Da Ren seized Anthony's hand, preventing the blade from piercing any deeper. "My lord, please do not take such hasty actions," he exclaimed.
Anthony shook Da Ren off, "I need to get back to my world Da Ren, I can't stay here."
"But, my lord, who knows if you can really go back?" Da Ren pleaded, in obvious distress. "What if killing yourself here leads to your true death, my lord?"
Anthony set down the sword, his breath shallow. He could feel his eyes stinging. "It's not fair, Da Ren. Why did they kill me?" he said after a moment of silence. Would he truly never see his parents again? Never experience the newest episode of One Piece?
The wizened man put a firm hand on Anthony's shoulder. "I do not know, my lord. I cannot begin to fathom the sadness that you are feeling at the moment, but I do know that putting yourself to death is not the way out of it." He paused. "Perhaps there might be a way, my lord. The world is vast and filled with numerous different arts. One is bound to be the key to your dilemma."
"Do you think so?" Anthony said. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Can Qi do such a thing?"
"Of course," Da Ren said. "Qi is a manifestation of your inner strength, you can things beyond the imagination with it. All you need is to have enough strength to accomplish what you want, my lord."
A moment passed before Anthony spoke once more.
"Can you tell my rank?" he asked. He had made up his mind, he would become powerful enough in this world and search for a way to return back to Earth.
Da Ren studied him. "I cannot say with certainty, my lord, but I assume your ranking would be that of a man or a soldier."
Anthony was dejected. Am I truly that weak, he thought. Do I have to start from the very beginning? "Can you train me?" he asked. "Can you help me get stronger?"
Da Ren nodded, "It would be my honor, my lord."
Anthony clapped his hands, "Great, how do we start?"
Da Ren grinned. "Please, wait here a moment, my lord," he said, before rushing into the hut. He returned with a small clay pot. "Apply this on your skin, my lord."
Anthony took a peek into the pot. Inside was a thick, green paste that smelled of bitter medicine. "What is that?"
"It is a Basic Qi Gathering Pill ground into some Green Nettle. It will help your body absorb Qi more freely from the environment, my lord," Da Ren answered. "I only need to apply it on your torso, my lord. Only so much is needed before the medicine is no longer potent."
Anthony took off his shirt and allowed Da Ren to apply the cool paste on his skin. "Now what?" he asked.
"Now you meditate, my lord." Da Ren said. "Sit down with your legs crossed and close your eyes. Start taking in slow, deep breaths"
Anthony did as instructed. He sat down and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.
"Now focus on the feeling of energy deep in your gut, feel the energy that flows within you and in the world around you. Draw the strength that you feel into your body," Da Ren whispered.
Again, he did as instructed, concentrating on the warm feeling in his gut, letting the energy around him flow into his body.
"Good," Da Ren said. "The Qi around you is being sucked away at an amazing pace, my lord."
Under Da Ren's careful guidance, Anthony soon fell into a trance-like state, focusing only on his breathing and the flow of energy into his body. He could feel the energy reinforcing his bones, sharpening his mind, enhancing his muscles. He felt powerful.
After a while, Da Ren stopped guiding him, and Anthony soon lost track of time. The only thing that he concentrated on was the flow of Qi into him. He could feel it welling up within him, passing through every fiber of his body, filling him with power. But something was wrong, the Qi kept flowing, but his body wouldn't accept any more. It was like he was pouring water into a filled cup, no matter how much he poured, the amount of water in the cup wasn't increasing.
He opened his eyes to a dark sky, the stars glimmering beautifully above him. The moon was barely a sliver, a scythe that cutting through black fabric. Anthony noticed that he smelled, his body covered with sticky impurities. He dashed over to the stream and rinsed himself off.
How long had he been meditating for?
"Da Ren?" he called out, "Da Ren, where are you?"
A figure dashed out from the hut, "My lord, you have finished?"
"Yes, I think I've encountered an issue. For some reason, I cannot absorb any more Qi," Anthony said. "It's like my body is full like I've reached a dead end."
Da Ren's eyes gleamed with shock. "It cannot be possible. You've only been meditating for half a day, my lord. You could not have hit a bottleneck so soon."
"A bottleneck?" Anthony asked.
"It occurs during when one reaches the maximum potential of their body at a certain rank, my lord. Once a person has entered this phase, they need a catalyst, usually in the form of a pill to breakthrough," Da Ren explained. "There is an exception to this, my lord. Certain individuals have broken through to the next rank due to a moment of enlightenment."
"So either through pills or luck?" Anthony said.
"Precisely, although enlightenment comes in many forms, my lord. Some seek enlightenment in the heat of battle, as putting oneself so close to the edge often ushers in a breakthrough," Da Ren added.
Anthony pondered on that, "Do you have a pill for me to breakthrough?"
"My apologies, my lord, I did not expect you to reach your bottleneck so soon. I had planned to go to Bamboo Root Town to buy a Common Grade Qi Breakthrough Pill, " Da Ren said sheepishly.
"Why don't we go now?" Anthony said. "It's only a couple miles away, right? I want to see how strong I've gotten."
Da Ren hesitated for a second. "Of course, my lord, we shall set off immediately." He ran back into his hut and grabbed a pair of long knives and a spear. "For you, my lord."
Anthony took the spear from him. "I don't know how to fight, Da Ren."
"You only need to use the spear to stab at any creatures that come too close, my lord. I shall take of the rest," he said.
Anthony nodded.
Da Ren took off, not giving Anthony any warning. He scrambled after the old man, dashing into the trees. Was this his first test? To see how agile he had gotten?
The old man was nimble, dodging branches and bushes that otherwise encumbered Anthony. He kept the pace slow enough that Anthony could barely just keep up with him. Anthony grunted as another branch appeared from the darkness and slapped him straight in the head. He cursed and pushed the branch aside.
After a few minutes, Anthony realized that his vision had adjusted to the darkness of the forest. He could see where the many branches where in his path, weaving elegantly between them. He felt lithe, like Usain Bolt in the 100m dash.
Anthony chased after Da Ren for several minutes, losing sight of the small man on multiple occasions. Eventually, Anthony saw Da Ren exit the tree line and stop.
Anthony leaped, bursting from the trees and landing next to Da Ren. They had exited the forest and were standing on a small outcropping. Below them was the glimmering lights of civilization. "Is that Bamboo Root Town?" He said, breathing heavily.
Da Ren responded, "Yes, it is the largest town within several tens of miles. It has a population of around twenty thousand and is currently governed by Lord Ironfist."
Anthony took in the sight of the town. It was a well light area and he could still see tiny people moving among its many streets. A large complex dominated the center of the town, encircled by tall walls. A larger wall encircled the rest of the town, with towers every few hundred feet.
"It's beautiful," Anthony exclaimed.
"I mean no offense, my lord," Da Ren said, "But this is only what the frog can see from inside his well."
Anthony looked at him, puzzled. Da Ren shook his head and smiled. "Forget I said anything, my lord. Come, we must find an inn to rest for the night, none of the shops will be open until the morning."