Marrow cleansing

Lionel didn't react for a long time as he digested everything he had learned that day. The television continued to play in the background, but he paid no attention. His thoughts were filled with all that he had heard from Elder Valkorin and the contents of his diary.

As time passed, he eventually accepted that he had the power to see ghosts. The sooner he started cultivating his power, the better.

From the diary, Lionel knew that he was a Novice Spirit Seer and only possessed the Ghost Sense. He could see the ghosts, but couldn't exorcise them yet. Heck, the only way to escape from the ghosts, even the weakest, was to run for his life.

"Elder Valkorin was right," Lionel muttered, his brows contorting into a thoughtful frown. "I need to start cultivating. Otherwise, I will end up dead before I can even use my powers."

Lionel didn't have to force his brain to remember. He knew what exactly he had to do. 

Switching off the television, he donned a lotus pose on the ground and closed his eyes. Taking his deep breaths, he concentrated on his Qi. 

At first, he didn't feel anything; it was just akin to meditating. But soon, he felt the spiritual energy gush through him, the warmth coursing through his body slowly.

But barely a few minutes later, he halted when he sensed an obstruction. His spiritual energy had stopped moving as if something was repelling it.

Lionel, however, didn't lose heart and started from the beginning, only to meet the same result again. Soon, sweat drops adorned his forehead and his face lost all its color.

Yet, Lionel didn't give up and tried repeatedly, and eventually, his attempts bore fruit. The spiritual energy that had remained stagnant started moving again.

Lionel didn't stop even once. Every time he sensed an obstruction, he would try again and again until he overcame it.

He didn't know how long it had been since he started cultivating. He didn't stop until the spiritual energy had reached his entire body.

Satisfied, he peeked at his Qi and was stupefied to find that he was still stuck at the Ghost Sense. After all the hard work, he hadn't ascended to the next level of Novice Spirit Seer, let alone to Spirit Handler. What a bummer!

Downcast, he let out a sigh and opened his eyes. 'Cultivating my powers is more tedious and time-consuming than I thought.'

Shaking his head, he stood up, only for his eyes to widen when he realized how light his body felt. 

'I am not dreaming, am I?' he wondered. Yet, the truth was undeniable. The proof lay within him. His body had become lighter and all the discomfort and pain he had previously felt, especially at his joints had vanished.

"What magic is this? Amazing!" Lionel's previous dispirited self vanished and he cheered at his achievement. Jumping in joy, he looked around him, only to be dumbstruck when he noticed the sun shining brightly outside the window. From the angle and the intensity of the rays, it seemed sometime after noon.

"How long was I cultivating? Don't tell me..." Lionel pulled out his phone, but couldn't power it up. Confused, he plugged it to the charger and waited for it to charge before powering it up. 

Lionel lost his mind completely when he noticed the time. 

3.17 p.m.

However, it was the date that shocked him to the core. He had spent an entire day and a half, almost thirty-eight hours cultivating.

"Don't tell me..." Lionel couldn't believe the truth and checked the time on the Internet. 

When all searches yielded the same result, Lionel's head spun and he lost his ability to speak. He just kept gaping at his phone like a fish. He was so overwhelmed that all he could do was cuss under his breath.

"Fucking hell!"

Lionel wanted to cuss more. But his stomach rumbled all of a sudden, pointing it out to him that he hadn't eaten anything for a day and a half. It was only then he realized that he was famished.

Not in the mood to cook, Lionel ordered some lamb chops and fried rice and returned to his bedroom to freshen up first. The moment he looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he let out a scream of terror.

"What garbage is this?" He looked at himself, covered in filth. It looked as if he had rolled around in the mud for a few hours. "Is this me?"

Lionel almost threw up due to the filth and the stench and he got into the shower immediately, unable to bear it anymore. He took a long shower that lasted more than an hour, scrubbing all the dirt off him. He only left his bathroom when he felt clean.

When he looked at his reflection in the mirror again, Lionel nodded and even felt that he had become more refined. But he didn't dwell more upon it. Instead, he dressed quickly and returned to the living room.

During the entire time, his stomach hadn't stopped protesting even once. Lionel didn't even look at his phone. He knew the food was already delivered.

So, without wasting time, he ran towards the gate. The delivery boy had left his food package by the gate. His instructions. After all, no one dared to enter the manor premises.

Lionel didn't attend to anything else until he had his fill and his stomach was satisfied. Sighing in relief, he leaned back on the chair and licked his lips. 

Now that his stomach was full, his thoughts returned to himself. He recalled his dark reflection and tried to uncover what might have happened.

Biting his lower lip, he went through the contents of the diary, precisely looking for the information related to cultivation and the steps involved in it.

"Ahhh!" Lionel drawled when he recollected what he had read. "Elder Valkorin had mentioned that the first step would involve marrow cleansing. Is that what I did?"

Lionel was utterly perplexed. He had no idea what had transpired for there wasn't much detail related to the marrow cleansing. He could only stare blankly while he tried to put two and two together.

But when his mind still remained confused, he gave up and returned to his bedroom. Even though he wasn't that exhausted, he still felt sleepy. He pushed away all his thoughts and jumped on his bed.

Sleep first, everything else later.

With that belief, he went to sleep with a content smile on his lips.