EP.120 Qigong Wave!
It started with a very incidental question.
"Tir. You said Blood Manipulation got weaker last time, but instead, your physical abilities went up. You knocked out Nabi with a single punch."
"I do not know the cause, but so it has become."
"Instead, your ability to control blood outside your body weakened. Hmm... isn't this dangerous? Even if your physical abilities improved, since you won't die anyway, there's not much use to it."
"That is true. However, I can still control darkness. Darkness is the ash left after life is scorched by light. With just that, the Black Knights..."
"The Black Knights are completely useless. They're at the level of disappearing if you just wave your hand."
"...O-originally. The Black Knights must be wreathed in blood energy to grow stronger. Black Knights wreathed in blood energy could even contest against knights."
"You said you can't wrap blood energy outside your body anymore. Lallion is your only familiar that acts like a proper familiar."
"...Uuu."
Scolded for her incompetence, Tir shrank back and hung her head.
Me, making the progenitor lower her head with a single word. The Holy Palace should bestow upon me the title of Saint.
"Imagine if you encounter the Military Empire's army outside. Can you block them with those Black Knights? Lallion will be the only one scurrying about tirelessly."
"I, I have gained some strength too."
"Well. It's good for an individual to be strong. But your mere existence can't shake a nation or turn the tide of a war. Plus, you just gained it recently. You don't objectively know how much power you have."
I pointed my finger at the debris piled up in a corner of the prison. There, a massive steel beam was half-driven into the ground.
"Let's see your strength. Could you possibly lift that steel beam?"
A massive steel beam that once supported the prison. Could she lift the giant alchemic steel beam that formed the framework inside the concrete and kept it from crumbling....
...What. Why is that over there? Give it back.
"Of course. Certainly."
"Huh? Wait..."
Tir, wanting to prove her strength, swung her arms and headed for the steel beam. She grabbed the steel beam forcefully with her small hands.
'I must show my strength so that Hwi does not worry. Let her clearly realize who stands behind her... However, can I lift this massive thing with the power of Blood Manipulation?'
Losing confidence due to the beam's size, Tir gripped it with all her might.
Screeeech. The steel crumples and twists. The Military Empire's pride, alchemic steel, changed its shape like clay before the girl's hands.
The thick steel beam, which even a grown man couldn't hold in one hand to begin with, conformed to the shape of the girl's hands. The part she grabbed immediately became a handle.
And then.
"Uwah!"
Rumble rumble.
The ground shook violently. I steadied my staggering body and sent a gaze full of dismay.
No, wait a minute. This isn't even the ground, why an earthquake?
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Meow-! Meow-!"
The beasts, sensing the harbinger of disaster, were the first to dash out of the building.
"What? What's going on?"
The tremor was so huge that even the Regressor, who was devoted to training, ran out barefoot. Up above, I could see the Undying taking Callis and evacuating to the rooftop.
Tir, the perpetrator of all this, was pulling out the steel beam buried in the floor. Pulling with her hands the steel beam rooted deep into the concrete floor.
The ground beneath Tir's feet gave way under the force and caved in. Every time that happened, the steel beam twisted, gradually revealing its roots. Looking at her appearance, she resembled a farmer pulling out weeds.
Then, at some point.
Snap. The steel beam, having reached its limit of being pulled, snapped right in the middle. At that moment, the vibration stopped, and Tantalus, which had been lifted along with the ground, sank about 2cm down. Thud, the prison building made a short but fierce 'landing'.
Tir, having achieved the feat that not even heavy machinery, let alone humans, could accomplish, lifted the broken steel beam and said weakly.
"...Certainly, it seems my strength has weakened. I could lift even this much weight with the darkness I create... It was difficult."
The Regressor and I stared at Tir with our mouths agape.
Leading Tir to the education room, I banged on the blackboard.
"Today, we'll learn about Qigong."
Blood Manipulation is a type of Qigong.
