John remained silent as he contemplated how to answer Adams question. Clearly the sect was keeping the matter that he was "Asura" a secret, but he didn't know the exact reason why. However, he could guess of several reasons why the sect would tread carefully on this matter.
'I suppose reaching the twentieth step was a bit too flashy afterall.
Before John could react, the healer that had treated John previously walked back into the room, surprised to see both Chase and Adam there.
"What did I say to the both of you?" the healer scolded them. "You may see your friend once he is discharged from our healing ward. Now off with the both of you."
Chase wanted to protest but decided against it at the last moment. The woman was clearly upset, and both of them were only Inner Disciples, and newly appointed ones at that. They did not have the status to throw their weight around.
"Sorry John," Chase said apologetically. "We'll talk when you get out then."
John nodded his head towards Chase, while Adam was arguing with the healer.
"What the hell do you mean we have to leave? Our friend almost dies, and you treat us so coldly? Do you not have a heart?" his loud voice boomed out.
"Out with you!" the healer shouted back, as her power flared. Before Adam could react, he found himself thrown forcefully out of the room John was in and crashed into the opposite hallway wall.
"Ow! You didn't have to be so goddamn violent!" Adam protested angrily as he quickly stood up but fell into a silence as he noticed the angry glare from the healer.
"Forget about it," Chase said to Adam as he put his hand on his shoulder. "We confirmed that John is alright, so we'll have plenty of time to talk to him once he is discharged. Let's go and let him heal in peace for now."
"Fine," Adam replied grumpily after remaining silent for a moment. His eyes glared at the healer as he walked away, who glared back much the same.
After dealing with Adam and Chase, the healer walked back in the room and sighed at the ordeal she just had to deal with. She had carried in a meal and set it aside as she first spotted Adam and Chase, but picked it back up as she walked it over to John.
"Here, eat this. You haven't eaten in days, and your body will need the sustenance."
John nodded his head at her words as the food was set down on his lap. He quickly inspected the food and curled his mouth in slight disgust. The food gave off a thick medicinal aroma and was mostly porridge and other liquid-based food.
The healer noticed his expression and laughed lightly before speaking up.
"The food may smell and taste bad, but its the best food you can eat right now for healing. The sooner you eat this, the faster your body will heal, so eat up!" the nurse said before turning around and leaving the room.
John gazed at the food for a moment, before he took a deep breath and ate a spoonful of the food. His face curled in disgust as he tasted the thick medicinal flavor of the food, but forced it down nonetheless.
After only a few spoonfuls of food, he could already feel the thick medicinal properties of the food be absorbed by his body and used to slowly but naturally heal his wounds. Upon seeing this, John forced down the rest of the food, although not without struggle.
After finishing his meal, John set aside the tray of food and laid back on his bed as he stared at the ceiling. The scenes of him ascending the stairs began to play in his mind as he recalled the struggles he faced as he ascended to the twentieth stair.
The feeling of absolute power replayed in his mind, as he yearned to feel such overwhelming might once again. However, the strain just thirty seconds of use had caused on his body had nearly crippled him, and John knew he would have to wait several months before he used such a thing again.
Not only that, but as he was right now, he was unable to use such a power without severe consequences.
'My true mother did warn me that the strain of my bloodline power would be immense, so it's not unexpected that combining it with the asura transformation does this to my body. However, that combined power is something that could potentially save my life in the future, and I need to be able to use it without killing myself.'
John sighed upon thinking about how strong yet weak he was, before his focus shifted on how to solve the issue at hand.
'The issue is my body. It is too weak to handle the power of my bloodline transformation. While I do have an incredibly durable body thanks to the Immortal Asura Tome, I have not really strengthened it any other way recently. The most recent thing I did to strengthen my body was eat that mysterious blood fruit in the ancient wastelands, but nothing since. My Immortal Asura Body may be a heaven defying body cultivation technique, but even such a body needs other sources of nourishment. Even the most heavenly of natural treasures spend thousands of years being nourished by the environment around them, and my body is no different.'
John's thoughts shifted once again, as he thought about the other time his body was in this bad of a condition. He reached over and patted Kirii's head, who was lying next to his bed sleeping silently.
'This isn't unlike when I received my heavenly tribulation. At that time, my body was on the verge of collapse, and I would have died if not thanks to Kirii's help. Both my body and my lightning attribute body are far too weak at the moment. When I heal up and start moving around again, I need to figure out how to strengthen both my body and lightning attribute body.'
A jade piece suddenly appeared in John's hands as he thought about his Lightning Attribute Body. He had made a vow to focus more of his time on studying this jade piece, as it contained many secrets that greatly increased his lightning comprehension, which allowed him to have greater control over lightning.
However, similar to his Immortal Asura Body, his Lightning Attribute Body needed to be constantly nourished by heavenly treasures, which had been something he neglected. However, the solution to his problems weren't so simple.
"Ahhh, this is such a headache of a situation," John grumbled out loud before falling back into silent contemplation.
'Both my Immortal Asura Body and Lightning Attribute Body are most likely ranked at the Heavenly Variant realm, which is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that they are far stronger and more profound than anything I encounter from my enemies, but the curse is that they require a far greater amount of nourishment to grow. And not only more nourishment, but also higher-grade nourishment. Normal things that are easily available will not be able to raise the quality of my body. I will need to find some heavenly treasures soon, especially when it comes to my Lightning Attribute Body. As I am right now, I will fail my next tribulation.'
While thinking about this, John's eyes grew heavy as he fell back asleep.
…
"Ahhh, it feels good to stand up again!" John exclaimed happily as he finally stood up from his resting bed. It had already been three days since he woke up, putting his entire recovery period at over a full week. With his high recovery speed, such a long recovery time showed just how extensive the damage to his body was.
However, he was almost fully recovered now, and the only lingering damage was to his meridians. The cracks on his meridians were still present and could only be slowly healed over time. As such, he would be unable to use his bloodline transformation until his meridians were fully healed, or he would permanently cripple himself.
John dressed himself in a clean robe, before he walked out of the room. Kirii followed behind him, enjoying the chance to stretch his legs and remain by John's side in the real world. Upon opening the door, John came face to face with someone waiting outside.
The person waiting outside was seemingly an Elder, who was a man who appeared to be in his forties. He was leaning on the wall outside of John's room with his eyes closed and opened them to glance at John as he left the room.
"You can finally walk? Good, then follow me," the Elder instructed.
John was surprised by the Elder's appearance, as he had never seen him before. "Follow you where?" John couldn't help but ask as he walked up to the Elder.
"To see the Sect Leader and his council. They have been informed of your healed state and are expecting your arrival shortly."
