Today's day started off well. I was surrounded by three empty islands, which I quickly dealt with, and with the leftover energy, I managed to clear two more. By the local lunchtime, I had accumulated five capture points.

I had previously considered spending my points to access the trading platform, but I changed my mind when I looked at the menu. For just thirty units of stone and five capture points, I was offered to upgrade the training room to a "cultivation room."

— I think I’ll do that.

After all, if I could train here for twice as long, I could significantly strengthen myself. Getting stronger as soon as possible is essential.

**Attention! A challenge has been issued to free heroes; the winner's room will be developed…**

There are no free opponents. Building rights obtained!

**Attention! You have used 35 stones and 5 capture points to upgrade the training room to a cultivation room.**

I swallowed nervously. No one had warned me that I might have to fight for the upgrade.

Shaking my head, I hurried to inspect the update.

After the upgrade, the training hall had changed.

Previously, the atmosphere here was spartan: inside the room were only a target, a couple of columns supporting the roof, and sports mats.

Now the walls had expanded. Empty vases appeared, and two candlesticks protruded from the walls. The training room had doubled in size, and on the wall that was once bare, a stone carving in the shape of a schematic human body had emerged. The drawing took up almost half the wall, and there were clearly visible points on the body emitting a faint glow. The first was just below the navel, the second was in the center of the chest, and the third was in the middle of the forehead.

**Fluorescent paint?**

**Through holes?**

**Magic?**

As soon as I surveyed my surroundings, my ghostly copy appeared beside me. But this time, it was... denser, I suppose—I could hardly see objects through it. And then it… unexpectedly spoke.

— Greetings, disciple.

Looking at me with my mouth agape, the transparent being said calmly:

— You may call me Master. You can ask me questions, but I will only answer those that seem important to me. I know as much about your world as you do, but do not ask me about the world outside this room; I know nothing about it. I am ready to explain to you how your body works and help improve it.

— Why are you here? — I asked what I thought was the most important question.

— I am here to show you what development consists of. You have defeated your opponents and clawed your way to the right to learn from me, therefore you are worthy.

Sure, "clawed my way." The system didn't find any opponents for me; I got the reward, and that was the entire competition.

Though I’m not complaining. I don’t want to retake the same test with opponents “to make it fair.” If the copy thinks I earned the right to learn by clawing, let it be so.

— Are you ready to learn, or will you refuse this right?

Who would refuse such an opportunity?

— I am ready.

— Then sit down, — he nodded at me to the mat, and he himself sat against the wall with the drawing, crossing his legs.

— Real martial arts are too powerful, and ordinary people will not learn them without a teacher and the right place for training. I will not teach you martial arts in the sense I intend. I won't teach you the technique of working with a sword, spear, or fists—you can and will learn that yourself. For now, I will help you unlock your three dantian. This will be the foundation upon which you can build your further development. For progress, you will need to fulfill two conditions: absorb the energy that is spread around, and induce a vigorous influx of blood throughout your body. In other words—training the spirit and training the body.

The stone engraving on the wall behind me is a fundamental element of meditation arts. The image was created by a powerful practitioner. It is this depiction that will help you quickly pass the initiation and concentrate during meditation. Once you can unlock the three dantian, your foundation will be ready.

— How long will the development take?

— Development lasts a lifetime, — my copy gently corrected me. — You will need to complete five cycles of energy circulation in the body within ten minutes, then your foundation can be considered ready. How long that takes depends solely on your perseverance and talent.

I listened thoughtfully and attentively to the explanations… of the teacher, if I must.

— Remember that the opportunity to build a foundation by strengthening your energy is the greatest honor you have earned through your actions. Not everyone gets a chance to awaken these abilities. For example, those people you defeated will never receive a new chance.

— I understand, — I slightly tilted my head. All these Eastern signs of respect from younger to older don't matter to me; I don’t mind if they don’t ask me to bow down to the floor, and my copy clearly enjoys that—just look at how it smiles. Maybe it will teach me better than the standard does.

