Chapter 108: Arden the Unpaid Substitute Teacher
Garion stepped into the training hall, quickly hearing sounds of grunts, stomps, and weights hitting the ground.
Their faces were pale, their muscles trembling, but not a single one had stopped and continued to train.
Even Dahlia was drenched in sweat, but still she squatted with the weight double the others, shouting between breaths.
"One... Two... Three... All of you... Keep going! Lift those weights!"
The disciples groaned in pain, faces twisted as they struggled to keep up.
A few of them tried to complain, but no sound came from them due to exhaustion.
Garion smirked, watching them with amusement. "I see you’re all still alive. Good."
Some of the disciples looked up weakly.
"Master... we’re not alive... we’re just some delayed corpses..."
Garion chuckled. "Delayed corpses... but still moving... that means you’re fine."
The group formed louder.
Dahlia dropped her barbell, panting heavily and grinning.
"They’re improving. A week ago, half of them would’ve fainted by now."
Garion nodded. "Not bad."
He looked around once more before clapping his hands. "Alright, stop for now."
The disciples froze mid-motion, then collapsed to the ground with sighs of relief.
"Finally!"
"Thanks to the gods!"
Garion raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "You’re acting like I told you to rest forever."
No one dared to respond.
Garion then crossed his arms, grinning.
"Good. I see all of you still have some energy left to breathe and talk, so... let’s go to the learning hall and learn some new things."
All at once, all of the disciples frowned once again and complained.
"Learning... Hall?"
"Wait... Now? We just finished training."
Garion ignored their complaints and walked toward the Learning Hall.
"Let’s move now!"
The disciples looked at each other helplessly.
Dahlia sighed, grabbing her towel. "You heard him. Up. Now."
They all groaned again but followed, dragging their feet like a funeral march.
---
Inside the Learning Hall, Garion stood at the front, holding a pile of books with a faint smirk.
The disciples sat down, still panting, some resting their heads on the desks.
"Today, you’ll be learning about the two realms of the [God Phsyique Cultivation Path]."
Dahlia’s eyes widened slightly. "Two realms?"
Garion nodded and began handing the books out.
"Yes. [The Mana Cells Refinement Realm]... and [The Mana Core Cells Realm]."
Th disciples straightened a little. They were a bit curious about those realms.
They flipped the book open and when they read it, their eyes immediately widened in surprise.
"What is this...?"
"It’s... so detailed."
"The stages are all different... from the ones we used to know."
Arden squinted, reading every word carefully. "It’s not like normal cultivation at all."
He flipped open every page.
"This... so this is the real truth of our own cultivation art that rebuilt the body from the inside out."
Garion smiled faintly. "Exactly."
Then, the hall went quiet. The disciples had teached the last part of the book.
Their eyes widened once again in surprise.
Rynor leaned forward, his brow furrowed as he read aloud.
"Wait... it says here... that we won’t be able to awaken a mana trait? At all?"
Eliza frowned, tapping her finger on the page.
"Then what’s the point? Everyone else gets an elemental or unique mana when they reach the Core Realm. What about us...?"
Rynar squinted, dragging the book closer and pointing to a specific line along the text.
"Hold on, read it properly, you all. It says that instead of a mana trait... We’ll gain what the book calls a Special Physique."
Clara blinked, looking up from her book. "Special Physique? What does that even mean?"
Garion stood at the front, watching their reactions and smirking.
"Just read the book carefully. It explains it right there, doesn’t it?"
The disciples looked back down at their books, frowning, whispering among themselves.
Then suddenly, Arden raised his hand nervously. "Uh, Master... maybe I can explain it instead?"
Garion raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Arden nodded quickly, standing up straighter. "Yes. Just... stay back and let me try, Master."
Garion chuckled. "Go ahead then, teacher Arden."
A few disciples snickered quietly.
Arden just ignored them and cleared his throat, his face slightly red. "Alright. Listen up."
He walked toward the front, clutching the open book in his hand.
"The special physique... think of it like a special trait, but not the same as a normal mana trait. It’s the result of evolution and fusion of every cell in our body."
Rynor scratched his head. "A special trait? But the book said we don’t awaken any mana trait at all."
Arden sighed, rubbing his temple. "Right, I knew someone would ask that."
He glanced at them, muttering under his breath. "How do I explain this to people with bricks for brains..."
Rynar blinked. "What?"
"Nothing." Arden straightened his back and pointed at the book.
"Okay, listen carefully. Normal cultivators awaken one mana trait because they only have one mana core, right?"
Everyone nodded slowly.
Arden then tapped his chest for emphasis as he explained it more.
"But our cultivation path is different. We won’t have only one mana core later, but trillions of mana cores from the mana pools we build now."
Eliza’s brows raised up. "Trillions? So if we awakened mana traits like normal cultivators..."
Arden nodded. "Exactly... We’d have trillions of mana traits."
Rynor grinned widely. "That sounds amazing! Imagine having every element at once!"
Arden sighed again, shaking his head. "It’s not that simple."
Clara raised her hand. "Why not? Wouldn’t that make us stronger?"
Arden scratched his cheek awkwardly, trying to find the right words.
"Not really. Those traits would be too weak and unstable because they were awakened from tiny mana core cells."
He pinched the air between his fingers, as if holding something small.
"Just imagine trying to control trillions of different powers, all fighting each other inside your body"
He traced a line down his chest with his finger, showing the flow of mana.
"The mana link running through your body would turn completely chaotic... and you could actually die from it."
The room fell silent.
A few disciples swallowed nervously, glancing at each other.