The elders sat around the long tables, books open, cadavers opened even wider, their faces pale and sweaty.

One elder rubbed his temples hard.

"Three days… and we're still only halfway through the muscle groups?"

Another elder pointed shakily at the opened chest cavity in front of him.

"How… how can ONE BODY have this many parts?! Why is there a tiny tube next to another tube next to another tube?! Are humans built like this?!"

Dahlia leaned over his shoulder.

"Yes. That's the artery, that's the vein, and that one is where you messed up earlier."

He jumped. "M-Messed up?! What did I..."

She tapped the cadaver's rib. "You broke the rib wrong. If this were a real patient, they'd be dead."

"…It is dead," the elder whispered.

Rynar burst out laughing from across the room.

"He's right! The guy's already dead twice!"

Rynor elbowed him. "Don't say that. Their spirits might sue us."

Clara and Eliza were more serious, showing diagrams and pointing at organs.

Clara lifted a heart model. "This pumps blood."

Eliza added, "And the mana travels inside the blood. Not around the body like mist, which is what most people think."

Several elders froze.

"…Mana travels…in the blood?"

"That's impossible!"

"Where did this knowledge even come from?!"

Garion, who had been leaning against the wall, pushed off and walked over with a small grin.

"You're overwhelmed because everything you knew before was wrong. Completely wrong."

The elders winced.

Garion tapped a cadaver's chest lightly.

"But once you understand the body, you'll understand cultivation better."

Another elder raised a hand weakly.

"M-Master Garion… three days… We studied three whole days without rest… and we still feel like we know nothing."

Garion raised both hands casually.

"Welcome to the real path. Even I haven't mastered everything. But you don't need to know everything... just enough to transform yourselves without blowing up."

Half the elders gulped.

The other half looked at their cadavers like they might cry.

Garion clapped once.

"Alright. Break's over. Three days are nothing. Get back to learning."

A chorus of groans filled the room, but everyone shuffled back to their tables.

---

Two days later, every elder had dark circles under their eyes.

One elder suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide.

"I… I finally understand how the blood carries mana!"

Another elder slammed his hands on the table.

"I FOUND THE LYMPH NODES! I KNOW WHAT THEY DO!"

A third elder raised a finger dramatically.

"So the heart isn't just a mana pump… It is a BLOOD PUMP TOO?!"

Dahlia pinched the bridge of her nose. "…Did you think it was decorative?"

They coughed and avoided her eyes.

Garion stepped in, smirking.

"Good. Looks like you finally absorbed the important parts. Not everything... just what you need for cultivation."

Rynar nudged Rynor with a grin.

"They look half-dead, but at least they're smarter now."

Rynor whispered back, "Smarter corpses, basically."

One elder glared at them tiredly. "We heard that."

Arden stepped forward with the others, holding a stack of diagrams.

"Alright, elders. You survived anatomy. Congratulations."

Clara lifted another set of notes. "Now we move on to the fun part."

Eliza nodded. "Transforming your bodies."

Every elder froze.

"…Fun?"

"…Transforming?"

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

Garion grinned and patted a cadaver affectionately.

"It means you're ready. Dahlia, Arden... teach them how to cultivate the God Physique path."

Dahlia nodded and pointed at the diagram.

"First step, remember how blood is formed?"

Several elders nodded shakily.

"…Bone marrow produces blood," one elder muttered.

"Good," Dahlia said, grinning.

"Now visualize it. But this time, you're adding mana into the bone marrow. Imagine the mana slipping inside and mixing with the blood right when it's created."

Arden continued, tapping the paper.

"Then follow the blood flow. See it travel through your veins. Guide that mana-rich blood into a single cell you choose. Only one."

One elder gulped. "And… then the cell will…?"

"Absorb it," Dahlia answered. "Greedily. Like Rynar at an all-you-can-eat buffet."

"Hey!" Rynar yelled.

Rynor elbowed him. "It's true though."

The elders tried not to smile.

Arden raised a finger.

"And once you wash that cell with mana-rich blood again and again, it'll change.

Dahlia nodded sharply.

"Until it becomes your first [Mana Pool Cell]."

One elder frowned nervously. "And… then?"

Garion leaned forward with a mischievous grin.

"Then you shove even more mana into it until it evolves again."

Arden finished, voice steady.

"That's when it becomes a [Mana Core Cell]. Your first step into the God Physique."

The elders exchanged uncertain but determined looks.

Dahlia clapped once.

"Alright! Sit down. Close your eyes. Visualize your blood flow. Start pulling mana into your bone marrow."

Rynar leaned toward Rynor, whispering loudly, "Should we tell them this is the easy part?"

Rynor whispered back, "No. Let them stay hopeful."

Several elders visibly flinched.

Garion chuckled, folding his arms.

"Relax. If Raviel and Aveline can do it, so can you. Now get moving."

One by one, the elders sat, closed their eyes, and began channeling mana into their bodies.

---

One by one, the elders' breathing changed as the first signs of transformation appeared.

"I… I did it! One of my cells... It's different!"

Dahlia stepped in front of him, nodding with a small smile.

"Good. That means your [Mana Pool Cell] formed properly. Keep going."

Another elder groaned softly as his body trembled.

"I-I think mine is changing too!"

Arden leaned in, checking their auras.

"Yes. That's it. Don't panic. Keep the mana flowing into that one cell. Don't let it disperse."

Soon, more elders showed the same signs.

Garion smirked from the side. "Looks like you guys aren't as slow as I expected."

Several elders twitched, but they kept going.

Dahlia clapped her hands loudly.

"Alright! Those of you with [Mana Pool Cells], listen up!"

The elders straightened, sweating, exhausted, but focused.

She pointed to her chest.

"Now you force mana into that pool until it becomes a [Mana Core Cell]. Same idea as forming a Mana Core back then."

One elder gulped. "B-But how exactly…?"

Dahlia leaned forward.

"Think of how your Mana Pool used to compress into a Mana Core. Same principle. Just shrink that whole process down into a single cell."

Arden added, calm and patient:

"Imagine the mana swirling tighter… compressing… until the cell changes shape."

The elders looked terrified.

Garion laughed.

"Relax. If Raviel and Aveline can do it in a few hours, you can too. Now quit overthinking and push the mana."

Dahlia nodded firmly.

"Feed it mana. Over and over. Don't stop until it evolves."

Rynar cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted:

"IF IT DOESN'T TRANSFORM, FORCE IT HARDER!"

Rynor pointed at the trembling elders.

"That's right! Suffer now, power later!"

Dahlia smacked both twins on the head without looking at them.

"Stop scaring them."

Garion grinned. "No, keep scaring them. Fear helps cultivation."

And so, with trembling breaths and determined eyes, the elders pushed mana into their cells…

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