Chapter 10: Strength Training- Part 3

Something was building within Eric.

A certain feeling of progress, of understanding.

He then began to truly freestyle his moves, taking principles from all disciplines and applying them to his technique. His eyes were closed at this point, his senses closed off. A perfectly circular ring had formed on the ground beneath his feet, made by the ceaseless imprints of his feet, hands and body.

He never ventured or deviated outside of that circle.

At some point, the second sun had set. This planet, being within a binary solar system, had two suns and one moon. Each sun reached it's zenith in twelve hours and disappeared behind the mountain shortly after. This meant that the days were almost unbearably long, especially during the second sun, the twilights were longer and the nights were longest. A full cycle taking forty-eight hours.

Every night came with a frost. A frost that failed to settle on Eric and his endless movement.

The breath that left is mouth was powerful. He had subconsciously started the breathing technique for the Thunder Emperor's Body somewhere in the middle of his exercise. The only indication to him that he had done so came from the realization that he could feel the true essence when he breathed in, just like the first day he had awoken. It was the same heavy, humidity-like feeling in the air.

As he ceaselessly moved through the night he breathed in more and more of this feeling, replacing the oxygen in his lungs slowly.

Another realization dawned on him with the rising of the first sun. He had yet to sweat. This entire time since coming to this world, he had not sweat a single drop. Not while cultivating, not in the peak of the second sun and not now. The feeling of the invisible layer over his skin was more and more prevalent.

It was unsettling.

Disturbing, even.

Suffocating.

'Push past it.' Aaron's voice again. The voice that always made him strive harder, push further, climb higher...

'Yeah yeah, step back and watch this.'

A smile showed itself on Eric's face as his last distraction crossed his mind and he began pushing his body past its limits.

He moved faster than he ever did in his past life, more accurately too.

Each movement a natural continuation of the the one before it, leading into the next like it was made to do so in the first place. The drumming of his feet, hands and body as they hit the ground, the swishing of his limbs as they cut through the air and the hissing of his breathing as he maintained his breathing technique all made for a hypnotic rhythm. One that, if heard or seen, would possibly bring enlightenment to an observing cultivator.

Eric felt a pressure building in his chest and spreading through his body. He was filling with... something, and he could feel his body straining to hold it in. Moreover, within his body, he could feel places that felt blocked previously were starting to move, ever so slightly.

He pushed even harder, moved even faster, breathed even deeper.

Then suddenly...

A feeling akin to one's joints popping spread throughout his entire being.

The primal essence that had built up in his lungs and parts of his body suddenly broke through the blockages. A rush like no other burst through his body and a golden-white mist exploded out through his pores, tearing his clothes and finally shattering that film he had felt before.

He stood motionless in the exact center of the circle he had made in the ground and breathed out a dense cloud of primal essence towards the second sun's zenith. In a daze, he sat in the lotus position and began truly cultivating for the first time.

His body now dripping with sweat, he began pulling all of the primal essence he had expelled back into his body, allowing it to flow through every part of his body according to the Thunder Emperor's Body cultivation technique.

...

The river water was refreshing.

Eric emerged from it's depths. His long mane, now free of restraints, flipping in an impressive arc before falling behind him. He had ventured futher into the forest, after he had solidified his cultivation's foundation, until he found the river had been discovered in.

There was no way he could return to the dormitory covered in sweat, mud, grass and leaves.

He looked around at his surroundings. Curiousity had gotten to him after a few minutes of bathing and he had decided to see how long he could hold his breath, a decision that left him slightly disoriented when coming up for air.

He didn't expect to notice the sun's position moving.

'It couldn't have been over an hour... could it?'

Eric decided not to think too hard about it and continued reorienting himself. He could clearly see the far bank and the wall of giant black trees that reached the riverbank. They had to be the ironwood trees he had heard so much about. It was apparently a member of Pen Yushui's logging team that had found him on their way to cut down the monstrous things.

'No wonder you need to be a cultivator in order cut down one of them.'

The river wasn't as wide as the one that split the village, but it's current was much more wild towards the middle. It was strong enough to keep the primeval beasts from the ironwood forest at bay, for the most part.

He had seen a primeval beast his second day at the academy. Unlike demonic beasts, which reportedly seemed to look like giant mutations of various animals, it looked just like a wild boar... if a boar was the size of a clydesdale.

It had been brought into the village by Pen Yushui's team and the feast they threw in the village square had been loud enough to distract him from concentrating on his cultivation.

The beast was reported to have been felled by, the then mid- level Flesh Training, Pen Yushui. The feat apparently had helped him break through all the way to peak- level Flesh Training in one fell swoop. Hence the overly zealous party that had commenced.

Eric turned his gaze back to his side of the river, the sight of his clean, sun-dried clothes, reminding him of how long he had been under water.

Looking away, he fixed his eyes on the large trees that made up the forest between the river and the village to the north. They were actually quite huge in their own right, the smallest one reminding him of a large pine tree while the largest ones were bigger than a Redwood. They just looked slightly pitiful in comparison to their neighbors across the river.

Anything else was blocked from his view due to the large boulders and rocks that made up his little bathing area. He walked out while lazily reaching for his under garments before quickly ducking behind the rock they were drying on.

'Please tell me it didn't see me.'

Could his luck be any worse? Just a mere fifty meters down stream from him was a Primeval Boar. Black and red striped fur still dripping from the river water. It was currently sniffing the air, as if it was looking for something.