"Ah—"
The sound slipped softly from Akeno's lips, echoing gently beneath the maple tree whose leaves swayed in the wind. Her loose kimono fluttered lightly, revealing just enough to show her posture tensed by concentration—not by anything else.
"Jun-kun… could you be a little gentler," she said, her breathing heavy, more like a sigh of exhaustion than anything suggestive.
Jun let out a short breath, clearly a bit flustered, yet remaining focused.
"Akeno-san," he said firmly but calmly, "please don't make sounds like that. This is training, not—whatever is in your head right now."
Akeno let out a small giggle, her cheeks faintly flushed. "Ara~, sorry. It just feels a bit… strange."
Jun stood behind her, one palm resting on Akeno's shoulder, the other slightly raised, keeping a proper distance. His posture was entirely professional. From his body flowed a steady Qi—warm, orderly—streaming into Akeno's body like a river guided into a new channel.
This was not an ordinary technique.
Jun was helping Akeno form a dantian foundation—the very first and most crucial stage on the path of Senjutsu.
Unlike Jun, who from the beginning was a cultivator with a natural Qi pathway and a bodily structure already "prepared," Akeno did not possess such a foundation. Her body was accustomed to magic—spells, magic circles, and external energy control. Qi was something foreign, subtle, and demanding patience.
"Don't resist the flow," Jun said softly. "You don't 'pull' Qi like magic. You let it settle… then circulate."
Akeno closed her eyes, her brow furrowing. She could feel something warm moving within her—not wild like her lightning magic, not aggressive, but calm, heavy, and deep. Yet precisely because of that, it was difficult to control.
"It feels… like trying to hold your breath underwater," she murmured.
"That's normal," Jun replied. "A dantian isn't a container that can be forced. It forms through habit, not strength."
His palm pressed slightly—not physically, but through Qi—guiding the flow slowly toward the lower abdomen, forming a small vortex. Very small. Almost imperceptible.
But that was the foundation.
Akeno had previously accepted Jun's offer to learn Senjutsu without much hesitation. The reason was simple and very realistic: her path of power had been too heavily reliant on magic. Her lightning magic was indeed extraordinary—fast, lethal, and filled with destructive force—but every time she used it on a large scale, her body and soul were drained along with it.
That power was effective.
But it was not sustainable.
The martial arts Jun practiced were clearly not the answer for her. That path demanded a body tempered over many years, extreme physical discipline, and a foundation that could not be built instantly. Akeno understood her own limitations—and Jun had understood them from the start.
But Senjutsu… was different.
Senjutsu was a power system that had existed since the world first came to know the concept of "nature." Also known as the Sage Arts, it was not merely a technique, but a way of life—a way of aligning oneself with the surrounding world. In the past, Senjutsu could only be learned by ancient Taoist Sennin and high-level Youkai, beings with long lifespans and patience far beyond that of ordinary humans.
Unlike cultivators or martial artists who forged their power from the dantian—pure vital energy originating from within—Senjutsu made use of natural energy. Heaven, earth, lightning, wind, life, and death… all became part of their resources.
Because of that, this path had no single standardized method.
Some spent decades, even centuries, just to grasp its fundamentals.
Others—through talent, affinity, or destiny—were able to touch its essence far more quickly.
And what Jun was doing… was clearly outside the norm.
He was not teaching Senjutsu the way the ancient Sennin once did.
He was adapting it.
A few days ago, Jun had obtained a book from his system—something that left him silent for quite a while after reading it.
[Heavenly Thunder Tempering Scripture – Rank S]
A cultivation technique belonging to the Heavenly Thunder Sect, a legendary sect known for using lightning not merely as a weapon, but as a means of tempering the body and soul. To obtain it, Jun had even had to sacrifice ten gacha tickets—no small amount, even for him.
The book did not only contain cultivation methods.
It contained philosophy.
Lightning was not destruction.
Lightning was a trial.
It destroyed what was fragile, and purified what was strong.
Jun himself was studying it carefully. This technique was dangerous—even a slight mistake could cause the dantian to collapse or the body to burn from the inside. But as he read further, one thing became clear to him.
