Chapter 18. Galaxy Martial God Hall - The Amusement Park Kidnapping Incident (1)
Quite some time had passed since I was reincarnated into the Galaxy Martial world.
Because Siu was constantly by my side, I couldn't accelerate time drastically using my 3D Avatar.
Since the 3D Avatar was ultimately something I controlled, if I sped up the time flow, Siu would inevitably notice something strange in our conversations.
Therefore, I spent my time learning and training martial arts within my Avatar, while spending other times in the 3D Avatar at three or four times the normal speed.
When it came to sleeping, unless I felt that my mental fatigue required rest, I would skip it at 1,000x speed.
As I kept accelerating time, about four months had passed by my internal clock, and I was already three years old.
As the inconveniences of being a baby gradually faded away, Siu’s training became stricter and longer.
At the same time, I began to feel less need for time acceleration.
The reason I had accelerated time until now was because of the growing pains and hospital visits that a baby inevitably experiences.
Since those issues were disappearing, I decided to spend my time normally in the body of my Reincarnation Avatar.
Although I was still physically immature in many ways, martial arts are most effective when learned at a young age, and I couldn't afford to waste such a prime period through time acceleration.
Siu checked my pulse for a moment and said, "You have reached a point where it is safe to begin conditioning your body to a certain extent."
Until now, Siu had only made me memorize and practice the forms and techniques of martial arts, but she had not forced me to undergo physical conditioning.
Of course, moving my body had provided some level of physical training, but it could hardly be called serious conditioning.
That was only natural, as overworking a newborn would only hinder my future growth.
"While it is generally recommended to begin formal martial arts initiation at the age of seven, you, Young Master, have gained the sturdiness of someone over seven years old thanks to the Spiritual Elixirs and the Cleansing the Meridians process you've undergone since you were a baby."
I heard that in the direct line of the Cheon Family Clan or other influential households, children go through the same process as I did.
Of course, there are almost no babies who take everything they are given and undergo training as obediently as I do, so it seems it is common for them to be unable to digest the Spiritual Elixirs they are forced to consume.
I know myself well; I had absolutely no physical talent.
"Then let's start training immediately."
Since I lacked physical talent, I had to stay a few steps ahead in this way to avoid falling behind in the competition against those who would become my peers.
To be precise, I should say I had to delay falling behind.
I was scheduled to enter a school where the direct descendants of the clan attended.
My goal was always to climb the Tower, so the competition with my peers was none of my concern, but the problem was that if I fell behind in the competition, the quality of the clan's support would also drop.
Until elementary school, all direct descendants receive equal support and attend the same elementary school.
However, when graduating from elementary school and moving up to middle school, their aptitude is evaluated, and they are divided into the First Middle School and the Second Middle School.
Even if I go to the Second Middle School, I can still receive support from the clan, but the quality of that support is lower, and the instructors' skills are said to be inferior as well.
For high school, the division becomes even more granular based on grades and aptitude, splitting into a total of four high schools.
Of course, I had Siu, my martial arts master, and the inheritance left behind that could substitute for the clan's support.
But the problem was that my inheritance was locked away until I became an adult.
Well, if I said I needed to buy Spiritual Elixirs to consume, they would allow me to spend the money.
Still, wouldn't it be better to receive the support provided by the clan rather than spending my own money to buy elixirs?
"Young Master, it is good to be motivated, but you don't have to overexert yourself. You can grow sufficiently even without the clan's support."
Siu warned me not to overdo it and sat me down.
"I will now teach you the technique to awaken the internal energy sleeping in your Dantian. Please use the Cultivation Method."
At Siu's words, I used the Azure Wood Art I had learned so far.
Through my breathing, my Qi circulated throughout my body and headed toward my Dantian.
The Qi heading to my Dantian moved along the meridians, following Siu's Qi that had entered through my back.
I had only been growing and filling my Dantian with Spiritual Elixirs and breathing exercises until now, so this was the first time the Qi inside my Dantian was flowing out of it.
"It moves now because I am guiding it, but you won't be able to do it well on your own. Do not feel impatient if your internal energy doesn't move as you wish; you must practice slowly and step by step. If you move too hastily while in an unskilled state, you could have an accident like a car with broken brakes."
"I understand."
Speaking of cars, the reason why wheeled vehicles were still the mainstream even in the 50th century was because of the grip of the tires.
Levitating cars could stop as if hovering, but they couldn't possess the same stability as having wheels attached to the ground.
Of course, wheeled cars were also equipped with levitation functions, so there was no real reason to distinguish between the two.
One might wonder if levitation is even necessary for driving.
But in this world, there was a "Levitation High-way," a dedicated highway for levitating vehicles, which allowed for safer and faster travel over long distances than regular highways, making the levitation function essential.
Once you entered the Levitation High-way, the control of the car was transferred from the driver to the highway's system, creating a structure where traffic jams were impossible.
There were even highways that crossed the ocean, so it was more accurate to view levitating cars not as cars, but as personal aircraft that could also function as cars.
"Now, once you've grasped the sensation, try to stimulate your Dantian while breathing slowly."
Following Siu's guidance, I tried to awaken my Dantian slowly.
