A week swiftly passed since the prisoners were brought into the mountain.
During this time, the martial instructor had subjected them to relentless, gruelling exercises that pushed everyone to the brink of collapse.
Naturally, some had resisted at first.
That is, until the instructor shattered their arms like brittle twigs.
After that, even the most rebellious began training like their lives depended on it.
As for Syth, he had been diligently training. Of course, a mere week wasn't enough to produce noticeable results, however, he can tell his body was slowly getting used to the intense exercises.
Albeit barely.
He was only a regular reader who transmigrated into a frail and starved street rat.
There really wasn't much he could do except struggle and endure.
During this time, he also began teaching Lillias the language of this world. Unlike him, she was an absurdly fast learner.
Not only that, her body was adjusting at an unnatural pace to the intense training.
On the first day, she had collapsed like everyone else.
But within a single week, though she still showed signs of fatigue, her breathing had grown steady and controlled. She could recover to peak condition in less than an hour.
She was, without a doubt, a monster.
Syth suspected it was the result of her otherworldly blessing.
Still, witnessing such inhuman feats firsthand was eye-opening. What had once seemed impossible might very well be the norm in this world.
As for his own otherworldly blessing…
Syth had yet to discover it.
He had started to suspect that perhaps he didn't have one. Or maybe, it would only manifest under specific circumstances, like in alchemy when he concocts pills for instance.
Not that it would do him any good in the middle of a brutal training field.
Regardless, he wasn't too concerned.
As long as his talent in martial arts was sufficient, he should be able to survive for a year.
As for becoming one of the ten who gets selected to become a disciple of the Blood Sect...
He wasn't sure.
It wasn't merely a matter of hardwork and determination.
Those who are more gifted and talented would simply always be five steps ahead, while those not so gifted would struggle to take even one step.
All organisations had its methods of judging what is good and bad talent.
And most of it, if not all, all came down to luck.
An unreliable concept.
That was why he had already formed a plan the moment he realized he was going to the Blood Sect.
Lillias was by no means an ordinary person, at least, not anymore. In the novel, she became one of the core pillars of the Blood Sect. Once she becomes a disciple, she would undoubtedly soar to a powerful position within the Sect.
The reason he was assisting her now was so she can be indebted to him — repaying him by freeing him as a battle slave later on.
Naturally, he also considered she might not, or is unable to due to various reasons. After all, this world was cruel and unpredictable.
But Syth decided not to overthink it.
To rely on others was something the powerless do, however, with the lack of options Syth had, the least he could do was maximise his chances of escaping.
That was his end goal.
To survive, then get rid of his position as a battle slave if he doesn't get selected among the ten...
Once Syth has some room to breathe, he can then begin leveraging his future knowledge to his advantage and leave the Sect.
///
At this moment as all the prisoners were doing their gruelling exercises — lifting boulders, getting someone to condition their body through repeatedly getting punched, and ruthlessly beating each other up in the arena — the martial instructor suddenly commanded them all to gather at the centre of the room.
"This past week you've all endured enough training to move onto the next step..."
The martial instructor paused, scanning the crowd.
"I will now be teaching you the fundamentals of true martial arts," he announced, causing a slight stir in the crowd.
After showing a fraction of his strength to the rebellious ones, all of the prisoners' began showing this man the utmost respect in fear of angering him.
He continued:
"Martial arts is not merely just punches and kicks. It is by following one's heart, how we become one with the world, and how our intent shapes it does a martial artist truly show their full prowess," he said, using his own past experiences to explain the core principles of what martial arts truly is.
"It isn't merely doing, but embodying — that is the true essence of martial arts. You can perfectly copy my movements all you want. However, if you can't fully grasp it, you will never master even a single fraction of what I'll be teaching you," he explained.
The martial instructor had repeated these words countless times. Naturally, he was aware of the difficulties of being a martial artist. As mere mortals, what he was trying to do was plant the concept of something 'greater' or intangible into their heads.
Ascenders had something called spiritual roots which help them sense Qi, however, learning martial arts required one to tap into the body's internal energy(life force) — something colourless and intangible.
