Month 2 Week 4 Academy Part 11 Breaking Through

*Fwish!* The fire actually burned this time. As if his brain was melting as well as his soul getting burned away. The faster it spun the more he burned away. In a matter of seconds, he burned away to a small spec before his body collapsed altogether on the outside.

The process was so fast, Leroy didn't have the time to even scream in pain. The Old Tiger came out watching with rapt attention. it had the utmost fate that whatever was happening benefitted him and could do so for others.

He woke up hours later on his bed. His clothes, sheets, and the bed burnt up. So sore, he didn't make a single move at first. His very nerves were firing at a faster rate and his Qi was completely calm.

"At least the place didn't burn down at all. Confined to just the bedroom really. Hmm, so weird." Leroy finally set up looking his body over.

A lot of his hair was burnt away. Circulating his Qi, he found it moved much faster and felt more pleasant along his passageways. His Flamelighting Martial Arts was close to hitting the Qi Refining IV Rank but luckily it stayed at the III Rank.

"Nice..." Circulation of his Flame Vortex Core proved to be more of an issue. "Ouch!"

A quick look inward was needed.

The Qi was stronger and more plentiful than before. But his body couldn't handle it just yet. At the very cusp, the Flame Vortex was close to hitting the Qi Refining III Rank too. But held back his Dantian itself by restricting it.

Which had small bits of lighting inside it circling around the exchange between the two.

"Of all the things." Leroy mumbled looking closer. The Flame Vortex had grown exponentially and took up more room inside him in a way. The physics behind was to much for his now burned brain. "Where did the lighting come from really though?"

It was there already but nowhere as dominant as the fire. It was more of just an add on thus the reason he assumed it was called the Flame Vortex and not something like the Flame Lighting Vortex.

"It is part of me." A voice said from the surroundings. Oddly enough the lighting formed into an image of Shango the man-god. "Congrats on finding something that can help you in the Dimension already. That manual Spatial Sense can definitely let you learn more about the Flame Vortex Core inside of you."

"How about you just tell me about it and save me time?" Leroy asked slightly stumped about the info that came freely out of nowhere but had nothing concrete in explanation.

"Can't, against the rules put in place." The lighting image was slightly breaking apart. Almost as if something was interfering with it. "But a little small bit of advice, your plan to strengthen your body is a good choice. Once it is strong enough, you can bare more from the Core which will let you learn more in turn."

"I see..." Leroy looked at the large fire circle in trepidation that swirled. The pain he felt before blacking out was not something he wanted to deal with anytime soon again. During the blackout, he felt like something vanished within. Of course, he just didn't know what. "Explain Champions to me since you are here now."

Surprisingly enough the lighting congealed a little more into Shango. Something Leroy took note of. The Explanation of Champions was not that different than what the Backdoor Terminal shared with him.

Go to a Dimension and save it, destroy it, conquer it, or assimilate it. Seeing as this was reaffirmed in the Champion candidate, Shango left.

Leroy gave some thoughts on the others briefly before diving back into Cultivation itself. Mind clear on this single goal, he felt the Qi move through his body faster and more thoroughly. There was something to be said about not having distractions to slow oneself down but he preferred it as having his thoughts clear on bothering matters then just focusing on work itself.

Moving the gases and strands of Qi around was getting easier and easier. With a slight bit of experimentation, he willed it into the shape of tiny drills and screws. Then with a circulation around through the Dantian and the Vortex Core slight differences were picked up.

Qi that passed through the Vortex Core became thicker and more compact. As if the excess was removed allowing for the Qi to intertwine itself better.

The Qi that passed through the Dantian became stronger but it was reduced a bit in the process. The Dantian seemed to take in what was discarded and grow in strength and endurance.

After some time of circulating the Qi he focused on the two alchemist fires. In his left hand, he injected Flamelighting Qi into the needle, in his right hand he injected as little of Core Qi as possible.

Eyes opened wide with blazing Qi, small details were easier to see. Leroy started tracing the needles in the air making an image. The entire circulatory with his left hand and the entire bone structure with his right.

Exerting will, tissue was attached to Qi the bones. With each inhale and exhale of slow rhythmic breathing, the Qi Body started to mimic himself.

*Shine!* Glowing with an unusual energy different than his normal Aspects, a murky clear glow presented itself.

However, Leroy did notice it, so focused on remembering the entirety of the human body and that of his own, he had to make sure to get everything right and correct it slowly. What was originally supposed to be a diagram of the human body turned into a diagram of himself instead. A type of X-ray to work as himself and make it easier where possible problems were located.

While Leroy busied himself others had different situations going on.

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Wheeling and Dealing Come Back-

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Tang Xui and Tang Bo were currently sparing at the quarters of the Clear Tang Family within the Akademy. All the guards and Commoners that joined them recently had all been beaten in combat by the two.

"Tch!" Pushed back by his cousin's relentless stabs, Tang Bo was getting desperate. He was losing more and more against her precise strikes. "You have gotten better, must be nice to have a Doctor in waiting for yourself!"

