Rank 7?
A Rank 4 Magic Spirit was something only a few people in the entire empire had. Even by the most generous estimates, there couldn't be more than 100 of them in the empire. A Rank 5 Spirit, up until recently, didn't even exist in Harry's mind. Perhaps one would need to leave the empire to find such a spirit. And as for Rank 6, Harry couldn't even fathom how rare one of those must be.
Yet, Slughorn was saying his Magic Spirit was actually Rank 7!
"I have more evidence," Slughorn continued. "A higher Magic Spirit rank does have a bit of a downside – the amount of Qi you need to for cultivating is larger. Earlier, I said that one of those Body Nourishing Pills could get you to 3rd level of the Body Tempering Realm. That's only true if you had a low rank Magic Spirit, which you obviously do not."
"For Rank 4 and 5, those cultivators would require multiple pills. But even then, they wouldn't need as many as you do. Everything lines up, my boy!"
At this point, Slughorn had a maniacal look in his eyes.
"You really think he has a Rank 7 Magic Spirit?" the Exalted Cat snorted. "Do you realize how rare that would be? Rank 6 Magic Spirits may exist, but I doubt you could find one even if you searched the whole world!"
"True, but his refining speed is simply unbelievable – far faster than mine was. You're right that I've never seen a Rank 6 Magic Spirit, much less Rank 7, but it wouldn't surprise me if Harry had one. And even better, there is a simple way to test it – we just get him to the 3rd level of the Body Tempering Realm!"
"That'll take me a whole year though," Harry muttered.
"Harry, you are forgetting something very important."
"What is it?"
"I, Horace Slughorn, am an Alchemist. Ordinary Grade pills – I have hundreds of them! And Body Nourishing Pills – I have plenty! Even with your enormous consumption, I have confidence I can get you to the 4th level, much less the 3rd. And with your shocking refining speed, I believe we could even finish this experiment in a matter of weeks!"
Hundreds of Ordinary Grade pills? Harry suddenly realized his previous estimation of Slughorn's wealth was far off the mark.
"I am very grateful for your generosity," Harry said. "But, you've already done so much for me, and -"
"There's no need to be polite with me, my boy. First of all, Ordinary Grade pills have long become useless for me. If you don't use them, they would sit on my shelves until I die. Second, your mother was my direct disciple, and I had a habit of spoiling my disciples – as anyone who knows me can attest to, right, old cat? I still feel sadness over Lily's death, and if I can help her son out, well, why shouldn't I? Besides, it's possible that if you don't open your meridians by 20, you'll die. How could I sit by and watch Lily's son suffer from the cruelest poison in this world? How would I face Lily in the afterlife?"
"And furthermore," Slughorn smiled widely, "Which cultivator does not dream of seeing a Rank 7 Magic Spirit? Even if there is a slight chance, if I could see the birth of one, then my life would not have been lived in vain!"
And with a flourish, Slughorn upended a vial and poured out four more high-quality Body Nourishing Pills.
"Take them, Harry," he said magnanimously. "This will be enough for you to get into the 3rd level, and then we will know about your Magic Spirit."
"Thank you," Harry said, his voice shaking with emotion. He had never seen such wealth before, nor this amount of kindness.
He accepted the pills, but just before he was about to refine them, he paused.
"What does it feel like when a Magic Spirit awakens? And how will I know what it is called?"
"Ah, good question, I should have explained that. You won't feel anything physically, but you'll feel like something in your body has awakened, like a light has turned on, though the specifics will depend on the type of spirit you have. For beast type spirits, it's like a part of you has been roused from a deep sleep, almost like a second consciousness, for example. And as for its name, you'll just know it when it awakens, as if it had been in your mind all along."
"Alright," Harry said. Opening his mouth, he swallowed the first pill, and began refining. In just a few minutes, the Qi in the pill was assimilated with his body, and he felt his Heart Protector Meridian had opened a bit more.
The second pill went down his throat, and minutes later, the Qi had integrated into his meridian.
The third pill followed, and then the fourth. When he was finished, the very last bit of his Heart Protector Meridian burst open, and he felt his latent Qi rush through it, steadily providing strength to his body.
