Chapter 204
Qi Kinesis
Li Yundong cleared away the last of the dinner plates and then joined Zi Yuan at the dinner table . After the lesson she had given him, he figured cooking dinner for her was the least he could do .
Zi Yuan"s eyes remained fixed on the Fan of Seven Treasures like they had been since dinner ended half an hour ago . She appeared to be studying the fan with rapt attention, though he had no idea what she was looking for . Her expression was unreadable for the most part, but he thought he saw a fleeting look of wistfulness a few times . It was like she was reliving old memories .
Li Yundong let his own eyes settle on the Fan of Seven Treasures, which was currently propped up against the edge of the dining table . The fan hadn"t tried to move on its own or follow him around ever since it fell into his arms just now . In the end, he had to physically drag it around in order to have it close by, even when he"d been cooking dinner earlier .
It seemed like he and the fan were back to this one-sided-bonding thing again . He supposed he should be thankful . He doubted the students on campus would take kindly to a giant metal fan floating around . Next thing he knew, the entire campus grounds might be teeming with Taoist exorcists .
Li Yundong cleared his throat . "Thanks for today . "
Zi Yuan finally tore her gaze away from the Fan of Seven Treasures . She held his gaze curiously, as though unsure of what he was thanking her for .
"For the lessons," Li Yundong clarified .
Not just for the lessons, actually .
For everything: delaying his divine punishment by casting Ao Wushuang"s spell; settling his bank debts . . .
Geez . His bank debts, for G.o.d"s sake .
For the nth time since the night He Shao died, he wanted to ask her why . Why was she helping him at all? He could understand Ao Wushuang"s motivation for helping him—Su Chan . But what about Zi Yuan? What possible reason did she have to help him?
The words Obelisk of Fengchen and prophecy sprang to his mind .
"Don"t mention it," Zi Yuan said .
Li Yundong kept staring at her from across the table . This prophecy thing clearly meant a lot to her, and it appeared to have something to do with him . Well, perhaps it didn"t have anything to do with him per se, but with the Jindan instead .
Zi Yuan raised a brow . "Questions?"
He lowered his gaze onto the table .
"You mentioned a lot of times about . . . " Li Yundong shook his head and peered up at her . "About some prophecy . "
Zi Yuan"s expression shifted instantly .
"That"s none of your concern . "
Her brows where knitted together in a tight frown, and she looked complete closed off . Yep . He had definitely hit a nerve right there .
"Sorry . " Li Yundong raised his palms in defeat . "I didn"t mean to pry . "
He wanted to scoff at himself as soon as those words left his mouth . He did mean to pry . Why else would he have asked?
An awkward silence pa.s.sed between them .
"So . You"re a true Cultivator now . " Zi Yuan"s expression was now back to normal . She was even smiling at him . "Thoughts? Tell me what you"re feeling . "
This was clearly an attempt to change the subject, but he decided to roll with it in the end . Besides, Zi Yuan"s eyes were searching his face as though she was genuinely interested to hear his answer .
He chuckled . "A lot of things," he said, leaning back against his chair . "But mostly I"m just surprised, you know?" He glanced at Zi Yuan from across the table . "I never imagined that I"m capable of this . " His eyes darted towards the bulky object lying beside his feet . Then, he waved a hand across the room . "Of all this . " He sighed . "And sometimes I wonder . . . " A wave of sadness surfaced inside his chest . Suddenly, he found himself incapable of words .
"Yes?"
Li Yundong could feel Zi Yuan"s eyes on him . He looked up and saw genuine curiosity in her eyes .
Oh, what the h.e.l.l . . .
Li Yundong chuckled . He might as well get it off his chest .
"Well, it kinda sucks to think that everything I"ve done is only possible because of the Jindan," he said, unloading the weight of his own self-doubt for the very first time . He smiled sadly and tried to sound nonchalant . "Even my greatest accomplishment in life is all because of dumb luck . " He shrugged . "Sad, isn"t it?"
