Using his temporary evolution, he removed all senses from his body except touch.
He lay there in absolute darkness and silence, but he soon discovered that the wind blowing against his wounds also became a distraction, so he removed his sense of touch from his skin and was left with only his internal sense of touch.
His organs were clearly injured, he could feel the pain much more directly without his other senses clouding it.
Finally, he still couldn't feel anything beyond the pain in his body, but he didn't give up. He stayed there for hours before feeling as if something was touching him. Not that he regained the ability to feel, but he felt the touch pass through his skin and reach his muscles.
Recovering, he opened his eyes and looked at Li, who was staring at him strangely. -Did you turn off your senses now?
-Yes.- Ringo nodded.
-That's incredible. I only learned how to do this long after I started.- The old man looked at him enviously. -This will speed up the process a lot, maybe it'll only take a few months.
Ringo's lips trembled. -Months?!- But in the end, he sighed. This is already much better than expected.
-Well, get up, let's start the next step. You've been like this for two hours.- The old man began to take off his shirt, revealing a clearly lean physique, but with firm, hard muscles.
-What's next?- Ringo sighed, standing up and using his energy to heal himself. It's much faster with him than with Hila, so he soon felt much better.
-Fight.- the old man said, smiling at Ringo. -Fatigue is your second processor. When your cells are extremely fatigued, the regeneration process makes it a little easier to sense the energy.
Ringo nodded, lowering his strength to the initial C Grade and adopting the stance he learned from Lena. The old man only scoffed at that. The next moment, Ringo lost sight of the old man, his eyes rolling back as he was punched in the stomach and thrown away.
Li scoffed lightly, still crouched low with his fist raised. -What are you looking at, boy?
Ringo took a deep breath as he stood up and looked at the old man seriously. Even if his reactions were at their peak, he thinks he could only vaguely see the old man's movements!
Damn! What kind of freak is this?! How the hell did this old man get arrested?!
-Hehehe... watch out, kid, I'm going again.- The old man laughed happily, it had been a while since he'd last stretched.
Ringo quickly regained his full consciousness, he didn't want to become a punching bag.
The next moment he noticed the movement to his left, he opened his guard to protect his head, but the next moment the kick hit his legs!
Ringo spun like a star in the air, but he didn't stay that way for long before he received another punch to the face!
Ringo was thrown away, destroying three thick trees in the process.
A yellowish energy emanated from Li's fist, and the old man smiled with satisfaction.
-Come on, brat, we were just getting started! Hahahaha!- Laughing excitedly, he quickly chased him into the forest.
At the end of the day, the pair took a helicopter back while Ringo groaned in pain in the backseat, his every inch purple. The old man had been very efficient in his "teaching."
But the improvement was evident, Ringo went from just taking a beating to being able to defend himself sometimes!
-You brat is really good!- Li nodded with satisfaction. He felt Ringo had a good chance of mastering Chi.
Ringo could have healed himself, but he didn't. Instead, he tried to feel his cells again. In the process of exhaustion and damage, he tried to find the source.
-Drink this, it'll help you feel better.- The old man pulled an energy drink from a nearby cooler.
Ringo looked at the drink with difficulty due to his swollen eyes and sighed. He opened it and drank it all.
He accelerated his digestion with evolutionary energy and the next moment, he felt something.
The drink itself was easily absorbed, and along with his skill, his cells greatly accelerated the recovery process. At that moment, he seemed to vaguely feel something.
-Old man, I think I felt something.- Ringo said with difficulty, excited.
-What? Impossible, there's no way I could feel something in such a short time.- Li waved his hand, thinking Ringo was delirious.
Ringo ignored him and continued to feel, but even when his cells fully recovered, he couldn't truly find the energy.
Even so, he believed it was great progress!
That night, he didn't visit Emma, too tired to do so, perhaps not physically, but mentally.
So he went straight to Hila's room and threw himself on the bed. Only hours later, when Hila returned, did she find him sprawled out asleep on the bed.
Hila looked at him expressionlessly, no longer with that cold indifference, but also without deep passion. She simply stood there for a while. Ringo was only in his underwear, sprawled on the bed, with a sheet barely covering him.
Hila's breathing was calm and he didn't wake up, Hila's sounds already registered in his mind.
Hila watched him for a long time before turning and going to the bathroom to shower.
The shower was quick, she had just finished working out and simply wanted to wash the sweat off her body. She came out of the bathroom in just a towel and looked at him, still sleeping.
She felt a little strange. They'd always done this after training lately, so she was a little lost for a moment. But seeing how soundly he was sleeping and looking tired, she remembered he'd said he'd train with Li today.
The training must have been tough.
She took one more look at him, took off her towel and put on a black lace nightgown, courtesy of Ringo, who'd gotten her a bunch of sexy clothes. Hila just rolled her eyes and didn't care. She didn't really care what she was wearing. She also tied her hair in a high bun to reduce the hassle of fixing it in the morning.
She looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. The nightgown barely hid her butt. She rolled her eyes at this and felt a little embarrassed, but in the end, she clicked her tongue and stopped looking.
Looking at the man in bed, she lay there for a moment again. Most of the time she was so tired she didn't care how she slept. When she woke up, he held her, but this was the first time she could truly choose how she slept with him.
For a moment, she was unsure. Should she lie on his arm as usual? But wouldn't that be too degrading for her? She could just go ahead and let it be today, lying on her own pillow.
But looking at Ringo there, his arm clearly in the perfect position for her head, she fell silent again.
What to do...
In the end, Hila found herself staring at Ringo for a long moment.
Hila's hard eyes softened a bit, remembering how he had treated her these past few days.
Hila is just a girl who grew up in a harsh environment. She felt a little lost at first when Aurora was saved, that was all she wanted, but after that... what?
Fortunately, she still had Ringo's promise, so she knew her next destination, she would be his woman. Degrading, yes, but still a goal. She wasn't as lost as she was in the original version.
But she didn't quite know what to expect from all this, but she has to admit she didn't expect it at all.
She expected to be tortured over and over again as he poured out all the pain Germinal had inflicted on her.
But no, he didn't. He treated her with care and affection.
This bothered her because she didn't know how to respond.
She knew how to respond to aggression, but kindness? Hila had no idea what to do, so she let herself go.
Ringo continued to pamper her and treat her like a... Hila blushed for a moment. She remembered their parents for a moment, and it made her feel melancholy.
Has Hila accepted Ringo? She can't say, but she no longer rejects him.
He saved her sister, she promised him, he's good to her.
A combination of three factors has made Hila, who is normally tough as nails, let her guard down slightly.
She still can't say she's accepted him completely, but at the very least, she doesn't hate this life.
Then, staring at her spot in Ringo's arm, as if waiting for her, like a carnivorous plant waiting for her to land, she finally shook his head, climbing onto the bed with a slightly flushed face and turning her back to him, but still lying on his arm.
The next moment, Ringo's body adjusted, hugging her perfectly. Hila froze as she felt his arm slip around her and his body press against hers.
Her breathing quickened, thinking he had woken up, expecting him to start playing with her body as usual, but no, she heard his soft breathing, he was still asleep.
Slowly calming down, she took a deep breath, a little relieved and a little apprehensive.
She felt Ringo's body press tighter against hers as he buried his nose in her hair. Her lips pressed together as she finally sighed and turned her body, facing him, laying her head on his chest.
She felt embarrassed, but at the same time, she felt safe.
With his arms wrapped around her, Hila eyes quickly grew heavy.