Qigong is the technique of Qigong Masters who manipulate the body.
By breathing Qi into a sword to make the blade sharper and harder, dispersing impact into the ground, or hardening the body, Qigong Masters attain combat prowess on a completely different level from ordinary humans.
And, from what I've observed.
"Tir's Blood Manipulation is Qigong."
I explained once more.
"Physical enhancement through Blood Manipulation. Extension of life, regenerative power... All of this was possible because Tir's power was Qigong. However, due to a certain incident Tir experienced, her power became the type that extended outward and encroached upon the world rather than staying internal. And that returned when she reclaimed her heart."
The Regressor wasn't surprised because it was a fact she already knew.
Having realized it was a type of Qigong based on understanding, she had come down to the Bottomless Pit in advance to learn it.
"However, perhaps because Tir regained her strength so abruptly, she seems unsure of how to use her overflowing power. I have no talent for Qigong, so today I will invite Shei as a guest instructor. Now, applause!"
Clap clap clap.
I clapped enthusiastically while bossing the Regressor around.
The Regressor, who was actually called, just sat there blankly.
"I'm the guest instructor?"
"Yes!"
"That's strange. This is the first time I'm hearing about it."
"Because I'm saying it for the first time right now."
'...It really is strange. The one smoking magic tobacco is Nabi, but sometimes that guy looks even crazier than Nabi...'
The Regressor showed a troubled expression and shook her head.
"What I learned isn't standard Qigong. It's hard to explain, so you do it."
"Me? Hmm, even if I was the top of the intermediate military academy, I didn't go to the officer academy, so I didn't learn Qigong..."
"You're lying so naturally again. You can use Qigong."
The Regressor responded without much emotional expenditure, now used to it.
"You can't even touch the blade of Cheon-ang without Qigong."
"And?"
"It means you've learned at least the 'minimum' Qigong to deflect the Cheon-ang I wield. Naturally, it means you can use Qigong."
'So you thought I was at least an officer...? No, since I'm not a normal laborer, it wasn't a misconception. Anyway, that's what you thought.'
That's when it started. Overestimating me.
Right. As the Regressor thinks, I can handle Qigong.
However, I can only merely do it; the total amount and output of my power is so miserable that I'm a weakling who would wheeze if I breathed Qi into a single card. A being that proudly sits at 0.1 between 0 and 1 means I'm an insignificant person.
Honestly, deflecting Cheon-ang was a fluke that I couldn't replicate if asked to do it again. But I decided not to show it.
"If you say that much, it's only natural for me to teach you."
Returning to the blackboard, I picked up a piece of chalk and began to draw.
"Alright. Qigong is generally divided into three types."
What I drew was the ground, a person, and the sky.
Drawing arrows extending from the person's body, I spoke.
"Qian. Scattering Qi throughout all things in the world."
Next, I drew a line seeping from the person's feet into the ground.
"Kun. Emitting Qi into the ground to firmly support my body."
Lastly, I depicted Qi swirling inside the person's body.
"Kan. Concentrating Qi upon oneself to change the flesh."
Tap tap. Tapping the blackboard a few times with the chalk, I spun my body around.
"This is the basic classification of Qigong. For reference, the Military Empire's standard Qigong recommends learning them in the order of Qian, Kun, and Kan. That is the easiest order to learn."
When familiar words were mentioned, Tir tilted her head.
"The teachings themselves seem similar to what the Daoists of the Earth Mother God explained in the past."
"Because it's derived from there. However, unlike the Daoists who vaguely expressed the principles of the world and nature, the classification of Qigong approaches it practically and analytically."
Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. Showing it directly will be much easier to understand.
I'm not sure if it'll work well with my meager Qigong, but let's just try.
"How to use Qigong. I will now show you an example."
I took out a single card and placed it face down in the middle of the lectern. Since I wasn't planning to do magic today, I didn't prepare any other cards.
Instead, I extended my index finger and stopped a little distance away from the back of the card.
