Ryuji felt a faint white stream of Qi hidden inside his body, secretly wandering like a cunning little creature. He hadn't even suspected its existence before. But as soon as he began breathing using the method from the breathing art, he immediately sensed this elusive trace of energy.
This stream was like a mischievous little mouse hiding somewhere deep inside. Every time Ryuji tried to catch it with sheer willpower—it slipped away instantly, as if mocking him.
Ryuji got furious.
"Hey, little guy, you're inside me and still acting so unruly?! I'll catch you!"
He chased after the Qi stream. Ryuji's consciousness darted throughout his body like a hunter pursuing elusive prey. He didn't notice his body beginning to emit a soft white glow—barely perceptible, but definitely real.
Meanwhile, in Ryuji's subconscious space, his body was illuminated by a bright radiance that even Lin Tun was stunned by.
"What?! How is this possible?! He's gathering life force so quickly?!" The little fox dropped her jaw in surprise.
She had already checked his base core—it was utterly useless, good for nothing. And suddenly—such a surge of life force?! It contradicted all her knowledge.
Ryuji, clueless about this, felt his body growing hotter. The Qi stream he was chasing accelerated. Eventually, it became unreachable and began flowing freely through his body.
The energy in his dantian thickened—an energy sphere formed.
"This Qi runs faster than a rabbit! I can't catch it," Ryuji exhaled and decided to relax. He started following the chant Lin Tun was whispering and began shaping the Qi flow according to the laws of heavenly circulation.
A new red stream of Qi appeared in his body. It wasn't as dense as the white one but—it could be controlled! By Ryuji's will, the flow started moving through his body.
Under Lin Tun's guidance, Ryuji directed the red Qi from one acupuncture point to another. Though he couldn't memorize the points himself, the clever fox helped him navigate.
Gradually, the flow began moving along the small heavenly circulation… and then along the large one.
Ryuji noticed something strange: the white and red Qi streams didn't interfere with each other. Each had its own clear, pure path. Everything flowed in harmony.
"Wow… Why didn't Lin Tun tell me about this?!" he thought with surprise.
When the red stream completed 36 rotations along the large circulation, Ryuji felt something changing in his dantian. Inside, a spinning black sphere was forming, emitting a faint star-like glow.
The red and white Qi streams intersected in that sphere. At that moment, Ryuji felt a sharp surge—both heat and cold at once. It was as if thousands of tiny needles pierced his body. He clenched his teeth.
It was painful…but it was the path to power.
Finally, the pain faded. It was replaced by a pleasant, almost euphoric feeling. Ryuji clearly felt how the two energies continuously flowing inside him strengthened his body. It seemed he could now jump to unimaginable heights—and land without a scratch.
Ryuji opened his eyes. He began manipulating his red Qi, speeding up its rotation. Almost immediately, he felt the air's movement slow down. The world changed. Time flowed differently—slower. He started noticing the tiniest dust particles floating in the air. The bright, vivid world turned into a monotonous black-and-white picture. This was a slowed, crystal-clear world revealed to him through the manipulation of red demonic Qi. Then he stopped rotating the red Qi—and the world returned to normal. Colors filled the space again, the air movement sped up, and dust particles vanished from sight. Everything became just as it was before.
"Ah?.." Lin Tun raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking at Ryuji. "You're already able to control your demonic Qi to this degree?.." She paused for a moment and tilted her head slightly. "Hmm… not bad. I didn't expect such progress from you."
"Demonic self-improvement really is a miracle," Ryuji sighed with admiration. "I've already become this strong."
"Well, well," Lin Tun smirked, "just don't get cocky."
"Yeah," Ryuji said and stood up. "Time to go home."