The night went by peacefully.
By the time Luan woke up, the sun was already up. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, relieved that he hadn't woken up in another world.
With his Sixth Sense, he could tell that there were a few people gathered outside his room.
His mother and Liana were part of this crowd.
Romain paced around the corridor, scared that her son might not wake the same. At the same time, none of them wanted to interrupt his sleep if he was still resting.
With a chuckle, Luan picked up the bell beside his bed and rang it.
A gust of wind suddenly flooded the room, scattering whatever it could carry with it.
Romain and Liana had rushed into the room.
"Luan, how do you feel?" Romain asked as she cupped her son's cheek.
"Mother, I'm fine. Even much better than yesterday." He wasn't lying, his legs weren't hurting anymore.
"Good. Good, let's go have breakfast. I had the maids prepare every nutritious meal on the menu."
For the most part of the morning, Romain spent time with Luan, dragging him around the manor. She showed him the things that she had gotten for him over the years, hoping that he would recover.
She even learned how to sew, and made a robe for him.
After several hours, Luan noticed that his seemed weak. Her illness was slowly flaring up. "I think you should go rest now, mother."
Romain frowned.
Was her son tired of her already?
"Don't worry mother. When you've rested a bit, I'll still be here. I don't plan on going anywhere soon." He reassured.
But even at that, Romain didn't want to leave. It was only after Liana and a few other maids convinced her that she left.
Luan watched his mother walk with some maids in tow. "Liana, do you have a copy of the Six Hells Ape Art?"
Shocked at the question, Liana eyed her brother suspiciously. Much to her recollection, he wasn't one that enjoyed cultivating. "Yeah, but only to the fourth volume."
This time, it was Luan who was left stunned.
The fourth volume?
"You're at the Golden Core stage?"
A wave of pride surged through Liana's heart. "Of course, though I lack the talent, I managed to reach this stage." Her words didn't match her tone.
Luan chuckled.
Is she trying to make me jealous?
It felt funny to him because of the mindset he had developed in Sorja. He reached the peak on his own.
Well… it is indeed something to be jealous of. She's barely into her thirties and she's already climbed so high.
Luan had to give credit where it was due. Though cultivating Inner strength has its impediments and obstacles, it wasn't as arduous as Qi cultivation.
When cultivating Qi, one would step into the Qi Condensation stage and once saturation in this stage has been achieved, the next step is the Foundation Building stage.
Then the Purple Mansion Stage before one would reach the Golden Core stage.
Luan's father had fourteen children in total, at least, that was the number before he left this world. Being the thirteenth in line made Liana the fourteenth.
From what he could recall, some his older siblings and cousins were well above forty and they hadn't reached the Golden Core stage then.
And many of them were considered to be more talented than his sister.
Though the Khan family's cultivation art was derived from the Nine Hells Ape, their cultivation art only derived six of the nine hells. And each hell represented a volume.
The strongest in their clan is within the sixth volume, however, that is the limit of their cultivation art.
What happened in the last twenty years?
"If you're asking for the cultivation art… I take it that you want to restart Qi cultivation. But wouldn't you be too scared to show your face out in public?"
"How so?" Luan found the question intriguing.
"A man in his late thirties that just started cultivating, people would laugh at you."
"Really?" The thought of it brought a smile to Luan's face. He didn't mind that. Anyone could make whatever judgment they wanted of him.
Their thoughts wouldn't affect his truth either way.
"Luan. Don't rush things," Liana began.
"Am I rushing anything at moment?"
"I don't know, but I can tell that you seeth with anger when you see mother's weakness. I don't want you going to do anything similar to what she did."
Luan smiled, "Let's leave those worries for when I'm able to walk on my own. Besides, it might take a while before I'm able to go anywhere on my own."
He didn't deny it.
Liana nodded and agreed.
A book appeared in her hands and she dropped it on her brother's lap. "Do you need me to explain some parts to you?"
"No, I think I can do it myself."
"Well, suit yourself."
Though he didn't go far twenty years ago, Luan had at least made some progress. So Liana was confident that he could start on his own.
She only worry that he might have lost the ability to cultivate again.
After talking for a bit, Liana left.
Luan had the entire afternoon to himself. His family didn't want to say much, but he could see it in the way they looked at him.
While having breakfast, he could sense several people paying attention to his every move. Though when he looked around, he couldn't see any of them.
Luan knew that, just like the inner strength could awaken a Sixth Sense, cultivator above the Qi Condensation stage have a Spirit Sense.
He figured that these eyes he sensed were actually Spirit Senses, many of which he assumed to be the elders of his family.
Their concerns were obvious to him. Will he relapse? Will he break down due to his weak body?
Some of them even noticed the stark difference in his personality compared to twenty years ago.
To them, Luan had been asleep for years. Was it logical that his personality was a bit refined compared to before?
Some of them attributed it to shock, perhaps, brain damage. But none of them spoke a word of it.
They didn't want to burden him.
It was touching to have this many people worry about him.
But at the same time, all of this only drew his attention towards the hidden things.
For example, his family seems to be poorer than he remembered. Moreover, he had overheard some of the maids complaining about the food left in stock.
The family's financial status wasn't what it used to be.
Luan returned to his room and laid on his bed, pretending to fall asleep. He wanted the elders watching to leave. And after a while, the coast was clear.
Sitting up, he opened the cultivation manual.
It was the same one he had cultivated before his migration, however, he had barely made it through the first volume.
Luan requested for the manual, not because he wanted to cultivate the art in particular, rather, he wanted to use it as a reference.
After going through the manual, he dropped it to the side.
One thing was common amongst most Qi cultivation arts, the stage of Qi Condensation is merely a process of one trying to create a core to contain Qi, while also acclimatizing their meridians with the nature of Qi.
What made one differ from the other is the form and nature of the art, and how it interacted with the world.
Taking all of this into account, Luan began comparing and contrasting it against Inner Strength. Where one forces the body to produce a unique energy that pushes one above their limits.
Luan had long since decided on the path to walk.
Why take one when two are available for the taking?
He wished to combine the two forms of cultivation, to create his own unique cultivation art.
Though what he was doing was risky, in fact, people would think he was crazy. Creating a cultivation art was easier said than done. There were many things to consider, and a high possibility of death upon a slight mistake.
And yet, Luan had a lot of confidence in succeeding. He didn't even consider the possibility that he might fail or implode from a wrong step.
Such is the mind of a person who had reached a pinnacle. There's only up. Down is left for regrets.
And regrets he shall not have.
Organizing his thoughts Luan began theorizing a path in his mind.
Creating inner strength isn't an issue… drawing in Qi… shouldn't be an issue too. My spirit root has deteriorated, but it's still functional.
Without a spirit root, one wouldn't be able to be a Qi cultivator. Talents in this world is also determined by the grade of spirit root one possesses.
Combining the two might not be as tricky as I imagined. I am a bit familiar with the process of condensing qi to form a core, though I stopped midway then, the experience still remains.
Rather than drawing in qi and condensing it directly to form a core, what if I dilute it with inner strength and then form a core?
The idea of having both the perks of both cultivation paths pleased Luan.
Inner strength is something a Sorja cultivator produces on their own, while qi is found everywhere in this world, not necessarily something a cultivator can create on their own.
Will I be able to create qi and inner strength naturally on my own if it succeeds?
Putting these thoughts aside, he began taking action.