"You"re wrong . "
Li Yundong"s gaze left the surface of the table top almost instantly . He scanned Zi Yuan"s face for any signs of deception . He didn"t need her pity . Nor did he need some meaningless plat.i.tude . Just because he felt a little sad didn"t mean that he was willing to be blind to the truth .
Zi Yuan raised a brow challengingly . "You"re wrong," she said . "While the Jindan did play a role, it definitely wasn"t responsible for all of your accomplishments . "
"Really now," Li Yundong said dryly . "I guess you haven"t seen my high-school photos yet . "
"First of all . . . " Zi Yuan said in a stern tone .
Okay . Somebody, it seemed, wasn"t in the mood to joke .
Li Yundong cleared his throat and sat up straighter . Zi Yuan did tend to have that kind of effect on people . She often gave people the impression of a strict elder sister whom everyone feared .
"The Jindan only enhances what"s within," Zi Yuan continued in a softer tone . "Yes . It does reform your body and make it stronger, but it does so using your body"s existing framework . Feed the Jindan to someone mediocre, and I guarantee you that the effects won"t be as p.r.o.nounced . " Zi Yuan held up a palm as though to prevent him from speaking . "And no, by mediocre, I do not mean one"s physical attributes . I"m referring to one"s Essence . What"s within, not what"s on the outside . Think of a car"s transmission system . " Zi Yuan arched a brow . "An old, battered car will never be able to go as fast as a sports car no matter how much you spend on its upkeep . "
"Point taken," Li Yundong said .
"Apt.i.tude is innate and has nothing to do with your body . " There was a slight pause . "Your body is just a vessel, or, at times, a weapon . Although it can be a contributing factor, your apt.i.tude in Cultivation is what ultimately determines your long-term success . " Zi Yuan smiled . "I"ll borrow your words . A tool is just a tool . What matters is how you use it . "
Li Yundong chuckled . It surprised him a little how she could refer to those words so casually considering he"d practically yelled those words at her that night .
"You managed to absorb the contents of several ancient texts within days," Zi Yuan went on . "That"s not something that anyone can do . You have a high apt.i.tude for Cultivation, so don"t waste it . " She gave him a pointed look . "Use it wisely and to your full advantage . "
Li Yundong nodded . Dorjee Tenzin had pretty much told him the same thing back at the Everest Base Camps, though he didn"t believe him at the time .
Zi Yuan released a half-snort . "You reached the Shentong phase in just months . " She gave him a strange look . "Even highly talented Cultivators require years of diligent training to do that . "
Li Yundong cleared his throat . "So I pa.s.sed, what, the first dan of the Shentong . . . Oh, wait . " Li Yundong"s eyes widened slightly . "You mentioned it just now . It"s the second dan, right?"
"Correct," said Zi Yuan . "You pa.s.sed the first dan right after you performed your first Qi Trans.m.u.tation cycle . "
"That makes a lot of sense . " Li Yundong nodded . "When I pa.s.sed the Zhuji phase, a Vital Orb was all I had . . . " He looked towards Zi Yuan . "The Qi Trans.m.u.tation cycle is a process that uses the Zhenqi from my Vital Orb to generate spiritual energy . And I need to have magic first before I can use spells or do everything else . That"s why mastering the Qi Trans.m.u.tation cycle is the requirement to pa.s.s first dan of the Shentong phase . "
"Yes . And . . . " Zi Yuan suddenly trailed off, then sighed . "So soon, huh?"
"What?" Confusion coursed through Li Yundong . "What"s so soon?"
Zi Yuan chuckled . "My plan was to wait until you"ve learned how to magically control the fan before teaching you this, but since we"re already on the subject, I might as well teach you now . "
Confusion instantly transformed into excitement .
Li Yundong"s b.u.t.t slid closer towards the edge of his chair . "Okay?"
"There are two . . . " Zi Yuan paused in thought . "Actually, no . Make that three things . " She nodded . "Yes . There are three things that I think you should master . "
Li Yundong gave her a funny look . "You mean these things aren"t part of the standard Cultivation curriculum?"
