Xiao Jian walked down the hall, the murmurs rising around him like waves crashing against the shore.
"Xiao Jian has Dou Qi now?"
"I've never heard that!"
"Hah, who cares? Picking a technique you can't even train… what a waste of time!"
Their voices came from all sides, mixed with disdain and mocking laughter. But Xiao Jian didn't flinch.
The words passed through him like wind. His focus was elsewhere.....on the technique and the power now coursing through his veins.
Back in his room, calm settled over him as he shut the door.
He crossed to the window where golden evening light spilled in and sat in his wicker chair, unfurling the scroll he had just received.
Wind Eagle Kick: Advanced Yellow Rank. A mid-range leg technique with powerful attacks.
When perfected, it allows airborne kicks that channel full-body energy into a single strike, rivaling Xuan Rank techniques.
The description painted vivid images....an eagle soaring against the wind, its wings slashing with devastating force.
Xiao Jian's brows furrowed as faint flashes of memory surfaced, half instinct, half intuition.
"This technique is tricky," he thought. "It requires precise coordination of Dou Qi with the meridians.
For a mere Yellow Rank, the physical strain is intense."
Without a mentor like Old Medicine, he would need to walk this road alone.
His plan was simple: eat, train, and grow stronger.
Medicinal baths could wait; first he needed to master the circulation path within a week before returning the scroll.
He sat cross-legged on his bed, closing his eyes.
The room grew still as Dou Qi coursed through his meridians.
After half an hour he opened his eyes, frowning slightly.
"This… isn't difficult at all."
Suspicion tugged at him. Had he missed something? He checked the scroll again, then a third time.
Everything was exactly as he had done.
"All right then… let's try the leg forms."
He rose, adjusting his posture to match the diagrams.
His body responded almost naturally, as if the technique had always been his.
The flow of Dou Qi aligned with the movements, each stance more fluid than the last.
An hour later he set the scroll aside, deep in thought. Memorizing the moves had been easy.....too easy. Could it be… was he really a genius?
He shook his head. Impossible. He needed a real test.
Scroll in hand, Xiao Jian left the compound and headed for the back mountain.
The forest there was quiet, seldom visited, perfect for training.
With his sharpened spiritual perception, no one could sneak up on him.
He stopped before a tree trunk the size of a bowl. A suitable target.
Taking a deep breath, he gathered his Dou Qi. It surged like a tide through his meridians.
He launched forward, twisting his body, and snapped his leg out in a whiplike arc.
Crack!
The trunk split clean in two, the upper half crashing to the ground.
Xiao Jian staggered back, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face. His lips curved into a smile.
"The Wind Eagle Kick… is incredible."
Yet the cost was clear. That one strike had emptied his Platinum Qi Mansion, leaving his meridians sore and his limbs aching.
Indoor practice had demanded less, but the full release revealed the true burden of the technique.
With his current Stage Three Dou Qi, recklessly throwing out even a few more kicks might harm him before an opponent.
He had underestimated its demands. Had he not strengthened his body earlier by opening the Five Qi Mansions and absorbing demonic core energy, he might already be injured.
Still, this trial was valuable. It exposed his limits and showed him the path forward.
His strength was real, but so were his weaknesses.
Physical conditioning would now be as important as cultivating Dou Qi.
He stood in the clearing, gazing at the broken tree lying on the ground. His chest steadied, his mind sharpened.
Slowly, the exhaustion gave way to something else.....a spark of excitement.
If a single Yellow Rank technique already carried such destructive power, what heights could he reach once he truly mastered it?
The road ahead stretched long, but for the first time, he felt certain.
His blood burned, his spirit roared, and his lips whispered into the evening wind....
"This is only the beginning."
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