The forest was filled with monsters. Or beasts as mom called them, but they sounded just like monsters to me, so I’d call them that in the secret of my mind.

While I didn't know if there actually were any monsters in there. Mom could have just lied to keep me in the town just as well, though she hadn't ever lied to me. That I knew of at least. I decided not to risk venturing inside a potentially dangerous area until I was older. Old enough to run away from danger. As young as I was now I would be hard pressed to run from normal animals, let alone monsters.

I wouldn't even be leaving the house today though, just looking outside made me shudder. Water was pouring down from the sky, transforming the streets into small rivers. Confined to the house as I was I decided it was due time to go over my plans for the future once again.

My main goal still stood, get a good apprenticeship first. Finish that apprenticeship, and live a nice, happy life. And all that without involving myself in any wars, struggles for power or similar, stressful things. All told, I wanted an easy life, with as little stress as possible.

I didn't need worry about the apprenticeship too much - I'd be very confused if mom wouldn't start teaching me in two or three years, so the rest should come with time.

Considering the poor state of this world's justice system - might makes right, from what I had seen and heard until now - I'd probably need some personal power myself, to smooth my way and reduce my overall stress. The tried and true way for that, at least here, seemed to be cultivation, so I'd have to advance mine further. Getting to the third realm should be quite easy in all honesty, as I just had to compress my qi to do so.

What came after that though? Considering the way one cultivated up until that point probably compressing your core to some kind of supersolid. Or whatever. That felt like something future me would need to worry about though.

I'd see if I should bother with that in due time. Immortality sounded quite bothersome in all honesty, who'd want to live forever, watching everyone around you die? And I really didn't want to spend eternity as an old crone, which seemed a distinct possibility, after all immortal just meant not dying of age, not that you stopped aging.

For now I had to make a decision though. Two actually. Did I want to keep my mostly fluid cultivation, to move my qi every other day, if only a little? Or allow my qi time to settle into myself, like some already did in my bones? Or how it happened naturally in all living beings I checked so far? And did I want to advance to the second realm right now or a little later?

The second question was quite easy to answer, I did most definitely not. Too many question were still left open. Like what did the transformation caused by liquid qi do? What difference did the initial amount of liquid qi have? Did the location of the liquid qi creation have any impact on the changes? What happened if you created more liquid qi somewhere else in your body afterwards?

I could answer none of these questions right now, which meant advancing was one big folly.

The first question was one I best answered now though. Once qi bonded with a part of my body, probably on a cellular level, it would reinforce and energize that part. I had a little bonded qi in my test pinky finger, and lots in my bones - and nothing I did allowed me to control that qi, which meant I would have less free qi to actually use. My qi would still be mine, but not as readily accessible as it was now.

I had also seen the other downside of bonded qi through - an explosion of plasmatic qi, or similar things, would rip bonded qi right out of the body, and rip the body with it.

In the end there was no question, while I felt superior to the inhabitants of this world on just about every level, and honestly was, they had thousands of years to test what was better. Furthermore even nature agreed with them on this, as bodies allowed qi to settle into them like it did - after all my blood carried my qi through my body, and was thus able to affect it, and my qi would naturally bond with my body if I didn't consciously intervene all the time.

On the other hand my qi made sure no outside qi could disrupt my cultivation without sufficient strength. That made my cultivation nearly immune, and kinda invalidated the need for bonding my qi just to secure it to my body.

In the end the question was if I needed more free qi or a stronger body. I didn't really have a use for free qi though, did I? I knew some uses existed, but didn't know any of these ‘techniques’.

I could always get more free qi though, while I could not get bonded qi on a short notice. Which meant I would let my qi bond, and cultivate like a madwoman over the next weeks. All the while trying to find a way to exhaust my bonded qi - I'd call it structural from now on - at will, to reduce the danger bonding qi brought.

I didn't want my body to look like that crab's after all, that looked both painful and deadly.

---

Bran loved life in the Soaring Phoenix Sect. Life was hard, but good. They had an elder giving them pointers every other week, the ambient concentration of qi was high, and the pure qi in it even higher.

He didn't know how the elders did that, but did not care. He was a lowly first realm cultivator, and needed to advance quickly to gain more cultivation resources, to deservingly soar past his lesser peers.

He sneered, the peasants didn't know their luck, being accepted into this illusterous sect. He focused on his body, his qi, and pumped himself up.

The first time he tried to break through to the second realm had been premature and painful. And nearly crippled his cultivation. He knew what he did wrong back then though, and would do better this time.

He focused on his qi, the heavenly energy coursing through his body, and carefully ripped it out of his body. He gritted his teeth as the pain hit, but continued on nonetheless.

One by one the qi saved all over his body moved just below his navel, where he knew he'd open his dantian in due time. Once all his qi was gathered, and his body hurt all over, he pressed.

And pushed.

And strained.

And pressed.

A supremely confident Brandim staggered out of the cave of advancement a few hours later. The elder sitting at its mouth, guarding the disciples wanting to break through, sat there, unmoving as always.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough disciple." He said without moving.

