Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 18. The Galaxy Divine Temple – Amusement Park Abduction Incident (1)

Considerable time had passed since my reincarnation into the Galaxy Martial World.
With Siu constantly by my side, I couldn’t accelerate time drastically through my three-dimensional avatar.
Since the three-dimensional avatar was ultimately under my control, if I sped up time, Siu would notice inconsistencies in my speech and behavior.
So I spent time learning and training martial arts within my clone body, while spending other hours in my three-dimensional avatar at three to four times normal speed.
During sleep, if I didn’t feel the need for rest due to mental fatigue, I would skip through it at a thousand times acceleration.
As I continued accelerating time, what felt like four months had passed, and I had already turned three years old.
As the inconveniences of infancy gradually disappeared, Siu’s training became increasingly rigorous and lengthy.
At the same time, I found myself no longer feeling the necessity for acceleration.
The reason I had been accelerating time was due to the inevitable growing pains of infancy and hospital visits that came with it.
Since those issues were disappearing, I decided to spend normal time in my reincarnated clone body.
Though my body was still physically immature in many ways, martial arts are most effectively learned in childhood, so I couldn’t waste this precious period through time acceleration.
Siu checked my wrist pulse once and spoke.
“You’ve now reached a level where your body can withstand proper conditioning.”
Until now, Siu had only taught me to memorize and practice martial forms containing martial techniques, but had not subjected me to physical conditioning.
Of course, moving my body had provided some degree of physical training, but it couldn’t be called formal conditioning.
This was because overexerting a newborn would actually hinder future growth.
“Normally, formal martial arts training is recommended to begin at least at age seven, but you, Young Master, have obtained the robustness of a seven-year-old or older through elixirs, the Nine Apertures Technique, and blood refinement since infancy until now.”
From what I heard, direct descendants of the Cheon Family Clan and families of considerable influence undergo similar processes.
Of course, there are virtually no infants like me who obediently consume everything given and receive training, so it’s common for families to fail to fully digest the elixirs they’re forced to consume.
I know myself well—I had virtually no physical talent whatsoever.
“Then let’s begin training immediately.”
Without physical talent, I needed to stay several steps ahead in this way to avoid falling behind in future competition with my peers.
Or rather, to delay falling behind.
I was scheduled to enroll in a school that the direct descendants of the clan attended.
My goal was ultimately to climb The Tower, so competition with my peers was none of my concern, but the problem was that falling behind in competition would lower the quality of the clan’s support for me later.
Through elementary school, all direct descendants receive equal support and instruction at a single elementary school.
However, upon graduating elementary school and advancing to middle school, students are evaluated and divided into First Middle School and Second Middle School based on aptitude.
Even those assigned to Second Middle School receive clan support, but the quality of that support is lower, and the instructors are reportedly less skilled.
High school divides students further based on grades and aptitude, splitting them among four high schools total.
Of course, I had Siu as my martial arts master and an inheritance that could substitute for clan support.
But the problem was that this inheritance remained locked until I reached adulthood.
Well, in a world where martial arts are paramount, if I say I need to buy elixirs to consume, they would allow me to use money.
Still, wouldn’t it be better to receive support from the clan rather than spend my own money on elixirs?
“Young Master, it’s good to have ambition, but you don’t need to overexert yourself. You can grow sufficiently even without clan support.”
Siu cautioned me against overexertion and seated me in position.
“From now on, I will teach you the technique for awakening the inner energy dormant in your dantian. Use the cultivation method.”
Following Siu’s guidance, I channeled the Azure Wood Technique I had been cultivating.
Through my breathing, vital energy circulated throughout my body and flowed toward my dantian.
The energy moving toward my dantian followed the meridians traced by Siu’s energy, which had entered through my back.
Until now, I had only expanded and filled my dantian through spirit elixirs and breathing exercises—this was my first time experiencing energy actually leaving the dantian and flowing outward.
“For now, I will guide the energy and it will move, but on your own, it will be difficult. Do not grow impatient if your inner energy does not flow smoothly. You must practice slowly and methodically. If you rush while still inexperienced, you will have an accident like a car with broken brakes.”
“Understood.”
The mention of cars sparked a thought—even in the 50th century, wheeled automobiles remained the mainstream precisely because of the tire’s grip on the ground.
Levitation vehicles could hover and stop like aircraft, but they could never achieve the stability of wheels firmly planted on earth.
Of course, wheeled cars were now equipped with levitation functions as well, so there was technically no distinction between the two.
One might wonder if levitation was truly necessary for driving.
However, this world possessed the Levitation High-way—an exclusive aerial expressway that was safer and faster than ordinary highways, making the levitation function essential.
On the Levitation High-way, once a vehicle entered, control transferred from the driver to the highway’s system, making traffic congestion impossible.
With highways spanning across oceans, levitation vehicles were less automobiles and more personal aircraft that could also function as cars.
“Now that you have grasped the sensation, try slowly stimulating your dantian through deep breathing.”
Following Siu’s instruction, I attempted to gradually awaken my dantian.
But as Siu had warned, awakening the dantian was not easy.
All I managed was to stimulate my dantian enough to draw my inner energy slightly beyond its boundaries.
As disappointment began to settle over me, Siu suddenly applauded.
“As expected, Young Master, you truly do have talent in manipulating energy!”
“Talent? I failed.”
“You felt the sensation of drawing energy from your dantian only once, yet you managed to extract energy beyond it, however slightly. Normally, one would need to experience the sensation roughly thirty times before attempting anything resembling a proper attempt. This is remarkable.”
Now that I thought about it, the Librarian Elder had also told me I possessed talent for magic.
Since energy and mana seemed fundamentally identical in nature, it appeared I did indeed have talent for manipulating energy.
As I pondered this, Siu spoke with evident relief.
“I had been concerned because while your memorization of martial techniques was excellent, your reaction speed and physical stamina were developing slowly. I am relieved.”
“…Was I really that terrible?”
“No, not terrible. I simply thought you were… average.”
Siu’s gaze wavered slightly, but she did not correct her assessment.
“Well, I was already aware of my physical limitations. Your training has been growing increasingly demanding.”
“My apologies.”
“No need. If there are shortcomings, then I must work harder and invest greater effort to overcome them. Understanding oneself accurately is the foundation of growth.”
Demanding training was precisely what I desired. Siu nodded at my words.
“You speak wisely. Even if your physical abilities are lacking, Young Master, your comprehension surpasses nearly anyone, more than compensating for any deficiency.”
I laughed lightly at Siu’s words.
“Then push me harder so I can fill those gaps.”
I would regret those words not long after.
Damn it, if I had known it would be this grueling, I would have thought more carefully before speaking.

