Chapter 37: Peak Refinement
The ambient field felt as if it had deepened overnight and the river ran with a low surface mist, and standing at the bank I could feel the field's texture in more detail than I had ever before.
I worked on the directional attentiveness of my Qi sensing, choosing where within the field to focus in an active manner instead of waiting for the ambient Qi to enter my field of vision.
The distinction was the same as looking versus seeing: passive reception told you the field was present, while directional attentiveness told you what it was doing in real time.
I moved my awareness along the bank, east toward the ridge, and south toward the horizon of the hill.
I opted not to attempt the pooling of Qi into my core. I had already noted what needed to be developed and today was not that day.
I walked back to the training ground as the first light came up over the ridge.
Wei Suyin took over the cohort's training for the day at the clinical wing of the Academy.
There were sessions on basic injury assessment and pressure point release taught as standard material for practitioners who would need to operate in the field. The cohort sat in the clinic room in a rough semicircle around Wei Suyin as she went through demonstration after demonstration from reading one's own pulse to teaching the students to practice reading one another's.
I stood at the back.