Not long after Paul finished showing Mei how to accumulate and direct mana through her mana channels ,Maya also managed to feel mana entering her body.
So he taught her as well and decided to postpone the combat traini9ng for now as it would be better for the girls to cultivate some more and gain some levels in mana cultivation.
Both girls started to cultivate mana and Paul joined them as he was close to reaching his goal.
Soon he managed to reach level forty seven as he was close to a breakthrough when he stopped cultivating the previous day.
As the time went,both girls were leveling up like crazy and by the evening they both managed to reach level seven in mana cultivation,which shocked Paul as it took him way longer to reach level seven even in this life.
Evidently they were much more talented in mana cultivation then he was but it didn't make him jealous as he knew that there was always someone more talented in this world.
On the other hand he managed to reach a boundary of level forty eight before he stopped cultivating.
He stopped because they had already skipped the diner and his body demanded food and the girls were in the same situation.
It was difficult to focus on cultivation when your stomach growled from hunger.
After the supper Paul informed the girls about his plans.
-I will be cultivating tonight and maybe even longer as I'm close to reaching level forty eight which I will reach soon.
And I want to reach level fifty as soon as possible so that I can heal my legs.
-But why do you need to reach level fifty before healing yourself?
Maya asked.
-Because at that level I will be able to cast a healing spell on myself. I told you previously that at level fifty you gain the ability to cast the first tier magic spells.
Paul explained patiently.
-Also the faster I can walk again the faster we can leave this place and we won't need to worry about the spirit beasts as much since I will be able to fight again.
Paul explained all the reasons that he needed to get to level fifty.
He knew that he was getting impatient as it didn't matter if he waited for a day or two longer but he also wanted to finally be able to heal himself and the healing would also take some time.
-The fiftieth level is also the first bottleneck in cultivation,whether it is Qi or Mana and it will take me time to overcome it.
He reminded them as he had told them about it when he was explaining the cultivation to them.
Every fifty levels there would be a bottleneck and it would be hard to overcome it unless you knew how to do it.
Most people used pills or spirit stones to increase their chances of success but he didn't have any of those things and he didn't need them for now as this was the easiest bottleneck to overcome.
The higher the level the harder it would become and many people never went above the Bone refinement stage which was a second stage of Qi cultivation or the Lesser mage stage of the mana cultivation which was also a second stage.
The stages in both types of cultivation were named after what they did or who you became when you reached them so the names weren't especially creative.
Paul was sure that there were more than ten stages to cultivation but for now he knew only about the ten stages for both Qi and mana.
Both girls nodded.
-Don't worry master, we won't bother you if it is not a really important matter.
Mia assured him.
-Thank you,also you two should cultivate both mana and Qi as much as you can but don't overdo it and once you are tired go rest.
He instructed them and they both nodded.
After he took a bath as he realized that he didn't bathe for two days at least and he started to stink,he also washed his clothes and asked Mia to hang them on a paracord stretched out between two trees to dry.
After that he began his cultivation. It took him a short time to reach level forty eight and he immediately focused on reaching the next level but that took him a few hours to accomplish as he only reached level forty nine a few hours before dawn.
Both girls cultivated mana for a few hours before they went to the spot next to the river and cultivated Qi til midnight after which they both went to sleep as they were exhausted.
They both admired their master as he was still cultivating when they were going to sleep and he never even moved from his spot which was a hard thing to do as they found out now that they also became cultivators.
Also the mana surrounding him made a bit of a light show as it was multicolored and it swirled around Paul making him look like an ethereal being,it also added to his charm as he was already handsome and now surrounded by the mystical power and illuminated by its light he could make any girl fall for him.
This was the longest cultivation session he had since he traveled to the past as in his previous life he held way longer cultivation sessions some of which lasted for over a week.
Around the noon of the next day he finally reached the bottleneck of level fifty and prepared to break through it.
Paul was so immersed in his cultivation that he didn't even notice the passage of time as he accumulated more and more mana into his mana pool until it was full but he never stopped to absorb more and it soon began to overflow and fill all his mana channels with the excess mana until there was no place to store more.
He waited for this moment as this was the best way for him to tackle the bottleneck.
The moment all his mana channels were full of mana he forcefully directed all of it into his mana pool.
He felt an immense pain as his mana pool was overflowing already and he just pushed all the mana from his channels into it,forcing it to expand like a balloon.
Soon Paul felt that the barrier which was blocking his progress began to crumble and a moment later it broke like a dam under an immense pressure of water and his mana pool doubled in size once again signaling his entry into the fiftieth level of the novice stage.
On the outside both girls felt a powerful ripple of mana which caused them to open their eyes as they were cultivating only to see a bright pillar of light reaching the heavens and the source of the light was their master who was still sitting unmoving with his eyes closed.
This kind of phenomena was only possible when the archmage had reached the level fifty of the Novice stage as it signaled that he had gained an ability to utilize magic.
The pillar of light could be seen from far away and some powerful people who saw it immediately sent their people to find and recruit this person as having an arch mage in their clan would rise not only their reputation but also granted them a chance to marry one of their daughters or sons to a future power house and producing an heir or heiress with the same powers as them.
Paul was unaware of the commotion that he had caused and even if he knew,he wouldn't care in the slightest.
The pillar of light soon disappeared and he opened his eyes which gloved with a rainbow light for a moment before returning to their normal blue color.
Paul was exhausted and hungry right now but he was also happy as now he could finally start his recovery.