Chapter 24: The Sea of Consciousness

“Alright, everyone must be tired. Let’s pack up!” Looking at the others, Rod touched his own face and forced a wry smile. His appearance earlier had indeed been a bit frightening. With that said, he turned and headed toward Jim, who had been seriously injured today, compounded by the wounds from yesterday. His condition was critical and required immediate treatment!
The entire street was filled with a gloomy atmosphere, a heavy mood that enveloped everyone, making them feel extremely down.
There was no joy or celebration after victory as expected—only silence. Enduring the pain, Rod helped Jim, who had lost consciousness at some point, and slowly made his way inside.
“Damn it, he’s so heavy!” Rod grumbled under the immense pressure on his back.
It took all his strength to carry Jim into the hall. Breathing heavily and pale, he suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed backward.
It seemed his last vestige of consciousness allowed him to hear Jerome and the others’ cries of shock.
……
He slept deeply and soundly—it seemed like a long time since he’d had such a comfortable sleep. It was like dreaming a very long dream, feeling as if he were wandering alone in a dark space.
“Where am I? How did I end up here?” After walking for a long time without finding any boundaries, as if circling in place, Rod couldn’t help but speak to himself.
“Master, have you woken up? Don’t be afraid. This is your consciousness space.” Moments later, Xuan Yuan’s voice came through.
“The Sea of Consciousness?” Frowning, Rod pondered. This was his first time learning about his Sea of Consciousness—a strange place within his body.
“I watched both battles. Master, did you notice anything?” After a brief silence, seeing that Rod wasn’t speaking, the Sword Spirit asked softly.
“Problems? Hmm, right—techniques! Boss, can’t you stop doing this to me? Without techniques, how am I supposed to fight others? Do you want me to spray them with combat energy? Damn it, with that little amount of combat energy, not only can I’t spray it, but even if I could, it probably wouldn’t even cut through their hair!”

Hearing the Sword Spirit’s words, Rod immediately began to complain. Indeed, the biggest regret and flaw in these two battles was that he hadn’t mastered any techniques, forcing him to fight recklessly against others. With the enemies clearly stronger than him, how could he not suffer losses?
“Cough, cough… Why the rush? You just started learning to walk and already want to fly? You can’t rush this! Haven’t you noticed any other problems? Like why did your attacks on Vidoc have no effect at all?” After coughing awkwardly a few times, the Sword Spirit complained. Even birds need to learn to fly—why is his master always in such a hurry?
Hearing this, Rod temporarily forgot about techniques, furrowed his brows, and lowered his head to think deeply. Indeed, Vidoc was fine—he was a Bronze Warrior, so his resistance made sense. But what about Jim? He was just an Intermediate Warrior. Hadn’t Rod attacked him several times that day too? Yet none of those attacks achieved any real results.
“You not only have weak strength but also scatter it. Otherwise, with your abilities, wouldn’t the results be different?” Observing Rod’s expression, the Sword Spirit analyzed, acting as a mentor to guide his training.
“Scattered strength?”
“That’s right. Think about it—under the same amount of force, which has more power: a concentrated attack or a scattered one?” The Sword Spirit continued to guide Rod’s thinking.
“Concentrated. Yes, I get it. Damn it, how could I forget even this! But boss, how do I do this?” The Sword Spirit’s words immediately reminded Rod of those martial arts movies he used to watch when he was still Lin Feng.
“Power and control—be quick, reduce the area of attack, focus the force, minimize wasted energy…” Suddenly, the Sword Spirit began teaching Rod like a teacher.
Listening to the Sword Spirit’s explanations, Rod gradually became engrossed. Unconsciously, his hands and feet started moving, punching the air with forceful sounds.
Seeing Rod’s actions, the Sword Spirit was momentarily stunned, then seemed to realize something. He stopped talking and watched carefully from the side. “This kid is grasping things too fast!” he thought to himself. To be honest, this guy’s talent was by far the best he had ever seen.

It was unclear how long it took before Rod finally stopped, revealing an excited smile!
“Hmm, not bad. It seems you’ve grasped it. But don’t get complacent. Even though you’ve understood it, you still need continuous practice to master the techniques. You still have a long way to go. If one day you can achieve perfection, there will be no one in this world who can match you!
Anyway, there’s a sword technique here. Given your current level, I can teach you one move, but you’ll need to study hard!”
Watching Rod sigh softly, the Sword Spirit said with a wry smile. He didn’t even understand why he kept letting this kid take something away every time!
……
“Cough, cough, cough…” Severe pain in his body, especially his chest, made Rod cough uncontrollably.
He forced himself to open his eyes, and the harsh sunlight made him frown in discomfort.
“Thank goodness, boss! You’re finally awake! Are you okay? We’ve been so worried these past few days! Oh, great god, I’m just glad you’re fine!” Cambi said with an excited smile and a reverent tone as he saw Rod awake.
Severe pain spread throughout his body, as if he were about to fall apart. Every inch of his skin hurt, especially his chest. Looking down, he saw that he was completely wrapped in bandages, like a mummy.
“Three days, boss! You’ve been unconscious for three days! We were terrified this time!” Cambi said with a hint of fear and a wry smile.
“Damn it, I’m really lucky. Three days! Those damned three days! Another three days wasted! By the way, what happened during those three days?” Rod complained, realizing he had slept for three days.
“Well, nothing important happened here. I don’t want to lie in this bed getting moldy. Hmm, go ahead and leave. Tell everyone to stay humble and not get complacent!” Rod frowned slightly, seemingly worried, before quickly showing an excited smile. This unconsciousness hadn’t been in vain—after all, he had made significant progress, mastering the control of his strength. On top of that, that guy Xuan Yuan had even shown some mercy and given him a technique to practice!
Cambi looked at Rod in confusion, not understanding why he had such an expression at this moment. But since he had woken up, Cambi felt relieved. After giving some overly delicate instructions, he slowly left.