Behind the forest waterfall that she would soon leave behind, Jun Li was seated, holding the sandalwood box close to her body.

  She looked out into the open air, where it had begun to rain quite heavily. 'Auntie and the rest must be setting up buckets to keep the inside of the house dry...' Jun Li tried to calm herself and reach the best mental state possible before she tried to use the fragment of Purple Jade.

  'Not another year. They deserve better than this.' Jun Li slowly opened the sandalwood box and took the Purple Jade into her hands.

  The Qi inside was slowly drawn out to the rhythm of her breathing. The sheer qualitative difference of the Qi held within, when compared to what she had drawn out of the waterfall was something difficult to express in words.

  The Qi she had absorbed from the waterfall had been like thin strands, flowing through the stream. The Qi that she felt from this stone however, undulated out like clouds, filling her Meridians and billowing through her body.

  Despite the unexpectedly intense sensation, Jun Li only felt herself become calmer, and steadily continued drawing Qi from the stone without pause.

  The moment all the Qi had been extracted from the stone, it went dark and lost its signature purple glow. Jun Li slowly placed it back into the sandalwood box.

  Almost without thought, she stood up, still drawing the Qi in her body closer to her Dantian, and walked forward to sit under the waterfall.

  When the Qi in her Dantian reached a critical mass, the tangled bundle of Qi accumulated from the waterfall merged with the clouds of Purple Jade Qi. As if the weight had punched a hole in her Dantian, the accumulation of Qi had begun to coalesce into a swirling vortex.

  As the vortex that formed in her Dantian surged, it pulled in not only the Qi in Jun Li's body, but the ambient Qi that surrounded her as well, catching any strands that fell through the waterfall and rapidly refining them.

  Despite standing under the heavily flowing falls, Jun Li felt no strain or discomfort, and could only focus on directing the Qi in her Dantian, refining it further.

  Eventually the vortex slowed, before breaking apart to reveal what the malformed agglutination of Qi had become. Inside her Dantian, slowly shifting waters flowed chaotically, intermittently crashing into one another, the bursts of water floating weightlessly and dispersing into drifting clouds that wept into the waves.

  When Jun Li opened her eyes, she suddenly became aware of the weight crashing down on her and almost tripped forward into the river. Steadily pushing through the waterfall, back to the dry ground behind, Jun Li found her way back to her belongings, sandalwood box included.

  After making sure the Purple Jade had indeed been completely spent, she placed it gently into the sandalwood box.

  It was only now that she had realized how much time had passed, she had begun cultivating in the rainy mid-evening and she had not expected to see the sun rising by the time she finished.

  Despite how much time had passed, she didn't feel a hint of fatigue. On the contrary, she felt incredible. Looking about the forest with a newly sharpened visual clarity, Jun Li found a sturdy looking tree and stood by it for a moment. She drew back and struck the tree with her fist, holding back quite a bit. Despite the solid impact, her fist was entirely unscathed.

  Seeing this, Jun Li slid into a horse stance and focused. Almost intuitively, Qi flowed like water from her Dantian and down her arm, the instant it suffused her fist, she lashed out and struck the tree.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  With a crushing impact, the sound of a resounding crack rang out in the forest, yet what had broken was not Jun Li's fist, but the body of the tree before her. Though it had not toppled, a deep crack now ran through its trunk.

  Jun Li looked to her arms as she effortlessly directed Qi through her Meridians. "I really am a Cultivator now… These memories won't be a waste on me!" Overjoyed, Jun Li finally and truly believed she had what it took to pass the entrance test of the Glass Cloud Sect and become a respected, influential person. Someone that could truly provide for her family.

  Despite her excitement, Jun Li wasn't so careless a person that she would leave it at that and hope it was enough. Even if she thought she was good enough as she was, she would train every day she could to improve her chances. 'What do I do now...? Ah! I should try this Qi Circulation thing.'

  Finally finding another use of her memories, she walked home while slowly circulating Qi from her Dantian, through all of her Meridians and back to her Dantian, one time after another.

  It took considerable focus, to the point that Jun Li at first had to stop and focus every few steps to avoid breaking the cycle.

  ...

  Months later, at the side of the orphanage, Jun Li stood still, holding a piece of charcoal in her hand. Suffusing Qi lightly through her body, Jun Li took a shallow breath and jumped.

  At the apex of her leap, she raised the piece of charcoal in her hand and scraped it against outside of the orphanage wall.

  After having marked this height, Jun Li began to fall, much more slowly than one would expect. As she softly landed, Jun Li looked up and noted that this mark was her highest yet.

  "I guess that will have to do..." Jun Li wasn't thrilled with her progress, feeling it was slower than it was in her memories. She hoped that Martial Cultivators simply had a slower progression, and that she was not somehow at fault.

  What she had been training in these past months, leading up to the entrance test for the Glass Cloud Sect, was Qi Circulation and Qinggong.

  The former involved quickly circulating Qi through your Meridians, then back into your Dantian, the repeated process strengthening the meridians, and quickly alleviating fatigue.

  The latter however, was a much more varied field of techniques. At a basic level, Qinggong refers to any breathing technique that lightens the body, thereby allowing one to run with less strain, leap higher into the air, or even walk over water and glide through the air when truly mastered.

  Stowing the charcoal away, Jun Li prepared to get ready for the day ahead, mustering what confidence she could. Today was the day the Glass Cloud Sect held their entrance tests in the city and she would need to be in peak condition to make sure she had the best possible chance to pass.

  'I wonder what I should even pack, the Sect probably provides food and lodgings to their disciples, right..?'

  Within the hour, Jun Li had packed everything she thought she would need and made ready to travel to the city. In her satchel was a change of clothing, some fresh and dried fruit, and her treasured sandalwood box. Outside the orphanage, her Auntie and the rest of the children had gathered to see her off.

  "Jun Li! Good luck!" Some of the children seemed quite excited seeing her off, Jun Li's Auntie, on the other hand, seemed quite anxious. "Please be careful out there, Jun Li."

  Despite being nervous herself, Jun Li put on a smile and tried to alleviate her Aunties worries. "I'll be fine! If I don't get back by nightfall, then I'll be a disciple of the Glass Cloud Sect, and I'll get a letter to you as soon as possible!"

  "Just don't try so hard to get in that you end up hurting yourself okay? And here..." Auntie offered a small bag to Jun Li. "Everything you forgot to pack." She smiled, knowing how hurried Jun Li must be feeling to have forgotten so much. "Ah… thank you!" Jun Li took the bag, trying not to let her embarrassment show.

  "Alright, I'm off! I'll be back before you know it!" Jun Li turned and set off on her journey to the city, despite the fact that it was early into the morning and the city wasn't that far away.

  Even if today was important, she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to do some sightseeing in the city she had never seen.

  The unending support of her family caused Jun Li's heart to ache, but she wouldn't cry, today wasn't a day for tears. 'I'll be back! I'll come back to get them out of that decaying house before the end of the year!'