This, John realized, was where his "serene state" would prove invaluable. By slipping into that heightened state of internal awareness, he could acutely feel the subtle currents within him, experimenting with different breath patterns until he discovered a personal Chi breathing method that caused his internal energy to respond with growing vigor, a perfectly tailored key to him.
John's physical training, too, reached new heights. He hammered away at The Broken Step, focusing intensely on its disruptive footwork to create angles for evasion and control. Each session, he relentlessly pushed himself to maintain the precise, energy-efficient movements he'd glimpsed in his serene state, even without its direct enhancement. He refined his Iron Flow Method, strengthening his core and limbs, building a foundation of internal resilience.
He was now so comfortable with his chosen martial arts that he began consciously trying to direct Chi to fortify his body against impact. This wasn't easily accomplished in his normal state; the subtle manipulation proved elusive. But in his serene state, John found himself operating at what he recognized as the Master stage of Chi application. He could effortlessly infuse Chi during combat drills, making his Dog Fang Grapple strikes surprisingly potent, each bone-jarring blow delivered with unsettling efficiency. The internal power behind his movements was starkly evident.
As always, John immediately tried incorporating this method when he was in his normal state. It was difficult, like trying to recall a dream with perfect clarity. Yet, his previous experience in the serene state provided a crucial clue—a tangible memory of what it should feel and be like. So, he persisted, repeatedly attempting to bridge the gap between his enhanced and normal perceptions, driven by the certainty that the connection was there, waiting to be solidified.
True to his word, John began his nightly sessions with the eager, desperate trainees. The main hall became his laboratory, and they, his instruments. He didn't offer comfort or platitudes; he offered cold, hard instruction, delivered with an unwavering, intense focus.
His primary objective with them was to push the limits of his own adrenal manipulation. His progress on this unique superpower and the corresponding growth in his mental strength became astonishingly clear this month. He started by systematically inducing the "serene state" on one person at a time, feeling the mental strain of each subtle alteration. Within a few days, that strain lessened, and he found himself able to induce the state in two people simultaneously. Soon, it was more than two, until he could affect an entire small group at once.
By the second week of the current month, his mental strength had grown so profoundly that he no longer needed physical contact to induce the state. It was as if a new sensory organ had bloomed inside his head. He could now subtly feel and sense the adrenal glands of everyone around him, like faint, distinct pulsations. All he needed was to push his will, a silent command, to activate those organs and plunge them into their respective states.
He observed their eyes lose their frantic energy, their bodies relax, their minds become receptive. This repeated, intense exertion of his unique mental power on multiple subjects was precisely the workout his own mind needed. He could feel the resistance in their minds, the subtle pushback, and the way his own mental strength flexed and grew with each successful induction. It was like lifting increasingly heavy weights for his brain, a rigorous conditioning that sharpened his focus and expanded his mental endurance far beyond what self-application could achieve.
He forced them into prolonged meditation once in that state, pushing them past their usual limits of discomfort, observing their reactions. Due to them focused on sensing Chi, none of them had time to study and John had to teach them basic Chi breathing methods, simplified and repetitive, designed to maintain their receptive state and, as a secondary effect, awaken any dormant internal energies. Many struggled, but John's presence, his cold gaze, and the unspoken threat hanging in the air kept them from breaking formation.
Yet, amidst this mental exertion for John and the struggle for the trainees, an interesting side effect emerged. About a dozen of the twenty-odd remaining trainees experienced their first genuine contact with Chi. Perhaps it was John's own focused mental force, perhaps the sheer desperation of their circumstances, or simply a latent talent finally pushed to its breaking point.
It was a faint hum, a fleeting warmth, a subtle pressure they couldn't quite grasp but undeniably felt. John observed these breakthroughs with a detached satisfaction. They were validating his broader theories about Chi accessibility and providing him with invaluable live data on early Chi manifestations in varied individuals, a beneficial byproduct of his true purpose.
These successful few became his immediate focus, receiving slightly more direct guidance on how to nurture their nascent connection, becoming more refined tools for his mental exercises. The others, he noted, would either catch up or fall behind, no longer his immediate concern unless they proved to be a disruptive element. His pattern was working perfectly.
Yet, despite the undeniable success of his routine, John soon found his mental growth coming to a halt. The trainees, even those with nascent Chi, could no longer provide the necessary resistance to push his adrenal manipulation further. He was also beginning to lose interest in interacting with them; their predictable responses offered little in the way of new data or challenge.
To John's surprise, the trainees seemingly guessed his waning interest and panicked. They began to scramble, desperate to prove their continued usefulness. They proposed ideas, some suggesting sparring with him, but John denied them. He found no immediate benefit in such an exchange. There was only one week left until the next assessment, and while he wasn't a proficient user, John was already operating at the Master stage of Chi—able to direct it to make his body lighter and faster, even making his punches stronger. To him, basic sparring offered no immediate growth.
Then, to John's even greater surprise, they came up with something better. It was those who had already made contact with their Chi who brought about this change, and it happened by accident.
During a routine session where John induced the serene state in the trainees, he accidentally noticed something new and immensely valuable. There was significantly more pushback to his mental commands, a tangible resistance from certain individuals in maintaining the state. For the first time in weeks, John began to feel a familiar, subtle mental fatigue creep in a sensation he hadn't experienced since his rapid breakthrough.
It didn't take John long to isolate the reason. It mirrored something he himself had begun to notice the more he practiced his Chi: a subtle, growing ability to manipulate his own body's internal functions. It was small, almost imperceptible to an untrained eye, but John found he could consciously slow his heartbeat, make his breath shallower, and even subtly adjust the state of his internal organs. These were precisely the kind of advanced physiological controls that a figure like Batman, a master of self-discipline, might achieve through rigorous training.
From this, John quickly drew a crucial conclusion: if someone had enough internal control over their own body, his adrenal manipulation would be far more draining to use on them. It would require significantly more mental energy from him to override their conscious or subconscious resistance.
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