Chapter 23: Qi Circuit powers up a flame

On a beach two kids were sitting under a luminescent tree bickering about something , small one had a frowning face as he spoke unusual for a kid of that age while a beautiful girl with silver hair had a frustrated look as she listened.

“I have been teaching you all this for about a year now , why can’t you grasp such easy concepts on Nodes placement . “ I said feeling helpless

“You are so random , sometimes you break mid level Grade 1 formations other times you can’t even escape Low level ones , I told you to read some books on it , you need to do some self study if you want to improve in it and you were the one who asked me to teach you.”

I tried to teach Ning Rong formations but to my surprise she couldn’t understand them well , I thought she had a very high comprehension since she able to pick up a lot of things I taught her about lightning and electricity. She was even closer to gaining initial understanding in that.

Turns out , it’s not correlated with each other, she didn’t struggle with the calculation part since I had taught her some important formulae and even helped her build her own soul calculator, well obviously on the condition that she wouldn’t reveal it to anyone .

I knew she never broke any promises she made to me, so I came up with another plan , I will teach her how to break formations instead although she wouldn’t be as graceful as someone who knew formations but she can definitely save herself if she combined it with force .

This was only possible due to my soul calculator and all the knowledge I was giving her which I have derived after studying formations on my own and these things can’t be found in books .

“You said I have to calculate the position after sensing the rough direction of a node with my soul sense oh.. after I identified the type of formation based on your classifications and strike hard .” She said feeling wronged .

"You have done all of that correctly but you also have to understand and comprehend which nodes are the ones acting as pillars of the whole formation.

Which is the hardest part in breaking a formation but you have been successful a few times which means my method is working.

It's the most efficient method you will find here to break the formations If you don't care about alerting the enemy." I explained

"Now go ahead and read my notes regarding pivotal nodes and how to identify them and also review everything else once again." I gave my instructions with a dead pan face.

"Can we have a sparring match instead?" She said with a hopeful smile.

"Do you want to get beaten up that badly, you violent tsundere?" I said with a shit eating grin on my face.

If there is one thing she hated the most, It was losing in a battle Which is also the reason she was so adamant on learning how to break formations as she has been losing to me mainly due to them.

Using her pride Is the best way to motivate her and I am also a little eager to get something done as I am very close to achieving my goal.

"The Only reason you are winning our duels is that I am restricted to using only one of my abilities and soon I will be able to break your formations." She said with a very angry red face.

"Yeah but you're also using the new techniques you have learned against me to detect my position using sensory techniques and ambushing me with stealth techniques." I shot back

She started huffing and puffing as I looked at her with a victorious smile. You are 25 years too young to be debating with this old man .

Sue turned around and went to another tree nearby started doing what I told her but not without shooting me last glare.

With that out of the way , I closed my eyes and started to focus on my fire concept , I was able to gain a preliminary understanding in it mainly due to my knowledge behind its workings because of my previous life.

But I feel like I'm very close to gaining initial mastery over it. There was a bottleneck that was stopping me from realizing it.

But after toiling for so many months and sensing what was happening with Rong's body . I think I have finally understood what was I lacking.

It was once again the resonance between spiritual energy of the soul and qi . The same way my meridians were formed and the reason we can comprehend the concept after creating meridians.

The working behind qi control Was simple the soul and the qi acted like an electric circuit.

So qi can be considered electricity while the soul can be considered as the electrical wires which direct the energy wherever the user wants.

Without the other one was energy with no direction and other was just a moderately useful tool.

There were few things needed to comprehend a concept , first would be the how to create that element from qi or it's link with qi .

Second would be how that element behaved in the environment or interacted with it which is the part where my knowledge shines.

Third should be infusing the qi in the concept and gaining full control over it.

Well most of it is the theory I created after 2 years of studying the concepts both mine and rong's .

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The only step I was lacking was the third one but after gaining the enlightenment by comparing soul and qi with electrical circuit.

I think I can finally solve the third step as for the first step after creating runes and formations to create various effects related to not just fire but also other elements, I pretty much understood how that was done.

As for how the people of this world understood the second step I think they observe how the concept they want to comprehend interact with qi itself and affect the environment.

After gaining if preliminary understanding the fire concept I tried to do just that and that's I came up with this theory.

People with extreme physique usually skip step 1 and understand step 3 as the go older but the step 2 is the one the truly holds everyone down.

To gain a preliminary understanding of a concept one must understand step 1 and to some extent step 2.

That's why most people without a extreme physique are not able to comprehend the concepts without some external help like Dao fruits.

As I sat there trying to complete my qi circuit to create a complete fire concept, I guided my qi with the help of soul sense to arouse it but that failed like every other time.

But this time I tried something different I compressed my soul sense inside my dantian and took charge of all the energy there and started guiding it to Infuse it with my concept like trying to use electricity to light up a bulb.

Suddenly I felt like he have been lit on fire and I could sense every flame in a 1 km area , then I started feeling comfortable.

A ring of fire surrounded me, flowing around me in a donut shape and started compressing towards me and finally got absorbed inside me.

A halo made of blue fire appeared behind me in donut shape , I looked like a deity of fire, it represented my understanding of fire concept .