Zi Yuan smiled . "You probably would"ve discovered them on your own given your apt.i.tude, but I think it would be in your best interest if you were taught these things . "
"I"m all ears . "
Bring it on .
"The first one is the simplest," Zi Yuan said . "It has to do with strengthening your Vital Orb . Well, there are a lot of ways to strengthen one"s Vital Orb . . . The best . . . " A strange look pa.s.sed over Zi Yuan"s face . She shook her head slightly and cleared her throat . "The most effective way is to expose oneself to Nature"s Qi . The power of the Heavens can be destructive . But it can also nourish and revitalize . "
Li Yundong"s eyes widened as realization hit him .
"Wait . So you"re saying that if I be around the Heavenly Thunder long enough, I can actually get stronger?"
"Yes . "
Li Yundong leaned back against his chair . "Oh wow . . . " Too bad he didn"t have a Vital Orb when he struck that son of a b.i.t.c.h He Shao with the Five Thunders Spell .
Moron . He"d be dead already if he had a Vital Orb back then .
"Don"t start getting any funny ideas," Zi Yuan said sternly . "If you deliberately expose yourself to the Heavenly Thunder, you would be dead long before you can derive any benefits from the exposure . "
Li Yundong laughed . "Nah . Don"t worry . I don"t have a death wish . "
One of Zi Yuan"s brows rose to her hairline .
Li Yundong sighed . "Okay, fine . I have a death wish . . . Had a death wish . "
He wouldn"t have used the Five Thunders Spell on He Shao otherwise .
"There is another method . . . a cla.s.sical method, to strengthen your Vital Orb," Zi Yuan continued as though their previous exchange never happened . "It"s called the Orb Fortification cycle . " She glanced at him . "It"s far less efficient than the first method, but it"s the safest since it only involves basic Qi control . "
"In that case, why don"t I try doing it now?" Li Yundong moved to stand up, but Zi Yuan raised a palm to stop him .
"There"s no need for that," she said . "You already know enough basics to perform it . I just need to tell you the steps . "
"Okay . " Li Yundong sat back down . "What are the steps?"
"Did Su Chan explain to you what Da Zhoutian is when she guided you through the Lianqi phase?"
Li Yundong nodded . "It"s an advanced technique in Internal Alchemy that involves circulating Qi around the body through all meridians rather than just the Ren and Du Meridians . "
"Good . So for the Orb Fortification cycle, all it requires is a modified version of Da Zhoutian . "
"Modified how?"
"You perform Da Zhoutian with your Vital Orb"s Zhenqi instead of your normal Yang Qi . "
"Oh . " That sounded simple enough .
"Doing so will give you other benefits as well . Do you remember what you saw in that projection I showed you just now?"
"The cauldron and stuff?"
"Yes . And I"m sure you noticed what happened to the Five Zangs when your Zhenqi got near it . "
Li Yundong nodded . "The Qis of the Five Zangs started to regenerate . "
He was starting to see what Zi Yuan was getting at .
"Exactly . Your Zhenqi has regenerative properties . And if you take it through Da Zhoutian"s circuit, you"re essentially exposing all parts of your body to it . I"m sure you can see how that can be beneficial . "
"Yeah . "
"Da Zhoutian is only one key component of the Orb Fortification cycle," Zi Yuan said . "The second component is Guanxiang . Now here"s a question for you . " She looked at him pointedly . "Why Guanxiang?"
Li Yundong stared at the smooth surface of the dinner table as he contemplated the question . The goal of the Orb Fortification cycle was to strengthen the Vital Orb . And since the Zhenqi is a key component of the Vital Orb"s structure, the whole process must involve enhancing the Zhenqi somehow, right?
But why Guanxiang?
