The stranger had gifted him an important clue.
Over the night, Ren had been worrying over methods to optimize his qi usage. While climbing the cliff, he had run out of energy. At that time, he had solved the problem by optimizing his qi usage. He tried to apply the same logic to his present problem to no avail.
A handful of water can’t put out a large flame. Even if one throws it in an optimized manner, it can’t extinguish the flame!
Thus, he worsened his situation. He made minor improvements with each of his attempts. However, the accumulated effect of these improvements was negligible.
Fixated on the minor improvements, Ren didn’t consider the possibility where the optimized route might fail to carry him through the waterfall.
‘I’m an idiot… I should have thought of this earlier.’ He banged his head. Unfortunately, he had invested too much on the minor improvements that he avoided reality.
If the stranger hadn’t helped him, he would have lost more time and effort. And with Azen’s threat, Ren lacked time the most.
‘Who was that stranger? I should’ve at least thanked him. Ah, that’s right... I could have sworn he resembled a human. Whatever! I don''t have time to waste.’ A consuming a couple of energy pills, he focused on his real problem.
‘How do I replenish my energy faster? Hm... I''ll observe the natural process of replenishment first. That might present some clues. I need to empty my meridians first… Okay!’ Regaining confidence, he punched his face and returned to his grueling training.
<hr>
An hour later.
Ren climbed a jagged portion of the cliff. However, he did not use his hands. Instead, he used his legs. Just maintaining his position depleted his minimal reservoir of energy. Unable to maintain this costly expenditure, he dropped from the cliff.
Thud!
Ren rotated slammed his palm onto the ground, creating a powerful impact that stopped his downward momentum.
Panting, Ren smiled faintly. He sat cross-legged and meditated.
He concentrated all his senses into tracking the flow of energy. Like tiny streams, they bored through his skin, replenishing his meridians. Observing this phenomenon, he frowned.
''How can I accelerate this process? If I solve this, I can complete the course.''
<hr>
Azen’s mind space. Darkness covered the vast emptiness. It stretched endlessly, with only a human and a fox at its center.
“Dead face, are you seeing this? He’s working hard to catch up to you. Maybe, given enough time and opportunities, he might overcome you.”
Azen closed his eyes, ignoring the purple fox. Rui continued.
“He is worth much more than… Stupid Dead face! Stop ignoring me! Say something! Stupid face! I’ll call you Stupid Face from now on!” Rui shouted.
Azen curbed the urge to kill Rui.
“I don’t have the habit of feeding baby cockroaches just to check if their adult forms are useful. I hope you remember the owner of these words. Reserve your dishonesty for someone else. It won’t work on me.” With that rebuttal, Azen closed his eyes and blocked his ears.
The purple fox frowned.
‘Pup, it’s up to you. One month… Why do I feel like I’m overlooking something very important? Bah, I must be overthinking. ...Why am I even worrying over this pup? Stupid Stupid face! Everything is your fault!’ The purple fox kicked Azen before disappearing.
Azen ground his teeth and swore.
‘One day… I’ll boil that fox and feed it to wild foxes.’
<hr>
Dawn.
Lena arrived at the waterfall. She saw Ren who sat cross-legged in meditation. Confused, she didn''t interrupt him. Nevertheless, observing his condition, her face waned.
Ren had radically transformed in a day. His clothes were drenched and torn. Bruises and injuries decorated his body and face.
After a few minutes, he left meditation and snatched a couple of red leaves. Lena''s heart wrenched as he limped to the waterfall, barely moving his left arm through the whole process.
Moreover, she noticed that he had been surviving solely with the aid of energy pills. His tired face screamed off its endless love for sleep. However, his eyes gleamed with a seriousness never seen in a child of his age.
Placing the two leaves on the river, Ren boarded them. Balancing himself on the leaves, he advanced with the river''s current.
At this stage, he closed his eyes. Energy flowed into his body, supporting his expenditure of energy.
Swoosh! With each passing moment, the noise from the waterfall grew louder. Yet, he focused on recovery and maintaining his balance on the leaves.
Seeing this, Lena smiled and ran to the edge of the cliff.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
‘He’s already fixing his flaws. Regrettably, it won’t be enough to finish the waterfall. He’ll need much more energy to offset his downward momentum.’
However, Ren''s next actions defied all her expectations.
<hr>
Upon reaching the edge of the waterfall, Ren opened his eyes.
‘This is it!’ With a determined gaze, he welcomed the waterfall.
Without wasting a moment, he bent and grabbed one of the leaves with his right hand. This mid-air maneuver had changed his posture. With his head facing the water, success seemed impossible.
However, he hadn''t surrendered... at least, his actions dictated such.
Concentrating all his energy into his left arm, he waited for the bottom. His left arm bulged, almost in an unhealthy manner, but Ren was too focused on his task to notice this phenomenon.
The surroundings flashed by his eyes. He squinted. Only two objects remained in his vision. The approaching water and the red leaf falling between them.
‘Now!’ Finding the opportune moment, Ren began his final gambit.
He extended his left arm backward.
Crack! Crack! The bones in his left arm cracked.
“HAAAA!!” Ignoring the sounds, he shouted, slamming the leaf onto the incoming turbulent waves.
BOOOM!!! Splash!
Following a loud explosion, the upper layer of the river deformed into a crater. Ren settled at the center of the crater, with only the leaf persisting between his left palm and the water.
Using the little energy in his body, he pushed himself into the air.
''Please succeed.'' Midair, Ren sucked more energy from the atmosphere, slowly replenishing his empty meridians.
Water poured into the ‘crater’, sinking the lone leaf. Under the influence of gravity, Ren slowly lost his upward momentum.
Ren stared at his landing spot and his eyes gleamed. He threw the leaf onto the surface of the water. Maneuvering his position, he landed onto the lone leaf. Not wasting any time, he stabilized his wobbling body.
Standing on one leg, he stared at the waterfall in a daze.
‘I did it?’ Disbelief slowly transformed into joy. His hard work over a whole day and night had finally paid off.
The current gently shoved the leaf along with Ren away from the waterfall.
<hr>
Watching the whole process, Lena gaped. However, her surprise came from an altogether different source.
“Forbidden… skills? He learned forbidden skills?! H-How? Who!? Who taught him forbidden skills!?” A plethora of emotions stormed her heart.
She couldn’t contain her shock, anger, and amazement. However, more than anything else, terror gripped her soul. She approached Ren, her face full of panic.
“Ren! Come here!” She shouted.
Ren saw her and presented a tired smile. He tried to lift his left arm but it refused to move. Instead, he lifted his right arm and made a V-sign.
At the same time, his fatigue triumphed and he lost balance. Not even the energy pills could carry him forward as he fainted.
Splash!
Lena panicked and dived into the river. She swam and grabbed Ren before he drowned. Bringing him ashore, she laid him on the ground. Staring at the morning sun, she cursed.
‘Ugh, this darned sun! Why did you have to come out at this time?’
She carried Ren on her back and hiked all the way back to the closest teleportation circle.
<hr>