Night fell.
A thin moon hung above the Thanh Van River, its pale light spreading across the surface like a worn layer of silver.
Hao Nhien sat cross-legged on the deck. The medicinal bottle rested beside him, its lid already open. A faint cooling scent drifted through the night wind.
He closed his eyes.
Then began breathing cultivation, once again moving his awareness through the seven qi-entry points of the Body-Soul Fist Art.
His breathing remained steady.
He continued observing every response within his body.
But this time, he had a very clear goal.
The point between his brows.
The obstruction he had been sensing for the past several days.
Spiritual qi slowly seeped inward through the seven qi-entry points.
Hao Nhien did not immediately guide his true qi upward.
He waited.
Until the warmth in his lower abdomen stabilized.
Until his breathing deepened.
Until the flow of true qi through his meridians became more continuous.
Only then did he begin guiding it upward.
Through the chest.
Through the throat.
Along the bridge of the nose.
Toward the point between his brows.
The spot trembled faintly.
The moment the true qi touched it, it was pushed back.
Hao Nhien did not increase the force.
He simply continued breathing.
The second time, the true qi rose more clearly. Both sides of his nose began to feel hot. A thin, sharp ache appeared beneath the skin.
Then faded.
He continued.
Not faster.
Not harder.
Only following the same path again.
Each time the true qi touched the obstruction, the pressure around his brow increased slightly.
Sweat began to gather on his forehead.
His shoulders tensed without him realizing it.
Hao Nhien immediately relaxed them.
He could not tense up.
Tension meant his body was beginning to resist the pain.
The more his body resisted, the easier it would be for his breathing to fall into disorder.
And once his breathing became chaotic, his true qi would follow.
He thought of the river.
Water did not break stone with a single strike.
It simply returned.
Again and again.
Hao Nhien did the same.
True qi rose.
Was pushed back.
Settled.
Then rose again.
The pain gradually deepened.
It no longer felt like something on the surface.
It was as though something inside him had been compressed for too long, struggling to open yet unable to find a path.
Hao Nhien's hand lightly touched the medicinal bottle.
But he did not use it yet.
If he used it too early, the pain might be dulled before he could clearly see where his limit lay.
But if he allowed the pain to move beyond his control, this would no longer be an attempt to understand.
It would become recklessness.
Hao Nhien continued breathing.
One breath.
Then another.
The true qi did not suddenly grow stronger.
But this time, when it reached the point between his brows, the resistance seemed slightly weaker.
He did not rush.
Another cycle.
Slightly weaker again.
Then suddenly, the sensation changed.
The obstruction was not shattered.
Instead, it felt like a door that had remained shut for a very long time had finally yielded enough to open a narrow crack.
At that exact moment, a sharp pain tore through the center of his brow.
Hao Nhien's vision went dark.
His breathing nearly broke.
His hand immediately reached for the porcelain bottle.
Cool medicinal liquid was rubbed across his forehead, then down the center of his chest.
It could not reach deep into his meridians.
Nor could it open the obstruction for him.
But the cooling sensation eased the burning pain, loosened the tension in his muscles, and kept his breathing from collapsing completely.
That was all.
But it was enough.
Hao Nhien did not open his eyes.
The pain remained.
But his mind did not become chaotic.
The true qi that had just reached the obstruction began to follow the narrow opening that had appeared.
Very narrow.
Very difficult.
But there was now a path.
Hao Nhien did not urge it forward.
He only maintained his breathing.
Maintained the rhythm.
And allowed the true qi to find its own way through.
The meridians around his brow contracted, then relaxed.
Each time brought pain.
But the disorder gradually began to settle into a pattern.
Hao Nhien did not allow himself to feel pleased.
Nor did he think about whether he had succeeded.
Pain was pain.
Coolness was coolness.
Trembling was trembling.
He simply observed what was happening.
Nothing added.
Nothing removed.
He did not try to force his body into becoming what he wanted it to be.
A long time later, the point between his brows trembled one final time.
Then grew still.
Not the stagnant stillness from before.
But a faint sensation of openness.
Hao Nhien slowly guided his true qi through another full circulation.
From his lower abdomen.
Through his chest.
Through his throat.
Along the bridge of his nose.
Then through the point between his brows.
This time, the true qi was not pushed back.
It passed through.
That was all.
Yet the entire circulation within his body immediately felt different.
His true qi had not suddenly become much stronger.
It had not multiplied several times over.
It had simply become more continuous.
Smoother.
Less broken.
And with every completed circulation, the warmth in his lower abdomen became slightly more stable.
Hao Nhien slowly exhaled.
Then opened his eyes.
Moonlight still shattered into small silver fragments across the Thanh Van River.
