Life went on peacefully in the outer ring of Balvan mansion, the only peculiar thing was a little kid going to the guards' building every week.
At first, he would always come out of the building full of bruises, but as time went by, the wounds on his body started to diminish, and a faint pressure began to surround him.
One of those days, that same little kid was seen early in the morning again while he was marching toward that guards' building.
'It's been two lessons since I last got hit. I wonder if in today's sparring Master will raise his combat level again.'
Since his second lesson, William had kept on engraving the forms of the martial arts on Noah's mind.
After three months of conditioning, his techniques were nearly perfect in their execution, so his Master chose to intensify the complexity of the training.
They had started to spar freely as William would boost his own performance each time Noah managed to hit him consistently.
By then, however, although that condition had already been fulfilled twice, his Master would still hold back from pushing his disciple beyond his limits.
Entering the usual room, Noah was surprised to find his Master sitting cross-legged on the floor, waiting for him.
No traces of his usual sleepiness were present as he was staring at a fixed point of the room with vacant eyes, probably in deep thought.
"Master, you're early!"
William's eyes regained their focus as he stood up and looked at his disciple with a complex expression.
"Can you use the "Breath" in your style?"
Noah was taken aback by that question.
Since the "Breath" in his body was limited, his Master had always forbidden him to release it during their spar or his personal training.
Noah's schedule was always so full that he could not find the time during his day to refill it with the Ice-Fire revolving technique.
His Master knew this, so he chose to forbid its usage and let it focus on nourishing the kid's body.
As a matter of fact, during the training, he had only tried to manipulate it, without ever releasing it.
That day though, things seemed different.
"I think I can, even if I have never used it in an actual fight, I should get the hang of it in a couple of tries. Why is that?"
William did a light smile as a bit of warmth leaked from his expression.
During those months, he had begun to better understand his disciple.
He would always smile and speak seemingly without overthinking, but he knew how things really were.
Noah was ruthless, he treated his body and mind like a piece of metal going through forging.
If the body did not bend, he would hammer it till it did, no matter how much pain he would suffer in the process.
If his mind were weak, he would heat it till its effects would reverberate to the body, causing a constant nauseous feeling lingering upon him.
He knew how much Noah was training and how determined he was in his search for power, so William could not help but start developing some kind of affection and even respect for him.
'This kid says that he might do it in a couple of tries, is he bluffing? Maybe he just doesn't know how much practice is needed to actually perform it. What a pity, if his position were different, he could have taken things slowly and have a bright future, with his talent and perseverance it's just a matter of time before he even surpasses me. Yet, the guys in the inner circle will never allow someone from outside the family to become too strong, especially someone that might have reasons to get revenge on them.'
The complex expression on William's face became more evident as he exhaled a sigh.
"Do you know how much time has passed since our first meeting?"
Noah thought for a little, and then realization dawned upon him.
He was so engrossed in his training that he had forgotten about the passage of time, but when his Master asked the question, he understood.
"That's right, almost six months have passed, and your progress with mental energy has long surpassed the standard I had set for you. Next week we will begin the treatment, so the "Breath" in your body is not that useful anymore. We better start with real martial art, that'll grant you some advantage if you manage to survive the process."
Noah's expression became serious.
'The time has indeed come, the life I was living was too perfect to continue, I almost forgot that all my training will be useless if I don't push my body to the next level.'
Thinking this, he went to the usual wall to pick two sabers and stared at his Master with resolution.
"No reasons to waste time then, right, Master?"
The slight smile on Noah's face was a blow delivered to William's mind.
'Does he really not care about death?'
He shook his head to repress the thought and took the usual wooden stick pointing it at Noah.
"Then come at me as usual, but this time try to mix some "Breath" attacks in the spar. You should be able to do three or four of them before the "Breath" in your arms depletes."
Hearing these words, Noah waited no more.
He swiftly charged at William with his body crouched so low it seemed he could fall on the floor anytime.
When his Master entered his range of attack, he thrust both his sabers in a diagonal uppercut infusing "Breath" according to the art's instruction.
Yet, his timing was a bit off, and the result was only a simple double uppercut that William easily blocked by positioning his stick horizontally.
