Qi Induction Breaks the Barrier

At Azure Cloud Academy, the bell rang on time to end the day's lessons.

To its long, lingering peal, the boys in the Outer Gate lecture hall poured out like a tide. Some laughed and tussled; others hurried home to work the fields.

Chu Bai remained seated on his Meditation Cushion.

He slipped a hand inside his robe and gently pressed the cloth pouch through the coarse fabric.

It held his entire family's blood and sweat. It was also the brick with which he would knock on the gate to immortality.

When almost everyone had left, Chu Bai rose, straightened his clothes, and walked against the flow toward the lectern.

"Master."

Tutor Liu was about to gather his lesson notes and leave. He paused and looked up at Chu Bai. His gaze lingered on the boy's taut face for a moment, as though he had expected this.

"Made up your mind?"

"I have." Chu Bai's voice was quiet, but it carried steely resolve. "I've gathered the tuition. Please recommend me, Master."

Approval flickered in Tutor Liu's eyes. He nodded. "If your resolve is firm, come with me."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Tutor Liu led Chu Bai not out through the academy gates, but toward a stone door behind the lecture hall that was usually kept shut.

Passing through it was like entering another world.

The clamor outside vanished at once. Before him lay a quiet, elegant garden. Water murmured around ornamental rocks, several ancient trees of unknown kind towered overhead, and a refreshing fragrance seemed to fill the air.

Chu Bai drew a deep breath and felt his spirits lift.

Even the air here seemed fresher than outside.

"The academy has an Inner Gate and an Outer Gate. The Outer Gate costs three hundred and sixty-five copper coins a year. That is the court's gift to poor families across the realm, and it teaches reading and the principles of conduct."

Tutor Liu spoke calmly as they walked. "The Inner Gate, on the other hand, teaches the true path to advancement."

As he spoke, they arrived before a small courtyard called Stillheart Hall.

Inside, a middle-aged Daoist in a blue-green robe sat cross-legged beneath a tree, his eyes closed in repose.

On the small table beside him, a cup of tea sent up slender wisps of steam.

The Daoist looked ordinary, but one glance was enough to make Chu Bai's heart tighten.

As he breathed, the rise and fall of his chest and belly was almost imperceptible. His breath was astonishingly long and steady, as though he had become one with his surroundings.

"This is Daoist Zhang. He trained at the county's Dao Academy and is employed by our academy as an instructor, guiding the Inner Gate disciples." Tutor Liu bowed slightly as he introduced him.

Chu Bai did not dare be discourteous. He hurried forward two steps and bowed. "Student Chu Bai greets Master Zhang."

Daoist Zhang slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was warm as jade, yet seemed able to see straight into a person's heart. He looked Chu Bai over and gave a slight nod. "Your Root Bone is decent, and you can endure hardship."

Chu Bai straightened and solemnly took the patched cloth pouch from inside his robe, presenting it with both hands.

"This is my tuition."

Daoist Zhang's expression remained calm. He took the pouch without even opening it to count the contents and set it on the small table.

"Now that you've entered his tutelage, a bond has been formed." Tutor Liu offered a timely reminder from the side. "Chu Bai, if you are fortunate enough to pass the examinations and gain an official title one day, do not forget Master Zhang's teaching."

"I will remember. I would never dare forget." Chu Bai bowed again.

With the simple ceremony of becoming a disciple complete, Tutor Liu took his leave.

Daoist Zhang pointed to several Meditation Cushions in the courtyard, motioning for Chu Bai to sit. Then he said:

"There aren't many rules to my Inner-Door Instruction. Each day after Outer Gate lessons end, you may come here to practice for one hour. I'll teach you the mental method and offer guidance. How much you grasp will depend entirely on you."

As he spoke, Daoist Zhang swept his gaze across the courtyard.

Only then did Chu Bai notice he was not the only student in Stillheart Hall. Three other boys already sat cross-legged on the far side of the tree's shade.

One wore fine clothes and a jade pendant at his waist. Another had a stern expression and wore plain clothes laundered to immaculate cleanliness. The last had a quick-witted look and was studying Chu Bai with curiosity.

"The Inner Gate accepts only those with both talent and sound character," Daoist Zhang said evenly. "You have all trained the Minor Qi Gathering Technique to its bottleneck and were willing to pay this price to study. I trust you're prepared for hardship."

Chu Bai nodded silently, found an empty Meditation Cushion, and sat cross-legged.

"Enough idle talk."

Daoist Zhang's expression turned grave, and the warmth about him gave way to a sudden sharpness.

"The Minor Qi Gathering Technique has two aspects: movement and stillness. The breathing method taught in the Outer Gate is the movement practice, used chiefly to temper the body. What I'll teach you today is the stillness method—the Qi Induction Art."

"Qi is the essence of heaven and earth. To draw qi into the body, you must first open the mystic gate and focus your intent on the dantian..."

As Daoist Zhang recited the formula line by line, the passages Chu Bai had found obscure suddenly became clear.

The Qi Induction formula was like a key sliding precisely toward the tightly shut door within him.

"Form the hand seal, still your mind and breath, and follow my guidance!"

Chu Bai dared not let a single stray thought intrude. He immediately followed Daoist Zhang's instructions, forming an unfamiliar seal with his hands as his breathing changed rhythm.

This time, the sensation was entirely different.

If his old breathing practice had been like turning an empty millstone, now there was finally grain beneath it.

As he circulated the mental method, Chu Bai gradually entered a mysterious state. In a daze, he sensed that the air around him was not empty at all. Countless minute specks of light floated within it.

That was... spiritual qi!

Drawn by the formula, a faint thread of coolness slipped through his pores and entered his body. It was no thicker than a strand of hair, yet it brought a comfort that washed through him.

The coolness traveled slowly along his meridians before gathering in the Dantian Qi Sea.

Hum—

An inaudible hum seemed to explode inside his mind.

This was what it felt like to sense qi!

Chu Bai's heart shook. The thrill of finally touching the threshold of the extraordinary nearly broke his concentration, but he gritted his teeth, steadied his mind, and hungrily seized that hard-won spiritual qi.

He did not know how long passed.

When Chu Bai slowly opened his eyes, he felt refreshed, his hearing keener and his sight sharper. Even the fallen leaves in the courtyard looked clearer.

Was this the difference between mortal and immortal?

On instinct, he willed the panel to appear.

The information on the pale-blue screen had undergone a transformation that turned heaven and earth upside down:

[Name: Chu Bai]

[Acquired Fate Pattern: Relentless Toil, Relentless Effort]

[Skills:]

[Minor Qi Gathering Technique: Proficient (1/200)]

The panel's old declaration that he had reached the limit had finally vanished without a trace.

In its place was a new progress bar.

Chu Bai let out a long breath of stale air. He could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising.

The path was open.

Without the technique's limit holding him back, his Fate Destiny would carry him through every future breakthrough without another bottleneck!