Chapter 12 – Training in Martial Arts

'I can get points from sect building, too?! Wait, when did I encourage them?'

The system didn't answer, so Theo decided to go outside to take a look. Most of the training would take place in the Martial Hall, the Sparring Arena, and the training rooms, but those were private.

'System, what is an eighth-grade sect?' he asked, noticing the added note next to the achievement's name.

[A sect is graded by its strongest disciples, host excluded.]

Currently, the strongest disciple in the sect was in the second stage, making the sect eighth grade. It worked the same as talents, and the lower, the better.

'Then, what about the prizes of a ninth-grade sect?' Theo probed. In his opinion, he should automatically receive the rewards for the corresponding achievement from the ninth grade upon completing the eighth-grade version.

[Eighth is the lowest grade.]

The system's answers were concise without extra explanation. 'I guess that a sect with only disciples in the Qi Gathering stage can hardly be called a sect…' he sighed. Theo wanted to take his sect from the lowest rung to the highest. In a sense, all his junior sisters were his childhood sweethearts.

Theo went to the Martial Hall first since most gatherings happened there. Given how everyone started cultivating in his name, it probably happened in a gathering rather than spontaneously. Indeed, a group of 24 girls sat side-by-side in lotus pose with their eyes closed.

'They really are motivated,' Theo thought in wonder. Due to Veronica's soft nature, she never managed to instill discipline among the girls, and only those who naturally strived for strength were diligent in their cultivation. Given the young age at which Veronica took them in, not many had a natural drive in them.

'Mira and the others are here,' Theo then took notice. 'Could it be they spread the word only girls of equal strength can accompany me?' Theo was dumbstruck. If he truly set such standards, he'd leave everyone behind in no time with the system's help and remain alone forever!

Well, at least he knew the reason for his system notification, it was earned through hard, honest work.

"You bad boy, what did you do to them?" Theo turned around to see Veronica joining him, a bit astonished by the sight.

"Nothing," the young man denied any involvement.

"Hmm," Veronica didn't believe him. She knew her girls, and they only acted out of character for the man before her. After a moment of hesitance, she asked, "Did anything else happen when you woke up in the morning?" She asked awkwardly.

Theodor chuckled when he remembered how he gaslighted her last night into thinking her butt had special powers. "Well, I had a wet dream from being so close to you all night, it's only natural…" he teased her.

"Gross, that's not what I meant!"

"Ah, Sect Leader, something serious happened, actually," Theo erased his smile instantly, drawing her near in interest.

"What happened? Bad guy, I won't cuddle you again if it's nonsense."

"It's not nonsense. After basking in the light of your butt the whole night I have been enlightened again and broke through to the peak of the Qi Gathering stage in one go!" He spoke earnestly, not a single hint of joking could be seen on his facial features.

To prove his words, he made a strand of Qi warp around his finger like a ring before slithering away and dissipating into the air.

"That's impossible!" Now Veronica was clearly in distress. She was slowly getting convinced her bottom was a cultivation treasure!

"Bad guy, please don't tell anyone about it, I will be hunted down if someone hears your nonsense and thinks it's true…" she said nervously, occasionally glancing back at her bubble butt in suspicion as though she suspected it was possessed.

"Don't worry, Sect Leader, my lips are sealed," he whispered back naughtily while making a zipping motion with his fingers over his mouth. Not that Veronica understood the reference, but she could guess the meaning of it.

"Oh, right, do you know where the other girls are? I want to hunt outside, I thought to form a party and venture out," he asked the older lady.

"Hm, I do know, but you can't go. You cannot fight even if you go there, so there's no point in committing suicide," Veronica declined immediately. She just returned from teaching the other girls, but Theo wasn't ready to go out yet. Cultivating is fine, but he needed practical training first.

Theo frowned but acknowledged the truth in her words. 'Can the system help me?' He wondered.

"Sect Leader, spar with me," Theo said and grabbed her hand, pulling her after him to the Sparring Arena. She blushed a little upon contact as it reminded her of last night, but it was only for a split second.

"Okay, since you are so diligent, I will train you today," Veronica happily followed. Training Theo and seeing him improve had been one of her greatest wishes, so she agreed immediately.

The two arrived at their destination shortly and saw three girls fight in the arena while a middle-aged woman shouted instructions and pieces of advice.

The girls were all pretty and talented, their gracious figures glistening with sweat from the effort. They were the only three Body Refinement disciples in the sect. Lilia, the strongest, was in the advanced phase while the other two, Shaia and Lora, were in the primary phase. All three were seventh-grade talents, the cream of the crop in the small sect.

As for the middle-aged woman, it was Maria, the vice sect leader. Although she didn't sweat like the training girls, she also put great effort into nurturing them.

"Watched enough?" Veronica teased him.

"No, they look sexy, look how Junior Sister Lilia's robes were slashed open by Lora," Theo answered with keen interest.

"Bad guy, come train with me," Veronica chose to ignore him and climbed onto one of the free arenas. As a place meant for sparring, there couldn't be only one arena for the whole sect. Spars were part of daily life in martial arts.

"Okay."

"I will show you how lacking you are today. Afterward, I will give you some exercises to practice a few thousand times and we can try again in a few days," Veronica said in a condescending tone, happy to get back at the young man who had toyed with her last night.

Theo only smirked mysteriously and lunged forward, trying to punch his opponent. He couldn't react when she agilely slid to the side and tackled him.

'Damn, I'm a noob,' he complained in his heart when he fell on his face.

"Come again," Veronica giggled in content.

'System, save me!' He thought as he rushed forward once more, opting to kick this time. However, Veronica simply pushed his leg up and sent him into the air.

*Ding!*

[Basic martial art training detected. Does the host wish to spend cultivation years on basic martial arts?]

[Yes / No]

'Yes!' Theo yelled internally, feeling like he had won the lottery.

[Spend one year on training in basic martial arts with Veronica?]

[Yes / No]

Theo was shocked. If he did that, although it was only one year, it'd be the same as training with her every day for a few years. By the end of it, he would be her doppelganger when it came to martial arts. It seemed wasteful.

"Wait," he paused. "Vice Sect Leader, junior sisters!" he called out, making the girls stop their spar and look toward him.

"Yes, Senior Brother?" Lilia asked curiously. He had never meddled in their training before.

"Wait for me," he climbed onto their stage, "Sect Leader, Vice Sect Leader, please join us."

Everyone adored him in the sect, so nobody refused.

"What are you up to, Theo?" Maria tried to get some information. Even she, the one who objected to his adoption the most in the beginning, was affected by the sect's culture at some point and got attached to him.

"I'm going to attack each one of you in turns. It's going to be in this order – Shaia, Lora, Lilia, Maria, and Veronica. Just counter me while holding back your strength," Theo directly exposed his cultivation realm with the same trick of Qi manipulation.

"Ah, Senior Brother, are you sure?" One of the girls was hesitant. Everyone knew he never practiced martial arts, and she didn't want to hurt him.

"I am sure."

Without further ado, Theodor charged at the first girl, Shaia. The defender was stunned by how amateur he was, revealing openings everywhere, and she remembered to throw him to the ground only at the last moment.

"Next!" Theodor tried to throw a punch at Lora, only to be dodged and take a knee to his guts. Luckily, she held back.

"Next!"

"Next!"

"Next!"

He was beaten miserably by all the ladies, one by one, but he even repeated the cycle, leaving only Veronica out.

"Senior Brother, please stop, you won't learn faster by sparring with all of us one by one…" Lora begged him to stop, her face twitching with every hit he took. However, Theo insisted, and the girls steeled themselves to stop him once he looked dizzy or seriously injured.