Arthur was overjoyed for about two hours after receiving the news, the young lady in her room twitched her eyes and opened them at a snail's pace.
She groaned as she felt a stabbing sensation in her body.
Her eyes widened in shock as she became aware of the pain she was feeling; this was the first time in a long while that she could feel anything at all.
'Good heavens! What's happened to me? I can finally feel my body!'
Tears streamed down her face as she lifted her arms in disbelief. 'I can finally move my body,' she added, still overcome with emotion.
With effort, she managed to sit up on the bed. Excited by her newfound mobility, she attempted to stand, but her lack of energy caused her to stumble and fall to the floor with a loud thud.
A servant nearby heard the noise and rushed to the young lady's room, where she was shocked to see her standing on her own.
"Young Lady! You're really able to stand! The Lord was right, you're going to be okay! Let me help you up," the servant said, moving towards her.
But the young lady held up a hand to stop her. "No… I'll do this myself… Please, call my family… This is cause for celebration," she ordered.
The servant nodded eagerly and rushed off to inform the young lady's family.
The young lady continued to practice moving her body, which was still sluggish, but a significant accomplishment given she'd been bedridden for nearly two years. She reflected on how she wouldn't have suffered for so long if she hadn't pushed herself despite the pain.
A few minutes later, the sound of running footsteps could be heard outside her room. The door flew open, and the young lady's family rushed in, tears of joy streaming down their faces as they saw her walking, even though it was slow and unsteady.
"Mother… Father…" she said, as her parents rushed to embrace her.
Her parents struggled to hold back tears as they sniffled emotionally, and her siblings were right behind them, smiling through their tears of happiness.
***
Inside the living room, books were piled in front of Lucas. He was engrossed in reading a basic book of cultivation that was providing him with a foundational understanding of the path.
As he read, Lucas came to several conclusions about the information contained within. He learned about the stages of the first realm, which consisted of seven stages and nine levels in each stage.
Starting from the Apprentice Spirit Realm, the next was the Warrior Spirit Realm. Next was the Master Spirit Realm, General, King, Emperor, and True Sovereign; all in ascending order.
As he continued to read, he also learned the similarities between this world and his previous one.
The Cultivation Base in this world was the capacity of refined Qi possessed by cultivators. It was also similar to the term "core level," which was the measurement of every person's possession of mana in their body.
Qi and mana had different things alike, but what he noticed was these were the roots and energy to power extraordinary feats humans could do.
There was even more to discover, as Lucas learned that monsters in this world had cores in their bodies, just like in his previous world. These cores acted as storage pools of energy for the monsters and were valuable items for cultivators and mages who sought to refine them for their own use.
Lucas closed the last book with a sigh. He had spent almost two hours reading and had absorbed a wealth of important knowledge about the cultivation world. However, he was still unaware of the news that was about to be announced to him.
Minutes later, the landlord, Arthur, rushed into the living room and knelt before Lucas, declaring his gratitude.
"Young Master! Please forgive me if I act this way, but I don't know how I can repay you!" Arthur proclaimed, pounding his forehead on the floor with such force that it made a loud thud.
Lucas was taken aback by the sudden gesture but quickly helped Arthur to stand up. "What happened?" he asked, concern etched on his face.
Arthur sniffled and wiped away his tears before finally speaking. "M-My daughter... she can finally move..." he said, choking back sobs.
Lucas smiled warmly at the news and gestured for Arthur to lead the way to the young lady's room. When they arrived, a crowd of Arthur's family was gathered, but Arthur cleared a path for Lucas.
Lucas approached the young lady who was being assisted by her mother, and when she saw him, she looked at him with confusion. She had been lying in bed for the past two years, and although she couldn't remember every person in the mansion, she was sure she had never seen this young man before.
Before she could ask who he was, Arthur stepped in to introduce him. "Pearl, this is Young Master Lucas! He helped you recover! Greet him!" Arthur exclaimed with joy, his voice raised in excitement.
Pearl's mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation. 'How did he heal me?!' she wondered.
Even though it was strange for her to see her father act in this way, Pearl could barely imagine just how important this person was to him for him to act this way.
Pearl fixed her wrinkled clothes before helplessly bending a little. "Thank you, Young Master, for bestowing this miracle upon me. I can barely fathom the time you wasted trying to heal me," she said, her voice still laced with a hint of sluggishness.
Lucas smiled and helped her raise her head. "It's alright. I'm just glad to see you finally standing. Though I came here mainly for information from your father, I'm still happy to see you recover," he said.
"Let me see your status. Sit down on the bed," Lucas continued, offering his hand for support as Pearl nodded in agreement.
With a gentle touch, Lucas lifted his sleeve and checked Pearl's pulse. Although he had the ability to use his extraordinary eyes with magic, he didn't want to act suspiciously in front of her family.
"I see... you're finally healed. Just take some rest to get a handle on your returning motor control," Lucas suggested as he finally let go of her.
Everyone was filled with surprise and joy as they realized that their daughter was finally recovering after two years of suffering.
"Thank you, young master!" Pearl cried, this time in Lucas's arms. He didn't mind, simply patting her head and smiling.
Turning towards her father, Lucas said, "I think my part here is done. I also got to enjoy the books and gather the information I needed."
"Please, young master, at least let us serve you a meal!" her father implored.
Lucas smiled. "It doesn't sound bad at all. I'll be happy to accept your offer," he said
***
After a satisfying meal presented by the Lim family, even with the strange and exotic flavors, Lucas was ready to leave. But, Arthur stopped him with a pouch filled with clinking coins in hand.
"Please, Young Master, accept this as a small token of gratitude. Although this may seem insignificant to you, please grant me this selfish request." Arthur offered the pouch containing 100 gold coins.
Lucas accepted the pouch gracefully. "Thank you. Please take good care of your daughter."
"We will!" Arthur promised.
"By the way, where can I find cultivation techniques?" Lucas asked, showing his genuine interest.
Arthur didn't hesitate to answer, "There is a shop in our city that sells techniques, but they only carry Spirit-rank techniques. If you're looking for higher-level techniques, there's a city to the east, called Saber City."
Lucas nodded, "Thank you for your help. I'll be on my way now." And with that, he cast a spell to fly into the sky, leaving Arthur in awe.
As Lucas disappeared from Arthur's sight, he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of a flying expert. "He really flies! He must be in the General Spirit Realm! What a magnificent expert!" Arthur exclaimed, filled with excitement.
Within 10 minutes, Lucas arrived at Saber City, eager to continue his cultivation journey.
—-
a/n: I'm working on this new novel called 'Returner Creates the First Mecha System.' It's got cultivation, magic, mecha, gadgets, artifacts, and system elements. The story's about Jaxon, the MC, who wants to save the world. But get this—he gets thrown ten years back in time and suddenly gains this mysterious power that gives an artifact an ego, now helping him. There's a lot happening in the story, fighting giant monsters and dragons with his mecha, but trust me, it's gonna be exciting because I've mixed in all these loved elements. And don't worry, I've made sure everything feels smooth with harmony.