Xin drank a strong tea with jasmine to compensate for just five hours of sleep, gathered his materials, dressed up in spare linen robes prepared for training and met up with Yao Nang.
"Morning, Xin."
"Morning." Xin performed a martial gesture and bowed respectfully. "I brought the things."
"Xin, I thought about it, I'm not sure if it's fair to just help you. I also need to be compensated, you know? What's in it for me?"
"Eh, don't worry about it, I never forget a good deed. Let's begin our training." He pointed to a bench and sat down, opening his bag of holding.
"Huh?" Yao Nang was about to say something, but her gaze got caught by the bag's contents. She approached closer.
"Sit." Xin told her in an almost ordering tone. "Look, what are these materials? Help me identify them so that we can devise a training plan. I know most of them, but not everything."
"These brown cubes here are pressed taurus extracts. They are infused with azure crystal salt, and are meant for muscle growth."
"Are these safe?"
"Yes, quite safe. If you know how to use them." Xin noticed a gleam in Yao Nang's eyes. It seems these are some nice materials. "You add this extract into hot but not boiling broth, and upkeep this temperature for two hours. It will make all the beef in the broth qi active, allowing you to get a decent qi active protein."
"So, this will build my muscles faster. Any downsides? Any specifics I need to know?"
"Faster? Much faster. Downside? If you don't add enough beef, the meat will be overloaded and become harmful. And if you overeat, your body might suffer a breakdown. I recommend one cube per two jin (1kg) of meat, which is the most you should eat in a day."
"Before or after the workout?"
"Eh, doesn't matter much. Just make sure to eat a jin of beef every day. It needs some time to build up to take effect."
"Ten portions here, will ten days make much difference?"
"Yes and no. As you aren't transforming your organs, you'll probably just experience a muscle growth spurt. Can't give you the exact numbers."
"Got it. Let's move on." Lei was right, Yao Nang is indeed kind-hearted, and will help everyone who asks! Good, will save me some money.
"Sure. This plant right here is a dragon beard root. It's used to restore yourself after training. Will remove any sore muscles. Do you know how to make an extract?"
"I made pills out of it. It's a base for some medicines, but I never studied it outside of those recipes. Is it safe for prolonged use?"
"Heard rumours it ages you if used too much, but I personally used it for a few months, and it was great. Didn't notice any side effects."
Xin raised his eyebrow and looked intensely at Yao Nang's face.
"What?" She smiled nervously.
"Nothing, thanks. The dose is one to twenty, boil for two minutes, then cool down. Correct?"
"Yep. You know your stuff."
"Thank you, sister. I'm struggling with this next one, though. Some sort of bone dust, but can't identify it. Thoughts?" Xin gave her a small pouch.
"Marrow, tendon and bone mix. Smells like piss. Think it's a dragon turtle extract, but qi active."
"I see, makes sense. Sadly, I don't know the purpose of this mix."
"Your bones and tendons will get stronger, which might have some positive side effects towards your strength. And this thing here..." Yao Nang pointed at a bunch of smelly dried pieces of flesh.
"Ba Liquor soaked cow stomachs, for better digestion. I used these a lot." Xin interrupted.
"Right. You know your stuff, it seems. So why did you need me?"
"I need to improve my understanding of these materials and physical cultivation in general, then come up with a physical cultivation plan. You seem very competent." Xin nodded respectfully.
"I see. If you train your physique using these materials, without proper upkeep, it will slowly degrade. Training will slow down this process, but you'll still fall off over time. The only solution is organ transformations. They allow you to keep more of the stuff in, so to speak. But this will also make you reliant on certain foods. Still, it's cheaper long-term than training with these expensive materials."
"Right, so if I were to use all of these materials, what would happen?"
"You'd become around as strong as I am right now, given that you're a man, and you guys are naturally stronger. This would last you a month or two, then you'd start degrading. That's if you train right, you can also just botch the process and not achieve significant growth at all. And if you have a core, it will greedily absorb all your gains, and the most you'd achieve would just be your mortal physical peak."
That's still very impressive. Especially as a low-ranked xiandao master, being in top physical shape is still a massive advantage.
"And how do I train right, then?"
"You need to make sure that all of your workouts are optimal. You can't afford to screw around, each session must be planned and well-executed, since your time is limited. The main principles of physical cultivation are described in the manuals, but there is also a lot of self-discovery. You need to discover your specifics."
"I've read a manual or two, but please tell me again. What are the main principles?" Xin felt like he hit a goldmine. Yao Nang was parting with information so easily!
"Well, technique is key. And the equipment. You can train with your own weight or with natural equipment like stones, but it's worse. You should hire a coach, frankly. Should be cheaper than buying materials again."
"Assuming I did that, what are the main physical cultivation principles I should follow? The coach will try to milk me for money, and will stall for time, revealing everything slowly or not at all."