Li Yundong suddenly looked up from the table . "I think I got it . "
"Oh?" Zi Yuan smiled . "Let"s hear it . "
"Zhenqi is just a condensed form of Qi that"s been fortified with the Spirit . So, in order to strengthen it, I just have to fortify it again with my Spirit, right?" Li Yundong stared at Zi Yuan until he received a nod for him to keep going . "And when I"m performing Guanxiang, I"ll be inside my Spirit s.p.a.ce . Basically, my Zhenqi will be interacting with my Spirit the whole time . The process toughens up my Zhenqi . "
"Good answer . " Zi Yuan smiled . "Oh . And did you notice that the Orb Fortification cycle is a bit similar to the Qi Trans.m.u.tation cycle?"
"Yeah," he said . They both involved his Spirit and his Zhenqi . And both involved some form of Qi control .
"Now I want you to tell me their differences," Zi Yuan said .
"Their differences . . . "
Li Yundong snapped his fingers when the answer came to him .
"The Convergence of Five Qis . " He looked towards Zi Yuan . "The Convergence of Five Qis isn"t required for the Orb Fortification cycle . "
"Why do you think that"s the case?"
They sat in silence as Li Yundong searched for an answer . He thought back to that projection Zi Yuan had shown him earlier: the large cauldron, and then the Qis of his Five Zangs being added into the cauldron as the raw ingredients for—
Hey… That"s the answer…
"Because the goal of the Orb Fortification cycle isn"t to generate spiritual energy," Li Yundong said confidently . "It"s just to strengthen the Vital Orb, so no raw ingredients are needed . "
"Looks like you have a good grasp of the concepts," Zi Yuan said, then raised a brow . "From now on, make sure you perform the Orb Fortification cycle whenever possible . It won"t help you survive the Heavenly Thunder, but it"s always a good idea to keep your Vital Orb strong . The Vital Orb is an important part of a Cultivator"s body and should never be left vulnerable . One of the best ways to protect it is by strengthening it . "
Li Yundong recalled the ordeal that Su Chan had gone through during Ruan Hongling"s a.s.sault . Back then, Su Chan had to remove her Vital Orb from her body to deal with whatever damage that had been inflicted upon it . The look of excruciating pain on Su Chan"s face that night was something that Li Yundong could never forget for the rest of his life .
"Got it . "
"And now for the second thing . . . "
Zi Yuan stopped talking and started glancing around the apartment .
Li Yundong frowned . What was she looking for?
When she stopped moving seconds later, Li Yundong followed her gaze . She was staring at the sink .
"Will you bring me that spoon please?"
Li Yundong studied her for a moment, then shrugged . "Sure . " He rose from the chair .
"No . Stay where you are," Zi Yuan said .
"What?" Li Yundong frowned and jerked his thumb towards the sink . "But you asked me to . . . to…" Something in Zi Yuan"s expression made him stop talking . "Wait . . . " He glanced over at the sink . "Are you saying . . . ?"
Zi Yuan was smirking by the time his eyes returned to her face . "Yes," she said .
Li Yundong gaped at her for a few seconds . "But . . . But how!"
The smirk disappeared and changed into a regal smile . Zi Yuan leaned back in her chair as though she was enjoying his display of ignorance .
"Well . You"re a Cultivator," she said archly . "Figure it out . "
"Yeah, that"s the point," he mumbled . "I"m a Cultivator, not Magneto . "
Li Yundong sighed and glanced over at the sink again . How the heck was he supposed to bring the spoon from the sink all the way to the dining table without touching it? There had to be at least eight meters from the table to the sink!
He searched his memory and went through the contents of the Mahamudra Tantra that he had memorized .
Alas, none of the tantric mudras involved telekinesis .
Yeah . Telekinesis . That"s basically what Zi Yuan was asking him to do . Tele-frigging-kinesis .
What about a spell?
Zi Yuan did something to him that night when she tried to stop him from killing He Shao, right? He remembered floating off the ground after Zi Yuan pointed a finger at him .
Li Yundong gave her a smug look . "A spell . You"re teaching me my first spell, aren"t you?"
"Nope," Zi Yuan said casually, then arched a brow . "No Levitation Spell is needed for this painfully simple task . "
Painfully simple .