"Thank you elder." He answered, bowing to the old immortal.

Brandim left the sect’s mountain two days later. The next step of his cultivation technique secured in his pack, and ready to be used. Apart from that several new techniques were in his possession, liberated from some of the peasants that wouldn't know how to use them anyways. Useless trash.

He would travel back to the city, to awe his family with his spectacular success, and continue on a cultivation journey after, to find as many fortuitous encounters as possible.

"By the heavens I solemnly swear I will not return to the sect before reaching the third realm." He vowed.

He felt his qi reacting, the heavens way of telling one they accepted the vow, and would make sure he kept it. Or deal out appropriate punishment if he didn't.

The visit to his family was short, only to inform them of his journey and gather information about interesting rumors. Sleeping in a real bed was nice too, for a change.

Nothing really interesting happened around the city - no surprise there. There was a forest controlled by a forest lord a few days walk from here, but it was small, and the forest lord was said to be foul tempered.

He'd move inland instead, hunting a few bandit groups and similar things the really powerful didn't bother with.

His father's network of information really was something else.

Brandim dodged another arrow as his feet flew forwards, steps buffered by wind. His arms were encased in a blade of wind, his robes bloody with enemy blood.

This was the third group of enemies he faced in his journey, and they were weak, not enough to get his blood pumping.

Boring really.

Brandim changed his angle, and just moved past the bandits, they weren't worth his time to kill anymore.

"You think you can flee now, little cultivator? I will show you what attacking my Red Snakes group means!" A loud voice called out.

Brandim's heart reacted to the voice, and the qi that accompanied it, finally a worthy opponent.

"I am Brandim, and know I will kill you!" He shouted back, adding qi to his voice just like his adversary.

"The boss will show him."

"Stupid upstart killing all of us."

"He should kowtow and beg for his life, perhaps the boss will grant him a fast death."

Brandim sneered, and memorised their faces, they would all die after he dealt with the 'boss'.

Brandim checked his qi, and saw his new meridians were still filled with active qi, dealing with these imbeciles hadn't been all that hard. He didn't allow the boss time to answer to his statement, and dashed forwards instead, another blade of wind forming on his arms.

He swung his left arm, the blade shooting at his adversary. The bandit was running at him too, and had no time to evade. Instead the bandit punched forwards, fire forming on his fist and disrupting the qi in his technique.

Brandim grimaced, that fight favored his opponent, wind strengthened fire after all, at least if the wind wasn't widely more powerful. He dissipated his other wind blade - it wouldn't be useful here - and focused on reaching his opponent before he had a chance to send a technique his way.

Moments later Brandim crashed into the bandit, his fist on its way to his head.

The bandit evaded, but was obviously slower, lacking a powerful movement technique like he had. A savage grin lit up his face as he started pummelting his enemy, forcing him to defend himself.

A sharp sense of danger forced him to abandon his attack and lean to the side, only to see an arrow passing him.

Fury cursed through his veins as his eyes locked onto the bystander that dared interfere.

"Don't you dare run, I'll take care of the interruptions first." He told his enemy, before turning to slaughter the ants that dared stay, and get in his way.

His enemy simply couldn't keep up with his qi boosted speed, trailing uselessly behind him as he killed the dozen or so bandits that stayed to interrupt his fight.

Once he returned to the bandit captain, whose face was a little white by now, he let out a growl.

"Let's finish this, you bore me." He stated.

"You will regret what you did." The bandit roared, running at him with rage clouding his eyes.

Brandim grinned, the fight just got a lot easier. He dashed forwards himself as his enemies fists filled with fire again.

When they clashed there was no burning fist blocking his punch. He grinned, even as his enemies nose pulped and blood spewed out, before sending out a blade of wind, decapitating his smiling opponent.

Why did he smile? He lost, and died?

A burning pain spread from his stomach right up to his spine. Brandim looked down, and saw his robes burning, and two burning fingers having penetrated his stomach. He let his body collapse on the ground closed his eyes and started fighting the powerful fire intent qi threatening to burn his body and meridians.

He would not die like this!

He would not be a nameless corpse on a nameless road!

Brandim opened his eyes half an hour later. He still had a hole in his body, but was safe from the foreign qi. Now he just had to take care of the wound before continuing his travels.

Burning pain entered his mind again, this time from his legs. He looked down in surprise, and saw an arrow sticking out of his leg, blood gushing out of the wound with worrying speed.

He would not die here! Not now!

His eyes scanned his surroundings, searching for the hidden attacker. He didn't take long to find him, a young man, more of a boy really, looking at him with hate filled eyes. The image would be better without the tears though.

Brandim couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Do it." He laughed. "It's not like you have to guts to kill a member of the Soaring Phoenix Sect."

Fear entered the boy's eyes for a moment, before his eyes returned to steel, and he drew the bow back a second time.

Fear entered Brandim’s mind for the first time, as reality entered his mind. He might die here. He struggled to get up, to muster qi, anything.

Brandim stood after what felt like an eternity later, and made a single step, before falling down again, his wounded leg unable to support his weight.

"DIE!" A desperate voice screamed.