* * *

I ran on the treadmill with determined strides, a device resembling an oxygen respirator strapped to my face.
“Breathing is the foundation of all martial arts. When breathing falters, your posture and judgment crumble. Moreover, the amount of inner energy recovered with each breath diminishes. For a martial artist, lung capacity is perhaps the most vital attribute.”
After running until exhaustion claimed me, Siu would press acupuncture points along my meridians to dispel the fatigue from my body, then we’d move on to the next training regimen.
Following the running came anaerobic exercises.
“Strength training is the fundamental force that supports your body. Young Master, since you haven’t yet entered your growth phase, heavy-weight training is forbidden, but with light weights, you must perform high-repetition exercises. The advantage of high-repetition training is that it promotes muscle growth without excessive strain, while simultaneously building your lacking stamina and endurance.”
Heavy-weight exercises were efficient, but they imposed tremendous physical burden.
For a child’s body, light-weight high-repetition training was optimal.
Each individual effort demanded less, yet I could push my physical limits to their absolute maximum.
The anaerobic training was divided into three sections: arms, torso, and legs.
Siu, with uncanny precision, drove me to exactly my limit, and after reaching that threshold, she’d grant brief rest before additional sets, gradually expanding my physical boundaries.
Though I’d requested Siu to push me toward maximum growth, I remained human—my body ached, and regret was inevitable.
Still, I refused to whine like a child and beg to stop.
I wasn’t truly a child, and I couldn’t squander this precious opportunity to receive instruction from a martial artist of the Fire Realm simply because training was difficult.
Once a man sets his sights on a goal, he must commit himself fully to achieving it.
Aim for the moon, and perhaps one day you’ll become a star.
After anaerobic training came mealtime.
Meals were served not three times, but five times daily—three main meals supplemented by snack breaks in between.
The increase in meals was unavoidable.
The more I moved my body, the more calories I burned, and I had to eat to replenish them.
Siu’s cooking was always delicious, so eating presented no problem.
After meals came light stretching, followed by studying Chinese characters and memorizing anatomical diagrams and meridian points—essentials for cultivation practice.
Chinese characters were a language I could already read as if I’d studied them before, but memorizing anatomical diagrams and meridian points proved quite challenging.
“Complex material takes time to master, so there’s no need to rush your memorization. Learning anatomical diagrams and meridian points is typically a middle school curriculum.”
“Then why are you teaching me now?”
At my question, Siu smiled knowingly.
“Young Master, understanding human anatomy well allows you to maximize efficiency in strength training. Your growth in strength capacity is slower than I anticipated.”
Having wielded criticism like a whip, Siu then offered praise like a carrot.
“Still, your perseverance is remarkable—you follow the training well, and your sensitivity to handling inner energy is nothing short of genius. At this rate, you’ll reach Third-Tier status soon.”
Third-Tier martial artist—the realm where one uses inner energy accumulated during the foundational stage to strengthen the body.
“Now that you mention it, people say inner energy is supreme. Wouldn’t it be better for me to focus on inner energy cultivation rather than physical conditioning?”
This wasn’t merely because physical training was exhausting.
…Though admittedly, part of me felt that way, it wasn’t the only reason.
“You’re correct that at the Fire Realm level, inner energy becomes paramount. However, without a solid physical foundation, you cannot reach the Fire Realm—nor even the First-Tier realm. Martial arts are essentially methodologies for moving the body. Unless you reach at least the Peak-Master stage, you cannot dedicate yourself to inner energy cultivation over physical training.”
Ah, so there’s no escape from this grueling training.
I accepted this reality and began stretching for the next training session.
Tonight, I’d collapse into sleep like the dead.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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