Chapter 17 - Qi Outburst
Noah's silent moans continued for hours on end. Sophia spent most of that time holding his hand, waiting for the pain he felt to subside. But after a few hours, she eventually fell asleep with her head resting beside his, still gently clutching his hand.
A little over two hours after Sophia had fallen asleep...
'Phew...! It's finally stopped... Huh? What is this... Ah, I think I get it...'
Once the pain that wracked Noah's body subsided, he felt something warm and comforting envelop his hand. After a moment's reflection, he quickly realized what it was.
'...Apparently, she fell asleep while watching me, because these locks I'm seeing are definitely hers. So, what am I going to do now? I can't speak, nor can I move, so obviously I can't leave this room... He said I should use this time to stabilize my cultivation, right? Well, let's see...'
Noah slowly closed his eyes, feeling a slight discomfort as he did so, though this pain was not as intense as the others; he managed to close his eyes with ease. With them shut, Noah began to meditate, and after a few minutes, he started slowly absorbing Qi into his body. Yet, fearing that his injuries might disrupt his meditation—causing him to lose concentration—he decided to absorb the Qi in small, cautious amounts so that if he lost control, the risk of further injury would be minimized.
But then a doubt crept into his mind:
'How exactly do I 'stabilize my cultivation,' anyway...?'
Time passed, and the more Qi Noah absorbed, the more he felt a growing, internal pain. However, he couldn't pinpoint the source of this discomfort since he wasn't moving, and it didn't seem to be related to his wounds. Not knowing where it came from or what was causing it, Noah continued to absorb the Qi around him, hoping that the pain would eventually lessen.