"Excuse me, how much is a room?" Jake asked the receptionist. She was a neatly dressed, beautiful blonde lady with a huge burst. Every time she bopped her head, things would shake. While Jake was not attracted to her, he still appreciated the perfection.
"That depends on what you want," she replied
"I want a simple room for the night,"
"It is two coppers sir," she said.
Jake brought out two coins from his pocket, "Take."
He had stolen--picked them during the lecture at the park.
"Here is your key? Your room number is written on your key. Have a good rest," the receptionist said with an experienced tone.
Jake walked down the hallway directed by the receptionist. He found a door with his room number on it.
He inserted his key and opened it. The room was not bad. It was ordinary with a creaky-looking bed and a window view.
Jake sat on the bed. Even though it could not compare to the one at the guest house, it was better than nothing.
Laying on the bed, Jake thought about the lecture at the park. He had to say master Luca had a way with words. While he said a few irrelevant information, he pointed out the key points of cultivation.
Body, Strong will, Talent, Comprehension.
All of that was needed for the cultivation journey.
Master Luca also said that for the start of cultivation, a strong body and foundation were needed.
After a lot of rumination, Jake stood up from his bed. He began to perform a set of exercises. Thinking back at the zombie fights, he realized he had a weak body, so he had to train it, and what time was better than now?
Jake decided to forget about all his problems and exercise. It was also a good way of training the mind.
....
The next day
"Whew"
Jake whipped his hair. Not liking the length, he grabbed scissors nearby and cut them to shoulder length.
He had just showered, so he felt refreshed. He put on an outfit he bought from the inn. He had spent the last of his stolen coins on it. He wore a stretchy silk shirt and leather pants with a comfortable boot. It was a warrior outfit that fit Jake's preferences.
Jake strolled out of the inn, heading straight to the park.
Five minutes later, he got to the park. There were a few people here, even some new faces. Jake knew why they came. Registration for the classes started yesterday and will end today.
On the podium, Master Luca appeared. After his appearance, the crowd quietened.
He waited a few more minutes before he began, "Hmm, looks like we all came. I need all of you to sit down, you can't just be standing all day."
Heeding his instruction, the class sat down on the grass ground.
"On second notes, some of you are looking fresh and tender. I need to burn that out. Cultivation does not need weak people. Everyone stand up."
Jake stood up along with the class.
"Give me 1000 push-ups right now, " Master Luca said.
Jake was delighted. He had done some exercises early this morning. So, it wasn't hard for him to do this.
He went into position, waiting for Master Luca.
Seeing as they were ready, Master Luca shouted, "On my count. One, Two, Three….ten...fifty…..hundred…...two hundred….five hundred….six hundred..."
At the count of five hundred, some youngsters started staggering. Even Jake was shaking from head to two; he had underestimated the exercise.
Master Luca praised those that were doing good, "Burn it out! Burn out your uselessness. Burn! Hmm, some of you are doing good. You, with the ugly face, keep up the good work and ladies will like you."
"You! yes you, stop staring at the young lady's ass, focus on burning your fat." He pointed at a fat youth.
"You, very good. You have a determined face. However, are you sure you don't want to take a dump?"
"You, with the smiley face. Why are you smiling? You look like a pervert."
"Young lady, why do you keep staring at the boy beside? Do you like him? Good news! As long as you are stronger than him, you can just snatch and marry him. His parents won't mind," Master Luca addressed a blushing young girl.
Master Luca made a strange expression as he addressed a bulky youngster, "You. Are you by any chance, gay? Well, it doesn't matter. As long as you cultivate, you can have that skinny boy you keep glancing at."
Jake marveled at how Master Luca's speeches were top tier, 'He would put a salesman to shame.'
With just his words, he could make an ant kill a bear.
"...and finally...1000."
Gasping for breath, everyone stopped. The exercise was exceedingly tedious.
"Good. Good. Good. Before every class, we would warm up like this," Master Luca's words earned countless groans.
"Sit. The class has already started," said Master Luca, as he ignored the groans.
"Yesterday, I explained cultivation. Today, we will talk about the realms of cultivation. Particularly, the preliminary realm."
His words instantly got the interest of the youngsters.
