The instant the thunder rang out, Zhang Xiaohua was happily enjoying the fruits of his labor, methodically drawing in and tempering Qi. His perception remained outside his body, and though the thunderclap came from high in the sky, it struck squarely against that perception which had drawn in the Qi. At once, Zhang Xiaohua felt as though an iron hammer had smashed into his heart. He felt utterly stifled, his throat turned sweet, and blood surged up. Zhang Xiaohua could not help opening his mouth and spitting out a small mouthful of fresh blood. His "Nine Shallow, One Deep" breathing rhythm was immediately broken.
At that moment, the lively Qi outside had originally been pouring into Zhang Xiaohua's body in an orderly fashion. After the thunder passed, the pure Primordial Qi abruptly increased more than tenfold, and this Qi too rushed toward Zhang Xiaohua in a scramble. Though this later Qi was pure, it differed from the Qi Zhang Xiaohua had drawn in earlier. The earlier Qi had been lively, like vigorous children, somewhat mischievous and playful. But the Qi that suddenly appeared was not merely purer; its greatest difference was that it was no longer simply lively, but lively beyond measure—one might even call it violent. Like drunken brutes, or young men with nowhere to vent their energy, it charged chaotically into the midst of the Qi that had lined up to enter Zhang Xiaohua's body.
The addition of this vast, disorderly Qi immediately stirred up the Qi around Zhang Xiaohua. What had just been a babbling brook instantly became towering waves that drowned Zhang Xiaohua in a single sweep! Countless streams of violent Qi swarmed into his pores. Zhang Xiaohua, who had just been lamenting his inability to sense the Qi within his body, now truly felt the