After lunch, Jasper asked Justine and Martin for updates.
[Martin: My body… it hurts.]
[Justine: fr]
[Jasper: whats your progress]
[Martin: 32 kilometers, just 68 to go haha.]
[Justine: 29]
Jasper wasn't surprised. While these two are indeed cultivators, they are just at the very first stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Compared to non-cultivators, they are barely at the level of elite athletes, not fully. Furthermore, they don't run at all.
[Jasper: push through the pain. It's not like physical injuries will last long once you made a breakthrough.]
What's true for non-cultivators is not true for cultivators. Non-cultivators have to be wary of permanent injuries if they push themselves too hard, but cultivators' bodies are designed to receive that injury. That's why the first cultivation realm is about tempering the body.
You cannot temper the body without risking it!
The good thing is that Martin and Justine are aware of this.
[Justine: Thanks for the reminder, chief]
[Martin: I don't plan on slacking off anyway! This is the life of a cultivator, no pain no gain!!!]
After a short while, Martin sent another video of himself leaving his house to run again.
[Jasper: Goodluck!]
It seemed Jasper didn't need to worry about them. It may take them three to four more days because their progress will likely slow down. Their body will accumulate fatigue. But as soon as they complete their mission, they will make a breakthrough, and their body's recovery and tolerance to fatigue will increase.
These are still within expectations. He didn't choose them because they were talented, but because he could trust them.
"Now, I'll need to get to work myself."
Jasper didn't have the same missions as those two.
[Missions]
—-
Mission #1: Reach Baron Rank within three months. (26 days remaining)
Reward: Baron's Ring of Authority
Mission #2: Reach First Stage of Qi Refining Realm.
Reward: Qi Refining Qi Stone x10
—-
"I wonder how I should tackle my breakthrough?"
His cultivation didn't follow the normal convention. Although his dantian was opening, and it seemed like it was just waiting for him, Jasper didn't want to rush the process.
Jasper took the initiative to temper his body back then to save himself from death, but this time, he'll let the system guide his cultivation. If he deviates from the system's guide, future perks of this godly system may become out of reach.
"I'll have to rely on my followers to progress in my cultivation."
That's the primary method of cultivation of the
How about if he has a thousand, ten thousand?
That's terrifying!
And that's just talking about the followers. There are still disciples and kins that Jasper has yet to unlock due to his low rank.
However, his followers are just two First Stage Body Tempering Cultivators. Even if they break through to the fifth stage, Jasper is not confident that it'll be enough for him to break through the Qi Refining Realm.
"That's why finding a talented follower is top priority."
Jasper still hasn't found a suitable third follower. A follower is different from a slave, after all. Their loyalty matters more than their talent.
Putting that aside for now, Jasper went out and into the outskirts of their town. He needed a suitable location where there should be no other people within a one-kilometer radius, which he easily found.
With Nyx's aura, no other beasts disturbed him.
"Alright, let's test my strength!"
There is no such thing as the perfect stage in any cultivation realm, according to common knowledge. There are only nine stages, and the tenth stage is the peak stage where it is most suitable for cultivators to attempt breaking through the cultivation realm.
Thus, Jasper has no idea how strong he is compared to the average Qi Refinement Cultivator. Will he be stronger or just below the strength of a First Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator?
That's why he needed to test his strength out. There are training centers for cultivators to train and test their strength. While there are private rooms for testing strength, Jasper wouldn't take that risk. He doesn't want to reveal his real strength to anyone yet.
To test his strength, Jasper tried different methods. There are many facets to strength, such as speed, agility, flexibility, raw power, and explosive power.
Excitedly, Jasper went into it and went full power on each test. He ran by the river faster than a car, lifted rocks that weighed more than a ton, broke trees with a punch, and jumped over hills.
These tests didn't take long. After a couple of hours or so, Jasper has a solid understanding of his strength.
"Fuck me…"
He may be the only one. The only Body Tempering Cultivator that can compete with Sixth Stage Qi Refinement Cultivators in terms of pure strength!
