Dr. Vaughan’s gaze pierced him as the man stared at Kevin’s chest. A few moments later, it was over, the floating golden seals from the doctor’s technique fading into nothing.

  Like the previous time, Dr. Vaughan looked away for almost a minute before talking, his pen continuing to scrawl notes. Eventually, the man’s head snapped back, and he nodded with a pleased smile.

  “Good, good. I didn’t detect any glaring issues. Further, the growth of your sealed land matches the limited information I have on it. Nor has your body shown any incompatibility with the continued use of your tattoo.”

  Kevin released the breath he’d been holding in a rush and sank back into his chair. Thank god, everything was alright.

  Dr. Vaughan gave him a few moments to gather himself before continuing. “As for the other issues you mentioned, there’s something I need to say first. Please don’t take this as disparaging your concerns, however.”

  “You’re not slow at cultivating, Kevin,” the doctor said, looking him straight in the eye. “At my estimate, you are well within the average range for a Body Realm cultivator in advancement speed.”

  Holding up a hand to wait, the man continued. “Yes, you are behind your fellow disciples, but please remember that they have been cultivating for years. Most would not have passed through the first grades as quickly as you have when they first started.”

  “It only feels like you are slow because you hit a period of increased speed with access to the sect’s resources. Slowing down with the demands of classwork is normal and something every new disciple encounters.”

  “Yeah, I figured it would be something like that,” Kevin sighed, shaking his head. Continuing to race ahead would have been too much to expect.

  If that were that easy, everyone would be in the Energy Gathering realm before arriving at the sect.

  “So there’s nothing to be done then?”

  Dr. Vaughan’s lips quirked into a smile. “I didn’t say that. It is simply that your issues are those of a regular disciple, not one who is blocked. As far as the sect is concerned, it has no responsibility to assist you further at this time.”

  “However, you still have the rest of this checkup paid for, and I see no reason not to give you some recommendations. You will just have to self-fund any you wish to follow.”

  Kevin grinned back, “Ah, got it. The whole ‘gather merit to push yourself forward’ thing. That’s not too bad, then.”

  “What about the second stage, though? You mentioned I’d have trouble without active meridians?”

  The doctor waved a hand in front of his face. “That is another matter entirely. You cannot resolve it alone, so the sect will provide help. I have already looked into some solutions that show promise.”

  “As for your current issues, I can suggest a couple of pills to help with your free-floating Qi. One will allow you to pack more into your body, decreasing the chance of overloading your limit and allowing you to gather Qi for longer periods.”

  “The other will reduce the adverse effects of bringing Fire Qi into your body: the increased heart rate and blood pressure. I would not recommend taking the first pill without also taking the second.”

  “Right,” Kevin nodded, wincing at the idea of packing more Fire Qi into his body without something to limit the effects. “That makes sense. They sound great, so I’ll grab the names off you.

  “Now that I’m pulling energy in so fast, I’m working with quite a small margin for error. It wouldn’t be hard to overload my body if I got distracted for a couple of extra minutes, so anything increasing that threshold would make things much safer.”

  “And I’ve got some pill credit with the dispensary, so I might be able to get them both if they’re not too expensive.”

  Dr. Vaughan pulled a small paper square from nowhere and scribbled a couple of barely legible names. “I believe they should be relatively cheap,” he said, sliding the page over. “There is little demand for anything to do with free-floating Qi.”

  “It’s not an area that is useful to most people.”

  “Good to hear,” Kevin grinned, taking the paper and tucking it in his pocket.

  A fresh worry struck, and he bit his lip before responding. “Um, the Qi storage pills are taking a long time to process. Is that going to be an issue?”

  “Blocked stomach meridian,” Dr. Vaughan sighed, eyes flicking to the side as Qi formed around his head. “No, you should not have a problem. Qi must be propagated through your energy system, while medicinal effects are dispersed through your body.”

  “Even the few individuals born with no stomach meridian have shown near-normal levels of response to medicinal pills.”

  “Phew,” Kevin sighed, wiping his forward. “Well, that’s a relief. So those pills solve the issue with Fire Qi in my body, but what about once it’s entered my sealed land?”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Dr. Vaughan winced, giving a helpless shrug. “I’m afraid there is not much I can suggest for you there.

  “Basic as your version may be, your sealed land is still an internal realm that lacks connections to the rest of your energy system. None of the pills we have in supply will have any effect.“

  “I could suggest a few natural treasures, but they are expensive and may not work. They will also be far outside your means until you enter the inner sect.”

  “All I can say for now is that it does not appear harmful beyond the discomfort you feel. If you wish to continue working with it, you may find that your sealed land adapts.”

  Dr. Vaughan pursed his lips as he finished, as if the man was annoyed with himself for not having more answers. His resolve seemed to waver for a moment, then he shook himself and continued.

  “You may find that Dr. Grange has more answers there; he was the one to prescribe the technique, after all.” Each word was slow as if the doctor had to drag it out of himself.

  “Thank you. I’ll see about getting in touch with him,” Kevin said, giving a brief bow. Admitting that another doctor might know more seemed quite a trial for Dr. Vaughan. He appreciated that the man had pushed himself to suggest it.

  Dr. Vaugan gave a terse nod in response and took a few moments before continuing. “Last, I have a piece of advice that you may find helpful, and it won’t cost you a thing. You mentioned your Earth Qi was slow to react as you withdrew it from your sealed land.

