With a temporary respite thanks to her counter-moves against Jin Lei and Evangeline, Ye Xia returned her focus to cultivation. The Qi Condensation stage was about deepening and refining the dense drop of energy in her Dantian.
She decided to use another forgotten item from her wasting spree: the year-long membership to the remote library across town. It was a place of utter silence and solitude, perfect for deep meditation.
There, surrounded by ancient books, she practiced the Mountain Stream Style forms. She moved through the silent aisles, her body a fluid expression of the technique. She visualized her Qi as a mountain stream, sometimes flowing gently, sometimes crashing over rocks, but always moving, always powerful.
During one particularly deep session, she felt a breakthrough. The single drop of Qi in her Dantian pulsed, and a tiny, second drop condensed beside it. Then a third. She was moving from the Initial to the Middle Phase of Qi Condensation. Her power density had just tripled.
[Ding! Cultivation level upgraded: Qi Condensation (Middle Phase). Qi capacity increased by 200%. Unlocking related system skill: Qi Thread.]
[Qi Thread: Host can now project a thin, incredibly strong thread of Qi from her fingertips. Can be used for manipulation, sensing, or as a cutting wire. Range and strength scale with cultivation level. Cost: 1 unit of Kai per minute.]
She tested it immediately. Focusing, she extended a single, nearly invisible thread of Qi from her index finger. She willed it to wrap around a book on a high shelf. With a gentle tug, the book slid out and floated smoothly into her hand.
It was a subtle skill, but incredibly versatile. An assassin's tool, a thief's tool, a spy's tool. Another piece of her arsenal, unlocked not by spending money, but by using a resource she had already wasted.