Zzzt!
BOOM!!
"Ugh!"
"…I must've put too much chi into it. Ngh!"
It's the next day and I've woken up earlier this morning to go further away from the mansion to practice my techniques.
Due to the nature of my practice, it can be quite noisy and I would not want to have to explain to others.
The current technique I'm practicing is called 'Dragon slide' but you may know it as flash step.
It's an intermediate technique from a not-so-known martial art called Flowing Dragon Style.
A martial art that harmonizes breath, body, and chi circulation to create explosive bursts of speed, power, and control.
The style is named after the dragons because the practitioner's chi coils, flows, and strikes like a living serpent of energy.
Its core principle is, 'chi flows like water, coils like a dragon and strikes like thunder.'
Every technique is about using chicompression + release with martial precision—Its movement emphasizes fluid transitions, but with snaps of compressed energy.
The martial art itself has four levels of techniques, Foundation techniques, Intermediate techniques, Advanced techniques and Ultimate techniques respectively.
I've already practiced the Foundation techniques to a certain level of mastery to where I can confidently use them on the fly in combat situations and have now moved on to the Intermediate Level which were Serpent strike fist and Dragon fang kick.
The technique, Dragon glide(flash step) is the first movement type technique to be learned.
Although I've already practiced two others of this level as they did not take as much precision and calculation as this technique.
To use the flash step, one must grip the earth with the toes and compress before releasing chi from the soles and toes for instantaneous and explosive movement.
This allows for the user to appear like they have teleportation which leaves a slight afterimages of chi.
"Huff… Let's try this again shall we."
Took a deep breath.
Let's see… I'll target that clear area over there. I focused on a clear spot with no debris from the earlier accidents and began executing…
Grip the earth with the toes… firmly plant the sole on the ground… tilt slightly forward… focus chi between the sole and earth beneath me… compress it… compress it…
"… Annnddd… RELEASE!!"
Zzzt~ The faint sound of electricity.
BOOM!
I miscalculated the amount of chi that should be used and went overboard resulting in another crash.
"Ugh!"
I had blown pass my targeted area and ended up kissing a tree, blowing through it in the process as well.
Where did I go wrong? Did I use too much chi? Or had I compressed it too much?
I glanced back to my initial point, the area has practically vaporized and I'm approximately 15 meters farther than where I wanted.
Sigh. This is the eighth time now.
"Haaaah~" I dropped down on the grass to catch my breath.
"One last time… Then I'm done with the flash step for the day. Huff! Nah… I should conserve my chi for the inscriptions."
I've been so focused on flash on flash step, I nearly used all my chi.
I should probably wash off all the dirt and dust of my body first though.
I stood up and traveled back to where I started and picked up my calligraphy brush and trusty spear I begged those blacksmiths to create.
I then journey to a stream nearby before jumping into it.
SPLASH!
"That hits the spot~"
Although I don't have sweat glans anymore, I still feel like I've sweat a lot and feel uncomfortable.
I then caught my reflection in the water.
I look like I'm a few chromosomes away from being a female.
I'm seemingly androgynous in appearance with features that blend other worldly and human elements.
My face is delicately rendered, with soft, subtly defined features. The eyes are almond shaped, featuring pale rose pupils.
My hair is waist length silky hair white hair that grows extremely fast. With strands that are 10x stronger than regular hair.
Skin so pale, you'd think I never left the house since I was born. It lacks a strong color variant and presents a smooth, flawless texture.
Don't get me started on my physique. Just like Aoi had said, there is nearly no muscle definition—build is pure slender and fucking deliacate.
All this is due to chi.
Chi. The universal energy that exists with all living and non living things acting as both fuel and foundation for strength, perception, and transcendence.
When refined, it evolves in quality, density, and resonance, granting power beyond mortal limits.
Since coming to this world as a baby, I've had the ability to feel, interact and control chi.
Something that seems exclusive to as neither demons nor humans have access to.
They have chi as I can sense the chi within them but the ability itself to use it seems to be non-existent. As if they have the key but there is no lock to open.
Unlike chi seen in movies and cultivation novels, this chi does not make the body bulky or lean when doing physical labor.
It simply adds strength gain to the density of the body and repairs damages.
How does this still make me look girly you might ask?
Well, I've been using chi since I was five years old and a five years old body is naturally girly for both boys and girls.
And since chi started doing its thing, taking any muscle gain and compression it down into a slim body—I've only gained height and density.
Continuous usage of chi has expelled unwanted substances from my body to optimize the efficiency of how I can better circulate chi.
This further made me into an androgynous being by giving me manly aura and feminine features.
I usually wonder what is gonna happen when I reach further cultivation level.
Another thing I gained with chi was the ability to enter my spiritual sea and interact with my soul.
All my abilities and records are recorded on the monolith that 'is' My soul.
There were four sides to the monolith: the abilities area, the history area, the techniques area and the inscriptions area and finally the cultivation area.
I've not focused on the history area as it's not as important as the other three.
There are two types of cultivation, the soul cultivation and the chi cultivation and each has 6 stages.
For chi cultivation, there are: Chi awakening, Chi refinement, Chi solidification, Chi-soul synchronization, Refined divinity and True transcendence.
For the soul counterpart we have: Soul awakening, soul refinement, soul solidification, soul-body harmony, refined divinity of soul and transcends spirit.
When cultivating to the next stage, once must compress all the personal chi with yourself increasing the quality of chi within yourself by 10x.
So during each stage one must enlarge their chi reserve to Maximum to fully take advantage at the beginning of the next stage.
Slshh!
I exited the river and headed for my spear and brush.
My chi have replenished enough to begin inscription.
Inscriptions. From the description on the monolith, Inscriptions are symbols etched with chi or soul essence—tiny laws bound into weapons, cloth, or even flesh.
Each mark carries intent, bending energy to sharpen, protect, or transform.
The stronger the cultivator's understanding, the more powerful the inscription becomes.
Meaning the quality of chi is more important than quantity.
I picked up the spear I have and I was deciding where to begin my first inscription, [Pierce].
This is a beginner level inscription. It enhances the penetration, allowing thrusts to better pierce through armor or tough exteriors.
I picked up my calligraphy brush. This is a special, poorly made brush made from my own hair.
Although, using my hair is not a requirement for inscriptions, it is recommended for beginners as it ties them to my essence.
As I am not well versed in inscriptions, I'll be using my blood as ink for a stronger binding and it increases the chance of it happening.
Using the spear I after running chi through it enhanced its durability and made a small incision in my palm before rubbing it all over the brush tip.
Not wanting the ink to dry up, I quickly wrote and imagine effect I want the word to be meant as in Japanese along its blade area.
Before long the words, though poorly written, seem to have understood what I meant and the blood writing that was initially red began glowing slightly azure before the writing disappeared
"Did… did it work?" What do I do now? Run some chi in the blade?
I did just that. Run some chi through it and I kid you not, it worked?
"It worked!!"
I was overjoyed. The edges of the blade area had a faint glow indicating something was happening there.
"Hahahaaaa! I'm god! Hahahaaa!"
I quickly ran to a nearby tree and barely touched it with the tip and the blade just slid right through—no resistance.
Hahahaaaa
You can worship me now peasants. For I have succeeded on the first try.
Chapter 2 end