Evening settled gently over the village.
Smoke rose from hearths in thin gray ribbons, drifting lazily into a sky brushed with fading gold and deepening blue. The clamor of the day softened into a rhythm of ordinary life—bowls clinking, footsteps on packed earth, laughter carried through half-open doors.
Seraphina walked back from the river at an unhurried pace, satchel resting against her hip.
Her suppressed form remained perfectly stable.
Short hair, plain trousers, loose shirt—nothing about her stood out now. To the villagers, she was just another young wanderer who had come looking for work. A capable one, perhaps. Quiet. Reliable.
No one saw the Core Formation cultivator beneath the surface.
No one felt the absurd flow of Qi moving through her body every second she breathed.
She passed Elder Haron's house and gave a polite nod. He returned it with a grunt, already seated outside with a bowl of stew. Lina waved at her from across the path, cheeks smudged with dirt, braid loose after a long day of work.
"Tomorrow," Lina called, "there's a bigger herb run. Deeper routes."
Seraphina smiled. "I'll be there."
She continued walking.
Her lodging for the night was a small spare room behind a carpenter's shop, rented cheaply in exchange for helping carry timber in the mornings. The place was simple—wooden walls, a narrow bed stuffed with straw, a low table, and a shuttered window that looked out toward the forest edge.
Perfect.
She closed the door behind her and finally allowed herself to breathe out.
The moment she relaxed her posture, the pressure inside her body surged.
Qi responded immediately.
Not violently—but eagerly.
It flowed from the environment into her lungs, through her meridians, into her dantian like water rushing downhill.
> [System Notification]
Passive Core Formation Cultivation Active
EXP +1
Seraphina sat cross-legged on the bed.
She did not lie down.
She did not waste the night.
Cultivators cultivated.
And she cultivated faster than anyone who had ever existed.
She straightened her back, aligned her spine, and placed her hands lightly on her knees. Her breathing slowed—not shallow, not forced. Deep. Steady. Natural.
The world responded.
Qi thickened.
It seeped through the cracks of the wooden walls, drifted in through the window slats, gathered around her skin like invisible mist. Every inhale pulled it inward. Every exhale refined it.
> [System Notification]
Passive Cultivation → Active State
EXP Gain Increased
Her mind entered stillness.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Her body warmed—not from exertion, but from refinement. Her muscles tightened slightly, then relaxed, becoming denser, more efficient. Her bones hummed faintly as Qi washed over them again and again.
She felt it clearly.
Core Formation was nothing like Foundation Establishment.
Before, Qi had strengthened her.
Now, it obeyed her.
Not fully—but enough that every cycle of cultivation felt like polishing a core of living fire inside her body.
> [System Notification]
EXP +60
EXP +60
EXP +60
Her eyes opened briefly.
The system interface hovered before her vision, translucent and steady.
> EXP: 290 / 3000
She frowned slightly.
"Still a long way," she murmured.
Then she smiled.
"That's fine."
She shifted her posture.
This time, she actively guided the Qi.
Fire Qi responded immediately.
Not explosive—controlled.
She circulated it through her limbs, forcing it to temper muscle fibers, compressing strength inward instead of outward. It hurt—not sharply, but deeply. Like stretching tendons past comfort.
Her jaw tightened.
Sweat formed along her brow.
The bed beneath her creaked softly as the pressure increased.
> [System Notification]
Fire Qi Integration Active
Technique Progressing
Her Fire Fist technique reacted first.
Not because she used it—but because her body understood it.
Punches were nothing more than controlled explosions of force.
And now, her body was learning to contain that explosion perfectly.
Her knuckles tingled.
Her forearms burned.
> [System Notification]
Fire Fist — Mastery Increased
She did not stop.
She pushed harder.
Qi circulation accelerated.
The pressure in her dantian thickened until it felt like molten metal being stirred.
Her heartbeat slowed.
Then—
Crack.
It was not audible.
But she felt it.
A layer peeled away inside her core.
Qi surged outward, then snapped back into place, denser than before.
> [System Notification]
Breakthrough Achieved
Core Formation Layer 2
Seraphina exhaled slowly.
Her entire body felt… heavier.
Not sluggish—solid.
Like gravity itself acknowledged her existence more clearly.
Her suppressed form adjusted automatically, reinforcing itself to accommodate the increased power. Even compressed, her physical presence grew subtly more intense.
> [System Notification]
Stat Growth Applied
Unassigned Stat Points +4
She did not touch them.
She never did.
She returned to cultivation immediately.
The night deepened.
Crickets chirped outside.
Somewhere in the village, someone laughed.
Seraphina sat unmoving as hours passed, Qi flowing into her like a tide that never receded.
> [System Notification]
EXP +60
EXP +60
EXP +60
Her core rotated faster.
Fire Qi refined itself further, losing impurities, becoming purer, sharper.
Her Fire Palm technique responded next.
The sensation traveled from her dantian to her shoulders, down her arms, into her palms. Heat bloomed there—not wild flames, but compressed force.
> [System Notification]
Fire Palm — Mastery Increased
She gritted her teeth.
Pain flared briefly—then vanished.
Another internal barrier fractured.
> [System Notification]
Breakthrough Achieved
Core Formation Layer 3
This time, the change was undeniable.
Her skin felt tighter.
Her senses sharpened.
She could hear the carpenter turning in his sleep next door. Smell the faint resin of fresh-cut wood through the wall. Feel the Qi density difference between inside the room and outside.
She opened her eyes.
They glowed faintly for a heartbeat—then dimmed as her compressed form reinforced itself.
> [System Notification]
Suppression Stable
She laughed softly under her breath.
"So this is what it feels like…"
She stood briefly, testing her body.
The floor creaked.
She could feel how easily she could shatter it—if she let go.
She did not.
She sat again.
Back straight.
Breathing deep.
She cultivated until the moon reached its highest point.
Until the night air cooled.
Until her core felt full—then fuller.
> [System Notification]
EXP Threshold Reached
The third breakthrough came harder.
Her Qi surged violently, slamming against her internal walls again and again.
Her muscles locked.
Her breath hitched.
For a moment, it felt like her core would rupture.
Then—
It compressed.
Collapsed inward.
Reformed.
> [System Notification]
Breakthrough Achieved
Core Formation Layer 4
Seraphina slumped forward slightly, palms pressed to the floor.
Her heart pounded.
Her entire body buzzed.
Power coursed through her veins—not explosive, not chaotic. Controlled. Dense.
Her suppressed form strained for a brief moment—then stabilized again.
> [System Notification]
Unassigned Stat Points +4
Total Unassigned Stat Points Updated
She lay back on the bed at last, staring at the ceiling.
Her chest rose and fell slowly.
She felt absurdly strong.
Not invincible—but far beyond what she had been that morning.
And the night was not even over.
She smiled.
"I could do this every day."
She closed her eyes.
But even as she rested, she did not stop cultivating.
Her breathing remained steady.
Qi continued to flow.
> [System Notification]
Passive Cultivation Active
EXP +1 per minute
By the time dawn approached, her EXP had climbed steadily—not explosively, not illogically. Earned through hours of refinement.
She slept lightly.
And when morning came—
She would work.
She would cultivate.
She would grow.
The city and its cultivation school waited a month away.