Chapter 601: Dual Cultivation

As Kana opened her eyes, all the Moon Crest Academy elders disappeared.  They did not wish to disturb her training. At this time, Kana's lips were curled up into a bright smile. The water from the waterfall was once again beating down on her body. But it was not as bad as it was before. She felt her body had grown much stronger. She could also tell something new formed within her chest. But she was not alarmed by it as she could feel that it was sending out warm waves of energy throughout her body. She felt that all her senses were also boosted by a lot as well. Such a feeling made her very happy. "It seems I have finally begun to see the effects of cultivation."

Clenching her fist a few times, she could feel that her strength had grown by leaps and bounds from before. "I guess I should take a small break. My stomach is rumbling." 

Kana went to stand up, totally forgetting that the stone she was standing on was covered in slippery moss, and with a single misstep, she went sliding off the rock and into the lake. Kana resurfaced, spitting out a mouth full of water, and cursed out: "Damn it!"

With a pout on her face, Kana began swimming over to the lake's shore. Just as she arrived, three familiar figures were walking up. "Kana!" Mei Ling yelled out as she came running up. 

"Good timing." Shi Yu said as she handed over a dry set of robes. "Wear these, so you do not get sick. You may be a cultivator now, but until you reach qi gathering, you can still get sick." 

"Mmm..." Kana nodded, and with the girls' help in blocking any prying eyes, she quickly changed her clothes.

Once she was changed, Shi Yu handed over a towel so Kana could dry her hair. "Your hair is really pretty..." Mei Ling said as she held a lock of it in her hand.

"Thanks," Kana said with a smile, patting Mei Ling's head. At that time, a loud rumble came from her stomach, causing her to blush.

"You cultivated for three days straight. It's no wonder you are hungry. You should take fasting pills next time in order to sustain yourself." Shi Yu said with a chuckle.

"Three days!?" Kana shouted out. She never thought she was cultivating for that long!

"Mm... You were in a good state of mind. I can tell you already broke through to the second stage of body refinement, and the aura you give off feels more like a rank one demonic beast." Shi Yu explained. 

"I do feel much more powerful than before. I also have a strange core thing near my heart as well that is slowly sucking in spiritual qi." Kana wondered just what this core thing was. She could tell it meant her no harm but had no idea what it was.

"So you finally formed your beast core!" Shi Yu said excitedly. She knew for demonic beast forming a beast core was essential to their cultivation!

"So this is a beast core. Does that mean I can't cultivate like a normal human?" Kana asked. She was very confused.

"Remember how Elder Ning said you could cultivate both ways? That you could not only cultivate as a human but also as a demonic beast. In order for a demonic beast to cultivate, they need to form what is called a beast core. Once they form one, they will automatically become a rank one demonic beast. As time goes on, they will slowly grow in strength from consuming spiritual herbs and eating other beast cores. But I do not know if you have to do such a thing or not. We will need to wait for Elder Di to come back with that information. But it seems you are able to dual cultivate, which makes me jealous." Shi Yu said with pursed lips. Kana's ability to dual cultivate will always make her more powerful than her current realm. 

"Then I will need to make sure I cultivate properly. Shi Yu, thank you for everything. In the future, when I am able to stand on my own, if there is anything I can ever do for you, just ask." Kana could only promise to be of service later on when she is strong enough to repay the favor she was being granted today.

Shi Yu smiled and nodded. "Then, when that time comes, I will not hesitate to request your help." 

The girls walked back to the small courtyard. The rank two spirit gathering array was already working well, gathering large amounts of spiritual qi within the small courtyard. As the sun was setting, Liu Na had run off to get some ingredients so they could have dinner before going back to their immortal caves at the sect. 

An hour later, the sounds of crackling fire and happy laughter could be heard as the smell of roasted meat permeated through the air. "Then the demonic beast came running after Mei Ling, causing her to scream and fright and run in the opposite direction!"

"Why are you telling her about that!? What was I supposed to do? The ugly thing was frightening looking! It's not my fault I ran in the wrong direction..." Mei Ling pouted when her embarrassing story was revealed.

"You were screaming, Big Sister Yu, save me the entire time." Shi Yu teased.

"Boo! I was not..." Mei Ling pouted even more, causing everyone to laugh.

Kana laughed along with them as she thought back to her first days after she woke up in her new world. Especially the evil rock….. To this day, she is still wary of rocks while in dragon form. As the night grew darker and the fire began to sputter out, Shi Yu, Liu Na, and Mei Ling all headed back to the sect after saying goodbye to Kana.  Kana walked into her and sat down on the bed. She did not wish to waste any more time. She found that even after cultivating for three days she had not felt even the slightest bit of tiredness. Since that was the case, she would cultivate at night instead of sleeping in order to maximize her cultivation time.