CHAPTER 76 APOLLO'S TRAINING.
In a deep jungle within the borders of Avalon, ten horses came into view.
The ground trembled and vibrated to the galloping of their hoofs.
And riding on the horses back were Apollo and his students.
Apollo's stead took the lead with fast strides while the others followed suit.
At first some of them were shaky on the horse back, but they quickly got over it and rode with the wind.
From afar, it looked like they were marching into battle.
Sometime later, Apollo slowly pulled the reins of his horse, beconing it to slow down. He gave the others signals to follow suit.
Soon, the horses came to a halt.
Apollo looked around the area, they had wandered deeper into the forest towards the red zone area.
He could feel the danger beasts crawling around but chose to ignore them.
"We're here"
He said and jumped from the horse.
"But we're in the middle of nowhere"
Bryon said he and the others dropped from their horses.
"Exactly"
Apollo smiled.
After securing the horses, they moved to the side and Apollo beaconed on them to sit down.
"Alright, so today we officially begin our class"
Lan suddenly raised his hand
"Do we really had to leave the city before you could teach us"
"Calm down dude"
Roman said .
"We're not really allowed to leave the city, so enjoy the outdoors while it lasts. I know that what's I'm gonna do"
Roman's eyes were already scanning around the nearby beast. But unfortunately the ones he had seen so far were weak.
"I needed to teach you all something that's only known to a few. It's not a secret, but the less people knows about it the better"
Apollo said as he unsheathes his great sword and walked towards a fairy large tree.
The others watched him quietly.
Apollo clenched the heavy sword tightly with one hand, as if it weighed nothing.
Then...
SWOOM...
A strange energy excaped his body in waves. The energy flowed into the great sword and with a quick ringing slash, he cut through the tree trunk like it was but.
After some long seconds, the tree slowly fell and crashed into the others causing dozens of birds to flap out.
Apollo turned back to his students while resting the heavy blade on his shoulder.
"So tell me, what did you noticed"
He asked.
"Well you channeled spirit energy into your sword and cut down a tree"
Lan said.
"I mean it was obvious"
Carl added.
"That wasn't spirit energy"
Roman suddenly said, causing the others to look at him.
Roman had felt that energy before, from within his own body.
It was the foreign energy that he got from absorbing beast crystals, the source of his beastly strength.
Apollo looked at him and smiled.
"So you figured it out. This energy is completely different from spirit energy. It's known as Ki energy"
"Ki?"
Roman let the word flow in a whisper.
"Spirit energy and Ki are somehow similar in nature, but still vastly different.
Spirit energy comes from outside our bodies, an energy we cultivate from the atmosphere around us.
While Ki, is an energy from within. We don't see Ki, we don't feel it, but we use it in our everyday life; that sudden rush of adrenaline, the short burst of strength when tired, the sudden sharpness of sight. That's Ki, we use it without realizing it."
Apollo raised his hand and clenched his fist. He channeled his Ki from his middle dantian to his fist.
The others felt a sudden pulse emitting from his chenched fit.
"Unlike spirit energy which becomes visible when you channel it, Ki remains invisible.
When we use spirit energy, it forms an outer coat of aura around the body and weapons, enabling us to gain immense strength, speed and power, even for unleashing our various elements.
But Ki has it's difference. It's more denser, empowering us from within. One quick burst of Ki can give you the effect of two burst of spirit energy.
But when Ki combines with spirit energy...."
Apollo channeled spirit energy into his clenched fist.
Purple aura filled his hand and an explosive force erupted in waves that almost knocked the students off their seated position.
"Any questions"
Lan raised his hand.
"Are we the only ones who now knows about Ki?"
Billy asked instead.
"Not fair "
Lan complained.
"Well I've been teaching in the Academy for three years now, and I haven't bothered teaching it to others so consider yourselves lucky"
Apollo said.
"So, how do we use it?"
Anya asked.
"Firstly, it has to do with knowledge. Every person has a fair amount of Ki inside them. Meditating helps you locate your ki and cultivate it."
"Oh crap, back to stage one, meditating"
Lunar breathed out.
"The natural place the body stores ki is in the middle dantian. To make it easier to find, it's a small white glowing ball of energy"
Apollo nodded.
And that was all the confirmation that Roman needed.
Roman slowly raised his hand and clenched his fist.
"So that's what it is "
He muttered.
"Based on what I can see "
Apollo continued.
"You guys already have a nice amount of Ki stored. But Roman, you have an insanely amount of Ki inside of you"
All eyes snapped towards Roman.
"Seriously "
Billy gritted his teeth
Lunar smiled
"So you've been holding back on me huh?"
"Calm down,"
Roman rolled his eyes.
"I never knew what it was until now. You know I meditate a lot "
Roman let the ki flow into his fist and pulse of energy flared out.
"On fuck!"
Lan exclaimed
"That's why you're insanely strong!"
The realization dawned on them.
"What kind of training did you put yourself through?"
Carl asked.
"Nahh, my secret "
Roman smiled.
"Then I better catch up quickly"
Lan said as he closed his eyes and went into meditating.
The others slowly followed suit.
"Mind you...."
Apollo voiced out.
"Ki is powerful yes, but a beast master with incredible amount of spirit energy can easily overpowered someone with both ki and spirit energy."
All eyes turned to Sylver.
"What?"
She frowned.
"You're at the top when it comes to pure spirit power"
Roman smiled.
"And you're one step to the Knight stage"
Lunar added.
"Yeah, a beautiful monster ain't she?"
Lan smiled.
Billy suddenly smacked his back head
"Outch, would you stop doing that!"
Lan complained.
Apollo laughed.
"You're a nice bunch. I advised you cultivate both together as you grow.Now begin, you have one hour to locate your ki"
"Yes sir!"
They nodded and went into meditating.
TBC