Less than ten minutes later, all three of them were sitting on comfortable mats which they had laid out in the yard, right in the middle of the Arrays that Theodore had set up.
"Before we begin, let me tell you a little bit about the preparatory step to cultivation, the Body Refinement Stage. In most lesser developed worlds, everyone usually further segments it into specific realms, like the Skin Refinement Realm, the Muscle Refinement Realm, etc. During each realm, the practicioner will focus on one specifc part of their body, strengthening them as much as possible. Doing so has its benefits for regular people with limited potential, therefore this path shouldn't be disregarded. Li Shuying, you should proceed in this manner as well."
Only after the young woman had responded with an affirmative nod did he continue to elaborate.
"As for those who can go a lot further, they instead reinforce their entire body as a whole during every single realm. The improvement at any one specific part of one's body won't be as much as if one specialised in solely one's skin, for example, but after multiple realms worth of refinement, one will far surpass regular practitioners in every regard. For those walking this path, there is also no special limit to the number or realms one can advance for during the Body Refinement Stage. Instead, everything is decided by one's innate potential. Some can only go six realms deep, just like regular folk following their own path. But there are also those who can advance for dozens or hundreds of realms! There absolutely is no definitive end to the Body Refinement Stage. But once one reaches one's personal limit, there is simply no way to advance any further. At that point, breaking through into the Energy Refinement Stage and becoming a proper cultivator is recommended."
Letting it all settle in, he patiently waited for any questions which might be brought up, observing Xie Mei in the meantime. Eventually, the girl tilted her head, an intrigued look on her face.
"Then how many realms worth of refinement are considered outstanding?"
"Good question! The most average Named Family member will be able to make it to 80 at the least, whereas an average Pillar descendant usually surpasses 150. As for those from Supreme Pillars like myself, the most ordinary ones will stop at around 500."
Her eyes sparkling with interest, the girl stared directly at him and inquired further.
"And you? How many realms do you think you will reach?"
Smirking in amusement, Theodore heaved a playful, overexaggerated sigh and shrugged helplessly.
"Who can tell? But to give you a more serious answer, I have some ways which should allow me to circumvent that limit. Else, I'd probably be stuck at a thousand or so. But if all goes well, I'll proactively be deciding when to stop. I won't reveal anything other than that right now, as it involves a Talent of mine."
Even more excited at this revelation, Xie Mei repeatedly nodded her head, urging him to continue his explanation via the burning desire in her animated stare.
"Now, back to cultivation itself. For Li Shuying, it'll have to be done with a classical Cultivation Technique. Don't worry, I'll impart one to you in a bit. As for me and Mei'er, we'll be relying on our own senses to perceive the Energy all around us, utilizing our instincts to develop our own personalized, perfectly tailor-made Cultivation Techniques. It'll be very easy for you to get started, Mei'er. Simply close your eyes and filter out as much as you can until you can perceive the Energy surrounding you. Then, focus on the parts of it which evoke images of the moon and water. You'll want to attract those into your body. At that point, your instincts should kick in and do the rest."
Motioning for her to begin, Theodore fell silent.
Suddenly put on the spot and basically told to just go with the flow, Xie Mei felt a bit underwhelmed, but then she cleared her mind of distracting thoughts and did as instructed.
She wasn't sure if it had been seconds, or minutes. But finally, everything around her fell silent, and even her thoughts slowed down. At that point, something changed. It was as if he was surrounded by countless motes of 'light' that gave off different impressions. There were roaring infernos, endless abysses, ruthless gales, and far too many more. Eventually, after sorting through them one by one, she came across one that evoked an image of the creek next to her old home–the body of water which she was most familiar with. She searched a bit longer, and another mote as silent and elegant as the moon entered her 'sight'.
'Good, those two should be it. Now, how do I get them clo- Oh, never mind!'
The very instant that she thought about pulling them towards her, the two motes rushed directly into her body, before following channels stretching all the way throughout herself which she had never known existed. But instead of being overwhelmed and panicked, it was as if she had been cultivating for countless years already.
Expertly leading the motes of Energy with mental commands along the route that 'felt natural', she automatically began to attract Energy of the same kind as the one which had previously entered her. Soon, it all developed into a closed loop, meandering throughout a very select subset of pathways.
After having noticed Xie Mei slipping into a focused cultivation state, Theodore stopped worrying and verbally transmitted a common Cultivation Technique to Li Shuying. Although it had been made for the least talented amongst all Winter Family servants, it was still considered top-notch in the entire Heavenly Court. Not only was it extremely simple to learn, but there were no particular requirements for one's aptitude. The downside was that the power one acquired this way was far beneath that of any great techniques.
"Go ahead, try it."
Dutifully following his orders, she closed her eyes, imagining a singular snowflake in all of its detail. Then, she focused on its very centre, intending to penetrate deeper into its mysteries. All the while, she chanted cryptic, nonsensical words under her breath, causing her to fall into a trance-like state. Before she knew it, a balanced mixture of different kinds of Energy had entered her, and she did her best to follow the instructions she had been given before.
For her, this step was anything but easy, and she made multiple mistakes. If Theodore hadn't reminded her every time that she had messed up, then she would have had to restart. This way, however, after some initial difficulties and with an uncomfortable ache in the channels which she mistakenly led the Energy into, she finally formed a closed loop as well.
"Thank... you... my Lord!"
Completely out of breath, she opened her eyes, gave a gratified smile, then fainted on the spot, exhausted far beyond her limits. Due to having been in a trance, she hadn't realized how strained both her mind and body had become. If she had taken much longer to perform this first step, then she would have had to do it all over again next time.