"Before the start of cultivation, one has to go to a preliminary realm called the Physique Modelling realm, also called [Realm-0]. In the physique modeling realm, one has to temper one body. There are nine stages in this realm and each of them relates to a special tempering. The first three stages are general tempering. At this stage, you have to temper your body. You will go through strenuous training as you did now. At each stage, you gain the strength of an elephant, that is 15,000 pounds.
After you gain the strength of three elephants, comes the fourth stage. At this stage, one would have to temper the skin, make it more elastic, more firm. The skin would be durable, one would gain immunity to sharp objects. A knife won't cut them. One would also gain increased endurance. Running five hundred kilometers a day won't be a problem. At the end of the stage, one would accumulate the strength of four elephants.
The fifth stage is the flesh and muscle stage. At this stage, one would train the flesh and muscle. Hidden deep in the muscle is boundless strength. One would need to awaken it. At the end of this stage, one would gain an additional strength of one elephant.
After this is the sixth stage, the organ tempering stage. One would awaken the full potential of the inner organ; the lungs, heart, liver, stomach, kidney, eye. Cultivators at this stage could form an air arrow, the arrow would be able to affect objects. The biggest difference between this stage and the previous one is endurance. To them breathing underwater for thirty minutes was easy. Their bodies would survive under harsh temperatures. They would also possess Increased healing abilities. At the end of this stage, one would gain the ability to sense spirit essence, the energy of the world. Also like the previous stages, one would gain additional strength of one elephant.
After this stage comes to the Seventh Stage, the blood tempering stage. One would have to nourish the blood with spirit essence, make it rich and full of vigor. It would be like dragons was sleeping deep in the blood. Activation of vigor would double one's strength. At the end of the stage, one's base strength would be seven elephants, 105,000 pounds.
The next stage is crucial, the bone tempering stage. The skeletal system is the framework of the body, so if one should train all parts of the body except the bones, it would lead to instability. So, one would have to nourish the bones. At this stage, one would gain the additional strength of two elephants.
And finally the last stage, the cerebral stage. What is the cerebral? It is the head region, the location of our brains. It is the most important part of the human body. Once we lose our heads, we are dead. So, we need to protect it and that is what this stage is all about. Tempering the skull, the head. But this stage doesn't come without perks. One would gain increased intelligence and exquisite control over one's strength. Warriors at this stage would have a whooping strength of nine elephants. Break apart trees? Easy. Bend metals? Super easy. Running as fast as an arrow? Too easy."
The words of Master Luca caused an uproar. The whole crowd marveled at such strength. If they had that, wouldn't their life be easy and luxurious? Some of them began to doubt the truth of Master Luca's claim.
"You want proof? I will show you, " Master Luca smiled.
He clapped his hands and a man appeared on the podium. With him was a large basket filled with different objects.
Master Luca picked an object. It was a block of metal.
*Thud!!*
He dropped it on the ground and it left a deep dent, "This is the best mortal metal, the idium. It weighs about 90,000 pounds."
The second man on the stage picked up the metal. He knelt on one knee and held it with his two hands.
Master Luca stood in front of him. He had a calm expression. Pointing his finger at the metal, he pierced through it like butter.
His actions earned the gawks of the entire crowd, including Jake.
"Wow"
"My father has that metal. He keeps it in his courtyard, yet he can never lift it," commented one.
Master Luca's assistant stood up. He picked up another object from the basket. It was made from idium but of a different shape from the previous.
He looked at Master Luca who then nodded back at him. Swiftly, he threw the object straight at Master Luca. Not giving the crowd a chance to react, he threw another object. And another one. And another one, until the basket was empty.
The crowd looked at Master Luca with worry, but they soon realized that he was unharmed. No blood. No scratch. No scar.
"Amazing. I reckon I would turn to paste under such attack, " one of them commented. The others agreed with him.
After the attack, Master Luca's attendant went offstage.
"You see. I have no injuries. Why? Because I tempered my body," confidently said Master Luca.
Instantly he ran and the next moment he appeared in the middle of the crowd. It was so fast that they couldn't see his blur.
"What fast speed? I barely saw anything."
"At Least you saw something, I did not see him move."
Master Luca smiled, "Are you all convinced now?"
He was replied by a unified shout, "Yes, master."
"Good. Good. Seeing your eager face, let's begin right away. I want 5,000 push-ups."
The faces of the eager youngsters turned black.