By Zephyria 
Mage Boulder had come up with several alternative plans, distinguishing between items that were permitted and those that were not, last week.
After reading it through step by step, I looked at Professor Douglas, who sat as still as a stone Buddha.
Douglas nodded silently, as if he had already confirmed the contents. I smiled with satisfaction.
Mage Boulder, who had been watching, poured out words of resentment.
“What is this? You two are communicating with your eyes, leaving me out?”
“That’s not it.”
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
Douglas Mustang replied kindly, but I saw no need to placate Boulder and gave a perfunctory answer before taking my seat.
It was difficult to indulge an adult acting like a spoiled child.
A grown man should be silent and dependable like Douglas. My patience was already working overtime just by not sighing.
I assumed the posture for Circulating Qi, leaving the one who wanted to whine further behind.
Sensing the Qi Flow, Boulder stopped his chatter and, with shining eyes, picked up his pen.
This was thanks to the prior explanation that during Circulating Qi, one could not see what they saw, hear what they heard, or perform actions that could disturb the Qi, such as speaking or moving.
Naturally, I closed my eyes and observed internally.
I straightened my back and rested my hands, relaxed and unburdened, on my knees.
Energy Accumulation is the process of slowly circulating internal energy along the body’s acupoints, like rolling a snowball to make it bigger.
The channels through which Qi flowed were also, and were not, the paths through which blood flowed.
Unlike the skin and bones that hardened with training, the acupoints embedded within the body were not easy to train.
This was why, in the Central Plains, as many martial artists died from Cultivation Deviation as from sword wounds. My current goal was to manage the energy channels sufficiently to withstand Qi surging or reversing.
All of Namgung’s methods are directed towards the heavens, so Namgung’s Mind Method, the Great expansive divine skill of azure sky, is based on the cultivation of the Governing Vessel.
The heaven of the human body is in the head. I took in the energy received at the Hundred Meeting Point on the crown of the head, the place where a child’s first breath is drawn, as my breath. Touching the Celestial Pillar Point connecting the back of the head to the neck, the energy filling my lungs flowed steadily along both sides of the Celestial Gathering Points near my shoulder blades.
The energy that raced down to the Long Strength Point below the tailbone circled the Dantian once and then rose again to the Hundred Meeting Point.
Just as a stream calls to a river, and a river calls to the sea, strength begat strength.
Even though my body was young, it belonged to a martial artist who had opened the Ren and Du Meridians before the Hundred Meeting Point closed. The accompanying internal energy was not insignificant.
Since the goal was Energy Accumulation, not healing damaged energy channels, and I had ample time, I did not stop after completing the Microcosmic Orbit.
The energy pouring in through the open Hundred Meeting Point felt sweet.
The breath I inhaled through my head and nose was exhaled through my skin and mouth.
A refreshing energy enveloped my entire body. I felt the energy throughout my body.
One circle, two circles…
Before the flow of internal energy became too immense for me to handle, I opened my Dantian and guided it in.
Like a flock of sheep running enthusiastically down one path, returning to a pen filled with hay, the energy that entered the opened Dantian cooled my body, which was hot and steaming with heat.
I calmly opened my eyes, which I had closed.
“1 hour, 22 minutes, 43 seconds. No, didn’t you do it faster before?”
“That was during class time. This isn’t.”
“Ah, so that’s why…! I thought you were using more Mana than usual. Then why did you stop now? Because I was waiting?”
“Drawing in any more would be too much for my body right now.”
“How do you know that?”
“…”
“How do you know?”
“…I just do?”
Mage Boulder changed the subject instead of arguing further and began asking other questions.
I tried my best to answer as diligently as I could.
It was frustrating that I couldn’t translate the profound and vast principles of the Great expansive divine skill of azure sky into the language I knew here, but I did my best.
However, it was clear that these were concepts that even an intelligent listener could not grasp immediately.
The Great expansive divine skill of azure sky was a Mind Method for receiving heavenly energy.
When receiving energy, one had to open their chest wide and inhale the surrounding energy. One had to circulate the Qi with the mindset of swallowing light, high energy as if it were heavy.
The martial artists of Namgung had never questioned this particular Secret incantation.
“Why swallow light energy as if it were heavy?”
“…While there are many Mind Methods that operate differently, as far as I know, the powers of the world come from the heavens. Therefore, when receiving energy, it is often drawn from above the head…”
“Is Mana drawn from the sky different from Mana drawn from the earth?”
“…I don’t know.”
I only learned Namgung’s Mind Method, so how could I know that?
From the very first question, I was flabbergasted.
When I replied that it was impossible to draw energy from the earth, Boulder immediately asked something else.
