After several weeks of struggling to understand her true path, Anji had developed a new routine. Instead of pouring through books and talking to people, she had started visiting the cross-training ground that the guests were using to train.
"Oh? Ci Wang is here again. Did you figure out what you were looking for?" Hao Yizhen asked. Liu Guiya’s aide had grown fond of the child over time, much like the others.
Shaking her head but with a bright smile on her face, Anji greeted everyone present. It was still rather early in the morning, and those who had been busy drinking until the late hours the previous night were still asleep, including her family, except for Gu Ying, who had strict discipline.
Seeing how few people were here at the special training ground, Anji decided to take up a spot in the side, away from the wooden training puppets her teacher designed. The artificial core spells used on the Paperman were refined and tested during those few weeks Anji spent searching without results for her answer. Yan Ping was a superb researcher, and watching her teacher efficiently troubleshoot every angle of a problem taught Anji many valuable lessons. Nothing was more effective than observing from the sideline. Anji even helped her teacher calculate the balance for spell reactivity and sensitivity in the Paperman prototype. However, seeing it transformed into a life-sized wooden puppet was a different story.
With this distance, Anji had faith that most people would not be able to see the change in her eye colour. Activating the Heavenly Eye stealthily, Anji decided to observe how the new spells worked. If the training puppets had spells embedded within them in a manner similar to her modified artificial cores, she might be able to gain a hint to control the rapid flow of energy.
Taking an interest in the wooden training puppet that Gu Ying was training with, Anji noticed how differently the energy flowed between the puppet and the cultivators. Of course, the lack of a spiritual core meant that the general energy flow within those circuits was different. However, the energy utilisation was also not the same. While cultivators were able to redirect energy quickly to different parts of their body or expand it outwards into a weapon, the wooden puppets could not do the same.
Frowning, Anji wondered if she had ever attempted to collect or redirect energy to only one part of her body for strengthening or amplification. Realising that she had never done this before, she attempted to redirect a small part of the energy flowing freely into her eyes.
The small boost shocked Anji. It allowed her vision to become much clearer even when she was sitting this far away. Did this mean she was able to enhance different abilities by borrowing qi to amplify them? The next thing Anji attempted to amplify was her hearing. Amazingly, it worked.
Curious, she looked over at the heavy weapon rack. Ordinarily, she would never be able to lift them because of how heavy it was. However, in theory, by amplifying the muscles required to lift them, it might be possible. There was just one small problem. Gu Ying was on watch. She would never allow Anji to do such a reckless thing. Instead, Anji tried to find something else to test this theory.
Scanning the ground at her feet, Anji picked up a fallen leaf. It had yet to wither completely and still had some form of life energy in it. Cautiously, she pooled some energy in her hands and pressed the leaf between her palms like a prayer. Assuming that the leaf was now part of her spiritual circuit, Anji attempted to circulate energy through it for a few minutes.
Nothing felt different, and Anji wondered if a fallen leaf was incapable of absorbing energy the same way a plant with connected roots would. When she opened her palms to study the leaf, she discovered something else shocking. Much like how directing qi into specific body parts could amplify its abilities, the leaf that indirectly endured energy circulation through itself now has a small thread of energy circulating within it even if it did not appear any differently externally.
Upon closer inspection with her Heavenly Eye, Anji realised the leaf had taken on the colour of her energy. What did this mean?
Before she could study it further, the small thread of energy dispersed, and the leaf reverted to its original state of wilting. Maybe a leaf was too weak. She needed something with a little more potential for withholding energy. Perhaps a fallen branch with a few more leaves would do.
Walking around the training field, Anji found the ideal branch with many leaves still strongly attached to it. After examining it closely, she realised that the branch and leaves shared a system similar to the training wooden puppets. Although it no longer absorbed life energy like a tree from its roots, it continued to circulate energy within itself, leaking qi with every circulation back to the environment.
Holding the branch horizontally as far as her hands could reach, Anji observed as the energy from her body circulated through the branch. The original energy within the branch was disturbed, much like an earthquake. For a few moments, everything was in chaos internally, even if the branch did not show any physical changes. However, as Anji poured more energy from one hand to the other through the branch, the branch began to absorb more of her qi, and the colours mixed. Eventually, after ten minutes, there were no traces of the branch’s original energy. Instead, it had all been converted into Anji’s signature.
Curious to learn how long this energy-imbuing technique would last, Anji put the branch back onto the ground and waited. For thirty long minutes, the branch held onto Anji’s energy. However, as Anji’s imbued energy waned, it began to absorb some energy from the environment to compensate for what it lacked. After forty minutes, all of Anji’s signature traces had disappeared, leaving the branch to revert to its original state. Follow current novels on ⓝovelFire.net
Puzzled, Anji wondered why nature never sought improvement. If the branch had taken Anji’s additional energy and transformed it into something useful, it could have grown additional roots to survive. Instead, it simply took and used what it was given without altering anything until all the resources were exhausted.
Glancing back at the wooden training puppet, it seemed as if the qi imbued at the start had also run out after an hour. The wooden puppet bowed and walked back to the weapon storage, resuming its original pose and coming to a stop.
Despite making many new discoveries, Anji had even more questions than answers. Did becoming one with nature mean improvement or returning to its original state?