Kali was worried about the amount of energy being drawn into Tahir's body. He knew that other cultivators couldn't handle this much energy, and other cultivation arts wouldn't even draw in this much energy for an entry level cultivator, even if it was a Divine level technique. As he worried, energy kept falling into Tahir's body. Kali noticed that Tahir had a calm expression on his face. So, he remained optimistic. He decided to monitor Tahir's progress and find a way to intervene should it become dangerous.
While Kali monitored Tahir, Tahir's focus was drawn to the changes occurring inside his body. As he continued to circulate the art, he noticed that each of his organs and cells were filling up with energy. He also noticed that several wisps of fuzzy, gray light were appearing at several points throughout his body. From the knowledge he received about the Primordial God Cannon, he knew these were his acupoints. When he counted, he found 360 wisps of light, one for each acupoint. He also noticed that his meridians were becoming wider and more resilient. They strengthened considerably while remaining flexible. These were also coated with a layer of gray energy. He noticed that there was some energy being stored in his bones. In his dantian, there was another wisp of energy, but it was larger than those in his acupoints. He could also see another wisp of energy in his head between his eyebrows. He knew this was the location where mental energy was stored. He noticed that some blood was being pushed out through his pores. It was painful, but for some reason, he remained centered and held on. These changes continued until each cell was filled to the brim with energy, there was a small pool of energy gathered under the wisp of light in his dantian, and there was another pool of energy under the wisp of light in his soul sea. These changes took about 5 hours to complete, after which Tahir opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.
Once Tahir opened his eyes, Kali immediately grabbed his wrist to check what happened with his body. Tahir had a look of confusion on his face. He just finished starting his cultivation technique, and he felt somewhat reborn and energetic. Why was Kali looking so frantic with worry? Kali noticed the confused look on Tahir's face and explained himself. "The amount of energy you just took in was far beyond the amount of energy it would take to finish the first 5 or 6 layers of body refinement, let alone the 1st layer. I almost expected you to explode, but I saw that you still had a calm expression, but I want to know what happened.
Kali saw the changes in Tahir's body and gasped slightly in amazement. He never expected the art to turn into this. He could even explain the changes he observed. After a few more minutes of observation, he turned to Tahir and said, "I don't know how to explain this. How do you feel?"
Tahir replied, "I feel great, like I was somewhat reborn."
Kali just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then we���ll count it as a good thing. Like I said, you're the first person I know to cultivate this art. So, we'll have to monitor the changes as you continue to cultivate. I know the description said you'd need 3 times the energy for each level since your entire cultivation base from all three types would advance together, but the amount of energy you just took into was more like 30 times the energy. If it continues like this, your resource consumption might be more severe than we realized."
Tahir understood his concern, but it was too late now. He noticed that once his vital, qi, and soul energy combined, they would no longer separate. It was all one type of energy stored in all areas. It was most likely too late to back out now.
Kali continued when he saw Tahir had no reaction to this news. He used an enthusiastic tone as he didn't want to discourage Tahir. "Well, we move forward! We'll have the joy of walking this new road together, I as your guide, and you as the courageous pupil!"
"Courageous pupil?"
Kali cleared his throat and immediately changed the subject. "Never mind that. You should finish washing yourself and come with me." When he noticed Tahir staring at him blankly without making a move, he asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Tahir pointed towards the pile of clothes that Kali tore off him when he threw in the tub. Kali was slightly embarrassed at the reminder of his earlier behavior. But he refused to admit any fault. He instead turned his back to Tahir before replying. "Those clothes were old anyway. We'll find you some new clothes to wear. I'll have one of the automatons retrieve a set now while you wash."
After Tahir finished washing, he was presented with a new set of clothes. He was concerned as these clothes were made from high quality materials. The outfit he was given included simple black long underpants with a black undershirt and an emerald green robe that had gold thread stitching throughout. If one looked closely, they would see small runes incorporated into the fabric. Tahir sighed. "Kali, I can't wear this. This is too high profile. I couldn't afford this outfit even if I sold myself in the city. I need something plain."
Kali scratched his head. "This is the plain robe offered to family members who study here."
Tahir shook his head. "Regardless, this won't do. There has to be something here that won't stand out."
Kali seemed reluctant to respond. Tahir pressed him for the words that seemed stuck in his throat. "Come on. Speak up."
"Well, there are some other clothes. But those are the servant uniforms,"
"Bring a set over."
Kali firmly rejected him. "No! You absolutely can't wear the servant's clothes!"
"The only servants here now are the automatons, and they don't wear anything. Bring a set of the servant's uniform over."
Kali had an automaton bring a set of servant's clothing to Tahir. When Tahir took the clothing from the automaton, Kali explained. "These are the servant's clothing, black long underpants, a white undershirt, and a plain white robe. These clothes have no protective functions. They can only help regulate your body temperature throughout different climates and seasons."
