First Level of Body Refining

The crimson light of the afternoon sun poured gently through the open windows of Li Chen’s room, casting long golden lines over the smooth stone floor. Scrolls rolled tight lay neatly to one side, already studied, absorbed, and imprinted into memory.

Li Chen sat in the center of his courtyard, legs crossed, spine straight. His breathing was steady, measured. The ThunderFire Refining Technique echoed in his mind like a sacred chant. He recited the opening verse under his breath:

“When flame and lightning dance as one,

Heaven’s fury and sun's breath spun.

Breathe deep, let wrath and light entwine...

Forge the self through storm and spine.”

He let the words settle into silence. Then he closed his eyes.

Following the method described in the scroll, he began his first true attempt at cultivation.

Drawing his attention inward, he extended his perception slowly outward, like ripples from a still pond. Almost immediately, he felt it.

A gentle warmth, subtle, yet omnipresent, rose from the sun-soaked earth and the air around him. It filled his lungs with each breath, nestled in the warmth of his skin. The fire element. Calm, steady, and ever-present.

Then came something else.

Faint at first, like the flicker of a lantern behind a veil. But as he sharpened his focus, he sensed a static crackle, threads of tension weaving through the air, emanating from the distant clouds forming beyond the mountains.

Thunder.

It surged differently than fire. Where fire flowed and embraced, thunder burst and vanished, raw, wild, and unbound. If fire was a hearth, thunder was a beast straining against a cage.

Li Chen opened his eyes briefly, surprise flickering across his face.

Even Heaven Grade talents require a full day to sense elemental energy... And Yellow Grade cultivators sometimes take half a month.

He had needed mere minutes.

His heart beat faster, not from arrogance, but from awe. Just how strong are these bloodlines...?

With each breath, elemental energy continued to seep into him. He could feel the fire qi enter like a warm mist wrapping his limbs. The thunder essence, however, zipped in like sharp currents, alive, erratic. The two energies didn’t clash, but orbited each other like twin stars, harmonizing in contrast.

Then came the moment of instability.

The thunder energy surged too quickly, far faster than the scroll had warned. A crackle tore through his chest like a whip, making his meridians tremble. For a heartbeat, the energy threatened to overload. But Li Chen reacted instinctively, calming his breath, circulating his internal flow with practiced precision.

The flare passed.

He exhaled, brows furrowed. Even with my bloodlines, I can't afford to be careless.

As the elemental energies continued flowing, a rudimentary energy cycle began to take shape. The scroll had described this: Qi cycling naturally through the body, entering through the limbs, rotating through the core, and dispersing through the back. His cycle was rough, faint, but it was real.

Then, something shifted.

His skin prickled. A slow, building pressure enveloped his body. The warmth of fire and the pulse of thunder were no longer ambient. They were transforming him.

Heat coiled through his limbs. A sharp tremor traveled down his spine. The sensation grew until...

Crack.

A subtle yet audible pop rang out from his forearm. Then another near his shoulders. Not of pain, but of release, like old chains giving way.

Li Chen's eyes snapped open.

He had stepped into the First Level of the Body Tempering Stage.

His skin tingled, denser and firmer to the touch. The temperature of his body had risen faintly, as if forged in low flame.

But he also felt drained, mentally more than physically. Absorbing elemental energy from nature was far from passive. It required focus, resilience, and control. His mind felt like a bowstring held taut for too long.

Only when the chirping of night insects replaced the rustle of leaves did he realize the sky had turned indigo. The stars were already scattered above, and the scent of jasmine floated on the cooling air.

Rising slowly, Li Chen stretched his limbs and balled his fists. A grin formed on his lips.

He struck the air with a clean punch, and felt the force ripple out with startling strength. His body, already reinforced from awakening, now pulsed with even more power.

He looked to the stone pillar near the courtyard’s edge, used often by servants to hang lanterns, and walked over. Drawing his fist back, he slammed it into the thick base.

Crack.

The stone split along the side.

He stared, wide-eyed. With this strength... even a full-grown beast might stagger.

But he knew this was only the beginning.

To unlock his Primordial Body Scripture, he needed to reach the third level. That meant enduring more tempering, expanding his energy cycles, and pushing both body and mind further.

As he walked the perimeter of the courtyard in a slow cooldown, he thought of others his age. Many would still be meditating, attempting to sense elemental qi for the first time. Some might take days, even weeks, just to begin absorbing the faintest sliver of nature’s power.

He remembered a passage from the clan’s library:

"Even Heaven Grade talents take two to three days to step into the first level of Body Tempering, provided they have the right technique."

Yet here he stood, hours into his journey, already transformed.

A flicker of pride rose in his chest. A part of him felt invincible.

But then he paused.

His mother’s voice returned, not loud, not chiding, but calm and clear.

“Pride is the seed of carelessness. Cultivation is not a race. It is a war of attrition.”

Li Chen closed his eyes and nodded to himself. I will not forget.

Night blanketed the sky. The air was still, as if the world held its breath.

Li Chen sat once more, but not to absorb energy. Now, he sought something deeper: understanding.

My first bloodline was from mother’s side, the Holy Demon. It gave me strength. But the second... the one that changed my eyes...

He focused inward, remembering how his vision had shifted, how the crowd had gasped at the swirling red pattern during the ceremony.

Now that he had reached the first level of Body Tempering, his bloodline should begin to reveal its first innate ability.

He searched inward, focusing not on the body, but the essence within his blood.

The Holy Demon bloodline had already stirred. But the other...

It was quiet. Not absent, but waiting.