Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang (simple e reader TXT) 📕

body until he reached his ribcage. Then exhaling, he pushed one palm up and the other down. He changed directions with his hands, again breathing in as they drew closer together and met at his solar plexus, then blowing out that breath has they stretched out.

The motions pulled at Ken’s muscles. At his side, sweat glistened on Aya’s forehead as she strained.

The master then turned his body to the left and repeated the motion, and followed it with a turn to the right. “This is one full cycle. Keep repeating.”

“What is this exercise?” Aya asked.

“It’s a modification of the Eight Brocades Qigong. But in the Chinese language, it’s a homonym for breaking up adhesions in your tendons and ligaments.”

Ken’s brow scrunched up. “How does this help our digestion?”

“The actions of the limbs reflect in the organs, due to the connection of your meridians. Notice how your hands separate. This motion is called Separating Heaven from Earth. That represents the separating of the pure energies from the detritus in the food.”

Ken looked at Aya, who smiled and shrugged the best she could from the stretched-out position.

“The more you separate the turbid from the clear, the more you will sense the Core’s energy. It will feel like a prickling, a tingling.”

At his side, Aya was again repeating the motions perfectly.

It took Ken several more repetitions, but eventually the twin Kappa Cores began to vibrate in his gut. “I feel it!”

Master Ryu looked to Aya. “What about you?”

She shook her head. “A little?”

“It will be harder for you, both because of your disease, and also all that metal in your brain.”

So even though she could learn the motions faster, it was still harder for her to circulate her Qi.

“Keep trying. Earth manifests in your muscles, and the more you do Earth Path exercises, the more you will purify your muscle fibers. It will rebuild both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles, making you stronger and faster, and improving your stamina.”

“What about the Kappa Cores?” Ken asked.

“Since Kappa are manifestations of water, their Cores are Water in nature. To the Daoists, just as Earth relates to muscles, Water relates to Bone.”

That didn’t make sense, but when neither Ken nor Aya interjected, the master continued: “Keep purifying the Cores, Aya; Ken, we are now going to distribute the energy of the Core through your bones. Perform the Xingyi Fist Earth and Water Forms.”

Ken shifted from the low horse stance to the Xingyi Fist stance, then worked his way through the Water Form. The diagonal stomping steps, combined with the drilling motion of the punch, now came naturally.

Master Ryusuke nodded his approval. “Each time you bring your knee up to set up your step, clench your abdomen and imagine the digestive system compressing the Cores. Then shift to the Water Form so that the energy that you squeeze out from the Cores circulates through your limbs as you stomp and punch.  This will help cleanse and fortify your bones.”

Ken concentrated on these motions, though on occasion he looked out of the corner of his eye to see Aya still doing the original drill.

Poor Aya, why was it taking her so long?  Ken continued, each step of the Xingyi Fist Earth Form squeezing more energy out of the Kappa Cores, each step of the Water Form circulating that energy into his bones.

After an hour, Master Ryu allowed Aya to finish the basic purifying of the Cores. Instead of teaching her the Xingyi Earth Form, he instead explained something called Guolin Qigong. As much as Ken wanted to join in, the master told him to continue processing and distributing the energy of the Cores through Xingyi Fist.

Still, he peeked over to see what Master Ryu was teaching her.

They were waddling in a circle, heel pivoting, hands swaying. It looked ridiculous, really, especially combined with the way she was to breathe in with two short breaths through her nose and then blow out a long breath through her mouth.

After another hour, the sensation in Ken’s intestines had subsided, and the jolt of energy coursing into his marrow lessened with each step. Though he didn’t say anything, Master Ryu beckoned him over.

“Will I learn this Guolin Qigong?” Ken asked.

“It’s not as important for you—the Xingyi Fist Earth Form works better. Aya just isn’t physically strong enough to do it yet.”

“Why did we do it this way, instead of the way she processed the Tofu-Kozo’s Core in her belly button?” Ken asked.

“Those Kappa didn’t have a solid Core yet. Therefore, you had to rely on your digestion, which requires using Earth Path techniques.”

Ken cocked his head. “Then why wouldn’t it help fortify the Earth aspect of our body?”

“In this case, it’s just the means; the key is the Core. For example, what kind of Core was the Tofu-Kozo’s?”

“Fire.”

“Correct. Had it been unranked, with no solid Core, she would’ve had to use the Earth Path to filter out its Essence; only then could she have processed the Fire of the Core, burning away her phlegm and strengthening her blood vessels.”

Ken guessed it made sense. “Are there other ways of processing an intangible Core?”

“Sometimes, a Core is gaseous. To process it, you have to use your lungs—a Metal Path.”

“I see.”

Master Ryu withdrew a transparent gemstone about the size of a thumbnail. “As promised, this is for you.”

Ken stared. “A Core?”

“From the Kappa leader.  As a Fourth-Ranked Water practitioner, its Core is far larger and denser than the Tofu-Kozo’s.” The master placed the gem-like stone into Ken’s open palm.

It felt cool. Heart racing, Ken gazed at the gemstone and wrapped his consciousness around it. The power spilled off of it, enough that even he could sense it. He looked up. “I’m not training in a Water Path, though.”

“No, but you have