We walked down the familiar corridor, and I immediately recognised the spacious waiting hall with its panoramic windows. It was much quieter now. Only a handful of cadets remained on the benches, and instead of a crowd of supervisors, there were just two. They looked relaxed—one stood by the window, lazily scrolling through something on his tablet, while the other sat slumped against the wall, almost dozing off.
Outside, everything looked the same, but even the garden seemed calmer, no longer filled with the restless movement of first-years behind the glass. The seaweed trees, as I had dubbed them, swayed gently in the barely noticeable air currents. The black lotuses on the lake’s mirror-like surface still shimmered with tiny sparks, but now it felt less tense—almost meditative.
"Where did everyone go?" I asked.
"They just loaded a new batch into the capsules," Diego replied in his usual level tone. "While the neural interfaces are being installed, there’s less work for them. The doc has a bit of time for ‘additional examinations.’"
I nodded, though I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of examination I’d been signed up for. Hopefully, the Flow Chamber.
We continued down the corridor, once again arriving at the medical wing, but this time we turned into a different hallway. We didn’t have to walk far.
Robinson’s office was small but packed with equipment. One wall was almost entirely covered in monitors displaying cadets’ medical data—heart rate graphs, neural interface activity, qi levels, and other readings I didn’t understand. Some screens showed video feeds from the recovery rooms, where new cadets were still coming around after their interface installations. Or maybe those were live feeds of the installations happening inside the capsules—who knew?
The doc’s desk was mostly clear—one of the perks of the digital age. Back on my old Earth, it would have been buried under piles of paperwork, but here, there was only a tablet and a few devices that I assumed were scanners. Near the very edge of the desk sat a small ceramic teapot, black with delicate gold patterns. Steam curled from its spout, filling the office with the scent of pine and apples—an unusual combination.
Beside the teapot was an empty cup. Diego smirked when he saw it, poured himself some tea, and raised his cup in salute to the doc. Robinson took a sip from his own cup and nodded in response, all while gesturing for me to take a seat on an old couch against the wall.
It had clearly been through more than one cultivator. The upholstery was slightly worn but looked clean. Above it hung a painting—abstract, with sharp strokes of blue, black, and white. A storm over the sea… or space? For some reason, it seemed to shimmer, as if the paints reacted to changes in the light.
"Take a seat, Jake," the doc said after swallowing his tea. "Did you read the manuals?"
"Yeah, doc. Went through them twice more after that."
"Good. Then let’s move on to practice."
He glanced over the monitors, making sure everything was in order, then pulled a small sealed container from his desk drawer.
"Diego," the doc said, nodding towards the monitors.
Diego nodded in response, pulled up a chair, and settled in to monitor the readings. Meanwhile, the doc clicked open the latches on the container and took out a yellowish crystal. It was small, about the size of my thumbnail, and flickered with a faint glow—barely visible under the lamp.
"This is a used qi crystal. It was once part of medical equipment for treating cultivators. Now, there are only traces of energy left in it—leftovers, basically," he explained, placing the crystal in my hand.
"And what am I supposed to do with it?"
"Feel it. Focus, look inside. Qi is the energy of life. If you do it right, you’ll sense it as a pulse or warmth. Just try. You can close your eyes if it helps."
I clenched the crystal in my right hand and shut my eyes.
At first, nothing happened.
I concentrated, trying to relax as the manual had described, but still—nothing. Just the smooth surface of the crystal.
"Switch," the doc ordered. "This one’s already drained."
He calmly took another crystal from the container and placed it in my palm.
I repeated the process, but again—nothing. Instead of warmth or energy, I only felt frustration.
Without a word, the doc pulled out a third crystal and handed it to me.
"You’re trying too hard. Relax. Don’t force it. Just perceive. You don’t strain when you look at me—sense it the same way. Oh, and hold it with just two fingers!"
I sighed and tried to follow his instructions. This time, I let go of my thoughts, breathing slowly and evenly. And suddenly… something changed.
A faint tingling sensation. Barely noticeable warmth, starting at my fingertips and creeping slowly up my hand. It felt like a weak electric charge—except soft, almost soothing, like gentle pressure from a warm massage.
"There…" I whispered. "I think I feel it!"
The doc smiled.
"Describe it."
"Warmth… Like something alive. Like it’s pulsing."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
"That’s possible. Now, look at this."
The doc pulled up my interface window on his tablet:
Stage: Qi Refinement, Early
Cultivation Level: 2/2467
"Two points of qi," Robinson explained. "You absorbed two points. To reach the next level, you need 2,467. There’s a long way to go, but it’s a start."
I looked down at the crystal again and couldn’t help but smile. Feeling the energy was… strange. But at the same time, it brought a kind of inexplicable satisfaction.
"Let’s try again, but don’t rush it," the doc said, pulling out another crystal. "You already know how this works. Now, try to draw the energy out and direct it. Those crystals held around ten points, and you just wasted them. That’s normal for a first attempt, but from now on, don’t let the energy drift aimlessly."
"Unless you’re in the Flow Chamber!" Diego corrected him.
"Exactly! In the Chamber, trying to control the flow would tear you apart. Again!" The doc placed another crystal in my hand.
"Where do I direct it?" I asked.
"The dantian," he pointed to my lower abdomen, "or the solar plexus. Your choice—but don’t switch between them later. It’s for life."
I chose the solar plexus. It was easier for me to sense and understand. The belly was for food, not energy!
This time, the warmth came faster. I let the flow pass through my hand, guiding it towards my solar plexus, and felt the warmth spread there. The numbers on the screen changed:
5/2467
"Good. One more," the doc nodded.
I took the last crystal. The sensation was once again a faint tingling, but now I felt like I was starting to understand how it worked—at least a little. Still, I only managed to extract a single point of qi from this one.
