'AI, display the results of my first cultivation session!' Lucian tentatively asked his AI to show him how his first time meditating and attempt at channelling his life force. He had an inkling that he might see good results from the fact that he had expelled that ghastly substance from his mouth, but he'd only know for sure once he checks the results directly.
A few seconds passed before the AI sent the data directly to his mind.
[Scan complete.]
[Life Force cultivation session complete: Time spent cultivating — 3 hours 58 minutes. Successful channelling of life force caused 1 whole revolution of life force through the host's body. Calculating effect of 1 revolution on host's stats…]
[Calculations complete!]
[1 full revolution increased the host's stats by 0.04 vitality, 0.05 agility, and 0.05 strength. The improvements will gradually lessen the more revolutions are completed. Suggestion for future meditative sessions: Target different areas of the body each cultivation session to maximise the benefits gained through a successful revolution.]
'4 hours. Did so much time really pass while I was meditating? Now I see why so much time had to be allocated to cultivating my breathing technique — so much time used for what felt like a simple task.' Lucian shook his head.
If it took him four hours to finish 1 session, then he could only cultivate his breathing technique twice per day. Though he hoped the more he became accustomed to it, the less time each session would take out of his day. This would be the ideal case, as it would free up more time for him to practice his other training.
'If I cultivate twice per day for the next 21 days, then that's 42 successful revolutions of life force I can achieve at max. That means I can gain…' Lucian did a few mental calculations.
'I'll gain around 1.68 Vitality, 2.1 Agility and 2.1 Strength, assuming all goes well and I continue to receive the same amount of stats from each revolution!'
Lucian smiled. With this, he would just about be able to achieve his goal of becoming an Official Knight well before the three week time limit. Though he still stayed vigilant and kept in mind to keep his options open. The AI had already warned him that the more he cultivated, the less he would gain. After a certain point it was likely that he'd just gain nothing from circulating his life force.
Lucian had zero expectations of being able to achieve 42 successful revolutions — failures were always bound to happen. But even in the odd case that he did, it didn't mean he would achieve the results he was hoping to achieve. He had no doubt that by the time he reached his 42nd revolution, the stats he'd gain from it would be pitiful in comparison to this first time.
This was obviously why the AI not only suggested he cultivate the breathing technique but also keep up with his training of his sword techniques and footwork alongside his breathing technique. It was a no brainer that cultivating his breathing technique wasn't the only method of increasing his stats — intense physical exercise was also another one, so Lucian expected to at least gain a few more decimals in each from spending another 8 hours practising his footwork and sword techniques.
With this in mind, Lucian didn't want to waste any more time thinking. There were only so many hours in the day, and he had to spend each minute sparingly. Having spent nearly 4 hours on one cultivation session, he still had another to cover before he was finished for the day. He took a quick bath to wash any residual black substance off his body and out of his mouth before resuming his meditative stance on the floor of his dorm room.
'Breathe in…' He once again followed the instructions the exact way they were laid out in his mind, making sure not to make any deviations throughout the process.
After less than a minute, he was once again engulfed by that same, mind opening phenomenon that he experienced during his first bout. It was something that would take quite a bit of getting used to, and Lucian felt refreshed just from allowing himself to sink into the feeling.
'Let's not lose track of the goal now.'
Lucian emptied his mind of any distracting thoughts and once again focused on his body — specifically the multitude of different channels his life force ran through. Unlike his first attempt, he wasn't going to make the mistake of choosing an area of high concentration to try and circulate. Instead, he opted to mirror his first time doing this.
On the opposite foot to last time, he decided to choose his other little toe to begin his next cultivation session with. It was proven to already give him some results from last time, so Lucian decided to play it safe. He was sure it fit in with the AI's suggestion of making sure to choose a different part of his body every time he cultivated to ensure maximised results, so he saw no problems with choosing it.
Like last time, he accumulated all his focus and concentration onto this one, tiny spot on his toe where the life force congregated. The process went a little smoother and quicker than last time, as he now had the experience of already doing this once before.