Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 27

Nathan moved on to flexibility and bodyweight exercises. The changes the Genetic Modification System made to his body greatly improved his flexibility, but while still in the body realm it was possible to become so tight that some flexibility could be lost. It was important to keep full range of motion and to be able to apply power throughout.

This station in the circuit wasn’t a strenuous one. Many people had gathered around him. Most of them weren’t people he’d known before. He didn’t mind. They were feeding off his vibe and doing the exercises as he did. The questions started soon after he sat down. He answered anything they threw at him even if it was about his first life.

When he moved on to bodyweight exercises, he started at the horizontal bar. Fastening twice his bodyweight to his waist with chains. He did a quick pullup to get a feel for the weight, then controlling his weight downward, he muscled up like a gymnast. As with the other stations, he went until his body gave out, only stopping to take a few breaths and let the qi help him recover enough that he didn’t give out too soon.

From there he moved on to pushup variations. Starting with a planche pushup, he drew his body into a plank with only his hands touching the ground and feet straight out behind him. He did a number of those, but found them too easy, so he moved on to 90-degree pushups. It had been a while since the balance was a struggle for him. He had a few false starts as he tried to push himself up into a handstand, but finally got it. Then he started his sets in earnest.

Handstand pushup came next, then he moved on to broad jumping, jump squats, jumping lateral lunges, jumping pistol squats, flying jumping lunges.

From exercise to exercise he didn’t stop. He also moved at a slower pace than the explosive intensity he’d used with weights and the sled. This was as much about athleticism as strength and endurance.

***

Googee wanted to withdraw back to the comfort of her shop, she couldn’t deny what her ears heard, and eyes saw. Nathanial Kane was only one part of the equation. She’d known the Judge, Isacara, for centuries now. If she said to believe him and was sent by Father Wei himself, how could she deny her words? But then she had seen what this young man, who was little more than a boy, send fifteen hundred new cultivators into a frenzy with his action.

The feats themselves didn’t surprise her, though she couldn’t deny his talent, it was the ferocity in which he executed them. The boy had said the one named Kyle would remind her of someone—her late husband. But this Nathanial reminded her of someone as well. Her eldest son. Both men had died fighting the demonic horde. Their deaths had been heroic ones, but even though her eldest hadn’t been the most talented of her fourteen children, he’d been the most unyielding. How the boy had survived to adulthood baffled her, and yet here was another foolish young man trying to take on the universe with nothing but will. Just as with her son, people followed him.

There were differences. Her son had been more selfish. He’d fought for glory as much as to protect his family. But there was no denying how much he’d loved his people. There was a, dare she say, wisdom to this Nathanial. He wasn’t making a spectacle of himself because he wanted the attention. He simply hadn’t had any other choice. There was one other difference. This boy was talented. Terrifyingly so. Each time he collapsed, he became a little stronger with each recovery. But his true talent was being able to shrug it off and push harder with every drill.

There was one thing she was overlooking. She hadn’t personally fought in centuries, but some lessons you just didn’t forget. She’d watched him spar with the others. Superior ability wasn’t enough to overcome skill and experience without equal training. He didn’t just hold his own, or outshine them, he took on the position of master whether he was rolling on the ground with the grapplers or standing with his old world’s professional fighters. It was the way he didn’t have to think about angles and how he flowed from move to move. He wasn’t thinking about what to do next, he watched his opponent and reacted to their actions or lack thereof.

Nathanial wasn’t the only reason she had stayed, trusting attendants to run her shop. As soon as he decided to show off a little, someone had to step in and make sure everyone had their yang, yin, and recovery pills. There was also a lack of equipment in places which she took care of. There was no doubting that amongst this group of people there were individuals that would eventually reach the top of this world. Taking care of them was only good business.

Only? No. She had missed this. The excitement in the air. People cheering one another on as they pushed to advance. There was hope.

If what he said was true, that they only had ten years to be able to defend again the demonic horde, then their goal was impossible. Even with Father Wei’s Genetic Modification System, there was no way for someone to advance fast enough to be able to fight the horde in that time. Even if it was only a regiment that was sent against them, they would have to reach the divine lord realm to be of significance. That was just two large realms from the peak. If someone could advance one realm further to Heavenly Sovern, then it might just be possible.

So why had she already decided to support them in full? She’d saved a fortune over the centuries. 1,000,000 points? That was a fraction of a fraction of her great wealth. Was doing so not a waste of resources?

She found the boy near the corner where people were taking turns beating each other with sticks to temper their bodies. One thing they’d forgotten was a good striking surface made of hard material with just enough give to provide feedback. She’d provided the training dummies without anyone asking her to.

When he said that focusing on skill wasn’t that important, he hadn’t been lying. Standing back from the dummy, she saw Nathanlial wound up before taking a lunging step and launching his fist at the thing’s chest with full force. A thunderclap sounded amongst a sea of smaller ones. He reset to do it again even though his knuckles were covered in blood.

No, Nathanial Kane wasn’t the only reason she had come to this decision, but returning from the future wasn’t a miracle that even divine monarchs could just do. She wasn’t sure if there was a monster alive that had such a mastery of time. This boy had already produced one such miracle. Perhaps he could do so again.