This is Qi?

Li Zian turned three a weeks ago. This world had thirteen months, each with twenty days, making there 240 days per a year. He was born on the 15th day of the 9th month.

He had mastered the language of this world and could hold full conversations with his parents and older brother. Everyone was impressed with his ability to learn so quickly and were even more shocked to discover he had also mastered reading. The maids seemed to regard him as a genius.

He often made his way to the small library they had in the villa to learn more about the world, and had gathered some essential information:

This world was named Gaia, and had three continents, each filled with massive empires and kingdoms. There were billions of residents, just like Earth, but they didn't possess advanced technology whatsoever.

That was because they didn't need it- they had something much more spectacular.

Li Zian witnessed it first-hand a week after his third birthday. He had been sitting on his mother's lap in the garden, watching the glowing koi fish splash around in the pond, when suddenly a strong wind billowed out from the villa.

His mother rushed inside, warning him not to follow.

"Li Zian, stay out here! Don't run off or anything, just keep watching the fishies!" His mother told him before running away.

Li Zian frowned and glanced at the koi fish. "I don't want to look at the fishies…" He muttered and then trotted over to the villa where the strong winds were originating from.

He discovered what the disturbance was. His father, Li Zixin, sat on his bed in the lotus position which he recognised from his past life.

There was a strange glow from his abdomen, and the wind seemed to shake from the pressure of whatever power he possessed.

This was completely supernatural to Li Zian, as no such thing existed on Earth, obviously. He was astounded and in shock for a while before a loud boom roared across the villa, and he was blown away. His jaw dropped as he witnessed something unimaginable.

A pillar of blue light burst out from his father, stretching into the sky and splitting the clouds. The ceiling of the villa was torn apart, and the villa was nearly completely collapsed.

Soon the pillar of blue light faded, and his father came out of his room perfectly fine and extremely joyful.

"You've finally done it!" His mother ran over and embraced him cheerfully.

"I have! Finally… Finally, I've caught up with my sister!" A tear rolled down his face.

Li Zian was confused as to what was happening, so he continued watching to try and find out.

His older brother appeared and saluted by pressing his right fist into his open left hand in front of him. "Congratulations, Father! You've finally broken through to the Deity Transformation Realm!" he said excitedly.

'Deity Transformation…' Li Zian thought. What does that mean?

A deity… Those are godly beings, but his father was no god, nor an immortal. He seemed like an ordinary man.

But then he thought for a while. Normally your appearance would change after three years, yet both his mother and father maintained their youth, always appearing as if in their early twenties, always beautiful and handsome.

His father often vanished during the day to go to 'work' as he called it, and he'd return when the sun was setting. He'd occasionally stay at home, where he'd often meditate. Li Zian was never allowed to disturb him during his meditation, but he didn't pay it any mind.

But now… It seemed like there was something he didn't understand about this world.

"Mummy, what's a Deity Transformation Realm?" Li Zian asked his mother in a cute and innocent voice.

His mother realised that she had never taught him anything and chuckled.

"It's time I taught him about cultivation, he's smart enough to understand it," his father said with a confident smile.

He took Li Zian's hand and led him out back to the koi fishpond, where he made him sit-down cross-legged opposite him on the ground.

"I'm going to explain to you the nature of this world, and the power we hold. We have a responsibility to become stronger, and its through this method that we do so."

Li Zixin paused for a second before speaking again. "This is called 'Cultivation.'

Li Zian's heart skipped a beat. He felt this word had extreme pressure attached to it but didn't know its full meaning. Cultivation…

It's obviously not agriculture, so was it what his father was doing? Meditating, and causing extreme phenomenon like earlier?

"What is cultivation?" Li Zian asked, completely serious.

"That's what I'm going to explain now. Let me start with the creator of all life… Spiritual energy."

Li Zian listened carefully to his explanation of 'spiritual energy'.

"Spiritual energy is an invisible energy, like the wind, that flows throughout the universe infinitely. It is incredibly powerful and is what creates things like plants and life. We exist thanks to spiritual energy."

Li Zian took a few moments to try and understand this fact. All the knowledge of his past life was proving completely useless- reality had been broken and replaced with this strange but completely real fantasy.

Many scientists and philosophers discussed how life came to be, but to think it was due to this 'spiritual energy'. It was a fact he wouldn't have accepted in his past life but could now after all he had experienced so far.

Li Zixin continued after making sure his son understood.

"There are people who possess the talent and innate ability to absorb spiritual energy. They then transform and condense the spiritual energy into a refined and pure energy we call 'qi'."

'Qi…'

Li Zian had heard about such a thing in his previous life, although in different forms like Chi or Ki.

"Qi can be used for several things. For example, we use it to create and execute techniques, such as this."

Li Zian's father stood up and suddenly a sword appeared in his hand from thin air. He looked up at the sky and shifted his feet into the correct position in the grass.

Li Zixin bowed his body forwards slightly, holding the sheathe of his sword with his left hand and the handle with his right.

He then drew his sword at an incredibly fast speed, and dazzling blue light burst out of its blade.

He swung his sword up at the sky in a crescent arc, and the blue energy began to spiral and transform into a blue crescent wave of power.

The qi soared up towards the clouds and tore through them. Booming like thunder erupted from above, and the clouds were blown apart, turning the day from a cloudy autumn to a clear summer with the sun beaming down on Li Zian.

'This… This…'

He had no words to explain this mystical power. "This is qi?" He asked his father.

"Indeed. To be specific, this is the sword qi I produce through my technique 'Azure Dragon Blade'. It has eight forms, and this is the first. I won't use the rest around here, because it'll put you in danger," He smiled.

Despite his easy-going and kind appearance, Li Zian's father was terribly strong!

"That's… Amazing!" Li Zian was in complete awe at the power of a cultivator. "Father is so cool!" He clapped his hands.

Li Zixin relished in the praises of his son before clearing his throat and sitting back down.

"There's more I have to explain to you, though. Now, let's discuss the realms."