While both girls were struggling with their cultivation, Paul went to the river and started taking out the corpses one by one and stripping them of any useful items that he could find.
He started with the mercenaries but unfortunately, most of their weapons and gear were destroyed or damaged so badly that it would take a workshop to repair them.
Even their backpacks were torn to shreds so Paul managed to retrieve only a few knives, a hatchet, three bows, and around fifty arrows that weren't damaged.
He also found some rations but since they were torn by the beast he would not try his luck by eating them.
The last thing he found was money, for a mercenary group they were quite rich since he found twenty-four gold coins along with some silver and copper coins.
Considering that one gold coin could last a family of four for two to three months easily, then Paul was now quite wealthy.
Unfortunately in the cultivation world, this was nothing but a loose change but it was enough to buy what they needed once they went into town, and on top of that list were clothes for him and the girls.
When he was done with the mercenaries, Paul had taken out the three young people who were most likely the clients that the mercenaries tried to protect.
He started with the young man who was quite handsome and looked like he was at most eighteen but that might not have been the case as cultivators aged way slower than normal people.
Paul once saw a man in his fifties looking not older than the man before him.
The man did not have much on him as most of his belongings were stored in his spatial device which Paul took along with the pendant on the man's neck that was a name tag identifying him as a member of the Ishi clan.
Paul never heard of this clan but that didn't mean much since this world was many times larger than Earth and in his past he was mostly kept inside the residence.
Other than the pendant and the spatial device in the form of a bracelet, the young man did not have anything more on him worth taking as his clothes had a big hole in them and were soaked in blood.
Besides, Paul would not take the man's clothing even if it were in good condition.
Next, he took out the corpses of the two young ladies.
They were both quite pretty, around the same age he assessed as fourteen or fifteen, and had some similarities in their looks.
Taking their pendants he discovered why they were so similar.
Their pendants were shaped like snow petals signifying that they were from the Yuki clan.
Paul knew this clan and he predicted that he would be in trouble if they ever found out that he took the belongings of their two young misses.
Yuki clan was very rich and influential so offending them would not be a wise decision, on the other hand, he wasn't planning to send the pendants back personally so he wasn't too worried.
It took him longer to take the things from the young ladies as they were wearing quite a bit of jewelry, he especially liked their jade hairpins and was planning to gift them to Mia and Maya who had long hair and no way to tie them up until now.
The pins were made from white jade and looked like lilies which in his opinion would look great on both girls and it would also take care of their hair what were flying everywhere once the wind blew.
Once he was finished he stored the items and corpses before he began to work on the three spatial devices belonging to the three young people.
However before he could start, Maya came to him.
-What is it, Maya?
He asked when she approached.
-Master I think that I sensed the energy coming inside me, it was a similar feeling to the one I had when you were checking my attributes.
This statement made Paul speechless for a moment.
It took him days to feel the energy for the first time and this girl managed to do it in less than one day.
What he had forgotten was that he was learning from scratch and had no one to guide him and Maya was taught by him so it was natural that she would learn faster.
-This is a great news, show me.
Paul wanted to make sure that she wasn't mistaken.
Maya sat down and started cultivating, at first nothing happened but after a minute or two Paul sensed the mana entering her body.
This was an incredible achievement and he was proud of her.
-Is this the cultivation or was I wrong?
She asked after opening her eyes once again.
-No you were not wrong, this was certainly mana cultivation.
Congratulations on becoming a cultivator.
Paul said with a happy smile on his face.
He then remembered the jade hairpins.
-Turn your back to me and don't move for a moment.
Paul said to her.
Maya was a bit confused but did as she was told.
Paul took her hair and used half of them to make a bun that held down the rest and secured it with one of the hairpins.
-It's done.
He said with a smile.
He had to admit that this hairstyle suited her making her look even younger and calmer.
If she was not green and had worn better clothing than just her loincloth and a piece of fabric to cover her breasts then many people could take her for a young lady from a big family or a powerful clan.
Paul took out a piece of mirror he had found in the belongings of one of the female mercenaries.
-Do you like it?
He asked when the girl was looking at her reflection.
-I love it but this is too precious to be wasted on me, master.
-Who said that it is wasted on you?
This is your gift for becoming a cultivator in such a short time.
Paul said with a smile as he also liked her new looks.
The girl was so happy that she hugged him in her excitement, only to apologize to him a moment later once she realized what she had done.
-Don't worry about it.
Paul dismissed the whole incident with a burst of laughter.
Right now she was just like any young girl who has received a precious gift and was praised for her hard work.
Besides it wasn't like he didn't enjoy being hugged by a beautiful young lady.
Mia saw the whole scene as she was also coming to inform him that she felt the energy entering her body and she was stunned.
Not only did her sister receive a gift but she also hugged their master and wasn't reprimanded for it.
Paul noticed Mia just as she was standing there stunned and he felt a bit awkward.
-Mia did you also feel the energy?
He asked to break the silence.
-Yes, master.
The girl came closer before answering.
-Show me.
The same as Mia it took just a minute or two for Paul to sense mana entering her body.
-Very good. You two are very talented and you managed to become cultivators in less than a day which is unheard of.
He praised them both which made the girls happy.
-Mia turn your back to me and don't move for a moment.
She did as he told her but just like her sister she was confused about it.
Paul repeated the hair styling and soon she also had the same hairstyle as her younger sister and a hairpin that looked almost identical.
-Don't even try and say that it is wasted as this is your gift for becoming a cultivator.
Paul said before she even had a chance to speak.
She was as happy and excited as her sister but she managed to stop herself from hugging him.
-Now ladies, you need to continue your cultivation but stop once you reach level 5.
He instructed them.
-But master why do we need to stop at level 5?
Maya asked.
-Because if you cultivate too fast, then there is a chance that your foundation will become weak and you won't be able to reach the higher levels.
Paul explained.
-This is also the case in Qi cultivation which you will be learning tomorrow.
Both girls understood that cultivating too hasty could be a bad thing.
They once more thanked him for their gifts and went back to cultivate, leaving him to finally open the spatial devices and see what was inside.