— And now—make yourself comfortable and begin your first meditative practice. Just stare at the figure. Don’t take your eyes off, don’t get distracted, just look…

I sat slightly differently, so my legs wouldn't go numb, and looked at the drawing.

After a minute of monologue, I could no longer discern the teacher's words; they seemed distant and insignificant. All my attention was focused on the engraving, and suddenly it began to grow.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

— Now—close your eyes, — the trainer commanded.

I obediently followed the instruction and was distantly surprised. In the endless darkness of my consciousness, a volumetric anthropomorphic figure slowly revolved.

— For ordinary people who have yet to undergo initiation, spiritual power is elusive, inaccessible to perception, — my transparent clone continued. — But now you should feel it clearly. Do you feel it?

I indeed felt something strange: as if a candle were burning a few meters in front of me, and I could feel its warmth. I wouldn't say the sensation was "clear"—it seemed barely perceptible. But it was there, and that's what mattered.

— I feel it, — I nodded slowly.

And it was incredibly unusual.

— Now—fill this figure with light. Imagine how the light rises from the feet of the figure to its crown.

It sounded simple. I could envision a carrot, a raccoon, and even a 400cc motorcycle, so I didn’t think the process of filling the figure with light would be a problem.

However, when I tried to visualize the figure in front of me being filled with light, I found that the process was incredibly slow and required significant mental effort. The light resisted, and with each such attempt, I felt as if the flame of the candle was not warming but burning my skin.

After just half an hour, I was soaked through, and at some point, the light-filled figure disappeared.

I was mentally exhausted—evidently, that is what pulled me out of meditation.

— I didn't expect it to be so tiring, — I rubbed my forehead. Something remained inside me after this meditation—a tiny fragment of spiritual power. A glimmer of the candlelight. Too little to use for any trick, but it might come in handy for something.

— Rest, — advised the trainer. — For the first time…

I expected he would say "great" or at least "not bad," but reality was not so rosy.

— For the first time—it was terrible. People with average talent can continue meditating for twice as long and achieve a couple of cycles in that time. But I cannot stop training you, and I don’t see a line of students here, so we will continue training.

I lay on the mats and stretched my legs in relief. I closed my eyes, relaxed…

And almost immediately, the teacher lightly nudged me on the leg.

— Get up. Half an hour is enough for rest; now we need to start body tempering exercises.

Well, he can also become material. So it can wipe the floor with me in sparring.

I took a breath and slowly opened my eyes.

— Stand up, — the man repeated. — And pay close attention to everything I am about to do.

As soon as the trainer finished speaking, he took a stance on slightly bent legs with his hands raised in front of his chest.

— Pay attention. The basic version of body tempering art that I am showing you consists of eighteen poses that you must perform in a specific sequence. They will help cleanse your energy and strengthen your body. First, you need to feel the same energy that comes from the engraving again, and then—start performing the complex. This will help you quickly pass the initiation.

During the practice, you will need to use your spiritual power to manage the flow of life force, directing it. Performing one cycle of eighteen poses is considered one repetition. Do you remember everything?

I remembered almost nothing, but I nodded.

— Good, let’s start. Watch and repeat.

The ghostly figure began to demonstrate the poses.

The clone performed them quite slowly. The movements were polished and smooth, as if he had practiced some kung fu or yoga for years.

Meanwhile, the human figure on the wall began to emit a red light. The light felt like it was burning me, but it was being absorbed by my muscles, warming them up—this helped with the exercises, but at the cost of a terrible burning in my muscles.

The first five poses seemed simple enough to me; I repeated them without any issues, but after the sixth, the difficulty suddenly increased. Many poses unpleasantly surprised me—at first glance, they completely contradicted anatomy, and I performed them very conditionally. During the ninth pose, a sudden and horrible pain pierced my lower abdomen. Thankfully, the sensation lasted no more than a second.

— When you perform the exercises precisely, this pain will go away, — the trainer nodded, noticing my grimacing face.

