The Highlands, New Jersey, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

Looking like she did not know whether to laugh or cry, May replied with her arms crossed under her well-shaped bosom. “Honey, could you retract your aura? You're making it difficult for everyone.” Freezing for a second, he swiftly examined everyone and noticed the pained frown adorning their face coupled with the sweat running down their cheeks. The kids were the most affected of the group while May was the least. “Sure.” He replied before trying to pull back his aura inside his body. From what he read, the aura was a field unconsciously emitted by a cultivator and composed of Mental Power, Blood Power, and Inner energy. That meant that it had an impact on the mind, body, and energy of the people around and even material things could be damaged if the cultivator's level was strong enough. Of course, the higher the Rank, the harsher the effect aura had on weaker cultivators.

That made it very hard for those weaker individuals to be around stronger ones unless the latter had perfect mastery over their own power. Such mastery took time, and the silver-eyed man swiftly realized that fact with how troublesome retracting his aura was. At least enough for it to not affect the others. He finally succeeded after a relatively short time though. It was not perfect, but the pressure left could not hurt the group. Throwing a gaze at the latter, he noticed the collective relieved breaths they let out as the pressure disappeared significantly. Their reactions elicited a small chuckle from Ben before he explained. “Sorry about that. My cultivation increased too quickly, so it went a bit out of control for a moment.” Madeline waved his apology away as she commented with a satisfied smile. “It's okay, Ben. We can think of it as training ourselves.”

“What do you...?” He was about to ask when he had a sudden hunch. Using his Divine Sense, he started to inspect the group and the result made him feel pleasantly surprised. Under the pressure of his aura, the three women seemed to have broken through to the next level. He was not too surprised about May since she was already at the Peak of the Sixth Level and she benefited from a portion of his Perks. However, Madeline reaching the Third Level and Kate the Second in so little time meant that they had good talent. Well, that and the first three Levels were not that hard to reach. Even normal people with regular training could do it. It was just that it took more time than using the Basic Technique since the latter helped mortals absorb the Universal Energy around them despite not being able to sense it.

As for the kids' lack of a breakthrough, it was probably because their proficiency in the technique was too low, and thus could not use it to 'level up'. Of course, his aura was not a one-time thing that he could not use again in future training. With a delighted grin, he exclaimed. “Congratulations to the three of you!” “Thanks, Ben.” “Hehe!” “Thank you, Captain!” The three women looked positively ecstatic at the unexpected power-up but the children were a bit sullen, prompting the middle-aged man to tell them. “Don't sulk, kiddos. Once you master the Basic Technique, you'll also become stronger quickly... Actually, I'm thinking that using my aura to help you train might be a good thing. It'd be similar to running with weights.”

The prospect of increasing the training difficulty did not particularly enthuse the two older kids. However, with a bit of convincing from the adults and the fact that Gayle was hyped up about having a way to increase her strength faster, the two relented helplessly. Well, Ben understood that they were not that reluctant to grow stronger. They were simply feeling a bit lazy. If they were in a normal situation, he would not insist and simply let them do whatever they wanted as long as they did the minimum the adults asked of them. But since increasing their cultivation level meant an increase in their safety, he had to be more uncompromising. Blame the crazy world they lived in.

Once they were done with that subject, Ben asked, curious. “Where are Andrew and Marco? Still in the Office Room?” Kate nodded before replying. “I went to check on them earlier and they told me that they were memorizing physical combat techniques before coming here to practice them. They said they might not train physically today because of that.” Nodding his head, Ben said. “Alright, then.” Pondering for a second, he added. “Since we've got some more time before dinner, we'll go back to what we were doing before, with the three of you practicing the Basic Technique while I help you correct your flaws. I'll also use my aura on you girls.” The three women nodded before moving to their previous location and resuming their practice.

As the three beauties were busy trying to perfect their proficiency, the three kids were observing the adults' movements while Ben commented from time to time on the key points of the technique. He also did not forget to help May, Madeline, and Kate with the small mistakes that obstructed their flow of energy. It was much easier for him to spot them because of two reasons. The first being the fact that he already mastered the technique, while the second was because his sense easily detected the Universal Energy moving around. That aside, it was also great training for his Divine Sense, helping him make it more precise. At one point, he even started practicing with his aura.

Unlike his perception ability, the latter was a bit harder to master. He could use it already, but making precise use of it was still a chore. Wanting to change that, he started wielding it close to his body, varying its power, from weak to strong and back. He then chose to focus on directions, targeting a particular spot instead of everything around him. The beginning was a bit rough but it fortunately became easier as time went by until he could finally wield it smoothly. At that point, he felt confident enough to use it on the three women without hurting them. “I'll start using my aura. Prepare yourself.” They only nodded their head but did not stop their movements. However, his senses caught the slight tensing of their bodies. Understanding that the three were as ready as they would ever be, Ben began 'unleashing' his aura on them. The pressure started weak, though, so their bodies had time to become used to it.

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Because of her higher cultivation, May was not affected at all, but the other two seemed to feel a slight strain if their looks were any indication. What was interesting was that by using his Divine Sense, he could feel the rate of energy absorption seemed to have increased slightly for Kate and Madeline. More so for the former than the latter, but Ben could easily guess that it had to do with the one-level difference. 'Let's try upping it a notch.' He thought before increasing the pressure on them to a bit more than a third of his strength. As soon as he did that, the two weakest women had sweat running down their faces while their muscles were shivering slightly. With even their movements becoming affected, Ben understood that they reached their current limit and he thus did not increase the pressure anymore.