"Almost. Again."
Noah rushed once more, this time in a cross-slashing position, but the result was the same as before.
"Concentrate! You can do your forms almost perfectly, and I know you can move your "Breath" according to the instructions, you only need to synchronize them!"
William knew that the process of synchronization wasn't so easy as he said but still wanted to increase the pressure on his disciple.
The only thought in his mind was how to increase the chances of the survivability of his disciple.
Even considering the poor results, he wanted to increase his handling of the "Breath" before the treatment.
This time, Noah didn't immediately rush to attack him but closed his eyes to sharpen his mind, his only thought became the rhythm of the twin saber style.
When he opened his eyes, he was ready for the last attack.
He slowly exhaled and then charged at William with a horizontal slash.
William mentally nodded and received his attack.
A piece of wood fell on the ground, it was half the stick in William's hands.
William stared astonished at the saber laid on his throat.
'That... That's a perfect execution! I aimed for him to dent the stick slightly, never would I imagine that he could cut right through it with some blunt weapons!'
Noah realized the situation he was in and hastily retracted his sabers. Some sweat was on his face and back, apparently using a martial art synchronized with "Breath" was way more tiring than what appeared.
"I'm sorry, Master! I didn't realize I could actually cut through it, luckily I stopped myself at the last moment."
William cleared his throat and touched the spot where the saber was lying just the moment before.
"Don't... Don't worry, it's fine. Do you think that your Master is so weak that a mere disciple could hurt him? Hmph! I have a rank 3 body, do you think that a martial art of rank 2 empowered with your poor "Breath" can actually-"
He had to interrupt, seeing Noah pointing at his throat.
A drop of blood was slowly falling from there.
"You wretched disciple. Don't be so smug about it!"
Noah could not help but laugh a little when he saw his Master lose his cool, but then William calmed himself and looked seriously at Noah.
Noah understood that it was the time for his last instructions before the following week, so he listened attentively.
"Next week, don't climb the stairs for this floor, but wait at the bottom of them, I will meet you there. I will perform the treatment in another place, after all the screams of a kid are not the happiest sounds to hear."
Noah gulped when he heard the word "screams" but then focused again, he had already decided to put his life on the line.
"If you survive, you will probably spend a week bedridden for your body to get used to its new acupoints, so remember to inform your mother about it. The day before the treatment, don't practice anything, and I'm talking seriously here. The only thing you are allowed to do is rest and read the tome about the Forging of Seven Hells, you must be at your peak condition when undergoing the process."
William smiled and looked at Noah again.
"Now go, sharpen your mind even more if you can. Next week it's life or death."
****
Edited by: Alessandro Sica
When he went back to his room, Noah felt tired.
Even if the meeting was short and only half of the morning had passed, the depletion of "Breath" in his body caused tiredness to envelop him.
'To think that with just that little "Breath" I have I can make a blunt weapon cut, I wonder how much a dantian would further enhance the twin saber style. It's understandable why cultivators give so much importance to the dantian; the difference in result is substantial, if it can accumulate a higher quantity and quality of "Breath", every technique will be exponentially more powerful.'
While sitting on his bed, he engraved on his mind the sensation of the execution of his last attack.
'That sharpness of mind must be a standard from now on… No, it must be my starting point! I can't only rely on the sheer quantity of my mental energy, I must also refine it to speed up my reasoning and my learning process.'
One of his biggest secrets was that his mental energy was progressing at an astonishing rate. In those six months since he had started training it, he had raised the time he could last during a session by half an hour. The effects of that increase were evident as he would learn faster every lesson his Master imparted to him, and his ability to manipulate the "Breath" became more precise and smoother.
Inside his sea of consciousness at the center of the sphere, there was a slight disturbance in the space above the tide.
It seemed that something was about to appear but could still not consolidate.
'During this week, I must completely focus on the Forging of Seven Hells and on increasing my mental energy. I will train the twin saber style when resting or during a break. I can't lose any more time.'
Deciding his new schedule for the incoming week, he immediately got to work and used all his attention to read and memorize the body-nourishing method.
