly too hard, and the ball exploded in his hands. Luckily for him, the technique wasn't completely finished and he only left them a bloody mess. He grimaced in pain as he took a Recovery Pill from his storage ring and ate it. His hands knitted back together within a few minutes, leaving a tingling sensation behind.

Hong Zhao had mentally cataloged how many Recovery Pills he had left before he left the estate. If he were frugal with his supply, he might last the two weeks. He just had to make sure not to blow off any appendages as he learned Qi Explosion.

Resounding explosions echoed in the distance of the Village while Hong Zhao continued his training. The results of his training had shown little results within the two hours it took for his Qi to diminish.

Shaking his tingling hands, Hong Zhao grimaced as he once again sat in the lotus position and took another Qi Absorption Pill and held yet another Qi Stone. As he cultivated, he could feel the Qi returning to him at a more rapid pace than last time. His body was starting to get used to his new cultivation level, and as such, his cultivating going much smoother. He could feel the Qi Spiral within his dantian stretch and pull, getting larger every moment. He knew that each time he depleted the spiral, it would grow the next time he cultivated. As long as he remained determined, he would reach the Seventh Star Student Rank sooner rather than later, yet he didn't count on that happening before the tournament began again.

As soon as his Qi was replenished, he began training Qi Explosion once more. Every time the ability backfired on him, he would note how the Qi felt at the time of the explosion. After he ate a Recovery Pill, he would try the technique again. Each time, he was able to form the ball a little better than the last. Within a few days of constant training, eating and cultivating, he finally was able to form the Qi ball without it exploding.

Sighing in relief, Hong Zhao examined the Qi Ball. It had a faint glow to it, yet not enough for it to be detected if he were to place it on the ground. Slowly and carefully, he attached a thin strand of Qi to the ball and set it on the ground. He attached the other side of the thread to himself and began to move away. When he got to a distance he deemed safe enough, he activated Qi Blast and sent a small blast towards the ball of Qi. He hit the strand connected to it just inches away. Without warning the ball turned hot white and exploded, leaving a decent sized crater in the ground where it had once rested.

Whistling at the damage caused by the small ball, Hong Zhao was able to see the value of such an attack. He had basically just been given the martial arts Qi version of a claymore. As long as he stationed them at the right location, he would never be snuck up on again.

Though he made that one Qi Ball, the technique was far from perfected. Even if he were able to make one now, his success rate was only thirty percent. If he were to try to make one at the estate and it backfired, not only would he not get justice for Li Wei, but he would also be surrounded by Huang Ji's guards without so much as an excuse as to why he was there. If he was to use Qi Explosion, he had to be at least seventy percent proficient. "This is going to be a very long and painful two weeks." Hong Zhao sighed. He knew his fate for the foreseeable future, yet he didn't dwell on the pain. If his training paid off, he would be one step closer to ending the threat Huang Yi represented!