Bang!

Now that it was the real deal, Li Tian willed his body to start moving the mana orb around. The first time Li Tian did it, the orb obediently followed the direction of his consciousness. To test out a theory, he loosened his hold of his consciousness on the orb. Immediately after doing so, the orb started to run rampage. This was how Li Tian learnt that he needed to always have a firm grasp of the mana orb using his consciousness. If not, the consequences may be dire if the mana started to run rampage in his body. 

Taking a deep breath, Li Tian restarted his efforts of circulating the orb around his lung meridian. With each circulation, Li Tian felt a slight improvement in the closeness to the mana orb. Eventually after 30 minutes, Li Tian's body knew it was time to move on to the large intestine. The slow but controlled movement easily guided the mana orb to its next destination. He already had a firm grasp of where each organ was in his body. Eventually, after the orb had arrived in the large intestine, Li Tian began another round of circulation. Just like this, over six hours had passed. The mana orb that had finally completed one cycle of circulation had officially integrated into his body. Inside his head, Li Tian felt the presence of the willful mana orb that had officially become a part of his internal Qi. 

He did it! He had finally done it! 

[Mission: Qi Circulation] 

After reading the Qi Gathering Scripture, you've stumbled upon how Qi circulates throughout the body. The Qi from the surrounding first enters the lungs, following which it moves to the large intestine, into the stomach, then to the spleen, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, pericardium, triple energizer, gall bladder, liver and finally, back to the lungs. 

Qi Circulation: 1/100 

Reward: Receive 1000 Exp for 'Mandarin Proficiency'. 

Failure: Death 

Deadline: Six months (Time left: 149 Days) 

After trying out Qi Circulation for the first time, Li Tian remembered what the system had explained about the Stat Intelligence. With high Intelligence, not only was one able to contain a large reserve of mana in their body, but the user also had better control over mana. This translated into having a power mind and consciousness that allowed for the fine control of these mana orbs in the air. If Li Tian practiced a little more, it would not be a problem to speed up the Qi Circulation process. 

This act soon became the norm in this household. Li Tian would wait till both Li Xian and Ming Guang Rong were fast asleep before circulating his Qi. After a few more rounds of Qi circulation, Li Tian speed of Qi Circulation got faster and faster. Eventually, one Qi Circulation could be completed in two hours, but he soon ran into a bottle neck. Maybe, with a higher perception, the Qi Circulation could be completed faster as he would lose track of the movements of the mana orb if it moved too quickly. 

In the afternoon, Li Xian would bring her children around the Li manor. There hasn't been a time where she brought Li Tian out of the compound. Li Tian himself got more curious of how the outside world looked like, but for now, he had to settle for the giant Li manor which he had not explore finish. 

A month had passed since Li Tian started on his Qi circulation journey. Just when he finished his 100th rotation, Li Tian started to feel something happening to his body. The organs that had been circulating the Qi started to rumble from within. 

"Bang!" A sonorous loud sound that could be heard in every inch of the living quarter resounded. Although Li Tian felt amazing, he quickly realized whatever happened to his body, surely had awakened his parents. 

'Ah damn it!' Thinking on his feet, Li Tian knew what the best course of action was. 

"Wahhh! Wahhh!" The little baby boy resorted to crying. 

As expected, both Li Xian and Ming Guang Rong woke up from their slumber. The crying of Li Tian made them worried. Did an assassin enter their living quarters? 

Without hesitation, both parents jumped out of bed and protected the crib. To them, the life of Li Tian is more important than anything. Li Xian quickly picked up her frightened baby and started to comfort Li Tian, while Ming Guang Rong started to look for traces of a potential invader. Weirdly enough, Ming Guang Rong came back to Li Xian. He spoke questioningly. 

"I don't understand. There seems to be no traces of an invader." 

"What?" Li Xian looked at her husband. She too was confused. 

"Yes… This is weird." Ming Guang Rong walked toward their door and went to check outside. When he came back, he was just as confused as when he started. "There is no disturbance outside too." 

