Shiroi placed his student in his bed. He fed him a health potion, cleaned his wounds and bandaged him up.
He looked at the peak Rank 1 core in his palms and twirled it in his fingers absentmindedly.
"This child is special."
He muttered under his breath thinking out loud. His voice contained unfiltered respect.
"Ugh…my head hurts."
I had woken up and tried to open my eyes but it was too painful so I closed them shortly after. I could feel my masters qi inside the room.
"Master, did I win?"
My memory was hazy and the events were blurred. I had lost control of myself shortly before I passed out and I hadn't confirmed the kill.
"My student, you did splendidly. You killed the beast all by yourself and when you recover enough to sit up, you'll be able to absorb the core and breakthrough to Rank 1."
Shiroi couldn't help but smile. The past 10 days were paying off and his disciple had been working hard to progress. Any teacher would be proud at such an achievement.
"I see…thank you master."
I smiled briefly before falling back to sleep peacefully.
The night flew past quickly and the health potion from the Saintclair family did it's job; I had nearly made a full recovery.
"Today is the day my hard work pays off." I said with a genuine smile.
I cleaned up and replaced my bandage sloppily. I then threw on a new set of protective gear and left for the training spot.
"Boy, are you ready?"
"Yes master, I'm ready to absorb it."
Shiroi said no more words and threw the core into my hands. I quickly got into the lotus position, cleared my head and steadied my breathing. I swallowed the core and began absorbing my evolution.
I circulated the new qi with Moon God's Mantra. The first thing I felt was the expanding of my veins and the passage ways becoming easier to manoeuvre qi around. I then felt a tight feeling in my solar plexus as if there was a knot in my stomach.
I followed the teaching of my master and started to imagine a barrier around the qi in my solar plexus, slowly forming a spherical shape. My muscles tensed and my concentration was being tested; I felt stimulation all across my body.
I had an idea, why limit myself to the qi in my body when breaking through. I started drawing in qi from the trees and plants around me. I was greedy, I wanted more power; this wouldn't be enough to satiate the monster that dwelled within.
I simultaneously formed my core while drawing in the life energy from nature, this went on for so long I felt like I had become one with the earth. My mind was in total synchronisation with my flesh, it felt like the world was reaching out to me, fuelling my spirit with appalling amounts of qi.
'What is this feeling I'm getting?'
Meanwhile Shiroi watched his student while hours passed. Once again he was bewildered; his student had not only reached Rank 1 in under a month but he had also tapped into what Asura called 'World Energy'.
It was an energy that could only be tapped into when one has entered 'Nirvana'. A state when the body and mind had become one with the world. Only one in a hundred thousand warriors have the capability to enter this state.
"Although not perfect, this is definitely Nirvana. How does one enter Nirvana without guidance? The genes of the king must be strong, there is no other explanation."
Over time the calling of the world grew quieter and the qi it was supplying me dwindled, I relaxed my muscles and started finishing my core. I felt a wave of energy envelope my body and something inside of me clicked. I had reached Rank 1.
The qi in my core was crimson red and ferocious, I could feel it's desires coursing in my veins. My bodies constitution had gone from a top tier human athlete to a supernatural being within a few hours. I now felt a constant layer of qi surround my skin. I had evolved.
"Master, I am now Rank 1."
"I can see that Shoto. I'm very proud of you and you stuck to your word and took 10 days. You are a true warrior. We leave for Zerxes tomorrow morning. Go back and rest for the evening."
"Yes master."
"Oh and young Sho, we need to talk about a few things. You have a very rare constitution even among the elite warriors and it is very dangerous for others to know about this while you are still weak. I'll explain the details for you tomorrow. For now rest."
I simply nodded. I had a slight inclination as to what he was hinting at but I could tell he had a lot to prepare for the journey tomorrow so I left it alone for now.