6 Ice Bath

After waiting for several minutes with nothing but the sound of running water and his thoughts Aaron's bath was ready.

He ran to his kitchen and took a bag of ice from his freezer. Once he got back to the bathroom he poured all the ice into his bath.

Before Aaron entered the bath he swallowed the three pill he owned at once. Quickly entering the bath he felt the ice cold water give him goosebumps.

He was cold. Very cold, but he felt an odd comforting feeling. Whenever he started to think of something his thoughts were instantly interrupted by the coldness spreading throughout his body.

Realising he wasn't meditating yet he quickly entered into a lotus position. Remembering what the Cultivation Manual told him he tried to circulate the Qi in his dantian around his meridians.

To circulate his Qi he needed incredible focus and determination. Because of the cold water it made it difficult to focus causing Aaron to fail repeatedly.

Even though he was constantly failing he managed to circulate his Qi slightly farther each time. After dozens of attempts he finally managed to circulate his Qi around all his meridians.

The moment he finished the first circuit he felt an unexplainable pleasure. It was a very addictive feeling of gaining power. He also felt rejuvenated from all the failed attempts.

Once Aaron managed to complete the first circuit he continued trying. He would complete a circuit and a bit then fail. He would complete this cycle until he could complete two circuits.

Without realising two hours had already passed. Aaron had completed dozens of circuits and was feeling a strange mix of fatigue and energy.

He was feeling energised with all the new energy in his body. But he was also mentally tired from the extreme focus needed so he wouldn't make a mistake when circulating his Qi.

When Aaron was about to sit up from his bath he noticed a black oily substance on his skin. Aaron thought back to the description of the strengthening pill which said it would remove impurities.

Once Aaron realised what the substance was he quickly washed off what remained on his skin. The water in the bath was dyed black with the impurities.

Slowly standing up Aaron dried himself with a towel he prepared. Once he was all dried up Aaron walked towards the mirror to see his appearance.

He expected he would suddenly change into an unparalleled beau- devilishly handsome with a perfect face and the type of body women would drool over.

Once he saw his reflection he was saddened when he saw there wasn't much change. His face became slightly more defined, small specks of blue and silver threatened to invade his iris, his skin became slightly smoother and several stands of his hair turned white.

Of course all of those were just cosmetics. The actual use of the pill was to increase his physical prowess. After a while Aaron noticed he was slightly taller. Walking towards the weighing scales Aaron did the unthinkable and stepped on it.

Seeing that his weight increased he was pleasantly surprised. His muscles started to form giving him a slightly lean physique.

Aaron was finished looking at the external changes and instead looked at the internal changes. Aaron discovered the element he was most proficient in was ice.

Meditating in the ice bath actually increased the purity of his ice Qi tremendously. Aaron also had better control over his body now as well.

Despite all the positives Aaron still felt scammed he didn't turn into a man who could make woman faint by just staring at them.

Aaron put on his clothes and checked the time. It was only 6 pm. Aaron walked out of the bathroom just in time to hear his mother.

"Aaron, dinners ready!"

Once Aaron heard his mothers soft and loving voice Aaron was going to put his worries aside while having his dinner. He was also interested whether his mother would notice the subtle changes that happened to him.

"Coming."

Aaron opened his bathroom door walking towards his stairs. Once he started descending the stairs a sting smell attacked his nose. He realised it was his mothers homemade cooking. Only once he smelt the food was he reminded how hungry he was.

When Aaron sat down on his food his mother came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of food. Looking at the food Aaron could feel his stomach growling.

"Be careful not to burn yourself."

Hearing his mothers reminder Aaron blew on his food before eating.

"Hey Aaron, do you know where all the ice went? I couldn't find any this morning."

Aaron's back stiffened, he remembered his ice bath earlier in the day. Since he was so preoccupied with his phone he forgot about where he had found the ice.

"Hmmm. No, I haven't seen it."

Aaron had to lie. He couldn't just say he needed it to cultivate. After eating and talking with his mother Aaron tidied his dishes and walked for his room.

"Do you want some desert?"

"I'm fine, I feel kind of sick so I'm going to lie on my bed."

"Should we go to the doctor."

"I'm alright."

After their conversation Aaron walked towards his bed and sat on it. Aaron sat cross legged trying to cultivate. After a few circuits Aaron was sweating heavily.

After their conversation ended Aaron walked towards his bed and sat cross legged on it. Aaron closed his eyes and emptied his thoughts to focus on the Qi in his body. Every time he completed a circuit it would increase his control over his Qi and raise the purity of it.

Aaron opened his eyes and picked up his phone by his side. He opened the cultivation app as he was curious to see how much more his Qi raised.

[Qi Gathering - Stage 4 : 26/400]

"What?"

Aaron was very confused as by just tapping his screen for a few minutes was several times faster cultivating for hours in ice cold water.

After a few minutes Aaron calmed himself. By just tapping the button he wouldn't temper his mind, or increase the purity of his Qi.

Once he made his mind up Aaron started tapping [Cultivate] several times.

[Reached Qi Gathering - Stage 5]

...

[Reached Qi Gathering - Stage 6]

...

Aaron was laying on his bed looking at his finger after tapping the screen thousands of times. Surprisingly it wasn't tired. Aaron jumped up and looked at the screen and smiled.

[Qi Gathering - Stage 8]