The sun was nothing more than a faint, purple bruise on the horizon when Hanyuan's spear cut through the morning mist.
He was pushing himself to the breaking point. The gravity-ore weights on his limbs were twice as heavy as before, pulling at his joints with every movement. His white robes were drenched, the fabric clinging to his back, but his focus was absolute.
Thwack! Whack!
The wooden spear struck the training dummy with a rhythm that mimicked a heartbeat. Then, suddenly, his own heart didn't just mimic the rhythm—it took over.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump!
Hanyuan's vision blurred for a second as a searing heat erupted from the center of his chest. His skin flushed a deep crimson, and his temperature skyrocketed. He dropped his spear, his hands clawing at his chest.
"What... what is this?" he gasped, his breath coming in ragged bursts of steam.
It felt as though a thousand tiny ants were burrowing through his skin, crawling along his arms and legs, following paths he hadn't known existed. These were his meridians—the invisible rivers of the body. For the first time in his life, they weren't just empty channels; they were being flooded.
A tiny, silver-violet thread of energy began to move. It circled his body three times, the "ant-like" crawling sensation intensifying until he wanted to scream. Finally, the thread dove deep, spiraling into his lower abdomen—his Dantian.
BOOM.
A muffled explosion echoed inside his bones. The pressure that had been building in his chest vanished, replaced by a sudden, cool serenity. The world around him seemed to snap into high-definition; he could hear the dew dropping from the leaves and sense the vibration of the wind against the training hall walls.
"I... I did it!" Hanyuan whispered, his eyes wide with wonder. "I reached the 1st Layer of Qi Refining!"
He didn't waste a second. He closed his eyes, willing that tiny spark in his Dantian to move. The Qi responded, sluggish but obedient, flowing down his arm and into the wooden spear. The weathered wood didn't just feel like wood anymore—it took on a faint, translucent glow.
With a sharp exhale, Hanyuan thrust.
CRACK!
Usually, the spear would bounce off the enchanted wood of the training dummy with a dull thud. This time, the spear-tip tore through the dummy's "skin" and buried itself halfway through the solid core.
Hanyuan's jaw dropped. The power was immense. But as he tried to pull the spear out, a wave of dizziness hit him. He checked his Dantian—it was bone-dry. That single strike had consumed every drop of Qi he had just cultivated.
"So powerful... but so draining," he realized, wiping sweat from his eyes.
The sound of footsteps in the distance signaled the arrival of the early-morning disciples. Not wanting to be questioned or mobbed, Hanyuan grabbed his gear and bolted. He ran toward the family estate with a speed he had never achieved before, his feet barely touching the cobblestones.
In the Main Hall of the Bai Clan manor, Bai Feng and Lin Ruo were enjoying a rare moment of peace, sipping hot tea while discussing the upcoming merchants' reports.
BAM!
the heavy oak doors slammed open with such force that the hinges groaned in protest. Hanyuan skidded into the room, chest heaving and eyes wild with excitement.
"Hanyuan!" Lin Ruo snapped, her teacup rattling in its saucer. "What have I told you about respect? You're going to destroy this house before you even reach adulthood!"
Bai Feng let out a sigh, preparing to add to the lecture, but his words died in his throat. He set his cup down, his eyes narrowing as he looked at his son. As a Mortal Core expert, his senses were sharp. He felt a disturbance in the air around the boy—a faint, flickering resonance that shouldn't be there.
"Hanyuan..." Bai Feng stood up, his voice losing its jovial tone and becoming incredibly serious. "Come here."
Lin Ruo noticed her husband's change in demeanor. "Feng? What is it?"
Bai Feng didn't answer. He placed a heavy hand on Hanyuan's shoulder. At first, the boy felt nothing, but then a warm, vast wave of his father's energy swept through him like a tide.
A moment later, Bai Feng pulled his hand back, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated shock.
"You've formed your Dantian," Bai Feng whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "1st Layer Qi Refining... How? It's been only weeks since the testing!"
Lin Ruo gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. At ten years old, most children spent months, if not a year, just learning how to "sense" Qi. To actually bridge the gap and break through in a matter of weeks was the mark of a monster-tier genius.
"I did what Elder Wei said," Hanyuan grinned, his chest puffing out despite his exhaustion. "I pushed my body until it couldn't take any more"
Bai Feng looked at his wife and then back at his son. A fierce, proud light ignited in his obsidian eyes. "The Clan Gathering is in one week. Xueling and the others think they've seen the extent of the Bai Clan's future."
