Time and again, he extracted bodily energy. Time and again, he failed.
In the end, after nearly an entire afternoon, until night had fallen, Chiba still failed to extract bodily energy, let alone create Chakra.
Still, although he had failed, through who knew how many attempts and repeated extractions, that feeling of being separated by a veil was clearly fading bit by bit. Chiba could feel that as long as he kept trying, that spine-chilling sensation—as though his body did not belong to him—would eventually disappear.
Perhaps once that veiled feeling vanished, he would be able to refine bodily energy smoothly.
"Meat!"
"Meat!"
"Meat!"
Just as Chiba gave up on his final failed attempt of the day, the children's clear voices, raised with excitement and joy, rang out beside him.
At that moment, the children were gathered around the iron pot, watching the prepared rabbit and pheasant meat that had just been dropped into the boiling water tumble about amid the bubbles, releasing droplets of oil. One after another, they swallowed hard and cheered.
After glancing at the children, Chiba's gaze lightly passed over He Yin, who was tending the fire and holding a basin of shiitake mushrooms and other fungi, ready to add them at the right moment. It moved past Zong Mi, who was seriously practicing Shurikenjutsu with repeated "thunk, thunk, thunk" sounds, and finally settled on Yu Ze, who was meditating in the corner with an irregular stone balanced against him. A faint smile slowly appeared on Chiba's face.
Today, while he had been making attempt after attempt, Yu Ze and the other two had taken the children to the abandoned town where they had set their traps. They had returned with a rabbit and a pheasant, which was quite a good haul. Although it was much