Chapter 38: New Direction
A lone child was sitting with crossed legs atop a tree stump, sweating profusely. He had his eyes closed and was concentrating so immensely that his expression was that of pain.
If one watched carefully, one would be able to see one of his fingers giving off a soft but unstable glow. The glowing was a sign that he had successfully expressed his Qi externally.
The boy took in a deep breath as he tried to force more Qi out and envelop his skin with it. The harder he tried, the more his Qi wavered.
Just as he believed he was about to succeed in stabilizing his Qi, a wooden stick came flying from behind him. Having been caught completely off guard, it landed squarely on his back. The attack immediately broke his concentration as he flinched from the pain, disrupting all the progress he had made so far.
“Not good enough. You’ll never master it if you need to concentrate so hard to control just a sliver of Qi.”
The boy opened his eyes and turned to the speaker.
“Elder Cao, I’m already trying my best. I just can’t get the hang of controlling my Qi when it leaves my body.”
“...I guess you’re already doing well for someone with grade one aptitude. With only five spiritual roots, your sensitivity to Qi must be much lower. With that into consideration, your progress is already impressive after only ten months. However, it is not nearly enough if you want to win that Ascension Pill in the sect competitions.”
“How did you know that, Senior?”
“It wasn’t very hard to guess with the contents of our discussion. Anyway, I don’t think it’d do you any good if you continue to proceed as you have been. Cultivation isn’t so easy that you can succeed by just holing up somewhere. I believe the key to your breakthrough is to gain experience in combat. You may not be able to win the Ascension Pill this time around, but I recommend you take part in the combat section of the sect competitions.”
“…Are you saying cultivation was meant for combat in the first place and I have neglected it?”
“...Not exactly. Cultivation doesn’t have one singular purpose, but the stimulation and urgency of combat definitely help one gain the inspiration they need. There is a reason why cultivators are so prone to duels and fights. It is the whetstone that hones themselves.”