Only I Am A Reader

Chapter 196 - Dantian Expansion

'Very troublesome.'

Although he was absorbed in the process of the breakthrough, Leo couldn't help frowning inwardly. The energy spiraling into his Dantian was supposed to be a rare opportunity to naturally increase his Internal Energy, but it was regrettably leaking away as soon as it made it there…

Through the use of his 'mental energy', Leo was still able to temporarily keep it contained in his body. However, this kind of natural energy couldn't stay for as long as pill energy did. If not stored in the Dantian, it would naturally disperse away!

This ordeal was something that had already been troubling Leo for a while. His Dantian was ironically… full.

After absorbing a dozen months' worth of 'allowance', Leo's under-developed Dantian had reached its full capacity a few months earlier, another reason as to why they received limited resources to begin with. His monthly vacation was no more as every day turned into training day, but Leo didn't give up! He was exactly waiting for this moment!

'Finally!'

Even though his body was in a state of energy oversaturation, Leo directly ingested one of the Scarlet Cloud Pills that he saved up into his mouth! It was just an illusion, but Leo felt full to the point of blowing up!

Ignoring the mental warnings, Leo skipped the first step, directly guiding the overflowing energy into his Dantian without refining it through his Energy Channels. It was finally time to take the crucial step he was waiting for!

'Slowly…'

Guiding raw energy against the normal procedure was rough. However, Leo still managed to push everything back into his Dantian. The Dantian was on the verge of exploding, while the energy was threatening to escape once more, but Leo forcefully kept it contained inside.

Crack…

Despite the lack of sound, Leo could almost hear it as he observed his Dantian breaking apart. Still, that didn't stop him from focusing on circulating the energy inside at the maximum speed possible. Suffering from Dantian destruction was the same as crippling his future as a Martial Artist, but there could be no creation without destruction!

The circular energy center continued cracking further and further, energy leaked even faster through the little cracks, but…

'Here we go!'

The energy wasn't escaping his body, rather, it was accumulating around the Dantian as he pushed it to. The Dantian's 'shell' was similar to the membrane covering the Energy Channels, except that it was several times harder, and such a membrane was currently surrounding the cracked Dantian as a larger radius!

The accumulated energy fed the membrane while the membrane barely held the energy from escaping, the cycle continued as it grew tougher and tougher. Eventually…

Leo's Dantian crumbled away!

'Done!'

The original shell quietly melted away as it joined the energy spiraling within the membrane's grasp, They blended in with the Internal Energy, becoming one, no longer having the desire to escape Leo's body!

Before long, the membrane turned into an even harder shell under the Internal Energy's circulation! The Dantian Expansion that Leo attempted was a success!

Feeling the abundant space in his expanded Dantian, Leo unconsciously downed down the other Scarlet Cloud Pill. He was simply too immersed to notice, focusing on refining this new energy that flowed into his body…

Whrrr…

As Leo's Energy Channels went back into work, thoughts drafted in Leo's sleeping mind. He had wanted to do this much earlier, but he hadn't been stuck for months by choice. Though slightly risky, Dantian Expansion was a simple process. However, it couldn't be accomplished in the absence of two main requirements!

The first requirement was something that Leo had already attained for a while as one's Dantian 'just' had to be full to the brim. Unfortunately, the second one was a little tougher, one had to achieve an advancement as a Martial Artist, and it could only be done once at each stage. In simple words, it wasn't something a 3rd rate Martial Artist would be capable of no matter how outstanding they were…

In reality, normal Martial Artists would find the second requirement easier to accomplish than the first. In fact, most people wouldn't even attempt it before they became 1st rate Martial Artists due to the lack of both need and resources.

On the other hand, someone like Leo would be an odd case if not compared to established families' or sects' nurtured geniuses. As soon as he took the last step, the process of Dantian Expansion wasn't hard to complete.

"Haaa…"

Turbid air rushed out of Leo's nose as he expelled the last of both damaged and impure energy. The Scarlet Cloud pill energy had long been exhausted in the process of nurturing his Internal Energy and polishing his upgraded Dantian. It was only then that Leo came back to his full senses.

[ Book 2 ]

Name: Cheon Baek-Ho (Leo Lock)

Age: 11 (18)

Role: Reader

Reading Points: 605

________________________

Personal Statistics:

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Internal Energy: 271/271 (Scarlet Sky)

Physique: 3.6

Mind: 0.68 (+2.25)

________________________

Personal Skills:

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'Advanced Swordsmanship' - Chapter 3 - page 2/10

'Intermediate Spearmanship' - Chapter 2 - page 10/10

'Intermediate Close Quarter Combat' - Chapter 2 - page 9/10

'Intermediate Footwork' - Chapter 2 - page 6/10

'Intermediate Smithing' - Chapter 2 - page 0/10

'Basic Horsemanship' - Chapter 1 - page 9/10

________________________

Personal Abilities:

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- 'Scarlet Sky Breathing' - 2nd Rate - 2/10

- 'Internal Energy Channeling' - 5/10

________________________

Personal Talents:

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- 'Cleared Energy Channels' -

- 'Body of Accelerated Recovery' -

- 'Expanded Dantian' - 1/10

________________________

Events:

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- Suffering Delayment - Unique

- A Star's Emergence - Unique

- Sleeping Dragon - Unique

- Twin Star Rising - Unique

________________________

The first thing Leo did in his confused clarity was call out his Personal Book. Once again, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, but confirming the result of this unexpected 'seclusion' training was still the main purpose.

Thankfully, his Internal Energy was no longer capped at 20 years, and even his Mind and Physique received a small spike. It didn't seem like much, but this was all presumably the result of him maxing out his 'Intermediate Spearmanship'...

"Oh, are you done?"

In the midst of his thoughts, Leo finally registered the presence of the person he had momentarily forgotten.