Chapter 90: Study or Die Trying
Garion clapped his hands once, dusting them off.
"That’s enough for today."
The disciples relaxed a little, exhaling in relief.
But before they could move, Garion suddenly lifted both arms.
The ground trembled faintly, and a large bookshelf rose from the floor.
The disciples gasped, stepping back.
"What in the world?!"
Garion smirked, walking to the shelf and pulling out a thick book, holding it up.
"This will be your new best friend."
He turned to them.
"Come forward. Each of you, take one."
One by one, the disciples approached, hesitant.
The books were heavy, their covers made of a tough black material, and the pages were thick, filled with neat writing and sketches of human anatomy.
"Other than training your body, you also need to learn your body. This book holds everything you’ve learned today and much more."
Garion put the book back on the shelf.
"It had the complete knowledge of how the human body works, so make sure all of you learn it."
A disciple flipped through the pages, frowning.
"Master... this looks like a year of study."
Another poked at the diagrams.
"There are so many drawings! Are we supposed to memorize all of them?"
Garion smiled faintly.
"Not memorize. Understand. You can’t train what you don’t understand."
The disciples groaned quietly, looking at the thick books in their hands.
Garion only smiled, looking at their faces. He then turned toward the exit.
"Now go to the restaurant. Eat your dinner. After that, like usual, take your Demonic Protein. Rest early, as tomorrow will be another full day."
The disciples nodded and started walking out, some complaining as they carried the books.
Garion ignored them and just walked toward the restaurant.
Just before he left, one of the disciples turned back.
"Master, when will you teach us about cultivation? About the real method?"
Garion’s smirk widened.
"When you’ve learned enough about the body. Even Dahlia spent months before she officially started cultivating, and she didn’t even have books."
The disciples looked surprised.
"Really? Senior Sister didn’t get books?"
Garion shrugged.
"Nope. I made her learn everything the hard way."
Someone whispered, "Lucky us, then..."
Garion grinned.
"Oh, you think so? Don’t worry. By the time you finish that book, you’ll wish you were back in her training."
The group laughed nervously.
Garion waved his hand.
"Go on. Eat, drink, rest. And remember... those books aren’t decorations. I’ll be asking questions in a month."
Instantly, everyone stiffened.
"Q-questions!?"
"Like... a test!?"
Garion crossed his arms and smirked.
"Exactly."
The disciples sighed in despair as they dragged themselves toward the restaurant, books in hand.
Garion watched them go, amused.
"Good. If they can survive reading as well as training, maybe they’ll really become the strongest body cultivators in this world."
---
The next morning, everything started the same way it always did in the God Gym.
The moment the sun rose, teh restaurant turned into chaos.
Plates clattered, chairs scraped, and disciples fought for food like starving beasts.
"Move! That’s my plate!"
"You already took five eggs!"
"Shut up, I’m hungry!"
Garion just sat at his table with a plate of roast meat, smirking as he watched teh madness unfold.
"Good. If they still have the energy to argue, they can train harder."
After the meal, everyone gathered in the training hall.
The familiar crates of Demonic Creatine were waiting. Garion lifted one bottle and tossed it toward a disciple.
"Drink up! You know the rule."
The disciples grimaced as they gulped it down.
"It’s still spicy!"
"My throat’s on fire!"
"Why after drinking it so many times... It’s still so spicy?"
Garion only laughed.
"That’s how you know it’s working."
Then came the hours of training.
The floor echoed with the sound of heavy weights dropping, the sharp shouts during squats, and the constant rhythm of breathing.
"Lower! Keep your back straight!"
"Yes, Master!"
"Push harder! If you still can talk, you’re not training enough!"
Garion moved around, correcting their posture, showing them better techniques.
Even though their muscles ached, no one dared to stop.
When the sun began to set, they finally had a short break.
Some collapsed on the floor, others leaned against the wall, dripping with sweat.
But instead of being dismissed, Garion clapped his hands.
"Alright! Break time’s over. To the Learning Hall!"
The disciples groaned in unison.
"Again!?"
"Master, please... at least let us breathe..."
Garion crossed his arms.
"You’ll always be breathing whether you move or not. Now move!"
Reluctantly, they dragged themselves toward the Learning Hall.
They also brought their thick anatomy books, which they had taken from their rooms.
The moment they entered, they could already see the cadaver, covered by a white sheet.
"I still can’t believe we study with a corpse..."
"Better learning the corpse than becoming one."
Garion smiled faintly.
"Good mindset. Now, today you’ll do it yourselves."
The disciples froze.
"O-ourselves!?"
Garion nodded.
"Yes, you can’t learn anatomy just by reading. You have to see it and feel it. Don’t worry, I’ve treated it properly. It won’t rot or smell."
He handed out floves and knves. Some disciples’ hands trembled as they took them.
"Master, what if we... cut the wrong part?"
Garion shrugged.
"Then you’ll remember not to next time, and also it was a cadaver, not a living human. Don’t worry too much."
Slowly, they began. One group opened the chest area, another worked on the arms, and another on the head.
The room was quiet except for the sound of slicing and the turning of book pages.
"Muscle here..."
"Vein connected to this..."
"Ah! This matches the drawing!"
Garion walked between them, giving short corrections.
"Good. Cut along the muscle line. Don’t force the blade. Remember, precision is the key."
By the end of the first week, the fear disappeared.
The disciples worked faster and more focused. They talked less and observed more.
Some even started explaining parts to each other.
"Here’s the heart. You see how thick the wall is?"
"Yeah. It’s built like a pump?"
"This one’s the liver. Big and weird, right?"
Garion watched quietly, a small smile on his face.
"Not bad... They’re starting to get it."
Days passed like this. Morning was chaos and sweat.
Evenings were quiet, focused study. Then dinner, Demonic Protein, and deep sleep.
The once-clumsy group of young cultivators began to change.
They became stronger and bigger. Their movement becomes more coordinated.
They began to understand why Garion had them train in this way.
After a month, they no longer complained.
They worked with discipline, and their confidence grew every day.
This sight made Garion even happier.
"My God Gym has really grown..."