The typical reaction to waking up and seeing someone swinging a sword with the intent to decapitate you was probably to panic and then… well, die as your head was sliced off.

  Unfortunately for my would-be killer I had just broken through and was filled with energy. Usually, breaking through to the peak of Body Tempering would help little against the attack of a one-star Qi Gathering cultivator.

  However, the usual peak of Body Tempering was nine-star… I was an eleven-star Body Tempering practitioner. Which meant I was far faster and stronger than my opponent expected me to be.

  In fact I don’t think she even expected me to have finished my breakthrough before her slash connected, judging from her slack jaw and wide eyes. That worked in my favour.

  I didn’t have a weapon, but I didn’t need one. After experiencing eleven breakthroughs in the Body Tempering Realm, my body itself was the weapon.

  My fist smashed into her jaw and I felt it shattering before I even heard her scream. It was quickly silenced as I punched her throat and then followed up by sweeping her legs from under her and then stomping on her head.

  Brutal, but effective. I couldn’t afford to waste time here. I knew that the fire guy and the three-star sword cultivator were the key to figuring out how to break through into the Qi Gathering Realm.

  Despite just breaking through I was far from satisfied. If anything I was even more frustrated. Achieving eleven-star Body Tempering would probably be considered an incredible feat by most, given it was literally the first time it had happened.

  To me though it was just a reminder of my continued failure to comprehend the mysteries of qi. That would soon change, or so I hoped.

  The only other people in the clearing apart from me—aside from those unconscious or dead—were the guy I’d healed earlier and a newcomer in robes I didn’t recognise. The two cultivators were dueling, though the Cloudy Falls Sect disciple was clearly losing.

  His body was covered in deep cuts and his movements were sluggish. He missed half of his strikes and failed to block the vast majority of his opponent’s slashes.

  If I stood back and allowed the battle to continue like this it would end in his defeat. I wasn’t exactly on his side, but it was just common sense to gang up on the stronger guy first.

  Ultimately my goal here was to heal as many Qi Gathering cultivators as possible. In order to do that I first had to beat them up. So, once I thought I had a good grasp of the battle’s tempo I decided to intervene.

  The Cloudy Falls Sect disciple made an ambitious sword strike, aiming to disembowel his foe. Unfortunately he misjudged the timing. Even then a regular opponent would have been hard pressed to take advantage of the opening, but just from my brief observation I knew this new sword cultivator was far from ordinary.

  In a move that I would never replicate even if I trained with a sword for the next one hundred years, his arm seemed to blur and shift through space as his blade parried the attack and then curled around his body to slash at the cloudy falls disciple. All of this happened in the time it took to inhale.

  If that attack landed it would likely end the battle in a decisive manner. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I needed my patients alive in order to benefit from them, after all.

  Needless to say that after my recent breakthrough I was fast. Like a damn tiger with wings. I would even go as far as to say I could match or even beat some early Qi Gathering cultivators in speed.

  I raced to close the gap, only focusing on the arc of the sword and the hand of the one wielding it. I almost tripped over a root due to my narrow focus and not being used to my new speed, but made it just in time.

  I made a strange fist with one knuckle poking out and smacked it against the centre of the sword’s blade, with the intention to try and shatter the metal. Call it vanity, but now that I possessed superhuman strength I wanted to at least do something flashy and cool like breaking metal with my bare hands.

  Unfortunately reality was not as impressive as my imagination. In less than a second a few things happened.

  Halfway to the duel, both cultivators seemed to notice my presence and threw me a quick gaze. The newcomer seemed unbothered, immediately returning his focus to killing his foe, while the one I’d healed let his eyes linger before also focusing on defending.

  Underestimating my speed was a mistake on the sword cultivator’s part. I closed the gap in just a few steps and smacked my fist into the middle of his sword, but I was later than I’d hoped.

  The sword was knocked away and I heard a loud metallic ring, but unfortunately it didn’t shatter as I’d hoped. It had to be a spirit weapon… definitely. There was no other reason why I wouldn’t be able to break it.

  Regardless I had still saved the life of the cultivator I’d previously healed. However due to being late the sword had still cut into his neck and it was currently bleeding.

  I placed a hand on his arm, making him flinch but not in time to escape my healing technique. When he realised his neck was now healed a few seconds later he nodded in gratitude and understanding.

  The sword cultivator gathered himself and held his sword in a neutral guard. “Very interesting. You managed to succeed in your breakthrough, defeat my juniors and even block this young master’s sword strike,” he said while circling the two of us.

