Protagonist?Antagonist? I Reject Both

Chapter 303: Hellish Days

Leon struggled to rise as his hands trembled against the hard ground the lingering effects of the lightning strike sent sporadic twitches through his muscles, making standing a daunting task.

"Uncle, at least give a warning first," Leon muttered, voicing his frustration subtly.

Despite being close enough to talk to Stephen that way, Leon always tried to refrain from disrespecting a man who could erase him with ease but this man irritated him so much that he wasn't able to seal his lips.

Even though Leon intended his complaint to be quiet, Stephen had heard everything clearly.

Leon realized Stephen's accurate grasp of his strength, deducing that Heavenly rank was really something.

Sometimes, Leon would use the power of darkness to attack and defend.

He rarely uses that power, because he fears losing control leading to disastrous effects like a black hole that might swallow everything soon unless required he opts not to use it.

It was only in that God-mode state that he managed to control the power freely.

But being absurd for so long, Leon decided to fight back using the power of darkness.

And what happened next was as a small orb flew out and swallowed the whole wall, and then created a huge hole in the underground, startling everyone.

Stephen hadn't questioned Leon's power, which puzzled him. Even his mother, who he expected to demand answers, remained silent.

Leon understood that his grandma was somewhere involved. It seemed she ordered everyone not to question Leon's power.

Another bolt of lightning hit, and Leon struggled to focus.

Stephen finally commented, "You're doing this wrongly. You're not focusing enough."

Leon silently retorted, 'That's because you kept hitting me before I could focus!'

"Stand up," Stephen commanded, summoning ethereal lightning to lift Leon off the ground.

Leon felt the difference in Stephen's control over the lightning.

After the lightning was siphoned away, Leon could think clearly.

"You're distracted. You need to clear your mind and focus on one thing that is the feel," Stephen instructed.

"I don't understand much about perception. I mean cultivators' souls developed and they could even emerge making them easy isn't it.."

"A person is quite sensitive to external stimuli so once you group over that soul, your body would also perceive that stimulus."Stephen then pondered for a moment and spoke…

"Do you know the reason why a Martial Artist can jump to a cultivator at the higher stage with just firm manipulation and increasing perception?"

Leon shook his head.

"It's because the Martial Spirit is a part of the soul and originated from it so it acts as the nascent soul copying all soul data and molding into a full you so at divine realm, just like you release a Martial Spirit, you can control your soul…."

"That's the primary reason for waking Martial Spirit despite not being used by most people in fear of getting their soul damaged. Those who don't awaken it might never be able to become cultivators…A higher rank Martial Spirit shows a strong soul that can be easier to mold as a lower rank one often bursts unable to copy all the data to transform into a nascent soul."

The moment Stephen finished, he sent another spark to Leon and shouted, "Let's begin…We diverted in the middle.

Leon nodded, clearing his mind and focusing solely on sound.

He concentrated on the symphony of his own bodily sounds, expanding his awareness to the surrounding environment.

Listening intently, Leon heard a heartbeat. Not his own.

Identifying the source as Stephen's erratic heartbeat, Leon realized Stephen allowed him to hear it.

Expanding his awareness, Leon stood still, focusing solely on the sounds around him. After several minutes of concentration, he detected a faint but distinct heartbeat, irregular yet unmistakably.

As he adjusted to this new sensory input, another sound caught his attention, a swift, almost imperceptible slicing through the air. Reacting instinctively, Leon darted to the left, narrowly avoiding a lightning bolt. But his relief was short-lived as another bolt struck him squarely in the chest, sending a jolt through his entire being.

Suddenly, Leon detected a thin sound cutting through the air, swiftly dodging the lightning bolt aimed at him. But another hit him straight on the chest, shocking him.

After enduring a few painfully annoying minutes, Leon struggled to get up, despising the sensation of being struck by lightning.

Quickly realizing why he had missed the sound of the second bolt, he attributed it to the noise his body made when dodging the first, disrupting his concentration.

With a deep breath, Leon refocused on his ears, entering a state of absolute concentration more swiftly than before.

As he honed his hearing, Leon evaded a bolt by darting to the right, learning from his previous mistake. He maintained his focus, disregarding all sounds except those around him.

