45 Training (2/2)

With this high a capacity, I no longer needed to use my soul's qi to form a whip. I could continually practice Soul Expansion without ever needing to refill my soul.

I spent the night alternating between Mingmen breathing, and what I now called Qi Gong. Every hour and a half, I would expend all my collected energy.

Unfortunately, I hadn't spent enough time meditating that night. I groggily joined father, trying to push through the exhaustion.

Father noticed that I seemed out of it and reminded me of an important lesson I had learnt in my past life. Training without rest was lost time, as you couldn't consolidate your progress

Keeping that in mind, after breakfast I meditated for a few hours without practicing Qi Gong. My qi overflowed, but I paid it no heed, knowing that rest was the most important thing.

Rejuvenated, I got back to training. By the end of the day, I could perform a competent twist. But as night fell, I was worried about what to do with my overflowing qi.

I asked Father, but he didn't have a solution. After all, he wasted an overwhelming amount of qi in his relaxed state. I returned to my room, and after further consideration, I had an idea.

What if I could maintain an aura of qi by using the Qi Manifestation technique? I excitedly tried it but ran into serious issues from the beginning.

Meditation and Qi Manifestation required two polar-opposite mental states. There was no happy in-between, as neither technique functioned without fully entering a peaceful or agitated state.

Dejected, I settled on losing qi. At least the lengthy periods of Mingmen breathing allowed me to deepen my understanding and boost my recovery rate.

On the fifth morning, Father came to me with a new idea. He told me about crystals that could be injected with qi as a temporary storage. These crystals acted like battery packs and could be used during a fight.

Unfortunately, high-quality crystals that could withstand repeated cycles of storage and withdrawal cost a pretty penny. Father said he could ask Adrian where to get one, but I told him not to.

As much as I wanted to optimise my cultivation, I didn't want to financially burden my family. I had already put them in a dire state when I broke my soul, and asking for more was inconsiderate.

That day I practiced shooting. Having already succeeded before, the problem wasn't getting started, but speeding up the process.

It took time to summon the emotional intensity required to rapidly move my qi. So, instead of thoughtlessly shooting qi, I honed my mind.

I took myself through cycles of meditating, then exploding with rage. Unfortunately, without a focal point, it was difficult to become enraged.

In my past life, I had heard of image training as an important aspect of elite sports. Braving myself for what was to come, I steadily brought myself into the scene where Tai nearly killed me.

Piece by piece, I built up the scene in my head. The smooth granite walls, dotted with blinding lights. The unconscious scholar, bleeding out in the corner. Tai holding me like livestock, and his rasping demonic voice.

Fully immersed in this world, I felt something different to what I had then. Not the acceptance of defeat, nor the clarity that overcame me, but a seething anger.

This anger wasn't just directed at Tai. Despite all he had done, I couldn't bring myself to hate him. People that do such horrific things are often tormented by demons of their own.

Instead, it was anger at myself. Anger at my arrogance; for walking into a den of bullies with no care in the world. Anger at my complacency; for accepting defeat when the fight had only begun.

This self-hatred was violent… but somewhat comfortable. It was a feeling I had become accustomed to in my past life. Was it healthy? Probably not. But it was more potent than anything else I felt.

This was the emotion that I would use, conjured from this powerful scene. I kept developing the image in my head, until it became as clear as the vision of the Soul Becoming World Technique.

Bringing myself out of this vision, I prepared to shoot my qi. I started in a peaceful state, my soul calm and still. But the moment I pictured the scene, my emotions flared.

As soon as my mental state flipped, my qi started rampaging, and I knew I had succeeded. This was it. This was the fuel for my power.