Joe sat upright as he waited for his body to recover from his injuries. The benefit of possessing a spiritual body inside his Soul Space was that he could heal faster than in his physical form. Ambient essence flooded his body as it reconstructed his splintered bones. His eyes remained fixed on the Goddess as she demonstrated the skill a second time.

  “When one has mastery over their spirit energy, they can harness it without wasting a single wisp. It is a basic skill that anyone who can manipulate essence should master. Normally, one learns this ability after unlocking all the Great Meridians, but since you have come this far, it would be cruel of me to turn you away because you lack that prerequisite. It only means you will have a harder time controlling your energy.” She clenched her fist. “Imagine a river flowing through your body. Direct the water to your fist and concentrate it there as if filling a pond. When it is full, strike with everything you have.”

  She punched forward and Joe’s hair blew back as a blast of force rushed past the side of his face. “Simple, right?”

  It looked simple, but Joe knew better than to judge without trying. Once his body was fully healed, he stood and attempted to replicate her technique. A surge of spirit energy burst from his body and wrapped around him as he tried to direct the flow toward his right fist.

  “No, you’re doing it wrong.” The Goddess shook her head. “Did you see any aura around me? You must concentrate all your energy inside yourself. When you cover your body in essence, you waste a great deal of it. Contain your spirit energy and push it toward a single point. The rest of your body will be vulnerable, but when you are attacking, that rarely matters. Later you can learn to mitigate that weakness. For now, focus on the basics. Try again.”

  Joe nodded. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He forced every strand of energy to remain within his body. It felt like taming a raging bull, but eventually he gained control. Then he guided the flow down his right arm like a river and gathered it in his fist.

  “Since this is your first time and you lack the Great Meridians, start with 50% of your essence,” she suggested.

  Joe nodded without breaking focus. He channeled energy steadily until it reached half his total capacity. The moment he threw the punch, his fist exploded, obliterating his arm from the elbow down. His eyes widened and he screamed, only to realize he felt no pain.

  ‘I forgot I can’t hurt myself with my own essence here.’

  Thick wisps of energy spilled from the wound.

  “Oh right, I forgot about that freakish soul of yours,” she said casually. “With such a powerful spirit, control will be more difficult. And without the Great Meridians, you have your work cut out for you. Let’s lower it to 35%.”

  “Good call.”

  After his arm regenerated, he reduced the energy to 35%. When it reached the threshold, he tightened his fist and punched. A blast of force shot toward the Goddess. She deflected it casually. It traveled eight meters before fading into the void. His hand exploded again, though this time only from the wrist down.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “That was good. Now do it again but without the explosion.”

  He tried repeatedly. His hand burst apart many times, but with each attempt he improved. He imagined his fist as a bucket and worked to fill it without spilling a drop. Gradually the backlash lessened. First it shattered every bone in his arm while leaving the flesh intact. Then it caused only fractures. Eventually it reduced to numbness and strained muscles. He exhaled as the last traces of essence drained from him.

  “Not bad,” she said. “You can now focus your energy to a single point without harming yourself, and that without the assistance of the Great Meridians. Even at 35% due to your soul, your output rivals what others would achieve at 90%. Now you must perform consecutive strikes within five seconds.”

  Joe nodded. “I’ve got it.”

  It proved far harder than expected. Moving his arm and gathering energy again within the time limit was exhausting. Sometimes energy leaked, earning him a sharp knock on the head from the Goddess, which hurt far more than he liked to admit. He started at thirty seconds between strikes. After an hour, he reduced it to ten. Eventually he reached five, then three, until he could perform consecutive attacks smoothly.

  “Now increase the number. Not just two.”

  Through trial and error, Joe reached multiple consecutive strikes. By then, they had likely trained for over five hours.

  Next came alternating arms within a three second limit. The transition caused frequent failures. In the worst cases, explosions tore apart his limbs. In the best, bones splintered and muscles tore. The Goddess advised him to imagine a pipe connecting both arms rather than separate channels. That visualization improved his flow. Over time he met the limit with only minor strain.

  Then she ordered him to channel essence to other body parts. He added elbows first. Explosions returned, but he adapted. Eventually he executed flawless elbow strikes.

  Channeling energy to his head was far riskier. The first time, his skull exploded and darkness consumed him. He regained awareness in the void moments later, only to receive a punch to the stomach for “resting” without permission.

  Gradually he reduced the damage to minor fractures, then a dull ache, until he could perform head strikes without harm. Knees followed, then legs. Managing essence across multiple limbs demanded intense focus. Mistakes destroyed his limbs more than once.

  Finally he integrated his feet. Dashing across the void while channeling energy revealed how much power he had wasted before. His speed increased drastically.

  After several more hours, Joe could shift his essence anywhere in his body without delay or waste. His strikes were faster and stronger. He felt like a different fighter.

  Exhausted, he nodded. “That’s enough for today.”

  “We’ve only begun. You must raise your essence control from 35% to 50%, then to 100%,” the Goddess said.

  “Later. I need to return to my original body. I have business to handle.”

  She pouted.

  “I’ll be back soon. I couldn’t have mastered this without you. Thanks, Serene.”

  She froze when he used her name. Clutching her chest dramatically, she pretended to faint. Joe rolled his eyes and walked toward the circle he created in the void.

  Suddenly she appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned closer, pressing her chest against his back. “Don’t you want to stay ten more minutes? We can do all that naughty stuff you were thinking about.”

  “I would but your chest isn't very accommodating, it's hard to get a grip when its a flat road.” Joe teased, finally expressing the thought that had been on his mind from the first time he met the Godess.

  Her expression darkened. She tightened her grip briefly before shoving him forward. “Get out.” She snapped her fingers.

  Everything went black as Joe was expelled from his Soul Space.