Chapter 23: Self Assessment
Luo Fei was stunned by Ryujin's question, so she subconsciously thought out loud;
"Still hungry even after two squirrels?"
"Yes, very very."
The previous meal was just an appetizer to Ryujin, so he was truly far from satisfied.
He didn't know why, but as his physique improved due to his rigorous training, he had realized that his blood were needing more and more atmospheric Qi to form the equal amount of Vital Qi he usually generated.
Furthermore, the amount of Vital QI he needed to circulate through his entire body also increased significantly, leading to more hours spent on training and Qi absorption, and then more hunger pangs.
Then, since his parents and uncle had instructed him not to reveal his situation to his cousins, that meant he couldn't eat his fill in their presence as well, otherwise, they might suspect him to be different, since no normal child his age, or even adults should eat that much.
"Please, let's use the outdoor campfire. I need to get used to not using a fireplace." He added.
Since he could no longer eat his fill in the house, that means he would have to start hunting his meal and eating out, and in the forest, he wouldn't have the luxury of a fireplace or wok.
Luo Fei almost face-slapped herself in self-ridicule; "Right, right. I almost forgot about your family issues."
After instructing him how to choose the right spot for a campfire, she showed him how to prepare a make-shift kebab with tree branches.
The final lesson was about the optimal distance between the meat and the fire to avoid burning the it, and how to recognize when it was ready to be eaten.
After memorizing everything, Ryujin began to follow the perfected methods of his pupils and Origin Codex.
His Metavision was concentrated around the meat and campfire, and as such, Luo Fei was totally oblivious to its existence and usage, even after she noticed that he had deviated from the methods she had just taught him.
Then just as she was just about to berate him for having been distracted during her lessons, and missing the important parts of her instructions, a mouthwatering delicious smell suddenly wafted into her nostrils.
~Grrr~
Instantly, her mouth began to water, even as her stomach began to give their reviews on the delicacy Ryujin was making.
The blinker was getting roasted with a speed visible to the naked eye, the skin turning into a crispy crust, releasing the fat that Ryujin evenly spread all over its body with uncanny mastery.
~Gulp~
'Damn it, get a grip!' Luo Fei chastised herself upon realizing her mouth was already slobbering with saliva.
She felt utterly embarrassed, the aroma wafting off the Skitties had been so irresistible, that even her tummy growled every other minute, despite having had her breakfast less than two hours ago.
Ryujin lifted the skewer off the campfire before lowering the temperature to avoid burning himself while eating.
Then without giving face to any sort of gentlemanly courtesy, he began to wolf down the meat, ripping it apart with his bare hands.
First the drumsticks, then the breast and lastly the wings.
It lacked salt, and the meat wasn't as tender as a roasted chicken since they had not let the meat undergo any maturation' nonetheless there way something especially satisfying about it.
Perhaps, it was due to the fact that he could now hunt his own food, or perhaps because he had ben the one to prepare it himself, or even perhaps because he wouldn't have to burden his family with his overgrown appetite.
"I can't believe it, I cannot feel the hunger anymore." He fell to his knees in so much euphoria, that his moistened almost to the verge of shedding tears.
However, Ryujin's moment of euphoric respite didn't last too long; regardless, he couldn't help but imagine how soon he would feel it again.
'I need more! I can't allow hunger be amongst the roadblocks of my cultivation journey.' He thought to himself as he smiled at the rising sun in the distance.
There were still a couple of hours before noon, and he definitely still had more than enough time to go hunting.
"Master, I need a favor. I need a place to hide my own game, the one I am not willing to share."
"Just call me Luo Fei, hunters do not waste time with honorifics, we are practical people." She said, waving her hand as she dismissed the idea of the need for a title.
"As for your request, I don't make favors, only deals.
What about this: from tomorrow onwards you will come here every day and clean my house, and maybe from time to time cook something for me with that new method of yours.
In exchange, I will keep your personal meat safe and sound, and whenever you cook for me, we will share the meal evenly. Deal?" Luo Fei explained, offering her hand to him for a handshake.
Ryujin paused momentarily as he thought about it.
It was still a rip-off deal, but it was the only option he had at the moment.
"Deal. But I have only one rule. I won't be doing any form of laundry."
Hearing this, Luo Fei nodded and shook his hand as they cleared up the area and went about their own businesses.
---
In the next days Ryujin's house resounded with much more laughter and joy than usual. Him bringing game home had raised some questions, but nothing he couldn't explain easily.
The food helped everyone to relax and let go of the stress of their current plight.
But more importantly, Ryujin had instantly, used the happy atmosphere and relaxing mood to pop open another idea (more like request) to the family, and he was surprised to realize that they all readily agreed.
