By IMERPUS RELUR
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The cracked floor was still warm beneath him.
Liang Chen sat in silence. His chest rose and fell slowly as he adjusted to the unfamiliar sensation within him—the faint circulation of qi.
> Early Stage Qi Refining – First Level.
And it felt… fragile.
He pressed his palm against the stone wall beside him. The faded carvings of the Enduring Flame Meditation still glowed faintly, as if recognizing him now.
> "So this is what it feels like…"
Qi moved through his meridians in thin threads, like smoke trickling through cracked pipes. His low-grade Fire Root responded, but barely.
> Weak absorption.
Sluggish movement.
Almost no external projection.
He extended his hand toward a dried leaf on the floor and tried to release flame from his fingertip.
Nothing.
> "Too soon."
His qi wasn't strong enough to manifest outside his body. Not yet.
He stood, breathing slowly. Every breath activated the Enduring Flame Meditation, warming his core by a fraction.
> One spirit stone had opened the path…
But it wasn't enough to walk it.
> "I'll need more. At least one more to push to Second Level."
He looked around the ruined chamber. The walls were cracked. The ceiling sagged. This had once been part of a sect, maybe, long abandoned now.
If there were spirit stones left… they'd be buried deep.
And if not…
He'd have to steal one.