Murim Recurve

Chapter 185 - A Sha’s Shell

The room was a rectangle, spanning thrice her height as the length and twice her height as the breadth. It wasn't a big room. And, hung on the wall at the back was an arm-length plate, spherical in shape, metallic.

Many details were inscribed on it, comprised of swirling lines and zigzagged scratches. And finally, embedded in the centre was the impression of a palm, deep enough as if a person's palm had fully pressed into the metal place to the limit.

The moment Ki'Nua looked at it, a formless energy wafted out from it and slammed into her. The energy didn't do any damage to her though, for it was Kalki Qi. It immediately lodged into her body, seeping into each of her cells before flowing into her meridians.

The Kalki Qi then flowed through the meridians, getting accumulated within the numerous nodes. The meridians too were a network similar to the nerves on the body. But, there was one difference here.

There existed numerous central veins, through those the Elemental Qi flowed at the greatest rate. And, some of such meridians either joined together at certain junctions or split into two or more branches of the meridians. Such places were termed the nodes.

And, these nodes were unique, in the fact they were like muscles and could be controlled by the Harmoniser. So, a Harmoniser was able to expand or contract each and every node. Usually, this was incredibly hard.

After all, even to use the muscles, one had to train for a significant time before they could even individually actuate each and every muscle in their limbs. To control the nodes in such a fashion was even more difficult and required decades of practice.

Even then, their expertise wouldn't have improved to an extent battle-ready. But, here came the Kalki Qi. It directly entered the nodes, seeping into them to imbue in the Harmoniser the experience of controlling the certain node.

So, in this way, it was as if they had been training to control the respective nodes for decades and were now able to instinctively control them.

As the nodes were junctions, they decided the flow of the Elemental Qi through the meridians connected to them. When expanded, it slows down the flow of Elemental Qi while increasing its volume.

And, when compressed, it increases the speed of Elemental Qi flow while decreasing its volume. And, it can also fully compress until it blocks the Elemental Qi from flowing past in. As there were thousands of such nodes throughout the body, a lot of variations could be exhibited through them.

And, using a variety of degrees of compression or relaxation on the nodes, the Elemental Qi could be emitted from the extremities of the meridians, which existed right under the skin and were nodes themselves.

And, by shaping the Elemental Qi flowing through the meridians, and the nodes under the skin through which they were emitted, and their sequence of emission, all combined result in a physical effect, usually termed the Pranic Art.

The Palm Projection was one such thing. For a normal person, it would take them probably their lifetime to master a single Palm Projection. After all, the steps to execute it required a lot of trial and error.

But, the Kalki Qi removed all that process and directly imbued the experience in the individual, making them capable of wielding the Pranic Art without any difficulties on their very first try. If thought about it, the concept alone was scary.

After all, even an untrained person could wield a Pranic Art to the same extent as a master. Everything was thanks to their Celestial Emperor who made such a feat a reality. All the plates containing the Pranic Arts and the massive metal plate containing the Cultivation Technique were all personally made by the Celestial Emperor.

One, it made obtaining knowledge from them incredibly easy for anyone from their race. And two, it prevented the foreign races from ever getting their hands on such knowledge. After all, the Kalki Qi was poison to them.

It was a foolproof method, using one action to check all the necessities and counter all possibilities of misuse.

Ki'Nua stared in amazement as everything needed to unleash the water element Palm Projection was imbued in her mind. Now, all she needed was a thought to unleash the Palm Projection. Upon sensing how the formless energy had vanished, Ki'Nua bowed towards the metal plate before exiting the room.

The City Lord had been waiting at the entrance, smiling upon seeing her exit. "Let your mother teach you the remaining about your duties. You'll begin your training as a Harmoniser from tomorrow. I'll occasionally come to give instructions whenever I am free. It would be hard, but I hope you persevere."

"It is my honour to learn and develop as a Harmoniser." Ki'Nua beamed with a smile as she bowed.

"Alright, let's leave now." The City Lord smiled and accompanied her to the exit, arriving back in the main hall as he bode her farewell.

Ki'Nua exited the main hall and noticed her mother, Ki'Nha standing at the entrance with anticipation, and a mixture of fear and hope. Upon seeing her, she was relieved, breaking into tears as she pulled Ki'Nua into a hug. "Thank god, you're safe."

The City Lord watched the scene from afar as he frowned, muttering under his breath, "The Withered Courtyard…mysterious."

His tone then turned respectful as he muttered, "Elder, did you obtain any clues?"

"Even using my third eye, I could only sense a vague connection on her. As to where it goes, I am unsure. After an arm's length away from her, all traces of the connection vanish. This is the first time I am witnessing such a powerful Sha." An Elder's voice resounded as the figure covered by the curtain appeared on the City Lord's right.

"But, if the information obtained by Ki'Nha is accurate, then there is a chance…" Another Elder appeared on the City Lord's left.

The City Lord gazed back, looking at the individual covered in curtains, spanning only half his height, one that spoke with a high-pitched tone, "There is a good chance the Withered Courtyard is a Sha's shell."