*Ding!*
[Sword training detected. Does the host wish to spend cultivation years on sword training?]
[Yes / No]
'Yes,' Theo answered, waiting to see the number. The system would always estimate the time he needed for major breakthroughs and base the price around it. In a way, even if he didn't use the feature of instant learning, he would still get to know how much time he needed to master a technique.
[How many years does the host wish to spend?]
[Please insert a number.]
'Heh? What?' Theo looked at the interface, confused. 'Could it be because I'm not training a set technique but making my own?'
Following this logic, then as long as he kept training he would improve his technique. Even after reaching the Supreme-Heaven grade, he would still gain new insights that could help him develop new techniques, creating a series. Another option was that he didn't have enough years accumulated to perfect the technique.
'I don't know what gains await me if I use the system this time, and I still need to save years to boost my talent and cultivation. It's better to train manually,' he decided. Anyway, the sword attack he meant to invent was on the brink of completion.
He kept swinging his sword at the boulder, inching closer toward the wooden target with every attempt. He lost track of time in his training, enjoying the heaviness in his arms and the satisfaction of making steady progress. It seemed that through his long training through the system, he had gained self-discipline and passion for practice.
By the time Theo noticed, the sun had already reached its peak, a clear sign that lunch hour had arrived. The boulder was now filled with holes, but what made him happy was how close the new holes were to the wooden target.
"I will call this technique Vanishing Slash," Theo decided on a name. He thought to call it 'Slash Through the Void', but he soon felt that such a direct naming method was too similar to porn movies in his former world.
Other than that, it will reveal his technique's nature if his enemy somehow learns of its name. The name Vanishing Slash would describe the effect while concealing the principles behind it.
"Senior Brother, what kind of technique is this?" He heard a feminine voice from behind him. He turned around to find Anya, the same girl who showed him the hidden spot, sitting and watching him with interest.
"Junior Sister, don't you know that peeping on others' training is impolite?" Theo scolded her without minding it too much. She was his woman, after all, it didn't matter if she saw his technique.
"Senior Brother, don't you know it's impolite to steal your junior's secret spot after she trusted you and brought you there?" She rolled her eyes and scolded him back, not intimidated at all. Anya had been in the sect for six years now and she was nineteen years old; she played and grew up alongside her senior brother, and he never harmed her.
"Ahm," Theo coughed awkwardly, finding no way to retort, "It's a technique I developed on my own with my knowledge about swords. It can slip through defenses and strike directly at my enemy," he explained.
"Hehe, Senior Brother, you are always welcome to my secret spot," Anya giggled. "Can you teach me your technique?"
"If you have an affinity with it, sure," Theo agreed. He didn't think any of his sisters had an affinity with the void, but he wouldn't mind passing his insights to them in case they did.
"When do you think you're going to break through to the next stage?" Theo asked, recalling he earned some cultivation years from teaching her before. He didn't know if there was something special about Anya, but he wanted to keep guiding her and see if there were other hidden benefits.
"Hm, maybe a year or two. I only broke through the advanced phase of the Qi Gathering stage recently, so I have to accumulate more Qi and learn the manual for the Body Refining stage."
Anya didn't hide anything from her senior brother. Overall, the sect was still too young and small to have things like functions that competed for opportunities. There was enough for everyone, so nobody suspected others of having ill intentions.
"Which Qi Gathering manual do you practice?" Theo asked. He knew a lot about that stage, much more than even the sect leader did. Even disciples from the Plain of Blessings would vie for guidance from someone as proficient as him.
"I took Veronica's path," Anya explained embarrassedly. Most girls chose the same techniques as Veronica because they looked up to her more than they looked up to Maria, putting the vice sect leader in an awkward position of lacking disciples to teach.
"Oh, I didn't follow that path, it only fits female practitioners. Take me to see the manual, maybe I can give you some pointers after reading it," Theo made up an excuse for not knowing it and asked to see it. While it was forbidden to show a manual to others, even from the same sect, Theodor was an exception.
Everything the sect leader had access to, Theo also had access to. The only difference was in authority and decision-making.
"Sure, I already memorized it so I don't bring it with me, want to come with me to my room?" Anya gave him an enchanting smile as she got up from the ground.
Anya deserved the title of the curviest junior sister in the sect, being on the border of chubbiness without stepping into it. The young girl was especially full in the right places and much slimmer where one should not display extra fat.
When she got up, she patted her buttocks a bit more forcibly than normal, almost turning those pats into slaps. The sound of the fat bottom getting smacked tempted the young man to help her dust off the robes.
"Hmm, sure, let's go," Theo agreed. There were only two disciples in the sect without roommates, namely himself and Lilia. He got it through nepotism and gender while Lilia enjoyed this small benefit as the senior sister of the sect and her title as the strongest disciple.
Hence, Anya couldn't hope to slack off and drag him down to debauchery; a roommate would find them. The lunch hour was also a break that many girls used to return to their rooms and avoid the scorching sun.
Soon, they reached a small wooden house. It had just two rooms: a guest area with a small table and a few seats, and a small bedroom furnished with a two-door closet and two beds.
The courtyard and restroom were shared with three nearby houses, which were arranged in a square along with Anya's home. As for bathing, there were only two baths—one reserved for the leadership and the other for the disciples.
Theo couldn't go to the disciples' bath as the only male disciple, so he shared with Veronica and Maria instead. Since they were only three, it was easy to find times when the bath was empty, not to mention Veronica wouldn't object to mommy-stepson quality time.
"Wait here, I will bring my manual," Anya pointed at one of the cushions and entered her bedroom.
"Sure," Theo agreed, disappointing the girl. She was imagining the sensual scene in her head the whole way, believing he would say something along the lines of 'No need, I will enter the bedroom with you.'
Too bad, he was grinding cultivation years. Pleasure was meant for the night and aimless days. He watched her behind wiggle from side to side as she slid the bedroom door and entered. She glanced behind once to ensure he truly didn't follow her, only to sigh again.
"Senior Brother, this is the manual," she presented a long bamboo scroll and sat on a cushion by his side. "Can you understand it? I can explain if you don't get anything," she got impolitely close to the point of rubbing their shoulders.
'Anya is sure proactive,' Theo laughed internally. The girls in the sect were all worried; there was one man and over thirty women lusting after him. They will soon learn nobody should fear being left out. They would all taste his mighty spear sooner or later.
"It's uncomfortable to read this way," Theo placed his palm on her shoulder. Anay's heart thumped nervously, thinking she had gone too far and disturbed her senior brother.
"Sit on my lap directly, this way we can both look at the scroll together," the youth smiled mischievously and pulled her up in surprise, eliciting a delighted yelp from the young girl's mouth.
"Senior Brother, how's my butt compared to the sect leader's?" Anya asked naughtily and slowly ground against his hips, anticipating a poking sensation.
"Our sect leader's butt is special," Theo's voice turned serious and his face solemn. Anya would have been convinced if he hadn't constantly taken liberties with her breasts as she struggled to hold the scroll straight.
"Really? More special than mine?" Anya let out a long exhale.
"Mm, but you must never tell anyone, you promise?"
"Yes, tell me, Senior Brother," she got curious. Maybe there was a real secret regarding the sect leader's butt.
"I get enlightened whenever it touches my dick. All my breakthroughs happened with her bottom on my lap," he confessed.
"Seriously?" Anya froze. "There's no such magical butt, cultivate with me too, perhaps it's your dick that's magical!"