Thanos and the others were woken up by a knock on their door as early a 4:00 in the morning. Captain Shaun walked inti the room and addressed them with a loud voice.
"You have 10 mins to meet me outside. Your new training uniforms are beside you on your bed." He said and left.
They quickly got ready, put on their new training uniforms and shoes and rounded up out side. When they arrived, they noticed a woman standing beside captain Shaun, she wore a Han fu uniform similar to theirs except hers is a robe, she looked to be in her early 30s. They were led to a very spacious yard where they met other rookies like them. Even though it was dark the yard was lit with lights, although it was still a bit difficult to make out some people's faces.
"Seems like the rookies form the other base already arrived.. " Shino Kusakabe said while yawning.
"I am Sheila Obarisiagbon, and I will be guiding and teaching you how to be in tune with your Qi, and help you unlock your spirit Qi. You must have been taught the basics of Qi and you might have mastered some techniques that increase your strength or attack power. A technique like the hand of judgement for example teaches you how to compile a lot of Qi in one place giving it a solid form and releasing the Qi out as a concentrated attack. But even a normal soldier could do that."
That last statement caused a lot of frowns and murmurs in the crowed because it had taken them weeks to master a technique like hand of judgement, but now this lady is downplaying their achievement.
" I can sense your discomfort, but it seems like you still don't understand. There is a big difference between a Norma soldier, and a Qi soldier is spirit Qi. What is spirit Qi you ask? Well .. this is spirit Qi!!"
Almost immediately a wave of energy left her body and swept through the crowd of about a hundred people causing a small chill to run up their spine. It was as though they had suddenly stepped into a different environment. It was cold and calm, they felt like all the trouble and anxiety in the world had disappeared and only peace remained. They felt the Qi in the air move around them and towards Sheila.
Sheila made a gesture and everything returned to normal.
"What was that?" Someone asked,
"It was like I stepped into heaven" another said.
"What you just experienced is a level of Qi control called spirit Qi. " Sheila answered their silent question.
"It is called spirit Qi because, you and your Qi become one and you gain almost absolute control over the environment around you almost giving you your own domain."
" I know in the military you all are used to training together and working as a team, but as a Qi soldier you become a one man team. As you cultivate and train harder, it will come down to you and you alone. Now I am not saying you should forfeit friendships and comradaree, what I am telling you is that your progress lies in your hands alone. Wether you are slow or fast." Sheila explained.
"Now you all should sit on the floor cross-legged, sit within one of the squares on the ground, I want there to be adequate space between everyone." Sheila walked around them as she explained.
Thanos sat down , and right beside him was Shino Kusakabe.
"Look over there, " Shino said softly to Thanos, while pointing at another young man who sat a few a few feet away from them. The man a low cut hair, clean shaven face, he had a calm expression and his deep brown eyes glowed intensely as he payed attention to the words of Instructor Sheila.
"That is Seth Gordon" Shino whispered " Thanos turned to look at the young man whom Shino spoke of. He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, he felt like he was looking at any other soldier, but then again, genius would not be written on his forehead. Thanos turned away to pay attention to Instructor Sheila.
When he did Seth turned to face him with an almost blank expression.
"Who is he, is he anyone special?" A different student sitting beside Seth questioned.
Seth turned his face away, "nothing, he just seemed perculier"
" As you well know your Dantian is the pool where your Qi is stored and where the foundation for your cultivation of any technique is built." Instructor Sheila lectured.
" What you have been taught by your previous instructors in the military academies, is to pool up Qi on your Dantian and draw energy from it. Now if you never want to go beyond and gain spirit Qi, you should continue to do that. But if you want to dominate and bash through the heavens as the strongest then you will listen to my every word and obey my instructions."
" What I will be teaching will be new to most of you, except those that come from any of the branches of the 7 great families. Training manuals have been sent to your mails. You may study them later.for now pay attention to what I say."
As a Qi soldier, or as a normal cultivator, your mortal bodies store Qi in your Dantian, and your Dantian helps in your control of Qi and how you use it. If your Dantian is compromised then your Qi flow will be compromised as well. Not that the dantian can be injured with any normal attack.
The dantian is divided in three, the lower, middle and upper dantian.
The lower, dantian is located below the navel, it is the primary storage of energy and Qi, and it is the center of all physical training. It is where you draw energy from when you fight and perform Qi based attacks.
The upper dantian is located between the eyebrows, and is the center for mental clarity, spiritual insight and intuition. The upper dantian is also known as the mind's eye. It is the mind's connection to the divine and universe, granting the cultivator a higher state of mind and a strong spirit.
The middle dantian is located on the level of the heart. It is the center for emotional energy and is also a center for balance between the spiritual and physical aspect of a person. Those who master their emotions, have a very strong middle dantian. The middle dantian serves as a bridge btw the upper and lower dantian. And mastering all aspects of each dantian is essential to a cultivator. Although not everyone gets a grasp of every aspect. But that is why a cultivator's journey never ends.
"Here I will teach you to temper your mind, your heart and your body. And how to gain balance between them."