  “Yeah,” Kevin responded, leaning in eagerly. “Like I was trying to pull mud along. It got a little faster once it was out, but Instructor Li said it was still too slow to be useful in combat.”

  “That is not an uncommon problem with Earth cultivators,” Dr. Vaughn nodded with a calm smile. “However, most find that it is an issue with their own perception of Earth Qi, rather than the Qi itself.”

  “When you think about Earth Qi, what do you think of?”

  Kevin pursed his lips, considering. “A solid, enduring energy, I guess. One that is stable but slow to move.”

  “And when you think about it moving?”

  “Mud, I guess,” Kevin shrugged, glancing away. Was it that simple? “What else could I think of, though? Earth just seems slow to me.”

  Dr. Vaughan snorted, shaking his head. “Slow, is it? Would you say an avalanche or a mud-slide is ‘slow.’ Such catastrophes can even challenge a cultivator’s ability to evacuate civilians in time.

  Kevin’s mouth fell open, leaving him gaping like a fish. “Ah… I hadn’t considered those examples,” he coughed, looking away in embarrassment.

  The doctor had an excellent point; there were times when the earth could move faster than a mortal could run.

  Smiling as if happy to have reclaimed the position of all-knowing adviser, Dr. Vaughan continued. “Instead of viewing your sealed land as some mud-pit you must drag Qi from, think of it as the top of a hill or mountain.”

  “You don’t need to stop visualizing your Qi as mud; just see it as mud flowing down a steep slope to your destination. It is a simple change, but most Earth cultivators find it increases the speed of their Qi movements.”

  “Thank you again, Doctor Vaughan,” Kevin bowed a second time, deeper than the first. “I deeply appreciate the advice.”

  From what the man had said, he wasn’t even required to help beyond ensuring the initial fix had worked.

  Dr. Vaughan waved a hand as if saying it was nothing. “It is a doctor’s duty to help his patients to the best of his ability. That is all for now, however.”

  “Come see me again once you have reached the ninth grade. I will have a solution ready for the intense purification the second stage requires.” Dr. Vaughan nodded toward the door and pulled a book out of thin air.

  It was a clear dismissal, and Kevin muttered his thanks again before leaving. It wasn’t quite the cultivation speed boost he’d been hoping for, but he’d still received several valuable pieces of advice.

  Along with another lead on his Fire Qi issues. He’d have to follow up with Travis about Dr. Grange once he received the man’s reply.

  On the way back from his appointment, Kevin swung by the Pill dispensary. As Dr. Vaughan had suggested, the two pills he needed fit within his credit budget. They used up enough that his reminder would be too low for anything useful, but it was well worth it.

  Taking one of each, he jogged to the Fire Courtyard and settled in for a cultivation cycle.

  The effects of both pills soon became apparent. Every time Kevin had come to the courtyard before, he’d filled his body to the safe limit within six minutes.

  This time, he opened his eyes after ten.

  Ten minutes wasn’t his new maximum, either. In fact, he wasn’t feeling like his body was anywhere near full. Instead of enormous clouds of dispersed Qi, the energy he’d gathered was moving in denser clumps.

  At best guess, the first pill he’d taken was condensing it by about two-thirds, allowing him to fit triple the Qi in. Nor did he feel his heart rate skyrocketing from the massive quantity of Fire Qi.

  Instead, the clumps of Qi felt almost cool, as if the normal heat was being suppressed. If not for the remaining issue with Fire Qi in his sealed land, he would have continued gathering energy.

  As it was, he might have pushed things a little too far.

  His normal quantity of Fire Qi was already uncomfortable enough; the idea of pulling all this in sent a shudder through him. How bad would it get?

  Sometimes, he was far too greedy when it came to cultivation.

  Sighing, he closed his eyes again and began the spiritual void. His attempts to speed that up were ongoing, but he’d only knocked another minute off his usual time since the initial increase.

  Now that he’d tightened up the areas he was slacking in, any further improvement required an actual increase in skill.

  By the time he’d drawn the usual amount of Qi into his sealed land, Kevin could already feel the burn beginning. Even in his deep focus, he winced at the thought of intensifying the effect.

  Only to freeze as an epiphany struck him. Did he need to pull all of the energy in right now?

  Before his new pills, he’d needed to get the Fire Qi out of his body as fast as he could. Now, was there any reason he couldn’t leave the rest there?

  It wasn’t like he felt any adverse effects, and his body was far below its new maximum storage.

  In fact, couldn’t he visit the courtyard once in the morning, pull in three cycles worth of Qi, and then siphon it into his sealed land during the day?

  It would be a massive change to how he’d cultivated so far, but the improvement could be significant.

  Not only would he cut down on travel time, he’d be able to use small gaps in his schedule to cultivate. He’d seen other disciples do that, and it always left him feeling a little jealous.

  Part of him burned to try the idea right now, but Kevin forced himself to hold off. It would take most of the day for the current Fire Qi in his sealed land to burn off anyway, so gathering more wouldn’t be of much benefit.

  Further, it was risky to push too hard. Instead of going to the limit straight away, he should see how the remaining Fire Qi reacted in his body over the coming hours.

  About forty percent of what he’d gathered remained, floating in calm clumps around his body. If that continued, then his new idea might work.

  Grinning, Kevin rose and jogged back to his apartment. Dr. Vaughan may have given him an inadvertent speed boost after all.

  But for now, it was time for intensive formation crafting. He needed to step up his game if he wanted to impress Elder Fischer.