"I was down for eight hours?"
"Hm."
Kiana nodded in response. It was her fifth sandwich already. She came back to the hotel room holding a bulging white plastic bag.
I was handed in a cup of instant noodles. It wasn't as good as the ones we used to buy. England has limited options when it comes to things like instant noodles.
It's very delicious, still.
"Ha…"
The warmth of this meal went through my stomach. It is very fulfilling, more so during a winter night.
My eyes went to Kiana who was still busy eating. I don't know what to say now. It's awkward and inappropriate to interrupt while she is still eating.
Then… cultivation?
I thought of my current plans.
First was the most basic cultivation technique. It can allow me to manipulate qi, and from it, control many phenomena. Sword cultivators, spell cultivators, and such… That's the kind of power I need.
That involves the circulation of "spiritual qi" throughout the meridians. Meridians are not physical; it exists intangibly. Strangely, their locations correspond to certain body parts.
Next is the mental sutra. From what I saw in my current techniques, it is necessary to cultivate one's mind to proceed further. That is the source of the Spiritual Consciousness.
Finally, there is the body technique. It is also known as body cultivation—something also required to go further down the cultivation path.
The trinity for cultivation talent are the Spirit Root, Spirit Body, and Comprehension.
On the other hand, the trinity for cultivation itself are the Qi, Mind, and Body.
I won't even be surprised if there is a kind of hurdle related to that during the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Three techniques. Then offensive spells like fireball. Then… a weapon technique. There's also the side doors like alchemy and talismans…"
It feels very overwhelming. There are a lot of things to do.
"Fu…"
I breathed out. My head still aches from my previous escapades. I shouldn't force myself to create a technique now. That will be for tomorrow.
Under Kiana's confused gaze, I stood up and opened the window to our hotel room.
Then, something dawned on me.
One room?
I don't know how I should word it to her.
"Did you book a single room?"
"Yeah. It's a waste of money to buy another one."
"..."
I don't know if she is oblivious to things or whatnot. I decided not to dig it any further.
Either way, I can sleep on the floor. It's much better than the stiff bench I slept on last night.
"I need to open the windows to let the fog out. It's related to my technique."
I explained as the cold air came inside. The hotel room's heater is working in full swing.
"You can watch. I won't cause as much trouble as this morning."
I positioned my feet to the usual. My body felt lighter compared to before. The eight-hour sleep I had removed my lethargy. My thinking became clearer as well.
I stood in a neutral stance.
"Ever-flowing; existing everywhere…"
I was able to get into the "state" more easily. I felt the auxiliary technique starting to run. I did not forget to restrict its radius to half a kilometer. I removed its function of interacting with 'free energies' (i.e., honkai energy) by adding a new verse. Only kinetic, potential, and elastic potential energy remained in my scope.
"...nature unchanged…"
Just like that, I succeeded in my formal cultivation for the third time. I saw a white fog emerge from my body. The unprecedented comfort from before crept up to my entire body.
Gusts of wind surrounded me, which turned into a transparent blue air. Breathing on it made my mind reach a new level of clarity. The effects of the [Toushen Manual] with spiritual qi is crazy.
Seven minutes later, I finished one session. My body felt more agile. My mind only had a slight headache left.
I snapped out of my daze and found Kiana staring at me. It feels a bit embarrassing.
I went out of my semi-horse stance.
"I can teach you the move tomorrow. It's not difficult."
"...Oh."
Her eyes went back to her food. I also decided it was time for the second session.
The [Toushen Manual] did not bring much burden. The mental gymnastics I had to do was soothed by its refreshing effect. You can basically spam this technique until you perfect it.
"Ever-lasting; existing everywhere…"
*****
Ten sessions. Six to seven minutes each.
Given enough time, I spent four hours on the [Toushen Manual] alone. For the remaining four hours, I slept on it.
It is currently 7:00 AM in the morning. I slept for six hours straight.
With the repeated practice, my entire being felt completely different from yesterday.
Currently, Kiana brought me somewhere with open space. Our first target was the park, but it was cordoned off.
It's most likely Schicksal. She told me about the lack of hotel rooms before. If the one I saw was truly Durandal… or Bianka, Schicksal might be doing something big here.
Unfortunately, I forgot what exactly they were trying to do now. I am not that clear with stuff that happened before the game.
My scattered thoughts halted once we reached an empty basketball court. We didn't bring anything else… but money.
Kiana's omnipotent black card worked wonders on this court's keeper. She withdrew some cash and handed it out like nothing.
She gave out thrice the usual rates, I must say.
Feeling the slippers I wore since I woke up, I demonstrated the positioning of feet.
"This is the [Cloud Seeking Steps]. It is used as footwork first and foremost, and means of attack after."
The footwork techniques I created yesterday had the characteristics of both swiftness and lethality. It is completely up to the user whether they would add kicks atop that.
"To get started, you need spiritual qi. I will teach you that later." I explained. "We can begin with the physical movements for now."
It has a length of a hundred and fifty pages. The basic physical movements for beginners took up seven pages.
"Do you know how to box? Fighters keep their feet grounded so they can produce greater force. It's similar to that. You gather force on your feet. You can slightly curl up your toes. When it reaches the ground, you have to stomp…"
This technique was fascinating. When you stomp, you produce a stronger force than before. That equates to stronger momentum. Once your feet leave the ground, it retains a stronger force.
It's a movement technique that makes you run faster the longer you run. The only limit is your stamina and physical body.
The effects would only be more exaggerated once spiritual qi is introduced. It shouldn't be a problem to run a hundred meters in three or four seconds.
That's in the beginner stage.
Of course, it will require a corresponding qi diagram and opening formula. That means more things to think of during fights.
I presented it to Kiana in bite-sized lessons. Teaching her the general gist of the physical movement is enough.
For three hours, we ran back and forth on this basketball court. Aside from the bottles of water on the side, we had nothing else.
"Fu… You got it."
"..."
I can see her confused look. Kiana understood her first lesson.
"Running is that deep?"
"In terms of martial arts, yes. Think of it like this. You are running at 60% of your potential. With the right technique, you can cap it at 100%. Surpassing your prior limits is not that hard."
"...Your school makes you work hard."
"Maybe, yeah."