The night wind was still cold.
The old boat still rested quietly beside the bank.
Nothing outside had changed.
But within his body, a small door had opened.
Hao Nhien sat still for a while longer, feeling his true qi pass through the newly opened path several more times.
Then he understood.
The second layer of Qi Condensation.
Joy rose slowly within him.
Not the kind that made him want to shout.
Nor was it pride at becoming stronger.
What truly brought him relief was something else.
His judgment had not been wrong.
This path could be walked.
It was not only about accumulating more true qi.
He had to find the places where his body could not endure the flow.
Then allow those places to adapt little by little.
Break the old state.
Then let the body build a new one.
Break.
Then rebuild.
Hao Nhien lowered his gaze to the medicinal bottle beside him.
If Tieu Lan had not prepared it, he might not have dared to try tonight.
The medicinal liquid had not opened the obstruction for him.
It had only helped him maintain his breathing during the most painful moment.
But sometimes, that little bit was enough to make all the difference.
In this world, he was not walking his path entirely alone.
Someone had quietly placed medicine beside that road.
Hao Nhien remained seated for a long while, allowing his true qi to settle completely.
The night was still deep.
But to him, the darkness seemed a little thinner.
A week passed.
Hao Nhien had fully adjusted to the second layer of Qi Condensation.
There had been no heaven-shaking transformation.
His breathing was simply deeper.
His steps steadier.
His true qi circulated more smoothly than before.
But for this body, those changes were already obvious.
Tieu Lan noticed even faster than he expected.
She did not say much.
His bowl simply seemed to gain an extra piece of meat from time to time.
The medicinal water was always prepared a little earlier.
Sometimes she stood beside the pool watching him practice for so long that she forgot the herb basket resting beside her feet.
Hao Nhien said nothing.
But he noticed.
Once he had fully adapted to the second layer, another question gradually surfaced.
If this body truly could cultivate, why had the previous Quan Hao Nhien remained trapped at the first layer of Qi Condensation for so long?
The body had been weak.
Its meridians had been sluggish.
He had feared pain easily.
His breathing had fallen into disorder easily.
All of that explained part of it.
But somehow, it still did not feel like enough.
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Hao Nhien did not believe that he had arrived in this world and instantly become some kind of genius.
His breakthrough had not been the result of any single thing.
There was the foundation left behind by the original body.
His experience observing the breath in his old world.
The Iron Body Fist.
The pressure of water.
Tieu Lan's medicinal liquid.
And a small amount of carefully measured recklessness—just enough to cross the boundary without destroying himself.
Only all of those things together had made this breakthrough possible.
Yet deep inside, Hao Nhien still felt as though one piece was missing.
Something he had not yet seen.
He did not force himself to find the answer immediately.
Some things could only be understood after walking far enough to look back at the road behind.
Hao Nhien closed his eyes.
True qi slowly circulated through the point between his brows.
This time, it was no longer pushed back.
The path had opened.
The answer could wait.
That morning, Hao Nhien once again stood on the white sand beside the pool.
The Thanh Van waterfall continued pouring down from the cliff, its steady roar echoing through the mountains. Near the edge of the forest, Tieu Lan set down her basket and sorted medicinal herbs, occasionally glancing in his direction.
Hao Nhien drew in a breath.
Then began practicing.
After reaching the second layer of Qi Condensation, the Iron Body Fist felt clearly different.
The thread of true qi in his lower abdomen no longer broke apart so easily as it passed through his meridians.
With only a slight movement of intent, it could now follow the path of force through his body.
He threw a punch.
A thin layer of sand lifted in front of him.
Nothing impressive.
But enough for Hao Nhien to feel the difference clearly.
His foot pressed into the ground.
His hips turned.
Force traveled through his back, into his shoulder, then out through his arm.
His true qi followed with it.
Body.
Breath.
True qi.
Three things that had once constantly interfered with one another were finally beginning to find the same rhythm.
His fist art became much smoother because of it.
While he was practicing, Hao Nhien heard Tieu Lan's voice from nearby.
"Young Master."
He withdrew his fist and turned toward her.
"What is it?"
Tieu Lan had already come closer without him noticing.
She looked at him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
"Young Master's fist art looks really beautiful today."
Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.
"Beautiful?"
"Yes."
Tieu Lan nodded sincerely.
"I don't really know how to explain it… When you move, it looks like water flowing down the waterfall. Strong, but not chaotic."
She thought for a moment, then added,
"If I had to compare it to something… maybe a divine dragon flying through the clouds."
Hao Nhien laughed.
"A divine dragon?"
Tieu Lan's cheeks reddened slightly.
"That's just what it looked like to me. Young Master shouldn't laugh at me."
