Martial Grand Master

In the quiet hours of the night, after long day of lectures and hushed conversations, he would run his scriptures over and over in his mind. 

"In the stillness of the mortal coil, seek the union of flesh and spirit. The body is the vessel, the mind, the forge. To ascend, one must temper both."

"The adept walks the path of balance. Internal energy flows through the Twelve Principal Meridians, Nourishing the organs. External strength is honed through discipline— Strike with precision, move with grace. The adept's body is a blade, sharpened by repetition and resolve."

"The master transcends the limits of flesh. Vigorous Qi and Spiritual Energy fuse, birthing a new force—Essence. The master's body becomes a conduit, drawing power from excess essence. Eight Spiritual Veins form, channeling this energy into a spiritual lake. At its peak, the lake expands into a sea, boundless and eternal."

He had reached the absolute pinnacle of Martial Mastery in his own unique way. While other martial masters might spend ten to twelve grueling years refining their craft through endless battles and rigorous training to forge unyielding spirit and mastery of techniques, Han Chen had done it in the quiet solitude of his home—syncing with his own dao, meditating deeply, ingesting qi beast essence, and visualizing in his spirit.

Late that night, as he scrolled through online forums in secret, he uncovered a tantalizing clue about advancing further—a breakthrough to the elusive Martial Grandmaster stage in a world devoid of natural spiritual Qi. The key was clear: to achieve such transformation, one needed an abundant supply of qi and essence.

It involved an almost impossible ritual for him—hunting and absorbing the essence from hundreds of beasts during each practice session, a pursuit so arduous and costly that only martial families could even dream of affording it. The result though, such essence can either bring that magical transformation or cripple himself back to mid stage martial artist never to progress again.

Even then, qi beast essence remained a rare treasure, the beasts themselves nurtured and qi-cultivated through generations. The announcement came during homeroom—a three-day camping trip to the sprawling forest reserve on the city's outskirts. The class erupted in cheers, but Han Chen's mind was already elsewhere. A forest. Trees. Life essence.

Zhao Lin, ever the showman, stood up. "I'll organize the activities. Trust me, it'll be unforgettable." His gaze flicked to Xu Qing, who smiled politely but didn't meet his eyes.

Han Chen leaned back in his chair, feigning disinterest. Unforgettable, indeed. I am about to breakthrough during those days.

The forest was alive, a sprawling sea of green where sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting dappled patterns on the ground. Tents dotted the landscape like mushrooms, and the air buzzed with laughter and the crackling of campfires.

Amid the lively scene, Han Chen lingered on the edges, but his aloof nature always an allure to any who is near him. He helped who come up to converse, set up tents, exchanged polite nods, and even endured Zhao Lin's attempts to assert dominance during a game of capture the flag.

"Han Chen, you're on my team," Zhao Lin declared, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Han Chen shrugged. "Sure." The game was chaos. Zhao Lin barked orders, his team scrambling to keep up, while Han Chen moved effortlessly dodging and outmaneuvering everyone. When he captured the flag single-handedly, other teams embarassed. "Lucky shot," Zhao Lin, muttered, though his clenched fists betrayed his frustration. He couldn't ignore Han Chen's progress in martial arts.

Later, Xu Qing approached Han Chen, her expression soft. "Your team won," she said.

"Yeah, I snatched one from yours too," he replied. "Why are you so happy about it?"

"Hmm. It's because my boyfriend is on it. I'll tolerate it," she teased before hesitating and walking away.

That night, Han Chen slipped into the depths of the forest, Zhao Lin ever suspicious found this and secretly followed but losing him in the darkness. Han Chen obviously moved very far away with his skills before other could focus his sight. The dark and eerie forest was bright in his eyes through intent sight without even employing any techniques.

Miles away from camping site in the deep woods, Han Chen found a clearing bathed in moonlight. Ten towering trees stood sentinel, their vitality a tangible force. Near a small pond, he knelt, his palms pressing into the earth, intangible dao rhythm and spirit will pulse through the air, chanting cultivation verses that twisted through the darkness:

"The grandmaster wields the martial will," he recited silently, channeling Essence through his Governing and Conception Vessels. Spiritual nature of cultivation technique affected the laws of heaven and earth. The trees' life essence flowed into him, a river of energy that ignited his acupoints like stars.

After the essence absorption and refining brought excess qi such that every meridian nodes of his being was swelling he started the breakthrough process.

"The grandmaster wields the martial will, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Primary Acupoints—Governing and Conception Vessels foremost—becoming reservoirs of power.

Beneath the moonlit dantian, a silver river stirs. From root to throat, the Ren ascends, carrying life's essence.

Awaken its flow; let yin embrace the night, where frailty becomes celestial might. The Conception Vessel, gate of nourishment, opens the path for essence to rise, transcending flesh.