*Ping!* A piercing maneuver with the spear almost gave Tang Bo some room to breath but was blocked by the offhand Rapier used by Tang Xui. Quickly trying to do a swipe, he found himself outmuscled as the Rapier went soft and wrapped around the spear handle.

"Just mad I spent the resources and moved first!" With turn of the waist, the right Rapier stabbed at Tang Bo's throat. Drawing blood and pressing just enough to get her point across. "Not everyone gets to have the Elders backing them like you!"

"That is the end of the match, winner for today's sparring Tang Xui." Tang Ansui's voice echoed in the courtyard. To the side of him, Tang Suo gave a nod as the girl really was much better in terms of wanting to improve, unlike her cousin. "The award is one bottle of Qi Quenching Pills created by Alchemist Oda."

Despite the warnings given already they still needed to use them. Those who knew what was going on with the Pills and Elixers from that particular Alchemise were told to use at their own discretion.

"Thank you Teacher Ansui." Tang Xui treated her father as his station pertained. Much to the annoyance of them man himself. 'I will have to pay Leroy a visit to get the treatment for this, if not these pills will be useless otherwise.'

"Damn, I could have really used those!" Tang Bo raged in annoyance at his loss. He was about to ask his cousin for a few since an event was coming up but Teacher Suo had something different in store as he took those who loss with him. "We can catch up later, I have something I want to ask you!"

Shouting as he ran off, Tang Bo and the others had no idea what was going on. Only Tang Xuan, Tang Quan, Tang Xui, and Tang Ansui were left in the courtyard. The first two were the predominant guards that were relocated to the Akademy due to their increase in Medical skills beforehand.

"Don't fret you three, I have something for each of you. You are not losing out compared to them in the least." Tang Ansui quickly spoke so his daughter didn't get frustrated at the ill-treatment that was developing since the end of the Mine and Demon Plant Nest Incident. "We take care of those in our "Camp" as best we can. Plus the "Family" has no claims to these resources."

Tang Suo was instructed to give to those who followed the Clear Tang Family rules diligently and not any who showed signs of becoming independent or more preference towards the Akademy. Despite those Branch members more aligned with them here at the Akademy there were still those of the Elders wanting to have them back in the Family more.

"With the present state of the Empire turning more haphazard with political problems, it us up to you youngsters to get a better foothold in power before it is too late." His ring shined briefly as an old Manual Dropped out. With two more but in newer condition. "Parts of Lost Manuals were retrieved from the various Market across the Kingdom and Hamlets oddly enough."

The various books Leroy transcribed had been sold or given to the Clear Tang Family by Votley to gain more favoritism. With their resources, they were able to add them to where they belonged for certain Manuals.

Of course somewhere still incomplete as other members of Nobility had the connecting pieces. As the younger generation of the Claear Tang and former Hamlet members practice their new techniques and replace their normal Qi Pathways to get down, a certain creature stalked the forest.

The Demon Plant that broke free of Leroy's back was currently much bigger and much further along than it should be. It had a strong like for consuming Demon Plants, Black Tiger-fire family members, and oddly enough Ants....

"This way!" A Mercenary shouted while running. "It couldn't have gone far!" Traveling in groups of five, the Body Tempering Realm Cultivators used to be much larger in number. "Rember not to separate if you want to live!"

As they ran past, a bit of dirt moved as the Demon Plant looked up before feeling something was odd and slunk back down. Stifling its presence, it was no different than the scenery.

A cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm walked by. Spreading his senses out the man couldn't believe they lost the creature again. Getting frustrated he was ready to abandon the mission and say screw it to the reward by the Clear Tang and Black Tiger-fire Families.

*Shine!* A parchment flew in front of the cultivator that even made him freeze cold. The blasted Assassination Guild was making trouble and all Mercenaries were told to return as the Nobles were needing to higher more protection details.

"The boss is not gonna like that we couldn't take care of one stupid problem! Not to mention all of those mercenaries I lost!" Damned if he goes back damn if he stays he went with the first option since they had no luck so far. "Not worth this damn thing at all!"

Popping the signal flare to retreat he took off ahead of the others. Hopefully, he has enough time to think of a plan to cover these losses. There was the problem of the Black Tiger-fire Family stonewalling them when passing through.

'That will have to do!' Pushing his cultivation to the limit, the Cultivator cleared tracks faster than the problem in the area could act. 'I feel a little sluggish, must have spent to much time running and not enough resting.' Placing a Qi Replenishing Pill in his mouth, he barely made it in time.

A few minutes later screams could be heard. The various cultivators that passed through before had succumbed to the Paralytic that was inside them. Currently, they were all wrapped in vines and slowly sinking into the ground.

As the Demon Plant ate from them it grew in strength and more importantly development. Starting to take the shape of a person more, a full set of fingers and toes formed. With the right covering over the body it was impossible to tell it from a regular person.

Well, the glowing blue-green eyes, whenever Qi was used, gave a very unhuman feel to it. The unnamed Demon Plant moved further into the grown pulling the bodies deeper under. Smart enough to stop leaving bodies for others, it focused on Cultivation.

As it's Dantian formed, the creature looked in the direction towards the Akademy for some reason in longing. As if something was calling it that way.