Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 385: Studying

Chapter 385: Studying

"I do have my eyes on a particular sorcerer to work under me," Dasha said. "But for now, they will have to wait.

Grace’s curiosity piqued. She leaned forward again, eyes wide. "Who is it? Come on, you have to tell me!"

"Wait and see."

Grace’s smile faltered slightly and playful pout fell. "Fine, keep your secrets," she teased. "But when you finally make your move, I’ll be the first to say ’I knew it!’"

She stood up from the chair and smoothed her dress, her hands brushing the fabric absentmindedly. "Unfortunately, I can’t stay long today. I only came here because Daughter ordered me to keep updating with you." Her expression darkened for a brief moment. A smile reemerged and brightened the room. "But I’ll be back soon with more books. I’ve still got to finish my own studies, you know."

Dasha gave her a brief nod, watching as she moved toward the door. She paused for a moment, glancing back at him with a smile that seemed more genuine than before.

"Take care of yourself, Dasha. And great job with all this. The Beggar Sect aren’t easy to tiptoe around."

The Beggar Sect was an information agency that directly competed with the Whispers of the Carious. Ever since the Sleeping Giant’s attack, the Whisper’s grasp of information in the Underground had loosened significantly. Oh, sure, there was the Hao Sect who had strong connections to the Imperial Sect but they were generally composed of brothels, gambling dens, and prostitutes. They were easy to avoid. It was why Gūniáng grew agitated from the bodies. The Hao Sect were able to tell him nothing.

The Beggar Sect, however, Dasha always had to keep an eye out for. He needed to deepen his Qi Sense. His eyes and ears had to be on constant watch.

"Anyway, if you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

The door closed softly behind her, and the room fell silent once more.

Dasha needed time to think. He planned to go back to Ares’ Symposium. That time was not now though.

The pressing matter was deepening his understanding of Qi; of this magical world and its properties. Sorcerers were the very top of the hierarchy of magical users. They were capable of shaping mountains and shaking the foundations of logic and reality. That was what it meant to be a Sorcerer.

Recently, he heard rumblings of a child prodigy capable of creating and manipulating storms. Such power was impressive indeed yet it was not the power to shake the world he was interested in. He wanted to sense. He wanted to keep aware of his surroundings.

He needed a way to detect Xavier and the Beggar Sect or whoever could potentially spy on him. His current objective to lay low and avoid observation in the first place could only take him so far. He needed to grow stronger.

Dasha crossed his legs on the chair and laid out a book written by the legendary sensor, Sandhya Chadha. Her first book for beginners Dasha had already read. Now it was time to move onto the intermediate level.

He had five hours until night fell and he could go to Ares’ Symposium. Five hours to read and meditate and further himself.

He flipped through the thick five-hundred page book in one minute. His brain took a second to compute it all. Then...

"The basics."

The basics. That was where everyone began, he began, and where Sandhya Chadha began. He sent out a pulse of energy, feeling it expand from his core and sweep the room. The feedback was familiar—he sensed the shape of the furniture, the walls, and, going deeper, traversing and worming through, the faint energies of the workers and poor men moving about in distant hallways. But he realized he was still only skimming the surface, as if he were touching the world with gloves on.

He focused on the feedback. The ripples of energy returned to him like echoes in a cavern, but they lacked clarity. He could sense a chair, but not its details—the grain of the wood, the small imperfections on its surface, the minute particles of dust resting on its arms. He needed to fine-tune these Qi Waves of perception.

Dasha decided to take a more focused approach. During his battle against the Monster Slayers, Dasha learned to send his Qi outward in a wide, sweeping wave in a specific direction. Dasha had to go smaller, more narrow. He picked one object close to him: the five-hundred textbook Grace gifted. He sent a pulse of Qi directly toward it, focusing solely on that one item.

It didn’t work. He gleaned only the shape.

Why?

Sandhya Chadha’s book was focused on analyzing types of magical sensing. It wasn’t a book on teaching. It was an in-depth historical record. It asked accounts from experts within the Old Mage Tower and the new. It asked why particular lines of thoughts were followed.

Dasha had taught himself through journals and books on how to feel his own energy, to control the flow of Qi within his body, and to extend that awareness outward in a limited capacity. Qi in one’s immediate vicinity and creating a kind of sonar—a pulse of energy that would ripple outwards, allowing him to map the area around him in exquisite detail. He figured all that out without a master, with only his own mind.

By reading Sandhya Chadha’s work, he hoped to interpret the research she gathered for his own usage. He skimmed through his memory and the detailed notes. He recalled her observations on Qi Sensing and how it was originally intended for peaceful endeavors. To feel the flavours of people and appreciate them.

Laozi, the Yellow Emperor, Nezha’s Universe Ring, there were many theories on where exactly the basis for Qi Sensing began. All anyone could say for certain was that the Original Cultivator coined the term and spread the technique far and wide. According to those that witnessed the Chaotic Era, the Original Cultivator’s Qi Sense was so great that he could peer into the future with it. Only a handful of Cultivators have been able to replicate that technique since then.

Was Qi Sense a matter of innate talent then? In other cultures, it sure was as transcribed in her book:

"In ancient Greece, the practice of sensing the invisible forces of the world was called aisthesis—an intuitive knowing that could be honed through intellectual refinement and discipline. ... They believed this power was innate in the philosopher-soldiers, a gift from the gods that could be sharpened through the pursuit of knowledge and virtue."

One of Sandhya’s leading conclusions was that Qi Sense was derived from those that possessed the ability to sense life innately, and these people tended to be enlightened. Empty of mind and desires.

There was a connection there. Rage was not the bridge. Neither was focus. Neither was emptiness.

Dullness.

Simply accepting rather than outwardly searching. Simply seeking for the sake of seeking.

"To view the future means to accept it in all its holiness."

A legendary quote from the Original Cultivator passed down by his students.

In front of him, it appeared without him asking. The book. He could feel the coolness of the book, its weight, and even the tiny fissures running through the pages. It was as if he were tracing it with invisible fingers, learning every nuance.

The pages. The hyperthin layers of material.

How many were there?

Could he count them?

That was what Dasha had to learn for himself.

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