The week of gruelling training they've all been doing wasn't so much as 'training,' but a method of stimulating that internal energy lying dormant in their bodies.
As such, to progress as martial artists, one had to find a way of unlocking that internal energy. However, it was easier said than done.
It was like telling someone to grow a third eye and see out of it.
While Ascenders had this 'third eye,' allowing them to sense Qi, to learn martial arts was much more difficult and harder to progress in as they had no external help in comprehending internal energy.
It was why martial arts was vastly overshadowed by cultivation and magecraft, with only low ranked soldiers and mortals who have no affinity as an Ascender being martial artists.
"Thus, instead of the usual training, I will be teaching you two things today. Whether you can grasp them or not depends on your own ability and talent," he spoke, and then sat down in a lotus position.
"Martial artists have developed a way of embodying. These are through breathing methods," the martial instructor said, taking a slow, deep breath. He then began breathing in a strange pattern.
"These breathing methods help stabilise the mind and synchronises the body with the world. Once the mind is stabilised, spread your consciousness out into every limb, bone, and blood vessel..."
"This is so you have a higher chance of feeling the internal energy travelling through your body. The breathing exercise I'm showing you should influence the internal energy in your body. If you feel a subtle heat rising up in your body, it means the internal energy is reacting."
The human body has a random set of meridians, each at random places.
It differed from everyone.
In the world of martial arts, it was like the pathways of internal energy.
Experts of martial arts can channel internal energy effortlessly through their meridians, even sending it out in a burst to attack opponent's from a distance.
These breathing methods, in essence, help move the internal energy through the meridians. However, it is the job of the martial artist to use the breathing methods correctly to control the internal energy.
Usually, it is done by trial-and-error, or through sheer instincts as internal energy can't exactly be seen or sensed.
It is just there.
After performing the breathing exercise, the martial instructor then stood up and began performing a set of moves and strange stances.
It was slow yet fluid, soft yet powerful.
"Once you feel the heat in your body, you should release it by exercising or performing a set of moves which utilises internal energy. If done correctly, just one day of training would be a weeks worth of gruelling torture, whilst a set of proper techniques can produce results equivalent to training for a month."
Those words ignited a fire in all of the prisoners.
So if they learn that, they can speed up their training by at least ten times?!
It looked easy enough.
Breathe a certain way, feel some heat in the body, then do some slow movements!
Seeing their expressions, the martial instructor just inwardly sighed.
Truly ignorant.
Only through attempting will they realise how difficult it truly is...
If it was so easy, why didn't everyone in the world learn martial arts?
Although Ascenders look down on martial arts, even they would learn it if it was so easy.
Who would reject even the smallest boost in strength?
To most, the movements looked simple.
Almost lazy.
Even Syth thought it looked quite simple. Of course, outwardly.
But he knew otherwise.
However, at this moment, Syth was experiencing something else entirely.
Syth's brow had furrowed the moment the instructor began moving.
For him, something was different.
He blinked.
There were lines.
Faint, ghostly threads.
Trails of something — energy, maybe? — trailing behind the instructor's movements. They flickered at the edge of his vision, vanishing as soon as they came.
Syth blinked again.
And they returned.
Only… clearer.
Threadlike strands weaving through the instructor's limbs, rippling through the air with every breath.
He was startled at first.
Was he hallucinating?
No one else was reacting to it so it might be...
With the movements created by the martial instructor, the threads seemed to flow smoothly around his body, almost looking as if it was being... guided?
And in that moment, Syth understood.
'Is this... my otherworldly blessing?'
Syth pondered deeply.
It had to be.
'Those lines seem to be going with the flow of his movements. It's likely internal energy being controlled by the instructor. Perhaps the reason why I haven't discovered my otherworldly blessing was because it was related to energy, and I've only now been exposed to it?'
The more Syth thought about it, the more he was sure.
At this realisation, a deep sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.
An otherworldly blessing?
This was really too good!
He inwardly smirked.
'An otherworldly blessing which helps cultivation?'
Perhaps luck might be on his side after all.
Then, perhaps...
'I won't have to waste time being a slave for more than a year...'
To be selected among the ten, that can be the next goal he can strive for.