15 15. ENDURE IT!
"The biggest disadvantage is the high mortality rate of the treatment since one mistake in the process might cause the specimen to die. The complexity of this method is also due to the constant effort of the specimen who must actively control the "Breath" while their body is being destroyed and reconstructed. Besides this, another issue is represented by the fact that the subject needs a skillful helper to aid him in successfully carrying out the destruction process of the acupoints on their back, which are impossible to reach for the specimen themselves. Furthermore, they cannot practice any different body-nourishing methods before finishing the seven cycles of the treatment since the acupoints on his body are still fragile and can't withstand any other form of nourishment. Last is the worthiness of undergoing such torture since the specimen can just wait for their dantian to be formed and then use an orthodox nourishing method instead of risking his life. It is said that the Mad Doctor, the creator of the method, had his dantian severely damaged but didn't give up on cultivating, and that's why he came up with this treatment."
Noah kept explaining while he was following William down the rocky passage, his Master would only nod every time he finished a sentence.
A sound came from behind them as the source of light got cut out, it was the wall closing again by itself.
Only then Noah noticed some little lights at the bottom of the passage that were wooden torches fixed on the walls of the dungeon.
With his already quite strong mental energy, it was not a problem for him to keep going down even before his eyes got used to the darkness.
"The greatest advantage once completing all the seven cycles is that you will obtain a rank 3 body susceptible to the "Breath". It will enhance your performance when using martial arts and vastly strengthen your senses. The reason the body can be considered of rank 3 is that after seven cycles, the quality of "Breath" will equal that of a dantian, so the level of nourishment will be the same. Moreover, differently from any other nourishing technique, the Seven Hells method doesn't need meditative forms or postures to refill the "Breath" in the body because the acupoints created will continuously keep on absorbing "Breath" according to the current cycle, until the body is full of it. At last, when the treatment is over, the body will work like a smaller dantian, so the cultivator's absorbing process will be faster, and their storage space will be bigger. It is to underline that most of these advantages will diminish in effectiveness once the cultivator steps on a higher realm."
While Noah was speaking, they walked past several metal cells, mostly empty.
Only some of them contained restrained people.
They were no more than skin and bones.
After some time, they turned right and passed through a metal door, entering a room full of torture tools.
William pointed at a rusty table with metal handcuffs on both sides.
"Take off the upper part of your clothes and lie down with your belly pointing to the ground, I will tie you to the table and give you some piece of cloth to bite. Then we will begin."
As Noah was about to take off his clothes, William put a hand on his shoulder and asked hesitantly:
"From now on, there is no turning back, this is your last chance to stop yourself from doing something you might regret."
Noah smiled a little seeing how concerned William was and honestly answered:
"There has never been a way back for me Master, not since this bastard, son of a whore, had the stupid dream of becoming strong."
Then he undressed, and with his half-naked body, he laid down on the metal table with spread arms and legs and his back pointing at the ceiling.
William felt a bit of pity.
Heaven and Earth were fair to everyone giving them talent and methods to become strong, yet humans were greedy and had monopolized the methods to obtain even more power.
'If it's power you seek, you must serve under those that can teach you how to obtain it. I wonder what I would have done if I were in this kid's situation.'
Observing this ten-and-a-half-year-old kid lying on the table used to torture prisoners, William steeled his resolve and went near him.
First, he chained both his arms and legs to the handcuffs, and then he took a piece of cloth from inside his sleeve and put it in Noah's mouth.
"I'm going to begin, I will destroy the seven acupoints in the order described by the Mad Doctor then you will be on your own. Good luck."
William put his hand on Noah's back and concentrated.
He scanned the body, searching for the precise position of the acupoints, and once he found them he gathered seven slivers of "Breath" from his dantian and inserted them on the boy's back.
"I'm going to start."
Noah tightened his grip on the chains, ready for the wave of pain.
CRACK
The first sliver of "Breath" detonated destroying one acupoint with it.
An indescribable pain ran through Noah as he let out a scream through the piece of cloth in his mouth.
"GHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He felt his back shattering as he convulsed, trying to run away from the pain inside him.
William remained impassive since he knew that he could not lose his focus on the other six slivers of "Breath".
"Now, two more!"
He yelled.
CRACK CRACK
Two more slivers detonated, destroying the corresponding acupoints.
This time Noah felt as someone was using a hammer to keep on smashing his already broken back.
Even while he was screaming and convulsing, Noah repeated the same simple sentence in his mind.
'ENDURE IT! ENDURE IT! ENDURE IT!'
His entire focus was on staying conscious, during this process, his extraordinary progress with mental energy was showing its fruits.
But William could not wait for him to get accustomed to the pain.
"Three more!"
CRACK CRACK CRACK
Noah stopped trying to control his body, or to say it better, he could not control his body anymore.
If it weren't for William holding him down on the table, he would have probably torn his own hands and feet out from the shackles.
Traces of blood appeared on the cloth inside Noah's mouth as he kept on screaming without an end.
He entered a frenzied state where he could not understand if he was thinking of something or yelling it.
Yet, the sentence in his mind was still the same.
'ENDURE IT!'
"Last one!"
CRACK
This time, the pain didn't increase, but a familiar feeling dawned on him.
'Is this... death? So it's a race between the death of the body and the reconstruction of it! Bring it on!'
The whirl was being created, and William kept on holding Noah's body down to let him focus on the reconstruction.
Through all the pain and the feeling of his body dying, Noah finally felt the presence of the "Breath" inside his back.
It was being accumulated at high speed and was lingering upon him.
'Now!'
Ignoring all other sensations, he solely focused on the "Breath" drawing it toward the seven places where his acupoints once were.
The "Breath" entered the now empty spaces and accumulated until they were full.
After the spaces were full, Noah used the remaining "Breath" to close off the space around the new acupoints, waiting for them to form.
Little by little, the "Breath" mixed with some bone shards started to solidify and link itself to his skeletal and circulatory systems.
Another wave of pain assaulted Noah as the newly formed acupoints forcefully fixed themselves on the already existing parts of his body, but he was ready for it.
He kept holding on with his life slowly sliding away, going toward a darkness that he knew too well.
Then the first acupoint ended its solidification process and completely fixed itself within Noah's body.
A wave of strength ran through him as the acupoint started working.
Then it was time for the second one, and then the third, till all the seven new acupoints started working properly.
He held on to the barriers he created to isolate the process for fear that something could go wrong, but feeling the darkness getting further and further away he started to relax and slowly released his concentration.
With that new life invading his body, drowsiness took control of him while he was struggling to stay awake, but at that point, William held his head and said with a whisper:
"It's ok, you did it. You can rest now."
Noah's last mental resistance vanished hearing those words, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.
****
Edited by: Alessandro Sica
