After borrowing the alchemy equipment from the woman named Shuri of the [Alchemy and Research Department], Ethan headed toward the Northern Palace.
Well, he ran toward the Northern Palace.
Since the residential area for sect members was located around 12 kilometers away from the central palace, only by running he could only reach the place within an hour or so by running.
Ethan also considered this a part of his training to increase his stamina.
Ethan wasn't one to complain.
Private organizations like sects, academies, or even mage towers would often build their structures far apart from one another, especially in large worlds.
There was no particular reason behind this.
They mostly did it because they could, since they had vast lands, and because people possessed supernatural abilities, they didn't even need assistance to cross hundreds of kilometers at high speed.
Catching his breath, Ethan observed the residential area.
There were many buildings: some were three floors high, some four, and some were large mansion-like estates.
But most of the rooms seemed empty, and the entire residential area was surrounded by a ring wall.
"Well, they did say most cultivators prefer to be left alone and live in random places in the forest… can't imagine why." Ethan walked toward the building nearest to the entrance.
Inside, he went to the reception and spent 40 gold (copper coins) to book himself a private room for four days.
He could have chosen a cheaper room for 5 gold a day, but that would mean sharing with another person, something he didn't want.
"Three gold for meals and 10 gold for a private room a day… looks like I can't do anything here with just one gold," Ethan sighed.
He had 155 gold initially.
He lost 10 gold to Shuri to borrow her equipment, 40 gold to rent the private room for four days, 3 gold to purchase three meals filled with vegetables and meat, and 5 gold to buy small ingredients for potion-making from the department shop.
That left him with 97 gold, which he had to use wisely.
His room was located on the third floor of a four-storied building, room number 234 (2 = building, 3 = floor, 4 = room).
The rooms, much like the department buildings, required clearance to enter.
When Ethan paid for the room, the reception registered his purchase with the system, granting him clearance.
Upon entering, Ethan found the room quite spacious for a single person.
It had a very thin mattress laid on the ground, an attached bathroom and toilet, and a small empty room meant for meditation or other purposes, which Ethan intended to use as his alchemy room.
"Now, what should I do?" Ethan muttered as he looked around at the room, the three meals, the three herbs, the two bottles of Qi-rich water, and the alchemy equipment.
Rubbing his chin, he dug through his vast knowledge for the best way to increase the attributes of his physical body as much as possible.
"Let's just eat first."
Ethan ate one meal, which consisted of ten types of vegetables and meat.
The taste resembled chicken but was much juicier.
After finishing, he walked around his room for a few minutes before neatly setting up the alchemy equipment.
He shut all the windows and doors, making the room airtight.
He then lit the stove and poured the one of the bottles of Qi-rich water he had collected from the pond into the cauldron before placing it on the fire.
While the water heated, Ethan used a knife to carefully cleave the roots, leaves, stems, and flowers of the herbs, neatly separating them.
Then, with a mortar and pestle, he ground them into paste, ensuring the right proportions and balance.
Once the water began boiling, he waited a few more minutes.
A certain aroma began to rise from the cauldron.
"That's good enough…"
At specific intervals, Ethan began adding the ingredients one by one.
He then added all the paste made from the leaves of Savia romarius and half the paste of Cenila sastica into the boiling water, stirring periodically.
The color of the boiling water slowly changed as he continued to add pinches of roots, stems, and other additional ingredients at precise timings.
By the time he finished, an hour had already passed.
After filtration, the result was a dark blue potion, as thick as blood.
Using the remaining half of Cenila sastica and the entirety of Agasthma betulla, he prepared another potion.
This time, the timing of additions and stirring varied.
The result was a purplish-red potion, as thick as melted butter and releasing a strong ash-like smell.
The blue potion was the [Clarity Potion], and the purple one was the [Rapid Recovery Potion].
The [Clarity Potion] increased the rate of metabolism, anabolism, and blood circulation several times over.
It also put the body in a state of heightened adrenaline, during which the drinker would feel no pain and experience peak mobility.
The [Rapid Recovery Potion], as the name suggested, had incredible healing properties, boosting the body to recover from almost any physical injury, so long as it wasn't life-threatening, decapitation, or amputation.
Ethan had made one bottle of each potion.
"This should be enough for me to last the week," Ethan muttered.
To activate their effects, he had to drink only a mouthful.
The [Clarity Potion]'s effect lasted around one day, while the [Rapid Recovery Potion] lasted only about an hour.
The more severe the injury, the shorter its duration.
Ethan poured the two potions into vials and got seven vials of each.
He opened the window to let the room ventilate and noticed that it was already dark outside.
The first class started tomorrow early morning and would last for three hours.
The third day was particularly important because the new sect members who were already in optimal physical condition would receive a cultivation method suited for them at the end of the class.
Those who didn't possess the required physical condition would not receive the cultivation methods until they did.
It shouldn't be a problem for most of the new members because most of them were already in great physical condition for their age.
But it was a huge problem for Ethan, and he didn't like being staggered behind others.
If anything, he wanted to be the one in the lead.
Ethan grabbed one vial of each potion and the two meals he had left, then went straight toward the training area, which was again several kilometers away from the residential area, around fifteen kilometers.
He walked out of the residential area, and as soon as he left the huge gate, he began to sprint at full speed, pushing his body to its limit.
He sprinted for around 35 seconds before feeling like his chest was going to explode, and he stopped.
"Time to rush and grow," Ethan muttered, taking a huge exhale, and he gulped down the vial of [Clarity Potion].
He stood there for a few minutes, waiting for the potion to take effect.
He didn't know if he would get the exact effectiveness as he did in his previous lives, since he didn't have high-quality equipment.
Then it came rushing like a floodgate had opened.
The pain he felt in his leg muscles, chest, and calves, and the dizziness, the feeling of nausea, everything disappeared as if it had never existed.
An unknown boost of power seemed to surge through his skin, like loads of adrenaline were being generated in him.
His mind felt clearer than ever, and his body felt hot, like he was running a fever.
In the next instant, he began to run at full speed, slightly even faster than before, in the direction of the training ground.
He ran without stopping or slowing down for one and a half minutes, until he felt his body giving out.
He stopped before it completely failed, and once he stopped, he could barely move his legs; he had lost most of the feeling.
That's when he grabbed the vial containing the [Rapid Recovery Potion] and waited.
Since his body was already experiencing the effects of the [Clarity Potion], the effects of the [Rapid Recovery Potion] manifested within seconds.
All the muscle and internal injuries caused by running at full speed for one and a half minutes healed in the next couple of seconds, making him much tougher than before.
As soon as he healed, he started to run again.
This time, he managed to run for two whole minutes before he had to stop and heal from the existing effect of the [Rapid Recovery Potion].
Once he healed, he started running at full speed again, managing two minutes and forty seconds.
After healing, he ran again and managed to run continuously for four minutes straight.
What he was basically doing was deliberately destroying his muscles so they could heal again and again.
Each time his muscles and body healed, they became stronger than before.
After healing once more, he ran for five minutes.
Then he stopped to heal and began running again.
This time, he managed a continuous top-speed run of around eight minutes and finally stopped as he reached the training area.
...
[A/N: If you liked this chapter, don't forget to donate some POWER STONES and add it to your library. No pressure! Thank you for checking out the novel.]