This technique… was more suited to Akeno than to himself.
Akeno possessed a far purer lightning affinity. Lightning was not merely a magical element to her—it was part of her soul. The blood of a fallen angel lineage, deep emotions, and her natural connection to the sky made her an almost perfect vessel for the teachings of the Heavenly Thunder Sect.
That was why Jun chose a different approach.
Rather than forcing a full cultivator's path, he used Senjutsu as a foundation, then linked it with the principles of the Heavenly Thunder Tempering Scripture. A hybrid—impure, unorthodox, yet potentially far more stable for Akeno.
If successful…
She would be able to manifest lightning as a part of herself—not something summoned, not something forced, but something that simply exists.
Time passed without notice.
Under the shade of the maple tree, Jun slowly withdrew his palm from Akeno's shoulder. The Qi flow that had previously moved steadily finally subsided, leaving behind a faint warmth in Akeno's body—not searing heat, but a dense, solid sensation, as if something had taken root within her.
"…That's enough," Jun said softly.
Akeno opened her eyes slowly.
She felt no pain. Nor did she feel excessive fatigue.
What remained was only a strange sensation—like the sky, once distant, now felt just a little closer.
Jun let out a short breath, then raised his hand. A dim light appeared in his palm, and from it… a book materialized.
Its cover was simple, yet carried a heavy, ancient presence. Its surface seemed layered with frozen flashes of lightning, inscribed with characters that were not entirely familiar, yet somehow felt right.
Jun handed it to Akeno.
"This," he said. "A copy."
Akeno received it with both hands, reflexively holding her breath. The moment her fingers touched the cover, small sparks of electricity jumped softly—not painful, not wild, but instead feeling… familiar, as if the lightning had known her for a long time.
Her eyes widened slightly, then calmed again.
"Heavenly Thunder Tempering Scripture," Jun continued in a serious tone. "Don't rush it. Read it slowly. Understand its meaning—not just its movements."
He looked straight at Akeno, this time without a smile, without any teasing tone. Only the firmness of a practitioner who knew full well how dangerous the path he was pointing out could be.
"The lightning in this scripture," Jun continued, "was created as an ideology of the Heavenly Thunder Sect. They do not use it through magical energy."
Akeno lifted her face, fully focused.
"This technique uses the power of nature directly, and the body is its primary medium. If you manage to apply it…" Jun paused for a moment, then continued in a softer but heavier voice, "…you will not merely summon lightning. You will manifest that lightning according to your will."
Silence.
The wind blew softly once more beneath the maple tree, stirring the red leaves that drifted down slowly.
After several seconds, Akeno finally spoke.
"…Isn't that," she said quietly, "incredible?"
Jun gave a short nod. "Yes. It's extraordinary."
"Wow…" Akeno was truly at a loss for words.
She lowered her gaze, examining the book in her hands more closely. The writing on its cover and opening pages was clearly in ancient Chinese characters, with a style completely different from the modern magical language she was familiar with.
"Hm," she murmured. "Does this come from the place you mentioned… Jianghu?"
"Yes," Jun replied briefly.
Akeno lifted her head again. "That place called Jianghu… does it really exist?"
Jun fell silent for a moment. His gaze drifted into the distance, as if piercing through the trees and the morning mist.
"I don't know for certain," he said at last. "But I've told you about it before, haven't I?"
Akeno nodded slowly. "Yes… it's just hard to believe a place like that truly exists."
Jun let out a small sigh.
"It's hard to explain," he admitted. "My information is incomplete, too. But according to Azazel—after I met him yesterday—places like Jianghu do exist, and the people living there are similar to the life in Wuxia stories."
Akeno's eyes widened slightly. "Did exist?"
"Yes," Jun continued. "He referred to it as a Lost Land."
Silence fell once more.
"So…" Akeno whispered, "…that place really existed?"
Jun nodded faintly.
"It truly existed on Earth," he said. "Several centuries ago. And then… it vanished mysteriously."
Akeno looked back down at the book in her hands. This time, not merely as a training manual—but as a relic from a world that had disappeared.
And at the same time, as a key to unlocking an entirely new path of power for herself.
//---//
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