At night he practiced hard on the Kesier rune.
In the morning, he spent some time in meditation, trying to maintain the sharpened state his mind had experienced against his Master, then he would practice the forms of the twin saber style for about two hours. The rest of the day was dedicated to the memorization of the nourishing method, and the night was used to increase his mental energy.
Like this, time went by till the day before the appointment with William.
As per instructions, Noah didn't practice the martial art nor trained with the Kesier rune but spent the day reading the Seven Hells tome and focusing his mind on sharpening it.
During lunchtime, he went to see his mother.
Noah lightly knocked at his mother's door saying with a firm voice:
"Mum, it's me, I have something to talk to you about."
After some moments, the door opened, and Lily's radiant figure appeared as she said:
"It's so rare of you to look for me, I believe that if it weren't for your need to eat, you would spend all your time training."
Noah instinctively looked at her body before focusing his eyes again on her face.
'Four more since the last time I saw her.'
His father was growing more violent each day, and Noah had the sensation that it was linked with his success in entering the guards.
"It is actually about training. I will go on a special training with my Master tomorrow, and he said that it will take a week or so for it to be completed. So I'm not coming back here starting tomorrow."
Lily instantly got worried and wanted to ask more about this training but then realized that her son had somewhat changed.
His eyes were more focused, his presence was more imposing, he seemed like a rock standing in a river, constantly resisting the flow of water.
She knew her son.
She knew that he had decided to take part in that training and that nothing would make him change his mind, so she limited herself to touching his cheek and ruffling his hair a bit.
"Promise me that you won't do anything reckless or dangerous."
"Don't worry, mum, my Master will be with me all the time, and he is really strong, so there is no real danger that can affect me."
"I don't care, promise it to me anyway."
His mother's plea was resolute and immovable.
"Ok mum, I promise, I'll be careful."
He lied as his mother kept staring at him.
Then she hugged him and adjusted his clothes a bit.
"Then you are free to go, but remember not to force yourself too hard, the job of a mother is to take care of her children while they are still young after all."
.
.
.
Back in his room, Noah was inside his sea of consciousness.
He was not training, he was simply focusing all of his mental energy on the treatment of the following day, reviewing the various steps, and setting his mind for the task.
When he thought that it was enough, he left his mental sphere and lay on his bed.
'Now that I lied to her, I really can't allow myself to die.'
And then he went to sleep.
The following day he went to the appointed place where his Master was already waiting for him with a stern face.
He lightly nodded, seeing the focus and determination in Noah's eyes.
"Do you have some questions before we move?"
Noah thought a little and then asked softly:
"Is the place where we are going really soundproof? No one will hear me, right?"
'Shouldn't he worry about his life? Is he worried that his mother might hear him?'
"Yes, the place we are going to is the underground prison of the outer ring. We are used to keeping and torturing prisoners there, and no one has ever noticed. Even some of our men don't know where the place is so you can rest assured."
Noah nodded, erasing the last doubt from his mind.
"Then, I'm ready."
William nodded and then started moving toward the bottom of the corridor.
"While we go there, I want you to repeat the procedure aloud for me to be sure that you won't make mistakes."
Noah started explaining:
"The Forging of Seven Hells is a treatment consisting of destroying seven acupoints on the back of the specimen for the body to naturally create an absorption whirl that will accumulate the Breath of Heaven and Earth on his back. Since the absorption process is chaotic, the specimen must be conscious during this process to direct the "Breath" to the place where the seven acupoints were destroyed and reconstruct them with a mixture of their leftovers and "Breath". The specimen must also use his mental energy to hold together the newly created acupoints until they solidify and connect completely to his body. The last step is to endure through the transformation the new acupoints will cause to the body of the specimen and then wait for his new body to be entirely filled with "Breath". The process must be then repeated six more times."
William stopped at the end of the corridor and tapped on the wall in front of him in seemingly random points.
The wall then went back on itself and slid to the right showing a dark and rocky passage that led downward.
"We are almost there, now explain to me the dangers and advantages of this method."
Saying so, he started walking through the passage, and Noah followed.
****
Edited by: Alessandro Sica
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