Chapter 12: Overpowering Qi

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Nyoi_Bo_Studio

"Who has evidence to prove the existence of this temple?" Fan Xian still possessed the empirical views of a modern man.

Answered Fei Jie proudly, "Ku He, one of the Four Great Grandmasters, became one of the strongest on this continent after came to be in the temples favor. Isnt that proof enough?"

"Or perhaps Ku He took too many stimulants and used the temple as an excuse." Fan Xian retorted.

"Blasphemy. While I envy the luck of the bald Ku He, for the past few decades, he held the utmost reverence for the gods, and I do admire that. How can he use temple as an excuseand what is a stimulant?"

"Its a medicine which boosts the body; something like an elixir he must have had too much, otherwise how did he lose all his hair?"

Fan Xian was joking with his teacher.

Fei Jie ignored him: "The temple is like the Tianmai; they both are found in the books, and in the royal chambers of all kingdoms, with the most important part are the sacrificial temples. Its just that the temples themselves want no part in worldly matters, and never interferes. It is for that reason that all the ceremonies are made at the Heavenly Altar three miles away from the palace. Qing and Northern Qi both conduct large scale sacrifices at their altars, but they never use it to influence politics and other national business. Only some pilgrims believe the temple to be ruins of the realms, and take on journeys to train their hearts and bodies."

Fan Xian was smiling, but inside he thought, "What is this temple really like? If its part of a belief system, then why doesnt this world have things like churches? If those fundamental organizations dont exist, then this belief system would have no authority; no authority equals no benefit, and without benefit no reason for any organization to exist."

And so, he didnt believe what his teacher just told him about the temple being an existence which transcended this world.

But at the same time, he thought, "If a belief system really is based on such a mysterious place, its not so bad, since it doesnt seem to interfere with peoples lives."

...

...

"Alright, teacher, youve been off-topic for too long. You havent told me whats going on with this zhenqi in my body yet."

Seeing a rare childish tantrum, Fei Jie checked Fan Xians pulse carefully, then stated, "As I said earlier, the zhenqi inside you is very powerful. Even though youve been training for such a short amount of time, the amount of zhenqi in your pubic region and meridian have far surpassed what a body of your age is capable of containing."

"Is it that serious?" Fan Xian looked uneasy.

"I dont know."

"Then youre just trying to scare me."

"Im not trying to scare you. Its just that you right now are like a leather bag used to hold alcohol. The bag can only hold so much, but the amount of alcohol inside keeps on increasing. If you continue, Im worried that you will end up bursting."

Recently, while practicing, Fan Xian felt some burning pain around his waist, but other than that, there werent any unusual symptoms, so he was reluctant to believe his teacher. He shook his head. "My teacher is scolding me for being a glutton, I believe."

"Try moving your zhenqi like you do every day in practice." Fei Jie frowned slightly.

Fan Xian did as told and closed his eyes, naturally entering the meditative state of his training. The warm cloud of qi around his abdomen began to slowly expand, gradually moving towards the limbs along the meridians of the human body.

Fei Jie too closed his eyes, setting his fingertips on the boys wrist, judging carefully. After a while he frowned, saying, "Dont hold it back on purpose; youre only a five-year-old child, as powerful as your zhenqi may be, it cant harm me. Im worried that your body is too frail and cant handle it."

"Oh." Fan Xian had indeed been controlling the strength of his zhenqi, so he slowly released it out through the pubic region. Thinking back on what Fei Jie said, Fan Xian couldnt help but agree; of course, the amount of zhenqi he has cant hurt that toxic old thing, and therefore, if he releases too little of it, his teacher wouldnt be able to make an accurate diagnosis.

While thinking that, he closed his eyes again, with this nameless art of zhenqi resounding through his mind: "Do not keep the force within you and bring destruction; let it flow from you like water from a spring ..."

As he chanted, the zhenqi inside began jumping as if being issued a command. It joyously came out of from his pubic region, traveled to his back along the meridian, and came rushing towards the wrist on a strange path.

A dull noise was heard from the book chamber!

Fei Jie violently opened his eyes as he felt his fingers being deflected off the childs wrist by a dense wave of zhenqi, and being unprepared, Fei Jie himself was flung against the wall, the impact of which created a dull thud. There was a burning sensation in his fingers, and his chest was in pain; Fei Jie spat out blood!

...

...

On the other side, Fan Xian felt stuffy and raised his head. Only then did he discover Fei Jies miserable state. Shocked, he hurried and helped his teacher up.

Fie Jie waved his hand, signaling that he was fine, and got up on his own. Wiping away the blood from his lips, he stared at the little boy with a strange look that was hard to interpret.

Fie Jie mumbled to himself, "Hes five years old, for f*cks sake! And yet his zhenqi is this overwhelming?! If you keep training, one day, the zhenqi inside you will explode and kill you."

Fan Xian was stunned to hear his teacher use such strong language. He didnt think the rebellious zhenqi in his wrist would make his teacher bleed. Despite being hurt, the first thing Fie Jie thought of wasnt his own well-being, but rather that of his studentrealizing this, even though Fan Xian sometimes locked away his feelings while hiding in the body of a small child, he felt somewhat moved.

The wooden door opened, and a black shadow rushed in.

"A pair of idiots."

Even now, the blind Wu Zhu still talked with a cold tone. He led Fan Xian over and put his fingertips to the childs slender neck. After a pause, he said coldly, "Youre not hurt, just shaken from seeing Fie Jie throwing up blood."

He then took another "look" at Fie Jie, and remained, "Fie Jie, you are teaching him to use poison, I trust youre qualified. But Young Miss once said that your martial abilities are one of the weakest of the Eight Masters in the capital. And since this is something I gave Young Master, its better if you dont say anything unnecessary."

In Danzhou City, Fie Jie was a rather inconspicuous, somewhat trivial man. But here in the capital, he was a very impressive character. Now having being injuredthough mostly through his own carelessnesshe was unhappy after hearing Wu Zhu putting it like that. Adding to his own worry was Fan Xian learning such overly powerful ability at the age of five, his expression darkened.