Teaching the Women
While Matthew could leave the rubble in the basement, it didn't sit right with him. This place was now his house, whereas the basement would be his cultivation area. So, having a huge mess in not only his house but also where he would spend countless hours in the future didn't sit well with him.
Thankfully, with his newfound powers and Spiritual Qi, Matthew didn't need to do much to clean it up. Grabbing a nearby broom, Matthew first swept it all into one neat pile. Then, with a few blasts of Spiritual Qi, he managed to turn the original huge pile of wood, plastic, and metal into pieces of fine dust that scattered into the wind.
This entire process didn't take more than two minutes to complete, and when he was finished with it all, Matthew clapped his hands in approval.
After making sure the half-destroyed basement was now as clean as possible, Matthew left the basement and went upstairs, where he found Joanne lecturing the two women.
Seeing Joanne teach two much older women made a smile appear on Matthew's face, but once he heard the words that Joanne was really saying, the smile left his face.
"And John and I are super strong! I can even beat up Mat now, but I let him feel strong, as it would hurt his pride too much if I did." Joanne proudly spoke as she put her hands on her hips.
Hearing Joanne's words, Amanda and Eva were full of awe. They had seen how strong Matthew was earlier, so Joanne saying that she was stronger made them feel shocked.
The target of her bragging, though, wasn't feeling the same.
Amused at the little girl's words, Matthew snuck up on her to test her.
"I see. How strong are you now, then?" Matthew asked as he suddenly appeared behind the girl. Then, without any stoppage, he grabbed her neck and held Joanne up by her collar like a kitten.
Panicked at the sudden ambush, Joanne was about to defend herself, but she stopped after he connected the voice to its owner.
"Ah, Mat! How are you doing? I thought you were going to take a lot longer than that. I was just teaching Amanda and Eva about the new world." Joanne awkwardly tried to defend herself. But even she found herself ashamed of her words.
"No, no, it's okay. You can continue. I remember you saying that you're stronger than me now. I just want to know. How strong are you?" Matthew spoke with a smile as he pulled the hanging Joanne in front of his face.
Joanne felt she needed to answer the question, but after she saw his 'smile,' she stopped. That smile meant nothing good, and she wanted nothing to do with it.
So, after struggling out of his grasp, Joanne quickly ran over and hid behind the giggling Eva.
Smiling at the girl's actions, which resembled those of a stray cat, Matthew didn't bother to tease her any longer.
"Amanda and Eva, I know John and Joanne must've skipped a lot of things. Do you have any questions for me? I know a lot more than the twins." Matthew asked
At his request, Amanda was the first to speak up.
"We don't have many questions about the stuff Joanne said, but other things, Matthew," Amanda spoke out her thoughts, which were followed up by a nod from Eva.
Matthew, expecting something like this, nodded and let the woman speak her mind.
"Mat, can I bring my family over? While I am angry at them for their archaic ways, they are still my family, and I don't want them to die because of my selfishness." Amanda asked.
Not overly surprised, Matthew asked a quick question before answering hers.
"Depends on where they live. Do they live in Houston or somewhere near the Gulf?" Matthew asked.
If Amanda's parents lived in Houston or anywhere near the coast, he would tell her to call them immediately. Houston, like New York, was another major city fated to be leveled in the upcoming apocalypse.
Thankfully, they didn't leave there.
"No, they live in Dallas," Amanda answered as she shook her head.
"Then, honestly, it'd be better for them to stay where they are. What would be better is for you to tell them about the upcoming situation and then have them build a safe space wherever they are," Matthew answered before continuing. "But if you still want them to come over, then it's fine. This house is more than large enough for another half dozen people comfortably."
Even with five people in this large estate, Matthew still felt like this place was too empty. Yesterday, when he was installing the electronics, he transformed a few bedrooms into storage areas, and still, he counted more than a dozen bedrooms.
Honestly, Matthew still hadn't explored the entire house yet. So, let alone six people, even if Amanda brought a dozen, it would still be fine.
Suddenly remembering something, Matthew paused his previous thoughts and asked something in return.
"However, if you do tell them to come here, then make them bring in a full construction crew. It has to be at least a few dozen people. I want to build something, but I need a lot more hands than we have." Matthew added before Amanda could digest his first words.
