6 Names (1/2)

Flames flooded the study, crashing in waves against the walls. Tears formed in my burning eyes, and I cried out in pain and fear. Father jumped out of his chair, knocking it over, and ran to me.

A tidal wave of fire built as he moved. It washed over me, and I thought I would be incinerated. But I felt nothing. I just felt drained, and the qi stopped flowing into my eyes.

I shut them and feebly wiped away my tears. When I opened my eyes again, I couldn't see any flames. Just father's concerned face looking over me.

He stroked my head and looked me over but seemed to find nothing wrong. A frown of confusion crossed his brow.

”Stephanie!” he called out.

Mother came crashing in. He stepped back and spoke to her, as if explaining what had happened. She took a brief look, then picked me up and laughed.

She sounded amused when she replied to him, and he looked sheepish. She put me back to bed, and with one last quip she left the room. Father gave me a stern gaze and sat back behind his desk.

What where those raging flames? Was that father's qi? It seemed to be the best explanation. He must have been incredibly strong for that to happen.

Was he stronger than Sirius? No, Sirius's aura was condensed, but it seemed more potent. Perhaps father just couldn't control his qi.

I didn't know the answer for now, but I did know two new facts. Father was a cultivator of some strength, so I could be hopeful for my future. As well as this, my mother's name was probably Stephanie.

Bringing my focus back to my body, I found that my qi wasn't leaking as much. When I checked my soul, I could barely feel any qi. Seeing father's aura had drained me.

I scolded myself internally. In my hurry to learn more, I had exhausted myself yet again. For now, I couldn't make any progress with the Soul Becoming World Technique.

Light meditation seemed to boost my qi recovery, so I centred my mind and began to slowly explore my body. I went back and forth between my soul and my eyes, opening many parallel channels.

I meditated until the next morning. Even though I meditated longer than last time, I didn't have a breakthrough. At least the drops of qi had increased in frequency, and I had recovered.

I didn't seem to need sleep if I kept up this process. I felt wide awake and full of energy. Mother brought me to father's study in the morning.

This must have been so that he could keep an eye on my cultivation. It was probably strange for a two-week-old infant to be achieving breakthrough.

He had a visitor this morning. I recognised the long moustache and goatee from across the room. It was the same man who had visited me two days ago.