Swiftly moving left and right, Leon continued dodging the lightning, solely relying on his heightened auditory senses.

Stephen silently observed Leon's evasive maneuvers, his expression unreadable as he conjured bolts of lightning.

Leon began to adjust to his reliance on sound for reaction, feeling his ears sharpening with each dodge.

Suddenly, as he sidestepped a lightning bolt, Leon collided with a hard surface, realizing he had crashed into a wall. And it disrupted his focus, causing him to miss the next lightning strike.

The sudden shock jolted through him, leaving him trembling on the ground with muttered expletives.

It typically took Leon about two minutes to recover from each lightning strike, during which he lay on the floor, allowing his thoughts to wander.

Observant by nature, Leon couldn't help but notice the frequency of the lightning strikes during his training sessions with Stephen.

He surmised that Stephen might be testing his body reaction and resistance to the lightning element without explicitly informing him.

Despite this realization, Leon harbored no ill feelings, considering the training to be ultimately beneficial.

After a brief respite, Leon resumed his meditative state, recommencing his training with a sigh.

It seems he might be trapped in this hell if he didn't find a way soon.

After several hours of rigorous practice, Stephen called an end to the session, leaving Leon panting and exhausted on the training room floor.

Just as Leon was about to sigh in relief…

Unexpectedly, a lightning bolt struck Leon on the head, momentarily disorienting him.

"You won't stop, right?"

"Take the potion.."

Stephen handed Leon the potion which immediately gulped and soon his vision became normal.

"Damn! If this goes on for a month I might lose my eyes for real."

During the blindness, Leon found that he wasn't able to his Draconic eyes after becoming blind which shocked him.

It seems he can't lose his eyes in future no matter what.

With Uncle's departure, Leon relaxed on the floor, allowing his mind to wander as he reflected on the day's training.

"Haaaa!I don't know how long this training would go on…Can I survive that person's cruelty…"

"I have heard everything…"

Leon's body froze and he immediately stood up taking a combat stance only to find that it was the voice of simulations fitted in the room.

A thick vein bulged on his forehead.

"Never…Ever…have I come across such an obnoxious man."

The hellish and arduous process went and in the blink of an eye, 7 months passed away.

...

"AHHHHH!Damn!"

"FuckkI shouldn't have accepted those asshole proposals.

A wounded figure staggered its way through the desert while cursing aloud.

The figure was none other than Ye Chen.

Being a wanted criminal, he had never had any access to the Dimensional Zone, and his so-called contract wife was the only way for him to reach the place that just left him down.

A few days later, he got an offer from Elena's to visit the dimensional zone but on his way, he felt things were quite suspicious so instead of waiting to be slaughtered, he decided to strike first, and during the fight, the vehicle malfunctioned and soon after, he was chased by humans so he could only get out of the human sector and running away he ended up in some god damned unknown place.

"For god sake, how did a desert appear out of nowhere…Just how the hell is a landscape of dimensional arrangement, this is quite weird."

Ye Chen's breath came in ragged gasps as he stumbled through the treacherous sands.

Each step felt like an eternity, the shifting ground threatening to swallow him whole. But he pushed forward with his willpower, the pain of the injury gnawed at his body.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him trembled, and with a violent eruption, monstrous worms burst forth.

"SHIT! Why am I so unlucky?"

Their razor-sharp teeth gleamed in the harsh desert sun as they lunged at him with ferocious strikes.

With lightning reflexes, Ye Chen dodged and jumped, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of the voracious creatures. His heart pounded in his chest as he fought for every inch of ground, and his survival instinct kicked into overdrive.

His movements were erratic as he tried to run frantically and his mind focused solely on one l to escape the deadly grasp of the sandworms and reach safety.

He didn't know what these monsters were but they were quite huge with huge circular mouths having metallic teeth.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins, numbing the pain of his wounds as he pushed his body to its limits.

But amidst the chaos, he battered a figure lying on the ground, and what surprised him the most was a barrier covering her.

His eyes widened seeing the figure of a female lying there.

"A beauty amid the desert."

Unsavory thoughts started to rise in his mind but he shook his head.

"Maybe, she can be the key for me to escape and find new habitat."