Chapter 73: Learning of the Martial World

Unbeknownst to Tyler his instructor was still alive. 

He had also spent three days unconscious after his life and death battle with Jex's werewolf

Tyler awoke with a sharp pain that coursed throughout his body. Each and every one of his muscles ached and he couldn't even move let alone lift his finger. He looked up and saw a white ceiling. It was so unfamiliar to him.

He managed to look down on his body albeit with great difficulty. He soon found himself practically half naked with bandages wrapped around his chest, arms and leg. The bandages even had some blood stains on them. 

'I survived' Tyler was alighted at this prospect. However a new questioned formed in his mind.

'Where am I and how did I get here?'

At this point a loud snore came from his right. Turning his head to look it that direction. Tyler was shocked so see a purpled haired teenager lying in a separate bed right beside him. Tyler immediately recognized him. This was Jex of course and images of the terrifying white werewolf came to his mind.

Tyler broke into a cold sweat at this moment. He didn't want to encounter that beast again but at the same time he wanted some payback. 

With these thoughts in his head Tyler decided that he had to find a way to get stronger. He just didn't know how. Tyler remained in his bed and closed his eyes once more. At this moment he picture the werewolf. He was once again on the rooftop and he was facing the same werewolf again. 

To the outside world it would seem as though he were sleeping but what Tyler was doing right now was something called 'Mental combat'. It was a training technique that his mentor at Tonitruum taught him. Every time Tyler would lose a fight his mentor would tell him to close his eyes and imagine that fight over and over again. That way he could analyze his performance, note his mistakes, polish his techniques and sometimes he would find a way to theoretically beat his opponent.

One minute passed. Then ten. Then thirty and eventually an hour progressed before Tyler opened his eyes. Frustration and agitation evident. He had mentally fought the werewolf for a total of 150 times and he had ultimately been defeated and killed 150 times as well.

"Its impossible," Tyler muttered to himself. It was currently impossible to defeat the werewolf with his current strength. He needed to get stronger. The only problem was that Tyler had no idea how.

Another hour passed before Jex finally woke up with a satisfied moan. 

Unlike Tyler, Jex felt extremely refreshed. His body felt lighter, his Qi flowed much smoother than before, his spirit core had finally formed and he had taken a step further in cultivation. He was now a 2nd Rank cultivator. He could feel the world energy much more clearly. His senses had improved. Sight, smell, hearing and touch. He could feel it all on another level.

He could track a scent from 2 kilometers. He couldn't determine how far off he could see because of the closed room he was currently in. He could easily tell where he was. This was Blossoming Flower Clinic. It was where he and his master had been when he was a little boy and something had gone wrong with his dantian formation. It was also the same hospital where Laura had been brought in for treatment after she was taken from Mac-constructions.

Jex looked to the left and was startled to see a familiar black kid looking at him. This was of course Tyler.

"Are you just gonna keep staring at me like a freak?" Jex couldn't help but speak out.

"Yeah well I'm trying to see if you are going to eat me or not?" Tyler shrugged his shoulders but even the simple movement made him wince.

Jex didn't know how to react to this for a moment before bursting with laughter.

"Are you serious?" he laughed and looked at Tyler but when he saw the latter's face he froze. "…wait you're serious?"

A vein popped up on the side of Tyler's face. "Why wouldn't I be!?" he exclaimed. "Damn it how the heck can you even turn into that thing?" 

Jex felt something stir within him as if it was dissatisfied by Tyler's outburst.

"Hey man don't take it personal"

"Oh it's as personal as it gets! I was almost eaten alive for god's sake" this was the first time that Tyler had been this agitated in his life. But still he wasn't completely oblivious to the guilty look that was clouding Jex's face and he didn't know if it was okay to take it out on him like this.

"I'm sorry" Jex genuinely said while looking down. Silence seemed to reign as Tyler closed his eyes while facing the ceiling.

The seconds ticked by before he finally opened his eyes and said: "It's fine at least it didn't end with either of us dying right" he smiled knowingly.

"So what are you any way?" Tyler asked 

"Jex is what we call a werewolf?" a voice came from the door and a short man of about 5'7" stood there. He had smooth black hair that was tied in a ponytail, the most distinctive and slanted black eyes and a short black beard. Tyler didn't recognize this man but Jex did.

"Master!" he exclaimed in an excited tone.

"You never listen to me do you?" John reprimanded. "I told you to come home before dark did I not?"

Jex looked down. Of course he knew this, his master even told him the reason for his instructions so Jex had no excuses for what he did. He was truly too excited about his fight with Tyler that he had even forgotten his master's instructions.

"I'm sorry master" Jex said quietly

At this point Tyler finally registered what the man whom Jex called master said.

"Wait did you say werewolf?" he asked

John's eyes looked at Tyler for a moment before he finally nodded.

"What's…" Tyler felt himself getting slightly embarrassed at this point. "…a werewolf?" 

"…" John

"…" Jex

"Wait you're serious?" Jex exclaimed when he saw the same listless expression on Tyler's face and John held a serious expression for a moment before looking at Tyler questioningly.

"Did your clan not teach you a little bit about the past?" John asked with slightly narrowed eyes. He was very familiar with the ways of the martial world before he came here, so he knew that they were taught about the basic past or at least what they could afford to teach the children in the different academies.

Tyler was confused once more by the term 'clan'. 

"Clan?" he asked 

"Do you think you can pretend with me? I know you formed your spirit core and there is no way that you could have accumulated that much qi as well as formed a spirit core unless you were a part of a clan" John stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Force" Tyler corrected

"What?" this time it was John's turn to be confused

"Force…you called it qi but I call it Force energy…also its not spirit core its Force Core" Tyler through gritted teach. "I also have no idea what all this talk about clans is but I'll tell you what I told this guy. I practiced the use of my Force on my own with no ones help"

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't care whether you believe that or not" Tyler shrugged again and winced once more, he seemed to be forgetting that he was in a state that didn't favor any movement.

"Master…I believe him" Jex chimed in causing his master to look at him for a moment. John sighed helplessly at his student. Sometimes he thought this brat only thought with his fists and not his head.

"What's your name boy?" John asked looking at Tyler who was now lying in bed.

"Tyler Calvin sir" Tyler felt responded without a second's hesitation. 

"Are you telling me the truth?" John decided on a more direct approach.

"I'm telling the truth" Tyler replied almost instantly replied. 

John sighed once more. It would seem that his disciple and this new friend of his were equally hopeless. He had no choice now but to explain about not just the werewolves but also the martial world. And he also had a feeling that although Tyler had a spirit core-god-knows-how, he had virtually no knowledge of cultivation at all. That could explain why though the boy had a large amount of qi. An amount large enough to push him into the 2nd Rank of cultivation, he didn't have a dantian and even his meridians weren't fully tempered to transfer qi.

"Alright I guess I should explain a little bit to you two" John eventually took out a stool that was lying in the room before he sitting down on it. "So what should I start with?"

Silence filled the room once more as Tyler pondered for a moment.

"Can you please start by explaining about the martial world?" Tyler requested. He had a feeling that the martial world would be the most interesting to him and besides he didn't particularly feel comfortable talking about a creature that had almost killed and eaten him let alone an entire community of these beast turning people called werewolves.

"Alright I'll talk about the martial world first then"