***
The medicinal effects were largely twofold.
One was that the rotation of the brain became faster.
The other was that one became calm.
As it turned out, most of the surrounding friends were taking at least one of those two types of medicine.
Of course, not everyone saw the effects.
There were more friends who saw the effects, but there were also some friends who saw no effect at all.
There were even friends who ended up in the hospital due to side effects.
On the other hand, among them, Lee An-jeong was particularly the type who responded well to the "drug kick."
Because his brain rotation became faster, he used to solve problems that were usually difficult in a cool and brisk manner, and because he became "strong-hearted" as if he had boiled and eaten a tiger's heart, he no longer felt nervous in any situation.
That was why, in just one month, his grades had achieved a vertical rise from 16th place to 2nd place.
"Shall I try to set up the drug kick properly for the first time in a while?"
He quickly tossed two pills into his mouth, popped a can of Hot Six, and gulped it down in one shot instead of water.
It was Lee An-jeong’s own special recipe to reach the best state for studying.
The lingering, thick, and bitter aftertaste of the Byeokgok-dan (Grain Pill) inside his mouth was instantly washed away and replaced by a sweet taste.
As the caffeine entered, he felt a sensation as if his hair was standing on end.
Perhaps because it was the body of a ten-year-old child tasting caffeine for the first time, the reaction was also fast.
It usually took about thirty minutes, to be generous, for the medicinal effects of ConXX and InXX to appear.
Lee An-jeong utilized his past experiences and calmly looked through each formula and the contents of the annotations of the Five Elements during those thirty minutes.
It was problematic to let the head rest too much, but it was also troublesome to put too much overload on it.
From experience, it was just right to stimulate the brain gradually by scanning calmly as if preheating.
And as time flowed and thirty minutes had passed—that was to say, around the time two Dakyeong had passed in this world's time—he could immediately tell that the medicinal effects had risen.
It was because the phrases began to be clearly engraved in his mind just by looking at them.
"That’s it! It’s starting now!"
He put strength into his eyes and first read the formulas and annotations of the Wood Element (Mok-gi-gyeol). After that, he closed his eyes and began to recite them to himself.
*Sssssss—*
The Spiritual Qi of Wood from the plants and trees outside the cave was felt as if it were touching his skin.
Following that, he unfolded the Fire Element, Earth Element, Metal Element, and Water Element.
Hot, heavy, hard, and cold Spiritual Qi were felt in succession.
"Ah... so this is the Spiritual Qi of the Five Elements! Hahat! What? It was dog-easy, wasn't it?"
Lee An-jeong felt a thrill flowing through his entire body. It felt as if all the pores of his entire body had opened, and the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth was being felt within those pores.
And he realized that it was now time to accept that Spiritual Qi into his body.
Lee An-jeong continued to read through the Stage 1 (1-seong) cultivation method. The formula for Stage 1 consisted of a total of sixteen characters.
'They said that when the Spiritual Qi enters, the blood vessels become hot and a ticklish feeling occurs, right?'
Recalling that sensation, he continued to inhale deeply and then exhale shortly.
Through Lee An-jeong’s will and skin, the Spiritual Qi of the five types of the Five Elements were felt simultaneously.
Feeling the Spiritual Qi and accepting it into the Dantian along twenty blood vessels (meridians) was the essence of Stage 1.
He hadn't even intended to memorize it, but just by scanning it once, all the phrases were engraved in his mind as if he had taken a photograph.
Then, while focusing his mind on the three piled-up lower-grade Spirit Stones, he quietly closed his eyes.
The phrases of Stage 1 began to float in the darkness.
The phrases that had not been understood at all just a few hours ago were now embedded in his head exactly as they were.
Recalling the sensation of the blood vessels becoming hot and ticklish, he recited those phrases internally.
He repeated inhaling deeply and then exhaling shortly.
Gradually, the heartbeat decreased, and he entered a calm state of mind. On the other hand, his head cooled down as if chilled by ice, and his senses became extremely sensitive.
