Chapter 66
The back room was small, barely larger than a closet, with a single cot pushed against the wall and a metal table covered in medical supplies. Elijah sat on the edge of the cot, his shirt off, his chest and arms covered in dried blood and fresh scars. The bullet was still inside him, lodged just below his ribs, and every breath sent a spike of pain through his side.
Tristan had left him alone. The medical supplies were there. The tools were there. The rest was up to Elijah.
He picked up a pair of tweezers from the table, sterilized the blade of his knife with a bottle of alcohol, and looked down at the wound. The bullet was visible, a dark lump beneath the torn skin, surrounded by inflamed flesh and dried blood.
He breathed.
In. Hold. Out.
The Control breathing slowed his heart, steadied his hands, pushed the pain to the back of his mind. He pressed the tip of the knife into the wound and cut.
The pain was blinding, white-hot, but he did not stop. He cut deeper, widened the opening, and reached in with the tweezers. His fingers found the bullet, slippery with blood, and he pulled.
The bullet came out with a wet sucking sound, and blood poured from the wound. Elijah dropped the bullet on the table and pressed a wad of gauze against his side, holding it there with his palm. The Control breathing tightened the blood vessels, slowing the flow. The Healing breathing knitted the flesh, pulling the edges of the wound together.
He sat there for a long time, breathing, healing, waiting for his body to repair itself. The minutes passed. The blood slowed, then stopped. The wound closed, leaving behind a raised line of pink scar tissue that would fade with time.
A screen flashed in the corner of his vision.
[Eternal Grounded Tree Breathing Technique - Level 1: 35% progress]
Elijah closed the screen. He leaned back against the wall, his body still aching, his muscles still screaming, but the bullet was out. He was no longer dying.
He thought about the fights.
He thought about Jack Reyes.
Jack was different. Jack was stronger than anyone Elijah had faced tonight. The system had said so, and the system did not lie. But Elijah did not understand why.
"System," he said. "Explain the difference between Beginner Knight Stage fighters. Why is Jack stronger than the others?"
The screen flickered.
[Explanation: Beginner Knight Stage Physical Limits]
A Beginner Knight must reach a certain physical threshold before they can create their Life Seed and advance to the Advanced Knight Stage. This threshold is measured in raw physical stats—Strength, Agility, Endurance, Defense—before any Ki enhancement is applied.
Most Beginner Knights reach their physical limit between 32 and 40 stat points. A breathing technique that provides 30% enhancement would push these stats to approximately 42 to 52.
However, some individuals are born with higher physical limits. These limits are determined by bloodline, genetics, and the quality of their foundational training.
Jack Reyes has a physical limit of 50 to 60 stat points before enhancement. His breathing technique provides 100% Ki enhancement, pushing his effective stats to 100 to 120. This places him far above the average Beginner Knight Peak fighter.
Your physical limit is 50 stat points due to your bloodline. Your Zenith technique provides 300% enhancement at full power, pushing your effective stats to 200 at your absolute limit. However, using Zenith beyond 100% before creating your Life Seed will decrease your lifespan.
This is why you were able to defeat Beginner Knight Peak fighters tonight. Not all Peak fighters have maxed their physical stats. Many of your opponents had stats between 32 and 40. Your stats at 30% Zenith (38-36 range) were competitive with them. When you used 100% Zenith, your stats surpassed them entirely or your equal to them.
Elijah read the screen slowly, letting the information settle.
"So Jack is stronger than me because his physical limit is higher," Elijah said. "And because his breathing technique gives him 100% enhancement without killing him."
[Correct.]
"And my physical limit is 50. But I can push past that with Zenith, even if it costs me years of my life."
[Correct. Each time you use Zenith beyond 100%, you will lose approximately one year of your lifespan. The exact amount depends on the duration and intensity of the enhancement.]
Elijah nodded. He understood now. Jack was a monster, not because of his technique, but because of his body. His bloodline had given him a higher ceiling. His training had pushed him to that ceiling. His breathing technique let him use everything he had.
