The only thing he could manage was a deep, sustained meditation. He lay on the ground, eyes closed, taking slow, steady breaths, pushing down the agony and focusing on his core. Hours passed in this manner, the sun arching higher, then beginning its descent. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, John was able to re-establish proper contact with his Chi.
Immediately, he began to drive the revitalizing energy through his battered frame. There were a lot of places that needed tending, but he focused first on the most painful ones—the blossoming bruise on his temple, the searing ache in his ribs, the throbbing in his joints. He was lucky; no bones were broken, a testament to his Iron Flow Method conditioning. But at the rate he was growing, John is expecting his mentor to become even more heavy-handed next time.
If he was to avoid that escalating brutality, he needed to grow fast enough that his mentor wouldn't have the chance to be more heavy-handed. He needed to be beyond that level of assessment.
John felt a surge of grim satisfaction. He was simply ecstatic he had passed this month. Now, he could finally dedicate himself to studying the ancient texts, to developing his unique powers, and most critically, to growing his mental strength to better handle the immense demands of his Chi manipulation.
As John opened his eyes and slowly stood up, the pains were still there, a dull ache in his battered body, but they no longer overwhelmed his senses. "I wonder how many made it back, or passed this time," he murmured to himself, the thought a cold, objective assessment rather than a compassionate one.
He walked towards the housing block where all the trainees lived. It was quiet. Too quiet. Normally, it wasn't loud, but one could still catch traces of distant chatter or the clang of training equipment. Now, there was an unsettling silence.
John walked towards his own room. As he opened the door, he was welcomed by his dog, a blur of eager fur and wagging tail. He had no idea if the dog truly understood the grim realities of the League, but the sheer, unbridled excitement radiating from the animal showed it had been waiting for him, patiently.
John found himself smiling, a genuine, unforced expression, and he knelt to pet the dog. But the moment of warmth was fleeting. He quickly stopped, a cold, analytical look replacing the smile as he stood up, detaching himself from the simple affection. He couldn't be caught lacking, not even for a moment. He wondered sometimes if the League had genuinely forgotten about the bets placed on them, or if they were subtly making them believe they had forgotten, allowing them to get more drawn in, to push their limits further before the true stakes were revealed.
John fell onto his bed, instantly slipping back into meditation. He needed to recover from the intense mental fatigue of the assessment before he could properly begin the rigorous process of healing his physical injuries once again.
Some hours passed in that profound stillness. When John finally opened his eyes, he rose and walked towards the bathroom. "Two days," he thought to himself. Two days was his estimate to get back to full health, utilizing his improved Chi healing.
Making his way to the canteen, John was prepared to assess how many of his batchmates remained. As soon as he walked in, he was welcomed by an abrupt silence and a scattering of widened eyes. Shock was evident in their gazes as they took in his pristine figure: no bandages, barely a bruise. John, meanwhile, was taken aback himself. "The loss was too much," he thought. He didn't know if there were others who hadn't made it to the canteen yet, but in front of him, there were only about twenty or so trainees from his batch left.
Sitting down at his usual table, his mind racing with calculations and grim observations, John's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. A voice broke through his internal monologue. He glanced up to find his table completely filled, with others standing nearby, all bearing a pleading look on their faces.
John's gaze, devoid of warmth, swept across the anxious faces surrounding his table. He recognized some from the training hall that night, others he merely knew by sight from his batch. Their desperate eyes, wide with a mixture of hope and barely suppressed fear, confirmed his earlier calculation. The silence they offered was no longer one of fear-induced distance, but one of pleading anticipation.
"John, please," one young man, whose name John vaguely recalled as Kael, stammered, his voice hoarse. "You... you recovered so fast. And Elias... what you did to him, the way you have changed." He trailed off, unable to articulate the terrifying marvel they had witnessed.
Another chimed in, a girl with bandages still peeking from under her uniform. "We saw Anya. She was finding something. You know what it is. We need it. We're running out of time." The collective nod from the others underscored her desperation.
John took a slow, deliberate sip of his water, letting the silence stretch, amplifying their unease. He savored the moment, the tangible shift in power. This was precisely the outcome he had engineered. Their fear of him was now eclipsed by their fear of failure, of the League's brutal culling.
He set the cup down with a soft click that resonated in the hushed canteen. His voice, when he spoke, was calm, almost detached, yet it held an undeniable authority. "I told you I would offer no help until after this month's assessment." He paused, letting his gaze meet each hopeful eye. "And I did not lie. The assessment is now complete."
A collective breath was held.
"You seek my help," John continued, his eyes cold, assessing them like specimens. "You seek to understand Chi, to heal, to survive. Elias, in his impatience, broke a critical rule. He sought to disrupt my pattern, and he paid the price. I do not tolerate disruptions. You will listen. You will follow instructions. And you will be patient."
He stood up, towering over the sitting trainees, his presence radiating an unnerving control. "This is not charity. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. You provide the subjects, the data. I provide the method for your survival. Anyone who attempts to undermine this arrangement, anyone who attempts to push their own agenda, will find themselves removed from the equation. Permanently." His voice dropped, a chilling echo of his warning to Elias. "Do we understand each other?"
No one spoke. They merely nodded, some quickly, others slowly, their faces grim. The pleading was gone, replaced by a terrified understanding.
John's lips curved into the barest hint of a smile, invisible to all but himself. "Good. We begin tonight. In the main hall. Be prepared. And bring your focus. This will not be easy." He randomly chose one person and walked past them, leaving behind a silent, shaken group of trainees, his new "test subjects" secured. His path was now clear.
It was late in the evening at the familiar tea room, the same one where Sensei and his son, Ra's, had sat just last night. The air was still, save for the gentle clink of porcelain as Sensei lifted his cup. Outside, John, oblivious to the high-stakes conversation unfolding, was engrossed in setting up a new training pattern.
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