Being a Quincy

A gentle wind brushed through the clearing, making the grass sway as Liu Feiyang sat cross-legged, eyes closed. The tall trees stood still, their leaves filtering the sunlight into golden patches. He took a deep breath, focusing, trying to enter his mindspace.

But something was wrong.

He frowned. For the first time, no matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn't get into that space. Just as he was worried about what was wrong with him, he felt some sort of energy come out him.

His eyes snapped open.

In front of him, Qi started to gather in front of him very quickly and swirled like a tiny storm before taking the shape of a man and solidifying, revealing a familiar tall man, wearing a long black coat.

Liu Feiyang blinked. "Wait a second… I thought you guys couldn't manifest yourself in the real world because of my low cultivation."

"That applies to him," the Old Man said, his deep voice steady. "Not to me. My powers allow me to manipulate world around me."

"Manipulate the world around you?" Liu Feiyang raised an eyebrow. That sounded very cool and interesting also very overpowered but also very vague and could mean anything.

"Yes," the Old Man confirmed. "That's what it means to be a Quincy. But to understand that properly we need to start with the basics, tell me—what do you know about cultivating Qi?"

Liu Feiyang straightened up. "In simple words, It is the process of absorption, refining, and combining Qi in the body's energy center (Dantian) by circulating it through the meridians."

"Good. Explain the three steps."

Liu Feiyang answered quickly, his tone steady. "Absorption is the first step—it's how cultivators take in Qi from their surroundings. This Qi can come from the air, special treasures, or even direct transfers from another person or artifact. 

But raw Qi isn't always stable or pure. That's where Refining comes in. It's the process of filtering out impurities and harmonizes it with your body. Every cultivator's Qi has a unique signature, and refined Qi needs to match that to be used efficiently. 

Finally, there's Combining. This step is the most crucial because it determines how much power you actually gain. You take the refined Qi and merge it with what's already stored in your Dantian, integrating it into your foundation. 

But if the Qi types don't match well, this step becomes much harder, sometimes even dangerous which is why we use various secret arts to improve the refining and combing process. If done correctly, though, each cycle of these three steps strengthens your cultivation and pushes you closer to breaking through."

The Old Man nodded. "Correct. Today, we are going to learn the most basic power of a Quincy which is to Absorb and Utilize External Qi. We do it by storing the absorbed inside our body instead of the dantain and use it directly without refining it."

Liu Feiyang frowned, deep in thought. "Wouldn't that be dangerous? Cultivators refine Qi to make sure it's pure and compatible with their bodies. Unrefined Qi can be chaotic, unstable, and even poisonous. If someone is careless, it could damage their meridians, disrupt their internal balance, or even cripple them entirely."

"Right," the Old Man said, his voice carrying a note of approval. "As you said in a normal case, storing Raw Qi inside their body directly would cause rejection because of its unfamiliarity with the body and presence of many impurities as a self defense mechanism.

In severe cases, when the Raw Qi is not just unfamiliar but totally opposing in nature or contains too many impurities, it will act as a poison which we call Qi poisoning."

Old man continues, "We Quincies, too, are not immune to Qi poisoning but as long as one doesn't trigger the extreme conditions, they can store large amounts of external Qi. This method allows us to rapidly increase our power, though it is not permanent, its duration depends on one's mastery."

Liu Feiyang thought for a moment. "But how do you control it? Wouldn't it just scatter or explode the moment you try to use it? I mean won't it run wild inside our body or dissipate upon release."

"A valid concern," the old man acknowledged. "To manipulate this Qi effectively, you must blend it with your own spiritual Qi—or, in your case, your personal Qi. Beginners typically start with a 1:1 ratio—one part internal Qi to one part external Qi. This ensures stability while you learn to manage the mixture."

Old man only ever says what is needed to be said, but always explains his doubts thoroughly and pushes him to think for himself. Perhaps it was because of the technical aspect of the Quincy abilities, it was a method of learning he liked a lot.

Liu Feiyang nodded, took a deep breath, and reached out to the energy around him. He pulled it in, feeling the Qi rush through his meridians. But this time, instead of refining and sending it towards the dantain, it was being stored inside the body.

"That's enough," the old man said after observing the steady accumulation. "Now, take Qi from your Dantian and mix it evenly with the absorbed Qi. Proceed slowly to prevent any backlash."

Liu Feiyang obeyed, drawing his own Qi to blend with the raw energy. The moment they combined, the chaotic force settled, becoming something he could actually control.

The process was painstaking, requiring meticulous attention. Yet, as Liu Feiyang blended the two energies, a remarkable sensation surged through him. Before, the unrefined Qi had felt distant, only its presence could be felt and could not be controlled beyond the meridians. But now, unrefined Qi now felt as familiar and responsive as his own, forging a bond as strong as the one he had with his personal Qi.

He opened his mouth to speak, excitement bubbling up, but the old man cut him off. "Focus," the Old Man warned. "Lose control now, and you'll get hurt."

Liu Feiyang quickly steadied himself and continued the process. Then, something surprising happened—he noticed that an equal amount of Qi was actually not necessary. With just half, he could control the same amount of external Qi— one part of internal Qi to two parts of external Qi, doubling the efficiency.

After a few minutes, he had fully absorbed and stabilized the energy.

He opened his eyes, grinning. "Done."

"Try using it."

Liu Feiyang approached a nearby tree, channeling the newly mixed Qi into his right hand as he adopted a fighting stance. With a swift punch, he unleashed the combined energy. The impact shattered the tree cleanly in half, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Liu Feiyang stared at his hand in disbelief, then burst into laughter. "This is..... amazing!"

The Old Man crossed his arms. "Not bad. Most people need an equal amount of their own Qi to control external energy, but you did it with only half. That's rare."

Liu Feiyang smirked, but the Old Man's next words made him pause.

"Don't get overconfident. To attain the goals you want in this life, you are going to need much more talent, and hard work like any other."

Liu Feiyang nodded, taking the words seriously. Meanwhile, the Old Man had his own thoughts.

'Though I said that, the feat he achieved while using his Quincy abilities for the first time shows that his talent is in the same tier as the progenitor. The first Quincy had no guidance, forced to carve his own path through countless trials and hardships. He spent years in self-discovery, refining his techniques through sheer perseverance and instinct. But Liu Feiyang... with proper training, I could mold him to reach that same pinnacle—perhaps even—'

He stopped himself. 'Still, maybe I'm being naive, thinking so far ahead. It's only the beginning, and talent alone is never enough. Nothing is confirmed yet. We'll have to see how he handles what comes next.)'

"Don't worry, Old Man," Liu Feiyang said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I've read enough stories to know talent alone isn't enough. It's always 90% hard work, 10% talent. So, what's next?"

A faint smile crossed the Old Man's face. "Next, you do it on a bigger scale. You'll absorb even more Qi, double no.. triple your reserves, and learn to do it in battle. You won't always have time to gather Qi before a fight—you need to absorb and use it while moving."

Liu Feiyang slammed his fist and palm together, his eyes burning with excitement. "Then let's get started!"

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Comment down any suggestion you have or any character you want to see in the fic. I have decided to add a character inspired by Aizen after the Tong Xuan Realm arc and a character like Gojo Satoru or Sung Jin Woo(may be one or both) in the Star Boundary Arc).

Be sure to vote and leave a review if possible. Including comments, those are my source of motivation.