Turtle School Qigong? This is Palm Thunder

The sun cast its final rays as the veil of night slowly descended.

Though Bulma was less than thrilled about camping in the wild, she knew the road ahead was long. She found a dry, wind-sheltered spot on the riverbank and took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule.

With a soft pop and a puff of white smoke, a fully equipped camping tent appeared out of thin air, complete with a soft bed and a coffee table inside.

Bulma pouted as she crawled in, not forgetting to call back to Lin Fan, "Hey, you're in charge of keeping watch! Out here in the middle of nowhere, if any wild beasts show up, I'm counting on your 'rudimentary skills' to save me!"

Despite her words, she quietly fastened a uniquely designed wrist-mounted weapon to her arm, clearly not relying entirely on Lin Fan.

Lin Fan merely smiled, unbothered, and went to the riverbank to splash some water on his face.

The river water was bone-chillingly cold, yet it left him feeling invigorated.

He didn't use the tent Bulma provided, instead finding a smooth boulder nearby to sit cross-legged upon.

The surrounding wilderness grew quiet, save for the gentle murmur of the flowing water and the chirping of insects. From deep within the distant mountains, the occasional howl of an unknown beast echoed, long and desolate.

Lin Fan closed his eyes, casting aside all distractions. He focused his mind on his dantian, slowly circulating that sliver of true energy that had grown slightly stronger, following the supreme method recorded in the Great Dao Source Scripture.

The faint essence derived from the food he had eaten during the day, combined with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth constantly flowing into his body, was stirred and refined by that current, like streams merging into a deep pool.

In cultivation, one loses track of time, especially in a world where the spiritual energy, though thin, was far purer than the urban environment of his past life.

Lin Fan's mind settled into a state of profound stillness, forgetting both himself and the world. He felt the current of energy within him becoming increasingly lively and agile, its speed through his meridians gradually accelerating, bringing with it a growing sensation of warmth.

Hours passed until the moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery frost of light across the riverbank.

Suddenly, Lin Fan's body gave a slight tremor.

Within his dantian, the previously erratic and faint current of energy, after countless cycles, suddenly condensed. Though still weak, it now possessed a sense of substance, no longer appearing like mist or illusion.

As it circulated, it carried the faint sound of wind and thunder—not echoing in the outside world, but a mysterious resonance occurring within his meridians and acupoints.

Early Stage of Qi Refining!

The Great Dao Source Scripture stated: When the sensation of Qi arises naturally, circulating through the body and condensing without dissipating, it is the Early Stage of Qi Refining.

An indescribable, surging power—though subtle, yet undeniably real—poured from his dantian and flowed through his limbs and bones.

The fatigue from the day's travel and the dull ache of old injuries were washed away in an instant. His entire body felt comfortable, and his senses were sharper than ever before.

He could even clearly "see" (not with his eyes, but with his spiritual perception) his pores opening and closing, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which was now accelerating under the pull of his internal energy.

Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes. A clear light flickered within them, shining brightly in the dark night before slowly fading away.

He spread his palm, feeling the newly born true energy that obeyed his every command, and his heart surged with emotion.

From this moment on, he had truly taken the first solid step in this dangerous, alien world.

With a thought, he attempted to force that sliver of weak true energy out through the Laogong acupoint in his palm.

At first, it was extremely sluggish. The true energy moved freely within his body, but trying to force it out felt like sinking into a quagmire.

He focused his mind, trying repeatedly until fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Finally, a faint, almost imperceptible white glow flashed across his palm and vanished, as if it were a mere illusion.

But immediately after, another sliver of white light struggled to life. Though as dim as a firefly, it burned stubbornly, accompanied by a faint "crackle" like winter static, flickering an inch above his palm.

Success!

Although he could only project the true energy an inch from his skin—lacking range and any real power—this was genuine energy projection!

The tent flap was suddenly pushed aside. Bulma poked her head out, bleary-eyed, rubbing her eyes as she complained, "What's that noise? Crackling and popping, won't let a person sleep..."

Before she could finish, her gaze fell upon the faint, flickering white light in Lin Fan's palm. Her sleepiness vanished instantly, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? What is that in your hand? A glow stick?"

Seeing her startled, Lin Fan felt amused and dispersed the true energy, causing the light and the crackling sound to vanish. He feigned indifference and said, "It is no glow stick. While meditating just now, I had a moment of insight, causing my internal vital energy to manifest as a thunder in my palm. My apologies for disturbing you."

He casually borrowed a term from the Taoist arts of his past life, labeling it "Palm Thunder."

"Vital energy? Palm Thunder?"

Bulma's curiosity was piqued to its peak. She scrambled out of the tent, ran to Lin Fan's side, crouched down, and stared wide-eyed at his empty palm. "For real? Do it again, let me see! Just once!"

Lin Fan had no choice but to focus his mind again, slowly driving that meager sliver of Early Stage Qi Refining energy.

The white light reappeared, and though the crackling was soft, it was clearly audible in the silent night.

"Wow!" Bulma let out a low cry, her face filled with the excitement of seeing a new toy.

She suddenly raised her wrist and tapped a few times on the uniquely designed wrist-mounted instrument.

A pale blue beam shot from the device, scanning the faint white glow in Lin Fan's palm.

Data flashed rapidly across the instrument's screen. As Bulma watched, her delicate brows gradually furrowed. The excitement on her face faded, replaced by a scientist's scrutiny and...

A hint of undisguised disappointment.

"The energy reaction is very peculiar. The frequency fluctuation is completely different from ordinary bio-electricity or any known energy source. The structure... hmm, it's very dense, with an indescribable sense of order."

She muttered to herself, then looked up at Lin Fan and curled her lip. "But the energy level is way too low. The reading is pitifully small; it would struggle to light up a lightbulb, let alone have any lethality. This 'Palm Thunder' of yours... I doubt it could even stun a rabbit. Pfft..."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh. The sense of mystery vanished instantly, and she felt that whatever this wild man was tinkering with was just some impractical "ancient" nonsense.

Lin Fan heard her, but there was no anger on his face, and his heart remained calm.

He knew full well that the power of this newly formed true energy, if projected, was likely inferior to a toy stun gun. It was only natural for a genius scientist like Bulma, who was accustomed to high-energy weaponry, to mock it.

He dispersed the white radiance in his palm, his expression as indifferent as before, as if he hadn't been the one mocked just moments ago. He only said slowly, "All things in heaven and earth begin from the infinitesimal; the Great Dao ultimately returns to simplicity. Though this Palm Thunder is weak today, one day, I will surely make it powerful."

Having said this, he offered no further explanation, closed his eyes once more, and resumed his meditation to stabilize this newly attained early stage of Qi Refining.

Bulma, seeing him like this, felt it was dull. She let out another yawn and muttered, "So cryptic..."

She then crawled back into the tent to continue sleeping, treating the whole thing as nothing more than an insignificant midnight interlude.

The riverbank returned to silence.

Deep in meditation, Lin Fan looked inward at the strand of genuine Qi existing within his Dantian, his mind calm and peaceful.

Though the thunder in his palm was weak, he had already glimpsed the beginning of the Great Dao.