Ning Rong who was watching all this from the side exclaimed in shock "You actually did it , I thought you were just bragging, how can you comprehend a concept so soon , you little monster."

I opened my eyes and smiled at her reaction. "It's all about understanding the principles and then applying them. My methods might be unconventional, but they work."

Ning Rong shook her head in disbelief. "You always surprise me, Ning Feng. Just when I think I've caught up, you pull ahead again."

I chuckled. "That's because I have over two decades of experience over you, literally."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not even that old."

"True, but wisdom isn't just about age. It's about how you apply what you know," I said, feeling a bit philosophical.

Ning Rong sighed. "Fine, you win this round. But mark my words, I will break your formations one day."

"I look forward to it," I replied, genuinely meaning it. Her determination was one of the things I admired most about her.

As we settled back into our respective tasks, I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. Comprehending the fire concept was a significant milestone, and it brought me one step closer to my goals. But for now, I needed to help Ning Rong understand formations better.

"Rong, let's take a break from reading. I'll show you a practical demonstration of how to identify pivotal nodes in a formation," I said, getting up.

Her eyes lit up with interest. "Really? That sounds way better than reading notes."

I laughed. "I figured as much. Come on, let's find a suitable formation to break."

We walked along the beach until we found a low-level formation I had set up earlier for practice. "Alright, let's start with this one. Use your soul sense to identify the nodes."

She concentrated, her expression serious. After a few moments, she pointed out several nodes. "These are the nodes, right?"

"Correct. Now, which one do you think is the pivotal node?" I asked.

She hesitated, then pointed to one of the nodes. "This one?"

I nodded. "Good. Now, strike it with your qi-infused force."

Ning Rong took a deep breath, gathered her qi, and struck the node. The formation shimmered and then collapsed.

She looked at me, her face glowing with excitement. "I did it!"

"Yes, you did. Now, remember, not all formations are this simple. Higher-level formations have more complex structures, and identifying the pivotal nodes can be tricky. But with practice, you'll get better," I encouraged her.

We spent the rest of the day practicing, breaking formations and discussing different strategies. It was exhausting but rewarding. By the end of the day, Ning Rong was visibly tired but had a satisfied smile on her face.

"Thanks, Ning Feng. I feel like I actually learned something today," she said as we headed back to our camp.

"You're welcome. You're a quick learner, Rong. Just keep practicing, and you'll get even better," I replied.

As we walked towards our clan estate, I couldn't help but feel proud of her progress. Despite her frustrations and setbacks, Ning Rong never gave up.

Later that night, as we sat by the campfire, Ning Rong looked at me with a serious expression. "Ning Feng, can you tell me more about your theory on concepts and qi?"

I nodded, knowing she was genuinely interested. "Sure, but every person has to visualize his/her understanding in their minds or else it would never work, even so i will tell you somethings that might help, It's all about understanding the relationship between qi and the soul. Think of it as an ..."

And so, I explained my theory in detail, sharing my insights and observations. Ning Rong listened intently, occasionally asking questions or making thoughtful comments. It was moments like these that reminded me why I enjoyed teaching her. Despite her occasional stubbornness and impatience, she had a keen mind and a thirst for power.

........

As we approached the estate, the sight of Li Liang caught our attention. He was making his way toward us with a purposeful stride. Upon noticing us, his eyes narrowed slightly in my direction, conveying a mix of irritation and impatience.

However, the moment his gaze shifted to Ning Rong, his entire demeanor softened. His eyes shone with an unmistakable adoration, like a love-struck puppy attempting, but failing, to mask his emotions.

I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the poor guy.

Li Liang wasn’t a bad person, despite the sharp glare he directed my way. Over the past year, I had spent considerable time with these three kids, getting to know them better than I had initially anticipated.

Through countless training sessions, shared meals, and late-night conversations, I had gained a deeper understanding of each of them. Li Liang, with his determined and somewhat abrasive exterior, was no exception.

He probably had a backstory straight out of a cliché martial arts novel—tragic past, immense potential, and a burning desire for justice or vengeance.

Just like the other two, he had his own burdens to carry, his own demons to face. Despite his rough edges, he had shown moments of genuine kindness and loyalty, qualities that spoke volumes about his true character.

At least, from what I could see, none of them seemed like they were on a path to becoming future villains. But then again, the future was unpredictable, and circumstances could change people in unimaginable ways.

"Master has called you both," Li Liang announced, his voice steady but his eyes still flickering nervously toward Ning Rong. He was trying to maintain stable eye contact with her, but his evident infatuation made it difficult.

"He wants to discuss the upcoming training," he added, his tone a bit more formal than usual, likely an attempt to cover his nervousness.

Ning Rong nodded, her expression attentive . "Thank you, Li Liang. We’ll head over right away," she said, offering him a kind smile that only seemed to make him more flustered.

I chuckled inwardly at the interaction. Despite the craziness of this world, things like these added a touch of normalcy. It was refreshing to see that even in a world filled with cultivation, power struggles, and endless training, there was still room for the simple, human experience of a young boy harboring a crush.

Damn I guess I will have to postpone my plans. He thought