Hao Nhien was about to answer.
Then he stopped.
Beautiful.
A simple word.
Yet it made him look at the movements he had just performed in a different way.
His fist art truly was smoother today.
More beautiful.
But did fist art need to be beautiful?
Hao Nhien turned back toward the stretch of sand before him.
If the purpose was to temper the body, then smooth movement was naturally useful.
But in real combat, an opponent would not stand still and wait for him to finish an entire set of forms.
A movement that was half a beat too slow could cost him his life.
One unnecessary turn could expose an opening.
One path of force longer than necessary meant one more chance for that force to be interrupted.
"Beautiful doesn't necessarily mean good."
Tieu Lan blinked.
"What?"
Hao Nhien did not answer.
He simply stood there, allowing the movements he had just practiced to replay in his mind.
Each form.
Each shift of weight.
Each path of force.
Then he began stripping away what was unnecessary.
In his old world, he had once learned that breath was only breath, and pain was only pain.
The more imagination and expectation one layered over them, the harder it became to see their true nature.
Perhaps fist art was the same.
Remove the imposing appearance.
Remove the flourish.
Remove the desire to look like an expert.
In the end, only three questions remained.
Which path should the force take?
When should it be released?
And where should it land?
Hao Nhien drew in a breath.
Then stopped practicing the entire fist set.
He chose only one movement.
A straight punch.
His right foot gripped the sand.
His hips turned slightly.
His shoulder remained stable.
His elbow followed the shortest path.
True qi moved along the same line as the force.
His fist shot forward.
Pop.
A small but sharp sound cracked through the air.
Hao Nhien withdrew his fist.
He felt.
Faster.
Less true qi consumed.
But his right shoulder was slightly tight.
He tried again.
This time, he turned his hips harder.
The force increased, but his left foot immediately shifted out of position.
His balance broke.
Wrong.
Hao Nhien discarded it immediately.
On the third attempt, he reduced the rotation of his hips, lowered his shoulder slightly, and shortened the path of the punch.
Pop!
The fist wind was weaker than before.
But the force was much more concentrated.
This could stay.
Hao Nhien continued testing.
If something was wrong, he stopped.
Then corrected it.
He did not defend a movement simply because he had just thought of it.
He did not try to prove himself right.
He only looked at what actually worked.
From a distance, Tieu Lan stood holding her basket and watched.
The admiration in her eyes gradually turned into confusion.
A moment ago, the fist set had flowed like water.
Now Hao Nhien was repeating only a single straight punch.
Punch.
Withdraw.
Stop.
Punch again.
So plain that it was almost dull.
But each time, it became shorter.
Firmer.
Cleaner.
After a long while, Hao Nhien stood completely still.
Foot.
Hip.
Back.
Shoulder.
Arm.
Fist.
Everything seemed to connect into a single line.
His true qi no longer followed unnecessary movement.
It only followed force.
Hao Nhien exhaled.
Then punched.
Pop!
The sound this time was noticeably sharper.
A thin streak of sand slid straight forward.
Hao Nhien withdrew his fist.
His right shoulder ached slightly. The meridians in his arm tightened.
But his eyes were clear.
That's it.
It did not need to resemble a divine dragon flying through the clouds.
It only needed to resemble an arrow leaving the bowstring.
Straight.
Fast.
No wasted motion.
Tieu Lan immediately ran over.
"Young Master! That punch just now…"
She searched for the right words before finally saying,
"It looked much more frightening than before."
Hao Nhien looked at his fist.
"Mm."
"But…"
Tieu Lan tilted her head slightly.
"It wasn't as beautiful."
Hao Nhien laughed.
"That's fine."
She looked at him.
"A fist is meant to keep you alive," Hao Nhien said.
"Not to be admired."
Tieu Lan blinked, then nodded.
"Then did Young Master just create a new fist art?"
"No."
Hao Nhien shook his head.
"I only found a direction that suits me better right now."
He looked back at the footprints in the sand.
"There may be nothing wrong with the Body-Soul Fist Art itself. The movements I consider unnecessary today may have meaning at a higher realm, or they may belong to parts of the inheritance that have already been lost."
He paused.
"I am not changing the cultivation art."
"I am only taking from it what I can understand and use right now."
Tieu Lan listened carefully.
Hao Nhien raised his right hand.
"For now, I'll keep three strikes."
His fist extended.
"Straight punch."
He withdrew his arm, stepped in half a pace, and raised his elbow.
"Elbow strike."
Finally, his right leg swept low across the sand.
"Low sweep."
Three movements.
Three ranges.
Nothing complicated.
Nothing flashy.
But all of them could be used when real danger came.