In the garden, Zhenya and Yi Yun looked at all the resources they just collected; excited, Yi Yun wanted to just swallow the pills. But Zhenya stopped her just in time.
"What are you doing?" he asked exasperatedly, looking at Yi Yun like she was a completely different person. He had no idea she wanted to cultivate this badly.
"Well, I want to start cultivating, so why not just take a pill and see where that takes me, you know?" Yi Yun said, shrugging.
Zhenya sighed. "I will guide you, okay. Please don't do something so reckless. Also, just randomly taking pills could be very dangerous," he stated.
'But she doesn't have a cultivation technique, nor does she have any techniques; I could let her learn mine. But is she trustworthy enough for that? As he was contemplating, he saw Yi Yun nod vigorously.
"Okay! What do I need to do, Zhenya?" she said as she sat down cross-legged with the biggest smile Zhenya had ever seen. It wasn't a teasing smile or a calculated smile; no, this was a smile that came from the heart. She was genuinely super happy Zhenya had proposed to teach her.
Zhenya felt a little bad, as he wasn't sure if he should give her this opportunity, but he had to be cautious, especially after reading the first entry in the diary. It's a cruel world, so being soft will only result in tragedies.
'Should I? Or should I not? There are pros and cons to both. For one, she will be staying with me for a long time, and her being stronger could benefit me in the long run.' While deep in thought, he didn't realize Yi Yun, at some point, had sneaked behind him; she was getting impatient.
"Why is it taking so long, Zhenya! I want to start cultivating; we don't know when the entrance test will start. I gotta make use of every moment I get!" She shouted, as she crossed her arms and gave a light stomp of the foot, paired with a slight tilt of the head and a pouting expression.
Startled Zhenya turned around and couldn't help but giggle a little. "You're cute when you act like this, you know that, right?" he said.
'Well, it can't hurt to help her, right? It will also benefit me; even if she betrays me later on, I'll just have to be extra cautious then.' After making his decision, he sat down cross-legged and pointed to in front of him.
"Sit down; we'll start now. Also, I will be teaching you some techniques, so do pay attention," he remarked, with a bright smile on his face.
Sitting down eagerly Yi Yun looked at Zhenya excitedly; she couldn't wait to start. Seeing her sit down, Zhenya cleared his throat.
Zhenya began with the basics, explaining the significance of qi and the role of the dantian in cultivation.
"To start, sit in a comfortable position; for me, it's cross-legged, but for you it might be different. Then close your eyes and breathe in and out slowly; try and feel the qi in the air. And when you feel the Qi, try and absorb it into your meridians and let it flow inside your body."
Yi Yun nodded, her brows furrowed as she tried to feel the qi. Zhenya looked at her and waited patiently for her to succeed while also cultivating.
Gradually, Yi Yun got better and better at absorbing qi and letting it flow inside her. When he saw she had succeeded, he stood up.
"For the techniques, I will give them to you how I got them because I've also only just started practicing them. So if you have questions, you can ask me, but I might not know all the answers." He said, tapping her forehead with his index finger, and transmitted the three techniques he wanted.
"First practice the Boundless Void Secret Art; after that you can start on the other two. But never tell anyone where you got these techniques or their name. They're high-quality techniques." Zhenya ordered.
"If you have any more questions, you can ask me, but I will now also do my own training, so just start training and ask me if you have any doubts."
After saying that, Zhenya sat down and started cultivating.
A couple of hours later, Zhenya and Yi Yun were eating together; Yi Yun looked very satisfied and happy.
"Why are you so happy? Was starting your cultivation journey that special to you?" Zhenya asked, still munching on the food Yi Yun made.
Looking him straight in the eyes, Yi Yun finished chewing. "Yes, it is that special to me. It has always been my dream to cultivate ever since my parents were saved by cultivators of the Jia family, and they even gave us a job and housing." Yi Yun said.
"But that is not the only reason. Don't you just want to do whatever you want? And by cultivating, I can make that a reality. Live my dream life. Not everyone has a grand reason to start cultivating; mine is rather simple, I would say." She finished, as she shrugged and continued eating the meal.
Zhenya nodded; he also didn't have that grand of a reason. It's mostly to avenge his parents, but after that, it's the same as Yi Yun: to have the strength to do what you want.
"So, how did training go for you, Yun?" Zhenya asked. Curious about her progress and wanting to compare how she did compared to him on their first day.
"Well, it's not bad. I think I'm close to reaching the body tempering first stage that you told me about." She replied, feeling insecure. "But you said you broke through on the first day you started training, right? Am I just not talented?" she wondered.
"Don't worry about it too much. I can't say why you didn't break through, but everyone has their own journey. Comparing yourself to other people is not necessarily bad, but I wouldn't do it too much. Have faith in yourself." Zhenya said, giving her a thumbs up.
Yi Yun nodded shyly. "Thanks," she whispered, barely audible.