Whip sounds followed by groans rang out inside the distant valley. In a small grove, covered with thick vegetation, Andariel stood motionless with bare torso. Red marks could be seen all over his body. And front of him, old man Meng stood, his sleeves continuously disappearing and appearing. Each time this happened, a “pa”, sound, followed by, “argh!” echoed inside the small forest grove.

Andariel stood in a horse stance on a big rock. It was a wide stance with a good point of gravity, about how one rode a horse. Not only did it help him take the hits from his master, but it was also a sort of endurance training that strengthened his whole body.

“Very good, very good!” old man Meng mused to himself, lowered the stick, then saying to his disciple while stroking his beard, “We are finished for today, go soak yourself in the hot springs and practice the fire furnace sutra until the sun goes down. We will continue with this once dawn comes.”

“Yes, master.” hopping down from the big stone, Andariel hurried over to the hot springs some hundred meters away, releasing a long, “ahhh~” as the hot water touched his body and warmth spread across his sore muscles.

Body until it was completely red. Somehow, the whipping only hurt for a while, but then very Today was the sixth day of “Hell’s training”, as his master called it. From early morning to lunch time, when the sun was in the middle of the sky, old man Meng would whip the entirety of Andariel’s quickly disappeared.

After getting hit with the stick that seemed to snap from the slightest touch but did not, Andariel would immediately go soak himself in the hot springs and inhale natural world energy according to the mantra that his master gave him.

However, Andariel was not allowed to store it within his dan tian, and was only told purify it and then let it out again. According to old man Meng, just purifying the energy within his meridians would help his body heal faster, and his meridians tougher and thicker.

In total, the human body has seventy two meridians. His master had told him that they were created to honor the seventy two descendants of Pan Gu who died in the great battle of primordial times when Yama and his forces fought with Pan and his.

These meridians have openings called pores. Each of these pores has the ability to slowly intake natural world energy and lead it inside one’s meridians, purify it, and then store it automatically within the dan tian.

Andariel positioned himself in the lotus position of meditation and began to dwell deep within himself. To inhale energy from the world, one first has to be able to sense it. After that, one would inhale it with the help of mantras.

His mantra given to him by his master for the sole purpose of refining his body was called “Fire furnace sutra”. It was of the fire element, which had the best effect on the body. He would only practice this mantra through the first stage, then his master would give him another one.

There.

Sensing the energy, Andariel first calmed himself by taking deep breaths.

“oooohhh.” He began to inhale the energy, purifying it, and letting it strengthen his meridians. This process took about ten seconds.

“hoooo”, he let it out and started all over again. After six days of doing this, he had felt immense progress. His meridians had become tougher and thicker, and the process of letting the energy flow smoother and easier.

And like this, a month passed in the blink of of an eye.

“Hooo, can’t you feel it anymore?”

“I can, but it doesn’t hurt.”

Andariel was now ten years old. From the two month that had passed, his body underwent a shocking change. He still had the same thick yet slender cords of muscles, but they were now filled with vigorous, explosive power. He had become taller, now almost one meter and sixty centimeters tall. For a ten year old, that was very tall. But even though his body may have changed, he still had those piercing blue eyes and black hair. He would surely become quite handsome when he grew older.

His body was now trained to the limit. Over the month, Andariel had discovered that what old man Meng did wasn’t simply hitting him with the stick. His master had infused energy into the stick, transmitting it into Andariel’s body. This had tempered and refined his skin, bones, tendons and even muscles. Andariel had himself refined the inner parts of his body by cultivating with the mantra.

“I think it’s time for us to move on to the next stage.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes.” old man Meng replied, and a smile spread upon of his lips, “It’s time for you to take the first step. It’s time for you to break through to the first stage.”

“Go to the hot springs, get your body to the prime condition. I presume you only need a few hours to gather enough energy, right?”

Andariel nodded.

“Good.”

Seeing his master’s smile, Andariel immediately got on his way to the hot springs. Once inside, he began to inhale the natural world energy with his mantra. This time, he didn’t let it out again, and instead let it flow in like mist into his dan tian.

“hooo.” Breathing out, a large cloud of black gas came out. It was the impurities from the energy that he purified. The black cloud of impurities would quickly return to normal energy when mixed with the outside.

Peeking inside his dantian, he could now see a few slightly red winds blowing. It was a sign that he had begun to gather energy.

“That should be about it.”

Feeling that the energy inside was enough, Andariel wiped the sweat from his brows and jumped out of the pool. It was no use to dry himself as they were close to a chain of volcanoes. The air was very hot and he would get dry in less than fifteen minutes. He quickly got dressed and returned to the grove where his master was waiting.

“Sit.” old man Meng pointed at the same stone where he had been lashed on.

Andariel did as his master told him to.

“To break through from the first stage to the second stage, one has to shed his mortal skin. Do you know what that means?”

“Yes master.” Andariel began to explain, “From the book you gave me, I read that one has to connect his or her meridians to the dan tian, thereon achieving a perfect state where one can infuse one’s body parts with the energy inside one’s dan tian.”

“Exactly.” old ma meng sat down behind his disciple, and put his hand at his back.

“Listen.” He said, “There are seventy two meridians in the body. how many one can open depends on one’s persistence, comprehension and some bit of luck. As you try to open one after another, I will stay here and control so that nothing goes wrong. A severe backlash can hurt pretty bad and completely ruin one’s future prospects.”

“Remember. If it feels like your meridians is about to snap, stop instantly. Otherwise, not even I can save you.”

“Your disciple understands.” Andariel responded, closing his eyes to begin the process.