Wind howled across the mountaintop.
Far above the clouds, where the sky was deepest blue and the world seemed a distant dream, a lone figure sat cross-legged on a jagged stone outcrop.
Zaine.
Eyes closed. Breathing still.
Around him, faint traces of blue energy shimmered like frost in sunlight. It coiled from his pores and circled his form, slow and deliberate. The aura was not wild like fire or thunder—but deep, controlled, and dense.
He had meditated here for days.
No food. No distractions. Just the cold bite of mountain air and the ever-thickening qi he drew from the Tower's sky.
Then, it happened.
His body shuddered—not in pain, but in release.
The energy converged at his core, and something inside shifted.
Like a lock had been broken.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION – QI BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED]
New Realm: Flowing Meridian (Stage 1)
Your control over internal qi has advanced. Physical resilience, reflex speed, and
energy perception greatly enhanced.
Zaine exhaled.
Not smoke. Not steam.
Blue mist.
A smile tugged at the edge of his lips. He opened his eyes—now faintly glowing with a quiet azure hue.
"I did it," he whispered.
A soft laugh answered behind him.
"Of course you did, boy."
Zaine froze, then turned.
There, seated calmly atop a rock like it was his throne, was a round, fluffy panda—one arm tucked behind his back, the other holding a wooden staff.
His fur was old. Whitened in places by time, not age. His eyes gleamed with a clarity that most humans lacked.
Xian.
The First Qi Trainer.
The living relic of a forgotten martial path. And Zaine's new teacher.
"I've seen your kind for centuries," Xian said, nodding in approval. "Impatient, loud, flame-chasers. But you... You sat still. You listened."
He dropped from the rock and landed with surprising grace for someone shaped like a boulder.
"You felt it, didn't you?" he continued. "That moment where the energy became you and not something you used."
Zaine stood, bowing instinctively. "Master Xian. Thank you for guiding me."
Xian snorted, tapping his staff against Zaine's shin. "Stop bowing. You're not a monk."
Zaine chuckled, then grew serious. "The technique you gave me—it worked. The still-flow breathing, the spine-root alignment... I thought it was flawed at first, but now—"
[TECHNIQUE: AZURE VEIN FLOW]
[TYPE: INTERNAL QI TECHNIQUE]
[GRADE: D (EVOLVABLE)]
[ORIGIN: XIAN – THE FIRST QI TRAINER]
[DESCRIPTION]
A foundational-to-advanced internal Qi circulation method designed over centurie by the legendary martial artist Xian. The technique harmonizes breath, spirit, and body to circulate energy through [81 minor] and [12 major meridians], awakening latent physical potential and enhancing natural regeneration, reaction speed, and energy output.
[EFFECTS]
[+70% Qi Recovery Rate]
[+40% Natural Healing Acceleration]
[Increased internal energy control and resistance to spiritual interference]
[Unlocks access to "Flow State" under mental focus or life-threatening pressure]
[Enhances compatibility with martial arts and weapon techniques]
[UNIQUE TRAIT – FLOW STATE]
In moments of heightened clarity or danger, the user enters a temporary enhanced state:
[• Subjective time perception slows]
[• Movement becomes instinctual and optimized]
[• Sword techniques gain additional precision and velocity]
[PASSIVE ACTIVATION: ENABLED]
[SYNERGY DETECTED: MARTIAL BLESSING – KOME, GOD OF WAR]
[BONUS EFFECT]
[• Sword-based techniques gain additional Qi layering: +15% damage, +10% armor bypass during Flow State]
"Now you understand it," Xian said, finishing his sentence. "Took me 10 years to create it. Took you four weeks to complain about it. Typical."
Zaine couldn't hide his grin.
The technique was unlike anything he'd learned before. It didn't demand power. It demanded trust—trust in stillness, in breath, in the subtle rhythms of the Tower's qi currents.
And now, having broken through, he could feel everything: the pull of energy from the earth, the movement of clouds far above, even the distant thrum of someone using divine magic—
He flinched.
A presence. Sharp and zealous. Far south.
Something was rising.
Xian's gaze turned toward the same direction, as if sensing it too.
"…Trouble's brewing," the panda murmured. "A false light. A noisy one."
Zaine's expression hardened.
"I think I know who it is."
Zaine stepped toward the edge of the cliff, his gaze lingering on the distant horizon.
"That pressure I felt just now... it's familiar," he said quietly. "When I cleared the Second Floor, I was blessed by a Constellation too."
Xian's ears perked.
Zaine didn't notice.
"It was a god who called himself Kome. The God of War. His voice... it burned like iron drawn from the forge. He told me I was worthy of strength without corruption."
The wind fell silent.
Xian's expression did not change—but his eyes did.
Widened. Still. Then narrowed like a blade's edge.
"…What did you say his name was?" he asked, too softly.
"Kome," Zaine repeated. "He—"
"Enough."
Zaine blinked. The old panda had turned away.
But his grip on the staff trembled, just slightly.
Inside Xian's mind, thoughts he hadn't touched in centurie broke free like a dam shattered.
Kome? That name…Impossible.He died. I buried him myself. My finest disciple. My brightest flame.He was never meant to become… that.
The wind whispered like ghosts.
So the Tower has returned him. As a god. While I linger, forgotten.Is this fate? Or mockery?
Zaine turned, confused by the silence. "Master? Did you know him?"
Xian didn't answer for a moment.
When he finally did, his voice was gruff. Bitter.
"I had a student long ago," he muttered. "Too brave. Too proud. He chose war over peace and paid for it."
He stared into the clouds.
"If that's really him… then this Tower plays games crueler than I ever imagined."
Zaine took a slow breath. The blue mist rose again.
"I don't think he's the enemy," he said. "He gave me clarity. And strength."
Xian turned to face him again, masking his sorrow behind a smirk. "Then we'll see if his strength can be tempered with wisdom. Or if you'll fall the way he did."
He raised his staff.
"Enough talk. Come. You've broken through. Now you learn how to use it."
///////////////////////////
End of This arc...I am taking a break before starting the new one