Yu Chen sat on the cliff’s edge once more, revolving a small white pill between his fingers as he overlooked the pond below. He was holding the spirit gathering pill the sect had given him of course. With it, Yu Chen was finally prepared to enter the next small stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

He was only waiting for his mental tranquility to reach the perfect state before beginning.

And so he sat, watching as slow waves spread across the pond, pushed about by the light breeze that filled the summer air. The sounds around the pond had changed now that the seasons changed. The trilling mating calls of the birds from spring had given way to the incessant chirps of nestlings calling for food, interspersed with the steady, rhythmic calls of cicadas as they loudly buzzed around the water.

Yu Chen had spent the last few days absorbing information as he prepared for this day, talking to his friends about what to expect before he attempted to breakthrough. They’d spent hours discussing the nature of cultivation, filling in the gaps of his knowledge to ensure he didn’t make a mistake.

After all, success wasn’t guaranteed when one attempted to cross levels, even the smallest ones such as these. There was always a chance of failure, and one risked damaging themselves, setting their cultivation back weeks, months, or even years.

In the most dramatic cases, someone could even find themselves stuck permanently, having to remain at their current level for the rest of their lives.

Of course, Yu Chen was only attempting to cross the smallest level. There was little risk in such a thing, but breakthroughs and bottlenecks served to weed the weak from the strong, and even the simplest served as a test for cultivators.

A test of their will, a test of their mentality, and a test of their understanding.

Yu Chen had never questioned his will to succeed, and neither his spirit nor his conscience bothered him, leaving his mental state pure and untainted. However, he felt he was lacking when it came to his understanding regarding cultivation. He’d spent the last few weeks pestering his friends, consulting Ling Xia in the library, and even asking questions of Xiao Huang. Yu Chen soaked up knowledge wherever he found it, doing his best to perfect his understanding.

His focus was primarily on understanding the Qi Condensation realm, coming to terms with the purpose it served on his path moving forward.

What he’d come to understand was that each of the small levels had been given names, like Qi Stabilization, or Qi Refinement, but really, they were just terms created by cultivators, a way to set expectations as they progressed. In truth, each small stage simply represented a gradual but persistent change in the quality of one’s qi as they progressed along the path towards Foundation Establishment.

It was a continual process of condensing and refining one’s qi until they had the strength to reach out towards greater heights. The realms of Qi Condensation he’d been taught before were only a vague framework, guidelines put down by those who had come before. The only thing that mattered was the purity of one’s qi if they desired to advance to higher realms.

Xiao Huang had told him that in many parts of the world Qi Condensators weren’t even truly considered cultivators. It was nothing more than a preparatory phase for most, to purify their body and qi, in preparation for the road ahead. It was an immensely important stage that set the foundation for your future.

Towards that end, even the smallest breakthroughs held the utmost importance.

Yu Chen ceased his reveries, as his mentality reached its peak. Everything fell away as he breathed out, unifying with the world around him, becoming one with the light scent of summer, the soft breeze upon the wind, and the croak of bullfrogs that filled the night air.

Stolen novel; please report.

He didn’t hesitate, popping the small pill into his mouth, and swallowing it as he began circulating his qi. He could feel the pill slide down his throat and into his stomach, where spiritual energy burst forth. Yu Chen fought furiously for control, seizing the energy and circulating it into his dantian before it could run rampant throughout his body.

His senses sharpened as the qi flooded his dantian, and he felt more alive than ever. He could sense the particulates in the air around him and smell the slightest hint of smoke in the air that spoke of distant fires. A small vortex grew around him, as qi surged towards him, drawn in by the pill to fuel its reaction, and his dantian hungrily gobbled up everything that appeared.

Yu Chen continued circulating the qi throughout his meridians as the energy rapidly grew in strength, its mass increasing as more of the energy that was pulled into his body rushed to join it. It was a heady feeling, possessing more energy than Yu Chen had ever dreamed of.

He didn’t hesitate. With a deft flick of his wrist another pill entered his mouth, sliding down his throat to join the other.

