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Morning mist rolled down from the cliffs like breath from an unseen giant. Bells chimed across Cloud-Ridge Sect; disciples hurried to the Inner Training Hall where the day's lesson would begin. The hall was vast—an open circle of white stone cut into the mountain's heart. Its ceiling glittered with embedded crystals that pulsed faintly, as if echoing the rhythm of countless meditations past.
Instructor Kao stood at the center, staff planted before her. "Today," she announced, "you begin the work that separates dreamers from cultivators. You will shape the first spark of your Core."
A murmur rippled through the rows of students. Ria sat beside Ren, their robes neat, their hearts uneasy. Even after weeks here, she still marveled at how heavy the mortal air felt—thick with life, with effort. Yet something inside her yearned for this challenge.
Kao raised her palm; motes of light gathered there, swirling into a sphere no larger than a pearl.
"This is the Core. Not bone or flesh, but intent. It will hold your qi, refine it, and feed your growth. But the mountain allows no shortcuts. If your heart wavers, it will shatter before it forms."
She let the sphere dissolve into sparks. "Sit. Breathe. Let the mountain teach you patience."
---
The disciples folded their legs on cool stone. A hush settled. The air hummed with the low vibration of the earth's veins.
Ria closed her eyes. The Boundless Universe System flickered faintly at the edge of her thoughts.
> New Technique Unlocked — Core Formation Meditation.
Objective: Condense Initial Qi Node (Progress 0 %).
She drew in a slow breath. The mountain's qi was thick—mineral, metallic, slow to move. She guided it through her body, down to the point behind her navel. For a heartbeat, it resisted, slipping through her grasp like water.
Old instincts flared. In her divine days, she would have commanded it to obey. But Instructor Kao's voice echoed in memory: "Control nothing. Invite everything."
Ria exhaled and released her will. The energy stopped fighting her. It pooled quietly, swirling into a faint glow within. Warmth spread through her chest—not the roar of divine flame, but a mortal spark, fragile and alive.
> Qi Condensation … stabilized.
Core Formation Progress 2 %.
A tiny note of music seemed to hum from her soul. She smiled in the dark.
---
Beside her, Ren was having a less graceful time.
"Breathe gently," Instructor Kao reminded him.
"I am breathing gently!" he hissed through gritted teeth. The golden qi around him bulged, then exploded in a puff of glittering smoke shaped suspiciously like a fox's tail. A few students snorted.
Kao sighed. "If you must exhale your arrogance, do it outside."
Ria bit her lip to keep from laughing. Ren winked at her and returned to trying, the very image of perseverance—or at least stubborn chaos.
---
Hours passed in silence broken only by the rustle of robes and the soft ring of energy flows. When the session ended, many looked exhausted, a few triumphant. Instructor Kao walked among them, her gaze sharp yet approving.
"Remember this feeling," she said. "The first whisper of your core is the seed of eternity. Feed it daily. Guard it from doubt."
As she passed Ria, the instructor paused, brow lifting slightly. "Your aura resonates beyond mortal limits. Hide it, or it will draw storms."
Ria bowed. "Yes, Instructor."
Ren groaned as he stood. "Storms already like me. I'm irresistible."
Kao gave him a flat stare. "Then may thunder teach you humility."
---
That evening, the courtyard buzzed with energy. Disciples compared results, boasting of flickering lights or faint heat in their bellies. Ria stayed quiet, hands folded around a cup of tea. The warmth of her forming core pulsed gently, like a second heartbeat.
Ren flopped beside her. "So, Miss Perfect, what's your progress?"
She sipped calmly. "Two percent."
He blinked. "That's good?"
"It's a start."
He nodded sagely. "I'm at… zero. But that's because I'm building suspense."
She laughed. "Keep at it, Ren. Even suspense needs patience."
---
Later that night, Elder Hanzo summoned the novice group to the observation terrace. The stars burned bright above the sea of clouds, a reminder that heaven was never far—and never near enough.
Hanzo's robe fluttered in the wind as he spoke. "You have touched the first thread of creation. Yet know this: the Core is only the beginning. Beyond it lie the realms of Foundation, Spirit, Soul, Star, and Void. Each is a mountain within a mountain."
He traced glowing runes in the air. "Many will falter before the third step. Fewer still reach the sixth. But the Dao stretches without end. Even if you lived a thousand lives, you would not touch its edge."
The disciples listened, awe-struck. Ria felt the words strike deep. A thousand lives. Her journey was already long—and yet, perhaps it was only a preface.
Ren whispered, "You think he's exaggerating?"
She smiled. "No. I think he's warning us the story's barely begun."
---
When the assembly dismissed, she lingered by the railing. The mountain wind tugged at her hair. Below, lanterns from the lower valleys floated upward like tiny suns. The glow inside her abdomen answered them, faint but steady.
> Core Formation Progress — 2 % (Stable).
Qi Compression Level: Harmonized.
The System's tone felt almost affectionate now, a companion rather than a command.
She whispered, "Thank you."
The text faded, leaving only the heartbeat of her new core and the endless night above.
Ren joined her, holding two steaming rice buns he'd "liberated" from the kitchen. "Tomorrow they say we start refining qi threads. Sounds exciting."
"It will be," she said.
He grinned. "You've got that look again—the 'destined for epic things' look."
She tilted her head. "Is it that obvious?"
"Painfully." He handed her a bun. "Just promise when we've done a thousand lessons of this, you'll still share snacks."
Ria laughed softly. "Deal."
They ate in companionable silence, watching the stars drift. Somewhere above, a faint comet streaked across the sky—the same one they'd seen when they first arrived. It seemed to wink, as if keeping count.
The mountain breathed. The world turned. And deep within Ria's mortal heart, the first ember of her Core glowed a little brighter, whispering of the countless chapters—and lifetimes—still waiting to unfold.
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