The Way of Thunder

Hagrid leaned over, looked at the glass bottles lined up on the stove, then looked at Gerald.

"Little Green, what potion is this?"

Gerald picked up a bottle of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid and held it out to Hagrid.

"Mr. Hagrid, this bottle is for you. Give it a try."

The glass bottle took Gerald's whole hand to hold, but in Hagrid's hands it looked like a tiny medicine vial, pinched carefully between two thick fingers.

Hagrid looked down at the dark green liquid inside. Without hesitation, he unscrewed the cap and downed it in one gulp.

"How does it feel?"

Hagrid smacked his lips.

"A bit sweet."

A few breaths later, his expression changed.

His eyes, which had held a simple, good-natured smile, suddenly widened.

He felt a warm current coursing through his body, leaving him indescribably comfortable.

"Little Green, I've got to say, this potion of yours is really good!"

He let out a long breath, looking much more energetic.

Gerald breathed a sigh of relief.

Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid was a first-tier spiritual liquid with gentle medicinal properties, a general-purpose spiritual medicine for strengthening the foundation and cultivating the origin.

Although Hagrid was a half-giant, his physiology was similar to a human's, so the Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid worked on him too.

Gerald took out two more bottles of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid and placed them on Hagrid's wooden table.

"These are to thank you. After all, I used your stove and your place, and troubled you to spend so long helping me look for rats."

"What are you saying, little fellow? I couldn't take your things!"

"Mr. Hagrid, please accept them. I might need to borrow your place again someday. I'd feel terrible if you refused."

"All right, then. If I see any of those herbs in the future, I'll pick them for you."

"No, no need." Gerald quickly waved his hands.

It wasn't that he didn't want Hagrid's help, but each of those spirit herbs required a particular harvesting technique.

The wrong technique would cause a severe loss of medicinal potency.

That would only waste precious resources.

After Gerald explained, Hagrid nodded.

"Then I'll note down the locations for you."

What a good man.

Gerald couldn't help thinking that to himself.

After leaving Hagrid's Hut, Gerald went to the place where he had swallowed the Moonlight Fern last time and took out the bottle of Three-Yang Water.

In the twilight, the spiritual liquid in the glass bottle gleamed a deep azure, as though the sky had been condensed into that tiny bottle.

Gerald pulled out the cork and drank it all.

The moment the spiritual liquid entered his mouth, an icy sensation slid down his throat into his stomach.

Then a surge of heat suddenly rose in his dantian.

Gerald was ready. He immediately steadied his mind and began circulating the Divine Firmament Five-Elements Heavenly Thunder Art.

The heat split into countless tiny streams of energy, rushing through his meridians toward every part of his body.

Waves of swelling pain spread through his meridians, as though someone were forcing too much water into a pipe.

Gerald gritted his teeth and guided those streams of energy through his meridians, completing one circuit, then two, then three...

With each circuit, his meridians widened a little, and the swelling pain eased a fraction.

Time ticked by.

The sky gradually darkened.

Sweat seeped from his forehead and back, soaking his school robes.

But he felt no cold, because the heat inside him was so intense that it seemed a fire was burning within.

After an unknown length of time, Gerald opened his eyes.

He glanced at the panel.

[Cultivation] Chain-Form Essence Refinement, ninth level (159/1800)

The ninth level of chain-form essence refinement.

He was only one final step away from refining essence into qi.

Once he reached that stage, he could use the five-element qi contained in the body's five organs as fire and his dantian as a furnace, transform the body's five-element qi, nurture the five thunders from the five qi in his chest, and cultivate the way of thunder.

He would truly transcend the mundane.

The mere thought made Gerald's heart surge with excitement.

But he quickly suppressed that feeling.

Gerald looked at the Seven-Star Dew in his cloth bag.

The spiritual liquid refined from a third-tier spiritual herb would have twice the medicinal potency of the Three-Yang Water.

In the end, however, Gerald abandoned the idea of taking it now.

Having just broken through to the ninth level, his meridians had indeed widened considerably. But they were like an irrigation channel with a newly diverted course whose banks had yet to settle. Sending a flood through it now would be unwise.

He needed to spend some time consolidating his cultivation and allowing his body to adjust to the strength of the ninth level before attempting to reach refining essence into qi.

Besides, there was a major hurdle between the ninth level of chain-form essence refinement and refining essence into qi. He couldn't cross it simply by gulping down spiritual medicines.

The key to that hurdle lay in "transformation": how to convert the vital essence accumulated in his body into qi.

That required time and patience.

It couldn't be rushed.

Gerald stood up and brushed the dust off his robes.

His school robes were soaked with sweat and clung uncomfortably to his body.

He needed to return to his dormitory to change, then head to the Great Hall for dinner.

When he emerged from the abandoned corridor, his steps were much lighter than they had been yesterday.

After his breakthrough to the ninth level, his body had changed in every respect.

Strength, speed, reflexes, perception... every aspect had improved noticeably.

As Gerald walked down the corridor, his mind was on something else.

He didn't intend to use the eight bottles of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid refined from the Ironwire Vine himself.

After eating Ironwire Vine for so many years, he had long since developed a resistance to it. Even refining it into spiritual liquid wouldn't help; its effects would still be greatly diminished.

Keeping eight bottles of Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid would only be a waste.

He might as well sell them.

Gerald remembered that some potions fetched quite a high price in the wizarding world.

Although he couldn't brew advanced potions yet, Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid was probably a rarity in the wizarding world.

As far as he knew, nourishing potions seemed pitifully scarce here.

Madam Pomfrey had Pain-Relief Potion, Skele-Gro, Pepperup Potion, and even specialized medicines for treating scabies and dragon pox.

But he had never seen a single potion in the original story that could be taken daily to strengthen the body.

Perhaps wizards relied too heavily on the power of magic and paid less attention to their physical foundations.

What was more, Foundation-Stabilizing Liquid had another rather special effect.

It strengthened the foundation and cultivated the origin, nourishing yin and supporting the kidneys.

As for using this

for aging wizards, the appeal was obvious.

This business could work.

But where should he sell it?

Gerald thought as he walked.

Soon, he thought of the perfect place.

The Hog's Head.

The owner of the Hog's Head was Dumbledore's younger brother, Aberforth, who also took part in some black-market dealings on the side.

All sorts of people gathered there, making it the perfect cover for shady transactions. Many black-market deals were arranged in that seemingly ordinary little pub.

For example, in the original story, Hagrid had won a Norwegian Ridgeback egg in a card game there, though that had actually been a trap set by Professor Quirrell.

But transactions like that did happen.

Gerald glanced at the darkening sky, swung his cloth bag over his shoulder, and followed the path across the lawn toward the castle.

I'll give it a try tomorrow. Right now, getting back for a shower and a meal matters more.

By the time Gerald returned to Gryffindor Tower, the common room was already bustling.

Several armchairs and sofas were packed with people, some playing wizard's chess, others chatting.

Fred and George each held a deck of Exploding Snap cards and were playing a game Gerald couldn't make sense of.

Lee Jordan sat on the arm of a sofa, eating a Chocolate Frog as he watched them play.

"Gerald, where have you been? We haven't seen you all afternoon." Fred was the first to spot him.

"The library."

"You actually went?"

Fred and George exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.

"You're the least Gryffindor-like Gryffindor I've ever met."