Even though Matthew had the elusive Chaos Qi, which was able to transform into any type of Spiritual Qi, it didn't mean he was a professional craftsman. The large city walls and moats that he wanted to make would be his role in the upcoming construction, but when it came to housing and infrastructure, Matthew wanted professionals to help him.
Strength was indeed the most important thing in the upcoming mayhem, but that didn't mean that skill and talent weren't important at all.
"I'll do that then," Amanda answered after thinking for a moment.
Though the first option was good, Amanda didn't feel comfortable with her family being so far away while the world descended into chaos. And now that she knew that Matthew was extremely powerful, she would want him to help protect her family.
It was a little selfish in her mind, but thankfully, Matthew was willing to help her.
After speaking her mind, Amanda left the room to call her parents and hopefully persuade them to come over.
"Hey Matthew, then what about me? Is there anything you want me to do?" Eva spoke up after Amanda left.
She, like Matthew, didn't have any family members or many relationships. So, besides Matthew and his family, the only person she was worried about was Shirley.
"You can call Shirley and tell her to come here. But I don't know if flights are up, so it'll be hard." Matthew answered. "But besides that, nothing. I'll teach you how to be powerful when Amanda comes back."
Nodding at his words, Eva pulled out her phone and started to talk to Shirley.
Done with the arrangements for the women, Matthew turned to the kids.
"Now that Spiritual Qi is back, you two need to start cultivating more. I'm going to give you two idiots a book about the meridians. I expect you two to finish the Meridian Opening Realm this month." Matthew spoke strongly to the kids.
"But those vein things are so complicated! And it stinks so bad when we try to purify them!" Joanne complained.
John, on the side, seconded his sister's words.
"I don't care about that. The world is going to sh*t, and nothing is going to happen to you two." Matthew didn't give them any leeway. "While I am strong, I want you two to be as well. I'm only one person, so I need some other strong people behind me."
"But can you at least try not to make it stink? John almost fainted that time you completed the realm. If we do it ourselves, John might actually pass out." Joanne tried to negotiate.
Though Matthew wanted to deny their request to try and toughen them up, he couldn't in the end. The twins were just kids, and no matter how much Matthew wanted them to toughen up and cultivate like him, they couldn't.
They had neither the information that Matthew had nor the will to cultivate far. Joanne still saw herself as a superhero, while John often looked forced.
Matthew could tell that neither of them was super worried about the future. However, whether that was arrogance or ignorance, only time would tell. So he decided to spoil them for a few months before giving them a dose of reality.
They were, after all, kids in the end, and Matthew swore he would make it up to them in this life. And if he turned them into cultivation machines before they even became teenagers, Matthew wouldn't be able to live with himself.
Now that he had been reborn into his youth, he would give his siblings the world.
"Fine, I will make it not stink, but on one condition." Matthew said, feigning a harsh attitude, "You have to complete the Meridian Opening Realm in two weeks rather than a month."
"Deal!" The twins agreed, instantly unaware of just how daunting their task truly was.
"Alright then, go and cultivate in the basement and start. But don't try to break through yet. Just go and try and absorb the Spiritual Qi into the air through your skin, not your meridians." Matthew instructed.
Though this wouldn't do anything for the kids' Qi Cultivation, it would help them with their Body Cultivation. However, Matthew didn't want them to cultivate their Spiritual Qi without his supervision, as one mistake during the Meridian Opening Realm could potentially cripple them.
Excited to try and cultivate, the twins ran down into the basement, following their older brother's instructions.
And with such a burden on the backs of the Miller family, if one were crippled this early on, their fates would be sealed long before they reached their goal.
After tricking the kids, Matthew turned around and found that both Amanda and Eva had finished their phone calls and were waiting on the side. But he could also tell from their faces that they were listening.
However, from their apparent confusion, Matthew knew they were very confused about the odd words that he and the twins were using.
So, after pulling them into a different room, Matthew gave them the same explanation he gave John and Joanne a week ago.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every little thing helps - https://ko-fi.com/slarbi123.
There is now a discord for this novel. However, be warned. It is rather bare bones. I suck at Discord. The link is in the synopsis.
Also, if you like this novel, you can check out my others!