Shattered!
Why did it shatter?
Was it because I didn't cover the sword with Qi uniformly? No… it can't be just that. I need to take this step by step, follow proper instructions. If I don't, I might end up dead before the trial even begins.
Damn it, I'm such an idiot.
What would've happened if I had tried this on my body without knowing the proper method? I could've been crippled for life.
Thank the heavens Solomon didn't start by teaching me how to augment my body with Qi.
With a mind clouded by worry and frustration, Luke finally turned his attention to the Qi Augmentation manual.
Three hours later…
Luke closed the manual after reading it twice from beginning to end.
The technique he had copied from Solomon wasn't entirely wrong, but attempting it without understanding how the internal Qi pathways worked was pure suicide. If not for some miracle, he would have been crippled—or worse, dead.
It was true that Luke could see Qi—a feat not easily achieved but sensing Qi from another person's body was far more complicated. While he could partially sense it thanks to the enhancement of his ability after multiple soul refinements, he had still assumed more than half of how it actually worked. Fortunately, his assumptions weren't entirely off the mark, which was likely the only reason he was still alive.
If he hadn't rushed in with excitement, he could have avoided this close call with death but it also turned out to be an opportunity for him. He gained a deeper understanding of his ability to see Qi.
Previously, he could only see the Qi particles around him with intense focus, but after refining his soul, he could now see them with far less effort even while moving. The refinement also allowed him to partially sense the flow of Qi through the Qi pathways in other cultivators, with an accuracy close to 50%.
In this case, he had sensed around 50%, and another 40% of his assumptions turned out to be true. But that remaining 10% variation was enough to shatter the sword. Had his assumptions been off by even 1% less than 40% accuracy he would have been crippled worse dead.
I need to be careful, even when doing simple practice. I must be 100% certain that whatever I train or attempt won't endanger my life or cripple my future potential.
That said, I know I can't avoid all risks. Without them, I would've never achieved what others couldn't even dream of.
But this… this was a foolish decision. Why the hell did I do this? I had an entire manual explaining how to proceed step by step in my hand reach. Risk is essential in cultivation, but recklessness is nothing but pure foolishness.
Second time, Luke gathered Qi from his soul and guided it through his Qi pathways. As the Qi flowed out of his hand, it wasn't entirely uniform like Solomon's, but it was 99% similar to that began to cover sword from hilt.
Swoosh...
Luke completely coated his sword with Qi. The sword brimmed with power, more than what Solomon had demonstrated when he blocked Luke's strike earlier and when he showcased the Qi argument.
Luke felt something was wrong.
Before he could pinpoint what it was...
BANG!
The sword shattered again, but this time, it shattered even worse than before.