The holidays came to an end, and now it was the first day back at school.
The classroom, as always, was filled with noise and excitement — laughter echoing, chatter bouncing off the walls, and students sharing their stories from the break.
First class began, loch started teaching on the board.
"Once you are in After Foundation Establishment, a cultivator's Qi begins to condense and stabilize within their core, transforming into Core Qi.
It is denser, purer, and flows with greater harmony throughout the meridians.
Unlike regular Qi, which is easily disturbed or leaked, Core Qi feels alive — it resonates with the cultivator's spirit and intent.
Appearance: When unleashed, it often glows faintly with the cultivator's elemental color (blue for water, red for fire, etc.)
Effect: Core Qi amplifies all arts — movement techniques become sharper.
Cultivation is not about gathering endless energy," Loch said, his gaze deep as still water.
"It is about refining what already flows within you. That essence inside your — your Core Qi — is your foundation, your true self in energy form."
"At first, it's coarse and wild, like unrefined ore. But as you temper it through each realm, it becomes purer, denser, and more alive. When your Core Qi changes, you change — your body, your mind, even your spirit evolve alongside it and you reach a new realm"
"The qi of the world is vast," Loch began, his tone calm yet weighty. "It flows through the mountains, rivers, and air — raw and untamed. Cultivators draw in this energy, but what they take is only the beginning."
"When you absorb it, that energy remains wild, filled with impurities and foreign intent. Your body and meridians must first temper it, slowly transforming it into your own — into Core Qi."
"This is the true path of growth. You can't rely on sheer quantity, nor can you survive with only quality. Both must advance together. A vast ocean of unstable qi will shatter you from within, but a perfect drop of refined qi without enough depth will never form a core."
"Only by refining the raw energy of the world into Core Qi — a balance between purity and density — can a cultivator step into higher realms safely."
The classroom was quiet for once.
Teacher Loch stood before the students, chalk in hand, and drew a single glowing circle on the board.
A few students tilted their heads. Yu tried to stay awake.
Loch continued, his tone calm but firm.
"When you draw qi from the world, you only borrow its strength.
But when you refine it — when you pass it through your mind and heart — it becomes Core Qi."
He tapped the glowing circle. "And this... is your Soul Core."
"The Soul Core isn't in your body," Loch said, looking at each of them. "It exists within your spiritual sea — a space formed by your will, shaped by your experiences."
Chi raised a hand. "So it's not something we can destroy physically?"
Loch smiled faintly. "Correct. Break a man's bones, and he'll heal. Shatter his dantian, and perhaps he'll find another path.
But wound the soul... and his light may never shine again."
A quiet tension filled the room.
"Don't worry," Loch said gently, his voice softening. "There's nothing truly impossible in this world. A wounded soul is hard to mend, yes—but not beyond saving. Few ever recover… yet there is always hope."
The class continued, and soon the day was coming to an end. Just as everyone started to relax, Loch clapped his hands once.
"Alright, before you all leave—tomorrow, you'll be taking your written test."
A collective groan filled the room.
"Ugh, I totally forgot about that!" someone whispered, and the rest nodded miserably in agreement.
The bell rang, and the classroom instantly filled with chatter.
Voices overlapped—laughing, complaining, gossiping—turning into nothing but background noise to Chi's ears.
It was all just gibberish until one phrase cut through the noise.
"Yeah, they broke up," said one of the four kids huddled near the back of the class.
Chi's ears seemed to grow twice their size as he leaned ever so slightly forward, pretending to flip through his notes. His focus wasn't on the paper at all—he was trying to catch every word that followed.
Yu noticed the shift and whispered, "What are you doing?"
Chi whispered back, "Shh… important intelligence gathering."
"Ooh, that guy from 12-A and Mimi broke up?" Chi said, his grin spreading mischievously. "Who broke up with who?"
The girl he was listening to gasped dramatically, clearly enjoying the attention. "Meow Meow dumped him! It happened right in the cafeteria, man—it was so good. Like, everyone stopped eating just to watch. It was basically a live soap!"
Chi's eyes sparkled with excitement. "A live soap, huh? Tragic love and cafeteria noodles—a perfect combination."
"Chi… are you seriously listening to gossip again?" Yu muttered.
Yu groaned beside him, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You really need a new hobby."
"Hey, this is vital information! Knowing the school's drama is important for social awareness," Chi said with mock seriousness.
Before they could continue, one of the girls from the gossiping group turned around. "Um… are you two listening to us?"
Yu palm face
Chi froze, then quickly put on an innocent face. Yu "No, no, of course not!
