Yu Chen stood before the pool, looking down at it with his spiritual vision. He could see the roiling clouds of energy suffusing the deep waters, giving them a soft glow that illuminated the small cavern. The dim light was enough for him to see by.

He’d known when he’d arrived that it wasn’t the energy well that had drawn Xiao Huang here, that was just a lucky coincidence. Or perhaps it wasn’t. The energy the essence well had pumped into the environment was probably the catalyst that has created the spiritual waters in the first place. Years spent in a rich environment suffused with spiritual energy had led to the creation of this natural treasure.

That treasure, the deep pond in front of him, was what Xiao Huang had sensed.

Many months ago, he had a conversation with Xiao Huang about various techniques, and the dragon had passed one on to him. The Yellow River Tempering technique, a hidden technique the dragon claimed to have invented himself. Yu Chen had kept it in the back of his mind, having no use for it until now. According to the little dragon the technique was powerful, but it had very strict requirements, and Yu Chen had been unable to perform it.

It was a technique Yu Chen didn’t have much experience with, seeing as body tempering wasn’t actively taught in the sect. If it wasn’t for Xiao Huang, Yu Chen might have never stumbled across it. According to the dragon, body tempering was something that cultivators in other parts of the world took very seriously. If he ever traveled up the Yellow River he would encounter numerous strong beings that had not only refined their spirit and mind, but their body as well.

The Yellow River Tempering technique was unique even among tempering techniques. It tempered one’s body using the five elements, relying on the natural interactions between them to achieve the most harmonious results. It didn’t matter which element you began with, but after that you would be locked into a strict cycle, using the energies of one to nourish the energies of the next, increasing the potency of each tempering to shocking heights.

If Yu Chen were to start here with water, he would have to follow it with wood, as water nurtured wood, and then fire, as wood nurtured fire. Earth would come after and finally metal, each element feeding the strength of the next, until the last tempering empowered the first.

Even that wasn’t the end. Once completed he would have to temper his body within the Yellow River itself, whose waters contained strange properties of life and death.

Once he completed the technique Yu Chen’s body would become a natural treasure in its own right, stronger than most of the weapons and armor cultivators used. His body would become a force of nature, able to fight with others on equal footing even without the use of qi.

The thought made his heartbeat with excitement.

Yu Chen settled down at the side of the pool, entering a deep meditation as he prepared for the grueling task ahead. He focused his mind and regulated his breathing, taking his time as his mentality slowly reached its peak. Once he felt ready, he stood up and without hesitation pushed off the edge, dropping into the center of the pool.

He sank deep into the chilling waters, slowly falling until he came to rest many feet down at the bottom of the pool. The water surrounded him, dense with energy and pressing against his body with a heavy pressure. Yu Chen began circulating his qi, using a technique Xiao Huang had shown him, and the energy in the water began to be pulled into his body, seeping through his skin and deep into his muscles and tendons. The sensation was both invigorating and painful, the energy carrying a burning chill that seemed to seep into every pore of his being.

He grabbed the energy that was flowing through his limbs and torso and pulled it into his dantian, refining it using Xiao Huang’s technique, before sending it back out and diffusing it throughout his body, where it began the work of tempering him.

It began at the surface, as waves of heat and pressure built up within his skin, causing him extreme discomfort. The water closest to his epidermis bubbled, and it felt as though some mad being had caught him within a vice-like grip, squeezing him and wringing him dry.

His earlier pain was soon eclipsed as the spiritual energy within his body constantly intensified. His skin itched uncontrollably as the dense energies ate away at the impurities within his body. The itching sensation increased with every breath, threatening to distract him and drive him out of the pool.

He resisted the urge, redoubling his focus as he pulled more energy into him, steadying his mind as his body continued its purification.

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After a time the pain subsided, once his skin was fully cleansed. Yu Chen rested for a second, cycling his breathing technique as he stabilized his mind.

Once he felt ready he directed the energies deeper into his body, filling his muscles and tendons until they swelled, growing taut and cramping, causing waves of excruciating pain to vibrate throughout Yu Chen. He resisted the pain, focusing on directing the energy as it refined his muscles, burning away the impurities within.

