[: 3rd POV :]
A few minutes later, Cecilia slowly opened her eyes—and tears began to stream down her face.
But these were tears of joy.
With the knowledge and skills bestowed upon her, she wasn't naïve enough to underestimate their value.
Her intellect and talent had skyrocketed to a level comparable to prodigies born monsters.
Yet, alongside this gift came a shadow.
Now that her mind had ascended to genius heights, her feelings toward her master deepened into something far more intense—darker, even.
Master…
She had changed.
Without hesitation, she leapt into Daniel's arms.
"Whoa," he murmured, catching her and holding her gently.
He understood how drastically her life was about to transform, and it took her some time to find calm again.
"Now that you've received these gifts, I'm sure you realise just how precious they are."
She nodded quietly.
"But that's only the beginning—the benefits of joining my sect. There's much more to come. For now, let's continue your training."
She listened intently, her admiration blossoming into near worship.
"Though I can give you everything you desire, I don't want you to lose your common sense."
"What you see here might be priceless treasures to others."
"So always remember, what you've received is not easily earned by anyone."
She nodded vigorously, her resolve strengthening with every word.
With her newly awakened intellect, Cecilia grasped just how rare and precious bloodline, physique, and spiritual roots truly were.
She couldn't help but wonder what kind of deity her master must be to possess such incredible treasures.
"All right, let's move on to the next lesson. Now, we'll begin discussing how to cultivate," Daniel said.
"First, you'll need to meditate. Sit down comfortably on the ground and close your eyes."
He instructed patiently, and she followed attentively.
"Next, you'll spread your consciousness into the surrounding atmosphere."
"Once you've done that, you'll start to feel—or even see—small orbs of light. These represent spiritual Qi."
Daniel paced slowly around Cecilia as she concentrated, trying to sense the Qi around her.
"Master, I've got it!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Good."
"Now that you've sensed the Qi, this is where cultivation truly begins."
"You'll need to draw these orbs of light into your body using your cultivation method."
Understanding his guidance, Cecilia activated her cultivation method.
Every cultivator has their own method, and depending on their rank, some progress quickly while others are slower.
But for Cecilia, it was extraordinary.
If Qi were visible to the naked eye, it would look like countless rivers flowing ceaselessly toward her.
For a mediocre cultivator, this overwhelming torrent would have crushed them.
But not her.
Instead, she greedily absorbed every drop of spiritual Qi within the sect's boundaries.
The supply was endless—so vast that if not for the protective barriers created by the sect's defence mechanisms, she might have drained the world's entire spiritual Qi.
"Cecilia, the Qi you're absorbing right now is of the highest quality you could ever hope to find," Daniel said with a proud smile.
"You might not realise it, but there are different tiers of spiritual energy—starting from Mortal Qi, then Refined Qi, Supreme Qi, Sacred Qi, and finally Immortal Qi. What you have now far surpasses even Immortal Qi."
Cecilia listened intently, shocked yet sensing that such a claim wasn't entirely impossible.
After all, the gifts she had received were not of this world.
Meanwhile, Daniel's smile grew wider as he felt her cultivation base strengthening with every passing second.
Those so-called prodigies would be left in the dust.
He recalled with a soft smile the memory of challenging some disciples and losing badly.
I'm definitely looking forward to the Yearly Sect competition hosted by the Empress, he thought, grinning.
[: Congratulations, your disciple has broken through to Mortal 1st Layer :]
It only took a minute, and she's already entered the 1st layer. Let's see how far she can go.
[: Congratulations, Host's 1st Disciple has advanced in cultivation. The Host has received One Seed of Golden Apple :]
I wasn't expecting a reward, but I won't complain.
But what exactly does this Golden Apple Seed do?
Curious, Daniel used the Inspection Function to examine the seed in his inventory.
[: Seed of a Golden Apple :]
- The Golden Apple fruit is a rare treasure that can boost a cultivator's overall power by 100% and remove all cultivation bottlenecks.
- It can only be consumed once and is effective across all cultivation realms.
= Consuming additional Golden Apples afterwards only heals fatal wounds and restores energy.
"Damn," Daniel muttered.
"A 100% boost to overall power, and that boost grows the longer the seed is nurtured… I wonder how much stronger I'd get if I nurtured one for a million years."
He was thoroughly impressed by the Golden Apple's benefits.
At the same time, he grew eager to see the results of planting all the seeds he could gather.