"How are thirteen days insignificant?" Mane questioned in exhaustion. He was only ten. To a kid like him who had lived such a short life, thirteen days were a lot. He knew that for his masters even ten years wouldn't be considered much, but that wasn't the same for him.
"Of course thirteen days are insignificant compared to how long you could have been stuck here. According to the 8th, your injuries should have left you bedridden for a month at least. You should be thankful for your amazing physique." The 6th couldn't stand his student's nagging, causing him to inform the young boy that he had gotten off easy.
"I see." Mane relented. After hearing that he had just escaped from a month of bedrest, he felt that thirteen days weren't bad at all.
"Notice anything else kid?" the 1st enquired. His question puzzled Mane. The young boy tried to examine his body once more. This time it wasn't as difficult as his previous few attempts. His connection with the edict grew stronger as inner energy greedily poured into his body.
"This…" Mane was slightly startled by the speed at which inner energy filled his body. Initially, upon realising that his connection with the edict was restored, he had tried taking in inner energy. However, due to the state his body was in, he was unable to draw in much. What he was able to 'inhale' was done slowly and gradually. Now that he was getting used to his state, the speed had increased yet that wasn't the reason for his shock. When he was at his peak state, inner energy filled his body at a rate far faster than this. The reason he was in shock was because of the purity of the energy that filled his body. The inner energy was almost twice as pure as it was before he gave up his energy.
"Finally realised huh. It seems that you are a slow thinker when you are injured. I think you should get beat up more." The 6th wasn't kind with his words, ruthlessly berating and belittling his discipline. Mane naturally ignored his words. When you lived with the 6th long enough, you learn to tune out most of his words. It wasn't a conscious action, but more of a subconscious reaction of the brain towards unwanted and unnecessary information.
"You broke through. Congratulations Mane. You are officially at the peak of the profound realm." The 2nd was the first to congratulate the boy, followed by the 3rd. It was natural that they would be the first to do so. Not because the others couldn't, but because they allowed them to. Since those two adored Mane so much, the others let them go first anytime they had good news for the boy. When it came to bad news, the 6th was the go to guy, much to his delight. The 1st was more of the advising guy. As for the others, especially the 4th and the 9th, they didn't speak much. Only when it was their turn to tutor Mane did they open their tightly bolted lips. The 5th was the same.
"Thank you." Mane was ecstatic. To think he would breakthrough two small stages in one month. "In the end it all worked out. Fighting two intense battles as a non-wielder, especially with that last one where your life was at stake, was crucial in your breakthrough." The 1st added.
Initially when Mane decided to seal up his energy, his masters didn't really approve. No matter how they looked at it then, there was no way the pros outweighed the cons. The only advantage was the increase in combat awareness, with several disadvantages like: the inability to practice during his 'energy fast'; risk of getting injured fighting against wielders; and most importantly, the lack of ability to protect his own life. All these made the only pro look insignificant. In the end, although the cons did come to pass, they did so while enforcing the pro and increasing his wielding level as well. Even in his injured state, Mane could feel that his connection to the edict, and even chaos, was stronger than ever. He was certain that he could now use spirit scan without drawing the other person's attention to himself.
"You should also note that due to the unique state of your physique, the 4th and the 5th have agreed to teach you the physical training arts." The 2nd calmly informed Mane.
"Indeed. It would be a waste to ignore such a special physique until you're fourteen." The usually silent 4th stated.
"I thought it was a bad idea to train before my teenage years. Even with a special physique, is it really okay to do so?" It wasn't that Mane didn't trust his teachers, he was actually eager to begin training his body. Body wielding was an extremely difficult process, but Mane knew that to become a body wielder, one must start training before their inner energy reached the heaven realm. With how quickly his strength was growing, it was good for him to start now. He just wanted to affirm their words so that they wouldn't be able to take it back.
"You should be elated to study under me. Not many people get such an opportunity." The narcissistic 5th pointed out. Mane smiled wryly without bothering to reply. Although the 5th rarely spoke, whenever he did it was to boast about himself. Just like with the 6th, Mane had learned to ignore his words.
The 5th and the 4th were body wielders. Both were Ascenders at the peak of the body wielding realm. Both had no real talent with wielding inner energy but were geniuses with the body wielding arts. They were able to crash worlds with their physical strength alone. But they were a bit different. Whereas the 4th was a body wielder whose focus was on defence, the 5th focused on attacking. With both of them teaching him, he would surely be well balanced in both aspects. The challenge was training to be an expert in both fields. Mane wasn't sure if he could do that.
"Don't doubt yourself kid. You are a Supreme. As long as you try hard enough, your immense talent will handle the rest." The 1st comforted him when he realised the boy's dilemma.
"You still haven't told me what a Supreme is?" Mane wondered. "It isn't time yet." The 1st replied.
"Speaking of time, how far have you progressed with self- time acceleration" the 9th chimed in. "I can accelerate time by 52 times." Mane replied. The 9th didn't say anything else, but his grunt of approval was more than enough.
"Ignore training for now and focus on recovering. There's someone eager to see you."