Chapter 92: The Great Cultivation Scam
Garion crossed his arms and looked at them, his tone calm but direct.
"I know most of you have already practised some kind of cultivation art before coming here."
"Don’t worry," he said with a faint smirk.
"I’m not asking for your previous sect’s secret or some fancy manual. I don’t even want yours."
A few disciples chuckled weakly. Another one spoke up, scratching the back of his head.
"Our manuals just said to sit, breathe and absorb mana... then unlocked the mana pool and meridians."
He moved his arms, wanting to explain about his cultivation manual.
"After that, we were supposed to keep absorbing and strengthening the pool. That’s what our cultivation manual told us."
"Yeah," another added quickly.
"Some said to open energy points in the body, but we never really understood what those points even were."
Garion let out a long sigh, rubbing his forehead.
"So basically, you were all just sitting down, breathing in mana, hoping something magical would happen."
A few laughed nervously.
"When Master says it like that, it sounds kinda stupid."
"That’s because it is stupid," Garion said flatly, walking back and forth in front of them.
"You only followed the steps without understanding a single thing. Like parrots repeating words they don’t understand."
The disciples looked down, embarrassed.
Then, from the front row, Arden slowly raised his hand.
"Master... if I may... I can try to explain a little about the first realm."
Garion turned toward him, smiling faintly.
"Oh? Go ahead, kid. Let’s see if you can teach the other stupid kids something."
Arden stood, still fidgeting a little, but his voice grew steadier as he spoke.
"I once read some books about the first realm of cultivation. They said the process is based on three things."
He raised his three fingers as he explained them.
"The body, the mana and the connection between them. The mana pool acts like a container."
"The meridians are like rivers that carry mana throughout the body. And the energy points are like small gates that control the flow."
The other disciples turned to listen, surprised. Even Garion raised his brows slightly.
"Go on."
Arden nodded as he continued.
"So when we cultivate, we breathe in mana, refine it and fill the mana pool. Then we pushed that mana through the meridians to open those gates."
"Each time a gate opens, our body gets stronger, and the mana can circulate smoothly."
"Eventually, when the mana pool is completely filled and stabilised, we reach the final stage, Saturation Stage."
"That’s when the pool becomes full and ready to turn into a mana core."
When Arden finished, the room went silent for a moment. The disciples stared at him with wide eyes.
"Wait... that actually makes sense."
"So that’s what we were doing all this time?"
"I thought the meridians were just... random glowing lines."
Garion chuckled.
"Well, well, looks like we’ve got ourselves a really smart scholar here."
Arden’s face turned red.
"I-I just remembered what I read, Master."
Garion stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
"Still, good job, Arden. That’s the explanation that doesn’t sound like a blind guess."
A few disciples looked sheepish again.
Garion turned back to the group.
"See? This is what I mean. You trained your bodies and mana, but you never understood why you were doing it."
He pointed his finger toward all of them.
"That’s what separates a real cultivator from mindless followers like you all."
The disciples flinched, a few lowering their heads even more.
He then pointed to his own chest.
"But don’t you worry, as from now on, I will teach you a better art which was the [God Phsyqie Cultivation Art]."
One disciple raised his hand cautiously.
"Master, how is it different from normal cultivation?"
"Yeah," another added.
"Don’t we already cultivate mana the same way?"
Garion lifted his hand to silence them.
"You’ll understand soon enough. But before you ask another dumb question, let me explain it properly."
He began to pace slowly, hands behind his back.
"The main difference is simple. We use the real thing, not imaginary nonsense."
The room went quiet.
The disciples exchanged confused looks.
"Real thing?"
"What does that even mean?"
Garion turned and grinned.
"You’ll see. Just like what Arden said before, in normal cultivation, people absorb mana to fill their mana pool, open meridians, and unlock gatres throughout the body to strengthen it."
He paused.
"But here’s the problem."
He raised one finger.
"All of those things I said are virtual. They don’t exist in your body at all."
Several disciples gasped, not knowing how to answer it.
Garion only smirked.
"It’s not actually fake. Just imagined. Those things are formed only after months of cultivation. They aren’t part of your body from the start."
He placed his hand over his chest.
"But my method doesn’t use imaginary things. I use what’s already inside you, your organs, veins, heart, and cells."
The disciples looked at each other, startled.
Arden’s eyes widened slightly, realising something.
"No wonder Master made us study anatomy every day. It is all for this moment."
Garion smiled.
"Exactly. You can’t cultivate what you don’t understand. That’s why I made you all learn anatomy. To prepare you for this."
One disciple raised his hand timidly.
"So, Master... if we don’t use meridians, pool or gates, then what do we use instead?"
Garion smirked as he showed them his arms.
"Of course, we use our original meridians, the veins. They can carry mana just like they carry blood through your body. Simple, right?"
Everyone nodded slowly, starting to understand.
Another one asked, "What about the gates?"
Garion shrugged.
"Forget them. You don’t need fancy glowing gates. Your muscles, nerves, and joints already control flow and release naturally."
The disciples whispered in agreement. It actually made sense in a weird way.
Then Arden raised his hand again, thinking carefully.
"Master, what about the mana pool? What organ can replace it? It was the most important one, after all."
Garion smirked.
"Good question. The thing that can replace it is this one."
He quickly pointed to his chest.
Arden’s eyes narrowed as he thought.
"The heart? Yes... It can act as the pool since it pumps blood everywhere. So... it could pump mana too."
The disciples nodded in agreement.
"That make sense..."
"Yeah, the heart fits."
Garion grinned wider.
"Wrong."
They froze, including Arden.
"Wrong?"
Garion nodded.
"Completely wrong. It’s not the heart."
All of them were frowning as they couldn’t think of other organs that were even better than the heart.