Cultivation

Leo and Matthew sat cross legged on the floor in Ethan's room, waiting for him to teach them something they had never heard of before.

They sat down there waiting for Ethan to finish what he was doing.

Ethan sat also cross legged on the ground like the both of them but he was in deep thought unlike the two.

"So, I would like you guys to enter the path to cultivation, are you ready"

Ethan asked the two but just before they could give their answers he continued with a serious tone.

"Cultivation is not as easy as it sounds, a lot died taking this path, and some lost all their powers becoming weaker than civilians, all of them making just a slight mistake in their cultivation...." He paused

"But I believe if we are careful enough, we can come out at the top, so I ask again, are you ready"

The boys had now entered deep thought, they couldn't answer that question immediately as it was a question which dealt with their future and also their life.

A few minutes later Leo stood up with determination as strong as ever and said

"I am ready"

Ethan smiled hearing that and nodded, Leo sat down afterward also smiling as he knew in his heart he made the right choice.

The both of them faced Matthew and waited for his own answer.

"What else did you think I was going to say?"

He questioned the both of them and the three smiled together ready for this harsh path they were going to travel together.

"Okay then, with that said I am ready to teach the both of you about cultivation, but the both of you would be the only ones able to use it for now"

"Why?" Matthew asked, confused at the statement which Ethan had made

"It's because my meridians are blocked, yours are locked and can be opened by a fellow cultivator who has reached a certain stage"

"What are..."

"Meridians are the paths of your body where your mana can pass through to enter your mana capacity... best way I can explain it for you guys"

"So I won't be able to cultivate until Leo becomes powerful?"

Matthew asked this question with worry on his face, he didn't want to be the weakest among everyone, he was tired of being weak.

"No, Amelia will help you unlock your meridians, I will have to ask her though"

"What?!"

Both boys were shocked, there was a lot about Amelia they didn't know and it had already started to get frustrating.

"Well yes, she is a cultivator, and a strong one at that"

Ethan smiled thinking about Amelia's power level in his past life.

'She might have become even stronger' he thought.

"There are six realms in cultivation, the mortal realm, earth realm, ascension realm, immortal realm and celestial realm" Ethan taught them while writing it on the board

"You said there were six, but I see five realms on the board" Leo said to Ethan confused as to why there were five realms on the board

"The sixth realm, is one which is rarely achieved by a little amount of cultivators and those who achieve the realm hide themselves from the world, which is why I didn't write it on the board yet, it is another topic on its own"

"ohhhhh" the both students were intrigued as to what they heard.

"So what is the name of this realm?" Matthew asked

"It is called the mystical realm, a realm of mystery" he thought about something after his last words but kept it aside.

"Back to the other realms, there are nine levels in every realm and three foundations in every level which is the beginner, intermediate and master"

"This is a lot of information to place in our heads, what about showing us how to cultivate" Matthew said, already bored of the lecture.

"You will need the basics if you want to enter a realm, without knowing how it works you won't be able to cultivate to even the beginners foundation of the mortal realm" Ethan said calmly

Leo was jotting everything on the bored diligently, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to learn how to gain more strength.

"Okay... I will concentrate" Matthew sighed.

The lecture continued for a couple of minutes but it had finally ended.

"Okay, time to show you how to cultivate" saying that he sat down cross legged and closed his eyes entering a meditative state, he then spoke calmly, like a master talking to his students.

"The both of you should sit this way and close your eyes, remember don't peek as you might lose concentration"

They both did as he said and waited for his next directive.

"Try to feel the mana which circulates around us"

They listened to his words and tried to do as they were told.

Minutes passed but none of them felt anything circulating around them.

"Why is this so hard" Matthew spoke trying not to lose concentration.

"Do not speak, you may lose concentration"

An hour and a half had reached but none of them still felt anything until...

"I feel something around me, it feels really dense" Leo spoke

"Congratulations, you just felt mana" Ethan smiled

For normal cultivators it would have taken at least some days before they were able to feel mana, but Ethan knew these two were people from his past life, people of special talent and he knew it wouldn't take time before they could feel mana.

'Just like last time, he was the first out of the three of us to feel qi' he thought.

Qi was the energy which they called it on his own world.

"Now, concentrate on that feeling and try to draw it closer to you, this is not easy to do so be careful not to draw the wrong energy into you.

Leo tried but didn't feel the energy move towards him.

"Do not try to force the energy and breathe calmly, it's not an easy task remember that" Ethan told Leo not to rush the process

This went on for some more minutes then Amelia entered the room, she saw the boys cultivating, she looked at Ethan who smiled at her, his eyes still closed but she knew he had noticed her presence.

Ethan got up and went to where Amelia was sitting.

"Amelia, I need your help, can you..."

"Unlock Matthew's meridians, I don't have anything better doing so why not"

She agreed, after her words she sat at the back of Matthew and made a soundproof barrier between her Matthew and Ethan, so as not to disturb Leo's cultivation.

"This will hurt, remember not to move too much and also try to bear the pain"

Matthew nodded and stayed quiet bracing himself for the pain that was coming.

Amelia then use mana to coat her fingers and placed them on one of Matthews meridians.

It was now opened, but it wasn't a good experience for Matthew as he felt excruciating pain.

He tried not to shout but it was too hard, he screamed and kept praying for this pain to end, this continued for a while until all his meridians were now opened.

He was sweating all over his body and also breathed heavily, the same could be said for Amelia as she had used a lot of energy in opening Matthew's meridians.

Matthew stood up feeling different but fell on the bed immediately, his whole body ached.

Amelia excused herself and went back to her room to replenish the energy she lost.

Ethan now watched the both of his friends one who laid on the bed and the other who kept cultivating, he then thought of ways to unblock his meridians.

'Those fools did a lot of things to make sure I stayed powerless, but I will show them what it means to lose power then gain it, they will all feel my wrath'

He had a chilly aura as he thought which reduced the room temperature to a very cold state but he dispersed the aura when he noticed it.

"I think I'm ready to cultivate" Matthew said

"You can't, you just unlocked your meridians, so you need to rest"

Matthew was taken to his room by Ethan, where he ate his food.

The two boys ate their lunch without calling Amelia and Leo because they were in a meditating.

Matthew slept off after he had finished eating because he was exhausted and Ethan had gone back to his room to watch Leo's progress.

Then he listed herbs on a paper which he could use for his meridians, he couldn't remain the weak link in the group so he chose to unblock his meridians little by little.

He had now finished his list and kept it on his desk, he thought about his past life.

'I had gotten to the masters foundation of the immortal realm before I was killed in my past life, this time I will pass that level and no one will stop me'

He thought determined to get stronger this time and pass the level of his past life.

It was now the middle of the night and Ethan slept on his bed.

Leo was still trying to absorb mana when it finally happened.

"Hey Ethan are you there I feel the energy entering my body"

Ethan had very sharp senses, it was what he trained in his past life, so he heard this clearly, got out of bed and said with a sleepy voice.

"Congratulations, you have now entered the beginners level of the mortal realm, welcome to cultivation"