First Meditation

After learning the essence of cultivation, Zhou Qi saw these manuals and swordsmanship training methods in a different light.

He now clearly understood the purpose of this training, so he would naturally no longer feel lost during the process.

Knowing the essence also meant he could draw on modern National Martial Arts and meditation practices to refine these methods.

But before that, he had to confirm something.

"Master, I'm already twenty-seven this year. Is it still too late for me to train?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Twenty-seven?" Koshiro looked Zhou Qi up and down in surprise. "I thought you were only twenty!"

"Uh, the life we had over there didn't involve much exhausting work, so I guess I look younger?" Zhou Qi thought for a moment before answering.

Although he had screwed bolts in an electronics factory, the plant had air conditioning and he never saw the sun, so he really did not look too haggard.

More importantly, he did not have a girlfriend.

"I see..." Koshiro nodded, his face full of admiration. "I'm very curious about the country you came from. It must be paradise..."

Zhou Qi shook his head. "There's no paradise in this world. Everything we have now was fought for with blades and guns, built brick by brick and tile by tile."

Koshiro nodded. He could not yet understand, but he became even more eager to learn Chinese as quickly as possible. Only by mastering that language could he learn more about that country and more conveniently learn from that great nation.

"You are indeed a little old, but as long as you work hard, you can still achieve something!" Koshiro reassured him. "In this world, there are countless people who only begin training at twenty-three or twenty-four, and quite a few of them still become super powerful!"

You mean the Three Admirals, right?

Aokiji enlisted at twenty-two, Akainu at twenty-four, and Kizaru at twenty-five.

Before that, they had most likely never trained, yet they still became powerhouses capable of suppressing the world.

Perhaps they benefited from their respective Devil Fruits, but that was fine. Wasn't Zhou Qi also seeking a Devil Fruit?

"Then shall we start now?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Come with me!"

In the dojo's main hall, Koshiro introduced the two of them to his other disciples.

Zhou Qi was still somewhat socially anxious, especially since he seemed to be the oldest person here while everyone else was just a bunch of little kids...

Fortunately, the villagers were simple and honest. The children mostly showed admiration and goodwill toward an older kid, without any bratty troublemakers among them.

Afterward, he received a 1.2-meter bamboo sword and began practicing Suburi under Koshiro's guidance.

"You two already have some foundation?" Koshiro asked after watching them demonstrate once.

"Yes. I-I also inherited a sword manual from my family..." Tashigi said. "So I practiced with Qi-kun!"

"Is that so!" Koshiro nodded. "Without anyone to instruct you?"

"Indeed, there was no one!" Tashigi answered.

"I understand!" Koshiro said. "There's nothing wrong with your stances, and you have the momentum behind your swings as well, but your use of strength still has some flaws. Watch my movements!"

He stood sideways before them and first pointed to his waist and abdomen. "Pay attention here!"

Then they saw the muscles at his waist tighten. His sinews and muscles flowed rapidly upward from his waist before finally transferring that power into his arms.

"Buzz!" Though it was clearly a bamboo sword, it slashed out with a fierce killing intent. Zhou Qi had no doubt that in Koshiro's hands, this bamboo sword possessed considerable destructive power!

"A sword swing does not use only the strength of your arms. It also uses your shoulders, chest, waist, abdomen, even your legs and the earth..." Koshiro said softly. "Of course, beginners do not need to achieve everything at once. We can begin with the basics. When you swing, bring in the strength of your shoulders, like this!"

Zhou Qi watched carefully, then followed along methodically. He did not possess a photographic memory, nor did he have the physical talent to perfectly replicate something after seeing it once. If he wanted to grow stronger, he could only learn and try again and again until it became instinctive to his body.

Fortunately, he did not lack that diligence.

After all, every sword swing he made now was for himself, not for capitalists.

Even if he exhausted himself to death here, wasn't that far more meaningful than spending twelve hours on an assembly line screwing bolts?

After half a day, he finally grasped the essentials of a single Suburi swing.

