At this point all the thoughts of the Martial world, beasts and werewolves were shoved to the back of his head as he finally calmed his mind and thought of the most important things currently.
"Uh...yes…how long have we been unconscious?" Tyler asked
"You've been out for three days actually" John replied lightly. But what he didn't say was that Tyler's recovery speed was essentially monstrous even for a cultivator especially taking into account that the wounds he received were from werewolf claws!
Tyler on the other hand didn't seem to take this too well. If he had been unconscious for three days then that meant that he had been in this place this whole time!
Laura and Aunt Carol had to be worried sick by now. His friends would also be worried about him because they clearly be worried as well after all he had told them that he had something to do.
He couldn't afford to stay here any longer, he needed to go home and give a valid explanation to his family and friends about his abrupt disappearance
Seemingly sensing Tyler's thoughts John spoke:
"You are in no condition to be moving around"
Tyler ignored him and still tried to sit up. Pain flared through his entire body and groans escaped his lips.
"Lie back down you brat" a voice eerily familiar to Tyler echoed from the door. Looking over Tyler was surprised to see an Asian looking male he was familiar with. This was the man who led the Rattlesnake family/mafia or whatever it was…Tyler still didn't care.
"What are you doing here?" Tyler asked.
"Well I came to see the brat who stole my niece's heart" Seojun shrugged before he walked in. At first he was surprised that Tyler had actually formed his spirit core. How he managed to do that Seojun didn't know but that just proved how much of a monster Tyler really was.
Tyler was completely oblivious to Seojun's wording. "What do you mean stole her heart?"
Seojun looked at Tyler but seeing his clueless expression he could only sigh. "Forget it. I only came here to make sure you weren't too hurt. I also came to tell you that you shouldn't worry about your family too much as well."
Tyler inwardly sighed. "Are they worried?"
"Worried would be an understatement kid" he chuckled
"Anyway…we need to figure out what we're gonna do from here" John chimed in.
As if on cue a low growling sound could be heard and all eyes in the room immediately darted towards the purple haired werewolf.
"What? I can't help it if I'm hungry" he shrugged.
Seojun sighed. "I'll go get something to eat"
After Seojun left Tyler contemplated what he said about not worrying about his family.
What did he mean? Well I guess I'll find out later, he thought to himself.
"While we wait I'll have to explain to you about what a cultivator's dantian really is as well as what it represents" John looked at Tyler deeply while the latter just took a deep breath before nodding. "The dantian is akin to what you could describe as a storage pocket for all the accumulated Qi. It takes the shape of an orb or a sphere.
Inorder to create your very own dantian requires a large amount of concentration because it is also the time when one also forms their energy pathways which are a great help when it comes to distributing energy throughout the body without ever having to endure any serious muscle aches"
At that point Tyler remember how his muscles felt sore the very first time he had exerted himself when using his Force during his battle against the gangsters. He nodded in understanding as he took in the information he was receiving as if he were a thirsty sponge.
The maximum number of meridians the average human could open up to channel Force/Qi was about 15 to 29 meridians but if they were talented and a genius they could open up a total 30 to a known maximum of 60 by the time they reached Rank 4. Now after a person finally manages to form their dantian and open up more than 2 meridians, they can be regarded to have officially stepped through the gates of cultivation and are now a Rank 1 cultivator.
The cultivation levels were divided into a total of seven Ranks as already stated but what was not explained earlier was that each Rank had sub-levels called tiers and each rank had three tiers. For the time being let us focus on Rank 1 as that is the realm in which our protagonist currently is.
Rank 1 Tier 1 is when the person first manages to sense and draw World Energy. At Tier 2 the body experiences a sort of cleansing that is influenced by the formation of one's spirit core using their clan's methods of circumventing Merlin's seal or a handful who were like Tyler though those were even rarer cases. At Tier 3 one finally manages to open up 2 to 3 meridians and forming their dantian so as things stood now Tyler was a Rank 1 cultivator in the middle stage or tier 2 in short.
"So unless if I want to advance I need to create this dantian of mine and even open up my meridians?" Tyler asked
"That's right and as you advance further, the number of meridians you can open up will also increase" John affirmed with a nod.
When Tyler heard this he could barely contain his excitement. It was a feeling that came from deep within him as if it wanted him to grow stronger. "So when do I start?" Tyler could barely hide his excitement.
"When you are in peak condition you brat" John said. He shook his head. This brat really was as hopeless as his disciple.
"Okay" Tyler said. "When can I go back home though?"
"You can go when you can move" John stood and walked towards the door. He stopped as if he were contemplating something but whatever it was he must have decided to keep it to himself. He walked out of the room. Closed the door behind him and stepped into a white corridor. The air smelled of medicine and incense. There was a nurse who was passing by. Probably going off for a break. It was a long corridor. One end leading to one end where there was a floor-to-ceiling window. The other end stopped at an elevator.
