On Earth, the first level of the technique was meant to help a student feel the thin, rare Qi in the atmosphere. Here, in a world literally saturated with the stuff, the experience was going to be radically different.
"I have to try the first level again," he whispered.
He braced himself for the onslaught, took the stance, and placed his palms opposite each other at the level of his belly—the dantian. The goal was to sense the Qi, pull it into the palms, and concentrate it in the core.
The moment he began the rhythmic breathing, the sensation hit. On Earth, sensing Qi had been like trying to hear a whisper in a thunderstorm—a struggle to find something too thin to be felt purely. But now?
It felt like needles were pricking at his belly. A fierce, radiant warmth bloomed between his palms, expanding until it felt as if he were holding a ball of compressed fire.
"This... this is burdensome!"