"The absorbing Qi. Adhesion Qigong."
The card lying quietly on the lectern stirred. Then, when I applied force, the card stuck right to the tip of my finger like a magnet.
I pointed the card that stuck that way upwards.
"The repelling Qi. Repulsion Qigong."
I didn't even flick my finger, but the card bounced up on its own. The card then spun around in the air and fell.
"These two are the basics of all applications. Other application methods are ultimately just derivatives of pushing and pulling. Also, this Qi can be wrapped not only around the body but also around objects."
I wrapped Qigong around the card. Then, lifting the hem of my clothes, I slashed it once with the sharpened edge of the card.
Snick, the sharp edge of the card sliced through the hem.
Tir was amazed upon seeing my skill.
"Sword Qi? Hwi, were you an Expert? My. I thought you seemed out of the ordinary..."
"No, no. This is a Qigong anyone can do if they've even stepped foot in a senior military academy. What knights used to call Sword Qi in the past was actually just a thin layer of Repulsion Qigong wrapped around the blade."
A blade trying to cut something inevitably sticks to what it cuts. Those who wielded weapons always feared the dead. If the dead grabbed the forcefully thrust weapon and didn't let go, the next corpse would be themselves.
However, those who use Sword Qi are free from this restriction. Because the blade that stirred through bones and muscles shakes off and escapes the things that cling to it with Repulsion Qigong, they do not fear those who will die by their weapons.
Thus, they become experts in murder. That is why people call them Experts.
Of course, it's a somewhat outdated concept now.
"Then, does that mean anyone swings Sword Qi around these days? For some reason, the strength of a mere soldier was beyond the norm..."
"That's right. Even though I ruled the back alleys, I was only slightly famous. The real deal learns Qigong of a higher level than that. Now do you understand why you need to learn how to use your strength?"
"I understand. If I don't make an effort even now, it seems I won't be able to protect even myself, let alone you. I will focus."
Tir looked at me with determined resolve.
The Regressor, however, was just dumbfounded.
'That can't be true! The ones who came down so far weren't soldiers but officers. One was a Demonic Officer, another was a General's adjutant, and the last was a General.... No matter how I look at it, Tirkanjaka right now is at a level that vastly surpasses even a General!'
The Regressor seemed to be itching to speak, but changed her mind upon seeing Tir focusing with burning eyes.
'Still, since it was a good stimulus for Tirkanjaka, shall I keep my mouth shut for now.'
For some reason, the teacher and the student are thinking similarly. Are they growing alike?
"From what I see, Tir's power is extreme Kan Qigong. You have overflowing power, but you cannot release it outside your body."
Having enough power but unable to utilize it. That's the case the Military Empire hates the most.
However, the solution is also simple.
"You just need to practice how to shoot out your power."
"I am training because I cannot shoot out my power, so how do I practice?"
"Like this."
I curled the middle finger of my right hand and hooked it with my thumb. The so-called flicking preparation posture.
Holding the card in my left hand, I moved it to a distance my flicking finger couldn't reach. No matter how I looked at it, it was farther than my finger, so even if I flicked, it wouldn't hit at all.
"Yap."
However, when I swung my finger, the card was flipped backward with a sound of something hitting it.
The Qigong scattered from my fingertips struck the card away.
"Like this. If you keep flicking from a distance you can't reach, you'll gradually get the hang of it."
This is the skill of flicking cards in the back alleys. How about it.
Tir, who was looking at the card attentively, was intrigued.
"It clearly didn't reach... To hit something far away. It's just like a Palm Strike."
"They used to call it that in the past. Here. I'll give you a card, so try it."
Tir placed the card at an unreachable distance just as I had done, and curled the fingers of her other hand. Then, she flicked forcefully.
Just by doing that.
Boom.
The air burst like a bomb. The wind raged, and the card caught in the storm was blown backward. The rushing wind whipped my hair.
"I succeeded!"
