Chapter 6: Life 10, Age 16, Martial Disciple 4
The following two weeks were tough but rewarding. From an outside view, it may have looked like I was just quietly sitting alone in my house, but that was far from the truth. I was constantly cycling my cultivation technique, using it to pull in vast amounts of qi. Though my physical exertions were limited, mentally it was difficult. Even after disregarding the qi filter, it was difficult to do everything properly.
First, I had to cycle my qi around my body in a complex pattern. The qi did not want to move. It felt like it was completely trapped in my muscles. However, the cultivation technique stressed the importance of creating a slow, steady qi flow throughout the body. The further I advanced, the more this flow stabilized, though, so this began to require less work to maintain.
The second task I had to accomplish, simultaneously, was to create a qi whirlpool in the area I was focused on cultivating. This whirlpool should be constant and steady. Any fluctuations in the qi of the whirlpool not only caused the qi absorption to slow down, but they also made the qi that did enter much harder to control and focus into my muscles.
Finally, after a muscle group was fully saturated with qi, I had to break through. This involved finding my acupoints and piercing them with qi. When finding those points, I felt like I was feeling around in the dark with nothing to grab hold of. I was essentially waving qi around my muscles until I found an area where there was a slight bit more resistance. Then, I pierced that area as accurately as I could, though I knew it couldn’t have been completely correct.
Still, after all my efforts, I was able to break through the acupoints in both my upper left arm and chest. I had reached Martial Disciple 4.
As my cultivation grew, I began to feel a strange sense of confidence. It felt like I could push down anyone who stood in my way, and I wanted to. I knew, deep in my heart, that there was no obstacle I couldn’t overcome.
Fighting the children in the practice yard posed no challenge at all anymore. I was already more skilled than them, having a better grasp of basic martial combat. Now, I was also significantly more physically powerful than them.
Though I didn’t know exactly how strong the elite disciples we were going to face might be, I was filled with inexplicable confidence I could face whatever they could throw at me. I knew I was unstoppable.
As a group, we were all led out of our courtyard. We were guided down several roads, but there wasn’t much to see. High walls encased both sides of the road. Large double-doored gateways could occasionally be seen in the walls, but we were always led past them. Eventually, we were led out into what was basically a small stadium.