In a small court yard, closed off by 2 meter tall wooden fence, stood an age willow tree. The leaves glisters as they were soaked morning dew. A child figure dressed in white garbs could be seen under the willow tree dancing as if guiding the wind it self as he slowly weave his hands, arms, and the upper body while his two feet remain rooted unto the dusty ground. He steadily breath in and out the morning breeze constantly syncing with his movements, as if he is a tree dancing with the wind.

After the last set of movement, he came to a stop releasing a long breath.

"Xiao Qin, are you done staring?" A yelp sound out as the wooden to the court yard was slowly open.

A young girl around 12 years wearing coarse grey dress, brown hair tied in two buns as she walks out slowly with heads down and shifting eyes scanning the court yard that is connected to the rather larger 2 story wooden building trying to find a reason for her presence.

With a shy and timid voice she replied

"I.. I.. I am here to find master song for breakfast..."

"Hmmm..... while there is no hole in the paper on the door and it is impossible for me to see your eye from the gap of the door but your shadow could be clearly seen"

The young girl stiffen up as she realized her mistake

"Go confine your self in your room, till night you are only allowed to go toilet and drink water!"

Master Song commanded the girl as she replied with a yelp and flee away with tears watering in her eyes.

A faint smile crept up his face as he decide that he will settle the matter later, wiping his sweat with a wet tower from a nearby table beside the willow tree, he straighten his white garbs as he entered the wooden house and returned to his room on the second floor.

After closing the door he sat in a cross leg posture on a sitting mat that is placed in the center of the room. After closing his eyes, he started to breath in rapid pattern, slowly he started to sweat and faint bulging veins emerged on his forehead after a few breath he slowly relaxed his breath and heave out a tired sigh.

Even though his face was paled and his head felt like it was struck by a hammer his mouth was grinning with faint chuckle escaping from his throat.

"Finally after 4 month, all the fragments of manual on the spirit refining layer have been extracted!"

Most sentient being start cultivating from the mortal realm.

In the mortal realm, there are three Stages.

In each stage there are two layers.

Spirit refining layer is the first or the initial layer of the first stage, also known as Spiritual Stage. Spirit refining layer focus on cleansing a person's mind and developing spiritual sense. Only after one's spiritual sense have been developed one could start cultivating qi.

Piecing together the fragments in his mind as they slowly form a complete manual. However, he did not start his cultivation. He had exhausted his mind and strained his soul retrieving the final piece of manual from his memory, cultivation in initial stages is best done only during at the peak of his mental state.

Slowly he close his eye and started to breath in strange momentum, sometime the breath was long some time it was in short burst. It is a breathing technique called 'Spring harmony', it is actually only a method to keep healthy body, but he had tailored it so that he could absorbed some Heaven's Qi into his body.

While Heaven's Qi is known as the most neutral and common Qi that is known under this Heaven, most plants and beasts that does not have access to cultivation technique nor bloodline would rely on this to evolve. As a result the environments are affected dude to different level of the concentration of Heaven's Qi, such as the Flowing Grass village that he currently reside in, which region had a low concentration of Heaven's Qi making the forest sparse and most beasts that could normally be found in a forest are void in this area.

However, one should not forget that there are many types of Qi and each would affect the environment or the environment would affect the Qi. Most cultivator of Mortal Realms would gather in places where their desired Qi is in as high concentration as possible.

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Even though Heaven's Qi brings many benefits, those that forcefully collect without a strong constitution would make their body collapsed slowly if one exceeded the limit.

But he had been practicing a martial art that focuses on strengthening the core strength and constitution. Which resulted him possessing a core strength of an adult! While his practice on martial arts was only four months long without the aid of any elixir or eating extremely nourishing food. It was the Heaven's Qi that he absorbed into the body, which was later use as nourishment for his body for refining his body.

But to advance more would require a lot of time and higher purity of Heaven's Qi, and the region around Flowing Grass village lack such a thing. The main reason for his preservation, in this place was so that he could provide energy to extract his memories from his injured soul.

During his pondering and practicing the breathing technique, a soft voice awoken from him from his thoughts.

"Master Song, breakfast is ready.."

Annoyed from being disturbed, he face towards the shadow that could be visible from the paper covered door, replying.

"Bring the breakfast here, also ask old Su to come to my room"

"Yes..."

Old Su was feeling very confused, since young master last adventure, his temperate was greatly changed. Since young master had came back he had been none stop 'dancing' in the back yard and confined himself to his room lately. He might not know what young master was doing in his room from morning to night, but he knew young master dancing is actually should be practicing martial art. Even though the lowest of the martial art require an age requirement of 12 before one could practiced else one would hinder one's growth and potential, that does not mean he knowledge is limited to general information.

Foundation Martial Art...

Even though such a thing have no offensive move, defensive move nor footwork, it is something that all martial artist required advance.

"Or it is also known as half body refining technique"

In his heart he acknowledge that young master must obtain some form of inheritance, but he does not wish young master to only be obsess in martial art and ignore practicing his alchemy.

However, all his worries are wash off when Song Zi had asked him to bring ingredients for his alchemy. Also he was glad to find out Song Zi had in fact been 'completing' on making a medical solution, even though he was a bit creep out by the ingredient list, he just pass it off as one of those strange alchemy ingredient.

When this sun hang low and night approaches, Song Zi decide to settle the matter from this morning. He slowly walk towards, the servant quarters on the first floor, any guards or servant he pass by would unconsciously lower their head due to the unique aura around him, also it was enhanced by his sudden growth now look more like a boy of age 10 to 12. When he arrived before a door, soft whimper and mutters could be hard, the lines were 'stupid young master', 'Ah.. My stomach hurts' and 'I am starving to death..'

With a faint smirk Song Zi Entered without knocking, the door opened to a small room in it was a chest a covered pot and a bed on top was a cured up little girl Xiao Qin.

Making his face cold and indifference.

"So peeking on me was enough but you must cursed me as well?"

My voice stiffen up the sobbing girl as she slowly turns her head was fear stricken eyes with tears smudges on her face.

"Stop wasting my time and follow to my room if.. "

pausing my words to allow them to sink into her head

"you wishes to become a martial artist"

The girls two big eyes widen, she watch as Song Zi slowly walk out of her room before she quickly scramble up from her bed in haste as she followed him forgotten about her hunger.