"Is there a way for me to break my physical limit? To push past 50 without using Zenith?"
The screen was silent for a long moment.
[Yes.]
Elijah waited.
[The method is something you cannot do. The system cannot do it for you. It requires something beyond stats and techniques. Something that must be earned, not bought.]
"What is it?"
[The system cannot provide that information at this time.]
Elijah stared at the screen. Then he closed it and leaned his head back against the wall.
He thought about the free stat points he had earned from leveling up. Five points, waiting to be spent.
But now he understood. Strength and Agility. Those were what mattered most in a fight. Strength to hit hard. Agility to move fast. Endurance and Defense were important, but they would not help him beat Jack. Only power and speed would close the gap.
He placed three points into Strength and two points into Agility.
[Stat Points Allocated]
Strength: 30 → 33
Agility: 30 → 32
Free Stat Points Remaining: 0
The warmth spread through his arms, his legs, his chest. His muscles tightened, his bones creaked, his body adjusted to the new numbers.
He closed his eyes and began to breathe.
The Gathering technique came to him easily now, the way breathing itself had become easy after months of practice. He pulled the Ki from every corner of his body and brought it toward his heart. The warmth built slowly, steadily, filling him from the inside out.
And then something changed.
The warmth did not stop at his heart. It pushed past it, through it, beyond it. The door behind his heart, the origin, the place where Ki was born—it opened wider. Not all the way, but wider than before.
[Cultivation Breakthrough]
Beginner Knight Stage (Initial) → Beginner Knight Stage (Mid)
Elijah opened his eyes. His Ki was denser, more concentrated, easier to control. The Eternal Grounded Tree had grown another root, sinking deeper into the earth.
He did not feel the urge to stop. The Ki was still flowing, still gathering, still pushing against the door behind his heart. He could feel the next stage waiting for him, close enough to touch.
He kept breathing.
In, Hold, Out.
The warmth built again, stronger this time, and the door behind his heart opened wider. Not as much as before, but enough.
[Cultivation Breakthrough]
Beginner Knight Stage (Mid) → Beginner Knight Stage (High)
Elijah's body trembled. The Ki was flowing through him faster now, denser, harder to control. He could feel the strain on his muscles, his bones, his blood vessels. The Healing breathing worked to keep up, repairing the damage as fast as it appeared.
He stopped.
He did not push for Peak. He could feel it there, waiting, but his body was not ready. The strain was too much. If he pushed further, he would break something that the Healing breathing could not fix.
He opened his eyes.
He looked down at his side. The bullet wound had healed completely, leaving behind a small, raised scar, pink and new. The cuts on his chest and arms had closed, leaving thin white lines that would fade with time.
The door opened.
Tristan stepped inside, his purple eyes moving over Elijah's face, his bare chest, the scars that covered his skin. He looked at the bullet wound first, then at the older scars, then at Elijah's eyes.
"You look better," Tristan said.
"I feel better."
Tristan walked to the table and picked up the bullet. He turned it over in his fingers, examining it, then set it back down.
"Ten fights," Tristan said. "You won."
"Yeah."
Tristan leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His purple eyes were thoughtful, almost curious.
"The woman with the gray eyes," Tristan said. "She gave me her number and asked me to pass it to you, saying she would be waiting."
Elijah shook his head. "I don't have time for that."
"She seems persistent."
"Then she will wait."
Tristan was quiet for a moment. Then he pushed himself off the wall and walked toward the door.
"You should rest," Tristan said. "The Royal Rumble is in a few hours."
Elijah nodded. He had forgotten about the Royal Rumble. Fifty thousand dollars, Plus whatever he earned from betting on himself.
"I am ready," Elijah said.
Tristan stopped at the door and looked back. His purple eyes met Elijah's red ones.
"You are a monster to be at the initial stage a moment ago and now you are already at the High stage" Tristan spoke with a sigh.