Controlling one’s emotions, breathing, pulse, heartbeat, even the flow of blood and inner thoughts... Of course, such micro-control is impossible to achieve freely without greatly enhancing one’s sensitivity through true energy or similar forces, but having a thorough understanding of one’s own body is something anyone can train.

For example, in the human body, knowing which parts are the strongest, which are the weakest, and what kind of movement or attack at which spot can cause the greatest harm... To execute these things precisely, self-control is essential. An ordinary person who clearly understands their own physical condition can absolutely use these advantages to defeat a novice martial artist who hasn’t even started training.

Cultivation must proceed step by step; impatience is to be strictly avoided.

If a martial artist cannot control their own mind, cannot face the temptations of higher realms with a natural mindset, then going astray will be their only outcome.

Luck? Luck cannot accompany you for a lifetime.

After half a day, only when his mind was utterly exhausted did William Lincoln finally stop his training in bodily control.

This was the second day since he entered this world, and one of the cultivation courses he had set for himself.

Next came the stage that every qualified martial artist must go through—Qi Refinement.

Having been reborn into this world, he had nothing but battle energy in his body, not a trace of true qi, so for the step of Qi Refinement, he had to start from scratch!

William Lincoln took a gentle breath.

He focused his mind on his dantian and regulated his breathing. With each exhale, he imagined the breath rising from the middle of his chest and being expelled. With each inhale, he imagined the breath sinking straight into his dantian.

In a short time, it was of course impossible to draw qi into the body and develop a sense of qi; the path of true qi is the hardest to enter. William Lincoln was not anxious, instead concentrating, sitting cross-legged at the head of the bed, gradually entering a meditative state. With each breath, turbid air left from his chest, and pure air sank into his dantian, operating instinctively, with results ten times better than deliberate control.

In this meditative state, all his psychological functions dropped to their lowest, and he was almost completely unaware of the outside world. Unless faced with a life-threatening crisis, he would not wake from this state.

In this state, his essence, energy, and spirit were highly focused, and every change in the breath within his body was almost within his perception.

As the breathing cycle gradually formed, a faint stream of air, barely perceptible, entered his dantian with each inhalation.

This stream of air was the very first vital energy born within a cultivator’s body.

Volume One: The Supreme Nine Cycles

Chapter Two: Fourth-Level Swordsman

Speaking of Carrie Lincoln, he had been out for the entire afternoon, his mind filled with wild fantasies—someone in his dorm becoming a fourth-level swordsman, then telling the girls’ dorm across the way and seeing their surprised reactions, taking the opportunity to propose a dorm mixer to build relationships, and then...

At the height of his delight, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, completely unconcerned about being in a public place.

Passersby glanced at him, pointing and whispering things like, “Is this guy crazy?” “Another poor soul who’s lost his mind from cultivation,” and so on. If it weren’t for his academy uniform, people would have thought he’d just escaped from a mental hospital.

“I say, Ray, what are you doing standing in the middle of the road grinning like an idiot? Are you saying Charlie hasn’t embarrassed our B-13 dorm enough already?” A male voice came from behind Carrie Lincoln, interrupting his daydream.

Carrie Lincoln snapped out of his fantasy and quickly retorted to the newcomer, “Lincoln, don’t talk nonsense. When did Charlie ever embarrass our dorm?”

“Well, although getting beaten badly by the Snow Maiden isn’t really embarrassing, if word gets out, it won’t look good for our dorm. Especially since he actually flirted with the beautiful Xue Yun in public—if the other female students find out, well, you know... So, you have to think about my future.”

“You just don’t get it. Let me tell you, Charlie didn’t embarrass us at all this time. Before long, he’ll definitely make us proud, just wait and see.”

“Oh? What’s up? Did that guy come up with some new crazy idea?”

“Hey, don’t badmouth Charlie! He’s really lucky—after that fight with the Snow Maiden, he actually had an epiphany. It won’t be long before he becomes a fourth-level swordsman. By then, haha, won’t our B-13 dorm be famous throughout Ziyun Intermediate Academy?”

“What, that guy’s about to break through and become a fourth-level swordsman!?”

A fourth-level swordsman is not just one level above a third-level swordsman. People usually classify levels one to three as junior swordsmen, while a fourth-level swordsman is already considered intermediate. With such skills, whether in a mercenary group or among the various forces of the country, one can easily find a good job and never have to worry about food and clothing again.

Seeing his roommate’s astonished expression, Carrie Lincoln was even prouder than if he himself had become a fourth-level swordsman. He raised his head and said, “Of course! Think about Charlie’s talent—he’s the smartest and most daring person in our whole dorm.”