Hanyuan didn't stay to celebrate with his parents. His heart was still racing, his blood buzzing. He bolted from the main hall, his feet light on the gravel path as he sprinted toward Elder Wei's secluded residence on the edge of the clan estate.
"Elder Wei! Elder Wei, I did it!" Hanyuan's voice echoed off the bamboo trees surrounding the small hut. "I'm a cultivator! I reached the 1st Layer!"
Sou!
Without a breath of warning, a blur of grey appeared right in front of him. Elder Wei seemed to manifest out of the very shadows of the trees. Before Hanyuan could even blink, the Elder's calloused hand was clamped firmly onto his shoulder. A surge of sharp, piercing energy scanned Hanyuan's meridians.
Elder Wei's normally stony expression cracked into a genuine smile. He gave a single, firm nod. "You actually broke through. Faster than I anticipated, lad. Good job."
"Elder, let's go to the forest again!" Hanyuan said, gripping his silver spear tightly. "I want to hunt, I want to fight bigger beasts! I need to get stronger quickly before the Gathering!"
Elder Wei let out a long sigh, the smoke from his pipe curling into the air. "Hanyuan, slow down. You don't get infinitely stronger just by swinging a stick at beasts. Strength is a house; the body is the foundation, but Qi is the breath of the building. With that tiny drop of Qi in your Dantian, you'll be exhausted after one serious attack. If you only fight and never replenish, you'll burn out your potential."
He tapped Hanyuan on the forehead with his pipe. "I recommend a new schedule: Five hours of spear arts to temper the form, and five hours of seated cultivation to grow the spirit. Don't overdo it. If you force your meridians to take more than they can handle, you'll crack them. And a cracked meridian is the end of a cultivator's path."
Hanyuan's eyes widened, the reality of the danger cooling his excitement. "Thank you for your guidance, Elder. I'll follow it exactly!"
He ran back home, ignoring his mother calling out to him about lunch. He locked himself in his room, kicked off his boots, and sat cross-legged on his bed. He closed his eyes, mimicking the posters he'd seen of high-ranking elders. He cleared his mind—a difficult task for a ten-year-old—and focused on the "pores" of his body, visualizing the world's Qi.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he began to draw it in.
Three hours passed. When Hanyuan finally opened his eyes, he checked his Dantian. The silver-violet thread was... slightly thicker? Barely. It was like adding a single drop of water to a dry bucket.
"Ugh," Hanyuan muttered, stretching his cramped legs until his joints popped. "It'll take way too long this way. At this rate, I'll reach the 2nd Layer in a year, not a week!"
Restless, he left his house to walk off the frustration. He needed to clear his head. As he walked toward the clan's market square, a familiar tall, thin figure came charging toward him, waving his arms frantically.
"Hanyuan! Hanyuan! I have something amazing to tell you!"
Minghan skidded to a halt, bent over double as he panted for breath. Even after his beating from Elder Ling, his eyes were bright with a troublemaking glint.
"What is it, Minghan? Did you find a way to grow back the hair your grandfather pulled out?" Hanyuan asked with a dry smile.
Minghan ignored the jab. He leaned in close, whispering conspiratorially. "I know a secret place in the city... a hidden tavern called the Drunken Immortal. They sell a specialized Spirit Wine that even low-level cultivators can use to boost their Qi. My grandfather's stuff was just 'old' wine—this is the real deal! Do you want to sneak out and buy some with me?"
Hanyuan's smile vanished instantly. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. This guy... has he learned nothing? He looked at Minghan, who was still red-faced and bruised from the previous day's 'lessons.'
"What is going through that head of yours?" Hanyuan asked, his voice flat.
"What? It's a shortcut! We could be geniuses by dinner!" Minghan argued.
Hanyuan shook his head, his gaze hardening. "Minghan, the Clan Gathering is in six days. While you're looking for 'shortcuts' in a bottle others are trainging hard. Go back to the training grounds. If Elder Ling sees you trying to sneak out for more wine, your 'meager progress' will be the last thing he worries about. Do you want to be a clan worker your whole life? Or worse—a guard stuck at the gate while the rest of us see the world?"
Minghan flinched, the harsh truth of Hanyuan's words hitting harder than the willow switch.
"I... I guess you're right," Minghan mumbled, looking at his feet.
"Go," Hanyuan said, pointing toward the training hall. "I'll meet you there in an hour. We're going to spar until you can't think about wine anymore."