Most of Wang Qi's knowledge of the cultivation world came from his adoptive father, Wang Dashan, so he could only gauge his own standing by Wang Dashan's descriptions.
Apart from martial artists who practiced external arts, all cultivators first had to cultivate internal qi.
Thus, cultivation began with the "Qi Refining Realm."
But practitioners of external martial arts might initially struggle to sense qi or lack a method of cultivation, so they began training directly in the "Body Refining Realm."
They then worked from the outside inward to gain a sense of internal qi. This was known as hard qigong.
Whether they practiced internal or external arts, a martial artist's next realm involved transforming internal qi into force to produce inner force. This was the "Force Transformation Realm"... by this point, they already counted as a recognized expert in the martial world.
Next came accumulating inner force and opening the various meridians.
The twelve primary meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians.
This was the "Meridian Opening Realm."
This realm also encompassed the greatest range of strength.
The specifics often depended on one's cultivation method and combat techniques, but broadly speaking, strength could still be distinguished by the number of meridians opened.
Wang Dashan stood at the peak of the "Meridian Opening Realm." More than thirty years of arduous training had opened all his meridians, and all he lacked was that final sliver of opportunity to "enter the Dao."
Yet no one knew what "entering the Dao" meant, or what that opportunity might be.
Wang Qi had only heard Wang Dashan's fantasies, full of "romantic notions," about how it was the realm of ancient qi refiners, how the path of immortality lay within reach, and so on...
Wang Qi treated such things as bedtime stories and nothing more. He had never heard of any true immortals in this world, anyway... though using internal qi to strengthen one's foundations and prolong one's life did seem possible.
As for Wang Qi's own cultivation... since he had skipped the Force Transformation Realm, where internal qi transformed into force, he could provisionally be considered to be wandering around within the Meridian Opening Realm. He had already opened his conception and governing vessels, along with two meridians in his arms whose names he couldn't give... sorry, he really was that ignorant.
It looked as though he had gotten the order wrong... but his experiences cultivating during this period had brought him to an understanding of his own: Why should cultivation have so many rules and restrictions?
The so-called divisions between realms were merely broadly applicable traits summarized by those who came before.
It was like humanity's understanding of the body's meridians... where had the earliest knowledge of meridians come from? Hadn't the pioneers first cultivated to profound realms, then looked back and summarized their findings for later generations?
Wang Qi even felt that he needn't study meridians at all. Many of the body's mysteries would naturally reveal themselves as he cultivated.
He gradually lost his reverence for cultivation, becoming filled instead with confidence and curiosity... what he yearned for most was no longer vengeance for his nation and family, hidden within the secrets of his birth, but an exploration of cultivation's mysteries.
There was no telling what would come of cultivating with such a complete lack of reverence... but at least Wang Qi was happy now.
He followed Zhao Ji all the way to the tent filled with books, unsure why Scribe Zhao had moved this collection into the military camp.
"All right, take your time choosing. You don't have to choose everything at once."
"Commandant Lin gave you the opportunity to learn five skills. There's no time limit on that."
At this, Wang Qi politely cupped his hands and bowed to Scribe Zhao, then began looking through the bamboo slips in his hands...
Tiny, fly-head-sized characters recorded the names and brief descriptions of martial techniques and spells on the bamboo slips. They were arranged without any apparent logic, which made searching rather tiring.
He skimmed ten lines at a glance, then decisively pointed to an inconspicuous column of writing. "This one. It's my first choice."
"All right, let me see..." Zhao Ji narrowed his eyes to look... then turned to Wang Qi, utterly speechless. "Are you sure?"
Wang Qi nodded. "I'm sure."
Scribe Zhao felt the faint beginnings of a headache. Rubbing his temples, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine. The 'Clothing-Cleansing Spell,' then."
At that moment, he recalled the terror of being at the mercy of the Water-Cleansing Spell's spiritual force fluctuations three months earlier...
Then he glanced toward the central command tent... remembering that Lin Chu's nerves were more sensitive to this and that he would certainly suffer even more, he felt reassured.
After obtaining the Clothing-Cleansing Spell he wanted most, Wang Qi continued studying the "cultivation method catalog" and picked out the Water-Repelling Spell... considering that a scout had to brave wind and rain, this was very important.
Next, the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell caught his eye... this was a relatively advanced spell, but it was a skill that aided concealment and infiltration.
Wang Qi recalled Xu Ping's ability to vanish suddenly before his eyes and immediately selected this skill...
Looking at Wang Qi's choices, Zhao Ji felt his headache worsen... the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell was indeed suited to scouts, but it was another spell!
Recalling Wang Qi's relentless intensity when practicing spells, Zhao Ji felt even his brain begin to throb.
He hurriedly said, "All right, that's already three spells. Are you sure you don't want to choose some martial techniques? Isn't your main role an archer? Aren't you building your foundation on martial arts?"
Martial artists could certainly practice some basic spells, but it often took twice the effort for half the result, requiring enormous amounts of energy to succeed.
As Zhao Ji saw it, since Wang Qi had needed nearly ten days of repeated effort just to learn the Water-Cleansing Spell, mastering all these spells would take at least a month... especially since the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell no longer counted as a basic spell.
Wang Qi thought that sounded reasonable, so after briefly scanning the bamboo slips, he said, "All right, then. For the remaining two, I'll choose 'Force-Piercing Arrow' and 'Qi-Gathering Finger.'"
Only upon hearing this did Zhao Ji breathe a sigh of relief.
Force-Piercing Arrow was a technique for gathering force to enhance a shot, making it suitable for Wang Qi.
Qi-Gathering Finger was somewhat more basic, a fundamental finger technique that helped hone finger strength and technique. It also provided considerable support in improving archery.
These two choices were much more normal. Unfortunately, that made only two-fifths of his choices normal...
Zhao Ji copied out all the spells and combat techniques Wang Qi had chosen and handed them to him. He also demonstrated the incantations for the three spells by reciting each once before finally letting Wang Qi leave.
Xu Ping had yet to make further arrangements for his living quarters, so he still had to return to his original camp that night.
With such a bountiful haul this time, it would clearly be another sleepless night.
Upon returning to his original camp, Wang Qi still did not enter the tent. Instead, he took all his personal belongings and stood in the cold wind by a brazier, reading through the night.
Only things he had committed to memory and mastered were truly skills of his own. He needed to absorb these skills as quickly as possible.
And so, that night, Lin Chu, the Great Peng Empire's bandit-suppressing commandant, who had already been sleeping peacefully, suddenly "sat bolt upright from his deathbed." His eyes abruptly reddened, and he opened his mouth in a frenzied roar...
Yet that roar was soundless.
Instead, a fierce wind suddenly rose from the ground, sweeping furiously toward another small, concealed camp outside the recruit camp...
An enraged bellow rang out amid the raging wind: "Xu Ping! Get that brat out of here... right now, this instant! Don't come back for three months!"
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