I executed the ninth pose with great difficulty, and in the tenth, I managed to stand up after the fifth attempt. When I tried to repeat the eleventh: squatting with my right leg extended, reaching my hands forward, bending as far as possible, and then placing them on the ground, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. The pain was so intense that it took my breath away. I froze in this awkward position, feeling how my body was preparing for the next painful strike.

I hastily used the fragment of spiritual power I had acquired, mentally placing it in the area of my lower back. And it worked! The pain receded, although I didn't dare to continue.

— I think that’s enough for today, — the trainer correctly assessed my state. — Perhaps a bit clumsy, but at least all your limbs are intact, which means that sooner or later, we will achieve results.

I clenched my teeth to keep the unpleasant words I wanted to say from escaping.

— Your physical talent seems inadequate to me, — the ghostly teacher continued. — No, "seems" is the wrong word. I am confident of this. You struggled with movements that a ten-year-old could easily handle.

It took just one session for the enthusiasm of partaking in true martial arts to turn into pain and fatigue from training. My progress was far too slow, which the trainer also pointed out. On the first day, I barely managed to execute half the poses.

— How bad am I? — I asked the copy directly. — Preferably not in insults, but in concrete numbers.

— The duration of the first meditation is a measure of a person's innate talent. Geniuses take no more than two to three days to establish the foundation of their cultivation, using meditation and tempering. You’re not overly talented; that’s the truth, but you can achieve progress through perseverance.

— Two to three days?!

I was taken aback. I had barely managed to fill the figure with energy, and I would hardly succeed at it tomorrow. Yet geniuses can achieve a speed of five cycles in ten minutes in just two days?

— Don’t be surprised. That’s the difference between geniuses and ordinary people. The innate conditions of genius individuals are vastly better than yours. But don’t lose heart. Quick meditation is merely one step forward. There will be many, many steps ahead.

— Do I have a chance to surpass a genius? — I asked immediately.

— I don't think so. But the world is not limited to just cultivation. Don't despair; we will continue tomorrow, — he nodded arrogantly at me.

This infuriated me.

— For what? — I grimaced. — These classes, with their meaninglessness, are like stroking my belly button. Except it’s much easier to stroke a belly button, and that practice doesn’t cause injury.

— Would you like to know what will happen? — the teacher squinted.

Despite the fact that he was my complete copy externally, he held his back straight and his chin up. His facial features seemed rougher than mine, and on top of that, this person clearly knew how to maintain himself. I thought he looked at least ten years older than me.

— Yes, I do, — I stood my ground.

— You know, I am your copy, only slightly different. I know everything you know, and a little more. I know how you feel about Chinese practices. You believe they are a waste of time and effort. I agree with that. But in this world, dear Arthur, cultivation is not a joke nor a city legend. Perhaps in your society, people believe that in real combat, various Chinese practices are useless. But let me tell you—don’t judge this world by the standards of the old. Have you not yet realized where you have ended up? Here, nightmares take flesh! Here, the imagined takes form, and legends become our reality! In this world, martial arts are real martial arts!

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, a terrifying aura emanated from him. My heart skipped a beat as if a whole pack of bloodthirsty mimics had suddenly appeared before me.

The teacher clenched his palm into a fist and pushed the surrounding air towards the wall farthest from us.

In the wake of the push, a monstrous wind rose, and I felt a significant shove in my back.

The compressed air reached the wall in an instant and punched a hole in it the size of a head! A muffled explosion sounded, but sand and stone fragments were blown outside in a hurricane.

To my utter shock, the trainer just EXPLODED THE WALL WITH A BLAST OF AIR. The island trembled, and the target on the wall tilted.

Fortunately, the teacher struck the opposite wall. If that air had passed by me, it would have certainly torn my clothes off. Or even my skin.

— This is what you are training for! — said the teacher with quiet anger. — This is what you can achieve! You have been given a chance! Don’t waste it!

I bowed.

And this time, the gesture was sincere.