It was then. Suddenly, the phrases floating in the darkness began to flash with light.
From the lower-grade Spirit Stones touching his hand, five warm and bright energies were also felt.
And as those energies entered through his fingertips, his blood vessels gradually became hot and began to feel ticklish.
At that moment, goosebumps broke out across his spine.
'Uh? The Spiritual Qi entered!'
The fact that the Spiritual Qi had entered through the blood vessels meant that he had entered the Qi Condensation Stage (Yeon-gi-gi).
'Uh-oh? What? Why is this so easy? As expected, the drug kick is killer!'
It was the moment he felt a dazed yet boastful feeling.
Thinking about it again, the thought suddenly occurred to him that this was not all.
'Ah! Entering isn't the end! I have to rise to Stage 1!
To do that, they said I have to send the Spiritual Qi through the blood vessels into the Dantian!'
When he focused his mind to check, the Spiritual Qi that had entered a moment ago had already long since disappeared.
He quickly closed his eyes again and focused on the energy of the lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Then, once again, the hot energy and the ticklish feeling rose up through the blood vessels of his fingertips.
This time, he continued his breathing while focusing even more on the phrases visible in the darkness and the five types of Spiritual Qi flowing through his blood vessels.
'They said Stage 1 requires opening a total of 20 blood vessels centered on the Lung Meridian all the way to the Dantian, right?'
Focusing his mind, he guided the five Spiritual Qis from below the solar plexus, along the shoulders, and downward.
Every time they passed through a blood vessel, an indescribable sense of refreshment was felt in that blood vessel.
At the same time, hot heat arose, and waste products flowed out from the pores where the corresponding blood vessels were located, and a foul stench stimulated his nose.
'Ugh! What? What is this nasty smell all of a sudden?'
Lee An-jeong could not keep his mind straight due to the severe stench, but he tried his best to ignore it and continued his breathing.
'Let's see. They said after sending it down, finally send it to the Gi-hae point, which is the Dantian, right?'
Lee An-jeong quickly guided those five types of Spiritual Qi to the Dantian below his navel.
*Swaaaaa—*
The five types of Spiritual Qi flowed into the Dantian. As they flowed into the Sea of Qi (Gi-hae), the sea of Spiritual Qi, the five types of Spiritual Qi instantly hid their forms and disappeared.
It was as if a small stream of water that had flowed along the river had flowed into the wide sea.
However, even if they were small, those Spiritual Qis emitted their own brilliant radiance while taking their place in a corner of the Dantian.
Lee An-jeong did not know, but at this time, one of the three lower-grade Spirit Stones he had gathered in one place had already lost its light and turned into an insignificant pebble.
However, Lee An-jeong was completely unaware of this.
Immersed in the joy of his first experience of cultivation, he was completely focused and did not know at all what was happening around him.
Time flowed quickly, and before he knew it, it became midnight, and then the day broke and became dawn.
Lee An-jeong realized that the Spiritual Qi was no longer filling up.
The medicinal effects of the two drugs had also ended.
At that moment, he emerged from a state of deep immersion.
A bright light flashed in Lee An-jeong’s eyes and then disappeared.
"Ugh! What is this rotten smell?"
As soon as he opened his eyes, Lee An-jeong blocked his nose and furrowed his brow at the stench that pierced his nose.
The stench was coming from things like black soot that were smeared here and there on his body.
Lee An-jeong hurriedly left the cultivation cave and went to the valley side.
When he came outside, the outside had already become brightly lit before he knew it.
Morning dew was falling in droplets onto the leaves of trees and blades of grass it passed.
It seemed he had cultivated all night without even knowing it.
Only after stripping off his cultivation robes and rubbing them vigorously for a long time with the flowing valley water did those sticky black lumps all fall off.
*Sniff, sniff.*
"Whew, since there's no detergent, the smell of sweat doesn't go away even if I wash it!"
The stench had disappeared, but the smell of sweat remained.
However, since he couldn't go naked, he shook them out and put them back on while they were still wet, then headed toward the cultivation cave.