However, just as Siu said, awakening the Dantian was not easy.
Managing to stimulate the Dantian just enough to make the internal energy inside it slightly escape the Dantian was the best I could do.
I was feeling somewhat disappointed, but Siu clapped her hands.
"As expected, Young Master, you have a talent for handling Qi!"
"I have talent? I failed, didn't I?"
"You only felt the sensation of drawing Qi out of the Dantian once, but you managed to pull at least a little bit of Qi out of it. Usually, one has to feel the sensation about thirty times before they can even make a proper attempt, so this is surprising."
Come to think of it, the old man at the library also said I had a talent for magic.
Since Qi and mana seemed to be the same power in essence, it appeared I had a talent for handling Qi as well.
As I was thinking that, Siu said with relief.
"I was worried because while your memorization was excellent while learning martial arts, your progress in reaction speed and physical strength was slow, but I am relieved."
"...Was it that bad?"
"Ah, it wasn't quite 'bad.' ...I just thought it was average."
Siu slightly avoided my gaze, but she didn't correct her assessment.
"Well, I had already guessed that I lacked physical talent. Siu's training had been getting increasingly difficult, after all."
"I apologize."
"No, it's fine. If there are shortcomings, I must work harder and put in more effort to fill them. Knowing yourself accurately is the foundation of growth."
Difficult training is actually what I wanted. At my words, Siu nodded.
"You are correct. Even if your physical abilities are lacking, your comprehension is superior to anyone else's, Young Master, so you have more than enough to make up for your deficiencies."
I smiled lightly at Siu's words.
"Work me harder so I can fill in those gaps."
And not long after, I regretted it.
Damn it, if I had known it would be this hard, I would have thought more carefully before speaking.
* * *
I was running on a treadmill, wearing something like an oxygen mask.
"Breathing is the foundation of all martial arts. If your breathing collapses, your posture and judgment will falter. Also, the amount of internal energy you recover in one breath will decrease. It can be said that the most important thing for a martial artist is lung capacity."
After running for a long time, when I collapsed from exhaustion, Siu would use Cleansing the Meridians to relieve the fatigue in my body, and then we would move on to the next training.
After running came anaerobic exercise.
"Strength training is the basic power that supports the body. Since you have not yet reached your growth spurt, high-weight training is forbidden, but you must perform high-repetition training to compensate for the low weight. The advantage of high-repetition training is that it not only promotes muscle growth without overexertion but also helps increase your lacking stamina and endurance."
High-weight training is efficient, but it puts a heavy burden on the body.
For a child's body, low-weight, high-repetition was the best.
The burden of a single repetition is small, and I could push my body to its absolute limit.
The anaerobic exercise was divided into three parts: arms, torso, and legs.
Siu pushed me to my limit with ghostly precision, and immediately after reaching that limit, she would increase my physical boundaries little by little through short rests and additional training.
Although I had asked Siu to help me achieve maximum growth, I was human after all, so it was inevitable that I would feel regret as my body ached.
Still, I had no intention of whining like a child and telling her to stop.
I wasn't a real kid, and I couldn't throw away such a golden opportunity to be taught by a martial artist of the Transformation Realm just because I was tired.
If a man sets a goal, he must do his best to reach it.
If you aim for the moon, you might eventually become a star.
After the anaerobic training, it was mealtime.
Meals were served five times a day, not three, with snack times added in between.
In fact, the increase in meals was unavoidable.
The more I moved my body, the more calories I burned, and I had to eat to replenish those calories.
Siu's cooking was always delicious, so eating wasn't a problem.
After meals, I would do some simple stretching and then study Chinese characters and memorize the human anatomy charts and meridians, which were essential for the Cultivation Method.
Since Chinese characters were a language, I could read them as if I had already studied them, but memorizing the anatomy charts and meridians was quite a headache.
"I know it’s complicated, so you don’t have to rush to memorize it. Learning the human anatomy charts and meridians is usually part of the middle school curriculum."
"Then why are you teaching it to me?"
At my question, Siu smiled brightly.
"You need to understand the structure of the human body to maximize the efficiency of your strength training. Your growth in physical limits is slower than I anticipated."
Having cracked the whip with those words, Siu offered a carrot in the form of praise.
"Still, your persistence is remarkable, and you’re following the training well. Plus, your sense for manipulating Qi is nothing short of genius. At this rate, you’ll reach the Third-Rate stage soon."
A Third-Rate martial artist—the realm where one strengthens the body with the internal energy accumulated during the Initiation stage.
"Come to think of it, people say internal energy is the most important thing. Wouldn't it be better to focus on internal cultivation rather than physical training?"
It wasn't that I was saying this because the physical training was too grueling.
...Well, maybe that was part of it, but that wasn't the only reason.
"That is certainly true once you reach the Transformation Realm. However, without a solid physical foundation, you won't even reach the First-Rate stage, let alone the Transformation Realm. Martial arts are, in essence, a methodology for moving the body. You’d need to be at least at the Peak Realm before you could prioritize internal cultivation over physical conditioning."
Ah, I see. There is no escaping this grueling training.
I resigned myself—or rather, accepted the reality—and began stretching for the next round of training.
I’ll probably collapse into sleep tonight.
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