Along the spine, the Du ignites, a flame of will piercing the void. From sacrum to crown, it climbs like lightning, forging through jade barriers. Awaken its fire; let yang command the day, where mortal limits dissolve. The Governing Vessel, pillar of ascent, burns through stagnation, purging decay, as the soul takes flight.

Ren and Du, twin serpents entwined, meet at tongue and root, a divine circuit. Qi flows downward as heavenly dew, upward as earthly flame. Cycle the orbit—yin and yang as one—the mortal shell a crucible of stars. In this dance, the microcosm breathes, and the grandmaster's will stitches heaven to flesh.

Eyes unseeing, heart awake, feel heaven's tremors. Extend thy will beyond skin; draw the outer world within. Acupoints awaken, each a nexus of control. The grandmaster's mind and body move as one, shaping reality. To reach this stage is to stand at the threshold of immortality."

The breakthrough was violent, beautiful. Qi field erupted from body as shockwave in all directions clearing the traces left by previous movements.

Body shuddered as his spiritual lake within soul subspace expanded, its imaginary waters churning with newfound power. As soon as the breakthrough finished, the newfound increment in the energy capacity leaves Han Chen in dire needs of qi, so under full cycle running of his essence convergence technique, the trees around him withered, their leaves curling brown as their essence was drained by early morning.

By dawn, his frame had shifted—broader shoulders straining his shirt, jawline sharpened, skin glowing beneath sweat-damp fabric. He adjusted his strength but before he could check further, he heard the sound of his fellow mates in the distance.

The campsite was in chaos. Zhao Lin was missing, so was Han Chen.

Xu Qing paced nervously, her voice trembling. "He was here last night. I saw him leave the tent." Li Wei, ever the loyal lackey, scowled. "He probably went for a walk. He'll be back."

But just as chaos passed, Han Chen was spotted near the site perched on a tree branch looking for signal. The teachers organized a search party for Zhao Lin, and the students fanned out into the forest.

Xu Qing found Han Chen near the edge of the clearing. "Have you seen him?" she asked, her eyes wide with worry. Han Chen shook his head. "No. But I'll help look."

They walked in silence, the forest's stillness pressing down on them. Xu Qing glanced at Han Chen, her voice barely a whisper. "You' look taller than yesterday, and the shirt barely fits. What happened to you?"

He met her gaze, his expression unreadable. "...There he is," he said, pointing to a tree where Zhao Lin clung tightly to a branch, disheveled and furious. He'd gotten lost, his pride preventing him from calling for help.

"Where were you last night?" Xu Qing demanded, relief and anger warring in her voice.

Zhao Lin glared at Han Chen. "I saw him. He was… doing something. In the woods."

Han Chen raised an eyebrow. "Doing what? I was near the site all the while, what were you doing so deep in the woods?"

Zhao Lin's face reddened, but he said nothing.

Back at the campsite, the mood was subdued. Zhao Lin avoided Han Chen; his usual bravado replaced by a simmering resentment. Xu Qing sat by the fire; her gaze on Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin were scolded harshly by the teachers and class monitor. Han Chen retreated to his tent, finally getting a moment to explore his new abilities. First thing he noticed is that he felt isolated. He was startled by the thought of ascension happening as such a low realm, but after carefully sensing the dao rhythm he found out what's missing.

Grandmaster realm would breathe in spiritual qi from world outside and forms a cycle and in essence could borrow momentum of heaven and earth if they were to grasp the law of heavenly spirit qi even if it's in the first layer. There is no qi outside so what can he borrow?

He regained spiritual sense, his soul power forming a half-meter field around him where everything was known. His soul strengthened to near foundation realm level while being near 8th layer qi cultivation level as of Grandmaster.

Spiritual sense and intent sight are merged and beyond that, his spirit will permeate.

His spiritual sense is mutated as—instead of monochromic normal spiritual sense or polygonal planes of previous intent sight, he now saw three-dimensional structures in 360 degrees. When his eyes were open, the ability seamlessly overlapped with his vision, allowing him to see through layers of mud to underground roots and burrowing animals.

His spiritual qi reserves were now 20 times of before, and he could easily defeat his former self. His perception of time slowed beyond superhuman limits. 

He tried to release his phone in air & in his perception he could feel it's almost stagnant and could reach for it any number of times. Besides multiple future trajectories are visible either with me picking it or without picking it.

His body refining had advanced beyond 90% for the first time. With improved soul power and body harmony, his spirit will conduits were hundreds of times stronger. He felt tactile sensation of every object including people outside like they were in a viscous medium where he could control its intensity.

He could sense people outside the tent and realized a single thought could crush Zhao Lin's head without physical contact. Every surface and object was now perceived in higher resolution. "Well, this also means there's no privacy in front of me…" Han Chen mused, testing the ability. Moments later, the class monitor and Xu Qing screamed, "Kya!" from outside.

"I'm not a pervert. I was just testing feasibility," he convinced himself. Still, the control was fragile; a single distracting thought could harm those around him.