By evening, the clamor in Cast Iron Alley had begun to fade.
Loa returned to his shabby but familiar little shack and carefully barred the wooden door behind him, shutting out the last trace of daylight. He lit the small oil lamp on the table, its flickering yellow glow barely holding open a small patch of light. He did not rest right away, nor did he even attend to the dull ache in his shoulders and arms-the marks left by the day's thousandfold hammering.
He took the thick paper bag bearing the Hall of Wisdom's emblem from inside his clothes, his movements solemn to the point of reverence. He untied the string. Inside lay the gilt-stamped hardcover volume, General Principles of Battle-qi and Methods of Physical Conditioning (Revised Continental Edition). His fingers brushed over the cold cover and traced the raised gold lettering. Only after taking a deep breath did Loa gently lift it out and place it in the brightest circle of lamplight on the table.
He opened the heavy cover.
After the title page, rather than plunging straight into the subject, there was a preface written in archaic yet grand language:
"The origins of Battle-qi lie so far in the distant past that they cannot be traced. Yet among the multitude of cultivators beneath heaven, some are confined by sectarian prejudice, some hindered by incomplete legacies, and some led astray by perilous paths, squandering their years or even damaging their foundations. How lamentable! Now we have gathered, set aside private prejudices, and pooled our efforts to examine knowledge ancient and modern, correct errors, and revise this work. We seek not profundity or mystery, but firm foundations and a clear road. If we can open a window through which those who follow may glimpse the inner mysteries, that alone shall comfort us for a lifetime."
At the bottom were several names that had long since become renowned throughout the ages, along with the words, "Year XXXX of the Yulan Calendar, atop the Hall of Wisdom." This preface alone, with its breadth of vision and spirit reaching across time and space in an attempt to clarify the path for all cultivators, stirred Loa's heart. This was nothing like scattered notes or street rumors.
He steadied himself, turned past the preface, and properly began the first chapter, "General Outline and an Initial Exploration of the Essence." It opened by directly explaining the central understanding of the relationship between Battle-qi and warriors:
"...Battle-qi resides in the dantian, lies within flesh and blood, and manifests through sinew and bone. At its birth, it is faint as morning mist; as it grows, it becomes a stream. For low-ranking warriors-specifically ranks one through three-the presence or absence of Battle-qi is not the deciding factor between life and death. A tempered body, strong sinews and bones, swift reactions, and abundant strength can all be attained from without to within through hard work alone. Thus, before rank three, even those without Battle-qi may establish themselves through courage and ferocity."
Loa nodded slightly as he read. This explained his earlier confusion. Back in Wushan Town, Hillman had mostly taught methods for conditioning the body and honing technique, mentioning "Qi" only in very vague terms. The Weapon Combat Battle-qi Loa had discovered through his own insights combined with methods from his previous life had truly been an accident.
As he read on, the tone shifted:
"From rank four onward, however, physical conditioning gradually approaches its limits. Without great perseverance, great fortune, or innate gifts beyond ordinary people, even the smallest progress becomes difficult. Only then does the nourishment of Battle-qi reveal its importance. Qi unites with the body, and the body grows stronger with Qi; each complements the other in an unending cycle. For a body without the nourishment of Battle-qi, breaking through the barrier of rank four is as difficult as splitting a mountain with bare hands; fewer than one in a hundred succeed. Even should an exceptionally gifted individual break through by chance, the road ahead will grow ever more perilous and narrow, beyond what human effort alone can consistently sustain." Simply put, anyone without talent was finished if they did not cultivate Battle-qi.
Loa's gaze sharpened. This was the dividing line. The book explicitly stated that from rank four onward, Battle-qi was no longer an added advantage, but an indispensable "source of nourishment." He recalled Hillman vaguely mentioning that some fierce soldiers who had risen through physical training alone could no longer advance beyond a certain stage if they lacked the military merits needed to exchange for a Battle Qi Manual. They often stopped at the level of mid-ranking officers. So this was the root of it.