3rd level of the Body Tempering Realm!
It was a level he had spent years dreaming about, a level he thought he would need years to reach. But he had done it in just the space of a few minutes!
With his eyes still closed, he excitedly waited for his Magic Spirit to awaken. There would be another consciousness in his body, and he'd get the ability to manifest it. Just a bit longer…
A bit longer…
Soon…
Anytime now…
Why didn't he feel anything?
No longer able to wait, he opened his eyes and looked around.
"I don't feel anything," he blurted out.
He looked up at Slughorn and the Exalted Cat, only to see them looking back at him with disbelieving expressions.
"Where do I even begin?" the Exalted Cat muttered.
"Five high-quality Ordinary Pills, each gone in minutes. I thought only Qi Absorption Realm cultivators could do that," Slughorn said with a look of shock in his eyes.
"Boy, do you feel any problems? Do your meridians hurt?"
"I feel fine," Harry shrugged.
"Hah, you could bankrupt people in a single day. But more importantly, your Magic Spirit hasn't awakened."
Slughorn and the Exalted Cat shared a long glance. Perhaps they really were communicating through telepathy.
"Er, do you think it's above Rank 7 then?" Harry finally asked to break the silence. If the pattern continued, Ranks 7, 8, and 9 would awaken at the 3rd level of the Body Tempering Realm.
But when even Rank 6 was a legend, who could possibly have a Magic Spirit above Rank 9?
"No," Slughorn sighed. "There is no way such a spirit could exist. And I was so sure… everything would have made perfect sense. How could it still not appear?"
"Perhaps you really are Spiritless," the cat remarked.
Harry's face fell at that thought. Being labelled a "Spiritless Cultivator" was no different than being labelled trash. Anywhere he went, he'd be met with mockery and disdain.
"Well, there's no point in worrying about this. Even if you are Spiritless, it is undeniable that your refining speed is blazing fast. Take a few days to circulate your Qi and strengthen your foundation. After that, I'll give you the pills to break through the 4th layer."
"What do you mean by 'strengthen your foundation'?"
"Right, I suppose you were never taught that. I'll explain it like this. The Body Tempering Realm is the easiest realm to advance stages in, because all one needs to do is open your meridians with Qi, which can be supplemented with pills. The wealthiest clans in our empire, the ones in the capital for sure, have amassed thousands of these Body Nourishing Pills. So, why don't you hear about group of little children at the 9th level of the Body Tempering Realm?"
"Well, they wouldn't be used to their strength."
"Exactly. The sole rule of cultivation is this – there are no shortcuts along the path of cultivation. If you were to open your 4th meridian right now, your body's Qi would be unaccustomed to flowing through the 3rd meridian, which would be disastrous for your future. Cultivation must be advanced step by step. Once you advance a level, you can't immediately advance to the next. You must take your time, and get accustomed to your strength. Therefore, you must practice circulating your Qi before advancing further."
"Ok, so how do I strengthen my foundation?"
"This is the Nine Meridians Qi Circulation Technique," Slughorn said, pulling a manual out of his bookshelf.
Cultivation techniques, just like pills, were precious items. Each was created by a cultivator, who left it for his descendants to practice. In other words, it was the legacy of a powerful cultivator, something which simply didn't exist at Crystal Mine City.
"It's just an Ordinary Grade cultivation technique, but highly effective, and widely practiced in the empire. It consists of a series of exercises performed to strengthen your meridians. There are nine in total, one for each meridian. Once you have mastered the 3rd circulation, we'll help you break through the 4th level."
Harry accepted the manual and bowed to Slughorn, despite his protests.
"Thank you," Harry said sincerely. "You've done more for me today than anyone has my entire life. I know I am still weak now, but if I am able to one day, I will definitely repay you back."
"No worries, my boy. Go on and practice, while this old cat and I do some catching up."
Thanking Slughorn once again, Harry returned to his guest room and opened the manual.
The next two days passed rather monotonously. Harry spent his time in Slughorn's place, wholly immersed in the Nine Meridians Qi Circulation Technique. From dawn to dusk he focused on practicing the technique, stopping only for meal breaks.
