"Big brother, how did you do that?!" Xinxin asked excitedly. She was already smiling and laughing.
"Haha, since you already have a stronger body compared to when I(Shi Rong) started to cultivate, then I will teach you. You have to listen well, okay?" Rick said seriously.
Xinxin nodded furiously, she knew that the issue was serious.
"You have to listen, I will impart you with tge basic knowledge first. Cultivation has many stages that you have to breakthrough namely, Qi Condensation Foundation Establishment, Core Formation and Nascent Soul. But don't get me wrong, Nascent Soul isn't the end of it, there are many more stages a head, big brother just don't know it.
"Future knowledge is useless, so I will start at the bottom. Qi Condensation is the first realm of Cultivation, there are 9 stages you have to pass before you can breakthrough to the next realm, the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Rick took time in explaining the basics of Cultivation. He knew that gradually, she had to learn how to protect herself.
"Okay, sit cross legged and sense the Spiritual Energy in the air. You have to focus, don't let anything disturb you." He already taught her how to view her unner body, and found out that her meridians were colorful and full of vigor. It was not clogged like his.
She nodded and immediately started to meditate and sense the surroundings.
Just as Rick thought that it was going to take time, he heard Xinxin's cry.
"So this is Spiritual Energy! So beautiful!" as she opened her eyes, Rick could see that it was practically shining.
"Wow, so fast! Little Xin is really amazing!" Rick praised as he ruffled her hair.
"Really?!"
"Of course! Now, I already told you what comes next, use your acupoints and ignite your dantian dantian to absorb the Spiritual Energy." Rick urged.
"Okay." Xinxin nodded.
She returned to meditation and started to find out how she could use his dantian and acupoints to absorb the SE. Her face showed confusion at first, but a while later, Rick could sense the SE in the air get sucked into her body.
Rick smiled and let her be. Knowing her, Rick was assured that she would follow his instructions. After all, her meridians were not clogged and it is easier for her to cultivate.
Rick then sat cross legged 20 meters away from Xinxin and also strarted to cultivate.
Every now and then, his face would show pain but he did not make a sound. He was currently clearing his Left Leg Meridian. With his experience from clearing his Arm Meridians, he already knew what to do.
He just repeatedly rammed on the entrance of his Left Leg Meridian while he bore with the pain.
Cracks appeared not long after. Not to repeat the same mistakes again, he controlled his Qi so that it would travel slowly.
As his meridians lit up, Rick was expecting that there will be another clog somewhere in the middle. But surprisingly, there was not, his Qi passed smoothly until it finally reached the clog on the other end that was also connected to his dantian.
Bang! Bang!
Rick ignored the pain and just hammer the clog. Finally, after who knows when, his Qi finally broke through and swam into his dantian. A complete cycle was made.
'On to the next one!' If it was Rick fron the day before, he would have chosen to rest. Now, knowing that Xinxin could basically surpass him made him embarrassed. She was even willing to work harder than him, what was more embarrassing than that?
...
Four hours later...
"Ahh." Rick collapsed and laid on the ground. He was already numb from the pain. Thanks to the system, he was not able to be mentally exhausted, even if he wanted to. He could even go days without sleeping, he just needed to eat and he would still be perfectly fine.
He stared at the stars shining brightly in the sky. He suddenly had the urged to want to pluck the stars and play it in his hands.
Then... he passed out. His body wanted to rest.
Xinxin already went to sleep an hour ago after breaking through the first stage of Qi Condensation.
...
Rick and Xinxin woke up feeling rejuvenated. With their recent breakthrough, it was hard not to.
Especially for Rick, with his good night sleep, all of the pain yesterday completely vanished. It was like he never experienced it in the first place.
They both performed their scheduled daily routine.
Jogging and boxing. It was a good way to start the day, and to improve cardiovascular endurance.
Rick began teaching Xinxin the basics of boxing three days ago. It could help improve Hand-Eye coordination.
Bop! Bop! Bop! Punch after punch made the punching bag sway harder.
"Shh! Shh shh" It was Ricks habit in his previous life. Making a sound while punching the bag feels so satisfying.
They would jog every morning for 30 minutes, since they were not really rushing to reach the empire, they treated this days as training camp.
They both had an obvious increase in strangth and endurance. Especially Xinxin, with her breakthrough, everything improved.
