Chapter 2 - Breaking Through to Second Level
The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.
Chen Fan sat cross-legged on a large limestone rock near the river after taking a refreshing bath in its waters.
In the Tianwu Continent, martial arts were revered.
Martial arts practitioners absorbed the primeval qi of heaven and earth to strengthen themselves, enabling them to unleash immense strength measured in thousands of jin. Experts could even transcend spatial constraints to reach celestial bodies like the sun and the moon. At the highest levels, they could even destroy heaven and decimate earth, commanding supreme power.[1]
Despite receiving blessings from a disaster that unblocked his meridians, opened his dantian, and allowed him to break through to the first level of the Qigong realm, Chen Fan was still at the beginning stages of his martial arts journey, existing at the lowest level.
In martial arts, the first step was Body Refinement, followed by Qi Gathering. In the Qi Gathering realm, a martial artist absorbed primeval qi by practicing qi cultivation techniques. This stage was also commonly known as the Qigong realm and had nine levels.
Having obtained the Heaven Seizing Art, Chen Fan wished he could immediately become an exceptional expert under the heavens, standing above the sun, moon, and stars, reigning supreme.
“Does the Heaven Seizing Art really forcibly plunder the primeval qi of heaven and earth? So domineering! Let me give it a try.”
Chen Fan mumbled to himself and immediately shut his eyes, focusing on the cultivation passage of the Heaven Seizing Art.
As he began to practice, anomalies started to manifest in the surrounding space.
Chen Fan seemed to have become a black hole, giving rise to a terrifying suction force that made the air in the surrounding area rush toward him.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The air surged with incredible force, like a category ten typhoon was raging through the area. Whirring noises rang out in the area, the surrounding trees rattled, and the gale ripped off their leaves.
A huge funnel-shaped vortex appeared above Chen Fan. The heaven and earth primeval qi present in the air came rolling in, surging into him along this funnel-shaped vortex.
The instant he began cultivating, Chen Fan felt warmer and lighter and as comfortable as could be. This was something he had never experienced before.
A warm current flowed into his limbs and skeleton. His flesh and blood seemed to revel in the warmth, eagerly absorbing it like a delicious feast.
Chen Fan was very aware that this comfortable, warm current was the primeval qi of heaven and earth—a great tonic for martial arts practitioners.
As such, he began guiding the warm current in his meridians, following the path specified in the Heaven Seizing Art to complete a cycle.
If one observed from the outside, they would find that the circulating path of the Heaven Seizing Art resembled a human figure, precisely tracing the outline of a person.
He suddenly punched out, and the air boomed.
The air shook, forming a raging air current, and rushed forward, hitting a tree as wide as a bowl. The attack snapped the tree in half.
Chen Fan could tell that his punch earlier contained a force of 2,300 jin.
In the nine levels of the Qi Gathering realm, the first level possessed a force of 1,000 jin, and the second level possessed a force of 2,000 jin. With every small realm advancement, a martial artist’s strength would further increase by 1,000 jin.
Although he was only on the second level, the power of his punch was at 2,300 jin. His strength was comparable to a mid-stage second-level Qigong practitioner.
“This...”
Chen Fan looked at his palms, a little lost in thought.
He couldn’t understand why his strength surpassed a second-level Qigong martial artist’s by this much. After thinking about it, he attributed all of it to him being stuck in the Body Refinement realm for three years.
Moreover, his enlarged dantian gave him an advantage in terms of primeval qi storage. Although his capacity was still in the early stages of the second level of the Qigong realm, it was ten times greater than that of his peers, effectively making it comparable to a late-stage, second-level Qigong practitioner. As a result, his primeval qi would last longer during battles.
“If I see that scumbag Liao Feng again, I’ll definitely have the strength to fight back, unlike before!” Chen Fan didn’t bother thinking too deeply about it as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Liao Feng’s purpose for robbing his primeval stones was the Outer Sect Grand Competition in three months.
The Spring Autumn Sect’s outer sect had more than ten thousand disciples. They held recruitments every three years, along with a grand competition where the bottom 1,000 disciples were expelled from the sect.
If Chen Fan hadn’t had the fortuitous encounter with the lightning strike, he would have been undoubtedly expelled. However, now...
“Three months. In these three months, I must raise my cultivation to the fourth level of the Qigong realm or above to ensure I won’t be expelled from the sect. Otherwise, I’d really be letting my father down.”
In cultivation, the amount of primeval qi required to advance to the next level increased exponentially as one progressed. As such, even though Chen Fan practiced the Heaven Seizing Art, he only set his target at the fourth level of the Qigong realm.
Reaching the fourth level of the Qigong realm guaranteed him a place in the top 10,000 of the competition.
“Now that I have broken through to the second level of the Qigong realm, I can head to the Martial Arts Pavilion to pick out a martial skill. After learning a martial skill, I’ll definitely get back at Liao Feng for yesterday’s beating if I see him again!”
After a period of dedicated cultivation, Chen Fan stabilized his cultivation at the middle stage of the second level, boosting his strength to 2,600 jin. Feeling ready, he finally headed toward the Martial Arts Pavilion.
1. 1 Jin is rounded to 500 grams, or 1.32 pound ?
2. Also known as natal breath, the purest state of breathing achieved when highly immersed in cultivating, not needing to physically breathe in or out, instead done through the skin. ?