The Art of Qi Observation

That afternoon, at a training ground on the northern outskirts of Nott City.

"Ready?"

Su Xianling stood at the edge of the training ground and lightly tapped the ground with her longbow.

Chu Heng looked at what lay before him, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Are you sure this is what you want me to practice, sis?"

Three sets of targets stood before Chu Heng.

The first set was stationary. The second was mounted on machinery and moved rapidly in different directions.

As for the third... the targets were human-shaped, with several straw figures placed around them to represent civilians.

"What's wrong?"

Su Xianling smiled.

"Think it's too much trouble?"

"No."

Chu Heng shook his head.

"I just think it's a little too easy."

After all, Chu Heng had spent days fighting Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest. He had mastered basics like these long ago.

Su Xianling glanced at him, the corner of her mouth lifting.

"It's not as simple as you think."

Chu Heng fell silent. Wasn't this just target practice? What was so hard about it?

He raised his right hand. Pale blue light appeared, and the next moment, his Martial Soul took the form of a pistol in his hand.

Since he wasn't going to reveal its sniper rifle form, the pistol was the best choice here.

"Go ahead."

Su Xianling wasted no more words and had him begin.

The first set of stationary targets activated.

Chu Heng looked at the ten neatly arranged targets, his expression calm. For someone who had fought in the Soul Hunting Forest, training at this level was nothing.

Bang!

His first shot.

Dead center.

His second shot.

His third.

After several shots, Chu Heng suddenly frowned.

He had noticed a problem. One target had only wobbled slightly after taking a Soul Power bullet. It hadn't fallen.

Chu Heng stopped and looked at it.

Strange.

"Keep going."

Su Xianling urged him on.

Chu Heng raised his gun again. He dismissed the last shot as a fluke, assuming the bullet had landed slightly off-center and struck at the wrong angle.

But his next bullet hit the target squarely, and it still only wobbled slightly, standing firm.

"Is there something wrong with this target?"

Chu Heng looked at Su Xianling. Leaning lazily nearby, she said,

"Try increasing the power."

Chu Heng paused, then understood what she meant.

[Current Soul Power: 131/161]

For each shot so far, Chu Heng had limited the Soul Power cost to five points per bullet. At that rate, he could hit all thirty targets and still have enough left for two extra shots.

At Su Xianling's suggestion, he spent ten points of Soul Power on his next shot. The bullet struck the bullseye, and the target fell.

For the next five targets, Chu Heng again started with five-point bullets. Three of them refused to fall after one hit. Even after he increased the Soul Power spent, one target remained standing. Only when he spent twenty points on a single shot did he finally bring it down.

By the time he finished the ten targets, Chu Heng had used half his Soul Power.

"See the problem?"

Su Xianling walked over to him.

Chu Heng nodded.

"These targets look exactly alike, but their durability varies. I can't tell which is which beforehand."

Su Xianling smiled.

"And?"

Chu Heng fell silent.

Su Xianling continued.

"Will every enemy you face tell you their strength, Soul Power Level, and Martial Soul in advance? A fight between Soul Masters is a contest of information. Your attacks are powerful, and that's an advantage. But if you can't judge how much power to use, that advantage becomes a burden."

Chu Heng considered her words.

Su Xianling pointed to the second set of moving targets.

"There are still two sets left..."

She waved a hand, and the second set sprang into motion, all ten targets moving at once.

Chu Heng took a deep breath and tried to spot the differences between them by eye. But the targets crossed paths so quickly that he soon felt dizzy. He couldn't keep track of which target was which.

Then I'll have to rely on luck.

Chu Heng fired another five-point shot. The very first bullet hit a target that refused to fall.

After repeated attempts, Chu Heng's Soul Power ran out completely. He stood panting in the middle of the training ground, then looked at the remaining targets in the second set and collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Su Xianling walked up to him.

"How was that?"

Chu Heng was silent for a moment.

"Bad luck..."

Su Xianling laughed.

"Bad luck?"

A sly glint flashed in her eyes, though her voice turned serious.

"If you're fighting with a team, your teammates can help you test an enemy's strength. But what if you're alone?"

Chu Heng lowered his head. She was right. He wouldn't always have detailed information on his enemies. If he faced someone strong and his first strike failed, he would lose the initiative. But if he went all out against someone weak, he would waste his strength.

Su Xianling patted his shoulder.

"So next, I'm going to teach you a secret technique of us Agility Attack Soul Masters—Qi Observation."

"Qi Observation?"

Chu Heng asked, puzzled.

What was that?

Seeing his confusion, Su Xianling explained at an unhurried pace.

"Normally, the most direct way to gauge someone's strength is to get close and release your Soul Power to sense theirs. But that has drawbacks. First, it only works on people around your level or weaker. If they're stronger than you, it's hard to gauge their true strength. Second, releasing your Soul Power exposes your presence and can easily put them on guard or provoke hostility."

Su Xianling leaped forward and set the fallen targets upright one by one.

"The technique I'm about to teach you lets you judge an opponent's strength by the energy they give off, without revealing your own presence. Then you can strike with perfect precision while they're completely unaware."

After resetting every target, Su Xianling returned to Chu Heng's side.

"Watch closely!"

Su Xianling closed her eyes, drew her bow, and sent arrows flying. Each one struck its target with precision.

Standing beside her, Chu Heng could sense that every arrow held a different amount of Soul Power—yet each carried exactly enough to knock its target down.

"That's..."

"Well?"

Su Xianling opened her eyes and looked at Chu Heng with a smug smile.

"I want to learn!"

Chu Heng blurted it out.

That evening, Chu Heng sat cross-legged in the meditation room, practicing his meditation method and the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

But not long after he entered a meditative state, a system notification suddenly sounded.

[Ding!]

[New story event detected]

Chu Heng opened his eyes, and a pale blue screen appeared.

[Story Check-In Quest: The Dignity of Work-Study Students]

[Quest Location: Behind the mountain at Nott Junior Soul Master Academy]

[Quest Objective: Take part in the conflict between the Work-Study Students and the academy's noble students, and ensure the Work-Study Students win]

[Quest Start Time: Tomorrow at noon]