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"Though she shows kindness, one should never test her wrath — her poisons are without mercy, even against the strongest." Words spoken by a lady in flowing blue, referenced in the Book of Cultivators to Beware Of.
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Lin Yue showed the parchment before everyone in the clearing. The parchment looked old, the ink however still stuck to the paper, showing clearly the lines and circles drawn on the human body. The others leaned closer, eyes wide and curious.
Song Ming said while squinting. "So… these lines are supposed to show how qi flows through the body? Are these the meridians?"
Lin Yue nodded quickly. "I think so. When I tried it last night, it felt different from before. It wasn't just about moving qi through specific parts of the body anymore, it spread through the whole body, flowing smoothly like a river"
She pointed at the three circles on the paper — one in the lower stomach, one near the heart, and one between the brows. "These must be the spiritual cores. Maybe when we strengthen these connections, is what we need to form after expanding our meridians."
The others exchanged glances. For months, they had been stuck — unable to push their cultivation past a wall that refused to move no matter how much effort they poured in.
"Let me try," Long Tianyu said suddenly.
He sat cross-legged in the grass, closed his eyes, and began to draw qi into his body. At first, nothing changed. But then his breathing deepened, becoming slow and heavy. A low hum filled the air, and the leaves around him began to rustle.
Wind swirled across the clearing.
Song Ming and the others took a step back as Long Tianyu's qi started coursing through his body. The air moved in rhythm with his breathing, then in rhythm with his heartbeat.
The wind thickened, wrapping around him like a cocoon. The ground vibrated. His meridians expanded, and for a moment, the whole world seemed to pulse with his energy.
Then — silence.
The light faded, and the wind vanished as quickly as it had come. Long Tianyu opened his eyes, exhaling sharply. "It… worked," he whispered, almost disbelieving. "I can feel it — the qi moves much more freely now, all through my body."
Hua Qingqing stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "Let me try."
She sat beside him and followed the same method Lin Yue described — guiding her qi through the pathways drawn on the paper. Soon the grass around her stirred, and the same strange rhythm filled the air. This time, however, the energy was softer — calm and elegant, flowing like a mountain stream.
The others followed one by one.
Soon, the clearing was a whirl of motion — gusts of wind twisting and colliding, light shimmering around the children like small stars.
To an outsider, it would have looked like chaos. But to them, it was harmony — each one channeling their energy through the same hidden map of the body, each finding their own way.
Over the following weeks, breakthroughs came one after another.
When they stepped into the next stage, The Spiritual Meridian Expansion. Their meridians grew stronger, able to handle more qi going through their bodies. When they cultivated now, their meridians pulsed like living rivers.
Seasons turned quietly after that.
The harvest came and went; snow blanketed the valley and melted again. Xincheng Village lived its simple rhythm — farmers tending the fields, merchants coming and going with the changing months.
Zang Liu stopped going down to the mines entirely. Instead, he spent his days by the riverbank, or on the mountain sketching. His drawings had changed — what once were clumsy shapes of mountains and trees now carried something deeper. The brush strokes seemed to flow with qi themselves, and sometimes, when he focused too hard, the ink would ripple on its own.
Nong Xuanfeng and Chen Jie, meanwhile, worked the hardest they ever had. Nong Xuanfeng continued working with his parents and Chen Jie loved mining for treasure so he continued doing just that. They hauled lumber, helped rebuild houses, carried stones for a new well — all while laughing and boasting about their strength. Their bodies had grown lean and powerful; they could lift what once required three men.
When they weren't helping around the village, they trained until dusk. Sometimes they sparred until they fell flat on their backs, panting, staring up at the twilight sky.
"Hey, Long Tianyu," Chen Jie once said, grinning, "when we go to Moondragon City, don't think you'll beat me in the entrance tests."
Long Tianyu smirked. "You talk too much for someone who still can't control his qi properly."
"Say that again!"