"At rank five, Battle-qi can be attached to weapons and spread in a thin layer over the body. When covering the body, it is known as a 'Battle-qi Gauze Robe'; when attached to a weapon, it grants unmatched sharpness. Upon reaching rank seven, Battle-qi within the dantian condenses from mist into liquid droplets, undergoing a sudden qualitative change and multiplying in power. Only then can Battle-qi be projected outward as sword Qi, Sword Ray, saber Qi, and the like. This greatly expands one's means of attack and defense, and provides a foundation for contending with and resisting the unpredictable spells of mages."
Reading the description of the Rank 7 Warrior, Loa could not help feeling a sense of yearning. Projecting Battle-qi outward, Sword Ray, sword Qi—that was the true transcendence belonging to warriors, a form of power capable of standing on equal footing with Magic.
The next few supplementary lines, however, made the corner of Loa's mouth twitch:
"(Additional note: muscles are the foundation of strength, and sinews and bones the vessel that bears it. A true warrior should take pride in tempering the body. Mages and their ilk, frail of body and reliant on external aids and clever tricks, ultimately do not follow the proper path. A man should stand tall beneath heaven and prove his path through strength! This is our shared conviction, expressly noted here to set the record straight.)
"These authors..." Loa shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Even while revising a book of general principles, they couldn't forget to discriminate against other cultivation paths." Even so, through this somewhat extreme annotation, he could sense the pure, powerful convictions of those Saint Warriors. There was even something endearing about their roughness.
Skipping past this little interlude, he turned to the most essential section-the complete diagram of the body's meridians and the fundamental principles of circulating Battle-qi.
The diagrams were exquisitely detailed, using cutaway views to clearly display the paths of the body's major meridians: the twelve primary meridians were like the main courses of rivers, the eight extraordinary meridians like connecting lakes, and the remaining fine branches like a network of streams, densely woven yet perfectly ordered.
The annotation beside them read:
"The body's meridians are naturally open, serving as channels through which Qi travels. This is the foundation of nature's creation and the secret of humanity's place as the most spiritually gifted of all beings. Battle-qi must follow these paths; there is no way around them. Because the characteristics of Battle-qi of different attributes vary greatly, each favors different meridians through which to flow and provide nourishment. This is the source of the differing circulation routes among the various elemental Battle-qi methods."
"Fire Element Battle-qi is fierce and swift, mostly traveling through forceful, vigorous channels. It commonly appears crimson or orange-yellow and possesses great explosive power; Water Element Battle-qi is enduring and supple, adept at following gentle, nourishing channels. It is usually blue or cyan, with lasting endurance; Earth Element Battle-qi is heavy and stable, favoring deep, broad channels. It is commonly ocher or brown and provides significant benefits to the body's foundation..."
Loa's gaze lingered on the descriptions of "color" for a moment, and he instinctively looked inward at his dantian. His own mass of warm Qi seemed to have no particular color. It was more like a formless yet substantial energy. No attribute? Or... some quality that has yet to manifest? He shook his head, setting the question aside for now.
The book particularly emphasized the rarity and difficulty of multi-attribute Battle-qi:
"...Battle-qi possessing two or more attributes is invariably the product of fortunate coincidence or extraordinary genius, and all such cultivation methods belong to the highest tier of secret legacies. For conflicting attributes, such as water and fire, to coexist within one body is as difficult as ascending to heaven. It cannot be achieved without great wisdom, great perseverance, and great fortune. Yet once successful, its power is often strange and unpredictable, far surpassing that of one's peers."
Without his noticing, the oil in the lamp had dropped a little. Loa finally finished a rough reading of the book's core sections. He closed it, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long, slow breath. It felt as though that breath expelled years of confusion, the apprehension of fumbling his way forward, and his faint unease about the road ahead.
Outside the window, the night had grown thick as ink, and all was silent.
