Time passes slowly.
In the early days, Ruminas had a hard time keeping her "qi" evenly distributed throughout her body. When she concentrated too much, it would gather in one place, and when she relaxed, it would gradually disperse.
"It's really tiring…"
Ruminas scratched his head and then adjusted his mood.
She sighed in frustration many times, but remembered the words of the Heroic Queen that "qi" is balance. So, instead of trying to control it with willpower, she began to regulate her breathing, keeping her mind relaxed, not forcing it anymore.
But even though she chose to let things be natural, the 'qi' that Ruminas had still dissolved after a while.
"What is the problem anyway?"
[The Heroic Queen reminds you to really relax and let your body be natural, you are still unconsciously forcing your 'qi' without even knowing it]
"Oh, there's this…"
Ruminas thought for a while and then seemed to understand. She continued to meditate but did not move the 'qi' inside her body. Ruminas realized that entering a state of meditation was much harder than she thought, so before practicing 'qi', she had to learn how to cool her head.
And Ruminas sat motionless like that for several hours, clearing her mind of all thoughts, allowing her soul to truly relax and find rest.
She didn't have to do anything but the 'qi' came to her.
It began to gather without her any movement, Ruminas also left it alone to let the 'qi' flow integrate and maintain its own existence.
She gave a slight smile.
"It's not that difficult!"
A week passed.
For the first time, Ruminas was able to maintain a stable "qi" in her body for an hour without losing control. She felt it like a warm stream flowing along every muscle, bringing her an unprecedented feeling of comfort.
"It feels so good!"
Ruminas was still practicing the carefree method, letting the air currents swim on their own, but she would occasionally try to interfere with them to let them get used to her presence.
"It's like taming a wild animal…" She thought.
Two weeks later.
She could feel the "qi" circulating in her body even without her full concentration. Not only that, Ruminas also noticed that her body became lighter, her reflexes became a little more responsive, though not to a significant extent.
The number of times she could influence the 'qi' had increased, sometimes she could even control them for a long time without any problems.
The flow of air that filled Ruminas' body made her feel a surge of power, but she quickly suppressed that feeling, continuing to let the air flow naturally.
The goal is to get them really in tune with your body so that when you need them, you can focus them right away without having to wait.
Three weeks later.
One morning, as he opened his eyes after a night of training, Ruminas suddenly felt that the world around him was different.
She tried to stand up, lifting her hands.
Immediately, the "qi" inside fluctuated slightly, as if it had completely merged with the body.
"Finally..."
She gave a slight smile.
Practicing over time has helped her understand that Qi is not something that needs to be rigidly "controlled", but something that needs to be felt and allowed to operate naturally in the body.
Now, Ruminas could maintain this "gentle" state completely naturally.
She continued to practice by gathering her chi and spreading it throughout her body to form a shield around herself and tried to maintain it for as long as possible.
On his first try, Ruminas lasted thirty-two minutes.
Second try, forty-four minutes.
Third time, fifty-six minutes.
"Good, just increase it gradually!"
The longer she maintained it, the more proficient Ruminas became at it. She gathered her energy in her palm and tried to strike forward. Just a light touch caused the rock in front of her to split in two.
[The Heroic Queen praised your learning speed. Now that you have gotten used to controlling the 'qi' inside your body, it is time for you to bring them outside, so they can come into contact with other things and do more things]
"Oh, you mean like using your chi to pick up an object…? Okay."
Ruminas slowly released the air, it was still surrounding her hand but instead of just a thin layer of armor following the outline, she was trying to push it out more, forming a mass of air outside but of course this was not easy at all.
[Usually other people will practice the 'gentle' state first, but you are proficient in the 'violent' part first, so practicing the opposite will be more difficult]
"I know, I'm trying."
Time continues to pass.
During the first days of this new phase, Ruminas found it much harder to pull the "qi" out than she had expected.
"Calm down!" Ruminas reminded herself, she couldn't let the peace of mind she had cultivated for a month be destroyed so easily.
On her first try, she gathered the "qi" into her hand and tried to let it out, but as soon as the "qi" left her body, it dispersed. Ruminas frowned, trying a few more times, but the result was the same.
On her second try, she changed her approach: holding the "qi" close to the surface of her skin first, then slowly pushing it out. This time, she was able to keep it in the air for a bit, but in the blink of an eye, it vanished as if it had never existed.
