After three days of orientation, on the morning of the fourth day—just as the first light slipped through the rooftops of Shokurin Temple—Shun brought Miyoko to a secluded practice square within the temple.
The real training began.
Shun's first-stage goal for Miyoko was pure and absolute: stabilize the "gratitude" mind-state.
It sounded simple, yet it was the root of every Food Honor technique—and the hardest thing to sustain.
"Empty stray thoughts. Feel your breathing. Let gratitude flow as naturally as breath," Shun said softly beside Miyoko's ear.
Miyoko sat cross-legged as told, closed her eyes, and tried to enter the state.
In front of her there was no Torchhead Grass or any other Food Honor object that demanded exquisite control—just an empty square, and the quiet territory of her own heart.
This was harder than handling any sensitive ingredient.
There was no concrete target, no obvious metric. The only opponent was the surge of thoughts in her mind.
For the first few minutes, Miyoko could barely keep calm—but soon thoughts began flooding in.
They'd been at Shokurin Temple for days now—how was everyone back at Tōtsuki? Shun had said the ingredients of this world were incredible; when could she taste them properly…?
And beyond the temple, what were the other worlds like? She couldn't help but look forward to it… she wanted to see them.
Her mind drifted. From a short distance away, Shun watched silently.
She tried to press the thoughts down, but the more she did, the more stubbornly they rose.
Sweat beaded at her brow—not from exertion, but from mental fatigue and irritation.
So Shun also sat down, closed his eyes, and entered his own Food Honor state. They didn't disturb each other; only occasionally did he make the faintest adjustment to the rhythm of his breathing.
That subtle change seemed to carry a quiet, soothing power, enough to calm Miyoko's restless heart a little.
From initial struggle to gradual adaptation.
Day after day, dawn to dusk.
Miyoko's life became extremely simple—eating, resting, and spending almost all remaining hours in seated meditation.
The process was mind-numbingly dull—a brutal test of will.
More than once, the slow progress nearly crushed her, and she wanted to quit.
But whenever she opened her eyes and saw the calm, steady figure at her side—quietly keeping watch—her refusal to lose flared back to life.
Shun stayed with her, wordless.
"If I can't endure this much monotony, how can I talk about getting stronger? How can I keep up with his pace?"
So Miyoko warned herself, again and again, as she battled the clutter of her thoughts.
Time slid by unnoticed.
Her sustained calm grew from scattered minutes to ten, then fifteen.
Breaking the twenty-minute barrier took nearly a month. It felt like an invisible bottleneck…
She tried repeatedly to go beyond it, but always, at the final moment, a hair-thin lapse would ruin everything.
Shun saw it all and knew this was the crucial stretch.
He didn't offer many pep talks. Only one day, when Miyoko opened her eyes—frustrated at failing again at the twenty-minute mark—he handed her a small encouragement.
"Have some water. Take a breather."
Seeing her stumble again at twenty minutes, Shun stepped up and said, "Don't keep chasing the breakthrough. Try to enjoy the quiet. Let it come naturally. Feel the flow of breath through your body; feel the world around you… Gratitude isn't a slogan. It's a state that blends into your life."
Those words proved pivotal.
She took the cup and sipped the sweet spring water from the back mountain of Shokurin Temple, remembering what he'd said.
Over the next few days, something in her mindset quietly shifted.
She no longer treated meditation as a battle to win, but as a journey—a necessary passage of life.
For the first time, she felt a sense of ease. She stopped clenching her nerves in combat against stray thoughts… let things move on their own… and kept her heart clear and still.
When she did that, she had already succeeded.
She stopped fixating on "time." The gratitude mind-state grew firm and steady.
When Miyoko came back from that state again, she found Shun beside her, smiling.
"Congratulations, Miyoko. You did it. This time, you passed thirty minutes."
Miyoko froze—then joy and accomplishment surged through her, almost enough to make her leap up and cheer.
But she realized at once that such a spike of emotion might jostle her newly stabilized calm. She took deep breaths to settle herself again—though the happiness sparkling in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
After almost two months, she had crossed the first gate of Food Honor training—the toughest, and the most important.
The moment Miyoko completed the thirty minutes, a chime rang in Shun's mind.
Ding! Quest [Elevate Yourself II] complete.
Rewards acquired: [Food Honor Insight (Advanced)] ×1, Energy +300, [Hundred-Flavors Harmonizing Dew] ×1.
With the rewards in hand, Shun finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
…
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]