Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System-Chapter 42: Two Years’ Time

Murphy closed his eyes and focused, sinking his entire consciousness into his body.

As he circulated his Breathing and Guiding technique, his Perception Power, honed by continuous Cultivation, had finally been elevated to a certain level.

It was only then that he could truly "see" the barrier that had troubled him for so long.

According to the knowledge contained within Breathing and Guiding, the meridians in the human body are divided into three levels.

The most fundamental are the Twelve Main Meridians, like major highways running in all directions. Next are the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, like bridges connecting those highways. At the deepest level are the countless Floating Meridians, as fine as silk threads. They are like the capillaries that cover the earth—minuscule, yet omnipresent.

The origin of these Floating Meridians could be traced back to the very beginning of life.

When an embryo forms in the womb, the first things to appear are these primitive networks of Floating Meridians. They are the initial channels for Life Energy.

As the life form develops, twelve of the most prominent Floating Meridians gradually strengthen to become the Twelve Main Meridians. Eight special Floating Meridians evolve into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. The vast majority of the remaining Floating Meridians, however, stay in their primitive state, forming a vast, intricate network deeply interwoven with the entire body.

The reason Murphy’s Qi had previously been unable to grow stronger was that his Twelve Main Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians were already filled to their absolute limit. The Qi coursed through these fully developed meridians, unable to expand by even a fraction.

It was like a well-tended field that had reached its maximum yield, no matter how much fertilizer or water was applied.

More importantly, only by continuing to strengthen his Qi could he continue to nourish and fortify his physical body.

Now, after three months of accumulation, the Qi inside Murphy’s body was filled to the brim. Just as water overflows when a container is full, his Qi, having reached its limit, began to spontaneously search for a new outlet.

But relying on the Qi to slowly seep out on its own would take an unknown amount of time and waste a great deal of precious Qi.

So, what Murphy had to do now was actively guide the overflowing Qi and slowly infuse it into the first, most distinct Floating Meridian.

At first, the process was incredibly slow and arduous, like a tiny stream seeping into parched earth.

But as the Qi continued to pour in, that Floating Meridian expanded from the width of a fine hair to that of a thick one.

Murphy felt as if all the Qi in his body had found a new home, flowing joyfully through this newly opened "field."

At the same time, with his current perception, he could clearly feel his physical attributes, which had stagnated, begin to grow once more.

His muscle fibers grew tougher, his Bone Density continued to increase, and the function of his internal organs became even stronger.

However, Murphy didn’t grow complacent. He quickly suppressed his joy at the breakthrough and began to cultivate the next Floating Meridian.

’No, perhaps I shouldn’t call it the "next" one. The Floating Meridians spread throughout the entire body, interwoven into a network with no sequential order.’

Each Floating Meridian was a channel within this intricate web, all interconnected and interdependent.

The next stage of his Cultivation, then, would naturally be to expand this entire network of Floating Meridians to its limit.

He had to make every single Floating Meridian reach the same limit as the Main and Extraordinary Meridians, unable to expand any further.

It was destined to be a long process.

Cultivating the Main and Extraordinary Meridians had already taken him several years. Weren’t the Floating Meridians hundreds, even thousands of times more numerous?

Yet Murphy was not concerned. The path of Cultivation was destined to be long, and he had plenty of patience.

Furthermore, Red Leaf weighed eighteen times as much as he did, and with an appetite to match, he could obtain enough nutrients from its feed to support his Cultivation through Deduction.

...

「Two years passed in the blink of an eye.」

In those two years, Baron’s Castle had undergone significant changes.

The year before last, the castle had once again laid off twenty percent of its servants. The workload for those who remained doubled, leaving them exhausted and constantly scrambling.

Even when Kelvin got married, there was no grand celebration.

It wasn’t until the following year—this year—that the high-pressure situation began to ease.

The reason was simple: the situation around New Wood Town had changed.

Due to years of famine and cold, the territory’s population had plummeted. As a result, the amount of arable land per survivor had increased.

Although taxes remained heavy, farming outside the castle had become a more viable way to survive than nervously serving the nobility within its walls.

After all, if you worked the fields, you could still make a living after paying your taxes.

But in the castle, not only was the work exhausting, but the slightest mistake could get you whipped, injured, and even thrown out.

The upper echelons of Baron’s Castle also realized that tax revenues had peaked.

If they increased their exploitation any further, the peasants would either flee or starve in the fields, which would only lead to abandoned land and a dried-up tax base.

With this relative improvement in the external environment, the castle was forced to relax its management slightly and rehire the twenty percent of staff it had previously laid off.

Of course, this was still a far cry from its heyday.

As evening fell, the three friends gathered in Murphy’s dormitory as usual.

"If you ask me, things have finally stabilized," Bart said, gnawing on a piece of black bread. "Murphy, you’re twenty now, still an Upper-class Groom making four copper plates a day. Isn’t it time you thought about settling down?"

Hank chimed in with a laugh, "Annie from the laundry has been waiting for you for two years. She’s eighteen now, practically an old maid. I heard she turned down several marriage proposals just for you."

Bart winked. "And it’s not just Annie. That new girl in the kitchen, Mary, has taken a shine to you too. She’s only sixteen, much younger than Annie."

Murphy just shook his head slightly. "I’ve said it before. I’m not considering marriage."

Hank couldn’t help but say, "But Annie has waited two whole years for you! How many two-year periods does a girl have to spare?"

Bart tried to persuade him too. "For people like us, it’s a blessing just to have someone who cares for you. Annie has a good temperament and knows how to run a household. Where else would you find a girl like that?"

Murphy’s tone was firm. "I’ve said it. I’m not considering it, and that’s final."

He said it so decisively that there was no room for argument.

In his eyes, these girls, who toiled all day long, simply didn’t interest him.

Their hair was greasy, their skin dark and rough, and their teeth were yellow. Due to habits formed in the cold of the Northern Lands, their personal hygiene wasn’t even as diligent as his.

Compared to the bright-eyed, pearly-toothed Miss Douglas he remembered, the difference was like that between heaven and earth.

Hank sighed. "Annie would be heartbroken if she heard you say that."

"Then she’ll be heartbroken," Murphy said, standing up and dusting off the corner of his clothes. "It’s time to feed Red Leaf."

Watching Murphy’s retreating back, Bart and Hank looked at each other and shook their heads.

By now, how could they not see that Murphy’s ambitions soared far higher than those of a typical servant? But in a castle with such a rigid hierarchy, how high could a Groom possibly climb?

...

「One month later.」

During his noon break, Murphy was taking a nap in his dormitory next to the main stables.

Suddenly, a low voice came from outside the window. "Murphy, pack your things. You’re coming with me."

Murphy immediately recognized the voice. It belonged to Arthur, one of the followers, who was Red Leaf’s new owner—and now, Murphy’s new master in name.