Rick also noticed how different he was from yesterday. After clearing his Legs and Internal Organs Meridians, he was now faster, and had great cardiovascular endurance. The only meridian left was the Head Meridian.
He did not even break a sweat after the 30 minute jog. Compared to Xinxin, he was a freak!
After they were done with their routine, Rick would then cook. They already had many carcasses of spirit beasts that Rick hunted days before.
"Little Xin, what meat should we eat?" The meat of Spirit Beast was very nutritious and yummy. It also provided little Spiritual Energy that could strengthen the body little by little. The ignition of Rick's dantian was a great example of that.
"I still prefer the bear's meat. The hot pot you cooked the other day was really yummy! But it would be better if you added more spice!" Xinxin said while recalling the taste of the hotpot that Rick cooked and drooling.
"Okay, then I will make hotpot again. Haha." Rick prepared all of the ingredients that they gather on their way. Xinxin really loved spicey flood, and Rick did not mind it.
An hour later, a delicious smell wafted around as they ate.
"Ah! This is so yummy!" Xinxin's face was flushed red from the hot and spicey hotpot.
"Haha, eat slowly. The food is not gonna run out." Rick chuckled at her antics. She was a real foodie.
"I can't, or it will gow cold. Then ih woulg not be sho good anymore! Gulp!" after finishing her first bowl, she did not hesitate and filled it again.
The increase of their appetite were also getting obvious, but who cares, they have food and water enough for months. And if it wasn't enough, then they would hunt more.
...
"Big brother, horses! I see horses over there!" Xinxin tugged Rick's clothes and pointed to the direction she saw using the Rangefinder Binocular. They climbed a tree and the land infront of them sloped little by little, so they were on the higher ground.
These days, Rick introduced her to the technologies that he bought, and it shocked her that she even called it treasures.
He did not mind showing the gun to her, but letting her use it was a different thing. At least not now. When she finally gets stronger, he would buy her a gun that suits her self.
"Really?" Rick used his Tac 50 and spotted a horses 500 meters from them. Whenever they noticed that they were out of a territory of a spirit beast and enter another territory, they would try and search for it and immediately kill it. Rick already knew the threat they were in if they did not hunt it.
"What? There are other people here?" He moved his scope and looked around. He adjusted his scope and spoted movements, there were people! Four horses were tied on a tree.
A man and a woman sat beside a fire. There was a huge sword on the man's back while the woman beside her had two knives sheated on her waist.
He moved his scope and spotted two other men dragging a large corpse of a spirit beast. The other man also had a huge sword on his back, while the other wore a silver armor.
"Big brother, I recognize them! They are bandits!" Xinxin who was beside him said angrily. Fury and hatred burned in her eyes.
"Are they they one who attacked your village?" asked Rick.
"No, but I remeber them! They came to the village demanding food a year ago, at that time, they even beat up a granny. We had no choice but to give them our only food!" Xinxin spat angrily. Rick could hear her grind her teeth.
"Little Xin, let me teach a new lesson today. At a time like this, you have to be calm and collected. You must not act on impulse and carefully plan your moves. I know you want payback, but acting rashly will end up badly for you. Do you understand?" Rick said calmly, but Xinxin who heard him felt something different coming from Rick.
"I understand." She was good at controlling her emotions and she managed to calm down.
"Good." He looked around for a good spot. Although the spot on the branch of a tree was also good, it made them easy to be spotted by the enemy.
"Follow me." Rick jumped down followed by Xinxin. She trusted Rick very much that she would do anything he asked.
"Jessie, buy me an AAC CYCLOPS MSRP." Rick ordered.
"Sir, purchase is complete. Please checknot in your inventory." as usual, Jessie swift and efficient.
"Thank you." He mentally tapped on the suppressor on his inventory and installed it on his Rifle.
Xinxin did not know what Rick was planning, but she trusted him. And since he was doing something with the gun, then there was no wuest tion to ask anymore.
Because they were on a higher ground, it was easier to just lay flat on the ground.
"Hide behind the tree, don't let them see you." Rick instructed. Xinxin immediately complied with talking.
He steadied his breathing, and a chill flashed across his eyes.
He removed the safety, placed his finger on the trigger and took another deep breath and exhaled.
Pah!.. Pah!.. Pah!.. Pah!