A few days later, Jin's injuries had completely healed. His shoulder, which felt like it had been dislocated, became functional again. His abdominal injury had also healed, bringing him back to the limit of what this body could currently handle.
It was only possible because all he did in the past days was cultivate using the demonic qi.
Unfortunately, those were not all there was to his fight against Allen.
In their final bout, he had forcefully pushed the demonic qi through his meridians. His meridians, which were previously clogged and almost unused, couldn't take the pressure and were injured as well. His lower dantian, which was unused to the newly found demonic qi, became even more fragile.
His recovery had lasted so long solely due to his useless meridians and lower dantian. Otherwise, he would be back on his feet in a single day since demonic qi had an unreasonably fast recovery rate.
Nevertheless, after recovering, not only had his meridians recovered, they were also much healthier and wider now, allowing a smoother flow of qi. His lower dantian, which was like a cracked glass sphere, held a lot more demonic qi now, its outer walls thicker than before.
He had to continuously expend his demonic qi and then refine it once again, repeating this process until the qi's healing effect took place. This helped him lessen the time needed to refine his qi and store it as demonic qi.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Even now, if he wanted a dantian full of demonic qi, he needed to cultivate straight for a few hours. At least minor inconveniences while cultivating his energy didn't bother him much anymore, but they were still detrimental to his meridians, exposing him to qi deviation.
'This much is useful for now. Cultivating any longer won't be of much help.'
Jin was standing in his room, his entire body drenched in sweat. His breathing was heavy and controlled at the same time, his gaze sharper than before.
Once his body had healed, he began his physical training. He knew that his cultivation was important to him as a martial artist, but his martial arts would be incomplete without a trained body.
And Lian's body was far from trained.
Completing the first trial had at least strengthened his weak bones and tightened his loose muscles. But there was still no force behind his punches, his body barely usable in a battle without his demonic qi.
'I can't rely on my qi all the time.'
Fortunately, Jin knew better than most. Once he was done analyzing his physique and the strength he could exert at once after facing Allen, he knew that he was far behind his peers.
As he went down for another set of squats, a translucent screen popped up in front of him. It was the same status screen he had seen countless times by now.
— — —
Name: Mu Jin (Recognition unstable)
Designation: Irregular Participant
Rank: 1
Floor Cleared: First Floor – The Burned Realm
Core Status: Essence Core Formed
Core Ability: Demonic Arts (Non-Systemic / Unregistered)
Ability Class: —
Ability Description:
To become one with one's emotions and inner dissonance, drawing strength from imbalance, suffering, and unrestrained will.
Constraint:
Its true potential cannot be invoked through intent alone. The art responds only when the user is deeply immersed in emotional instability.
Cost:
Excessive use erodes mental clarity, weakens emotional distinction, and invites assimilation into one's inner demons. Prolonged use may result in irreversible loss of self.
Tower Recognition: Incomplete
Tower Evaluation: A participant outside the intended order.
— — —
'I can understand my core ability being Demonic Arts, but why is it calling me an irregular participant? Is it due to my transmigration?'
Jin's consciousness getting trapped inside Lian's body was something even he had never known was possible. And Jin was an entity that was considered a deity in his past life. There were a few things he didn't know or thought were strange.
And the tower was stranger than anything he had ever seen in his life. Not only had it recognized him as Mu Jin and not Lian, but it had also recognized the Demonic Arts. It also gave a clear description of his core ability, which barely anyone knew outside the Heavenly Demon Sect, even in his own world.
'I can't ignore the thought of my previous world being connected to the tower as well. Otherwise, none of this makes sense.'
Jin hated it when he couldn't understand things, as most people did. It was the only conclusion he could arrive at. And with how little he still knew about the tower, this much was enough to put him at ease.
Pacing himself, he moved his gaze below the description of his ability.
Unlike how the tower had understood the demonic qi, it had failed to notice how Jin had mixed the qi in his lower dantian with his demonic qi, increasing its effects and usefulness substantially.