Yeah . Something felt painful alright . His mind . And his backside too .
He looked towards the sink .
How? How could he grab an object from afar without touching it? How could he pull off this spooky-action-at-a-distance thing?
The shockwaves?
No . The shockwaves could only push, not pull .
Moments later, Li Yundong spun around so quickly that he nearly fell off his chair . "With my Qi?"
A slow smile spread across Zi Yuan"s countenance . "Yes . "
Li Yundong glanced towards the sink, then back at Zi Yuan again .
"But . . . Which type? My Yang Qi or . . . "
Zi Yuan was still smiling . "Why don"t you try it with both and see what happens?"
Li Yundong decided to try with his Yang Qi first . He levelled his hand at the sink the moment his Yang Qi reached the surface of his right palm . Okay . Here goes…
His Qi became turbulent once it left the surface of his palm . It was as though his mind no longer had control over the form of his Qi, like his Qi was trying to disperse and spread out . He slowed down a bit and withdrew his Qi back to the surface of his palm .
His Qi calmed down again .
Huh . Weird . . .
Maybe it was a matter of mental focus .
He tried again, but this time putting more conscious effort into the task . However, when his Qi extended about half a meter from the surface of his palm, it lost its structure completely and dispersed into a cloud .
Li Yundong stared at his hand for a moment .
Well . That was a complete failure . Not to mention a total waste of Qi .
"Now try it with your Zhenqi," Zi Yuan said .
Li Yundong nodded, then closed his eyes, focusing his mind on that swirling ball of energy inside his lower Dantian . He still hadn"t gotten used to his Vital Orb yet . His Zhenqi travelled to his right palm and then—
Whoa! s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t!
His Zhenqi shot out from the surface of his skin and hurtled towards the kitchen .
Stop, st—
The Zhenqi stopped moving .
"Hey . . . It . . . " He shot Zi Yuan a questioning glance .
Unlike his Yang Qi, his Zhenqi actually heeded his conscious will; it stopped moving the moment his mind commanded it to stop .
"Shape it," Zi Yuan said . "Control it with your mind . "
Li Yundong stared at his Zhenqi for a moment . Right now, it looked like a formless, murky blob sticking out from the surface of his hand .
He pictured a sphere inside his head, and his Zhenqi responded in tandem by morphing into the exact same sphere he had visualized . After that, he played around with a few more shapes: pyramids; cones; cubes; a rod; a bowl; Su Chan"s face (only the outline, of course);
They all worked .
And now for the task at hand…
He looked towards the sink once more . Seconds later, his Zhenqi morphed into a pair of tweezers—just because the shape of a hand is too mainstream .
"Refine it," Zi Yuan said . "Even out its form . "
When Li Yundong did as told, something amazing happened: his Zhenqi"s murky color began to fade .
Eventually, the shape became colorless .
He now had an invisible pair of tweezers sticking out of his palm .
Zi Yuan smiled . "I"m sure you know what to do next . "
Li Yundong extended his Zhenqi towards the kitchen sink, and then watched the spoon slowly rise from sink"s surface . When the spoon was hovering inches above the sink, Li Yundong stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at Zi Yuan .
He couldn"t f*cking believe what he was doing . This was X-Men s.h.i.t .
"Well? Don"t stop there," Zi Yuan said with a raised brow . "Bring the spoon over here . "
The spoon floated slowly towards them, and then dropped onto the table with a loud clang .
"Behold, the art of Qi Kinesis," Zi Yuan said, picking up the spoon with her hand . "It"s one of the most practical skills available to a Cultivator who has reached the Shentong phase and beyond . "
"Qi Kinesis . . . " Li Yundong chuckled . Holy frigging wow .
"The whole point of this little experiment is to get you to understand the key difference between your Yang Qi and your Zhenqi," Zi Yuan said, then paused for a few beats . "Now . You"ve tried the exercise with both types of Qi . What have you observed?"
