Chapter 6: My Body Is the Mana Pool
Garion began to meditate, breathe, and sense the mana in the air just like those books told him to.
"Let’s see if I can sense this mana as anotherworlder.
He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He began to visualize that the air was filled with new particles, which were mana.
He also visualized that the moment he inhaled, he would sense the mana in the air, and soon, an unfamiliar tingle appeared on his chest.
"Is this mana?"
He didn’t know if it was it, but he could feel that the more he kept visualizing, the stronger this tingle feeling became.
But the moment he slipped and stopped visualizing, the sensation disappeared instantly.
"So... the trick is visualization, huh?"
He rubbed his chin, thinking.
The manual told me to go slow. Basically, after sensing mana, I need to collect all the mana in my lower abdomen and create a mana pool.
After I do all that, I need to circulate it through the virtual meridian that will slowly form and finally temper the body.
Garion quickly frowned, thinking of the long process.
"Too long. The process was just too much and too inefficient."
Garion then suddenly smirked, thinking of a good idea.
"Wait a minute, this method is this world’s, not mine. I wonder if I can fuse all three stages together?"
This idea wasn’t that undoable. The people here used mana pools and meridians because they didn’t really know about the human body.
But Garion was different. He was a body scientist who often dissected bodies for experiments and study. He knew the human body inside and out.
He also dissected one of the bandits and found that humans in this world had the same composition as humans in his world.
"Let’s do this. I won’t be putting my mana in some imaginary pool. Instead, I’ll put it directly into every cell of my body."
He closed his eyes again and began visualizing his own method.
Mana didn’t go to his lower abdomen. Instead, he directed it into his own bone marrow.
The function of the bone marrow was to make new blood in the human body.
He hoped that when his bone marrow absorbed the mana, the blood itself would become infused with mana.
After that, the heart pumps blood full of mana into every cell in his body, whether it’s organ cells or muscle cells. Every cell gets a dose.
It was basically instant circulation and instant tempering without making a new imaginary pool or meridians.
And when he tested it, it actually worked. He could feel that the new blood was rich in mana.
His heart took that blood and pumped it through the body, instantly making his body feel better than before.
He laughed hard after the first circulation.
"This is it! This is what I want! While those idiots sit still for months trying to refine their mana pool..."
"I already have mana flowing through every single cell in my body. There is no leak or even waste. It’s just pure efficiency."
He focused harder on his visualization. Mana went into the bone marrow. The bone marrow produced mana-blood.
The mana-blood was then pumped by the heart into every cell. Over and over again into endless cycles.
His body also began to feel even better than before. He felt more energy and even felt that he was ready to train.
"Damn. No wonder the people here liked cultivation better than workouts."
Garion flexed his hand, feeling the power in it.
"This mana is basically a top-tier steroid, but without the side effects."
Hours passed and Garion kept the cycle going until he felt that this body was already accustomed with it.
And the moment he stopped it, he realized he was right.
His bone marrow had tested mana, and it wanted more. So it told the brain to order all my skin cells to absorb the mana from the air.
It had basically become an auto-cultivation without me supervising.
"Good... really good. With this, I no longer need to sit tight and cultivate. I can just do some workouts and still cultivate my mana. This is really perfect."
---
The next morning, Garion came to Dahlia’s room to start training.
Dahlia was already awake and sat neatly on the bed. The moment she saw him, she quickly stood up and bowed.
"Good morning, Master."
Garion nodded, crossing his arms.
"Good morning, Dahlia. Are you ready to train today?"
She straightened her back and answered quickly.
"Yes, Master."
Garion smiled faintly.
"Good. Before we start, let me ask you. Have you learned anything about cultivation before you came here?"
Dahlia nodded once.
"Yes, Master. I’ve been cultivating my family before. I am currently in the Accumulation Stage."
Garion raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Not bad. Then what kind of manuals have you been using?"
Dahlia hesitated, biting her lips.
After a pause, she went to her bag and pulled out two books. She then gave them to Garion.
"These are the ones I practice, Master."
Garion took them and glanced at the cover. One was titled [Flowing Stream Breathing] and the other one was [Wave Palm].
He opened the martial arts book first and quickly flipped through a few pages before chuckling.
The book was filled with martial arts that were quite similar to his old world, but the only difference was that this one used mana.
He set it aside and read the cultivation manual. The method was quite similar to the others.
But when he flipped to the back, he noticed a note scribbled in the corner.
When practiced fully, you may awaken a water elemental trait upon reaching the second realm.
Garion was surprised, raising his brows.
"Oh? Interesting. This manual basically made someone a water cultivator when reaching the second realm."
Also, with this new information, he quickly learned other information about the second realm.
He concluded that the second realm should be when the mana pool crystallized into a mana core, and this mana core would give the mana traits.
Garion closed the manual and smirked.
"I see. So you’ve been cultivating these methods."
Dahlia nodded quickly and proudly.
"Yes, Master. These manuals are considered very good. My family was lucky to obtain them before..."
Before Dahlia could continue, Garion cut her off.
"Good. Now forget them. We’re going to learn a new method."
Dahlia’s eyes widened in surprise.
"What???"
She couldn’t believe it.
[Flowing Stream Breathing] was one of the top cultivation manuals because of its water element trait.
People would fight and kill just to get a copy, and now her master wanted her to throw it away?
"But Master..."
Garion’s expression hardened.
"No buts. You’re my disciple now. You’ll train my way. Not this half-bake stuff."
Dahlia frowned, hearing it. She looked back at the manuals and sighed.
"Yes, Master."
Garion nodded firmly. He turned toward the door and gestured to her.
"Good. Now follow me."
Dahlia nodded as she followed him. She wondered just what kind of manual her master would give her that even a good manual was trash in his eyes.