"So, how am I doing? Any progress?" I asked, hoping for some positive feedback.
The doc and Diego turned to look at me at the exact same time. They studied me, then exchanged glances.
And… they laughed.
"Progress?" The doc smirked and let out a short chuckle. "You mean a whole six points of qi? Though… congratulations, Jake, that’s six more than any of your classmates."
"But they were also taught to sense qi," I pointed out. "They should have at least some scraps of it."
"You were taught too," the doc said, and I decided not to correct him. "Qi level drops without cultivation. Besides, that was on Earth, where qi concentration is much lower."
"At least now you understand what qi is," Diego said. "Which means real cultivation won’t be a problem for you. And that begins when you learn to draw qi from the environment."
"Or when you find yourself a pile of crystals," the doc added. "Though I wouldn’t count on that."
I frowned.
"Are qi crystals really that hard to get? Diego said rich parents buy them for their kids."
"A small crystal with 50 to 100 qi costs…" The doc tilted his head as if doing the maths. "Well, starting at fifty thousand…"
"And how many would I need to break through the first bottleneck?"
"Hmm… If you relied entirely on crystals… around twenty. Maybe more, depending on how well you absorb them. The closer you get to the bottleneck, the harder it gets. Your reserves will start dissipating faster."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Twenty?! That’s a million! You know, Doc, that insurance payout you promised me isn’t looking all that generous!"
The doc grinned and nodded.
"Oh, you haven’t even heard the best part. They aren’t sold on the open market. Most crystals go straight to corporations, research institutes, the military, or those who mine them themselves. Speaking of which—that’s a mandatory second-year assignment. And if any do make it to market, they get snapped up like hotcakes."
I sighed and glanced at the tablet displaying my interface.
Cultivation Level: 6/2467
"So that means the Flow Chamber is my only option?"
"You can use anything. If you manage to get a crystal, bring it to me—I’ll assess it and seal it properly so it doesn’t lose capacity. Might come in handy for the bottleneck or your Foundation breakthrough."
I couldn’t help but think how much this all felt like a bloody RPG. Gather qi, level up. Natural cultivation was just a slow grind, while crystals were like pay-to-win XP boosters—except they cost as much as a spaceship. And unlike games, here you didn’t just lose a skill—you lost XP too if you didn’t cultivate.
"Well, thanks for the lesson. I owe you one…" I said with a pointed look.
The doc waved his hands in protest.
"None of that! I’m not losing my job over some stupid favour!" he said indignantly, then poured himself a cup of tea and took a dramatic sniff.
Even Diego turned away from the monitors to watch my reaction.
"Can I have some?" I asked.
"Sure. The moment you hit the third stage," the doc smirked. "Right now, this stuff would send you straight to heaven. Literally."
"What the hell is this?"
"This?" The doc looked genuinely offended. "This is tea made from Yellow Pine blossoms! It only grows on Verdis!" He sighed dramatically. "And only on the grounds of the Yellow Pine School."
"Yellow Pine… is it something like our Black Lotus?" I asked, recalling the flower in the garden.
"Well, not exactly… depends on how you look at it. Both are symbols of their respective academies, both are valued by cultivators—but you don’t make tea out of our lotus."
A hundred questions popped into my head, but I held them back and simply noted it down in my journal:
18:43 – Black Lotus
18:43 – Yellow Pine, Yellow Pine blossoms, tea made from Yellow Pine blossoms
I made sure to say it out loud so the doc would get the hint. And just in case, I added a nod at the end.
The doc stood up, gave the monitors a quick glance, then clapped Diego on the shoulder.
"Monitoring’s on you. If anything goes wrong, don’t hesitate to call."
"As always," Diego replied calmly, shifting into a more comfortable position and saluting him with his half-full tea cup.
The doc gestured for me to follow. We left the office and headed down the corridor.
"And where exactly are we going?" I asked.
"The Meditation Hall. Let’s see how you handle real conditions."
The Meditation Hall turned out to be not a hall at all, but a wide corridor lined with numbered doors on both sides. About fifty in total.
There were cultivators here, too—quite a few of them, actually. Many stood near the doors like they were waiting for a bathroom queue. Most wore grey jumpsuits with II and III insignias, like the supervisors, but I also saw people in lab coats and black uniforms without patches—probably staff.
"Is it always this crowded?" I asked, feeling the weight of the stares. My hospital clothes were drawing attention.
"It’ll get even worse once your lot is allowed in here," the doc replied. "Ours is number forty-six," he added, pointing towards the end of the corridor.
I took a quick guess—there were exactly fifty of them.
The doc checked his tablet, peeked through the small observation window, and told me, "Soon."
A few minutes later, the door hissed open, servos whirring. Only then did I realise just how damn thick that slab of metal was.
A short guy in a black jumpsuit stepped out, chewing on a fragrant stick. It was smoking, but I couldn’t smell anything. A thin wisp of smoke curled lazily around his head.
"Hey, Robert," he greeted, scratching his short, light-brown beard. His green eyes flicked over me—assessing, slightly lazy.
"Alan," the doc nodded. "What’s got you here today?"
"Well, gotta drop by once in a while. And soon these lot’ll start flooding in, clogging up the queue," he said, gesturing toward me. "Is he your nephew or something?"
"Patient," the doc said with a grin.
"Uh-huh…" The guy scratched his beard again, and I finally thought to check his stats.
Age: 37
Stage: Fourth
Air: 136
Palm: 119
Like Diego, he didn’t look his age. Except for the eyes…
He studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Well, send him my way if he ever needs anything."
"Will do," the doc promised.
Once Alan walked off, he leaned in and whispered, "You have no idea how lucky you just got… Alright, in you go—we’ve got about ten minutes."