The first step in beginning any path of cultivation was sensing energy.
In the case of Qi cultivators, they had to sense Qi in the environment.
The process of sensing energy could be quite difficult, not because one lacked talent, but mostly because one might not possess the required sensitivity at the beginning of cultivation.
Once cultivators began to cultivate, their sensitivity to Qi would steadily increase.
Sensitivity to Qi differs from person to person. One might take only a few minutes to sense Qi, while another might take days.
But having high sensitivity does not automatically make someone a genius.
This was why the sect offered new members free access to special cultivation grounds where the Qi was highly concentrated due to certain unique conditions.
With the thick presence of Qi in the environment, it became easier to sense Qi, and the sect also offered pills that, when consumed, boost sensitivity to Qi to a certain degree.
Ethan took one of the [Sensitivity Booster Pills] he had received from the sect and threw it into his mouth. Before the pill could take effect, he also drank a vial of [Clarity Potion].
He then waited a few minutes for the effects of both the pill and potion to fully take hold.
The pill increased his sensitivity to Qi, while the Clarity Potion boosted his metabolism, blood flow, and bodily functions, numbed pain, and made him feel like he was constantly under adrenaline.
"Let's see how long it takes me to sense Qi..." Ethan muttered, then he removed his upper-body clothes.
Sitting in a lotus position, he straightened his posture and closed his eyes.
His breathing became steady and relaxed as he held the short sword he had bought firmly in his hands, joined together in front of his stomach, pointing the tip of the blade straight ahead.
The room was completely silent, and the only sounds Ethan could hear were his own breathing and heartbeat.
After a few minutes, he began to ignore them.
Instead, he turned his focus to the cold sensation on his skin.
But it wasn't just cold.
It felt like hundreds of thousands of ants marching together on his skin without biting, just roaming around.
A grin formed on his face. "Fantastic, I can sense Qi without any problem..."
He opened his eyes, breaking his concentration. "It seems it took me around five minutes to sense it..."
"Using the usual method of gathering energy in the mouth and using it to open meridians one by one takes a lot of time, but I can use another method that is faster and more efficient," Ethan muttered as he drank a vial each of [Rapid Recovery Potion] and [Body Support Potion], then waited a few minutes for the potions to take effect.
Once the effects kicked in, Ethan closed his eyes and began to concentrate, not on sensing Qi, but on the sword in his hand.
In a few seconds, his sword intent began to manifest as a white aura around his sword before spreading through his entire body like another layer of skin.
His consciousness was completely focused on controlling the sword intent as if it were energy itself.
As he began to circulate the sword intent, it changed form from a veil into small pin-like swords, much smaller than a smallest syringe needle, almost invisible, dozens of them, not just one.
"It's going to hurt like hell..." Ethan took a deep breath and began to circulate the minute sword intents through his body, moving like a train, each sword intent one behind the other.
There were a total of twenty meridians in the body, but only twelve were valid, known as Primary Meridians.
The remaining eight, known as Extraordinary Meridians, were invalid.
Only the twelve Primary Meridians could actually be opened by cultivators, but not everyone could open all twelve.
For every meridian opened, the energy required to open the next one increased significantly.
This was the hardest part for a new cultivator because they had no other way to gather energy except by inhaling it into their mouths and circulating it to open meridians one by one.
This method was extremely inefficient; it could take days to open even a single meridian.
As the energy required rapidly increased, most cultivators could only manage to open around seven to eleven meridians.
Some with special constitutions or conditions even managed to open all twelve Primary Meridians.
Ethan didn't have such a constitution, and he didn't have the patience to gather energy through breathing.
Moreover, there were strict conditions for opening meridians.
Cultivators could not receive help from others or have others push their Qi into them because it wouldn't work.
Ethan had faced these problems many times before.
He had researched them and discovered a handful of methods to open meridians that only he could use.
One of these was using sword intent as an energy substitute to force open the meridians.
Of course, others had tried this as well, but ultimately failed because when using sword intent, one must be extremely careful and possess complete knowledge of every path connection to the meridians.
Unlike using Qi to open meridians, using sword intent requires following a specific route and maintaining a specific level of intensity, which changes for every meridian.
If one does not have extreme knowledge of meridians and the human body, they cannot do what Ethan was about to do.
Even if one possesses such knowledge, it is nearly impossible for a new cultivator to execute.
Ethan may have the body of a teenager, but his experience was that of an immortal.
That was why this method was only possible for Ethan.
However, it came with negative effects: extreme pain, blood vomiting, and potential nerve damage that could cause searing pain for weeks.
But it would get the job done: opening all his meridians.
Concentrating on the hundreds of small needle-like sword intents, Ethan began to guide them without stopping, starting with the Pericardium Meridian.
The needles pierced the Pericardium Meridian, creating a wound.
But that wasn't the end.
One by one, a total of 180 sword intent needles pierced through the Pericardium Meridian, each slightly larger than the previous one.
"Argh..." Ethan gritted his teeth as each needle pierced his meridian, causing immense pain like hundreds of scorpions stinging the same spot simultaneously.
Not even the effects of the Clarity Potion could numb the pain, since the potion did not affect meridians.
As the final sword intent needle pierced his Pericardium Meridian, a wave of white energy spread from him. The meridian was completely opened, expanded to its full limit.
"Phew, that was intense and painful... 19 more to go." Ethan didn't open his eyes or break his concentration as he guided the sword intent needles to the next meridian, the Penetrating Meridian.
He endured it the same way, but this time the pain was even more intense.
Once he finished with the Penetrating Meridian, he did the same for the third meridian, the Governing Meridian.
Three hours passed, and Ethan finally opened his twentieth and final meridian, the most painful of all, the Heart Meridian.
Ethan breathed raggedly as sweat dripped from his face.
His skin was blood-red, and drops of blood oozed from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
Blood also seeped from his skin in areas like his neck, back, stomach, and feet, as if his sweat had turned to blood.
"Finally, I have opened all my meridians. Now I can say for sure, no one will have a faster energy absorption rate than me unless they possess special means..." Ethan muttered, grinning as he clenched his fists and watched white smoke release from his body.
"This body's adaptability is incredible. My meridians quickly recovered from the injuries caused by the sword intent and even grew more durable..." Ethan said, wiping the blood from his skin with a cloth.
He once again began to invoke sword intent. "I have to take full advantage of this adaptability and make my meridians as durable as possible right away."
He circulated the sword intent once more.
This time, the process caused no pain or bleeding.
He circulated it through his meridians under extreme pressure, slightly increasing the intensity at rapid speeds.
He continued this process for around an hour.
By the end of each cycle, his meridians' endurance grew steadily until he deemed it sufficient.
...
[A/N: If you liked this chapter, don't forget to donate some POWER STONES and add it to your library. No pressure! Thank you for checking out the novel.]