Start of Cultivation Journey

In this world, every human has intangible Qi meridians present in their body.

Some people have more meridians and many have less in number.

Some have special kinds of meridians and many don't.

A person is said to have the talent to cultivate if he has more than a billion intangible meridians. Only then will he be able to achieve some success in absorbing or manipulating Qi from heaven and earth.

So a person with around a billion meridians is said to have bad roots and is tested to have Second Grade Affinity with Qi.

For talented people like Daniel whose has Fourth Grade Qi Affinity, it is said to have more than 100 Billion meridians.

Similarly, for Fifth Grade Qi Affinity the count could go as high as 200 Billion.

That is why people with higher affinity can absorb Qi from their surroundings or food very fast.

Although the number cannot be an absolute scale, in general consensuses a Third Grade fellow can cultivate two times faster than a Second Grade fellow.

Similarly, a Fourth Grade fellow can cultivate two times faster than a Third Grade fellow, and a Fifth Grade fellow can cultivate two times faster than a Fourth Grade fellow.

Also because of the number of meridians, they can absorb and store more Qi in their bodies. This advantage will be played during fights, as people with more Qi can sustain longer fights.

However, the people with higher affinity have a serious drawback.

The meridians are very sensitive and they cannot be forced to operate irresponsibly. If someone handles them ruggedly then they will be damaged permanently.

So, the precise control of the flow of 'Qi' in the meridians is very important. And for that Mental Affinity is needed.

People with high Qi Affinity must have high Mental Affinity otherwise there are bound to end their cultivation sooner or later.

When the qualified people start practicing 'Ascension Mantra of Refining Realm', then the intangible meridians present in their bodies start absorbing the Qi and become tangible things.

As the proficiency towards the mantra gradually increases the number of tangible meridians in the body will also increase.

Finally when someone achieves Small Success in 'Ascension Mantra of Refining Realm' then about 10% of the total meridians will become usable.

At this point, the person is said to have successfully started his cultivation journey and those 10% meridians will be under his control. These medians from now on can be used to absorb, store or discharge Qi.

Looking forward, if a Person achieves Medium Success in 'Ascension Mantra of Refining Realm' then more than 30% of meridians will become usable. And if it a Big Success then the percentage will reach '50%'.

Finally, if a person achieves Perfection in practicing the Mantra then more than 70% can be used. This is generally the peak a normal person can achieve but in some circumstances, talented people can make 80% of their meridians usable.

Nevertheless, there was never a perfect foundation during cultivation, and achieving 100% is impossible.

"When I can achieve Small Success in practicing this Ascension Mantra then I should be able to enter 'Early Stage of Refining Realm' and be called a true cultivator." Daniel is thinking out loud about all the important points mentioned during the free lectures.

Sitting cross-legged Daniel started meditating on the Mantra while taking reference of written notes.

After a few minutes, Daniel really did feel the invisible, warm energy that he previously experienced entering his body from the surroundings.

Although, he cannot see what's going on inside his body. Daniel could feel hundreds of infinitesimal small hair-like structures being crystallized into existence in every part of the body.

This conversion process is time-consuming and also extremely painful.

Every time, these roots-like structures get crystallized a person would feel like needles being plunged in those places. So the pain felt all over the body is really isn't for a faint heart.

Daniel also felt uncomfortable initially because of pain but as time passed he became numb to it.

As the focus shifted away from pain, Daniel could feel the gradual increase in his strength even though it is minute and this brought a smile on his face.

Although, the process of crystallization is going at snail crawling pace Daniel is enjoying the feeling of being strengthened every bit. It should be noted that Daniels will is stronger than Titanium metal and he would not stop his cultivation because of such pains.

While Daniel is in ecstasy time passed quickly.

Finally, after three hours, sharp pain brought Daniel back to reality. When he opened his eyes he felt the entire world spinning at a rapid pace and he had difficulty even sitting straight.