Although Tahir could hear a derisive tone in Kali's voice as he explained the servant's uniform, he found it quite pleasing. It looked to be of decent quality, but not too eye-catching. He wouldn't be ridiculed as he talked business, but he also wouldn't look like a prime robbery target. Besides, his former clothes didn't regulate anything. He'd have been lucky if another hole to patch didn't appear. He nodded his head in appreciation. "These will do just fine. It's best I don't wear something so ostentatious. People will wonder why I can afford clothes that even the nobles can't purchase, and given the greedy nature of people, I'm sure someone will put a price on my head." Even though Tahir said this, he couldn't help but appreciate the other outfit. He had a somewhat longing expression on his face as he looked at the student attire. "Just keep those for me. When I get strong enough that no one can take it from me, then I'll wear it. Deal?"
Kali was relieved once he heard Tahir's thoughts. He could understand his concerns. With the clothing settled, Tahir quickly dressed himself. Kali noticed that even though they were servant clothes, Tahir still looked somewhat refined and confident.
At this time, an automaton walked up with a box. Kali took the box in hand to give it to Tahir. "Take this box."
Tahir grabbed the box and noticed it was the same as his grandmother's box that contained the ring and books. However, where his grandmother's box was worn and dusty, this box looked new. It was clearly preserved well. "What's in here?"
Kali said, "Go ahead and open it. There's some interesting stuff in there for you."
Tahir opened the box and saw it contained a few items. There were 4 white jade slips, 1 green jade slip, and 1 red jade slip. There were also 4 jade bottles. As Tahir took inventory of his items. Kali reached out to close the box. "Enough gawking. Take this." He handed Tahir another ring. It looked like the plain iron band he had before, only there were no obvious inscriptions. Kali explained further. "This is a storage ring. Send a little of your energy into the ring."
Tahir sent a sliver of energy into the ring and it felt like something clicked. Kali then handed the box back to Tahir. "The ring is now registered to you. You should also send some energy into the crest on the box. It will make it so you're the only one that can open it. You can also store the box in the ring, along with any other items you want to take with you. You saw what was in the box. The 4 white jades contain reference knowledge. Now that you have some mental energy you can use that to probe the jade and review the information contained in them. You'll need to completely review the knowledge in each jade to make sure that you can recall all of it at any moment. Two of the white jades contain knowledge on entry level runes that you can use for inscriptions. There's detailed information on each rune and how it can be used. There are also some notes from past family members included as well. This will help you draw from their experience as you learn. The other 2 white jades are herb references. These are, by far, just a miniscule amount of all the herbs you'll need to learn. There's information on 10,000 basic herbs included along with their usage, properties, and growth conditions, as well as the conditions that need to be created in a garden for those that can be grown in a controlled environment."
Kali continued his explanation. "The green jade slip is a text on medical and healing techniques. You'll need a solid base of information on the human body if you want to be the best at alchemy. The red jade is a technique you can use to condense a spiritual flame. While most cultivators wouldn't have a need to practice this prior to the 3rd level of body refinement, I think you may be able to practice it given your large reserves of energy. I'd prepared this since I estimated you'd have 3 times the amount of energy needed, and it would place you close to the level of a 3rd level body refinement cultivator in terms of the amount of energy available. You should practice that since you won't be able to start practicing pill creation without it."
"As for the bottles, 2 of them is a liquid that you'll need to add to a hot bath every night as you should cultivate. You should use cultivation as a form of rest for now so that you can gather as much energy as possible each day. Also, there's one bottle with 20 1st level healing pills, and the final bottle has 20 qi boosting pills. While you cultivate in a bath at night, you should also take one of those pills. The liquid helps remove impurities and draws spirit energy into each cell for continued refinement. Normally, new cultivators wouldn't use both at the same time and the massive amount of energy would create a massive amount of pain as it's forcefully infused into the body by the solution, but I think you should be able to handle it given the show you put on today."
"So, learn and practice medical arts and condensing a flame along with writing runes during the day and then cultivate at night. If you lift the base of the box, you'll find a basic rune brush along with some plain paper. This is mainly so you get used to using a rune brush. While you won't be creating actual talismans, you'll know when you get a rune correct as even a rune without spiritual energy infused will resonate with you."
Kali then took a deep breath as he'd been talking for a while. "Do you have any questions?"
Tahir was still slightly shocked by all the information Kali just rattled off, but one point remained consistent throughout the entire explanation. Tahir replied to Kali. "So, what you're saying is that I already have homework?"
"Precisely. Now go home and get busy. You'll find another day is starting back on your world. No time like the present to study those herbs and runes!" Kali then waved his hand and sent Tahir back home.