Heaven Awaits in Hell

Knock Knock

"Come in," Mo Li's assertive voice rang out.

Taking a deep breath, Fana entered his chambers.

Unlike yesterday, Mo Li was standing right in front of the door when she opened it.

Fana gasped in surprise and her whole body froze from anxiety as she stared at Mo Li's deep, penetrating gaze.

The next moment, with a charming smile, he asked, "Did you like my little gift?"

"W-why would you gift me s-something like that?" Fana asked with hesitation.

"Was it not to your liking? I thought you would be interested in learning martial arts," Mo Li said with a frown.

"No! That's not what I meant," Fana immediately corrected, "I meant that why would you give something so precious to me…"

"What's precious? I only gave you the basic knowledge about martial arts," Mo Li chuckled, "as for the reason why I gave that to you? It's because I want you to learn martial arts as well,"

"I see…" Fana replied, a bit disappointed. The maid's words from earlier had truly made her feel that Mo Li had developed feelings for her. His words poured water on her delusion.

"So did you try to feel Qi today?" he asked.

"I did…But I was unable to," Fana answered honestly. She had tried several times but failed.

"Haha, it's normal, one usually takes sixty days to be able to feel Qi for the first time," Mo Li chuckled and explained.

"Sixty days…" Fana repeated. She didn't expect it to take this long.

"Yes, it might seem long, but since absorbing Qi increases one's lifespan, it's a very small period of time when that is taken into account," Mo Li replied with a smile.

'Lifespan?!' Fana's eyes widened in shock, and an expression of anticipation soon formed on her face.

Seeing this, Mo Li's eyes squinted and he continued,

"However, age has always been a crucial factor when one starts Qi absorption. Therefore, most people start at the young age of thirteen. A body loses its proclivity towards Qi as it ages if Qi is not introduced into it."

Mo Li paused and continued,

"So, in your case, even if you're able to feel Qi, your body's rate of Qi absorption would be very slow.

In normal circumstances, it would be a miracle if you were even able to reach the seventh stage of Qi Building."

'This…' Fana's face became dejected very next moment.

All the hopes and dreams for the future that were going on in her mind were shattered.

Seeing her reaction, a satisfied expression formed on Mo Li's face.

He gently placed his hands over Fana's shoulders.

Fana's whole body shook in surprise, and her gaze went up only to meet Mo Li's charming face.

With a serious expression, he said, "However, there's a way for you to surpass this limitation. Something which only I could help you achieve. So, tell me, Fana, which path would you take?

The one that leads to mediocrity or the one where you could strive to become one of the strongest cultivators out there?"

Mo Li's words struck a chord in her heart as images of all she went through flashed in her mind.

Her family's death, her village's destruction, betraying Troy, betraying Zion…all that happened only because she was weak.

What if she were as strong as those cultivators she saw in her mind? Such things would never have happened. She blamed all her suffering and bad decisions on her weakness.

Remembering Troy's confused and shocked face and Zion's heartbroken expression, she clenched her jaws.

She had built those relationships all with a sense of reliance and faced the consequences of her decisions with pain and guilt. She did not want to feel that anymore.

'I don't want to live like this anymore.' A decision was made in her mind, and the very next moment, she glanced at Mo Li with a resolute expression.

"I want to get stronger!" Fana declared with conviction.

"Good, I didn't waste my words on you." Mo Li was impressed by her gaze and continued, "Sit down in a meditation position. You should know how it looks, right?"

Fana nodded at his words and sat in a lotus position.

Mo Li sat down similarly with his face towards her and said, "Give me your hand."

With a mixture of trust and uncertainty, she placed her hand over his.

"I'll start circulating Qi through your body for the next three hours. While closing your eyes, try to feel its presence, its flow and its texture.

This would familiarise you with the nature of Qi so you would be able to sense the surrounding Qi in much less than sixty days. Understand?'

Mo Li asked.

"Y-yes," Fana answered. She felt a bit overwhelmed by how much Mo Li was helping her, while also doubts began appearing in her mind.

'What does he want from me?'

However, now wasn't the time to dwell on these things. She closed her eyes the next moment.

"Stay silent and don't lose your focus, I'll be starting," Mo Li informed, and a red coloured Qi rose from his lower abdomen and through his right hand entered Fana's body.

A frown formed on Mo Li's forehead as he deliberately navigated his Qi inside Fana's body.

Going from her left hand towards her abdomen and from there rising up and finally exiting and returning to his body from her right hand.

That was one circulation.

Mo Li kept repeating the process because he knew that only after several such circulations would Fana be able to sense his Qi.

As time passed, Fana's worries grew. She was unable to sense anything, and doubts started forming in her mind.

It was only after an hour that Fana could sense subtle traces of something entering and leaving her body.

Reinvigorated, she began focusing fully on this sensation, trying her best to understand it.

Time continued to pass, and it was finally three hours.

"All right, that's it for today," Mo Li's voice entered her ears, and Fana finally opened her eyes.

A trace of surprise could be seen on her face.

Mo Li's blue robe was drenched in sweat, and beads of sweat were visible over his head as well.

"Circulating one's Qi in someone else's body is quite a strenuous task. So this much is expected," Mo Li answered her doubts and got up from his position.

"Here," Mo Li reached his hand towards her.

Fana accepted it and was helped up, but she was still staring at Mo Li's appearance.

Unable to control herself, she asked him, "Why would you go that far? Especially for someone like me…"

Mo Li's gaze met hers the very next moment. It was only now that Fana realised that she shouldn't have asked something like that. She was just a mere bedmaid.

"I'll tell you when you'll be able to feel Qi. It's night now, so go to your room and rest," Mo Li said.

Fana felt relieved that her words didn't offend him. She bowed towards Mo Li and left his chambers the next moment.

Mo Li finally couldn't pretend anymore, and his tired body collapsed on the bed.

'It was more exhausting than I thought,' Mo Li thought before closing his eyes.