Chapter 19 - Becoming Qi Gathering I
Mr. Zhou said Eli needed to break through immediately.
“Why?”
“Because Lucas will escalate.”
“Can’t we escalate less?”
“No.”
They trained on the roof of an old parking garage at dawn.
To enter Qi Gathering, Eli had to open three meridian circuits and compress his qi seed into a stable vortex.
He had two circuits.
The third refused to open.
Again.
Again.
Again.
His system offered no shortcut.
Only a timer.
[VOID NETWORK QUEST DEADLINE: 36 HOURS]
Eli cursed.
Mr. Zhou smacked the back of his head with a bamboo stick.
“Stop forcing qi.”
“How else do I make it move?”
“Listen.”
“To my qi?”
“To your body.”
Eli stopped.
He felt his heartbeat.
Traffic below.
Wind across concrete.
The tiny energy his Beggar’s Loop had gathered from every bike delivery, stairwell, and miserable shift.
He let it move naturally.
The third circuit opened.
Qi rushed through him like cold fire.
His seed collapsed inward—then spun.
[BREAKTHROUGH]
[QI GATHERING I]
[QI CAPACITY +50]
[NEW SKILL: STREET STEP I]
Eli opened his eyes.
The world felt lighter.
Mr. Zhou nodded once.
“Acceptable.”
Maya smiled.
“Congratulations.”
Eli checked his status.
[STRENGTH: 12]
[AGILITY: 15]
[FOCUS: 10]
[QI: 63]
For the first time, he was officially a cultivator.
Then his college email pinged.
SUBJECT: DISCIPLINARY HEARING.
May you like
He had been accused of distributing illegal substances on campus.
