Lia had been researching the world while tim had been teaching, and it wasn't as peaceful as she'd thought. Half the world was considered wilderness where wild qi beasts roamed. Inter-country battles plus the threat of a random high-tier cultivator coming across your planet and destroying it because it annoyed them was entirely possible.
The current planet, Silus, had a population of one billion. Over thousands of years, wild beasts had mutated into powerful qi monsters. A qi-rich world also made the environment rich enough for the qi to start evolving the animals. The qi beasts were largely unorganized but would often swarm under higher-level beasts who could have intelligence beyond humans.
Lia sat there with her stomach in knots. Thousands of cultivators died every day protecting the walls and defensive lines against the beasts. While there was still social media and civilization with cities, everything was at much greater risk than Earth. Information outside the planet of Silus was largely restricted. Maybe it was so terrifying that the higher powers didn't want normal people to know. All she could find was that interstellar travel was only possible with Nascent Soul level cultivators.
She read further into each cultivation level. Qi Refining was where people tried to cycle qi through their bodies to eliminate impurities and increase their qi capacity. While it was the most basic level, only one in ten thousand would get above the fifth level in their lifetimes. One's destiny was really set at birth with the quality of their meridians. A level nine Qi Refining expert could lift over ten times their weight and move ten times as fast. Breaking through to Foundation Establishment was a qualitative change—the body expelled many impurities and the very DNA was qualitatively changed by qi. Lia had truly been a genius, and many basic sect members would try most of their lives to break through to Foundation Establishment. Once in Foundation Establishment, cultivators would use liquid qi to break through several more blockages of the meridians. They would cleanse all their meridians of impurities and be able to build a lake of qi to try to form it into a solid core. That would take them to the Golden Core stage.
Lia got up and walked around the sect with new eyes. This wasn't a Harry Potter fantasy land. These sects were part of the defense of millions of people from the hordes. Lia sitting around for a month and not helping to cull the beasts could result in lost lives of many mortals.
Earth
While Tim was going through a crisis as Lia in the cultivation world, he was starting basic martial arts training. He headed to the local dojo that taught a martial art he'd never heard of before: Soaring Phoenix Fist. It sounded ridiculous but also sounded like something from the cultivation world, which had equally ridiculous names.
Upon entering, he could see almost no one except an old man, a twenty-year-old girl, and some local school children and elderly practitioners.
"Hello. I am Kurokawa Ryo, sensei."
The man appraised him with deep eyes before nodding slightly. "Come sit, boy."
The girl beside him smirked, eyeing Tim up and down critically, while other elderly students ignored newcomers entirely, focusing instead on slow movements resembling tai chi mixed with something that looked almost like drunken boxing.
Kurokawa sensei grabbed Tim's wrists and closed his eyes. "Ah, I think you are here for more than just some exercise," the man said. "But an unstable, unfit body is the foundation of nothing."
The girl stifled a giggle and Tim rolled his eyes, which got him a smack on the wrist.
"No attitude. And you, Yui, will teach him how to exercise and then recover. Use method number four breathing recovery technique. Eight weeks minimum before any fighting forms can be taught," the master told her before standing up and walking away, leaving Yui standing over Tim with an evil glint in her eye.
She cracked her knuckles before grabbing Tim by the shoulders, forcibly dragging him toward the gym mats while saying cheerfully, "Welcome to hell, newbie!"
Tim realized too late that this place wasn't normal either—Yui moved way too fast for someone without qi enhancement.
Meanwhile
Riku arrived at her mansion after being picked up by the family butler. She flopped down on the couch, kicking her feet up and closing her eyes. Varek had finally arrived at the local city. His mission was to help cull monsters in the surrounding area, and he had done a great job.
Riku smiled on the couch. "This is like an MMORPG," she thought, "just a thousand times more realistic."
Varek looked at his communicator to see no replies from Tim. "Ugh, what a boring person," he thought. All he had done as Varek was fight low-level qi beasts, but it was amazing to have this powerful, confident energy under his control. Varek looked like a pop star but was incredibly strong. As Riku used Varek's body to walk through the city, she appreciated how different it was to be a man. To not have other men looking at her with desire but with respect or slight jealousy. To have women not look at her as competition but with interest.
Varek walked into a hotel and asked the counter girl for a room, throwing in a confident smile he'd seen in movies. The girl blushed slightly and said, "That will be half a silver."
Varek strode to his room and started undressing for a shower. Riku paused, looking down at the completely foreign anatomy. Having lived twenty years in a female body, the male form was still shocking to see and control. The different proportions, the way everything hung and moved was far too weird.