  “Yet I cannot sense a single drop of qi in your body. Still a Body Tempering practitioner and already so strong… Impressive, but your path ends here. Challenging this grandfather was a mistake,” he sneered.

  I frowned and the guy next to me looked furious. “Ignoring me now that a new victim has appeared, Mao Feng? Take this seriously. You won’t get away with attacking the disciples of the Cloudy Falls Sect in these mountains. I’ve already contacted the others and an Elder is on their way,” he snarled.

  At least I now had a name for the vicious sword cultivator who looked more like a gangster than a young master. Then again, I wasn’t sure what the exact qualification was to be a young master.

  Arrogance and a desperate desire for attention, perhaps?

  I chuckled inwardly then stopped myself. Now wasn’t the time for jokes. Even against two opponents, this Mao Feng fellow still seemed confident.

  Then again, to most people I only seemed like a mere Body Tempering practitioner; hardly a threat. I would try to win this fight without my cursed touch technique—the gains of healing him after the battle would be better without it.

  “Even if all of you weaklings from the Cloudy Droplets Sect ganged up on me I would still win,” Mao Feng boasted. “And if you somehow managed to kill me, Senior Brother would simply wave a hand and slaughter you all. Your Elders will be too late to save you and stop us from claiming the Ten Ascensions Lily.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  I was starting to get really confused. What in the heavens were these two talking about? Ten Ascensions Lily? Some kind of flower, obviously, but why were they fighting to the death over it?

  Like any sensible cultivator who wanted to keep his head intact, I decided that once I got out of this battle alive I would return to the city and digest my gains. Even if I hadn’t quite managed to discover how to progress to Qi Gathering.

  It was simply too risky to be here right now. Clearly some kind of plot was unfolding between these two sects and I had no desire to be caught in the middle of it.

  Mao Feng continued to circle us, waiting for an opening. Suddenly the guy beside me grunted and lunged forwards, swinging his sword in a reckless attack. “Die, bastard!” he roared as he flashed across the clearing.

  Our opponent smirked as he saw the wild strike and deftly dodged to the left. The moment he moved his confident expression suddenly vanished and I saw his qi racing towards his sword arm.

  And not a moment too soon, because as soon as he’d dodged my ally’s body twisted in a completely inhuman manner, his torso spinning almost one hundred and eighty degrees. His attack was no longer like the charge of a reckless boar and had become the graceful personification of a flowing river.

  What followed was a rapid clash of swords that I struggled to follow with my eyes, Mao Feng now on the backfoot as he attempted to block or deflect the elegant attacks of my ally—I really needed to figure out his name.

  I wasn’t sure how to contribute. My initial attack hadn’t gone as planned, my strength far from enough to accomplish what I’d attempted. Now my speed and techniques were lacking.

  I suddenly smacked myself on the side of the head. Why was I worrying about my combat prowess lacking? I was a damn doctor…

  Ultimately the fight continuing like this worked in my favour, since all I needed was for them to tire each other out. In fact, I had a much better idea than trying to intervene in a fight I wasn’t qualified to.

  Hopefully I wasn’t too late…

  Looking around the clearing I almost couldn’t find the defeated fire cultivator. The reason for that was because the progression of my technique had turned his body into a misshapen clump of flesh that no longer looked human.

  I raced over, not wanting to waste another second. As long as his heart still beat and he had breath in his lungs there was a chance to save him.

  My technique could be reversed but I’d never tried to do so when it was this far advanced. However, constant challenge was the best way to progress and right now progress was exactly what I needed.

  The moment I reached the fire cultivator I knelt down beside him and placed two fingers against the swollen flesh that I assumed was his wrist. It took a few seconds but eventually I felt a faint pulse.

  I placed my ear against his body and eventually managed to discern a faint wheeze. He was still alive, but not for long.

  Healing the tumours caused by my technique was a little different to healing other wounds, in the sense that I actually had to focus and direct my blood essence during the process. Whereas when I usually used the technique I simply inserted essence and then withdrew an increased amount.

  Sort of like… trading but with mystical cultivation energies. Was I one of those crypto bros now?

  I shuddered at the thought, but quickly turned my mind back to the task at hand. There was nothing wrong with bitcoin, but making it your whole personality was over the top…

  Honestly I was a little concerned about whether I would receive any meaningful gains by healing this guy, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying. Even though he had been trying to kill his own sect members, he would be a great help against these new invaders.