As for May, she was barely affected, similar to the other two's previous state. Due to both her cultivation Level and the optimization of her body through his Perks, the silver-eyed man felt that it was not too surprising. However, he still felt both satisfied and proud of her results. “Try to get used to the current pressure. I noticed that it helps you girls absorb Universal Energy faster. Once you can't hold on anymore, just sit on the floor and I'll stop pressuring you.” Only May nodded her head, while the other two were too busy trying to avoid making mistakes with their use of the Basic Technique.

Of course, due to the strain on their body and mind, it was not very successful. But, the two held on, trying as hard as they could for around ten minutes before their bodies could not take it anymore and they fell on the floor, their clothes soaked with their sweat while doing their best to gulp as much air as possible. Lying on the floor with their muscles spasming from time to time, the two looked completely exhausted. As soon as they fell down, Ben stopped using his aura on them and instead said. “Love, I'll increase the pressure on you. Ready?” The moment he noted her nodding her head, he started using around two/fifth of his strength while checking her body's state. The raven-haired beauty was holding on fine, although her muscles seemed to be much tenser than before the increase in pressure. Her movements, however, were still somewhat smooth.

Nonetheless, that amount of strain was not her limit. “Do you want me to increase the pressure?” Immediately after that, he used around half of his strength. At that point, her muscles started shivering slightly while both her movements and breathing started to become stiffer. 'That's her limit.' He thought while declaring out loud. “I'll keep that level of pressure. Try to hold on as long as you can.” While using his senses, he noticed the relatively incredible speed with which the Universal energy was pouring into his lovely wife's body, strengthening it a lot faster than the two other women. In his mind's view, every part of her body was simultaneously becoming tougher and more flexible at great speed.

If he compared her current state to what he felt from Madeline and Kate, her body refinement seemed smoother and more uniform, creating a stronger and more balanced body than the other two. 'So this is the effect of my physiology Perk... Not only does it make us stronger, but it also increases our cultivation speed... It's incredible...' He thought, amazed. Unlike the other two, the petite brunette lasted almost twenty minutes before falling on the floor in exhaustion. Retracting his aura, Ben went to her side before kneeling on the ground and saying with a proud smile on his face. “You were amazing, Love.” Returning his smile, the woman replied in a tired voice. “Th-thanks, hon-honey! I'm comple-completely beat!”

The last words seemed to have exhausted her remaining strength as she laid down spread-eagle on the cold ground, eliciting a chuckle from her husband. “Rest for a bit. You clearly need it.” Her only response was a tired grunt. After he comforted his lovely wife, the middle-aged man turned his gaze toward the two women who seemed to have regained some energy. “You've done a great job too, girls. If we do the same thing a few days in a row, I'm sure you'll break through again.” The two nodded with a tired smile at his words before Madeline said. “I don't think I'll be able to keep going today. Maybe if we do that once in the morning and once at night?”

Ben nodded with a thoughtful look. “Sounds like a great plan. It'll give you time to rest while still getting double the benefits. Let's do that from tomorrow on then.” Moving his gaze toward the three kids, he asked. “Do you want to try to practice the whole Basic Technique? I won't use my aura on you, of course.” The three agreed readily to his proposition before Ben started to guide them for a bit more than an hour, until Natalia joined them in the room, providing a few insights into using that particular cultivation technique. It was nothing groundbreaking, but since it gave the three a different perspective on the same 'problem', their proficiency seemed to increase faster.

After a few minutes, the silver-eyed man invited the female agent to the arena for a spar, which ended up a lot less miserable for him than the previous day. “You've already reached Peak Second Level?!” The redhead exclaimed when he blocked her first blow. He felt her Divine Sense scanning him, which explained how she found out. 'I really need to find a technique to hide my cultivation. With how quickly I level up, it'd be a great way to surprise those people trying to get rid of me.' Out loud, he replied with fake humility. “It was just luck.” Rolling her eyes at his answer, she retorted curtly. “As if!” Shaking her head, she added. “Everyone has their own secrets, so I won't pry. Just... try to keep it from others if you can. Some people can be less... open-minded.” Nodding his head, he stated.

“I know. I've met and even got rid of some of them. Permanently.” The cold smile on his face told her everything she needed to know about his meaning. Smiling back with a similar expression, she replied. “That's why we get along so well together, Parker.” Clapping her hands once, she added. “Anyway, let's get back to kicking your sexy ass!” This time it was Ben's turn to roll his eyes before the two resumed the spar until around 8 P.M. when the two decided to stop for the day. Despite feeling a bit sore, the silver-eyed man felt satisfied with the results of the day. Two breakthroughs, a great increase in his mastery of his Divine Sense and Aura, and lastly his tale...

'Right! I forgot I needed to check if my talent increased!' He exclaimed inwardly while the two adults exited the closed-off ring. Looking around, he found the room empty which did not surprise him too much. Everyone was exhausted from the day's practice and since they already watched them fight the day prior, there was no real need to observe them again. Especially since he was pretty sure that they were incapable of following their movements. 'Cross and Marco could, I guess. But they were probably busy in the office.' He thought before telling Natalia as the two were about to leave the room. “You can go first. I need to check something real quick.” “Sure. I'll go with the others.” The two then separated with the muscular man walking toward the scanner on one side of the room. Once there, he activated the machine before his 'status' appeared in front of him a second later. As his mind processed the words displayed before his eyes, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

[-Name: Benjamin Parker

-Bloodline: Human

-Strength Level: Peak Second Level Novice Rank

-Energy Affinity: Low Heaven Rank

-Elemental Affinity: Five Elements

-Body state: Healthy]