Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

In the tightly shut bedroom, Shen Qing sat still as a pine tree, his form upright on the bed. He gently pinched a white, round bead in front of him between his fingers.

This was precisely the Wish Power Pearl he had obtained from Du Yuntong that day, which appeared utterly ordinary and inconspicuous.

If one were not within the Imperial court system or a noble son from a high-ranking family, chances were they wouldn't even know that such a bead was worth five hundred taels, enough to exchange for a small residence.

For the ordinary people of Great Zhou, they'd likely never earn that sum in a lifetime.

"It's about time."

Shen Qing furrowed his brows, opened the wooden box, took out the jade token housed within, and examined it for a few moments.

"All I need to do is place this type of jade token on the Dantian, right?"

Shen Qing expressed some doubt but still silently placed the jade token on the skin of his Dantian.

"Hiss... so cold."

Besides the piercing cold touch, there was no other change.

Just as Shen Qing was about to dismiss it, the jade token on his Dantian began to grow even colder, and this icy feeling spread rapidly from the Dantian to his entire body.

The Wish Power Pearl held in Shen Qing's hand seemed to be activated, becoming crystal clear and softly radiating a gentle white light, slowly rising and hovering in front of his chest.

Under Shen Qing's gaze, the Wish Power Pearl began to slowly rotate, its light flickering like a heartbeat, brightening and dimming intermittently.

In a trance, Shen Qing seemed to hear countless whispers near his ear, unsettling his mind and gradually making him more irritable.

Just when Shen Qing thought he was losing his mind and wanted to stop his cultivation, the pervasive icy sensation seemed to transform into an invisible hand, pressing down all these whispering voices.

Hum!

The rotation speed of the Wish Power Pearl increased, and at a certain moment, as if reaching a critical threshold, it began releasing ripples one after another.

These ripples quickly spread out, like a lighthouse in the deep sea guiding the way, pulling the thin and nearly imperceptible spiritual energy of the world towards it.

In an instant, the spiritual energy that had been aimlessly lingering outside was pulled in by invisible ropes, converging around him, filling the entire room and enveloping his body.

Shen Qing felt extremely amazed.

"Is this... spiritual energy?"

Guided by the Wish Power Pearl, these streams of spiritual energy became dense and pure, clinging to Shen Qing's skin, permeating through his pores and along his breathing into his body, merging with his blood, nourishing every inch of his skin and each of his bones.

Shen Qing felt as if his entire body was being pricked like needles, this discomfort penetrating even into his bones and flesh, omnipresent.

After a moment, the Qi energy in his body that had been accumulated through many days of arduous cultivation burst forth with the infusion of this mighty spiritual energy, as if ignited by a fierce fire, expanding and boiling rapidly.

They collided with each other, merging and emitting roaring sounds, as if thousands of horses were galloping ceaselessly within his body, growing more and more intense, shocking his spirit.

"Here it comes!"

Shen Qing composed himself, ready for what was to come.

Having practiced martial arts for half a year, along with the recent "learning" in the Martial Arts Hall, he had gained sufficient understanding of the ways of Martial Arts.

Like his cultivation experience in Taiping County, from the Great Perfection of Qi and Blood to Strengthening Tendons and Bones, and from Strengthening Tendons and Bones to Skin Forging and Qi Cultivation, all were stages of flesh and bone conditioning, typical of the ways known in the Jianghu.

In most parts of the world, most Jianghu martial masters without powerful backgrounds were also concentrated in this phase; reaching the Qi Cultivation Realm in a small place would be considered significant.

But for the powerful elites of Great Zhou, this was merely the beginning.

After the Qi Cultivation Realm, there were six major realms: the Qi Hai Realm, Yu Luo Realm, Dan Realm, Innate Realm, Spirit Void Realm, and Primordial Spirit Realm.

These six realms were the true essence of cultivation.