Tir looked at me with a proud face.
No, that's.
"That's actual wind pressure. Your power is just too strong, Tir."
A card won't do. Instead of the easily bending card, I gave her a wooden block. Tir, who was dissatisfied at first, soon immersed herself in practice.
Making her self-study makes both body and mind so comfortable. I was just quietly watching Tir endlessly flicking her fingers.
"Your theory is really thorough."
Perhaps because it was a familiar topic, the Regressor approached me amiably.
"I told you, I was the top of the intermediate military academy."
"You dropped out. Then aren't you the same as me, a primary school graduate?"
"Ahem. Is someone who couldn't even step foot in the door the same as someone who dropped out after taking top spots like eating meals? I'm dumbfounded."
The Regressor, who was always radiating Qi in all directions, had Cheon-ang floating above her head today as well.
The weightless sword, Cheon-ang, is greatly affected by Qigong. If pushed away with Repulsion Qigong, it bounces right off; if pulled with Adhesion Qigong, it sticks right to it.
The Regressor keeping Cheon-ang afloat above her head was itself a kind of training. Balancing it without pushing or pulling was impossible without delicate control.
It was also thanks to Qigong that I could flick Cheon-ang away with my finger. Even though my Qi was only a handful, Cheon-ang was so light that it could be pushed away just by emitting a momentary burst of Qi.
If that had been steel... Ugh, I don't even want to imagine. A one-armed magician.
"Alright, top student. But why aren't you teaching the remaining one?"
"The remaining one?"
"You know. Qian, Kun, Kan. The one after that."
Qigong, the utopia of it all. The pinnacle said to reach godhood, even surpassing magic.
The Regressor calmly brought up that realm, which one would be careful to even mention.
"Li."
'The legendary realm that even I haven't reached... and that the so-called strong have only touched but failed to grasp.'
Thinking of herself as a legend, she wants me to teach this to a beginner? It's like teaching a toddler how to drive an autocarriage.
"The realm where Qigong reaches the principles and distorts the world? There's no need to teach that right now. Even if you teach it, it's not something that can be learned. It's different for everyone, so there isn't even a standard."
"But, some can use it, right?"
"Will I ever meet a Qigong Master who has reached the principles in my life? And even if they reach the principles, they're not invincible. I think Tir can win."
What's the point of distorting the world? Tir will endure with her body, approach, and swing her fist, and they'll die.
Even at the realm of godhood, if they're a weakling, their head will fly off from Tir's fist as it is. These days, even gods can't survive if they're weak.
At my orthodox answer, the Regressor didn't hide her disappointment.
"It seems you don't have any special clues either."
"You have a clue? If you do, I'd like to see it. So I can grab it and wield some great power too."
"...That is true."
Around the time the Regressor murmured bitterly.
Tir, who was flicking her fingers alone, called out to me as if she had figured something out.
"Hwi. I found the way."
"Huh? Already?"
Even though Blood Manipulation is already filling her entire body, in this short moment?
"Alright, try it."
"Watch closely. I slightly applied the way I originally used Blood Manipulation..."
Tir pressed her fingertip hard with her nail. The flesh squished slightly, and blood oozed from the tip.
In that state, Tir forcefully flicked her finger.
The world split in half.
Clearly, for a moment, a fan-shaped wave of fresh blood was imprinted on my retina. The blood extending from Tir's finger swallowed about half of the education room.
However, by the time I blinked, the blood energy had already returned into Tir's body.
Even I, who could read thoughts, thought it was an illusion.
However, only the completely exploded wooden block indicated that what had just happened was reality.
If she had flicked her finger while looking my way... Wow. I would have become one with Tir. In a physical sense.
"The blood energy doesn't want to leave my body. But isn't this much usable?"
This is just... flicking and shooting her own blood and flesh.
The Qigong I know isn't this.
I forced my shivering body, trembling with fear, to move and nodded. All the while, my mouth wouldn't close.