"Well, this is definitely different," he muttered through Varek's voice, still getting used to the deeper tone. The physical reality of inhabiting a male body was both fascinating and awkward, especially when it came to basic functions. He poked and prodded at his new equipment trying to control its movements. I have no control at all. It's like a useless tail Riku thought.
Back on Earth, Riku's physical body was lying on the couch, her face growing increasingly red as she experienced these new sensations through Varek. Her mom walked in, seeing her daughter's flushed appearance.
"Riku, are you okay? You look like you have a fever."
"Oh, I'm fine, Mom. Just tired from school," Riku mumbled, trying to focus on both conversations simultaneously while dealing with the embarrassment of her dual awareness.
Her mom left immediately, returning seconds later with a cold towel, placing it across Riku's forehead gently while worrying about sudden fever symptoms appearing out of nowhere.
Riku closed her eyes tighter, trying to not focus on Varek's hardening member after touching it too much.
The Next Day
Tim walked into class hobbling slightly. Riku snorted seeing this before messaging privately using Varek through his communication ring:
Teacher, did you get beaten up?
Tim shot her a glare but replied via Lia's account: Worse. Personal trainer from hell.
Riku grinned widely, typing back excitedly: Varek could teach you proper training techniques. His body is way stronger than yours.
Tim closed his eyes and sighed. Through Lia, he typed: I don't need training advice from an twenty year old.
Riku made a mock-offended face before sending: "Hey! Varek has years of combat experience. Also he is the older person in the cultivation world."
Tim didn't reply but thought, "I thought switching to a female body would be the strangest part of this experience."
That Evening - Soaring Phoenix Fist
After jump rope and basic exercises, Yui's demeanor shifted from sadistic trainer to something more focused and serious. She gestured for Tim to sit cross-legged on the worn tatami mats, the familiar scent of old sweat and incense filling his nostrils.
"Alright, newbie," she said, though her tone had lost its earlier bite, "time for recovery breathing. This isn't some new-age meditation nonsense—it's the real deal."
She demonstrated the technique, her hands moving to specific points on her torso as she breathed. "Breathe in through your nose, but don't just fill your lungs. Feel the air traveling down different pathways—imagine it flowing through your chest, your abdomen, even down to your lower back. Hold it for a count of seven, then release through your mouth while guiding it back up through the same pathways."
Tim tried to follow along, but it felt awkward and forced. The breathing pattern seemed almost impossible—how could air travel to his lower back? It felt like he was trying to push oxygen through imaginary tubes that didn't exist. His body tensed with the effort, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cooling evening air.
"You're fighting it," Yui observed, moving behind him to adjust his posture. Her hands pressed against specific points along his spine. "Don't force the pathways. Let them open naturally."
Minutes passed in uncomfortable concentration. Tim's legs began to cramp from the unfamiliar position, and his breathing grew ragged. Just when he was about to give up, something strange happened. The air seemed to flow more easily, as if invisible channels had suddenly opened throughout his torso. The sensation was warm, almost electric, spreading from his core outward through his limbs.
"There," Yui said with satisfaction, stepping back. "Feel that warmth? That circulation? Your muscles are already starting to repair themselves. Do this for twenty minutes every night, and you'll recover three times faster than normal."
Tim opened his eyes, surprised to find that his earlier exhaustion had lifted considerably. His breathing felt deeper, more efficient. The aching in his muscles had dulled to a manageable soreness. "What... how does this work exactly?"
Yui shrugged, already gathering her things. "Old family technique. Been passed down for generations. Most people think it's just breathing exercises, but..." She trailed off, giving him a knowing look. "Let's just say there's more to the human body than what they teach in school."
As the other students filtered out, Tim remained on the mat, practicing the breathing pattern. Each cycle felt more natural than the last, and that warm energy continued to circulate through his body. This couldn't just be oxygen efficiency, could it? The sensation reminded him too much of the qi cultivation in the cultivation world, but that should be impossible. This was just a run-down martial arts school in an ordinary city.
From the shadows near the back of the dojo, Master Kurokawa observed his newest student with ancient eyes that had seen far more than their weathered appearance suggested. The old man's expression remained impassive, but there was a subtle nod of approval as he watched Tim unconsciously guide energy through meridians that most people didn't even know existed.
The boy had potential—raw and untrained, but unmistakably present. His spiritual pathways were naturally wide, though blocked by years of sedentary living and poor health. With proper guidance, he might actually develop into something worthwhile.