He closed his eyes, and the detailed diagram of the body's meridians appeared clearly in his mind. Without further hesitation, he sat upright again, palms, soles, and crown facing upward. Following the most basic and balanced Great Circulation route shown in the diagrams, he tried to use his will to guide the Weapon Combat Battle-qi in his dantian, which had grown accustomed to circulating slowly on its own.
At first, it was somewhat sluggish. The current of Qi seemed to possess its own inertia, unwilling to obey him completely. Loa focused, slowly pushing it with powerful intent.
It moved.
Like a stream slowly awakening after winter hibernation, the Weapon Combat Battle-qi began flowing along its designated route. It departed from the dantian, passed through the perineum, traveled upward along the spine through the Governing Vessel to the Baihui point at the crown, then descended along the front through the Conception Vessel and returned to the dantian. One complete circuit constituted one circulation.
The first circulation was very slow. Loa concentrated fully, sensing the subtle sensations as the Qi passed through different parts of his body: when it moved through his arms, it faintly echoed the exertion of his usual sword practice and hammer swings; when it flowed through his legs, it stirred memories of swift movement, dodging, and leaping. This current of Qi seemed to carry the "imprints" of all his past training.
During the second circulation, its speed increased slightly, and its movement became a little smoother.
The third circulation...
Loa became completely immersed in this wondrous process of guidance and perception. He could "see" that as the Qi circulated, the tiny hidden injuries accumulated during his daily forging and battles, along with the fatigue in his muscles and fascia, seemed to be slowly washed over and soothed by its warmth. More than that, he could feel that with every completed circulation, the Qi returning to his dantian seemed a little more condensed and a little more "obedient."
Ten circulations... twenty circulations...
Time lost its meaning. Even the lamplight seemed to steady, illuminating only his face, calm as still water.
As the thirtieth circulation neared completion, Loa felt an intense wave of fatigue rise from the depths of his soul. It was not physical exhaustion, but the depletion that came from prolonged, intense concentration and precise control of his circulating Battle-qi. He knew this was his current limit.
He slowly drew his intent inward, guiding the Qi through its final circulation and steadily back into his dantian.
At the very instant the Qi sank fully into his dantian-
"Hum!"
Within his mind, there seemed to be a barrier as thin as a cicada's wing yet incomparably tough. The more condensed, more active current of Qi touched it lightly, and it silently shattered!
There was no earthshaking sound, no dazzling blaze of light.
Only an indescribable sense of "unimpeded flow" swept through his entire body in an instant!
It was as though a long-blocked river channel had suddenly opened, as though parched earth had welcomed sweet rain. Within his dantian, the mass of Weapon Combat Battle-qi had not ballooned in size, but its "quality" had changed noticeably. It was more concentrated, more substantial, and flowed with greater vitality and resilience. The faint feeling of fullness had vanished, replaced by a sense of boundless potential-the capacity to hold more and circulate faster.
Throughout his limbs and body, countless tiny channels seemed to be widened and reinforced by this newborn power. Faint but distinct waves of tingling warmth came from his muscles, bones, and fascia, as though they were plants meeting rain after a long drought, greedily absorbing this pure nourishment.
Loa opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them and vanished, leaving them calm once more, yet deeper and brighter than before.
He clenched his fists, easily squeezing faint pops from the air between his fingers. With a slight stir of thought, a strand of Qi far more condensed and swift than before surged from his dantian, traveled along his arm, and reached his fingertips. The entire process was more than several times smoother!
A rank-four warrior.
It had come naturally.
There was no wild joy, only the grounded clarity of someone who, after a long journey, could finally see the road beneath his feet and the mountains in the distance.
The road ahead was still long. Rank six, rank seven, rank eight... and even the distant, unreachable Saint rank. But at least now, he held a map in his hands and stood on a solid roadbed.
He looked at the thick volume on the table, lamplight dancing across its gilt title.
Through the gap in the window came the faint, distant chirping of the summer night's last insects.
A new day was about to begin.
Before you continue