Internal Energy

After the martial instructor went over the process of embodying once more, he left the prisoners to train on their own with the breathing exercise.

Though he had also demonstrated a martial technique to utilize internal energy, in truth, his expectations were low.

It would be a miracle if any of them could even sense their internal energy within a week.

Furthermore, due to the Sect purchasing mostly low-grade slaves, he noticed how some of them were 'illiterate.'

In particular, the ones with strange clothes. They seem to be talking in a different language. Thus, he just demonstrated the moves again to them.

Fortunately, they were aware enough to know that they had to follow what he was doing.

"Syth, do you understand how the breathing method works? How can breathing a certain way cause heat to rise in the body?" Seeing Syth in a trance after the demonstration, Lillias couldn't help but ask.

Snapping out of his daze, Syth replied, "I'm not entirely sure myself. This world obviously isn't the one we know, so maybe there's something like magical energy here — something that lets people perform supernatural feats. Like in the movies or TV shows."

He gave a vague answer on purpose. Even though he knew exactly why it worked, the last thing he wanted was to draw suspicion or get questioned further.

"Magical energy?" Lillias recalled how the martial instructor had effortlessly broken those peoples' arms. It was definitely supernatural and inhuman.

She also felt changes in her own body.

There was no way she could have adapted to this kind of training in just a week back on Earth.

Even the hardened, muscular men were nearing collapse after the session, while she felt as if she'd only gone for a light jog.

After going over the instructor's explanation again for Lillias, the two began attempting to sense the internal energy within themselves.

'So this is my otherworldly blessing...'

Syth had been half-absent ever since the martial instructor's demonstration. During that time, he discovered something — there was more to his perception than just seeing internal energy.

If he focused, he could even enter another state of 'seeing'.

As the martial instructor had stopped his movements, naturally, he didn't see any more internal energy flowing around, however, through this state of seeing, he could see different threads of energy.

Instead of the vibrant green of internal energy, he saw azure blue threads swirling all around.

'That must be Qi.'

Syth then turned to Lillias.

A different thread of colour was surrounding her.

An ominous black.

One thing he noticed in this week was how the gloomy aura surrounding her was increasing steadily.

Now, he knew why.

'Death Qi...'

Syth pondered.

In the novel, it was described how she utilised death itself to fight, channelling Death Qi instead of regular Qi, making her abilities and attacks extremely dangerous.

Death Qi was another form of Qi, usually only inhabiting the dead, and most abundant in people close to dying.

But Lillias was very much alive.

Syth knew it was the work of her otherworldly blessing.

In the novel, it was stated how her otherworldly blessing followed the path of body cultivation. It was called the Profane Dark Body.

While Syth likely had an otherworldly blessing related to essence cultivation, her otherworldly blessing is related to the body. It was slowly adapting her body to store in more Death Qi, which explains why the aura around her is becoming more gloomy each day.

This... was naturally a problem. Death Qi isn't suitable for humans. It was essentially poison. Although it's not a threat now, as someone who is spending the most amount of time with Lillias, he would eventually get implicated.

Only when she starts cultivating would she find a way of suppressing the Death Qi, but now, she was merely a mortal.

Syth sighed.

'I guess I just need to keep a safe distance once her Death Qi increases to a dangerous level. Long exposure to Death Qi would definitely harm me. For now, I just to keep assisting Lillias whilst growing stronger...'

After experimenting with his new vision, Syth decided to see if he can replicate what the martial instructor did.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to breathe. His eyelids closed slowly, shutting the world out.

The instructor's words still echoed in his mind — how internal energy flowed like a river, how the body could be trained to draw it out through specific breathing patterns.

"Breathe until you feel a heat rise in your body."

He remembered the martial instructor's words.

He was basically telling them to walk in complete darkness and find the right path — that path being the meridians.

But Syth wasn't interested in that process of trial and error.

Not when he could see it flowing.

He exhaled slowly, then, he shifted his focus inward.

And just like before — the world changed.

His body disappeared. No bones, no flesh. Just a web of translucent channels, glowing dimly like crystal rivers trapped inside him.

His meridians.

Energy flowed within.

He adjusted his breathing and watched the internal energy respond. It stirred with each inhale, and receded slightly on the exhale.

As he breathed, he guided the energy through all his meridians.

And then —

He felt it.

Heat.

It was not from exertion and fatigue. It was like a flower blooming in his chest, enveloping his body in a warm, prickly sensation.

'I've done the first step.' Syth laughed in his heart.

He felt his internal energy!

Something which would have taken the average person 3 months, had only taken him a single attempt!

It was effortless! Just merely being able to see internal energy had made this process a thousand times easier.

It really proved the benefits of having an otherworldly blessing!

Moreover, he had yet to explore all the possibilities of his otherworldly blessing.

There may be more uses to it!

Feeling the heat within his body, Syth lifted himself up to his feet.

The next step now was to release that heat through exercising.

However, the martial instructor's movements quickly replayed in Syth's memory. 

'Perhaps I can do it...'

Syth decided to try and replicate the movements.

Exercising with internal energy normally would only be a weeks worth of training. But a real technique could compress a month's progress into a single session.

What the martial instructor demonstrated moments ago was definitely a proper technique.

Of course, the instructor hadn't gone into detail.

It wasn't as if he could anticipate someone like Syth being among the slaves, being able to sense energy on a profound level.

Taking position, Syth bent his knees and shifted into the first stance, exhaling as he did. He swept his arm in a wide arc — the motion felt clean, but nothing changed inside.

The energy didn't move, and the heat in his body remained the same.

'Wrong,' he thought, frowning. 'Just copying his actions… it won't do.'

He closed his eyes again, inhaled sharply, and visualized it.

He visualized those threads of internal energy that flowed with each of his movements.

'I need to guide my internal energy when doing those movements, whilst constantly adjusting my breathing...' Syth thought, moving once more.

This time, he began from his core, and adjusted the flow of internal energy in tandem with his movements.

The result was instantaneous.

His palm sliced through the air.

Fwoosh!

Energy surged. A cool trail of pressure flowed outward as the wind around his hand bent.

Syth's eyes snapped open.

His heart pounded, and cold sweat rapidly formed on his palms.

That one motion had drained more from him than a full day of training.

His legs shook beneath him, however, he stabilised them before he could collapse.

"…It worked."

His internal energy had moved!

He had stepped into the realm of a martial artist!