"Right, it always happens! So, you need to gradually increase your weights and the intensity of your training. Constantly challenge yourself, make sure that you've done your best, but make sure not to injure yourself, too. If you feel discomfort, try and gauge if it's the muscle being sore from being tired or a genuine trauma risk. Listen to your body. It's crucial."
"Absolutely." Xin nodded, his eyes hungry for information. Yao Nang was somewhat bribed by his interest.
"When you train, you usually focus either on endurance or strength. Usually, it's decided by whether you are focusing on the number of repetitions or the weight you're lifting. No matter your approach, you're training both, but depending on your method, one increases much faster. I'm speaking of muscle endurance, not your breathing ability. This sort of endurance will increase marginally, and needs to be trained separately."
"I get it. Anything else?"
"Rest, of course. You should sleep a lot, like a house cat. No stress, nothing — just your food and physical cultivation. Then you'll grow twice as fast."
"I'm more excited about training than having to eat and sleep a lot. This sounds like a chore."
"Because it is."
"Wait, you know, if I eat a lot, what will my metabolism become? In terms of, you know, emptying myself."
"Ehm... I don't know how to say." Yao Nang blushed, it was certainly not a topic men and women were supposed to discuss. "It can be quite a challenge, prepare accordingly. Let's talk about something else? I'm sure as an alchemist you can figure something out."
"Sure, you lead."
"Oh... Well, food. Eat a lot. A lot. Meat, grains, milk, eggs, vegetables, fruit — everything. All those people telling you to cut rice out or do any of these crazy diets are delusional. Unless you're using a specific physical cultivation method, just eat rice and lots of meat. Make sure to stuff yourself with more than you're used to at first. Raise your meat intake, but not the rice and bread, keep those around the same. If you train diligently, you won't get fat. And drink a lot of water, more than you're used to. It's very important."
"I will." Xin nodded at her, as if saying "go on", and kept listening attentively.
"The mental part is very important, too. If you can feel your muscles and activate them, if you are aware of your body and can control it, you'll grow much faster and get injured less. Make sure to work on this connection. This will also help with your martial arts. Maybe xiandao as well, I'm not very knowledgeable, but the main principles should be the same, right?"
"Right. Are you planning on breaking through?"
"I... Xin, I don't know, actually, it's all so complicated. I've spent a year laying an earth element foundation at this point, burnt quite a lot of materials, but my earth path foundation is quite lacking. I can activate Stone Fists, but that's about it."
"Isn't earth path your elemental nature? And don't you have a bloodline, why are you laying a foundation?"
"The elemental aspect of my bloodline is quite weak, my real gift is inborn toughness. I'm struggling with qi manipulation, I'm not sure I have what it takes to master it. It just slips through my fingers, you know? And if I reach Foundation stage, I'll lose my regeneration, strength and durability.
Right now, I can kill armoured warriors with my bare fists, but once I break through, I'll just be a woman who can manifest stone fists. And if I'm lucky, I'll get a small boost through earth qi during a breakthrough, but that's negligible compared to my current powers. And I'll have to spend money on dao shards, and spend time to learn how to use them. Sounds awful. What do you think?"
"Think you came to the wrong sect. You should have stayed a physical cultivator, you followed your boyfriend here and it feels like you keep doing what you announced you were doing to save face. You should stay an internal disciple for some time, earn money for proper physical cultivation materials and pay the sect off to let you quit. That's what I'd do."
"Fuck you, Xin!" She turned away from him, her stoic expression turned to that of a bratty child. "I mean... I see your point. Hey, you know what? Thank you. I've been denying this about myself for a long time, it's good that you set me straight. Lei is constantly dodging the discussion when I'm asking him about this, it's so frustrating! At least you are honest. A jerk, but honest."
"You are welcome." Xin wasn't interested in gossipping about Lei.
"So, if I decide to break through, can I ask you for help?"
"You can. I promise to answer to the best of my ability. That's your payment, by the way."
"Wait! What if I decide to not break through? Can you pay me in materials? Or some other favours?"
"Eh, I don't think so."
Yao Nang's face went red, and she stood up from the bench.
"You fucking used me! I told you so much, and you're denying paying me back! It's unfair!"
"Eh, listen, Nang. I'm very thankful for your help, but it's not like you provided me with exclusive information. A lot of what you said is common knowledge. I think I know what to do now. If you need to consult me about anything, feel free to approach me — xiandao knowledge in exchange for physical cultivation knowledge sounds like a fair exchange."
"You fucking… Whatever, thanks! Have a nice day!" Yao Nang stormed away, leaving Xin to train alone.
You should have fought her and beaten her, then mated with her! Her hips are nice and she's in her fertile days! She smells very nice! Like a proper woman, milk and blood!
Shut up, tiger.