"I couldn"t maintain control of my Yang Qi after it left my body," Li Yundong answered in a heartbeat . "But with my Zhenqi, I could control it as if it were still inside my meridians . "
Zi Yuan nodded . "And why do you think that"s the case?"
Li Yundong flipped his right hand until his palm was facing up . Why indeed?
"Don"t overthink it," Zi Yuan said gently . "The answer is pretty straightforward . "
Ah . Of course . The answer seemed obvious now when he considered the way in which his Zhenqi was derived from his Yang Qi .
"Because the Zhenqi is basically a condensed form of Qi that has been fortified by the Spirit . " Li Yundong curled his hand into a fist . "That"s why it responds to the conscious will even though it is outside the body . " He smiled at Zi Yuan . "It"s linked to the Spirit . "
"Bingo," Zi Yuan said with a smile . "Once you have mastered the Lianqi phase, you can control your normal Qi as long as it is inside your body . The human body is a closed system, and the Spirit can only exert its influence on the system itself . Is that clear?"
Li Yundong nodded . "As soon as Qi leaves the body, it leaves the system and goes beyond the Spirit"s reach . " He looked towards Zi Yuan and tapped his finger on the surface of the table . "But the Zhenqi is a part of the Vital Orb . So even if it leaves the body, it"s still part of the system . It"s still linked to the Spirit…" He paused . "In a way, it"s kinda like grabbing an object with the Vital Orb itself . "
"Precisely . " Zi Yuan smiled .
"So the Vital Orb is sort of like this shapeshifting ball of stuff that can grow arms in order to grab—"
He was interrupted by Zi Yuan"s laugh .
Zi Yuan"s eyes shone with amus.e.m.e.nt . "That"s certainly an interesting way to put it, but yes, you can think of it that way . "
Li Yundong shrugged .
Zi Yuan rose from her chair . "Qi Kinesis is a useful skill, but it requires a lot of practice before you can safely apply it in combat . You need to practice it until it becomes like second nature . Otherwise I don"t recommend using it in combat at all . " She walked into the kitchen and then put the spoon away . "Combat situations are often stressful . Your mind will probably be too busy processing threats to pull off Qi Kinesis satisfactorily . But once you have truly mastered it, it can become a deadly skill . " Zi Yuan leaned her hip against the sink . "For example, a Cultivator at Senior Wushuang"s level can effortlessly manipulate objects of all five elements with their Zhenqi alone . It"s like having extra limbs that can grab fire or water and then hurl it at your opponents . "
"Wow…"
"Don"t be too impressed," Zi Yuan said sternly . She was staring at him from the sink . "Qi Kinesis comes with other dangers . It should never be used lightly during combat unless you know what you"re doing . "
"Oh . "
"Thought I should warn you before you get any weird ideas . "
"What sort of other dangers?"
"Your Zhenqi is a crucial part of your Vital Orb . Ideally, you always want it to be inside your body, not outside . "
Li Yundong nodded . "Makes sense . "
"Unless your Vital Orb is so powerful that having a small portion of your Zhenqi outside your body is negligible, I don"t recommend using Qi Kinesis during combat at all . " There was a pause . "Besides, there"s also the danger of overusing your Zhenqi . It"s very difficult to keep track of the amount of Zhenqi you"ve mobilized for Qi Kinesis, especially if Qi Kinesis has become like second nature . " Zi Yuan raised a brow . "I bet you couldn"t give me an answer if I asked you right now how many breaths you"ve taken today . "
"Point taken," Li Yundong said . "Once something becomes like second nature, we tend to do it without any awareness at all . "
"Indeed," Zi Yuan said . "For example, you might end up developing the tendency to mobilize your Zhenqi to move an object from afar—say, 500 meters away . Which, of course, would be idiotic, since the amount of Zhenqi required for Qi Kinesis is proportional to the range of its application . "
"Thanks . I"ll keep that in mind . "
"Good . Do you have any other questions?"
"Yeah . " Li Yundong paused in thought . "My normal Yang Qi can"t be controlled once it"s outside my body, right?"
