Blossoming Path

Elixirs were stupid.

"Rooted Banyan Stance!"

I unleashed my technique once more, clenching all the muscles in my body and shielding myself with qi as Feng Wu struck.

The kick to the stomach pushed me back a couple feet, but I held my stance without flinching. I grinned at the second-class disciple.

"This changes everything!"

It had been an hour since we began my training to integrate the qi of the elixir into my dantian.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the difference. The Rooted Banyan Stance, a technique that used to drain me completely after just two uses, was now something I could perform seven times with ease. The increase in my qi reserves was astounding, but what struck me even more was how quickly they replenished. During our hour of sparring, I’d regained enough qi to perform another Rooted Banyan Stance, which I didn't notice with my paltry reserves back then.

As I stood, breathing heavily but still full of energy, I glanced to the side. There, Tianyi and Windy were engaged in their own little sparring session.

Windy’s serpentine body whipped around with surprising speed, his tail striking out like a coiled spring. But Tianyi, with her delicate butterfly wings, parried each strike with graceful ease. Her wings shimmered with a soft blue glow, deflecting his attacks as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The contrast between the two was almost ridiculous—a powerful, aggressive snake against a fluttering butterfly—but Tianyi held her own, her movements fluid and precise.