Among them, the Qi Hai Realm was a significant watershed for martial masters, crossing it meant truly transcending the ordinary, at least extending one's life by ten years.

In Imperial Martial Arts, there was even a saying, "Only when one reaches the Qi Hai Realm, does one belong to our ranks."

To step into the Qi Hai Realm, one needed Qi Energy to transform into True Qi, with the spiritual energy of nature aiding in transforming all the cultivated Qi energy in the body into True Qi, using it to forge the Spirit Sea and accommodate all things of the world.

Shen Qing was experiencing this very process.

Thinking of this, his mind couldn't help but ripple in waves, which grew more intense as time passed.

He didn't know how much time had eventually passed.

Finally, at a certain moment, all the Qi seemed to find a breakthrough; it gathered into a torrent and fiercely struck the seemingly indestructible barrier within Shen Qing's body.

Accompanied by a deep and prolonged rumble, that barrier shattered explosively, and the Qi instantly transformed into an even purer and more powerful True Qi!

Shen Qing's body was enveloped in a halo of rosy light, and strands of luminescence flowed to every corner of the room.

Right after his transformation into True Qi, countless spiritual energies continuously poured into his body.

A gleam of light flashed in Shen Qing's eyes, and his expression became exceedingly agitated.

He vividly felt that with the continuous surging and gathering of True Qi in his body, an unprecedented sense of warmth and fulfillment arose at his Dantian.

It seemed as if an immense and boundless ocean was quietly forming there.

Shen Qing closed his eyes, his mind immersed in the Dantian.

The True Qi flowed incessantly like rivers, vast and endless.

He heard the sound of waves in his ears, as if seeing an ocean formed of condensed True Qi.

Above this ocean, the True Qi began to spread like morning mist, lightly intertwining and merging with the meridians throughout his body.

In a deep and prolonged rumble, this condensed Qi Sea thoroughly stabilized, and seemed endless at a glance.

After a while, Shen Qing noticed that the strange pain throughout his body had also retreated like a tide, and True Qi gently roamed inside him, replacing the Qi.

"It worked!"

Shen Qing opened his eyes and clenched his fists, feeling a surge of tremendous power throughout his body.

With just a casual gesture, an overwhelming surge of True Qi rose within him, causing the surrounding space to tremble from its aura.

Shen Qing looked at his palms, his face filled with ecstatic joy he could hardly contain.

Considering some improprieties, he restrained himself, but his lips curled up and he couldn't help but laugh aloud.

Glancing out the window, Shen Qing saw the sun had completely set beyond the horizon and the night had quietly descended, with Yongzhou City already submerged in darkness. Yet he was like the only firefly in the night, his body radiating glimmers of light.

Having officially broken through to the Qi Hai Realm, he now had the capital to continue climbing upwards.

Shen Qing collected his thoughts, removed the Jade Token at the Dantian, and the chill on his body immediately dissipated.

The Wish Power Pearl floating in front of him also fell.

Shen Qing caught it and unexpectedly found that after his recent refining, the pearl had shrunk slightly in size.

If so, it would almost be completely exhausted after two or three more uses, which seemed to Shen Qing a rather substantial consumption.

Ordinarily, a Wish Power Pearl was issued only once a year, so it shouldn't be consumed this quickly.

However, without anyone else for horizontal comparison, Shen Qing didn't know whether his situation was normal.

He tucked the one-third refined Wish Power Pearl into his chest, pondering, "When I get my end-of-year Wish Power Pearl salary, I might try consulting the old instructor at the Martial Arts Hall to see if this is normal."

This time, the Wish Power Pearl he used for his breakthrough was obtained from the County Magistrate of Taiping County and wasn't acquired through the most proper means, which could spell trouble if known by the wrong people.

The county town was filled with capable individuals; it was better to be cautious.

It would be safer to wait until his own Wish Power Pearl was issued before seeking advice from others.

Having made up his mind, Shen Qing decided not to think further and drifted into a deep sleep.