The day passed quickly.
Kaori and the other members of his department greatly appreciated his efficiency, based on their remarks.
Unfortunately, the department head grimaced at the mention of paid vacation.
From the original Gorou's memory, he hadn't yet exhausted all his leave for the year.
However, a problem arose regarding his request.
The company was currently handling an important document, and it needed all its best personnel.
That's why Gorou's superior didn't welcome the news of his vacation with enthusiasm.
Especially since Kaori Mamiya also had to be absent during the same period.
'I only need a month… no, two weeks should suffice,' he told himself, before insisting several times.
In the end, Gorou's superior relented and approved a month of paid vacation.
Now, all that remained was to receive the official letter confirming the start of his leave.
"Now, I need to start the process of getting a proper loan from the bank and finding a place close enough to nature for training," muttered Gorou as he drove his car out of Kuoh City.
Gorou didn't want to hide from his wife that he had taken out a loan from the bank.
Yet, he had to do it.
Any idea of gain required too much time before producing real results.
Unfortunately, Gorou was short on time.
Issei Hyoudou had already become a devil, meaning the canonical events, like the arrival of the young Asia, would occur in about a month.
'This will be perfect. There's even a temple not far away,' he thought as he walked through the forest to a small waterfall.
Gorou hadn't chosen this place at random, as his training ground had to meet very specific criteria.
The most important were: safety, a high concentration of natural energy, and a spot sheltered from prying eyes.
'I got lucky there's a temple not far from Kuoh,' he thought before sitting on a rock near the water and taking a few deep breaths to ease his fatigue.
Even though he had inherited 10% of the power of a general who once shook China, Gorou still had to digest Kai's strength, according to the System.
Otherwise, Gorou would have no fear of encountering a stray devil; he could simply rely on his kung fu and his small reserve of Chi to prevail.
Unfortunately, Gorou was nothing more than an old vehicle equipped with a Formula One engine.
He had to train his body, because powerful Chi required a solid vessel.
Kai had died because he was unable to contain all the Chi he took from Po.
Gorou had no intention of suffering such a miserable end.
Thus, he adjusted his posture on the rock and began meditating on his internal energy (Chi).
'Kai could wield his kung fu and Chi simultaneously, but I'm afraid of making a mistake at this stage,' he thought in the lotus position.
According to his current knowledge, martial arts masters could be roughly classified into eleven levels.
Gorou had created this mental ranking based on Kai's understanding of a martial artist's evolution, as well as a novel from his past life titled "Regressor's Tale of Cultivation".
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Even though the middle-aged man found it strange that the path of a martial artist in Po's world resembled the one described in Regressor's Tale of Cultivation, he decided to consider it a stroke of luck.
'The System gave me Kai because I was compatible. If I train my Chi like in the novel Regressor's Tale of Cultivation, could I artificially increase my chances of obtaining cultivation novel protagonists?' After having this thought, the image of a man surrounded by glass swords came to mind.
Seo Eun-hyun.
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Gorou knew it well: if he managed to obtain his template, he could defeat any threat in this universe.
No, in the end, Gorou judged that Kim Young-hoon would already be sufficient.
This idea, though born randomly, became increasingly credible in his mind.
Yet, he had to think about it later—it wasn't the time.
Gorou then mentally outlined the levels a martial artist could reach through Chi, combining Kai's understanding and the teachings from "Regressor's Tale of Cultivation".
Beginner:
Learns a martial art or an internal energy method but is unable to use both simultaneously.
Intermediate:
Learns both a martial art and an internal energy method to a decent level but still unable to use them simultaneously.
Advanced:
Capable of using martial arts and internal energy methods simultaneously.
'The first three levels can be learned alone, through pure talent,' he analyzed while circulating his Chi as his memories indicated. 'But we're still in the realm accessible to mortals.'
These first three levels corresponded to "third-rate" martial artists in Gorou's classification, a title given to show they were weak and their Chi wasn't very useful in combat.
