Not yet knowing of the mad ramblings of his latest flesh-toy, Edrick was casually sipping on some tea whilst reading on some of the cultivation techniques he had picked from the library, his current grasp of energy circulation was actually great compared to average but it was not yet sufficient for him, he was waiting to earn the bonus relating to the mission concerning Hui before considering beginning anything like that, though, that did not mean that he wasn't training in anything.
Anoteros made sure to push himself hard everyday, with the much more resourceful place he now lived in, the kind of training equipment he had gotten himself were simply on another level compared to what he had been using back at the village's residence, the proper equipment made everything much better, he could feel his muscles growing stronger little by little, day by day, moreover, although the air here wasn't nearly as thin as it had been back atop that mountain, it seemed to have an invigorating effect that he did not fail to notice.
It seemed like the sect possessed denser ambient energies than elsewhere, which would explain this, he did not know how this was achieved, but it was most certainly to make cultivation simpler.
In any case, one of the first things he would do after waking up was take off his shirt and train until his dear muscles, each and every one of them, begged for mercy, and then get to reading whilst still covered in sweat, whilst Linmin massaged his aching body, the servant-wife hid it well, but was always rather excited during the ordeal as he got to touch his lord-husband and smell the manly scent the entire time.
Linmin was a real expert at giving massages, he did indeed know how to put those hands of his to good use, after all.
Meanwhile, Fanqia would typically not be far either, as she had taken up to gardening, Edrick guessed that it wouldn't be long before the entire surroundings were bathed in flowers of all kinds, but just after he would be done training, she would instead show up and offer to wipe his sweat off, what she did afterward with the towel was no secret for anyone.
In any case, Edrick had skimmed through many cultivation techniques but few of them had seemed very good, or rather, he had deemed that the majority of them should not be cultivated first as it was obvious that a great foundation was required to let them shine, it would sound arrogant to anyone as having the luxury of cultivating multiple techniques to levels were it became worth the time used was a pipe dream for most.
Edrick had not bothered to pay a visit to any other of his fellow disciples just yet, if one excluded Hui and Shu, he should have probably checked up on the core disciples but really couldn't be bothered with them just yet, he would see if there was any of them that were of interest at a later date.
Currently, Edrick had only taken two cultivation methods with him, both of which were body cultivation techniques, no other had seemed suitable to start with, their names were rather simple :
The Mountain Sasquatch Body and Guardian Hippopotamus Physique, 'body' and 'physique' seemed to be the most common suffixes associated with techniques relating to one's physical aptitudes, not just because it was technically correct to use it, but also because body cultivations pertaining to particular creatures and beings seemed to have for ultimate goals unlocking said physique for the user.
Which would render all the efforts exceptionally worthy as a physique was a passive, earning it would mean the completion of the technique and would also allow one to forget about practising it as it would now be a part of one's being entirely.
Of course, there were always remarks at the end written in smaller letters saying that it was unlikely to occur and that one would need to at least be attuned with the physique in question to have a shot at it, but still, body cultivation was the only one that seemed to be acknowledged as having this ability, or rather, was the only one were the odds weren't too bad.
As such, it wouldn't be uncommon for people practicing body cultivation to be seen wearing the skulls or other parts of certain animals on their person, they were just trying to attune themselves with the creature their cultivation had taken inspiration from.
The Mountain Sasquatch Body was especially interesting, as the name implied, the creature it was based on was very much humanoid in body structure, with an ape's long arms and the likes, it was exactly the sort of technique Elder Gang had advised Edrick to use, although Anoteros was somehow more ape-like than a sasquatch, they were still alike and thus, the chance of gaining its physique should be pretty good.
The only downside to practising this technique was that it would cause the user to grow hair all over their body and to emit a rather foul stench when using it, it focused on agility and strength, making one into an adept climber.
As for Guardian Hippopotamus Physique, the name was also rather telling, focusing on making one's skin and flesh as tough and resilient as that of a hippo, it would also grant one's skin the appropriate ability to be waterproof and allow better performance underwater, which was ironic, as they barely even knew how to swim.
'Once I get that energy circulation upgrade from that quest, I'll start with the mountain sasquatch…' he thought, there were probably better techniques out there, but he felt confident in managing multiple at the same time.
He closed the book he was reading.
"Lord Edrick, what do you think of the tea?" asked Linmin, currently massaging his lord's right biceps, his gentle fingers probing and poking in the perfect spots.
"It is splendid, you've gotten better" he replied, Linmin was basically a housewife, he cleaned, he cooked, always at his husband's service and was exceptional at all of these tasks.
"Thank you, My Lord… I will be buying provisions for the week, what sort of meat would you like?" and he also bought groceries.
"Do as you please in that regard, you know what I like"
The servant-wife blushed, suddenly feeling an urge to go ahead and massage the slumbering dragon next, but held back, he needed to get done with what he was doing right now beforehand.
His face turned beet red, allowing his usual mask of composure to slip since it was just him, Edrick and Fanqia that were around right now, imagining how sweaty and salty it must be right now- He licked his lips.
Although aware of Linmin's sudden craving, Anoteros did or said nothing, waiting to see whether or not the servant-wife would bring it up on his own.
"Lord Anoteros… Elder Gang is here" Fanqia whispered in his ear, seemed like the old heads had come to an agreement.