'Not too shabby. She should be able to fend for herself in this world.'
After giving Xie Mei one last glance and making sure that she was still joyfully progressing, he himself also got started.
Due to his plentiful experience during his illusory lives, he instantly emptied his mind and entered the state wherein he could perceive the 'motes' of Energy. It took only a cursory glance to find the one resonating with him the most–it evoked the image of an endless glacier within him.
'Good, let's begin!'
With some excitement in his heart, he began to figure out the exact pathway loop for himself. Usually, most people referred to these imperceptibly small channels within the body as 'meridians', and he had no reason to stray from this terminology.
There was no difficulty, and no effort required. Even breathing was far more challenging of an act than kickstarting the Body Refinement Stage! Within seconds, Energy flooded an entirely unique meridian combination, forming a loop different than the one which he had been familiar with ever since the day that he was born, yet better. Nobody came into being in a perfect state, so only upon losing all of his cultivation could he begin from zero properly.
Due to his high Endurance Attribute, which had already exceeded 1,000, he could allow the Energy within him to flow at a breakneck pace and further absorb Energy from his surroundings without a care in the world. If it hadn't been for the Energy Gathering Array, the regular concentration outside would have been insufficient to keep up at this point.
'First realm of the Body Refinement Stage–done!'
Not even a minute had passed, and as if a shackle had been released all over his body, he experienced a comprehensive improvement. It wasn't too much, but many a little makes a mickle.
Pausing for a moment, he opened a part of his Status Panel to confirm something.
[ Cultivation ]
[ Stage: Body Refinement ]
[ Realm: 1st Realm ]
[ Technique: Theodore Winter's Unique Technique (Unnamed) ]
[ Attributes ]
[ Strength: 123 ]
[ Dexterity: 122 ]
[ Vitality: 124 ]
[ Endurance: 1,209 ]
[ Agility: 124 ]
[ Intelligence: 177 ]
[ Wisdom: 1,911 ]
[ Mind: 2,042 ]
[ Luck: 103 ]
As expected, now that he had begun to cultivate, his Status Panel had added a few rows to the Cultivation category. He didn't pay them much mind, especially because he hadn't thought of a name for his Cultivation Technique yet. But there was no need to rush.
More importantly, he could now make sure exactly how much just one realm would improve him. Every single Standard Attribute had increased by 11! Even Endurance, which had been at 1,198, had been strengthened by the same amount.
'Perfect! Then it's time to start putting a little bit of effort into all of this.'
As it was only early in the evening, and he had barely done anything yet, he chose to focus to the limit for some time, to see how much he could improve within two hours.
Speeding up considerably further than before, where he had done everything carefully, now that the first step had been carried out and the meridian loop was established, he could throw caution to the wind to a large extent!
Every few tens of seconds, his realm would increase by one, his body rapidly strengthening without an end in sight! The amount of Energy that he absorbed grew more and more, but fortunately, there was still barely enough to last both him and Xie Mei for the entire two hours during which he was giving it his all.
'Not bad! I made it to the 367th realm of the Body Refinement Stage!'
[ Attributes ]
[ Strength: 4,149 ]
[ Dexterity: 4,148 ]
[ Vitality: 4,150 ]
[ Endurance: 5,235 ]
[ Agility: 4,150 ]
[ Intelligence: 177 ]
[ Wisdom: 1,911 ]
[ Mind: 2,042 ]
[ Luck: 103 ]
To be honest, he could have simply continued from here on out, arrived at his limit, and proceeded to break through to the Energy Refinement Stage. Yet, he would not do so for an extremely long time to come. After all, he had a rather ridiculously insane plan, which had only in part been attempted once before–it had also failed miserably.
It involved the so-called Energy Veins, where the omnipresent Energy originated from.
"You're done as well? How did your cultivation go, my love?"
The exhausted voice of Xie Mei snapped him out of his thoughts, so he opened his eyes and turned to face her. She was entirely drenched in sweat, but there was a rosy glow to her skin despite her evident fatigue.
"I'm at the 367th realm now, so it went pretty well. And you?"
Widening her eyes in extreme shock, the girl almost fell backwards, but caught herself in time. Then, she giggled at her own overreaction and shook her head.
"I thought I was fast, but it looks like I'm only so-so. I made it to the 37th realm, though! Not bad, right?"
Puffing out her chest in pride, she snuggled up to him, completely ignoring the fact that she was rubbing her sweat all over him. Not too bothered by this, he wrapped her into a gentle embrace and pulled her close.
"Indeed. Your potential looks to be above average if compared to Named Family descendants! But once you reach your limit, don't worry about it and just break through to the Energy Refinement Stage, alright? Nobody but me has a need to stay in the preparatory stage for long."
Only after she had agreed to this did he glance towards the house, where Li Shuying was peeking out of a window.
"My Lord, my Lady! I noticed you were sweating a lot, so I've already prepared a bath."
She tactfully didn't mention that Theodore wouldn't have had a need to clean himself if it hadn't been for Xie Mei 'marking' him all over.
"Thanks! Then let's go and take a bath, Mei'er."
After repositioning her a little so that he could carry her in his arms princess-style, he stood up, causing the girl's heartbeat to flutter. Combining that with what he had just said, she couldn't help but blush a little, jokingly whispering into his ear.
"Together?"
But before she could say that she had only been kidding, she froze upon locking eyes with him. His slightly heated gaze made her feel like a startled deer in the headlights.
"Yes, together."
For the first time in more than a week, her initial bashfulness resurfaced in full, her face practically burning red as she evasively looked away.
"... o-okay..."