John walked in that direction. He reached the elevator. Pressed the button and waited for the elevator to come up. He heard its mechanism moving. Thirty seconds passed and a ding was heard. The elevator doors slid open. He stepped in and pressed for the button to the lobby. The elevator went down and a minute later the doors opened and John stepped down into the lobby.
It was equally painted white. Floor, walls and ceiling. There was a reception counter where a nurse stood with a phone to her ear. It seemed that this hospital was busy today but then again it was a hospital. He walked past. Thirty feet away stood the large automatic glass doors that almost touched the ceiling. The slid open for him when he approached. He stepped into the open air. The sun was just rising so the temperatures were still down this Sunday morning.
Seojun was just walking across the street. A plastic bag in his right hand.
"Are you heading out master?" Seojun asked
"Yes I am. Take care of the kids" John waved as he walked down the sidewalk. Disappearing among the crowd.
Seojun entered Tyler and Jex's room with the food bag. He took out two large burger and too large milkshakes. Cultivators ate a lot generally. Handed one of each to both of them. Tyler didn't waste time the moment he received the burger he bit down on it. Took a chunk into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. His eyes sparkled.
"This is good" he said picking up the milkshake and sipping through the straw. The taste was divine. It had been a while since he had last had junk food like this.
Similarly Jex ate his share greedily as well. Though he didn't speak the face his was making was enough to tell everyone that Tyler wasn't the only one who was enjoying the food.
"So Kim asks me about you almost everyday" Seojun suddenly said.
Tyler coughed. "Really?"
Tyler remember the silver haired beauty from two weeks ago when he went into Mac-Constructions to rescue Laura. They had met purely by chance and Tyler had ended up being a big help to her. Maybe she feels thankful about that, Tyler thought.
"Yeah" Seojun said. He sighed. "She asked if there was anyway to contact you"
"You mean she wants my phone number?" Tyler asked as he swallowed a large piece from his burger.
Seojun nodded.
"Well that might be alittle difficult you see I lost my phone the day I fought this guy" Tyler said his thumb pointed in Jex's direction.
"Don't blame me man" Jex mumbled as he focused on his burger or at least what remained of it. His fingers and mouth was smeared in grease and mustard.
Seojun made a face but remained silent.
"You could give me her number though" Tyler suggested feeling slightly bad.
Seojun agreed immediately. Anything to make his little princess happy even if he had to give her away. Though handing her over to Tyler didn't seem like a bad idea at all. He wanted to write it down but Tyler told him he could memorize it by word of mouth just fine. It was true Tyler's memory was exceptional to say the least one look at something and it would be burned into his mind. Kind of like photographic memory. Seojun was doubtful but he complied either way.
The sun had risen to the highest peak in the sky. It was lunch hour and Tyler had felt that he could move without any difficulties. He stood from the bed. Stretched a little. Being in bed for two days left him feeling stiff. He didn't overdo it though. He remembered the doctor saying that he needed to rest for as long as possible and to avoid strenuous activities and that included laying off using his Qi for a while as well. He was still wrapped in bandages across his chest and around his arms stopping just at his forearms. Seojun left a change of clothes.
A plain grey sweat shirt. A pair of sweatpants. A pair of socks and sneakers with the Nike label on them. Tyler put them on. The sweatpants felt incredibly comfortable. They reminded him of his bed. How come he was only knowing about such clothing now? He wondered to himself. Beside him Jex was wearing a pair of cargo pants, a tight fitting shirt that showed off his slightly bulging muscles and a pair of slippers. His purple hair seemed to have grown out slightly. His skin seemed healthier and more tanned. In fact he didn't look like someone who was just coming from the hospital at all.
Seojun led them through the white hallway that John had gone through before to the elevator. Pressed the button. The elevator doors slide open and they went inside. A nurse in white joined them before it could close again. With the four of them the elevator went down. It was quiet and Tyler could tell that the nurse felt uncomfortable maybe even out of place but no one said anything to put her at ease. The doors opened at the lobby. They reached the white colored reception. The nurse was sitting behind the counter with a notepad in front of her. The nurse who had riden the elevator with them quickly got out rushing to be as far away as possible. Seojun led them out towards the large automatic doors at the entrance of the hospital. They slid open for them. They walked out. Tyler felt the sun on his face and the sounds of cars honking their horns in the distance and he smiled. He really missed being outside.
Seojun had a car waiting by the curb. A black sedan with tinted windows. A familiar large man in a suit stood beside it. Black short hair, dark colored eyes, slightly dark skin. He was tall about six feet one inches tall. He had a scar across his right eye.
"You're here early Rock" Seojun said
"You told me to keep the time boss" Rock said. He smiled in Tyler's direction. Tyler smiled back.
He had a good impression of this man after all he had backed Tyler up when he was surrounded by Houston's men two weeks ago. Jex was clueless and just opted to stay silent.
They got inside the car. Seojun took the front passanger seat. Tyler and Jex sat in the back. The interior was nice and clean. The seats were leathery and comfortable. Rock started the motor and the car drove off the curb into the main road and deeper into the heart of the city.