accidental mastery had earned him the obsessive attention of Princess Lianhua, who chose to temporarily reside at the Whispering Willow Sect under the pretext of "observing the local spiritual environment." This put Sect Master Wu under intense pressure, as he had to constantly ensure Lin Qi maintained his "hidden master" façade.
"Disciple Lin Qi," Wu pleaded privately. "You must show the Saintess that you are diligently cultivating! Spend the next week in deep seclusion, performing the Heavenly Contemplation Meditation!"
The Heavenly Contemplation Meditation was the Whispering Willow Sect's most basic, mind-numbingly boring technique, designed only to teach posture. Wu hoped this period of inactivity would prevent further accidental calamities.
Lin Qi was led to a quiet, isolated meditation chamber. He sat down, legs crossed, and attempted the posture.
He lasted roughly seven minutes before his mind wandered completely.
Lin Qi had zero Qi, zero spiritual focus, and zero ability to concentrate. His sealed memories prevented him from tapping into the true Grand-Emperor meditation techniques. All he could think about was the persistent itch on his left heel and the fact that the cushion was lumpy.
He fidgeted. He scratched his nose. He adjusted the lumpy cushion eight times.
Finally, in pure frustration, Lin Qi decided to give up on the Heavenly Contemplation. He needed to stretch.
The Divine Disruption
Lin Qi, attempting a simple, deep stretch—the kind a common peasant might use after hours of field work—executed a massive, full-body movement. He stretched his arms wide, arched his back, and pushed his hands forward, aiming for his toes.
The posture was atrocious for meditation, but perfect for Lin Qi's sealed power.
The deep, full-body stretch created maximum strain on his tendons and muscle fibers, momentarily putting pressure on the area surrounding his Core of Infinite Density.
The Core, reacting to the unnatural physical discomfort, instinctively released a micro-burst of power to alleviate the strain.
This micro-burst, a single, infinitesimal ripple of pure, high-density Cosmic Origin Qi, shot out from his fingertips and instantly imprinted itself onto the air of the chamber.
In the spiritual realm, this was an event of unimaginable significance. Lin Qi's simple stretch was immediately interpreted and codified by the cosmos as the 'Origin Stretch Mudra'—the ultimate cultivation posture for absorbing and circulating Primordial Heaven and Earth Energy.
The Accidental Revelation
The Origin Stretch Mudra was too powerful for the small meditation chamber. As the cosmic energy burst outward, the air began to shimmer.
The chamber instantly became a focal point for every thread of spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius. Qi began to flood the room, swirling into a dense, visible vortex of pure white light.
This colossal influx of energy was visible from space.
Princess Lianhua, who was attempting a 9^{\text{th}}-level meditation technique nearby, was violently jolted out of her focus. She looked up and saw the celestial light show emanating from Lin Qi's chamber.
"That energy!" Lianhua gasped, nearly falling off her own cushion. "It's the legendary 'Vision of Primordial Qi Gathering'! Only a being who has truly grasped the First Principle of the Dao can trigger such a phenomenon!"
She rushed to Lin Qi's door, peered inside, and saw Lin Qi—who was still holding the uncomfortable, awkward stretch—wincing.
Lin Qi, focused on the pain in his lower back, let out a small, quiet, pained grunt as he held the pose.
Lianhua's eyes widened further. She hadn't heard a grunt of pain. She had heard the legendary 'Mantra of True Suffering,' the highest form of spiritual discipline where the cultivator forces the very sound of their suffering to resonate with the Great Dao.
Lin Qi slowly relaxed, pleased to be done with the "stretch." The massive Qi vortex instantly vanished, the energy having been perfectly absorbed into the room (and incidentally, giving the dusty room a fresh, clean scent).
Sect Master Wu arrived, gasping for breath, having run all the way up the mountain. He saw the retreating light and the utterly stunned Saintess.
"Lin Qi," Wu whispered, awestruck. "You have achieved it! The 'Origin Stretch Mudra of Ultimate Enlightenment'! You condensed the Primordial Qi of the entire mountain into a single session! Truly a master of Seclusion!"
Lin Qi wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "I just needed a good stretch, Master. My back was sore from the cushion."
Princess Lianhua, her eyes burning with an almost religious fervor, bowed low. "Disciple Lin Qi," she said, her voice filled with newfound respect. "Your 'sore back' is our lesson. Your ability to create such a world-shaking phenomenon with a mere casual posture shows your contempt for conventional cultivation. I shall study your 'Mudra of Misfortune' until I understand its depths."
Wu quickly scribbled down the new maxim, his hands shaking with glee and dread:
> "When in doubt, stretch. For even the simplest, most mundane bodily movement can accidentally rearrange the spiritual structure of the entire universe."
>
Lin Qi was immediately showered with luxurious new cushions and declared to be in a period of "continuous deep contemplation," ensuring he had ample opportunities to accidentally create more forbidden arts.