Their bickering was familiar, comforting. Even Song Ming couldn't help but smile when he saw them. The village had grown livelier because of these nine children — their laughter, their spirit, and the way they seemed to bring change wherever they went.
Other villagers grew curious about cultivation, too. Song Ming even invited adults and other children, older and young together to join their morning sessions. But no matter how hard anyone else tried, none succeeded in awakening their qi. It was as if fate itself had chosen only these nine.
No one could explain it, not even Song Ming. But the villagers didn't envy them — they took pride instead. "Our little Xincheng is raising future cultivators," they said proudly "One day, they'll bring glory to our name."
As another half-year passed, Long Tianyu's curiosity began to stir again.
Late at night, he sat in his room cross-legged, cultivating in silence. Moonlight seeped through the paper windows, painting soft silver patterns on the floor.
The Twinshadow Pulse Swords, his precious weapons, rested wrapped in cloth against the wall. They hadn't been touched for months — too dangerous for him to practice with them now, especially when his qi still fluctuated wildly from recent breakthroughs.
He stared at them for a moment, then closed his eyes. His breathing slowed, his heartbeat steady. Qi gathered around him like mist.
What if I tried something different… he thought.
He remembered the page Lin Yue had shown them — the three cores, the lines connecting them. Until now, they had only focused on the one in the stomach, the lower spiritual core. But there were still two others.
If qi flows through all three, maybe I can strengthen them all…
He drew the energy upward, gently at first. Qi streamed through his meridians, flowing from the lower dantian toward the core near his heart.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then—
Qi swirled wildly, rushing upward as if answering a long-awaited call. His chest glowed faintly. The energy gathered there, forming a new center of light — a second core, spinning slowly. The air trembled around him.
His breathing quickened, and he felt his lower core react, sending waves of qi back toward his chest. The two cores began to resonate, echoing each other's rhythm.
Then, without warning—
BANG!
A sharp crack split the silence. The bamboo floor shattered beneath him. Splinters flew. The entire room shook from the sudden outburst of energy.
Long Tianyu's eyes shot open. Sweat streamed down his face as he struggled to control his breathing.
W-What just happened…?
He could feel it — his cultivation had risen again, but the pressure in his chest was immense, as if two rivers of energy were clashing inside him.
Before he could think further—
A voice thundered from outside.
"LONG TIANYU!"
The sound shook the house, echoing through the valley. Chickens squawked, pigs squealed, dogs barked, and somewhere far off, even the mountain seemed to rumble in response.
Long Tianyu froze. Oh no…
Footsteps approached. Heavy, furious, familiar.
The door slid open with a loud slam.
Standing there was his mother, Long Meilin, her hair in disarray, eyes blazing like molten iron. "You!"
"M-Mother, I was—"
"Don't you 'mother' me! Do you think bamboo grows by itself?!"
Her words cracked like thunder.
Long Tianyu's mind raced for excuses, but all that came out was a strangled laugh. "Hehe… I was cultivating, and maybe the qi—"
"The qi? The qi destroyed half of our floor!"
She grabbed his ear and pulled him up with terrifying strength. "You'll fix it tomorrow morning, understand?"
"Yes, yes! I understand!" he yelped, hopping in place as she held his ear.
In his own house, Hua Shen — who had been awake late as usual — watched from his window, sipping tea. He couldn't help but chuckle as the echoes of Long Meilin's scolding faded into the night.
"Hehehe… at least he can't escape that woman," Hua Shen muttered. "A fierce mother indeed. Perhaps Qingqing should learn from her — maybe that'll keep Long Tianyu in check."
He took another sip, thoughtful. "Mmm… yes. I'll go tomorrow and ask Meilin to teach Qingqing a thing or two about control. That'll do nicely."
The wind carried his laughter away into the quiet night, mingling with the fading sounds of Long Meilin's shouting and Long Tianyu's pleading.
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End of chapter 17 - Awakening The Meridians