Breakthrough II

Guihu Luixing seated in the Lotus Position on the cultivation mat. Dark Moon was seating not too far from him, with a serious expression on her fox face.

After completely calming down, regulate his breathing and gathering his focus, Guihu Luixing picked the first Qi Stone. Just constant contact with a Qi Stone was considerably dangerous for a mortal, much less eating. It was akin to a unprotected person carrying around and swallowing a radioactive object. It was understandable he had to calm himself down.

He nodded to Dark Moon then put the first stone in his mouth. The Qi Stone had no taste. It was obviously not possible for a mortal to chew on a Qi Stone, they would only ruin their teeth. Guihu Luixing had to swallow the thing whole.

A Qi Stone looked like a small regular stone. Low Grade Qi Stones, like the ones Guihu Luixing was using, were light blue and were slightly bigger than a glass bead. Their format was irregular and could have pointy edges.

The Qi Stone went down Guihu Luixing throat, scratching it's walls on it's way to his stomach.

Even through the painful process, he couldn't break his concentration. He need to feel the Qi through his six senses. The touch, the smell, the taste, the sound and the color of the Qi by a mortal five senses and the presence of Qi by the spirit sense.

Unfortunately, no matter how Guihu Luixing tried, it was useless. There was no change at all.

After ten minutes passed since he swallowed the first stone, he swallowed another.

His throat had obviously not recovered yet, and a second Qi Stone scratching open even more wounds was the last thing it needed. So it did what any organism would do l: Try to expel the foreign body through coughs or vomit urges.

The coughs would only be counterproductive thought. Guihu Luixing needed to swallow the stone, and expelling the stone would only prolong the pain, so Guihu Luixing endured the urge to cough and kept going.

Unfortunately, his efforts were unrewarded. The second stone also showed no results after the ten minutes mark.

Guihu Luixing could only curse his bad luck and swallow ghe next stone.

"...Ghh!...Kuf...Kuf"

This time, Guihu Luixing couldn't hold back his coughs, something that caused him even more pain. But even so, he didn't vomit the stone.

"How is it Dark Moon? Any abnormalities?"He asked his furry protector.

"Wu!" The pup shoke her head.

Even though he was feeling no pain, nor any discomfort, he was having an increasing feeling of dread. As if something was threatening his life. Even so he didn't show it in his face and continued.

After another ten minutes, Guihu Luixing once again experienced no changes.

"The fourth Qi Stone. I'm feeling quite full already."

Guihu Luixing took the fourth Qi Stone and unceremoniously swallowed it.

"Kuf...Kuf, kuf, kuf..."

Guihu Luixing's was so damged he started coughing blood.

"Wuu!"

Seing the blood, Dark Moon was alarmed.

"It's alright." Guihu Luixing consoled her "Although it's certainly not pleasant, it's not a big deal. It should heal in a couple of days."

He wanted to offer some more relieving words, but suddenly he went into a trance.

Dark Moon immediately noticed his state and got nervous thinking something was wrong, but after some more observation she noticed he was actually interacting with Qi. He was breaking through!

She was really happy. If it were the her from two days ago, she might have panicked, started making noises and leaving to call someone. Any of those things might have interrupted Guihu Luixing's breakthrough. She was glad she studied about breakthroughs. She now understood how useful knowledge could be.

As for Guihu Luixing, he was seeing everything differently. He could see the Qi in the air. Hear it's vibration, he could smell the Qi, taste it and feel the Qi with both his skin and his soul.

Everyone that interacted with Qi by the first time would have a similar experience. However, Six Senses Method's experience was the most impactful by far.

By flooding one's internals with Qi, it triggered the body's survival instinct. The user has to learn to interact with Qi or risk death.

This made one's body extremely sensitive to Qi and also made the Qi control to be more precise and natural, as you learn it unconsciously.

Guihu Luixing was precisely in this moment. His body was learning and adapting to Qi. Everything he was experiencing was an over amplified reaction to new sensations.

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Outside, the headmaster sighed in relief "He succeed."

He looked terrible. He had scratches and bruises all over his body. If anyone else saw him they would believe he just survived an assassination attempt.

Who did this to him in such short time? His wife. Antonietta was never a shy flower. Ever since she was young she had a strong temperament.

Now, she was a mother worried about her child. When she sensed Guihu Luixing coughing blood, she felt that she had to rush to his side by any means. Obviously, the headmaster wouldn't allow her reckless decision to endanger their child, but he also could hurt her. So he resigned himself to be her punching bag for a while, stopping her from intruding.

"You're lucky he made it through. If anything happened to him, it would be your fault!" Exclaimed the still nervous mother.

The headmaster knew that there was no way to this argument, so he just stayed silent and nodded. She was too much even for him when she was in this state.

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Guihu Luixing spent nearly 24 hours in that state until he woke up. He was very tired, but more than anything, he needed to expel the Qi Stones.

Even though he could now interact with Qi, he still couldn't absorb it, so he had to put it out somehow. It's like the radioactive material again. If before he was a naked person, now he was a person with the proper equipment to handle radioactive materials. However, even so, he couldn't eat them.

He could contain the Qi that was inside him until he could finally expell it. His body has been doing it unconsciously for over 24 hours. That's why he was so tired.

Understanding his own situation, Guihu Luixing rushed to the bathroom.

When he left the bathroom, clearly much relieved he heard a familiar sound.

*Tan Taranranran Tan Tan Tan*

[You cleared the missions number 4 and 6. You unlocked the system's basic features. You have received the Deep Qi Immersion Manual.]

Suddenly a huge headache assaulted Guihu Luixing. Combined with the exhaustion he was feeling he was about to faint.

[Host, your body has been under constant stress the past day and imparting a manual to your mind is placing even more burden on your mind. Rest is recommended. The system will need some time to update.]

Guihu Luixing could only nod while he stumbled towards his room. When he arrived, he didn't even mind the door, his clothes or his shoes. He just threw himself to the bed and slept.

[When you wake up Host, you will start to really see your road. It's time for you to start preparing.]

The system said to no one in particular.

[Time to prepare to fade in the shadows.]