His breath was growing short as it finished scouring his muscles clean, but he still had two more layers. He didn’t pause this time, hurriedly cycling the technique and directing the energy to flood into his bones. Another round of pain and pressure began, and he felt his bones creaking as the energies washed across them, polishing and driving out any impurities.

Yu Chen was nearing the end of his breath as he directed the energies even deeper, pushing it into his bones and flooding his bone-marrow, cleansing his body from the inside out. As the energy increased to the maximum, Yu Chen realized it contained a strange property he had never sensed in qi before. The energy from the pool gave him a sensation of wet and cold, of thirst and drowning, and he realized that there was more to the spiritual waters than he’d previously thought.

It wasn’t just energy in water, it was aspected - the energy tinged somehow with the flavor of water, the energy of heaven and earth having transformed, like light cast through a prism. He was struck with a deep sense of enlightenment, as he grasped what water was on a more conceptual level.

It was adaptable, able to mold itself to any situation, flowing around obstacles, gentle or forceful as nature necessitated. It was fluid, and one could represent that fluidity in thought and action as they navigated the challenges of life.

It had a persistence to it, capable of eroding the greatest canyons given time, erasing mountains, overcoming all resistance with an endless patience. If one could embody that resilience, then through persistence and steady effort they could overcome anything.

There was a depth to it, and when calm it was like a mirror, reflecting all, but holding on to nothing. When one touched on this depth through introspection, they achieved clarity and insight, revealing what lay beneath the calm surface.

Water was potential.

It was the origin of life, that which sustained and connected all living things. It held the possibility of growth and creation. If one could express even a hint of this potential, there was nothing that was beyond belief.

Yu Chen forgot everything else, so deep was he in the midst of his new realizations, and not even the deep wracking pain of the spiritual energies hard at work remodeling his body could draw him from them. The energy around him continued to pour into his pores, and was now attacking his organs, and even his dantian had found itself the target of the strange energies.

No part of him was ignored as it ruthlessly purified his body.

Finally, the energies seeping into his body began to wind down, and Yu Chen slowly returned to himself. He pushed off of the bottom of the pool, leaping out of it in a spray of water, landing lightly on the cavern floor. His bronze skin gleamed in the dim light as water rolled off of it, flawless and unmarred, aside the small birthmark by his lip and the scar at his side. The muscles beneath his skin were like corded steel, tight and overflowing with strength. He felt lighter now, and his body more flexible. Any tightness from before was gone, and he felt himself brimming with latent power.

His skin, bones and organs were still full of refined qi, resonating with the lingering essence of the spiritual waters. Yu Chen examined his new body in silence, before clenching his hand into a tight fist. He circulated his qi, amazed at how quickly it now responded, moving through his body unimpeded. He activated his movement technique and shot out of the cave and into the night sky.

He landed, running for a while, each step sending him dashing forward as he ran with abandon, barreling across the ground and through the forest until he sensed a powerful presence in his awareness. With a powerful leap he sent himself across a stream, where he landed, making eye contact with a large cat whose coat shimmered with the color of the night sky, staring at him with its ears laid back.

There was nothing said, nothing to say.

Yu Chen launched towards the panther, moving far faster than he had before, but despite his increased speed the spirit beast matched it. The cat dodged and his fist smashed into a boulder that shattered as his condensed qi hit it, sending shards of stone flying around the area.

He flexed his fist, amazed. It didn’t even hurt, and Yu Chen felt his excitement grow, a savage grin crossing his face. The cat let out a low growl, raising its hackles as it launched an attack of its own, pouncing towards him with its claws peeled, aiming a ferocious swipe towards his face.

Yu Chen moved just enough to avoid the blow and unleashed a terrifying uppercut in return that slammed into the cat’s underbelly, blowing it away from him. He pushed off of the ground, reaching the spirit beast before it could recover and slammed a vicious punch into the skull of the beast, ending its life.

Yu Chen stood up. Despite the fight his heart was still beating normally, and his breath was light and steady. Before he would have considered this spirit beast a tougher opponent than the deer or the boar, as a predator naturally was, but now it appeared an opponent on this level wasn’t enough to excite him.

If this was the changes the first level of the tempering technique had brought him, what would he be like once he completed it?