'Is this mental exhaustion!' Daniel could guess the reason for this correctly.

It took a few minutes just to sit properly and get his thoughts running normally.

'So a person cannot practice continuously the entire day!' Daniel made a miscalculation this time. He thought he could cultivate the entire night but reality hit him hard.

'Nobody mentioned this anywhere! How much more information did the sect keep secret from us? I must be very careful from now on! It's best to collect all information before practicing new things! There must be potholes on every corner of the cultivation journey' Daniel decided to be more careful when entering new cultivation areas.

When he felt the headache is not going away, Daniel continued in his sitting posture and started meditating.

After more than an hour he opened his eyes and felt the headache a little more bearable.

'At this rate, it will take at least twenty hours for a complete recovery! And during the recovery cultivating again would be detrimental to the soul! So I can only cultivate three hours a day! Then what about others? ' Daniel started scheduling his cultivation time to avoid situations like this in the future.

'I better inquire how others are doing. If there are any discrepancies I better buy more information from seniors.' After concluding his thoughts Daniel went to the bedroom with some difficulty.

Because of exhaustion, Daniel went into a deep sleep right after hitting the bed.

The next morning as expected Lloyd and Bell came early to compare their results.

Daniel took out his tea set and started playing tea time while waiting for them to initiate the conversation.

"Did you guys have any success? I tried to practice all night but after an hour I had to stop because of mental exhaustion. In the end, I didn't sense anything." Lloyd opened his mouth with a disappointed face.

"Don't worry about it! You will sense the Qi in a day or two. Cultivation is not all about talent! It also requires dedication and hard work." Bell gave some lip service to Lloyd but he has a big smile on his face and his entire body is oozing in confidence.

"Thank you, Bell! For your good words! It's just I never thought talent would affect the results from the very start! No wonder you guys are given such special treatment!" Lloyd shook his head and put on a depressing face again.

Bell went ahead and spoke few more consolatory words to bring his confidence back.

After getting his act together Lloyd turned towards Daniel.

"Daniel! what about you?" Lloyd could already guess what happened to Bell from his face so he turned to ask Daniel since they have similar cultivation talent.

"I did achieve some success but I couldn't exactly remember the time I was able to cultivate after sensing the Qi. Bell how much time were you able to cultivate?" Daniel answered the question vaguely with a calm face and turned to Bell to clarify something.

"Me! I was able to sense the Qi just after practicing the Mantra for an Hour! But the pain that came afterward is really unbearable for me. So I had to stop cultivating after every few minutes. In total, I might have cultivated half an hour at maximum. Following the mental exhaustion, I ended my practice." Bell hesitated a second but he still told the truth.

'Although he wasted half of the time because of pain, by calculation I did cultivate six times more than Bell! So this is the advantage of Mental Affinity! Higher the Mental Affinity, the more time they can cultivate and faster they can reach the higher realm!' Daniel saw the advantage of his high Mental Affinity.

'Then, what about the people who have high affinity in both Qi and Mind?' Daniel could imagine the person cultivating twice as fast and more than double the time.

'It would mean if Forth Grade fellow breaks through a realm in a year than a Third Grade fellow would take four years to achieve the same feat.' Daniel is happy because he has Six Grade Mental and Forth Grade Qi affinity bringing his overall talent to top-level Fifth Grade.

"Please! Please! Tell me about your experiences during cultivation! Maybe it will help me achieve success faster! If it helps me, then you guys don't even have to pay back the money you owe me." Lloyd really became desperate when he knew both of them successfully sensed the Qi in one night.

Then three sat down and discussed their experiences during the last night's cultivation. Daniel also shared some unimportant tricks he used to alleviate the pain.

Finally, when the sun hit high in the sky, the three decided to go for lunch together.

Daniel locked the door and three hit the main road leading to the Dining hall.

"Daniel! Lloyd! Is that you?" Just when they are approaching the dining hall, a surprising call came from the side.