Damn, now that’s what I call a good exercise! It was sometime in the afternoon when Quin stopped his training. He was totally exhausted and just collapsed onto the ground to rest for a few minutes. The pain he felt previously due to his cells overusing the wild energy was now almost completely gone, so even though he was dead tired and there was no part of his body that did not ache, he was beyond happy. He was filled boundless hope and though he was aware that it may have been a bit too early it was exactly what he needed. After having to experience his life, his future ending, the constant agonizing pain and also facing the fact that he may only have a single year left, he felt relieved now. In his opinion, the lack of pain was a great indicator that this type of wild energy was not damaging his body. If it remains like this then I may have really solved my biggest problem! Hm, maybe this healing type wild energy is even good for my longevity? Man, that’d be good, I wish that’ll be the case!

Quin finally allowed himself to think of the future and what it might bring. He doubted that he would find a way to get back his cultivation, however, he could have a normal life and live here. Maybe he would find a job he liked and would spend his life working, like an average man. Although he had the bronze badge so he would not need to work for money, but doing nothing every day, without a goal in his mind would be just boring. Then, perhaps someday he would have a family, a daughter or a son and maybe even with Aline.

Aline? Why do I feel so strange? I should love her, I clearly remember my feelings I had back then, but the only thing I feel now is the emptiness-- No that’s not true, as I try to recall how I’ve felt toward her the only thing I feel is... Repulsion? Why? Quin sensed that egg was currently very active and doing something. Is it because of it? Will I never be able to love someone? Though it’s a different type of love, I still feel that I love my mother and my father-- He stopped there for a moment. There were several times during his journey that he had thought of his father and he could not help but have a growing supposition that something was wrong. It was too suspicious that he would have to leave just after he got to know Quin’s condition and that he had never heard from his father since then. Not a single letter, or anything. Damn, why do I always think of these things? Why do I always have to spoil my good mood?

Quin took a few deep breath and calmed himself down, then stood up and went back to where Xia and the girl was. It seemed that she had been awake for a while as she was trying to take a bit out of Xia, again and again. Quin was glad to see that Xia was handling it quite well and looked at it like it was just a game they played.

“Sorry about that, I don’t know why but she never cries or yells when she’s hungry and just starts to chew on you,” he said with a chuckle. “Well, at least she’s been doing it since I’ve found her.”

“Found her? Isn’t she your’s?” Xia asked frowning.

Oh, right, I’ve never told her. “No, she isn’t my daughter, look, I’m not even seventeen,” he replied laughing. “I’ve found her next to the road about one day’s walk away from Hounxi and I’ve been searching for the parents since then, unfortunately to no avail. Well, if you hear anything about a missing child I’d be glad if you could tell me.”

Xia froze for a few moments, like she had heard something shocking and then answered, “Oh, right, I’ll let you know if I hear something.”

“Alright, let’s go and eat something. Do you know a good restaurant here?” It was too late for the lunch and too early for the dinner the inn served, but he did not want to let the girl remain hungry.

They went to a restaurant which was named The Nine Hundred Ninety-nine Flowers. It was a bit strange of a name and Quin had no idea why it was called like that, but to be honest, as long as it had good food he was fine with it.

He did not have to be disappointed, as the meal they had was one of the best he had ever had. Its interior was nicely but not overly decorated and the whole place exuded an aura of calmness. The servers were quite friendly and helpful, but just like Xia, they also looked flabbergasted after seeing the little girl’s appetite.

His following days were spent similarly, training from morning to afternoon and then relaxing. On most of the days, they visited The Nine Hundred Ninety-nine Flowers restaurant for a late lunch or dinner and then they just strolled the city, visiting various shops and landmarks. Although people here were less friendly than Zhang and his group, overall they were still quite nice and Quin liked the town without a doubt.

Regarding his new training schedule, he did have some plans but of course, he was not like his instructor, who had spent years learning and teaching, and knew how to make efficient schedules. Thus he had to rely more on try and error, experimenting what was the ideal solution for his plans.

He spent at least three hours with just running -- while wearing the clothing with extra-weight. After about a half an hour warm-up run he had thirty minutes where he increased his speed significantly. Next, he was switching between sprinting for thirty seconds and walking for a minute. In the last hour, he started with jogging and then continuously increased his tempo until at the end he was sprinting.

Quin felt exhausted after these three hours passed and to keep it that way, naturally, he continuously increased his speed and the time he had spent with sprinting in the second hour.

Quin did not care much for his tiredness, as he knew that the wild energy that the lake emitted would provide his body with sufficient energy. What’s more, it was exactly because of the overflowing energy that he had to follow such a strict training schedule.

After a few minutes of rest, he continued with his second type of exercise: weightlifting. This lasted for another hour and was mostly focused on increasing the strength of his arms and legs. His current best, with the combined power of both of his arms, was two hundred and fifty kilograms. It could have been easily more if not for his right arm which was significantly weaker. The maximum amount he could push with his left arm was one hundred and seventy-five kilograms, while his right arm was only capable of lifting seventy-five kilograms. Naturally, these figures were not exactly accurate as the weight difference between each of the weights were twenty-five kilograms.

He also spent about an hour with simple types of exercises ranging from squats to pushups. They may not have been the most efficient normally, however his clothing with the extra-weight made them quite useful.

When he was finished with these ones he stopped to rest by meditating for about half an hour. Afterward he repeated these exercise but this time he only did half of the previous amount. It was usually already a bit late when he was done with them, but he still had another, last hour of training.

Up to this point, his training consisted of exercises which only built up his body, however he did not want to get out of fighting shape. He had learned a lot about fighting back in school and as much as he did not want to admit, he also learned several important things during the time he was overcome by his instincts. Of course, at least half of that was due to the stupid mistakes his instincts made him do but the other part of it granted him valuable information.

Thus in the last hour of his training he practised various movement and fighting techniques and also did a lot of shadow fighting. At first he chose the spear as his weapons because it was easy-to-use and had a long range but during his journey and these days he came to like it quite a bit. Although previously he did not had to rely on a weapon as he had his Lightning Qi, his current situation was different. He may have a strong body but so did the various kinds of wild beast and someone who had the earth element as well. Furthermore, he may be fast but how could he actually even compare to someone with a simple element like air? Of course, he was not planning on fighting anything or anyone but the desire to become stronger was still strong within his mind.