“It seems like you have a fixed path for Mana to flow. Can you explain it a bit?”
“Ah, that’s… it starts from this Hundred Meeting Point.”
“Bae-hwi-shi…? What is that?”
“…It starts from the crown of the head.”
It was incredibly difficult to even start a conversation when the names of the acupoints themselves weren’t understood.
Using gestures, I slowly explained the path along which I circulated my Qi.
If I had been proficient in medical texts or had a bit more ink in me, I would have made Boulder learn the writings of the Central Plains.
It was a lamentable situation.
This was a Mind Skill I had practiced for decades, from the moment I took my first steps.
In the Central Plains, I had never been at a loss for words when asked by a descendant of Namgung about this.
However, the questions Mage Boulder was asking were things I had never considered in my long life, and the more I tried to answer, the hotter my head became.
“Why do you need to draw the received energy all the way down to your navel to store it? It’s not like there’s a special organ there. Is it perhaps related to the gestation of life, like a woman’s womb…?”
“Halt!”
“Huh?”
“What are you talking about!”
“Ah, sorry. I was just saying whatever came to mind, so don’t get angry. No, I’m really sorry!”
Although I reacted with disgust and anger, I had never thought about why the Dantian was located there, so the feeling was strange. The Dantian is the Dantian because it is the Dantian, but he was asking why it was the Dantian…
Besides that, Mage Boulder asked why one sits with legs crossed when the acupoints that connect the front and back of the body do not include the limbs, and what the flow is like if it extends to the Eight Extraordinary Meridians of the limbs.
Sitting in a Lotus Position during Circulating Qi was common sense. If I had questioned such a thing in the Central Plains, I would have earned the nickname ‘Madman.’
He also asked why a blue energy circled my body during Circulating Qi, what the blue light in my eyes meant when finishing Circulating Qi, and if the color of internal energy could change.
If internal energy didn’t circulate around the body, it was wrong, and if energy spread around the body, it was correct. But I had never thought about why it was correct.
These were all difficult questions for me to answer.
After a long debate, I finally resorted to a strong measure.
“Would you like to try it yourself?”
“Huh? Yes? Me?”
“Yes. Mage Boulder, you.”
I intended to perform Jin Gi Do In (*the act of assisting another’s Qi circulation when it is not smooth).
I had done it a few times in the Central Plains. Although my current internal energy was shallow, I was confident in my ability to manipulate it delicately.
Of course, I would not have attempted this if Mage Boulder were a commoner instead of a Mage.
However, his body had been trained for decades to receive external energy into the Middle Dantian, and if any problems arose, I thought he could use something like Recovery, as Angela Sting had done before.
Of course, creating a Dantian in that body was a different matter entirely, but he could at least experience Circulating Qi to some extent.
More importantly, answering his questions was more difficult than performing Jin Gi Do In.
“Really? Me? No, how?”
“I will transfer my energy into your body. It will be more accurate to remember the feeling and write it down later than to explain Circulating Qi verbally…”
“Is that possible? Have you done it before?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“…I don’t remember.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say I had done it in a past life.
Boulder surprisingly assumed the Lotus Position with ease.
When I asked why his body was so flexible for his age, he said he often did strange movements called stretching. Mages often sit and research, so they need to exercise regularly, he explained. I finally realized he was a proper Mage.
First, I instructed Boulder to close his eyes and regulate his breathing. Then, I repeatedly warned him not to open his mouth or move at all, and sat behind him.
I placed the Palm Center of both my hands on his back. Feeling his tense body, I suppressed a laugh.
“If your body is tense, your acupoints narrow and become unusable. Relax your body.”
“But how can I not be tense…?”
“Shall we stop?”
“No, no, no. Wait… just a moment.”
“Imagine you’re sitting in a hot bath. No, keep your back straight. Yes. Close your eyes, inhale through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. Calmly. I will begin once your breathing is settled.”
When performing Jin Gi Do In, it was easier to use internal energy that had already been well-established than to draw external energy.
I pushed the energy, which started from my Dantian, into Boulder’s body through my Palm Center. Examining it calmly, I saw that his Ren and Du Meridians were blocked, like an ordinary body, but his acupoints were firm and tough, making me realize this was the body of someone who had cultivated Mana.
Without deliberately touching the sensitive acupoints, I bypassed them and slowly circulated the energy.
Exactly Threefold Circulation. After three rounds, I returned the internal energy to my Dantian and removed my hands.
Suddenly, Douglas, who had sprung up and was staring at Ikyun with wide eyes, appeared.
Even though he knew it was over, Mage Boulder remained silent, so I tapped his shoulder.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah!”
He suddenly let out a loud scream, startling me and leaving me dumbfounded.