Old man Shen nodded. "Child, you need to start over. Whatever you did...it made your foundation unstable. I'm surprised you're not dead from Qi backlash."
"I'm self-taught, sir...I copied a technique from someone else." Chao put his head down as Hakama thought to himself, "I've been fighting with this foundation, I'm surprised the skills even worked using Qi at all, considering I should be dead from my meridians shattering." The soul thought, slightly annoyed at the boy's ability to copy something he saw, and the boy's incompetence at not comprehending the technique he copied.
"I see. Then I will break down your foundation and rebuild it from scratch. It's so rampant, simply adjusting is dangerous to your life. So let's start anew. I saw the bottle of pills you got from one of those brutes. Give them here." The old man requested, CHao obliged, giving him the small container. He opened it and took a whiff.
"Vitality pills, perfect. Are you ready?"
Chao nods, "Lead the way."
The old man put his hand on his stomach and dispersed all his qi in an instant. Chao Wei roared in pain.
"DAMNIT OLD MAN!!!! I FEEL LIKE I'M GONNA DIE!!!"
"Hold strong, boy. This is the dispersion of Qi, Just like there is Celestial Ascension, there is Mortal Descent. Endure this pain, become a Mortal again, then start again with a new method. A method that is truly yours."
For several days, Chao Wei was in extreme pain, tears, groans, roars, shouts, and screams. Old Man Shen couldn't bear to look at Chao Wei and looked away; the vision of the boy's pain didn't make him feel good. He was worried, but he knew the rest was up to him. He had dropped a cultivation manual on the floor next to the writhing pitcher and wished him the best of luck. He consumed the bottle of Vitality pills, filling his body with residual qi, then he crawled, drool coming from his mouth where his teeth were stuck, gritting against each other, trying not to move much, his veins enlarged slightly from the pain and then he crawled toward the cultivation manual left by Old Shen, once he comprehended the technique, he cleared his mind, Hakama's willpower was draining rapidly due to the pain of the body he inhabits.
He has to do this fast if he has any shot at reclaiming his former power and setting things right for Chao Wei, he meditated as his heart was nearly beating out his chest, his eyes glowed as he memorized the breathing technique, the pain kept him awake, his need to make it stop made his mind sharp, he could feel Qi again, he breathed, directing it under his belly button, his body felt sensitive, and he felt the core forming with rushing energy, but this core was different from most. It served the same purpose, but it didn't draw in qi gently; it drew it in what could only be felt as a spinning feeling. His veins began to grow and become powerful, he felt his blood rushing, then he felt like his bones were growing an extra layer to be tougher, his heart beat faster, louder, it sounded almost like a war drum in his chest.
On the final day, a shout was heard and a large shockwave was felt around Blackrock Town. Chao Wei had ascended again, properly this time. Old Man Shen opened the door to find Chao on his back, breathing heavily.
"H-Hey...I'm not dead..." He laughed while still in a little pain. But otherwise, he seemed to be alright.
"Congratulations. You've reawakened, I'd say you've reawakened at a higher stage than when we met you. Chao sat down and continued to cultivate, remembering how to breathe, and he felt something in his stomach, like something was building, no, it was more like a pot or a vase being assembled shard by shard, and then the cracks started to mend themselves, like how bones slowly reconnect and reinforce themselves after breaking and recovering. He eventually opened his eyes and got up. "Thank you...Old man Shen."
Chao bows to the man before leaving, now thinking of the next thing, but before he could cross off anything from his list, his stomach growled loudly.
"Right..." Chao said, remembering he was still human, he still needed food and water to survive. He had not eaten for a few days due to having his cultivation painfully reset over the past few days. He drops by the mines and just finds a few rocks that could potentially be used for a solo hunting trip. He picked up the sharpest stones he could find, he could buy tools later, However, he realizes two facts: He's wildly unprepared to do any hunting, and he has no resources. The second fact was that his clothes didn't have pockets. Chao already felt like crying, but looked at the small amount of money hanging from his belt, asking himself: "Should I go back to mining to pay for resources?"
Chao then agreed with himself. He'll find an inn with the last of his Yuan, get something to eat, and go back to mining. In this world, he starts with nothing but a ten-year-old's body, skill tree, and status as an orphan. He starts with what this world's version of "zero". He finds an Inn, pays a small room and board fee, and goes to sleep until morning.
In the morning, he took a shower, put on his hunter's tunic and trousers, and walked toward the mines before getting stopped by a hunter.
"Hey, didn't we say you were with us?" The woman said, dressed in similar hunting wear.
"U-Uh..."
Nakama started thinking of excuses
"Maybe you have the wrong person?" Chao Wei asked, nervously smiling and slightly hoping she'll take the bait.
"I might have been born in a day, but not today." She picked up Chao Wei and held him like a bag, slightly disappointed he lied to her face.
"H-Hey! Put me down!!" Chao Wei kicked and wiggled.
"No can do, kid. You wear a hunter's garb, you do a hunter's job." The woman said, walking toward the gate.
"I can't even use a bow! Much less a knife!" Chao Wei protested
"But you've got one hell of an arm on ya. You killed a bandit, you know. You killed a man."
That sentence made Chao's body feel heavier. He was running on survival instinct, he hadn't even thought about killing them until now. It wasn't Chao Wei feeling sick, but Nakama feeling sick. He had killed a man, he has blood on his hands, and he wants to puke, even if it was in defense of the village. He felt too sick to even protest as the woman just carried him to the other hunters.
Chao realized that this world is ruthless. Bandits wouldn't hesitate to kill children, or worse. his resolve wavered, shook warily, but he had one logical conclusion.
"If they try to kill me...I'll kill them."
With the moral dilemma half taken care of, he's dropped by the woman like a sack of potatoes, as he lands on his knees before getting up.