"Ah?" Li Xian shook her head. Her hand continued to stroke Li Tian's head as the baby boy soon stopped his crying. Her coaxing seemed to work. "Oh, my poor Tian Er… You must've been scared awake by the loud sound too… There there…" 

Ming Guang Rong came to over and wipe his son's tears away. His face displayed a look of worry, but was relieved that nothing happened even with the loud noise. 

When the couple finally relaxed, both smelled a very strong stench coming from Li Tian's bottom. Normally, the poop that came out of their son was bearable. This time, however, was so bad that Ming Guang Rong wanted to vomit. 

"Oh god. Did our son that scared shitless?" The man was rendered speechless. He had seen many gruesome scenes as a mercenary, been through so many tough scenarios in his life, but this odor that came from his son's bottom, could rival some of the toughest battles he had face. 

Li Xian, on the other hand, was braver than her husband. Although she was carrying Li Tian closely just now, this time, her arms were stretched out as far as possible. 

"What a useless father…" 

Li Xian ran out of the room with Li Tian and headed to their washroom. While holding her breath, Li Xian threw the diaper that the baby boy worn into the rubbish bag. She passed the sealed rubbish bag to the useless man that was standing outside the outside. 

"Bring it out to throw…" 

"Yes, madam!" Ming Guang Rong saluted his wife before stepping out with the nuclear waste that was his son's poop. 

Li Tian was soon enough placed in a baby bath basin and washed thoroughly. Even though Li Tian's bosom was the dirty part, Li Xian decided to give her son a deep cleaning. Only when the smell had finally dissipated, did Li Xian stop scrubbing her baby. 

Inside Li Tian's heart, the baby boy breathed a sigh of relief. 'What a close call…' 

'System, can you explain to me what happened back in the room?' 

[You have entered the Qi Gathering Realm. Your body undergoes a thorough cleansing process, purifying all 12 meridians and expelling accumulated toxins. Remarkably, your meridians remain untainted, benefiting from the consumption of pure maternal energy. In this case, the cleansing process exclusively targets the waste within your digestive system, ensuring your overall vitality.] 

'Damn, so do I count as a martial artist now?' Li Tian got excited. 

[Yes. This is the beginning of the martial journey for Qi cultivation.] 

'Sheeshhh!' Li Tian started giggling, stumping both his parents. Li Xian and Ming Guang Rong for heaved a sigh of relief. 

"Well, at least one of us is not worried about this mysterious situation." 

"Yeah…" Li Xian smiled at her little angel of a baby. She showered Li Tian with kisses before heading to back to the chambers. That night, Li Tian was placed between the two parents for fear that something might happen again. At least, if Li Tian was beside them, they could immediately protect him. 

In Li Tian's case, the boy was looking at his notifications and profile. 

Ding… 

[You've completed the hidden mission 'Qi Circulation'.] 

[Reward 'Receive 1000 Exp for 'Mandarin Proficiency' shall now be distributed.] 

Name: Li Tian 

Age: 6 months old 

Body Type: Perfect Unity of Elements 

Cultivation Realm: 1st Level of Qi Gathering Realm 

[Stat] 

Strength: E tier (40/1000 to next level) 

Stamina: E tier (40/1000 to next level) 

Agility: E tier (30/1000 to next level) 

Intelligence: SSS tier 

Perception: E tier (200/1000 to next level) 

[Skills] 

English Proficiency: A tier (0/1000000) 

Mandarin Proficiency: D tier (1700/10000 to next level) 

After a hundred rounds of Qi Circulation, Li Tian's Perception had sudden taken the lead in his other E tier Stats. With the completion of the hidden mission, his Mandarin Proficiency had also gone up to the D tier. Li Tian smiled, satisfied with his life so far. With D tier, Li Tian was almost able to speak Mandarin fluently. A person only needed C tier in a language to be knowledgeable enough to speak a language without much difficulty. In addition, it seemed that there was a new title in his profile, Cultivation Realm. This made things easier for Li Tian to track in the future. Currently, the baby boy was in the 1st Level of the Qi Gathering Realm. 

'Ah… So, this is what happiness feels like.'