Bruce POV
(2 months later)
I woke up that morning with a strange sensation coursing through my body. Not pain, not discomfort… something different. Like thousands of faint streams trickling just under my skin.
I sat cross-legged immediately and closed my eyes, diving into meditation. Inside, my Lotus Seed shimmered brighter than usual, no longer just a polished white sphere. Fine threads of light—thin, delicate, like spider silk—were sprouting outward, stretching across the inner landscape of my body.
"Roots…" I whispered under my breath.
Uncle confirmed it later that morning after I dragged him to my room. His expression was unusually serious as he observed the flow of my Chi. Then, he nodded slowly.
"Aiyah! They are sprouting faster than normal," Uncle said, stroking his chin. "Most seeds take a year or more to show this stage. Yours only five months."
Jackie whistled from the side. "So… that's good, right?"
Uncle gave him a sharp glare. "It is not just 'good.' It is abnormal." He turned back to me. "Your Wild Chi provides too much abundance. That is why the roots grow at this speed. It is fortunate your concentration is steady. Otherwise, your body might collapse from excess energy."
I nodded, trying to stay calm even as excitement bubbled in my chest.
'Finally… this is it. The step I've been waiting for. The beginning of using Chi in real battle.'
The roots wriggled, spreading through my body like veins of light. They weren't fully covering me yet, but I could feel the progress each day. A steady expansion.
According to Uncle, once the roots spread fully across my body, the Lotus core would stabilize, acting as a control center.
At that point, even stray thoughts or random intent wouldn't disrupt my Chi anymore.
I clenched my fist, feeling the roots growing inside.
'One month. Just one month more… then I'll be able to use Chi properly.'
The ranking matches hadn't slowed. If anything, they had grown more difficult. By now, I had climbed to the 10th position.
The last fight especially still lingered in my memory. My opponent was a tall, lean fighter named Lu Jinhai.
He wasn't like the others who had challenged me before. His technique was solid, and his stamina was nearly equal to mine but I just entered high school and he is in his last year.
The match stretched longer than usual, every exchange drawing cheers from the crowd. His strikes were sharp, his defense tight, but no matter how many times he pushed forward, I refused to yield ground.
Wing Chun was about patience. About the flow between offense and defense. And slowly, inch by inch, I broke through his guard.
The fight ended when I redirected his final desperate kick, stepping inside and delivered few rapid punches to his chest and face. He stumbled back, knees hitting the ground, unable to rise.
Even though I had always held the upper hand, I respected him. He was the first who forced me to exert myself.
But as I walked away victorious, the same thought repeated in my head.
I couldn't wait. My blood burned with anticipation.
'When the roots finish spreading, I'll finally be able to bring Chi into my fights. Then, no one below the top five will stand a chance because I found out the top five can indeed use Chi but I'm not sure about their foundation.
Alongside my ranking fights and studies, I had been experimenting with something else—paper talisman crafting.
Uncle finally entrusted me with the process of making special ink and brushes.
It wasn't just about grinding herbs and mixing powders. Each ingredient had to be infused with Chi during preparation.
I will be creating my first set of brushes and ink as soon as my Lotus Roots finished their spread.
Uncle warned me that without stable Chi circulation, the ink making could rebound, damaging my meridians.
'When the roots complete, I'll start crafting real paper talismans.'
Another breakthrough came with my studies of ancient language.
For months, I had been pouring over dusty texts, struggling with complex runes and forgotten symbols. But now, the patterns made sense. Words that once felt impossible to read flowed naturally from my mouth.
Uncle noticed.
One evening, after watching me translate a particularly complex script without pause, he set his brush down. His gaze softened, pride flickering in his eyes.
"You are ready," he said.
My heart skipped. "Ready… for what?"
"To learn spells."
That night, he showed me the most basic of techniques—small flame conjuration, paper reinforcement, simple wards. Nothing extravagant. But still, real magic.
Jackie, who was watching from the side, muttered, "So… he won't need to carry a lizard around like you always do?"
"Silence!" Uncle snapped, smacking Jackie with his ever-present two-finger strike.
I chuckled quietly, but deep down, I knew I didn't want to carry a lizard either. It wasn't me.
So I started working on something new.
Using Uncle's old books and diagrams, I began designing my own magic focus. A ring. Simple, portable, personal. If I could inscribe runes onto a metal band and attune it with my Chi, I wouldn't need a lizard or any other strange focus.
Every night, after studying with Uncle, I stayed up late sketching designs, mixing ideas from talisman theory with artifact-crafting techniques.
It was slow work. Frustrating. But the more I tinkered, the more excited I became.
'If I can make this ring… I'll be able to cast basic spells and wards but it has to be constantly be upgraded to handle high level and complex spells.
Uncle hadn't approved it yet, but he didn't forbid me either. That alone told me he was curious to see where it went.
Despite everything—my rank, my spell studies, my talisman preparations—it all came down to one thing.
The Lotus Roots.
Until they finished spreading across my body, I couldn't truly unleash my Chi. Everything I was learning—talisman crafting, spell theory, focus creation—was just preparation. Waiting.
But once the roots completed their growth…
My powers would take a quantitative leap.
No longer would I rely only on Wing Chun, stamina, and technique.
I would have the control to channel Wild Chi safely, to consume and infuse strikes with energy, to inscribe paper talismans and unlimited applications that are yet to be explored.
Uncle said it would be like stepping from one world into another.
And I believed him.
Every day I trained, studied, and fought, but in the back of my mind, there was only one countdown—one month left. Then the roots would cover me fully which shows that the Lotus Seed has matured and then, my real journey would begin.
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