A week into his new life, Axel finally felt like he was beginning to understand the basics of cultivation. The daily routine he'd established was simple but effective: morning meditation to replenish Qi, careful foraging for food, afternoon practice with active Qi use, and evening meditation until exhaustion claimed him.
The results were modest but measurable. His body felt stronger, more resilient. The constant fatigue that had plagued his first days had faded. And most importantly, the Qi in his dantian had grown from a tiny ember to a small but steady flame.
But on the eighth morning, something changed.
Axel was deep in meditation, drawing in ambient Qi as had become routine, when he felt something shift inside his body. The energy that usually flowed in a simple circuit from lungs to dantian suddenly... branched.
It was like discovering a new room in a house he thought he knew completely. The Qi pulse moved through a pathway he hadn't known existed, tracing a line from his dantian up along his spine, splitting and spreading like tree roots through his torso.
Meridians. These had to be the meridians the fragmentary memories had mentioned.
Axel held perfectly still, afraid that any movement would disrupt the process. The Qi explored these new channels tentatively, like water finding cracks in stone. Some pathways accepted the energy easily. Others resisted, blocked by something he couldn't identify.
The sensation was unlike anything he'd experienced before—not quite physical, not quite mental, existing in some space between the two. He could feel the meridians like phantom limbs, present but intangible, real but invisible.
According to the inherited knowledge, meridians were the foundation of all advanced cultivation. They allowed Qi to circulate throughout the body, strengthening flesh and bone, connecting the spiritual and physical into a unified whole. Awakening them was the key transition from Stage 1 Body Tempering to Stage 2 Meridian Awakening.
The process continued for what felt like hours but might have been minutes—time became strange during deep cultivation. The Qi in Axel's dantian slowly mapped out the meridian network, finding channels, testing pathways, establishing connections.
Not all meridians awakened. According to the memories, that required specific techniques and often external resources like spirit herbs or cultivation pills. But the main channels—the primary circuit that would allow for proper Qi circulation—those were beginning to open.
When Axel finally opened his eyes, the sun had moved significantly across the sky. His body ached in strange ways, as if he'd run a marathon while simultaneously doing nothing at all. But beneath the discomfort was a sense of fundamental change.
He stood and immediately noticed the difference. His movements were smoother, more coordinated. The Qi no longer sat passively in his dantian—it circulated continuously through the newly awakened meridians, a gentle current that enhanced everything it touched.
Axel threw a test punch at the air, channeling Qi into his arm as he'd done instinctively during the boar encounter. This time the energy moved faster, more naturally, following established pathways rather than forcing through resistant channels.
The difference was night and day.
He spent the afternoon experimenting with his newly awakened meridians, testing their capabilities and limitations. The Qi circulation was automatic now, requiring no conscious effort, but he could direct it with intention—sending more energy to his legs for speed, his arms for strength, even to his eyes, which seemed to sharpen his vision slightly.
Every test revealed new possibilities and new questions. How many meridians were there total? How did you awaken blocked ones? What happened when all of them were fully open?
The inherited memories provided fragments of answers, but nothing comprehensive. The original owner of this body had barely begun cultivation before dying, leaving Axel with conceptual knowledge but no practical guidance.
He would have to figure it out through experimentation, observation, and careful practice. The thought was both daunting and exciting—he was essentially conducting scientific research on a magic system, using his own body as the laboratory.
As evening approached, Axel returned to his meditation spot with renewed focus. The meridian awakening had opened new possibilities, but it had also depleted his Qi reserves significantly. He needed to replenish and stabilize before pushing further.
The ambient energy flowed into him more easily now, as if the awakened meridians made him more receptive to the world's Qi. What had taken hours before now took minutes. His cultivation speed had increased noticeably.
This must be why cultivation became easier as you advanced—each stage built upon the last, creating a snowball effect where progress accelerated rather than slowing down. At least in the early stages. The inherited memories suggested that higher realms became progressively more difficult, requiring years or even decades between breakthroughs.
But that was a problem for future Axel. Present Axel just needed to keep moving forward, one small step at a time.
As darkness fell and the forest filled with its nocturnal sounds, Axel continued his meditation. The Qi flowed through his meridians in gentle pulses, like a second heartbeat echoing through his spiritual body.
He was at Stage 2 Early cultivation now—Meridian Awakening. Still weak by any reasonable standard, but stronger than he'd been yesterday. Stronger than he'd been an hour ago.
In a world where power was survival, that continuous improvement was everything.
Axel breathed in, feeling the world's energy flow through newly opened channels. Breathed out, letting his Qi circulate and strengthen.
The path ahead was long and dangerous. But for the first time since awakening in this strange world, he felt like he might actually have a chance.
Not just to survive, but to truly live.