That evening, he and Tashigi began their meditation training again.

The Tidal Meditation Method had no particular requirements for sitting cross-legged, so Zhou Qi used the full lotus posture he commonly used on Earth.

He tried his best to calm his mind, yet the more he tried, the less he could settle down.

He imagined his family's pharmaceutical company growing ever larger, crushing Roche under its fist and stomping Novartis beneath its feet, with AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson having to bow their heads whenever they saw him...

He imagined his factories spreading throughout China, strictly upholding labor laws and driving companies that demanded 996 schedules into a frenzy, helpless to do anything about it. Perhaps one day, a company would issue a statement saying that the rise of Morning Star was the darkest day for Chinese businesses...

He imagined himself with beauties in both arms, a treasured sword on his back, clouds beneath his feet, and the blue heavens above his head.

Riding the wind upon my sword, I came to rid heaven and earth of demons; when it was done, I brushed off my sleeves and left, hiding both my deeds and my name...

"Ding..." A soft chime suddenly drew his attention. When he opened his eyes, he saw Koshiro gently tapping the longsword in his hand with a finger.

Seeing Zhou Qi open his eyes, Koshiro smiled and nodded before closing his own eyes again.

When Zhou Qi closed his eyes again, the sound of the sword's chime continued to ring beside his ears. His heart drifted along with it. Though his thoughts remained chaotic, countless thoughts had become just one—the sound of the sword's chime.

Without realizing it, even that one thought vanished...

"Such incredible comprehension..." Koshiro praised as he watched Zhou Qi's breathing gradually calm.

Tashigi had entered meditation even before Zhou Qi settled down, but the two of them were different.

Tashigi was naturally pure-minded and already had a year of training experience.

But Zhou Qi had begun meditating for the first time only today. The fact that he could enter a meditative state so quickly could only be described as extraordinary talent.

"Perhaps he really can become a great swordsman!!" Koshiro smiled in satisfaction, sheathed his sword, and quietly left the meditation room.

A whole night passed in the blink of an eye.

With the first ray of sunlight, Zhou Qi suddenly opened his eyes.

He felt refreshed and clear-headed, without the usual headache and grogginess he felt after waking.

Even the world before his eyes seemed a little clearer.

"I actually didn't dream..." Zhou Qi put on his glasses and curiously assessed his condition.

Had he become stronger?

He could not feel anything obvious.

But his condition had indeed improved significantly.

He had stayed up too late far too often in the past. Things like his dark circles could not possibly disappear after just one or two days of sleep.

Yet now, he discovered that the dark circles which had remained for years had vanished after only one night.

And the pimples at the upper corner of his right eye, beneath his lip, and on the back of his head had disappeared too.

"Was it really that immediate?" Zhou Qi recalled his state from last night, then grew a little confused. He did not even know whether he had meditated all night or slept all night.

"Damn..."

"Qi-kun, what's wrong?" Tashigi, who had long since awakened, entered carrying a basin of water. Seeing Zhou Qi lying on the floor, she hurried over to help him up.

"My legs are numb..."

"Huh?"

After washing up and eating a One Piece-style breakfast, Zhou Qi felt completely energized, as though he could go slash his sword another three hundred times right away.

But before that, he had to check his phone to see whether anyone had sent him a message.

9:24, from A Linlang Consulting Yan Yun.

"General Manager Zhou, I've gathered information on four pharmaceutical factories that are currently for sale. Please take a look when you have time!"

Four documents were attached below.

"This efficiency..." Zhou Qi rubbed his chin. It was pretty fast!

In five days, she had found four of them. If he had done it himself, he probably would not have found even one within a week.

What he did not know was that Yan Yun could have given him this information on the first day, since the details of those pharmaceutical factories were already in her company's database.

But if she did not wait a few days, how would the client know they were doing work?

That was why she had delayed until today.

"Let me see... Baofeng Pharmaceutical, Junhe Pharmaceutical, Taian Pharmaceutical, Guanghe Biomedical Co., Ltd..."