Cultivation - Middle Stage

Qi condensation sat at the forefront of his mind. Whenever he sat at the lucky charm shop, he meditated and ate. That was all. He would feed himself when he needed to and that was it. His discussions with the couple who owned the place did not go further than the typical pleasantries.

They owed him, after all, and Dasha would squeeze that favour till it was wrung dry.

Through quick applications of Fire Fist, the sensation of Qi was spreading. He was learning. Growing.

[ Message from a party member! ]

[ > Paul: I reached the end. There's a barrier…or something. ]

The design of the party chat system encouraged communication as there was an option between text and audio. Snapping out of meditation, he pressed the large mic button and activated the voice chat. In his ears rang a phone call sound effect.

"H-hello?"

Paul's voice came out in a familiar echo to a dynamic mic. Dasha wondered if the couple could hear his voice. He would ask later. "Explain what you saw, Paul."

"There's an invisible barrier preventing me from going any further. I walked for almost two days straight—" So Dasha's orders were truly absolute, it seemed, "and then I ran into something. It's completely solid too, even though I can see past it. It's weird."

"Hm. Trees..." A second of pondering. "Compare the locations of the nearby trees to the trees in front of you."

"Okay…"

If his suspicion was correct, then…

"Huh…they're…"

"Mirrors, perhaps?"

"Y-yeah. How did you know?"

"A lucky guess."

'I doubt there's significant meaning behind the barrier itself. What's meaningful is the existence of the mirror. It means they couldn't afford to create a barrier that was transparent. It means that the world doesn't go beyond that.'

Speculation was all it was, but Dasha had a feeling he was on the right path.

"Come back," Dasha ordered. "I will meet you tomorrow at Valhalla's Colosseum at 13:00. Be there."

"Is that it—"

He cut the call and returned to mediating. The opening of the next gate was in a day. However, just before its opening, he planned to experiment with Paul as his punching bag.

He looked forward to it. Especially as he came closer and closer to unlocking his meridians.

The basis of Qi Condensation relied on the meridians. Slowly but surely, Dasha needed to establish the pathway through which his Qi flowed. He needed to imprint in his body—or perhaps reawaken it given the Chinese blood in him. In Kabbalistic and Jewish mysticism, their inner energy was called Ruach and they etched the process of wielding Ruach through breathing.

Qi, in comparison, was significantly more complicated. To achieve the highest, most efficient level of Qi Condensation required the forging of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Principal Meridians. The Eight Extraordinary Meridians referred to the general pathways of Qi. A complete circle of energy in the body. Then there were the Twelve Principal Meridians, which dealt with the Qi flowing between internal organs.

At its core, Qi meant gas. A formless, dynamic air.

The grumbling of his stomach did not register. Hour passed. He ignored the reality of his mortality and focused.

Focused, focused, focused.

Fire Fist became long forgotten. In the eye of his mind, the meridians sharpened and gained shape. Goosebumps spread through Dasha as the world's warm energy entered him.

[ New skill created : Qi Condensation (Middle Stage) ]

[ New skill created : Qi Gathering (Middle Stage) ]

[ New skill created : Qi Refining (Middle Stage) ]

"Ah…."

A long breath of accomplishment left him. Finally. Finally, he achieved what he had been working towards. The feeling of energy roaming through his body. It was there. Tangible.

His eyes flitted open and he saw the shadows of the rundown shop. A table with nothing. Air with no odour.

He was at peace. Qi circulated throughout his body, amplifying him in ways that could be written in a mere book.

Yet as a scientist, he couldn't relish in the power. This was merely a building block. A stepping stone.

The types of cultivation were divided into three: Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Heretical. The generally accepted pathway, the resource-dependent pathway, and the warped pathway. Each had their own pros and cons. Each held a distinct advantage.

In a world of gods and monsters, why would he choose the path of weakness? Why limit himself to orthodox methods?

'Power is all that matters. Always has and always will.'

The unorthodox path entailed of pills and external resources. It was the fastest path to growth, provided said resources were available, which were often not. But Dasha was different. Alchemy came easy to him. Establishing his own alchemy shop would be easy with the number of points he accumulated.

Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Heretical were blueprints. The crux of martial arts cultivation, in principle, resembled muscle work out. Muscles rip, heal, and adapt depending on the training done. Arms could be slightly thicker or, if you neglect it, legs could be terribly thin. Qi cultivation was the same, except it expanded to the body. The genes of an individual, or for cultivation specifically, the soul affects one's limitations and potential.

Dasha knew he was fit for any of the paths. He was disciplined enough for the Orthodox route. He was resourceful like what was required for the Unorthodox, and he craved absolute power in accordance with the laws of the Heretical. To some extent, if he so wished, he could have carved in his own path. A mix of all three.

But that would go with too much risk. Dasha couldn't afford to accidentally damage his body this early on.

"Open skills."

General and Passive Skills. Both appeared in his vision and he scrolled to the newest in the list.

[ Qi Condensation (Middle Stage)

Subtype: Support

Cost: —

Rank: B

By flooding Qi (MP) through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Principal Meridians, increase all stats by 25 points.

Qi Gathering (Middle Stage)

Subtype: Support

Cost: —

Rank: C

Focus, gather Qi, and gain up to a 100% increase in MP/minute.

Qi Refining (Middle Stage)

Subtype: Support

Cost: —

Rank: C

Refining one's body through Qi (MP) and increasing Strength, Agility, and Resilience by up to 10 points. Inapplicable with Qi Condensation. ]

'Just as I predicted, the Game System divided them. Qi Refining is a separate skill from Qi Condensation since Qi Refining itself is merely the act of refinement regardless of the source. Qi Condensation is a mix of Qi Refining and Qi Gathering—both the internal Qi and external.'

The state of Qi Gathering went deeper than Qi Condensation, hence why it specifically stated "up to a 100% increase" rather than a flat increase.

[ Status: Dasha Pang

Class: Amateur Martial Artist

Level: 24

HP: 220

HP/Minute: 22

MP: 336

MP/Minute: 42.5

Attack: 52

Defence: 44

Attributes

Strength: 48

Resilience: 44

Agility: 78

Deftness: 91

Vitality: 44

Magical Might: 42

Magical Mending: 42

Distributive Points: 21 ]

'So in conjunction with Qi Condensation, my base attack will go up to seventy-three. But more importantly…' He focused on the magical might stat. 'I assume that will exponentially increase Fire Fist and my other attacks.'

The Game System was kind, but in return, it did not delve into details. For example, exactly what formula was used in order to calculate the total attack power of Fire Fist? It used MP, but that begged the question of how much each MP was worth. He had estimates and theories, but none of them could be confirmed without a test subject.

Which was what he intended to do with Paul tomorrow. Use him as a punching bag to figure out the nitty-gritty of the Game System.

'If I was in a guild, I'm sure I would have been told this information. There's no way someone didn't do the calculations.'

While the House of Wisdom did contain the knowledge he sought, according to Brigid, the library was prohibited from giving out specific details on the Game System. That included journal entries on the matter.

It was very strange. Why go to such lengths to hide it? Dasha's guess there was an overarching secret to the Game System. What that secret was and what it could mean for the wider Heavenly Games was impossible to say.

What he could figure out was developing his next skill: alchemy.

Alchemy and the Unorthodox methods went hand in hand. Developing one meant progress for the other. To kick off his journey in alchemy, he needed resources. He needed allies he could rely upon for resources. That was his next step: to find them.