Chapter 11 - Body Tempering and Body Concept

The key principle behind the internal martial arts practiced by Astraea actually originated from ancient Eastern ideas. In essence, the idea was that man could greatly improve the potential of his physical body by strengthening his internals through a holistic system of coordinated body exercises and postures. However, it was incredibly difficult for anyone to do what Astraea had accomplished.

This was because the [Rose Sword Saint] was not the only one who studied and tried to practice the process behind tempering one's body specifically to generate inner energy. To understand this idea more thoroughly, first one has to study the anatomy of the body. Humans of Heralldia, over time, had evolved, and this evolution is what allowed them to use the power of magic.

The reason why magicians could use magic was because their bodies were born with an additional network of nerves and vessels which were classified as magic circuits. Magic circuits were something that you were born with, and not something you could simply implant into another human being. Though experiments in the past were carried out to try and accomplish this, they all ended up in failure. On top of this, the world at large condemned the experiments because they were very inhumane.

The more magic circuits a person was born with, the more capable they were in using magic, since the channel of worldly energies could only take place through these magic circuits. Then, that person could mentally will and manipulate the absorbed energies into form. This was the most shallow and simplistic explanation behind the principle of casting magic.

Internal martial arts, at its pinnacle, could allow the user to directly absorb the worldly energies of Heralldia into their own body without the need of magic circuits. However, the caveat was that they could only release this energy through physical contact, since they did not have magic circuits to serve as a conduit between their internals and the external surroundings.

Astraea's was an internal martial arts technique that she had personally created after combining the knowledge she had gained from Eastern endeavours, Western research and her countless years of battle experience. In order to successfully cultivate the , the practitioner first had to sufficiently temper their body to the extent the fleshly being could withstand directly absorbing worldly energy without magic circuits.

It must be emphasized that the natural energy and forces that were a part of Heralldia's atmosphere were highly volatile in nature. Without sufficient control or subduing force, or at least without a vessel strong enough to contain it, such energy would simply explode or violently react. Astraea's first step was to help Hokuto improve her physique and allow it to evolve to the extent she could directly breathe in worldly energy.

This was actually the most difficult step!

Most people in their lifetimes would not be able to accomplish such a feat, but Astraea could. This was because she had a fortuitous encounter in the past. She had first embarked on her journey at the age of eleven, which was around the time her mentor Keradoc had passed away. Inspired by the Blade Magus, Astraea sought for a way to strengthen herself so she could imitate his feats.

She happened upon an abandoned pavilion where she discovered an abandoned library. Inside the library were lots of tomes, books, and scrolls - one of the scrolls talked about a miraculous body art, the , which was incredibly simple to practice - in fact, it read just like an incredibly hard workout, but required intense dedication.

To reach initial completion of the art, you needed to spend half of a year repeating its Basic Four Stances cyclically. Within each week of a month, the practitioner needed to maintain 1 of the four stances for half a day.

For the first week, the user had to stand on one foot while carrying a bucket full of water in each hand.

The second week, the user had to perform five sets worth of twenty reps of basic squats.

The third week, the user had to maintain a horse stance for a third of a day without moving or doing anything.

The fourth week, the user had to sit in an enclosed space that was incredibly hot for half a day without leaving the space.

Indeed, these four sets of exercises had to be cycled without fail, and had to be maintained perfectly for half a year. After this was accomplished, the body would have already been greatly enhanced. The sheer length and duration of each exercise also forced the user to improve and regulate their breathing and internal sustenance.

To achieve great completion of the , the remaining half of the year was dedicated towards the evolution of the fleshly form. The core at this point had already been greatly enhanced via the initial completion of the body art. Thus, the user would now focus on tempering his or her skin, flesh and bones in order to enhance the body's capacity to withstand volatile and chaotic energy.

This was actually a very vicious step, involving exposures to extreme temperatures of both hot and cold varieties. The user would also need to experience the sensations of being badly beaten all over. The body art technique's scroll structured it as such - for the remaining half of a year, the user would subject themselves to one third of a day worth of scorching heat, another third of a day worth of freezing air, and the remainder of the user's time spent being battered by high pressure.

Astraea quickly went through the mentally and discovered her only real trouble was finding places of extreme temperatures. The Deus Mountain Range was very cold, but she wasn't sure how she could temper Hokuto's body through heat and frozen air otherwise.

Seeking an audience with King Ren once again, Astraea made her concerns clear.

"Body tempering through heat? Exposure to cold temperatures? I would have to open the Secret Training Grounds..."

"You have a Secret Training Grounds?" Astraea was shocked. Obviously, this was a well-guarded secret.

"It would normally be no problem for Hokuto to enter as she is part of the Royal Family. However, no matter how much I treat you as a good friend, I'd be punished by the heavens for letting you in."

"I see. I understand and respect the situation."

"How about this. You tell me the routine and I'll accompany Hokuto in your stead."

"That... Yes, that should work. The routine is simple after all."

Astraea simply explained the process of achieving great completion in the without talking about the body art. King Ren nodded in understanding. As an accomplished warrior himself he knew the value of body tempering. Though he was apprehensive towards making a ten year old girl go through all that, he figured Astraea had a way to prepare her for that rigorous training.

"How do you even plan on getting Hokuto on this regime?"

"By giving her the hope she can be like me and practice internal martial arts."

"Is that truly possible?" King Ren's eyes widened. Queen Tyris who happened to be in the area at the time had eavesdropped on their conversation and was shocked too, rushing over.

Astraea blushed upon seeing King Ren's wife - a tall woman, as tall as her husband. Queen Tyris possessed a tough physique too, despite her lithe figure, her toned muscles and abs peeked through her thin clothing composed of a royal blue gown. Trying to ignore her, Astraea nodded. "That's right. It is possible. I will make her my successor, for it must be fate that you have delivered your daughter to me."

"Truly!" Queen Tyris blurted out in amazement. "That's the best news we've heard these past years. Our princess, with the potential to be as mighty as you. How great is that?"

"That's why it's of utmost and critical importance that Hokuto remains focused on her training. I shall take my leave now. I'll be waiting for Hokuto tomorrow."

King Ren and Queen Tyris both nodded and watched Astraea disappear like a ghost.