Now that his Qi had settled and his body had fully recovered its balance, Lucas did not allow himself a moment of idleness. The world beyond his chamber could wait...his first duty was to strengthen the fragile equilibrium he had achieved. For the next few days, he remained within the quiet sanctum of his room, surrounded by the faint shimmer of formations he had carved into the floor himself.
He began each day at dawn, sitting once more in meditation. His breathing was deep and rhythmic, every inhalation pulling strands of ambient Qi from the air, every exhalation refining it into pure energy that coursed through his meridians. The frost that lingered in the room pulsed faintly with each cycle of his breath, as though resonating with the flow of his cultivation.
