Chapter 11: Research of Qi and Chakra II

I apologize in advance if you think there is a lot of info dump, I will try to reduce it in the future.

What do you think of the novel? I would love some opinions, I’ll read and comment on all of them.

Yujin was inspired as he spoke about Qi. Tsunade only interrupted to ask something she didn’t understand or to discuss a difference she noticed between Qi and Chakra.

For instance, while Chakra is internally generated at the intersection of mental and physical energy, Qi is formed by accumulating external energy.

When Tsunade asked if he was talking about natural energy, he smiled and replied slowly.

“Yes and no. To explain, I first need to establish the concept of natural energy and see if we are talking about the same thing. For example.”

Yujin sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes. He remained silent for a few minutes, and Tsunade didn’t interrupt him. He then opened his eyes and, after seeing her puzzled expression, responded.

“As I thought, you can’t feel...”

Yujin began to scratch his chin, trying to understand the implications of this. He had just discovered something crucial, perhaps the most fundamental difference between Qi and Chakra.

“Yujin, Yujin, hey, hey, what’s happening?”

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that Tsunade took a while to get his attention.

“So ... What is natural energy to you?”

“Natural energy is the energy of nature, of the surroundings. It’s in everything.”

Yujin nodded, satisfied with her brief answer.

“Well, then you know what natural energy is, but it seems our concepts are a bit different...”

He lost himself in thoughts again, but this time Tsunade didn’t interrupt him. A few minutes later, he started speaking.

“Look, the concept you mentioned is correct, but let me add some points. First, every martial artist from where I come from can absorb natural energy, and that’s how Qi is created. It’s the combination of internal energy with external energy.”

Tsunade, who knew a lot about Sage Mode, was surprised. Wasn’t that Sage Mode? Sage Mode is when you merge Chakra with natural energy.

“But where I come from, there are two different concepts of natural energy, and only someone who has reached a high level of martial arts can distinguish them. The first concept is that natural energy is the energy of the world, and we can use it to create Qi. This concept is the most well-known, and every martial artist knows it.”

“The second concept is only discovered when you become a Grandmaster, which is the fact that natural energy is not just energy but also intent.”

“Earlier, when I sat down and closed my eyes, I was channeling the first concept, which is the most commonly used. I absorbed natural energy through my body to increase my Qi reserves. But for some reason, you didn’t feel anything.”

Tsunade recalled how Yujin sat and closed his eyes. She watched him the whole time but didn’t feel anything different.

“If a martial artist had seen me, they would have felt the natural energy from the surroundings accumulating around me, slowly being absorbed into my body, and then the impure energy expelled after a breathing process. But you didn’t feel it, so we can conclude that the first and most vital difference between me using Qi and you using Chakra is that the first concept of natural energy doesn’t exist for you, which is intriguing. Maybe your body is different, and you can’t feel it, or you lack the necessary breathing techniques.”

“Wait, I don’t understand, what do you mean by another ‘concept’? The way you’re talking, it’s like natural energy has two different properties.” Tsunade was getting confused with the conversation. It’s as if Yujin was arguing that natural energy had two different aspects.

“You’re not entirely wrong; that’s more or less what I mean. It’s an evolution of perception. Before becoming a Grandmaster, natural energy is just a way to accumulate Qi, and it’s just an empty and intentless energy that exists around. Even if you think there might be something more to it, you don’t ‘understand’ it without a shift in perspective. To have that shift in perspective, you need to reach a high level of martial arts; to reach the Grandmaster level, which is the highest level.”