Episode 50: Did the Special Effects Appear?

“This might actually be for the best. Now that the scumbag is in jail, you can finally start your life anew.” Her younger cousin had originally meant to comfort her, but thinking of her own family, her mood inevitably sank.

“Mm, everything will get better. True strength comes from within. You too—you might find a better life after a divorce.” For the first time, Li Qiyao’s brow relaxed. Looking at her cousin, she recalled something Du Ruo had once said, and she couldn’t help but offer her cousin some advice.

“Yes, sis, I understand. Tomorrow I’ll sign up for a Muay Thai class. I can’t just let him off so easily after the divorce—he doesn’t deserve to get away with it…” Her cousin rubbed the bruise at the corner of her eye, muttering resentfully. Clearly, she hadn’t truly taken Li Qiyao’s words to heart, but Li Qiyao had still managed to influence her.

...

Du Ruo knew nothing of what had happened to Li Qiyao. At that moment, he was in the backyard, practicing the Bagua Palm he’d just acquired under Yaya’s watchful gaze.

“It leveled up so soon?” Du Ruo looked at his stats panel. The Bagua Palm, which had started at LV0 (0/100), had already reached LV1 (0/200) after his evening’s practice. The speed of his progress was remarkable.

“So skills don’t grant new abilities upon reaching level one?” Gaining experience at level zero had indeed been fast, but this time, leveling up hadn’t bestowed a new skill. Instead, his mind was filled with more practical understanding of the Bagua Palm, as well as the accompanying Bagua Palm breathing technique.

“There’s a breathing technique that goes with Bagua Palm? That’s something I’ve never seen online. They say this part of Bagua Palm has been lost for generations—could this be the complete lineage?” As Du Ruo mulled over the new knowledge in his mind, his own breathing rhythm shifted. He continued to move through the routines of the Bagua Palm. It was his first time acquiring a breathing method, and he couldn’t help but want to explore its secrets.

“To be counted among the three major internal martial arts, there’s truly something to it. Coordinating this breathing technique with the Bagua Palm seems to enhance one’s sinews, bones, and vitality—though, unfortunately, it’s of little use to me now. The Bagua Palm breathing method is for building internal strength; the more frail the practitioner, the greater the benefit.”

After completing a set of Bagua Palm movements, Du Ruo’s curiosity about the breathing technique faded. It was clearly designed to be used in conjunction with Bagua Palm practice or stance work; at other times, it held little effect.

If the Five Elements Fist and the San Ti stance were the core of Xingyi Quan, then the stance training and breathing techniques were the essence of Bagua Palm.

“Now comes the most important part.” Du Ruo withdrew from his stance and looked at his stats panel. His attribute points had reached 0.26, and the “+” sign had reappeared next to the attributes of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Du Ruo decided to invest 0.1 attribute points into “Qi.”

Once the point was allocated, Du Ruo felt as if the “Qi” within his body had been set alight. Previously, he’d only sensed a warm current inside, but now, after adding the point, his “Qi” seemed to take on tangible form.

He extended his hand, and a faint wisp of “Qi”—barely visible to the naked eye—appeared in his palm.

Normally, “Qi” shouldn’t have any physical manifestation, but this strand in his hand glimmered with a trace of red light, making it just barely observable.

“Huh? Uncle, what do you have in your hand? Is it a little dried fish you’re hiding?” Yaya, sitting on her small stool and tugging at the golden retriever’s tail, noticed the reddish shimmer and curiously leaned forward, hoping for a better look.

“It’s not a dried fish—this is a needle.” Du Ruo responded, then swiped his hand at his waist, producing a hidden weapon. As it appeared, the red “Qi” slid along his fingers and clung to the weapon, becoming nearly impossible to spot, even with careful scrutiny.

With a flick of his finger, he launched the hidden needle toward a tree three meters away.

A faint sound was heard as the needle almost completely embedded itself in the trunk.

“Qi gives a tremendous boost to hidden weapons—maybe not just to those, but the cost is high. I won’t be able to try it again tonight.” The power of that single shot surprised Du Ruo. Perhaps because his attributes weren’t strong enough yet, the attack had tripled the needle’s force, but the exertion left him exhausted, as if he’d just run up a mountain.

This was the first time he’d felt such fatigue since his “Essence” attribute had reached 9.51.

“Essence boosts overall physical strength, endurance, and explosiveness. Qi’s breakthrough manifests as tangible amplification. So what does a breakthrough in Spirit do?” Du Ruo’s excitement grew as he pondered this. He assigned his remaining 0.16 attribute points to “Spirit.”

As his “Spirit” attribute broke through to 9.51, it felt as though someone had wiped the world clean—a cool clarity swept through his mind, and the exhaustion he’d just suffered seemed to ease.

The world itself also appeared brighter. It was hard to describe, but it was like a film had been lifted from his eyes: not entirely gone, but the view was noticeably clearer.

He also noticed that Yaya, not far away, was glancing between his hand and his pocket, as if trying to confirm whether her uncle was hiding a treat.

“So, Essence is the body’s vitality, Qi is blood and energy produced by moving Essence, Qi’s ignition stimulates the Spirit, and finally, Spirit connects with heaven and earth, feeding back into Essence?”

Carefully sensing the changes in his body, Du Ruo felt lighter and more at ease after all three attributes—Essence, Qi, and Spirit—broke through 9.51. The three were intricately linked.

“Maybe this is what the Daoists mean by refining essence into Qi, refining Qi into Spirit, and returning Spirit to the void?”

A smile unconsciously spread across Du Ruo’s face. He was beginning to truly look forward to the future. The once-murky paths he’d read about were gradually taking shape in his own life.

Name: Du Ruo
Age: 31
Essence: 9.51
Qi: 9.51
Spirit: 9.51
Attribute Points: 0.06
Skills: Xingyi Quan LV2 (137/500)
Natural School Techniques: LV1 (117/200)
Bagua Palm: LV1 (0/200)
Special Skills:
Hidden Weapons: LV1 (10/200)

Du Ruo glanced at his stats panel before closing it. He was now eager to see what would happen when his attributes reached 10, and curious about what new skills or techniques might await him in the future.

Moreover, the appearance of the red “Qi” seemed to hint at something: would his moves come with special effects from now on?

“Yaya, it’s getting late. Let your grandma give you a bath and put you to bed. Tomorrow, your uncle will buy you some dried fish.”

Scooping Yaya up in his arms, Du Ruo headed back into the house, the golden retriever Mao Mao trotting happily behind them.