With six months until the new semester started, we had plenty of time to train, and Xiao Wu had plenty to learn.
Despite being over 100,000 years old, she had spent her entire life in the Great Star Dou Forest, so her understanding of human society was… lacking, to say the least. Basic things like money, school, and even social norms were completely foreign to her.
"Wait, you mean I can't just take food from a store if I want it?" Xiao Wu asked, tilting her head.
"No, that's called stealing," I deadpanned.
"But if I beat them up afterward, doesn't that mean I won the food fair and square?" she argued with a completely serious expression.
Hermione nearly choked on her tea, while Luna just giggled.
"Xiao Wu, humans don't work like spirit beasts," I sighed. "Money is how we trade. If you take something without paying, they'll call the authorities, and you'll end up in trouble."
"Tch, humans are so weak. If they can't defend their own things, why should I follow their rules?"
"You can either learn human ways, or you can go back to living in the forest," I said bluntly.
Xiao Wu pouted but relented. "Fine. But I still think my way makes more sense."
Her adjustment to human life wasn't the only thing we had to work on. Even though she could passively cultivate by being near humans, that wasn't an excuse to slack off. I made sure she properly learned the Mysterious Heaven Technique, a universal cultivation method that not only accelerated cultivation but also strengthened the meridians, increased energy recovery, and laid a solid foundation for future growth. The one from the Tang Sect i had snatched from Tang San.
"It's a little slow at first," I explained, "but think of it like rolling a snowball down a hill. The stronger your meridians get, the faster your cultivation will grow over time."
Xiao Wu groaned, clearly not thrilled about the idea of slow progress. "Ugh, can't I just punch things until I get stronger?"
"You can do both," I smirked. "After all, we have a full training regimen planned."
~~~~
Mornings started with meditation and cultivation on the Jade Soul Platform, which I brought out of the dream space each morning. Everyone participated—Serenity, Rachel, Winky, Yue, Fleur, Ah Yin, Hermione, Luna, and now Xiao Wu.
Of course, Hermione and Luna weren't cultivating Qi like the rest of us, but they used this time to train their Occlumency and relieve mental fatigue. As for Winky I liked getting her involved with the family.
Once meditation was done, we moved on to Qi/Spirit Control Training.
After years in the Harry Potter world, I had picked up various tricks for Qi manipulation. Since meridians acted similarly to chakra coils, many chakra control exercises translated well to Qi training.
"Alright, today's focus is fine control," I announced. "We'll start with leaf sticking, then move to tree walking, water walking, and finally…"
"Rasengan!" Xiao Wu shouted excitedly.
I sighed. "No, Xiao Wu, you're not ready for Rasengan yet."
"Aww, but that one's so cool!"
"You'll get there. For now, master the basics."
Leaf sticking was easy, but tree walking and water walking required a delicate balance of Qi control. Xiao Wu, who was used to using brute force or raw agility, struggled at first.
"Why does the tree keep rejecting me?!" she grumbled after sliding down for the tenth time.
"Because you're overloading your Qi output," I pointed out. "Too much, and you break the surface. Too little, and you don't stick."
With some coaching—and plenty of falling—she eventually got the hang of it.
Finally, we moved on to martial arts training.
Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Style was built around flexibility, throws, and grappling techniques, but she lacked systematic training. She had been relying purely on instinct and talent, which worked fine in the forest, but against skilled opponents? She had too many gaps.
"You're not built for power," I explained, "but you are built for speed and technique. That's where Serenity comes in."
Serenity stepped forward, her piercing purple eyes locking onto Xiao Wu. "I'll teach you how to end fights quickly."
What followed was a brutal crash course in joint locks, nerve strikes, pressure points, and knife combat. Xiao Wu, ever the playful fighter, struggled with the idea of efficiency at first.
"But if I throw them first, then jump on their head—"
Serenity cut her off by catching her wrist in a lock and flipping her effortlessly onto the ground.
Xiao Wu groaned. "That was dirty!"
"Fights aren't fair," Serenity said coldly. "If you want to win, fight to end things before they start."
The training was intense, but Xiao Wu learned quickly. She still had her mischievous nature, but she was refining it into something deadlier.
Couples with training there was also cultivation resources that were now being out into use. Body strengthening liquid from the ancient stone talisman, condensed Qi pills or liquid, the pond water, even the fruits we ate were filled with Qi. Aside from that cultivating in the Qi rich inner world was 10-100x faster than cultivating outside where the energy was thin.
By the end of the six months, she had transformed—not just in cultivation, but in mentality. She understood human society better, she was stronger, faster, and far more disciplined.
Almost everyone had a steady increase of 10 ranks. The hardcore training, high quality resources and cultivation techniques, as well as high quality training ground. It was a monstrous speed that not even the sects or spirit hall could compete with. Sadly Ryan only hit rank 38 still a bit off from 40. But even then his cultivation speed could be called absolutely monstrous.
The girls now were in par with Qian Renxue who had started cultivating immediately at Rank 20 with a God level Seraph Martial spirit. Well if you discount their real age...
None of them had even taken any immortal herbs yet which could instantly boost cultivation anywhere from 5-10 ranks and improve talent. Except for Ryan whose immortal herbs didn't increase talent or cultivation but the medicine effect had already long been absorbed.