Cultivators being able to surpass their cultivation stage by one is already considered a genius. Those who can surpass two cultivation stages? They are freaks! How about those who can surpass three cultivation stages? They must have strong weapons or external help, like taking pills. As for those who can surpass four cultivation stages, they can be counted with one hand in the whole history of the Enlightened Era.
Then there's Jasper, the only person he knows who can surpass six cultivation stages! Not only that, but he also jumped over a realm boundary that is between the Body Tempering Realm and the Qi Refining Realm.
That's monstrous!
Even Jasper couldn't believe himself. This must be the power of a perfect stage.
Other than his monstrous strength, Jasper also found out other noteworthy things regarding his power. He tried testing his strength in his other appearances. There is no difference whether he is in his original face or his new face. However, upon using Liam's face, his strength dropped significantly, down to somewhere around the second or third stage of the Qi Refinement Realm.
'Makes sense…'
The core component of the Body Tempering Realm is, obviously enough, the body. Upon changing his body, his strength couldn't fully reveal itself.
'Which means that I would have to reveal myself if I want to use my full strength.'
Night came, and Jasper came to see his new slave. Everything was going well for that new slave.
'Now, let's make new ones again.'
Jasper busied himself. At day, he is learning the two cultivation skills: Bone-Strengthening Cultivation Skill and Lighter Breathing Cultivation Skill. At night, he became a stalker of his potential new slaves.
With the power to change his appearance, it was easy to go undetected.
Saturday came. Two days before school starts.
Alex Miro, the strongest and most talented student of the Brukmere Public High. He lived in a high-class apartment. In this high-class apartment, there is also a cultivation room where Qi is slightly denser than the outside.
He has shiny, silvery hair that rose as he cultivated. The Qi in the room slowly swirls into his dantian. His body refined the Qi as it entered and absorbed into his body.
A ring from an alarm clock suddenly interrupted the mystical scene.
Alex revealed an annoyed look before calming down.
"It was getting good, it's already 10:00 PM? Time goes so fast when you're in the flow," he sighed.
He changed into his sleeping robe, and minutes later, the doorbell rang.
The old nanny has come to change his towels again. Alex let her in as this was part of the normal routine.
"How was the cultivation, young master?"
"Same same."
The old nanny smiled and nodded. She is a talkative worker. For some reason, this old nanny also calls him 'young master'. Though he was used to it so he didn't mind.
"Tomorrow is the young master's first day of school again. Aren't you excited?"
"... I'm no longer a child, Marg."
"Isn't a high schooler still a child?"
"..."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
'Why hasn't she entered the bathroom yet?'
The old nanny was just standing there at the entrance of the living room, staring at Alex.
It was weird.
"Is there something wrong?"
The old nanny then walked into the living room to where Alex stood up with a frown.
"I'm not feeling well, young master…"
"What happened? Answer me."
Alex somewhat felt guilty as this old nanny had been kind to him. Even though she is a non-cultivator, he had already felt attached to her lively and talkative nature.
"You are already so old, we should get you to the hospital if you are feeling unwell."
The old nanny looked up to Alex. With a grin, she muttered, "This body is not to my liking."
"What?" Alex felt chills all over his body.
What is it? Is it because the old nanny is acting a bit weird? There's something wrong. Is it her statement? Was it her expression?
Alex couldn't pinpoint it. However, he was sure that something was weird with this old nanny. He stared at her grin.
That was then, it was like straight out of a nightmare, her face subtly drooped. Then, it drooped more… and more… until it melted.
"Ahh, I have to fix it."
The old nanny's demeanor changed and lifted her melting face.
"It's hard to keep this face. After a while, a dead person's face becomes stiff, so I have to take some creative liberty."
Alex froze in shock.
Immediately, he backed away.
"Too late."
The old nanny's uncanny smile widened, and a pitch-black snake came out of her dress. The snake's speed was lightning fast. It doesn't matter how much of a genius Alex was; the snake caught him. It became larger as it entangled him.