You Fool!

"Cool. So, where do I go to take the Mortal Body Course?" Mateus asked, happy to receive four neutral Mortal Grade Spirit Stones; even if they were of Mediocre Quality.

"Not that you need it, seeing as you're nowhere near the peak of the Mortal Stage, but you can follow me if you want to go listen to a sermon on Body Cultivation. All the Cultivation System courses simply consist of fields for those taking the courses to cultivate whilst listening to the advice from a higher-up," Hanns said as he began to guide Mateus through the Boot Camp massive campus-like territory.

"For the six levels of courses, corresponding to the six Stages of Cultivation in the Mortal Realm, volunteer high-status members of the Sect including Clan Heads, Elders, and sometimes even the Sect Head himself comes out to handle the sermons; one for each System of cultivating the Body, Energy, and Soul. At the site of the courses, you can expect them to share insights from their time cultivating through the Stages in the Mortal Realm, which might enlighten you as to how to build as solid of a foundation as possible."

"And, with those four Spirit Stones you recently earned," Hanns smiled, "you'll even be able to operate one of the Cultivation Arrays to make the most of your time."

…

"You fool!" Mateus quirked a brow as he was within earshot of hearing the current ongoing sermon for the Mortal-Saint Body Courses. He kept following behind Hanns and as the two approached a massive plain field of grass that had been painted over with a multitude of different Cultivation Arrays, the "sermon" continued.

"The body is a temple, a product of your devotion and diligence! You can either build it properly, with the right resources and effort, as a careful Cultivator. Or, you can pile up and stack shit together, and hope it holds up. How can you be so blind, so ignorant, to not even know this much?"

As Hanns stopped, Mateus could see past him and pondered, 'What kind of stupid question did that idiot standing over there ask to get called out so badly?' He guessed it was the sole person standing that triggered the "preacher's" response, as everyone else was either quietly cultivating atop their Cultivation Arrays, or moving towards or away from other Cultivation Arrays.

"Obviously," the preacher snorted in contempt as he said, "a properly refined Body Cultivation Base can only come from consuming the best sources of sustenance. Cultivation comes in the form of tearing and repairing one's cells. Energy in the form of one's stamina or Qi is all that is required to tear one's cells, but to repair them, the mortal body needs to ingest proteins, vitamins, and minerals it does not produce naturally."

"Elder Godfist, sir..." the lone standing person in the field said after a moment passed without the preacher continuing. Taking a hint from the preacher perched on his stage, Elder Godfist, the standing person nervously said, "I thank you for the concise explanation, but… um, I don't understand the visceral response to my preference of beef over poultry."

"Do I have to spell it out?" Elder Godfist asked as he provided a first hand glimpse to everyone unfamiliar with him as to the reason behind his title as he smashed his bare fist against the podium before him and it disintegrated into harmless dust.

"Beef is a food of pleasure. Red meat of fat, that even Spiritual Cooking need all but transmogrify for it to be remotely beneficial to any serious Body Cultivator. Poultry on the other hand is innately clean. Through a chicken's entirely life cycle, from before even being born to far after its death, it provides the best source of naturally occurring protein."

As Hanns waved him goodbye and wished him luck in his Cultivation while attending the Body Course, Matues had trouble finding an appropriate expression to convey.

'That's what this is about?! A debate over which is better: chicken or cow?��� Mateus held his face with his right palm for all of three seconds before shaking his head and taking a seat. He had better things to do than listen to such an idiotic conversation, like… operating the Mortal Grade Blood Sparking Cultivation Array beneth him, came to mind.

[?Upgrade?]

Mateus paused, looking over his options before deciding that the upgrades he could currently perform wouldn't be worth their cost overall. He found that he could upgrade the efficacy of an already-set Cultivation Array at the cost of multiplying the rate of Spirit Stones it would consume.

With the four Mediocre Spirit Stones he had on hand, he could either pay the base price of one Spirit Stone to operate the Blood Sparking Array for four hours and cultivate at an additional rate of 100% his normal pace. He could also spend two Spirit Stones per hour to cultivate at an additional 150% his normal rate for two hours. Or, he could spend all four Spirit Stones to cultivate at additional 225% his normal rate for a single hour.

'It's not like I'm in a rush or anything,' Mateus shrugged as he positioned one of his Spirit Stones into Inscription dedicated to powering the Array.

As a dim glow overcame the inscribed array, Mateus could literally feel his blood begin to rush. His blood pressure quickly rose past the limit it would induce dizziness and sweating in a regular person, only to stabilize after Mateus' skin began to turn a faint pink. In such a state, Mateus closed his eyes to focus on cultivating the Body aspect of his Essence of Water Cultivation Method.

With his blood moving so fast, the delivery of the proteins, vitamins, and minerals Elder Godfist referenced in his sermon, debate, tantrum… the repair to Mateus' torn cells would happen that much faster. His skin would become smoother, yet tougher. His muscles, leaner and stronger. His bones, denser and compact.

Four hours at double the rate his Level 50 Cultivation Method granted him would come to yield insane results.

By taking the minimum amount of breaks he could tolerate and balancing out the differing rates of progression his Cultivation Method granted him, Mateus just barely managed to raise all his Physical Stats — his Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Constitution — by five whole units.

Grinning, Mateus thought, 'that leaves me with only about five more hours of Body Cultivation before I can say I have a perfect Mortal Stage foundation.'