He had offered to help Slughorn with some household tasks, but had been waved off, and was told that he should focus on cultivating. So, Harry had done exactly that, practicing the Qi Circulation patterns over and over. Meanwhile, Slughorn and the Exalted Cat were locked in a conversation, something about training something, that Harry was not privy to.
Condense the Qi in the body, keep it at the entrance to the meridian until no more can accumulate. Direct it through the passageways of the body, feel your body strengthen, resonate with your spirit and fuse with your Qi.
That was the overview of the Nine Meridians Qi Circulation technique. The core of the technique involved pushing Qi through his meridians and stabilizing its flow. It was oddly relaxing, meditative even, and Harry could easily lose track of time, engrossed in sensing the Qi in his body. It was as if he had entered a state of enlightenment.
For some reason, practicing this technique was easy for him. Harry wasn't sure why, but rationalized it away.
This technique was just an Ordinary Grade technique. The grades for techniques were the same as the grades for pills, so this technique was meant for Body Tempering Realm cultivators. Every cultivator had to go through the Body Tempering Realm, therefore, Ordinary Grades techniques weren't very profound.
Also, he was only practicing the first three circulations, which corresponded to the first three meridians. They were easier to practice, and the circulations for the next six would be more involved.
Two days later, he exited his room and went to find Slughorn and the Exalted Cat.
"I've finished practicing," Harry reported.
"Oh?" Slughorn asked, clearly surprised. "In just two days? That's quite quick, you should move onto to the 2nd level then."
"I mean, I finished practicing the first three levels."
"What?"
"I said that I finished practicing the first three levels."
But Slughorn and the Exalted Cat just stared at him, so Harry repeated himself once again.
"I finished practicing the first three levels."
"I heard what you said," the cat snapped. "I'm not deaf."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Boy, do you think this Exalted Cat is gullible? It takes days to finish each circulation."
"I know that, but I spent most of the last two days practicing. So of course, I'd finish a bit faster."
"If a person were to neither eat nor sleep, and do nothing but practice, it would take multiple days! For each meridian!"
Harry snorted.
"It's just circulating some Qi. How could it take that long?"
"Boy, are you mocking me? This Exalted Cat spent two weeks to finish the 3rd Qi Circulation!"
"It also took me two weeks," Slughorn added. "We weren't expecting you for at least that long."
"Oh," Harry said. "Maybe I did something wrong, or skipped a step. But I could clearly 'feel turbulent flow settle, reach Perfect Opening' as the manual described."
"What!?"
"I said, I could feel –" and then Harry shut his mouth, not wanting the Exalted Cat to yell at him again.
"You achieved Perfect Opening?" Slughorn exclaimed.
"Maybe?" Harry had been pretty sure, but seeing how shocked Slughorn was, he guessed that he did something wrong.
"Show us," the Exalted Cat demanded. "Do the 1st Circulation, Water Entering the River."
Water Entering the River was the name of the circulation pattern corresponding to the Lung Meridian, and represented Qi entering the meridians. Harry immediately pushed his Qi through his Lung Meridian.
Sensing the flow of Qi in Harry's body, Slughorn stared at Harry in shock.
"The Lung Meridian has actually achieved Perfect Opening!"
"Do Flowers Floating Downstream."
That was the circulation pattern for the Heart Meridian. Due to the proximity to the heart, the Qi flowing here had to be gentle and smooth, like a small current capable of transporting flowers gently down a stream.
"Heart Meridian, also achieved Perfect Opening!"
"Do Impenetrable Flowing Fortress."
This was the circulation technique for the Heart Protector Meridian, and required the Qi to be dense and vigorous.
"Heart Protector Meridian, also Perfect Opening!"
At this point, Slughorn and the Exalted Cat were just staring at Harry, no longer able to form words.
'You finished the 1st circulation in two days? Ok, fine.'
'You finished the 2nd circulation in two days? Fine, I'll accept that too.'
'You actually finished the 3rd circulation in two days? Well, that's beyond belief.'
'But not only that, you even achieved Perfect Opening! How could this be possible?'
Harry sheepishly broke the silence.
"By the way, I was wondering what's so important about Perfect Opening."