The girl giggled, shaking her heads. "Unbelievable."
The girls walked off still chatting, leaving Chi grinning like a fox who'd just found a secret stash.
Yu sighed. "One day, you're going to get caught for real, and I'm not saving you."
"Relax," Chi said, hands behind his head. "I'm a professional listener of public secrets."
Yu gave him a deadpan look. "That's just a fancy way of saying 'nosy.'"
Before Chi could reply, the bell rang again, echoing through the corridors.
Both hurried back to their homes.
That night, Chi was quietly making an omelet, moving around the kitchen with the stealth of a cat. The only sounds were the soft crack of eggs and the gentle sizzle of oil.
Then, a thought struck him mid-stir.
"I should make a noise-canceling array."he muttered, staring at the frying pan like it had just given him the best idea of his life.
A grin spread across his face. "Perfect. No one will ever catch me sneaking food again."
"Let's see how did sir loch did it in class?"
The night went by quietly, and soon it was time for the test.
It was finally the day of the test. The academy grounds buzzed with energy—students rushing through corridors, clutching last-minute notes, some confident, others pale with nerves.
Both Chi and Yu were unusually tense that morning. Their test wasn't going to be a normal one — Loch had arranged for them to take a higher-level paper, the same one as the genius students from Class 12-A.
Yu leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Of course, it had to be them. Just our luck."
Chi's expression twisted. "Yeah, 'rising stars of the academy,' huh? More like pain in the neck."
The classroom buzzed with nervous chatter, papers shuffling and pens clicking. The air itself seemed heavier than usual, filled with the tension of a coming storm. Even the students from 11th looked at Chi and Yu with a mix of curiosity and awe — after all, they were the only ones brave (or unlucky) enough to be matched against the prodigies of 12-A.
Loch entered the room, his usual calm expression replaced with a serious one. "Alright, everyone. You have two hours. Remember — this isn't about speed, it's about accuracy and understanding. You may begin."
The rustle of parchment filled the air.
Chi and Yu glanced at each other before lowering their heads to the test papers. The first few questions seemed simple enough — theory about meridian circulation, basic array patterns, and medicinal components. But then, halfway through, the real challenge began.
Chi's pen paused at the advanced question. 'Explain how imbalance in core qi refinement affects the formation of a cultivator's soul network…'
He let out a tiny groan. "Who even makes these questions?" he muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Yu's brows furrowed deeply. His page was filled with alchemy equations, diagrams of pill compression sequences, and balancing ratios between spiritual herbs. He scribbled quickly, occasionally chewing the back of his pen.
Minutes turned into hours. Sweat rolled down their foreheads, but neither lifted their heads.
Finally — ding! The bell rang.
"Pencils down," Loch said. "Your alchemy test will be tomorrow. Be ready."
Chi slumped back, staring at the ceiling. "We survived…"
Yu chuckled weakly, "Barely. I think my brain's still refining core qi right now."
Loch smiled faintly from the front of the class, watching the two — amused and quietly proud.
Yu froze in disbelief. "What the hell was that?"
"Why? Did it go badly?" Chi asked.
"No, it's not that," Yu sighed. "It's just… the last few questions were really tough—especially the ones about alchemy. I mean, I knew the answers, but they were so long and complicated. It felt like my brain was melting halfway through."
"Alchemy?" Chi raised a brow, leaning over to peek at Yu's paper.
He flipped through a few pages before frowning. "So… they were different."
Yu groaned. "Yeah, looks like they gave us separate sets of questions"
Chi squinted at the paper, his face twitching between disbelief and amusement. "Wait—this is the advanced alchemy section! They gave you questions meant for 12th-A!"
Yu's jaw dropped. "What!? Are you serious!? No wonder they were talking about spirit flame ratios and pill resonance theory!" He threw his hands up. "I thought it was just a trick question!"
Chi chuckled, shaking his head. "Looks like Teacher Loch really doesn't plan to let us relax, huh?"
Yu slumped in his chair, face buried in his arms. "I swear he's got something against me… he saw me yawn once in class and decided my whole life should be pain."
Chi grinned. "Come on, if it's any comfort, I think he sees both of us as experiments."
Before they could continue a girl same one from yesterday slammed onto chi's desk
"You!" she said, pointing straight at Chi.
Chi blinked, startled. "...Me?"
"Yes, you!" she huffed, leaning closer. You were the one eavesdropping on us yesterday!"
Yu choked on air, barely suppressing a laugh. "Oh, this is going to be good…"