A second surge of qi flooded him, and the energy in the environment was pulled towards his body even faster than before. Yu Chen fought desperately to maintain control over the qi as it roared through his body, scouring his meridians clean.

Tiny specks of ichor began to dot his robes, as light splotches of brown and black began to bleed through his skin. Yu Chen didn’t notice the stench that arose, focused as he was on controlling the tyrannical qi that threatened to savage his body.

If Yu Chen was a normal man this would be enough, he could stop here content that he’d done enough. In truth, he might have already gone too far.

But, he wasn’t a normal man. The blood of a dragon flowed within him. Almost since birth his heart had pumped that draconic blood through his veins, influencing his body as he grew. His meridians were thicker and stronger than others his age, more flexible, and this small amount of qi wasn’t enough to finish washing his meridians.

Following Xiao Huang’s advice, Yu Chen popped the third pill and resolutely swallowed it.

The pill had barely reached his stomach when the energy from the other two attacked it, tearing it to pieces and letting loose a flood of qi so wild that it threatened to tear his body apart.

A small groan escaped Yu Chen’s lips as the qi wreaked havoc on his insides. Marshaling his will, he used every iota of inner strength he had to force the qi to obey him, slowly forced it into his dantian, before circulating it to join the rest of his qi on its path through his body.

The energy rampaged through him like a living force, stretching his meridians to their limits as it moved through his body. It savagely scoured his meridians, scrubbing free every trace of debris that might have impeded their flow through his opened channels. Yu Chen circulated the qi time and time again, as it grew stronger, fed by the energy the pills created as they burnt away in his stomach.

Finally, with a relieved gasp, he felt the pills putter, flickering like a candle as whatever strange reaction it was that fueled their effect ran out.

However, the energy that still remained in Yu Chen’s body had to be dealt with if he was to truly consider this a success. He gathered himself once more, pulling all of his qi back into his dantian, stretching it painfully.

A sense of worry arose as the pain grew, and he was concerned he’d truly overdone it by taking all three pills at once, but he shoved the thought aside. It was too late to stop or go back now. Instead, he remained focused, slowly revolving the qi in a circle through his dantian as he mentally pressed on it, willing it to condense.

A battle emerged as the energy fought against him, unwilling to change forms. The young boy pit his stubborn will against the indifferent will of heaven and earth, betting that he would come out on top.

Slowly, unbelievably, the energy condensed half a step, and his dantian relaxed in relief. He continued pressing, until, grudgingly, the energy condensed once again. A slight ache lingered in his dantian, proof of the hard-fought battle Yu Chen had won. A weary smile crossed his face, as he examined the qi that now filled his dantian, much thicker and denser than the one from before.

His dantian still felt uncomfortably full, so Yu Chen gathered the remaining qi, circulating it throughout his body until he directed it towards the blocked meridians in his legs. This was normally reserved for the next level, but Yu Chen still had plenty of energy remaining, and he thought it would be a waste to not put it to use.

The levels themselves were just guidelines after all.

He frowned in concentration, as the dense qi flowed through his meridians. He speeded up the circulation, moving it faster and faster until he sent it crashing into the blockages in his legs. His thick qi tore deep into the blocked meridians, washing away some of the debris that clogged them, but it wasn’t quite enough. Yu Chen wasted no time, as his energy had grown much weaker after that assault, circulating it once more before sending it crashing into the blockages again.

He repeated the process again and again until only the last bit of his energy remained, just enough to trickle through the now cleared meridians and complete the circulation within his body.

Unfortunately, the energy had run dry before he could finish scouring the meridians completely, leaving them only partially opened. Still, Yu Chen believed it had been worth the effort, and he was sure they’d be a great boon when it came to using his movement technique.

He opened his eyes, a fearless grin spread across his face as he stood up, examining the changes in his body. The new energy that pumped through him felt many times stronger than what he’d possessed before, and he was filled with joy as he sensed himself progressing.

It wasn't strong enough to block the stench that arose off of him however, and he examined his robes in dismay. He’d actually liked these robes. Now they were covered in blotchy spots of an oily residue, the remains of the detritus that had been pushed out of his meridians.

It looked like another trip to the bath was called for.