The Essence of Qi

On the seventh day of running up the mountain with stones on his back, the number of stones Goten carried increased from seven to twelve.

His shoulders and back had worn a thick layer of calluses, and the muscle definition in his legs had become even more pronounced.

Yet his changes went beyond his appearance—the flow of primordial energy within him was nearly three times faster than it had been seven days ago.

On the evening of the seventh day, as he finished his final lap, Patriarch Bodhi stood waiting for him at the summit. The setting sun dyed the old man's white hair gold.

"No need to run tomorrow."

Goten panted, bending over with his hands on his knees. "I—I passed?"

"You passed the first stage." Patriarch Bodhi's tone was calm. "Tomorrow—you will learn true Immortal Art."

Goten straightened his back, his eyes shining brilliantly under the sunset.

He had waited seven days—he had finally waited for these words.

But Patriarch Bodhi's next words did not let him get excited immediately. "But before you learn Immortal Art—there is one thing you must clarify first."

"What is it?"

Patriarch Bodhi extended his right hand, palm open—a mass of silvery-white primordial energy condensed in his palm, like a cluster of soft moonlight. "Do you know what this is?"

"Primordial energy."

"What is primordial energy?"

Goten thought for a moment—he realized he could not answer.

He knew what primordial energy could do, and he could feel it flowing within his body—but to explain what it actually was, he could not.

Patriarch Bodhi withdrew the energy and changed the question. "Then—what is the 'ki' from your original world?"

Goten fell silent again.

He had used ki for over a decade—using it to sense enemies, enhance attacks, and release the Kamehameha—but he had never once thought about what ki truly was.

"Can't think of it?"

Goten shook his head honestly.

"Then sit down, and this old man will tell you."

Patriarch Bodhi sat down on a rock at the summit. Goten sat opposite him.

The sunset sank slowly between them, stretching their shadows long and thin.

"The 'ki' from your original world is life energy. Every living creature has it within them. Its essence is the 'will to survive'—if you want to live, your body will generate ki. The stronger the life form, the stronger the ki." Goten nodded—this he could understand.

"And the 'primordial energy' of this world is heaven-and-earth energy. It is not generated from living beings—it exists within the world itself. Its essence is not will—it is 'existence itself'."

Patriarch Bodhi extended his palm again, and the silvery-white energy appeared once more. "A tree does not need to strive to possess primordial energy, because it exists. A stone also has primordial energy, because it is there."

Patriarch Bodhi curled his fingers, and the energy dissipated.

"The two forces within you now—one is the 'power to want to survive,' and the other is the 'power that exists here inherently.' They are not enemies—they are complementary. Your Saiyan ki tells you how to survive—primordial energy tells you what this world is truly like. Combine the two—and you will be able to see what others cannot."

Goten remained silent for a long time.

Then he spoke a sentence—not a question, but his own understanding. "So—I am not replacing Saiyan ki with primordial energy. I am making them work together. Saiyan ki tells me where the enemy is—primordial energy tells me where the path is."

Patriarch Bodhi did not nod, nor did he offer praise.

He simply stood up, turned his back to Goten, and watched the sunset sink into the distant mountains. "Tomorrow—this old man will teach you the first true Immortal Art technique."

Early the next morning, when Goten arrived at the training ground—he saw a massive stone added to the clearing.

The stone was at least a person's height and weighed several thousand pounds, its surface covered in moss, as if it had just been moved from somewhere at the foot of the mountain.

Patriarch Bodhi stood beside the stone, and seeing Goten arrive, he said only one thing: "Lift it up."

Goten walked over, wrapped his arms around the stone, and heaved upward—the stone did not budge.

He frowned and channeled all his strength—pushing off with his feet, engaging his waist—the stone wobbled slightly, but it fell back down before it had even cleared an inch. He set the stone down and caught his breath.

"Use your Saiyan ki," Patriarch Bodhi reminded him.

Goten took a deep breath, and a golden aura flared to life—he grabbed the stone again—this time he lifted it to the height of his knees—but it would go no further. After a few moments of stalemate, he was forced to drop the stone.

"Use primordial energy."

Goten switched to primordial energy—silvery-white light enveloped the stone—the stone wobbled, then slowly floated up a few inches—but Goten's face turned pale, and the veins on his forehead bulged—he held it for less than five breaths before the stone crashed to the ground.

He used Saiyan ki—he couldn't lift it.

He used primordial energy—he couldn't lift it either.

"Do you want to know—how to lift it?"

Goten wiped away his sweat. "Yes."

"Use what I just told you—make them work together."

Goten paused for a moment.

Then, he closed his eyes.

He first sensed the Saiyan ki within him—golden, scorching, and filled with the power of will.

Then he sensed the primordial energy—silvery-white, gentle, flowing through his body like water. He did not merge the two forces, but rather let them run in parallel. A golden aura burned on the surface of his skin, while the silvery-white primordial energy flowed through his meridians.

He opened his eyes and wrapped his hands around the stone, feeling its weight. He then used his Saiyan ki to power his muscles, while enveloping the stone in primordial energy to diminish its gravitational pull toward the earth.

The stone slowly began to rise.

It was not through brute force, nor was it mere levitation by primordial energy—it was the coordination of the two.

The Saiyan ki provided the upward force, while the primordial energy reduced the stone's resistance. It was less than ten feet high, but that was enough.

He hoisted the stone above his head, held it steady for three breaths, and then slowly lowered it back down.

He stood beside the stone, gasping for air, but his eyes were shining. "I did it."

Patriarch Bodhi looked toward the old locust tree, where a single leaf had just fallen from the canopy, carried by the wind into the pond.

He spoke softly—not to Goten, but to the wind itself—"He learns faster than that monkey surnamed Sun."