And from the Fire I Shall Be Reborn (3)

Contrary to expectations, I woke up not in tight dungeons or a torture chamber, but in my room. Although what's the difference? Except that the bed is more comfortable here. The twins were still sitting nearby and keeping watch. They didn't even take away the bag with pills - there it is, lying on the bedside table.

"How long have I been asleep?" - I croaked. Oh, how thirsty I am.

"The Moon Festival will be in three days. Congratulations on the breakthrough," - he said dryly.

"What about Lin?"

"Princess Lin has severe Qi depletion. Her life is not in danger, but she had to go into closed meditation," - he answered.

Closed meditation? Sounds like an excuse not to let us see each other. However, she already gave me a chance I couldn't even dream of. The message popped up in front of my eyes again.

You have learned a new technique!

There were also small changes in the status. At least the negative effect completely disappeared. That black fire - those were the impurities. The technique literally burned them out of my body.

[Name: Kai Shen]

[Qi Reserve: 2/20]

[Rank: mortal (2/12)]

[Techniques:

Song of Pure Flame

-Allows gathering external Qi

-Allows controlling various fire manifestations

-The flame of life purifies body and spirit]

[Rank: spiritual]

[Level 1/5 (0/1000 Qi)]

[Talents:

Blood of the Shen clan - fire techniques are 50% stronger. Special interactions with fire are available.

Flame Tempering - your body and spirit have undergone tempering by the fire element. All your physical characteristics are significantly increased. Worldly dirt cannot defile the fiery spirit.]

I don't even know what surprised me more - the fact that I could develop my technique by investing Qi in it, or that next to the mortal line there was the number twelve. After all, as far as I understand - this rank corresponds to the Qi concentration stage, and there are ten levels on it. And I've already managed to take two. The question is, am I some kind of mutant? And I can't ask these two - who knows what such curiosity might lead to. So, I'll sit still and cultivate. Moreover, a plan has already matured in my head.

"Auxiliary techniques can be replaced, right?" - I asked casually on the way to the library.

"It's possible, but very dangerous. The stronger the technique and the better it's developed, the higher the chance of damaging cultivation."

As I thought. However, I don't have much choice. Either take a risk or surrender to the mercy of the winner. And somehow I didn't believe much in the humanism of my relatives.

The third floor greeted me like a native. A couple of practitioners, a guy and a girl, as soon as they saw me, got up and left. Coincidence, probably. But it's better for me. They won't distract.

Having chosen a dozen of the most useful techniques, in my amateur opinion, I... started to cultivate! And I even ground part of the pills into powder and started chewing it. My escorts looked at me like I was an idiot, but remained silent. Well, what about me? I need to get as much Qi as possible, and as quickly as possible. And who's to blame that my idea of reducing the dosage worked? The mash of dozens of balls turned into just a nutritious, Qi-filled mass. Foreign energy burned the meridians, but was steadily absorbed by my spiritual body. The sensations are unpleasant, of course, but tolerable. If only the pills were tastier, because it feels like I'm chewing moss.

The first breakthrough happened about an hour later. The most difficult thing here was not to let the breakthrough cleanse the body of impurities from the pills. I perfectly remembered how they came out of me in the form of black fire, and I had certain hopes in this regard. They wanted me to ruin my cultivation with impurities? Well, then I'll make them fuel for my power.

They slipped me trash techniques? So I'll accept them, and then drive a flame-engulfed fist down their throats! Spiritual energy and powder from the pills were rapidly absorbed by me. In just a couple of hours, I reached the fourth stage. It was absurdly easy. Of course, I understood that these were just the basics and starting from the meridian stage, it would no longer be possible to just sit and accumulate Qi. And opening the meridians themselves is not so easy. And yet...

"What's the record for reaching the tenth rank of concentration in our sect?" - I asked without distracting from cultivation.

"Your father reached this rank faster than an incense stick could burn out. And in just a month he broke through to the meridian sphere," - Sho answered me.

"True, he did it at the site of the spiritual fire source," - Cho added.

"But access there is closed to you," - his brother hammered the final nail in the coffin of my hopes.

And why am I not even surprised by this? When the first stars lit up in the sky, I continued to cultivate. Already the sixth level. So fast... True, I've already used up half of the powder from the pills...

"Sir, it's time to sleep," - one of the twins said, but I ignored him.

The Tower of Knowledge, actually, didn't close for the night, which means there's no point in leaving here. I could actually cultivate in my chambers, but in fact, under the library, I had noticed a tiny source of spiritual power back then. It fed the charms on the building, and now it was feeding me too.

When I finished, there were only a few hours left before the duel. The tenth level of concentration... An unattainable dream for someone. And too little for me. I didn't become much stronger - I had already passed this stage, and it mainly strengthens the practitioner's body. In fact, this is the only reason I managed so quickly. All the work had already been done, it remained only to fill the body with spiritual power.

"Sir, it's time," - the twins reminded me of themselves. "The duel is about to begin."

I took one last look at the table where the books lay. I have enough Qi reserve to study one of the techniques. And now I really don't care what happens to the book in the process. Wait, brother Ho. Wait, respected elders and dear father. I'm coming!