"It's harder than I thought…"
[The Heroic Queen reminds you: Don't try to push the "qi" out as if forcing it out of your body, think of it as expanding naturally, like warmth spreading instead of something being pushed away.]
Hearing this, Ruminas changed her approach once more.
She closed her eyes, imagining a gentle aura surrounding her body, not trying to "create" it but just letting it "be." This time, the "qi" did not disappear immediately, but began to float like a faint mist around her hand.
She opened her eyes, seeing a thin layer of air actually existing right in front of her.
"Some progress here!"
One week later.
Ruminas was able to keep a layer of "qi" around her hand without it immediately disintegrating. At first, this layer of "qi" only lasted for a few seconds, but through constant practice, she was able to extend the duration to nearly a minute.
However, this layer of "air" is still too thin to do anything but float there.
"Next is to make it thicker…"
She began experimenting with different methods.
The first way is to concentrate more of the "qi" into one spot, trying to compress it. But when she does that, the "qi" tends to condense into a small mass instead of covering her hand.
The second way, she tried to regulate her breathing so that the "qi" would spread out naturally and thicker, but this time it spread too widely and gradually faded away.
After many tries, Ruminas gradually understood the problem: she needed to balance between compression and diffusion, keeping the "air" dense enough but not too compact.
And then, one night, when she was in absolute concentration, she saw for the first time a stable layer of "qi", transparent but denser than before, covering her hand like an invisible glove.
She tried to reach out and touch a falling leaf.
The leaf did not touch her skin but stopped right on the layer of "air", as if something was supporting it.
Ruminas smiled with satisfaction.
"Okay, next is trying to lift the object"
But until now Ruminas had only focused on stabilizing the flow of "air" and had never tried to control it, so when she tried to move it, everything fell apart.
"Haizzz, it seems this road is still very long…"
Two weeks later.
The "qi" around Ruminas's hand was no longer just a thin mist. She could now make it cling tightly around her hand like an invisible glove, or stretch out slightly to touch nearby objects.
She learned how to move it as she wished, but still had to do it slowly. Then she started to try using it to lift a small stone.
The first time, the stone lifted slightly but fell back down immediately.
The second time, it hovered for a second before falling.
The third time, it floated in front of her for three seconds.
Ten times later, Ruminas was able to keep the stone suspended in the air for nearly a minute.
Twenty times later, she was able to hold it for five minutes.
Thirty times later, the pellet was held in place for a long period of time.
Forty times later, she tried using her chi to move the stone but immediately failed.
Fifty times later, the pellet had traveled just a few millimeters before falling.
Sixty times later, the distance it traveled was longer and it could move arbitrarily.
Seventy times later, Ruminas was able to control the stone as if she was holding it herself, the feeling from the "qi" transmitted was very real.
"Okay, let's try something heavier."
She moved to a larger rock.
The first time, the "qi" covered it but it could not be lifted.
The second time, it vibrated slightly.
The third time, it lifted a little and then fell back down.
Ruminas was not discouraged. She continued to practice, little by little adjusting her way of manipulating her "qi".
Three weeks later.
At this time, Ruminas could not only lift the large rock, but could also move it back and forth a little using "qi".
Not only that, she also experiments with different objects, from tree branches, fallen leaves to her weapons.
One time, she challenged herself by pulling her "qi" into an invisible hand and using it to lift a sword off the ground. The first attempt failed, but after several attempts, she managed to make the sword float in the air as if an invisible hand was holding it.
She raised her hand, the sword flew up.
She lowered her hand, and the sword followed.
"That's pretty convenient!"
[The Heroic Queen reminds you: Don't just stop at lifting objects, try using 'qi' as a fighting tool.]
"You mean fighting with qi?"
She clenched her fist, letting the "qi" surround her hand, then threw a punch straight into the air.
Boom!
The air in front of her shook violently, an invisible wave of air shot out, forming a deep mark on the ground.
Ruminas blinked, a little surprised.
"Whoa… looks like I just did something interesting."
She had done it before when fighting but it felt like it was unconscious and she just did everything she had to survive without really paying attention to how she did it and now that she did it proactively she succeeded on the first try.
She laughed, her heart filled with excitement.
This time, she knew for sure that she had entered a new stage of using "qi".