He grinned faintly.
'It seems Kang and I still are the only people who know about this technique.'
With the constraint not being much of a bother to him anymore, the cost was the only thing he was concerned about.
He had also seen a similar phenomenon in his past life. He had witnessed his own junior brothers giving in to their inner demons, turning into feral beasts with no reason or intellect. It was the only and most significant downside to the Demonic Martial Arts.
But it barely posed a threat to Jin. After all, his will alone was strong enough to hold onto his consciousness long enough that he could avoid falling to his inner demons. Even if there came a day when he had to give in to his inner demons to achieve short-term strength, he was certain he could revert to his original state with ease.
His willpower was something he prided himself on. It was so potent that it had even shaken the Heavenly Demon, who was famed for his unbreakable mental fortitude.
Yet, it was something he wouldn't want to see happening. Even if he was capable of handling the cost, he didn't want to pay it.
Finally finishing his final set of squats, he straightened his back.
'I need more information on the tower before I go inside the tower again. No, I need to train this body even further as well. If the trials only get tougher from here, I'll certainly have to face enemies stronger than the ape I slayed in the first trial.'
The more he thought, the more Jin realized just how unprepared he was for the second floor's trial.
Furthermore, he didn't even have any source of information other than Oliver, whom he avoided completely after getting caught a few days earlier in the fight club. Every other member of his family was a mundane person, so they didn't know anything either.
Even if they did know anything, Jin barely talked with them. He only conversed when it was necessary and avoided them on other occasions.
Which brought him back to his initial conclusion. He needed connections, people who knew about the tower far more than he did. There weren't many mundane people that knew what happened inside the tower. The only way was to socialize with other challengers, possibly of his own rank since a challenger of a higher rank would only look down on him.
The places where a bunch of challengers gathered were clans.
'A clan… or perhaps a mercenary guild. I need to make myself useful if I want to know more about this world.'
He had known about the existence of clans and mercenary guilds in the city, but he didn't know how he was supposed to enter one. He didn't even know whether a first-ranker like him was needed anywhere.
But to find that out, he had to return to the city and investigate.
'Training inside the house won't help me grow either way; I need more real experiences to better attune this body to violence and battle.'
He was also aware of his uselessness in the house. Despite being holed up inside his room the past few days, his share of food would always be prepared. Lian, too, had wanted to enter the tower to one day be able to support the house.
It was about time Jin took on his responsibility and found himself a source of income. It would also help him support his own endeavors as time passed.
Even in this life, he found himself having to earn a living once again, which was quite ironic since he was known for freeloading in his past life as well. It was only after he met Seo that he was able to find himself a job.
Once again, he found himself missing his versatile friend.
A sudden knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. Before he could answer, the door opened. Leaning against the doorframe, Maria scanned his body. Being almost half naked, Jin felt embarrassed.
Immediately, wearing the shirt resting on his bed, he spoke in a rushed tone.
"Um… did you need something?"
Maria scoffed.
"Why? Can I not disturb you for no reason at all?"
Jin was speechless. He was used to several types of people. Yet, he found himself clueless when talking to Maria. He was unsure whether it was because he felt awkward or if she was the only one who looked at him with suspicion.
Knocking on the doorframe, she continued.
"Both the walls and doors are thin in this house. If you keep grunting all day and night like that… I think you get what I mean."
Jin felt like he was taking damage simply from her words. He couldn't really sleep since he didn't get any painkillers again, and healing his meridians needed his entire attention. He never considered that his voices had escaped outside his room.
Turning back to the corridor, she spoke in a carefree tone.
"Well, since you look alright, head to the city tomorrow. Sitting inside your room all day like a young master is not allowed in this house. You need some cardio after that workout."
Exhaling deeply, he closed the door.
Dismissing his status screen, he sat back on his bed. The sky outside was growing dimmer, the sun seemingly about to set.
"Yeah… I need to find a job as fast as possible. It's the only way to find a better place to train."
With that, he found another reason to head to the city.