Apparently, he had requested for some martial art techniques that his family might have, and the permission to train them.
Though they might have been opposed to the idea of the kids cultivating in the past, but their situation with Ryujin, as well as their tragic past, had loosened and almost completely debunked that notion.
Perhaps it would have been totally debunked by now, if not for the fact that they didn't want Dara and Jada to start suspecting them all; after all, they were both smarter than their ages; nine.
With all of that being said, it didn't mean both families didn't have martial arts techniques; after all, even if one ignored the fact that Shin, Raja and Lin were already cultivators, there was still the fact that their respective families both had platoons of guards in their heyday.
Thus, Raja and Shin had given Ryujin the few ones with them and promised to lay their hands on any other ones they could find.
With that, Ryujin's routine became very simple but much harder.
He did his usual amount daily training routines in the mornings alone, went hunting and ate in the afternoon, trained his perfected martial arts at night, and then use his mental sense to automate his Vital Qi production and circulation just before sleeping.
Thanks to this new daily routine, it didn't take too long for Ryujin to build enough endurance and stamina to go almost an entire week without needing or being forced to rest.
Thus after using his Metavision to confirm that the entire house was asleep, he would sneak out to train martial arts.
In just his first week of training, Ryujin was stunned to find numerous problems surrounding his prowess.
Firstly, maybe because he was only four years old, or because of his lack of enough activity whilst growing up, or even because he had highly improved his physique in recent times, Ryujin realized that his body had now felt almost foreign to his senses.
His body was embarrassingly clumsy and lacked any form of bearing and coordination.
Whenever someone threw anything at him, even a chestnut from a meter away (3 feet), he would either miss it entirely or dunk it on the floor.
Moreover, he also understood that while his mental sense was very strong and quick to unleash, (especially with his Focus Qi), it was not instant.
He could not afford to become a sitting duck as soon as someone closed in on him too quick to react, or even to close for him to launch an attack without sharing the damage as well.
Cultivation was undeniably powerful, but not omnipotent. What good would it possibly do him, if he was being able to topple mountains with his mind, but unable to last a few rounds against a thug or bully?
He felt that it would be a dumb idea to treat his body, mind and soul as three separate entities; after all, he was a living example of the contrary.
Just the limitations of his physical body alone had affected not only his mental sense (which should have been 100 times stronger that what it currently was), but also his soul, (as he couldn't even sense the blob of bloodline essence or Chrono-Cube of Myriad Realms at all.)
Cultivating Spiritual and Vital Qi had always helped him destress and relax his mind; almost exactly how recovery training helped athletes regain their physical fitness, or how reading always helped one be at optimal cognitive capacity, at all times.
To Ryujin, brute strength was nothing more than barbaric violence, while pure intellect were simply ideas with no substance.
It was only when the body is fit enough to react to one's ideas that true fighting prowess is born. Thus, he decided he would have to train both his body, mind, and soul simultaneously so that he could reach attain his ideal level of fighting prowess.
However, he also remembered the advise Yama had given him when he was about to refine the blob of bloodline essence; that the best thing in such situations was to find a perfect balance.
He was also fully aware that his soul was the strongest of all his assets at the moment, followed by his mind, his body and lastly his spirit (Qi).
However, there was no way Ryujin could bring up the other pillars of his cultivation the the level of his soul's in a short period of time.
Nonetheless, he knew that if he could match his body reaction speed, with that of his senses and reflexes, then with the aid of his Metavision, he should be able to at least keep himself safe, have much success during his hunts, and finally increasing his own odds of survival in the face of tragedy.
There were five training regimes Ryujin had in mind to help him achieve such prowess, and he meant to complete them all before training any martial art techniques.
After all, what use is trying to comprehend a martial art technique when one can't even boast total control over one's own body?
---
The first thing Ryujin planned on tackling was his gravity core (or center of gravity); he wanted to learn how to find it regardless of any disruptions in his movement or body balance.
Something kept telling him that the speed at which he found his center of gravity, and reposition his body weight onto it might be the difference between surviving and dying in a life or death battle.
---
Secondly, he wanted to focus on the process of strength accumulation that leads to perfect and complete power output.
The reason why some people's actual damage falls short of the one they had mental envisioned was specifically because they skipped or weren't diligent in this part of their training.
This training not only required one to have a perfect understanding of every fiber of their physical body, but also an understanding of the specific movements that would trigger a power release from various muscles as well.
The moment one knows the efficient movements, that would trigger the specific muscles, that can produce maximum power, to any part of one's body, then one could be said to have mastered this training regime.
At its pinnacle, a simple flick of one's finger can possess enough power to tear muscles, dislocate joints and even crush bones.
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