Chapter 37 - The First Technique
Noah flipped through the book page by page—his reading speed was so rapid that Sophia found herself wondering if he was actually comprehending anything written on the pages. (She had taken three weeks to learn that movement technique when she was 9, of course.)
Sighing, Noah set the book aside. Sophia assumed he'd given up because he couldn't decipher the descriptions—especially those detailing the hundreds of possible variations for the steps—but he immediately picked up the next one.
"Eh... that's not how it's supposed to be done, Noah... training in martial arts is—"
"I know, it takes attention and focus," he replied, recalling the words of his old instructor. To Noah, however, that was irrelevant—as long as the result came, that was all that mattered.
Sophia found it strange—Noah seemed to know exactly what he was doing, even though he'd claimed he'd never practiced martial arts before. In truth, he was reading, albeit with such an absurd speed that his eyes seemed to catch only a jumble of drawings rather than actual words. She could tell by watching the direction his eyes took—even though at times it seemed they vanished too quickly for her to follow.
Once again, he placed the book on the bed and reached for the last one—a volume of intermediate level. The book was thinner than he had expected.
"You mentioned that this one is different from the other two, but why?" he asked, flipping through it without really reading. (Depending on Sophia's answer, it might not even be worth reading it.)
She sighed and said:
— ...This is a technique we consider intermediate, and unlike the other two—which even practitioners at the Qi Refinement stage can attempt—to train it, you need the ability to control Qi; in other words, you have to be at least a cultivator at the Qi Refinement stage.
"Right..." Noah set that last book aside. "Well, I guess it'll just be these two then."
Sophia saw him struggle to assume a meditative position and, although confused, even helped him. But she couldn't help but ask to clarify her doubts: