Garion stood in the middle of the Learning Hall at the start of the morning.
The disciple stood in neat lines, each holding their thick anatomy book.
"It’s been one month. You’ve trained your bodies, eaten like beasts, and studied than most scholars."
He paused, letting the words hang in the air. Then his lips curved into a smirk.
Everyone held their breath.
"We’ll see how much you actually learned about the human body."
A wave of groans instantly filled the room.
"Master, have mercy!"
Garion chuckled softly.
"Mercy? You joined the God Gym, not a tea club."
A few disciples exchanged nervous looks.
"I’d rather lift a mountain than do this..."
Garion flicked his fingers, and glowing sheets of paper with quills appeared in front of everyone, shocking them all.
"Answer the questions. You have exactly one hour to do it."
Everyone quickly flipped the page, inks scratched hurriedly, filling the room with panic.
"Where’s the part about the stomach again!?"
"Was the heart on the left or right!?"
"I forgot how many bones a person has!"
Garion watched and smirked, clearly entertained.
"I taught you all this every single day. How can you forget already?"
He walked between the rows, occasionally glancing at someone’s paper.
"No, the heart’s not in the middle like a rock. It’s tilted left. You’re not writing a fantasy novel here."
Some disciples gulped, frantically erasing and rewriting.
Meanwhile, Arden, the timid and quiet boy who stood in the front, was trembling as he wrote his answers.
But still, his eyes were calm and focused. His quill also moved quickly, each line neat and sure.
A disciple beside him peeked over and whispered in surprise.
"You already finished that part?!"
Arden blinked and nodded, whispering back.
"I studied every night," Arden muttered, almost embarrassed.
The others groaned in disbelief. One even sighed.
"I knew it. The quiet ones are always the scariest."
Garion stopped behind Arden, leaning forward to peek at his paper.
Arden’s answers were clean, precise and perfectly detailed, surprising Garion.
Arden froze, then nodded back.
"T-thank you, Master!"
Garion straightened up and continued walking.
"Good. Keep it that way. The rest of you should learn from him."
A ripple of frustration went through he class.
"Great. Now the teacher’s pet is the genius."
"I can’t even spell ’esophagus’..."
"Shut up, maybe he’ll share notes later."
When time ran out, Garion clapped his hands, and the papers floated toward him.
He began checking right there in front of them, flipping through each answer with speed.
"Wrong. Wrong. At least you tried. Not bad. Terrible handwriting. Decent. Wrong again."
Then suddenly his eyes widened.
"The hell is this?! Is this drawing supposed to be a potato or a heart?"
Some disciples buried their faces in their hands.
Finally, Garion stopped, holding up one paper.
"Now this... this is perfect."
He turned it around for everyone to see the neat writing and well-labelled sketches.
Arden flinched, standing quickly.
"Rank one. Full score. You’re the top of this batch."
Arden scratched his head, face red.
"I-I just... read the book a lot."
"That’s what happens when you actually use your brain instead of complaining. Learn from him."
He looked around at the others, his grin sharp.
"Don’t be disappointed. Most of you did well. You’ve all improved more than I expected."
He waved his hand, and everyone’s test scores appeared as glowing numbers above their head.
All of them were above average, far higher than what they had expected.
"See? Even the slowest among you scored a bit higher than average. You’re not just muscles anymore. You’re smart muscles."
Laughter rippled through the hall. Even the nervous disciple smiles, the tension easing.
Garion nodded with satisfaction and then turned to Arden again.
"And you kid... Good job. You’ve got a sharp mind. Don’t let fear dull it."
Arden straightened his back, bowing deeply.
"I’ll do my best, Master."
"You’d better be. Because now..."
He paused for effect, letting the tension rise. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
"It’s time for your reward."
Every disciple instantly perked up, eyes widening.
"Is it food? Please let it be food!"
"No, idiot! It’s probably something better than that!"
Garion chuckled, enjoying their reactions.
"Calm down. You’ll one more than extra meat at dinner."
He let the silence stretch again before speaking.
"Starting today, I’ll teach you the foundation of our God Gym’s true cultivation method..."
He raised his hand dramatically.
"The [God Physique Cultivation Art]."
The entire hall buzzed. The disciples looked at each other with wide eyes.
"The [God Physique Cultivation Art]?"
"That’s the real cultivation art of our God Gym?"
"We finally get to learn it!?"
Garion grinned as their excitement grew.
"Yes. This is the true cultivation art that separates us from every other sect in this world."
He let his words hang in the air before suddenly saying.
"But before we start..."
Garion nodded slowly.
"Of course. You think I’d just hand you something so important without making sure your brains are working?"
Several disciples groaned in unison.
"Every time, Master..."
"I should’ve known there’s a catch."
"Can’t we just train first, then study later?"
Garion ignored them, his grin not fading.
"Now, can anyone tell me how the first realm or the Mana Refinement Realm works in the first place?"
Finally, one disciple raised his hand hesitantly.
"Uh... we refine mana... right?"
Garion tilted his head.
The disciple blinked.
"Uh... by... breathing?"
Laughter rippled through the hall. Someone even whispered.
Garion sighed dramatically.
"Breathing helps you live, not refine mana. Anyone else."
Another disciple stepped forward, looking a little nervous.
"Master, it’s when we draw mana into our lower abdomen, then gather it together to make a mana pool."
Garion smiled, nodding.
"You got it. But still... can anyone explain it better?"
The hall went quiet again.