Cultivating And Training

 "So, this is the bandits' hideout?" Ina asked. She had been consolidating her cultivation for two days. This is the first time she came to the hideout, undoubtedly the best cultivating ground in the area.

 "Yes, we will be cultivating here," while his parents-in-law feel slightly uneasy of letting their only child to follow him into the forest, they let him do so, though it is likely is because of him being a cultivator, which mean the safest place is with him despite being inside a forest instead of in the village.

 "Yes, we will cultivate here," Ryker answered, leading her to the deeper part of the hideout. They reach the area of the hideout by riding on Sutal. The stallion continue to carry them inside, Ryker creating a pathway for him so he could cultivate in a suitable environment as well.

 While he remain with Ina, Sutal had spend his time cultivating inside the hideout, reaching the intermediate stage of Tier 1. Which show how pure the energy concentration in the hideout.

 They soon reach the entrance, which is enough for Ina to gasp.

 "Such strong energy concentration," she exclaimed, feeling it on her skin even when she is not inside the room.

 "Yes, we will cultivate here," Ryker said before leading her inside. Entering the central room, the brunette gasp once more, her eyes on the numerous Genesis Stones and Genesis Crystals that filled the room.

 "So many," she said. Ryker had explained to her about Energy Stones and Energy Crystals, but it is the first time she see so many.

 "Yes, remember what I tell you. Once you reach the peak of the 1st Stage, spent time consolidate your cultivation first before you breakthrough. If you want to reach the top, you need to have a solid foundation," he repeated himself, drilling inside her head.

 "Understood. Besides, if I am not sure, I can always ask you again," Ryker merely nodded at her words before he continue to excavate the place. Though he need to be more careful in fear of waking Ina up from her cultivation and causing a dissonance, injuring her. 

 As for the reason he keep on excavating the area, is because he has a hunch that a treasure that will help him and expedite his cultivation will be here.

 If he is lucky, there will be enough for him and Ina, allowing her to reach the next major stage as well. Though, it is unlikely. However, until he reached his limit, he will not stop excavating the place.

-x-

 "There is a lot of Genesis Stones and Genesis Crystals," Ina said, looking inside the storage rings given to her by Ryker. She had been surprise of the existence of spatial tools, but was more than happy for the existence of it. After all, she could keep all of her belonging in one and not worry about it being stolen.

 "Yes. We will save those when we continue the journey," Ryker told her, the brunette nodding in understanding.

 "So, what are we going to do now?" Ina asked. She had just consolidate her cultivation, the young brunette already at the peak of 1st Stage Genesis Gathering. As for Ryker, he had reach the 7th Stage, and can be considered a high-rank Genesis Gathering.

 "I am going to train your fighting skill. After all, you will be fighting people as cultivator," Ryker answered. Ina seem to be reluctant before nodding.

 Ryker took out several weapons, from the regular swords, spears and bows, to the more esoteric mace, battle fan, and chakram. 

 "Let's see which weapon is suited to you,"

-x-

 "I think this is the best one for me," Ina said, her hands on the spear. She did several swing, looking like she used to wielding one.

 "I agree. You must be used to using one," Ryker told her.

 "Yes, after all, this is a small village in the middle of nowhere. My father want me to be protected, so he always trained me on how to use a spear whenever he get the chance.

 So, I know the basic," she replied, feeling the spear. 

 "This is one of the best spear I ever use," Ina praised, feeling the weight. While there is some, it is on the lighter side, allowing her to swing it easily without straining herself.

 "Of course. I will give you a Technique for you to practice. But for now, let train you on the way to use qi while fighting," Ryker changed into a battle stance, the brunette following his movement.

 "You already able to mobilize the qi from your body. Now, send the qi to the weapon. But you need to control the amount of qi. Some weapon can handle large amount of qi, while some is the exact opposite.

 So, you need to know how much qi you can pour into your weapon. Once you get used to it, we will go to the next phase," Ina nodded, as she transferred her qi to the spear.

 Soon, she felt herself being drained, forcing him to stop mobilizing her qi. 

 "That's enough. Now swing it," Ina did as she was told, swinging the spear as usual. She immediately notice the difference. At the moment, the spear feel lighter, allowing her to swing it faster.

 However, despite the lighter weapon, she felt the spear contained great force, a single strike could likely break a tree. To see if it is possible, Ina thrust the spear forward, into the cave walls.

 A single strike was enough to turn the section of the wall into dust, the walls crumbling from her strike.

 "Woah," she let out. Ina knew she likely get stronger, but she could not gauge how much stronger.

 "Good enough for now. Let's see how well you can do against me," Ina took a fighting stance as Ryker did the same. The latter move first, swinging his sword to his wife.

 Ina blocked the attack, before twirling around and trying to hit him with the but of the spear. However, Ryker has plenty of experience. Against someone who never used a spear in real battle, her attack was telegraph, allowing him to avoid it with ease.

 Ryker then go on the offensive, a palm strike hitting the shaft. Ina was sent backward, the brunette taking several steps to no fall on her butt.

 "Decent for a beginner, but you can do better. Again," Ryker seem to change from a loving husband, to a strict trainer. Ina could not have it any other way. After all, she wanted to stand by his side if possible. 

If having him being rough towards her during training for that to be possible, she will take it.