Only I Am A Reader

While it definitely took more energy and time to remove the stubborn specks, the same basic rule was still maintained, progress was being made regardless!

It had only taken two weeks to achieve a basic channel clearing, but clearing the imperfections took more than a day per channel. Even when Leo exploded into a new wind, his spirit would be soon worn down! It was a never-ending cycle!

'Soon…'

In order to focus on the target without any distractions, Leo silently chanted that success was near, every channel that was completely cleared made the work on the next one slightly easier. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

If it was the same Leo who was yearning to wield any sort of supernatural power at the start of his Sword Breathing practice, he might have already given up to the charm of operating his first Energy Circulation and lighting up his Dantian, but the current Leo was beyond that state!

The danger that he had to prepare for in both worlds, the tasks that he needed to achieve, the power that he needed to grasp, and lastly the change that he had to propagate! All of these were things that made it worth waiting for a better result! That was also how he pushed himself throughout the last year.

'Soon…'

As soon as the pill energy hinted towards disappearance, Leo would automatically throw another pill into his mouth, engaging in another session of 'scrubbing' away the dirt. Even the joyful meal time turned into nothing but a necessary consumption of nutrients. Only in his current state did Leo appreciate the concept of grain pills, but he still couldn't be harsh on himself to ask for the replacement.

'Soo… n…'

At the start of the fourth week, Leo no longer went out to shower, even his one-track mind was on the brink of collapsing. The basic suppression of emotion that he relied on was being broken due to lack of balance, he was on his last ropes…

Even then, Leo denied taking any sort of break. Others would say that refreshing before diving into work was helpful, but that was the opposite to him. As soon as he gave up his persistence, returning to this task would be impossible, he could only finish the task at once or completely give up on the task, there was no other option!

'Soon!'

However, things weren't only negative, as each Energy Channel reached complete clearance and connected with one another, the end goal grew brighter and brighter! Perfect clearance was possible, he only had to strive for it!

The sound of footsteps coming from outside had increased lately, but Leo paid it no heed. Both his vision and mind were obscured from anything or anyone else but himself!

'Soon! Soon!'

Leo was no longer sure about the time at this moment, but his agitation was already overflowing as he honed the remaining Energy Channel, each speck cleared made his heart beat faster! This was one last home run!

'Soon!'

Even with the last obstacle finally cleared, Leo's mind didn't clear up. Like a raging beast that had been just let loose, he couldn't stop as he intently observed the twelve Energy Channels shining with a blinding light! Another Blood Rose Initiation Pill was directly thrown into his mouth!

'The rose of blood shall rise, painting the sky red. The Scarlet Sky shall cover the world…'

The chant of the Scarlet Sky Breathing Technique played out in his mind as the flow of air going into his nose changed, slowly absorbing the natural energy of the world into his body. Without any further alert, the faint energy streams pushed the scarlet pill energy forward, driving it into the first Energy Channel!

"Huuu… haaa…"

Leo felt like he was still in control of everything, but his body seemed to automatically operate, giving him the point of view of a bystander. He could already guess what was happening, but that didn't matter, he simply let himself be immersed in the state of unobstructed flow. The Energy that had yet to become his was smoothly flowing from one channel to another, bringing him comfort with each cycle…

[ Reading Attribute, 'Ability Reading', has been activated! ]

Leo was aware, Energy Circulation could never be this fast regardless of the degree of Energy Channel Clearance. He was likely still in the middle of his first one, but he was experiencing dozens after dozens of finished cycles!

However, he wasn't lost, rather, the mentality damaged under weeks of abuse was slowly recovering, his mind was growing clearer by the second. The concept of time seemed to blur in this state, this was his core ability at play!

Under the effect of his forced seclusion, Leo couldn't accurately tell, but it felt like he had circulated his energy for years, at least over ten thousand cycles were completed! If this was real, the amount of Internal Energy that Leo would have accumulated would have been enough to push him directly into the level of a 2nd-rate Martial Artist… but Leo soon woke up.

'It's there…'

He could sense the faint warmth flowing in his belly, this was a sign of Dantain opening. He wasn't sure about the amount, but Leo had finally obtained Internal Energy!

Although he had suffered in the process of taking the first step as he desired to achieve the best result possible, the second step was taken so smoothly! This was the result of one of the advantages he inherently possessed as an anomaly!

'I should…'

As the negativity in Leo's heart quickly faded away, his thoughts flowed towards his next move. He had to report his achievement, but… The most important task on hand was to find something to eat! He had to…

Unfortunately, even as Leo's mind pushed on, his mind could no longer do so. Before his thoughts had come to fruition, his body had already given up collapsing on the bed that he had been sitting on.

Shhh…shhh…shhik…

At this moment where even Leo's alert could no longer be maintained, the door to his room was slowly pushed open as a silhouette cast its shadow on the room…