The Master of Cards Chapter 22: The mysterious seed

The pain completely overtook Alex's body, forcing him to gasp and sweating hard, however, he held still in the position as ordered. Slowly, cracks emerged on his body from the point where Alok slammed his stick.

"Absorb the source energy as you do, but instant of leading it along the circulatory pathway, spread it all across your body!" The old man yelled.

Alex could barely hear Alok, but he closed his eyes and performed the fundamental training formula. When the source energy entered his body, Alex let the source energy disperse within his body. Suddenly, Alex felt his seed rotate like a spinning top, sucking up source energy from the air into Alex's body and flooding his body.

Old Ren and his father Alok stopped in shock. They could feel the tremendous vortex of source energy converging into Alex.

"What is going on?" Ren asked.

"I am not sure either. Why is he able to suck in so much source energy?" Alok muttered.

This process continued for an hour while the source energy forged Alex's body. The cracks forming all over his body slowly healed and his body actually glowed a bit before it dimmed and the pain receded.

Alex opened his eyes. His face was wet with sweat and he coughed out some blood. Before slumping down. The pain had disappeared, but the terrifying memory of the pain still gave him mental shocks to his psyche.

Alok saw that Alex was fine and sighed in relief. "This process is too dangerous for Alex. The technique actually causes such a devastating disintegration on individuals who haven't formed their base card. If it weren't for the sudden vortex of source energy...I think we should stop this process."

Alex shook his head. "My body was going to disintegrate from this exercise, but my seed suddenly began rotating at a rapid speed to suck in the source energy and heal me. I wish to continue."

Old Ren shook his head. "You just did the first move, kid. Your body almost disintegrated... There are nine more moves!"

Alok meanwhile looked stunned. "Your... seed began rotating on its own?"

Alex nodded. "I feel like my body limit has increased again. I can bear it, I believe my seed will help me again."

The old man sighed and looked at his son Ren, who shrugged. "We will continue with the second move after a few days. You need to rest and consolidate your strength."

Alex spent the next few days absorbing the source energy using the Fundamental Training Formula. He noticed that his seed would slowly rotate as well, increasing his speed of absorption amd increasing the density of the seed slowly.

"I wonder how far I can continue to compress this seed." Alex wondered. He spent all his time practicing with old Ren, while Ren's father Grandpa Alok quietly looked on.

Over the next few weeks, Alex continued to face the terrifying exercise that threatened to disintegrate his body each time, when the seed would spin like a very rapid top, sucking in the source energy through a huge vortex that would stop Alex's body from cracking apart.

From the second move to the fifth, Alex's pain and torture kept increasing to crazy extents. Even during the rest days, he would wake up from his sleep with phantom triggers of pain. He would feel like his entire body was going to explode.

Old Ren and Alok were stunned. "This kind of Body Tempering is absolutely terrible for a kid like him. His seed's behavior is very mysterious." Alok murmured.

"I didn't tell you earlier, but something happened with this kid's body earlier. He had been struck by a heavenly tribulation and his body had a visible transformation." Old Ren said. "Keep quiet about this."

"Tribulation? Perhaps that is why his seed behaves in such a manner. He is pursuing a very extreme path." Old Alok sighed.

Alex's seed had been constantly becoming denser and smaller. As his physique improved, he was able to increase the pressure inwards and constantly continue to fuse more source energy into the gemstone like seed that felt like it was harder than the hardest metal.

Alex started to feel like the seed had started to become heavy. The more energy fused into the seed, the heavier he felt. Although he felt heavier, it didn't impact his practice in the gravity room, where he could now stand almost 8.5 G of gravitational force.

Another month passed. Today Alex was grimacing in uncontrollable pain as his body was filled with cracks, showing signs of bursting apart. He was performing the final move in the Body Tempering Exercise given by his grand teacher Alok. Alok's stick had struck on the temple of his neck, beginning the most dangerous exercise after a lot of reluctance.

At this moment, Alex's seed rotated at a speed so blindingly fast it began to emit heat and glowing like a bright star. Source Energy flooded directly into the body without any sign of stopping. Alex's body began healing at a visible rate, but the vortex had begun to rise even above the house into the sky.

From his inner world, Alex could see that the blanket covering the world was actually slithering down a funnel and liquefying into his body, both flooding each cell inside him, but also constantly being absorbed by the seed.

The seed, which had become a star began to glow brighter and brighter and felt heavier and heavier, until Alex's knee creaked and he knelt down due to the weight of his seed. The seed reached a peak of brightness, but then began being compressed further and further and finally began to slightly dim.

Alex thought that this powerful vortex would end, but instead the star continued to become dimmer and dimmer, but the suction of the source energy only increased.

Alex's body cracks had disappeared and his body looked like it was constantly being transformed. Ren and Alok looked on in horror. "Why is there such a terrifying absorption?" Ren looked in shock.

Alok was equally shocked. "Kid, quickly seal the area. We are going to see a heavenly tribulation!" He was pointing towards the sky, where thunderclouds were beginning to form.

Chapter end