After making the Clarity Potion, the Rapid Recovery Potion, and the Body Support Potion, Ethan gulped down one vial of each in a single go.
As the three potions reacted with each other, their effects magnified, and now the Rapid Recovery Potion lasted for more than four hours.
After munching down two full meals, Ethan packed the remaining ten meals into his bag before running toward the training area.
After running for twenty minutes straight, he reached the training grounds, which still had a couple of sect members wandering around.
Unlike yesterday, when he had to stop every couple of minutes to heal, today he was able to run without stopping.
It seemed that under the effects of the Clarity Potion, which boosted the natural functions of his cells and inner body, his body was steadily becoming tougher.
Upon reaching the training area, he gave himself a couple of minutes to recover from any fatigue or energy loss he might have sustained from the run.
Since his metabolism was rapidly burning through energy, his stamina also recovered in just a few minutes.
Soon after, he could already feel the internal sensation of hunger rising again.
Ethan looked around.
The remaining sect members were already getting ready to leave the training area.
"Let's fill my stomach while they leave…" Ethan muttered as he sat down and steadily ate three meals.
About ten minutes later, the training grounds became empty, except for Ethan.
He placed the remaining meals somewhere secure, away from the elements, and then grabbed his short scimitar before beginning his training.
Unlike yesterday, he didn't use Sword Intent.
Instead, he planned to train his reflexes, balance, coordination, flexibility, durability, and most importantly, to get his body used to performing sword techniques and movements so that it wouldn't resist him during actual combat.
He spent around one and a half hours forcing his body to adapt to his sword techniques and movements.
Thanks to the effects of the potions, his flesh and bones quickly got used to the strain, ripping and healing continuously.
As a result, his physique quickly became more refined and tempered.
"The effects of the Rapid Recovery Potion and Body Support Potion will last for a little more than two hours…" Ethan muttered.
He put away his sword and broke several branches off the nearby trees to use as practice swords, not wanting to risk breaking the one he had bought.
Wielding a tree branch like a real sword with both hands, he began to concentrate.
Thanks to the Clarity Potion boosting his mental power, within seconds, he was able to invoke Sword Intent.
A mild white aura began to release from the tree branch before spreading through Ethan's arms and then enveloping his entire figure in a veil of Sword Intent.
It wasn't just covering him, but also seeping into his flesh and bones.
Unlike yesterday, however, his flesh didn't tear apart, and his bones didn't crack.
Instead, they seemed to handle the Sword Intent quite well, remaining remarkably stable.
The Sword Intent he was invoking wasn't strong. He was still a mortal who hadn't stepped into cultivation.
As a mortal, he shouldn't have possessed the mental power or experience to invoke Sword Intent in the first place.
Yet he managed it, all because his mental power was incomparably strong, having lived for thousands of years across 105 different worlds.
But since his current physical and spiritual capabilities were still those of a mortal, the Sword Intent was also limited to that level.
His experience, mental power, and soul power were all being bottlenecked by his physical and spiritual limits.
"But that's a good thing. Because of this bottleneck, every time my power or cultivation increases, the results will be far more effective, since they'll always be trying to balance themselves with the strength of my soul and other non-physical powers…" Ethan muttered.
Closing his eyes, Ethan let the Sword Intent swirl through his system.
His body seemed to grow heavier, and every movement required much more force than usual.
That also meant he was burning through stamina at a much faster rate.
Yesterday, he had tempered his flesh and bones by letting the Sword Intent destroy him.
Today, he wouldn't do that. Instead, he tightened his grip on the tree branch and swung it with a magnificent movement.
He only performed a single sword movement, but that was enough for the Sword Intent to erupt.
The moment he finished the swing, the Sword Intent ripped through his muscles, releasing specks of sword energy from his skin.
Dozens of long, deep-looking cuts appeared across his body.
The tree branch in his hands shattered into pieces, yet the Sword Intent remained within his system and didn't explode uncontrollably like yesterday.
"Damn, I can move with Sword Intent in my system," Ethan smiled.
He gave his body a few seconds to heal from the injuries, then grabbed another tree branch and performed another sword movement.
This time, as his legs and arms moved fluidly, deep cuts once again appeared as the Sword Intent burst from his skin, and once again the branch ripped to pieces.
Ethan repeated the process, using different sword movements each time.
With every repetition, he injured himself, healed, and adapted.
Gradually, the intensity of his injuries lessened.
After an hour and a half of this, his movements had become fast and fluid, like a crane dancing in water.
Unlike before, his movements no longer caused the Sword Intent to injure him, aside from a faint redness in his pale skin.
Even that redness slowly faded as his body adapted to the Sword Intent at an unnatural rate.
Such effects couldn't be explained by the potions alone.
Their effects alone could never be sufficient.
"This body is amazing. I can't believe how fast it adapts. It's even better than the body of a werewolf," Ethan muttered with a satisfied smile as he tightened his fist.
He then spent another half an hour training with the Sword Intent swirling through his body.
Soon, it no longer harmed him, and he could use it freely without destroying himself.
"Hmm, this should be enough for today. There's still about an hour and a half left until the potions' effects wear off."
Ethan glanced at his remaining food.
He had already eaten nine meals so far, and yes, he had to visit the toilet a couple of times during training.
Now, only three meals were left.
He ate two meals before starting his training once again.
This time, instead of sword techniques, he focused on training his reflexes and flexibility with stretches and exercises, all while keeping the Sword Intent within his system.
This lasted for about an hour.
Finally, he finished his training, ate his last meal, and sprinted back toward his residential area.
Just a few minutes after reaching it, the effects of the Rapid Recovery Potion and Body Support Potion rapidly began to fade.
By the time he reached his building, he noticed a presence nearby.
As a result of his training, his senses had become sharper.
Not in the sense that he could detect energy fluctuations kilometers away, but he could quickly notice any disturbance close by, as though he could see even the smallest movement or change in the atmosphere.
He sensed a couple of people sprinting in the dark, dressed in black clothes and seemingly trying to blend into the night.
"Well, they seem like new sect members, since I can perceive their movements…"
If they had been cultivators, they would have been far too fast for his eyes to follow.
"I wonder what exactly they're doing sneaking around like this… should I check it out?" Ethan thought.
In the end, he decided he should, since it might be an opportunity or at least something interesting.
He saw them heading into the forest and followed at a reasonable distance, not wanting to be caught before he learned what they were doing.
"I miss Kagetsu… she would have completely hidden my presence in the shadows even from high-level martial artists,"
Ethan sighed as he trailed them for a couple of kilometers.
Deep in the forest, he realized more people were arriving from different directions.
Around a dozen of them had gathered, all seemingly new sect members who had yet to become cultivators.
Even if they caught Ethan eavesdropping, he knew he could deal with them without any trouble.
"Has anyone found it?" one of the men asked.
"Nope."
"Nah."
"No."
The others replied in turn.
"We don't even know what we're looking for," another complained.
"The Light," one of them stated.
"What exactly is the Light? What the hell is that?" someone else questioned.
"We've been searching for that thing since the entrance exam… I don't think there's anything like that here."
"Maybe the sect already took possession of it."
"Then we at least have to figure out what it is. We can't return empty-handed, or we'll be punished."
The men spent nearly thirty minutes discussing this thing they called the Light, and Ethan listened to every word.
"This is getting interesting… is this another conspiracy, or some sort of opportunity that the forces of the world are about to fight over?" Ethan's smile widened.
"Well, they can't have it while I'm here. Whatever it is, I'll be the one to claim it in the end."