  It was the same as the spirit beasts and awakened beasts here in the mountains. They would constantly fight each other for territory, but the moment an outsider appeared they would band together to fight them off.

  Now that I thought about it… humans weren’t much better either. Always killing each other over petty squabbles and material gains. Though in this world the gains were far more tangible.

  Who could resist the temptation of being able to walk on clouds or carve mountains in two with a single slash?

  After a few seconds, the disfigured pile of flesh was beginning to look a lot more human and I could make out the fire guy’s facial features once more. My technique hadn’t been kind.

  Hopefully he had a charming personality, or finding a wife might be difficult in future. A really charming personality.

  The clashing of swords could still be heard behind me, which was a relief. The moment that battle ended I would be in danger.

  Not to be too harsh on my ally, but it was clear that he was out of his depth against that ridiculously talented young master.

  I turned back to my patient when I heard a cough, seeing that the swirls of blood essence inside his body were glowing with fire as his qi blended with it. Now was the time to focus on what was happening in an attempt to understand what I was missing.

  I knew that qi was a refined form of spiritual energy—the energy of heaven and earth that was in all things—but I needed to understand what the difference was between qi and blood essence.

  That difference was the key to understanding why one needed spirit roots to reach the Qi Gathering Realm. Actually, being able to witness a breakthrough from Body Tempering to Qi Gathering would be the most useful source, but what were the chances of that happening in my vicinity any time soon? I wasn’t some heaven gifted prodigy.

  No, I’d struck a shady deal with the heavens for my talents… The superior option.

  I’d also worked damn hard and leaned on my preexisting knowledge of medicine, but somehow one’s own effort seemed to pale in comparison to bragging about backing and fate.

  I really needed to work on my tendency to let my thoughts run wild while I was healing people. It helped me focus but wasn’t healthy for my mental state.

  Suddenly I saw something that made me narrow my eyes. A faint flicker of energy from the ground that vanished as soon as it had appeared.

  A few moments later I watched as a new stream of fiery qi emerged from the guy’s dantian and joined my blood essence as it finished healing his body. What the hell was that?

  I think I just witnessed him taking in spiritual energy and refining it into qi… but how? I felt like a medical student again, watching my teachers perform a particular surgery for the first time with no clue what they had done, grasping to understand.

  In fact the only difference I could see was… the cultivator himself. Nothing else seemed to separate the different energies. I needed more insight, so I kept watching.

  The same thing happened a couple more times before I finished healing him, but I wasn’t able to glean much insight. The workings of qi remained elusive and I grew more frustrated.

  Had my qi oath truly severed my path to the peak? What was the purpose? What did the heavens intend when giving me a powerful physique while also cutting off my cultivation?

  The lack of answers was the true reason for my anger and confusion. Even though things looked bleak I refused to give in. Heaven’s will might be enigmatic, but medicine was rooted in logic; in systematic repetition and understanding of the human condition.

  I would figure this out through sheer stubbornness if I had to.

  A sharp inhale brought my focus back to the outside world as the fire cultivator awoke. A tiny rush of blood essence entered my body at the same time, far less than I would normally receive from healing one at this realm due to the use of my tumour-inducing technique.

  However, this was no ordinary blood essence. A quick inspection was all I needed to see that faint remnants of the fire qi had also entered my body.

  Whether that would be positive for me or not was unknown, but I would soon find out. The inside of my arm began to heat up rapidly as the fire qi travelled through it.

  It was only one or two drops but even that was enough to cause some damage. If my body wasn’t so sturdy or my energy wasn’t medicinal in nature perhaps I would’ve even risked losing use of the arm for a while.

  The health of my limbs was secondary to being able to understand qi. I could always heal my flesh, but I couldn’t get access to qi easily. In fact this was one of the few times I’d had more than a momentary glimpse, so I wanted to make the most of it.

  Alas, a pig ally is worse than a devious enemy. My own blood essence recognised the fire qi as dangerous and before it could even reach my chest it was devoured, no trace remaining.

  Though I did notice faint flecks of orange appear on the motes of essence which had so valiantly defended me against the invading qi. Perhaps I could make use of them for further study.

  At that moment I realised something was very wrong. It was too… silent. Acting on instinct I threw myself to the side, making the newly awoken fire cultivator exclaim “You!” in surprise as I flew over his body.

  Just in time too, as a shimmering sword carved through the space I’d just occupied, leaving sharp lines of qi floating in the air like wounds in the fabric of reality.