Qi Awakening In The Modern World

Chapter Two: Trial and Error Cultivation

Daniel woke to the aroma of fried eggs and toast wafting through the air. The faint sound of a spatula scraping against a pan came from the small kitchen. For a moment, he stared at the cracked ceiling of his room, trying to process the strange events of the night before.

The energy in his veins was still there, faint but undeniable.

"Daniel! Breakfast!" his grandmother called. Her voice was warm, steady, and always carried a tone of quiet authority.

"Coming!" he replied, dragging himself off the couch.

_____

His grandmother was a no-nonsense woman who had lived two doors down from the house where he grew up. When the police had found no leads and social services loomed, she stepped in, insisting that blood or not, family was family.

The kitchen was cozy but old, with cabinets that creaked and mismatched plates stacked in the drying rack. His grandmother stood at the stove, her silver hair tied back in a low bun. She placed a plate of eggs and toast on the table as he sat down.

"You look tired," she said, her sharp eyes narrowing as she took a seat across from him. "Bad dreams?"

Daniel hesitated, unsure how to explain what had happened. "Just… weird stuff on my mind."

She hummed in acknowledgment, giving him a knowing look but not prying further. That was her way—letting him figure things out on his own unless he asked for help.

"Eat up," she said, rising to refill her coffee.

_____

After breakfast, Daniel returned to his room, determined to figure out the energy he had felt. He had read enough cultivation novels and manga to know that if he didn't act now, the energy might fade, and with it, his chance at unlocking something extraordinary.

He cleared the small cluttered floor space in his room and began his experiments.

_____

Sitting cross-legged on the rug, Daniel closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He focused on the faint pulse of energy in his blood, imagining it flowing through his body like a gentle stream.

"Detect the qi, guide the qi," he whispered, repeating a mantra he'd read online.

Minutes ticked by, but nothing happened. The energy remained stubbornly out of reach, refusing to move no matter how much he focused.

He groaned in frustration and stretched out his legs. "Okay, scratch that idea."

_____

If breathing didn't work, maybe movement would. Daniel had read about body cultivation techniques that combined martial arts with qi refinement. He didn't know any martial arts, but he found a tai chi video online and did his best to follow along.

The fluid movements felt awkward and unnatural. His arms flailed more than flowed, and he nearly knocked over a lamp during one particularly wide turn.

By the end of the routine, he was sweating and panting, but the energy inside him was as unresponsive as ever.

"Figures," he muttered, collapsing onto his bed.

_____

In the afternoon, Daniel decided to try the park. He sat beneath an old oak tree, hoping that being surrounded by nature might help him connect to the energy.

He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and tried again to detect the qi. He pictured the energy rising from the ground, flowing into his body, merging with the pulse in his veins.

Nothing.

By the time he returned home, his frustration had hit a boiling point.

_____

Sitting on his bed, he stared at his laptop, feeling defeated. He had tried everything he could think of, but none of it worked. The energy inside him felt tantalizingly close, yet completely inaccessible.

Desperation pushed him to do one last search: "real cultivation techniques."

Most of the results were the same junk he had seen before, but one obscure link caught his eye:

"The Path to True Power: Qi and Blood Cultivation."

Curious, he clicked on it.

The site was bare, just blocks of text on a dark background. The instructions were oddly specific, describing a path of cultivation that began not with qi, but with the body itself.

"True cultivation starts with the foundation: the body. One must first detect and harmonize qi and blood, the essence of life. Then refine the skin to strengthen the vessel. Only after the bones and viscera are tempered can one be ready to cultivate qi."

Daniel frowned, scrolling further. The descriptions of each stage were detailed, almost clinical, with diagrams showing the flow of blood and energy through the body.

"This makes… a weird kind of sense," he muttered.

Following the instructions, he sat in the lotus position again. This time, he didn't focus on moving the energy. Instead, he focused on *feeling* it—detecting the qi and blood within him.

Minutes passed as he slowed his breathing and concentrated. At first, he felt nothing, just the faint beat of his heart. But as he delved deeper into the sensation, something shifted.

A faint warmth spread through his chest, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. It was subtle but unmistakable—the energy in his blood responding to his focus.

His excitement surged, but he forced himself to stay calm. He followed the instructions, visualizing the energy spreading outward, suffusing his skin.

The warmth intensified, spreading to his arms, legs, and face. It tingled, like the faint buzz of static electricity.

For the first time, Daniel felt like he was making progress.

He opened his eyes, a grin spreading across his face. "This is it. This is the real deal."