Next came second-rate masters, each subdivided into three levels:
Beginner: Master both martial arts and internal energy techniques.
Intermediate: Perfectly master martial arts and internal energy techniques.
Advanced: Use martial arts and internal energy methods simultaneously in a fluid, effortless manner.
At this stage, the martial artist was officially superhuman and had completed orthodox training. To go further, they would have to find their own path.
Such was the principle of the "First-Rate Master" stage, as Gorou perceived in his memory.
The Five Energies on Cyclone:
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Beginner: Achieve freedom in martial arts and internal energy, unbound by manuals.
Intermediate: Understand the essence of one's martial art and project internal energy outward.
Advanced: Unify man and weapon, project internal energy efficiently and effectively, develop intent.
'Currently, I already have intent, since it's a state of mind, and I have 10% of Kai's memories,' he thought with a slight smile.
The final level was named by Gorou: Peak Master.
Kai himself had only reached the middle of this stage, through hard work and his understanding of his path: stealing from others.
Gorou knew only two of the three stages of this realm, according to the information in Kai's memory.
Early: Accustom the brain to perceiving intents, seeing either red lines (others) or blue lines (self) simultaneously.
Middle: Visualize red and blue lines simultaneously, infuse intent into attacks (weapon aura, sword thread), and project a greater number of lines.
Unlike Kai and his sworn brother Oogway, Gorou knew there were far higher levels in Chi mastery.
How could he ignore it? He had literally read the story of an old man who managed to integrate the concept of "going home" into his blade's intent… to the point of tearing space-time.
The individual named Kim Young-hoon had deeply marked Gorou back then.
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"Hmm… I can feel the change in me," he muttered as his Chi circulated through his body and mingled with the external Chi through his breathing.
Gorou's lower abdomen (dantian) tingled during the process, and with each breath, he felt sudden surges of energy.
Finally, he felt it… the wall (chakra).
It wasn't a physical barrier but a mental one, and it wasn't there to block his evolution but to protect it.
From what? From the malice of the outside world.
The art of training one's Chi was known as senjutsu in the "High School DxD" universe.
Anyone who dared walk the path of a sage had to prepare to face the malice emitted by others.
The possibility of being negatively affected was real, as it could drive one mad.
Kai's world didn't really have this problem, since its worldly laws were different.
However, Gorou was in a different case. He not only had to beware of his inner demons on his martial path but also the malice of others.
'Thank you for watching over me, but… the bird must leave its parents' protection sooner or later,' he said naturally.
Of course, he received no response from the wall.
Gorou expected as much but didn't stop and shattered the obstacle. Thus, he gained full access to the world's external Ki and a new sense unknown to other humans: sensitivity to the aura and chakra around him.
Immediately, the middle-aged man perceived another world beneath his eyes, weary from work and age.
A world filled with intents, physical energies (aura), and spiritual energies (chakra) dancing in harmony.
His own internal Chi began resonating with it before he even realized.
'Damn, I was lucky to do this here,' he thought as a massive amount of natural energy mingled with his internal energy.
If Gorou had been in the city, he could have been in serious trouble.
He might have been affected by others' malice, as well as his own due to lack of focus.
"*Cough*… impurities? Haha, that's not part of Kai's memories, but I'm not saying no," he said after interrupting his meditation.
The moment he opened his eyes, Gorou observed his surroundings after the meditation.
Due to the very nature of Kai's training method, he had greedily absorbed nature's energy.
All the plants seemed dead, and a malicious greenish aura briefly glowed around him before vanishing.
'… I didn't filter the intents in the natural energy I absorbed, nor did I take the time to refine it,' he thought, frowning.
He also realized the need to exercise his Chi.
He had to avoid stealing others' Chi but harmonize with it and with nature before assimilating it as his own.
That was the only way he had found if he didn't want to fall into the warning Oogway had passed to his old friend: "The more you take from others, the less you have."
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