Yet, on the way back to the cultivation cave, Lee An-jeong felt something strange.
His eyesight had become so good that he wondered when it had happened; even a small insect several li away was clearly visible.
Moreover, his body was so light that even with just a slight push off the ground, he ran quite a distance.
In the air, something "tingling" was felt in addition to oxygen.
"Could it be that I succeeded in Stage 1 of the Qi Condensation Stage?"
At that thought which suddenly occurred to him, he checked his physical condition but soon ended up disappointed.
Although he had clearly felt the Spiritual Qis that were circulating strongly through his entire body earlier, not even a single handful of Spiritual Qi remained anywhere in his entire body now.
"What? The Spiritual Qis disappeared without a trace? Then what on earth was that earlier?"
Lee An-jeong returned to the cultivation cave harboring both disappointment and doubt at the same time.
After that, he changed into a spare set of cultivation robes and hung the wet cultivation robes on a tree branch next to the cultivation cave.
And just as he was entering the cultivation cave again, Lee An-jeong saw something and ended up being startled.
"What? Why did those things become like that?"
Surprisingly, the three lower-grade Spirit Stones placed on the floor had all lost their light and turned into ordinary pebbles.
"It couldn't be that someone swapped my Spirit Stones for pebbles, right?"
Suddenly, such a suspicion occurred to him first, but looking at them again, although only the color was different, those pebbles were definitely the lower-grade Spirit Stones he had taken out.
"Then what on earth happened?"
Lee An-jeong stared at the lower-grade Spirit Stones for a long time with eyes full of doubt, and then something suddenly occurred to him.
"Could it be... really?"
At that thought that suddenly occurred to him, he opened the Qi Condensation Method (Yeon-gi-beop) book with a feeling of "just in case." The moment he passed the Qi Condensation breathing method and turned to the Stage 1 chapter.
*Flutter.*
Surprisingly, the Stage 1 chapter, which would not open earlier, opened easily.
In that place, the formulas that allowed one to enter Stage 2 were contained.
"This can't be!? Then does it mean I broke through Stage 1 earlier? But where did all that Spiritual Qi go?"
It clearly meant he had succeeded in Stage 1, but the Spiritual Qi in his body had disappeared without a trace and could not be felt at all.
He could not understand this situation at all.
"Well, there is a way to check for sure if I have really risen to Stage 1!"
He opened the first page of the Qi Condensation Method.
In that place, one most basic technique of a Qi Condensation cultivator was written.
Qi Technique (Yeong-gi-sul).
It was the most basic technique used to shoot Spiritual Qi or to protect one's body firmly.
A person who had entered the Qi Condensation Method could gather Spiritual Qi at their fingertips with the Qi Technique, and if they succeeded in Stage 1, they could use this Qi Technique. What Hwang-cheon used previously was precisely this Qi Technique.
If he had truly reached Stage 1, he would be able to use this Qi Technique.
He concentrated the Spiritual Qi at his fingertips.
*Wooooooo—*
Then, his fingertips trembled, and Spiritual Qi, although weak, bloomed. After confirming this, he shot it straight toward the wall.
"Haat!"
At that moment, spiritual power shot out from his fingertips and struck the wall.
*Kwang— Psssh—*
With a loud roar, one side of the wall was gouged out to the size of a fist, and the spiritual power instantly scattered.
To think that weak Spiritual Qi showed that much power. When Lee An-jeong saw that scene, a thrill ran through his spine in the midst of his daze.
"Qi Technique! I really pulled off the Qi Technique! I have achieved Stage 1 of the Qi Condensation Stage!"
It was definitely the same as the Qi Technique Hwang-cheon had shown during the day.
He had done it himself. Achieving Stage 1 of the Qi Condensation Stage in just one day of cultivation!
At that moment, a bizarre pattern appeared on the back of the cheering Lee An-jeong’s right hand and then disappeared instantly.
A bizarre pattern in the shape of a seed inhabited by Spiritual Qi.
<><><>