The night after Kaen's breakthrough into the Qi Condensation Realm was quiet—unnaturally quiet. Even the wind, which howled like a hungry beast each evening, had settled into a curious stillness, as if the world was watching him now.
Kaen sat motionless beneath the skeletal remains of a once-mighty tree. The icy winds that once bit into his bones now curled around him with a strange reluctance. A faint mist, barely visible, danced above his skin—Qi, his own life force awakened.
His breathing had changed. Deeper. Smoother. It pulled something invisible into him, threading through his chest, arms, and legs. It was warm, alive—yet unfamiliar. He touched his chest as if to ensure it wasn't an illusion.
"This... this feels like breath, but thicker," he whispered aloud, voice hoarse.
He called it Vein-Breath, remembering how it had surged through the small crack in his chest—an invisible channel that opened when he meditated near the spirit stone. That vein now pulsed with energy, anchoring his awareness of Qi.
The days following his breakthrough were filled with both fascination and pain. Each time he tried to move Qi through his limbs, it responded like a new muscle—sometimes too fast, sometimes too wild. He spent hours sitting still, adjusting the flow. When he did it right, his limbs pulsed with warmth and energy. When wrong, he staggered in agony, nearly losing consciousness.
As Kaen meditated beneath the tree that became his shelter, he thought about the past year—the intense pain, the faint golden aura that occasionally wrapped his body during moments of extreme effort, his unusually fast healing.
"That was... body tempering. I didn't know it... but I was forging myself."
He named it the Body Tempering Realm—a crude term, but fitting. It was the stage before this control, this breathing of Qi. All those trials, beatings from beasts, broken bones, and freezing winds weren't just hardship—they were preparation.
"First, you survive the world's wrath... then you breathe it in," he muttered, the words strange on his tongue.
He etched the name into the bark of his tree with a sharp bone:
"Stage 1: Body Tempering"
"Stage 2: Qi Condensation"
On the sixth day after his breakthrough, Kaen hunted again.
This time, it was not a desperate scramble. His senses felt sharper, as if the world whispered its secrets more clearly. He could hear a thumping heartbeat—not his own, but that of a beast hidden under snow. It was a three-horned burrower, thick-skinned and vicious.
Kaen stalked slowly, his breath even. He let Qi surge to his legs—just a pulse. The muscles tensed and released like coiled springs. His movement was swift, smooth.
When he struck, he used a shard of stone wrapped in hide. The moment he attacked, he pushed Qi through his arm. The blade tore through hide and muscle with frightening ease.
"Faster… sharper… stronger," he muttered, panting.
But something was wrong. A wave of dizziness crashed over him. His limbs felt hollow, like the strength had bled out.
Kaen staggered backward, collapsing into the snow.
He lay there for minutes—maybe an hour—before slowly regaining himself.
"The Qi… it's limited."
He realized he had exhausted it. The power was not endless.
"It's like... breath. You exhale. Then you must inhale again. But how?"
He returned to his meditation spot. He remembered how calm he felt the first time he noticed the Vein-Breath. So, he sat. And waited.
He stilled his breath. Focused inward. And then...
A slow wave of warmth trickled into him—not from outside, but from within. His core—the dantian—was breathing again, drawing Qi inward from around him. It took time, but it returned.da
"So that's the key... stillness brings recovery. Movement burns it."
In the coming days, Kaen made a rhythm:
Morning: Meditate and circulate Qi through limbs gently.
Afternoon: Hunt or explore, using short bursts of Qi.
Evening: Deep meditation, restoring breath.
He felt his body adapting—slightly more each day.
There were no scrolls, no masters, no diagrams to guide him. But Kaen learned from the world itself. The birds flapped in patterns, the beasts struck with rhythm, and the rivers flowed with discipline.
He copied them.
For one week, he observed a cliff hawk that circled above the valley. The way it folded its wings, the precision in its dive, the control in its motion—it wasn't just skill. It was instinct harnessed.
He mimicked the bird.
On the flat stone surface beneath his tree, Kaen began mimicking the hawk's movement with his arms, twisting his body with fluidity, and channeling Qi to his limbs in rhythm.
It took another full week to complete a full set of 12 motions—each tied to breath.
He named it:
"Sky Carving Form" – A primitive technique to control Qi in harmony with bodily movement.
Though basic, it helped him control the consumption of Qi, regulate his speed, and avoid draining himself like before.
He etched the name and steps into the tree bark.
The more he practiced, the more he began to sense things.
He could feel the flow of the river before he saw it.
He could hear the pulse of beasts in the distance.
Once, while meditating, he felt something stir beneath the ground, deep below—a quiet humming, like a buried current.
Kaen realized the world was filled with Qi—not just in him, but everywhere. In the stones. In the trees. Even in the snow.
"What if I can pull from it? Use Qi outside of me?"
He tried. Reached out with his breath. Focused on a nearby pebble.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Hours passed.
Then... the pebble shivered slightly, a faint twitch.
Kaen's eyes widened. He laughed—not loudly, but with wild joy.
"I moved it."
For now, it was little more than a flicker. But it confirmed a truth:
Qi exists outside the body, and can be pulled or touched—with great effort.
Kaen now had a growing list carved deep into the bark of his tree.
[Stages of Power]
1. Body Tempering – Flesh against the world
2. Qi Condensation – Breath turned inward
[Concepts]
- Qi: A breath that lives in all things.
- Vein-Breath: The internal flow through the body.
- Dantian: The storage core in the center of the being.
- Exhaustion: Qi is limited. Overuse leads to collapse.
- Recovery: Meditation is restoration.
- External Qi: Exists, but hard to grasp.
[Technique]
- Sky Carving Form – 12 motions based on cliff hawks.
[Goal]
- Learn. Adapt. Survive.
Kaen wasn't just cultivating.
He was inventing cultivation.