"Yes?"
Li Yundong held Zi Yuan"s gaze . "I can think of a few times where I still managed to move my Qi around even though it was outside my body . "
"Okay?" Zi Yuan"s brows pulled together slightly . "Can you describe the exact circ.u.mstances of such occurrences?"
"Basically, I touched a guy"s head and then pushed my Yang Qi into his body . But once my Qi was inside his body, I could still control it like usual . Why though? My Qi was inside his body, not my own . "
A look of understanding spread across Zi Yuan"s face, but she didn"t speak .
"Um… Well… That"s actually how I revived the old monk," Li Yundong said .
"It has to do with the environment that your Qi was in . "
Li Yundong sat up straighter . "Yeah?"
"The other person is human, just like you . " Zi Yuan stared at him . "Physiologically speaking, your bodies are similarly built . So, when your Qi entered his body, it ended up in an environment that is somewhat similar to your own body . "
"Right . There are meridians, blood vessels and all that . "
Zi Yuan nodded . "Your Spirit can still exert some form of control over your Qi as long as your Qi is within an environment that resembles the internal structure of the human body . " Zi Yuan pushed herself away from the sink and walked out of the kitchen . "Your Spirit needs to be powerful enough to pull it off though . "
"Right, thanks . That certainly clears things up . "
Zi Yuan moved past the table and headed towards the balcony .
Was she leaving already?
"Um… What about the third thing?" Li Yundong said . "You said there are three things, right? You"ve only told me two . "
Zi Yuan paused beside the couch and slowly turned around . "The third thing . . . " A conflicted look flitted across her face .
Li Yundong stood up and walked towards the living room as well .
"The third thing involves the Jindan"s Aura . "
Li Yundong stopped short; excitement coursed through his veins, making his scalp tingle .
"Yeah . . . I"ve been meaning to ask you about that . . . I found the Aura highly useful . It actually saved my life when He Shao shot at me that night . I thought it"d be nice if you could teach me how to contr—"
"No," Zi Yuan said sharply .
"Pardon?"
"I won"t teach you how to control it," she said . "I"ll teach you how to hide it first . "
Li Yundong took a few moments to process her words . "People will come after me once they find out that I"ve consumed the Jindan . "
"Yes," Zi Yuan said, then lowered her voice into a whisper . "It doesn"t even have to be activated…"
"What do you mean?"
"Those who know what they are looking for will be able to find it even when it isn"t activated," she said in her normal voice . There was a pause . "That"s actually how I located you after you chased He Shao"s car across the city . "
"Oh . "
"For your own safety, I highly advise against activating the Jindan"s Aura . "
"But that"s just the thing . " He sighed and sat down on the couch . "Every time it came out, it was spontaneous . " He looked up at Zi Yuan . "I had no control over it . "
Zi Yuan turned around and walked towards the balcony . "Don"t worry about that for now," she said, opening the sliding door . "Right now, just practice drawing out your Adolescent Yang Qi from your Huiyin . Once you can do that, I"ll teach you how to hide the Jindan"s Aura with your Adolescent Yang Qi . "
Adolescent Yang Qi . Wasn"t that what Su Chan had used to hide the Jindan"s Aura from Zi Yuan and Ruan Hongling the night she was hiding inside his old apartment?
Once on the balcony, Zi Yuan came to a halt . Li Yundong watched her from the couch .
"Remember to bring the Fan of Seven Treasures with you when you attend cla.s.s tomorrow," she said .
"Got it . "
"Good night," she said . "Get some rest . "
"You too," Li Yundong said . "And thanks for the lessons!"
A green flash lit up the balcony . By the time the light dimmed out, Zi Yuan was gone .
Li Yundong sighed and stared at the half-open sliding door . He raised his hand until his palm was facing it .
CLICK!
Li Yundong lowered his hand back down and stared at the door, which was now closed .
Qi Kinesis, huh?
And here he thought his Qi shoes were pretty cool .