Before starting the simulation, he didn't forget to use six of his free Mastery points to improve his professional talent Sword Mastery to level 7, to improve his training efficiency.
As for the other five points, he left them for emergency.
With Level 7 Sword Mastery, which improved his sword skill proficiency by an additional 70%, he started the simulation.
[ You invest fifty points of Source Power into concurrent cultivation and evolution of the Iron Body Foundation Art and the Flowing Spirit Sword Forms. ]
[ You cultivate for 1 day. Practicing the physical sword forms while actively manipulating your internal mana breathing is incredibly difficult. You struggle to maintain the rhythm. Progress is slow. ]
[ You cultivate for 10 days. The 70% proficiency boost from your Level 7 Sword Mastery fully kicks in. Your body starts to adapt to heavy multitasking. Your sword swings become sharper, and your breathing deeper. ]
In the void, the phantom Alex didn't stop to eat, sleep, or rest. It moved constantly. Every time it stepped forward to thrust the wooden sword, it inhaled the invisible mana.
Every time it pulled back to defend, it exhaled, forcing the energy deep into its blood and bones.
[ You cultivate for 30 days. You experience a small improvement. The Serpentine Musculature allows your spine to twist at impossible angles, increasing the deadly reach of your blade. Progress is steady. ]
[ You cultivate for 50 days. Your internal mana pathways widen. The cool Yin energy perfectly fuses with the physical strain of the continuous training, slowly improving the sword energy, enhancing it with cold attribute. ]
[ Your skill 'Iron Body Foundation Art' successfully entered Level 3 (Minor Achievement)]
The moment the Iron Body technique leveled up, the phantom's movements shifted as the air around the shadow distorted slightly as it sucked in twice the amounts of mana with a single, deep breath.
[ You cultivate for 100 days. Your body is pushed to the absolute limit. The repetition burns into your muscles. The mana flow becomes a permanent, passive current in your veins. You no longer need to actively think about breathing; your body does it automatically. ]
[ You cultivate for 150 days. You experience a period of slow progress. The bottleneck is tight, but you continue to swing the sword thousands of times a day without stopping. ]
[ You cultivate for 200 days. You feel a sudden, small inspiration! You realize that fighting the air resistance is pointless. You learn to let the blade flow like a river, cutting the wind instead of pushing it. ]
In the dark void, the phantom was no longer just practicing stances; it looked like it was performing a deadly dance, one sword move connecting with the other seamlessly.
The wooden sword moved so fast it became a blur. There was no hesitation, no wasted movement.
[ You cultivate for 250 days. The repetition burns into your soul. The heavy wooden sword feels as light as a feather in your hands. You feel a sudden inspiration and achieved breakthrough! ]
[ Your skill 'Flowing Spirit Sword Forms' successfully entered Level 4 (Major Achievement). ]
Alex gasped in the mental space. At Level 4, the Flowing Spirit Sword wasn't just a set of moves anymore.
It was like an instinct. The phantom glided across the void, its footwork completely silent. A single horizontal slash carried enough compressed force to cut a boulder cleanly in half.
[ You cultivate for 300 days. Your progress is steady. Your muscles are constantly torn and repaired by the mana constantly absorbed by your breathing technique, becoming incredibly tough under your soft, flawless skin. ]
[ You cultivate for 400 days. The mana inside your mana circuit begins to compress violently. It presses against the walls of your mana circuits, trying to break through to the next physical state. You endure the agonizing pressure. ]
[ You cultivate for 480 days. You push past the pain. The mana you absorbed begins to coat your skeleton, forming a highly durable, internal armor. You learned a new defense skill Iron Fortress Level 1. ]
[ You cultivate for 500 days. The physical conditioning perfectly syncs with your heartbeat. Your skill 'Iron Body Foundation Art' successfully entered Level 4 (Major Achievement). ]
[ Simulation Complete! ]
CRACK!
The dark mental void shattered. Alex's eyes snapped open in the real world.
"AHHH!" A completely uncontrollable scream tore from his lips as the system fed five hundred days, almost two years of brutal physical training experience directly into his real body and mind in a matter of seconds.
Under the effects of the Major Achievement Iron Body Foundation Art, his physique improved at a rapid pace, becoming similar to how strong it was at the end of the simulation.
Even without the Professional attribute bonus, he felt that with his current strength he should be capable of fighting with D rank swordsmen.
His cultivation level remained at the E rank due to the limitations caused by the simulated avatar being unable to breakthrough during the simulation, but the mana inside his newly formed Sword Seed pumped furiously, flooding his body with ice-cold, refreshing energy that spread across his entire body, increasing his mana capacity.
Reaching peak E-rank and stopped just a little bit short of break through to D rank
"Haa... ahh... fuck!" Alex cried, his hands gripping the bedsheets so tightly his knuckles turned completely white.
He tossed and turned, his body convulsing and tightened, becoming terrifyingly strong without adding any bulky, masculine mass.
As the agonizing pain finally began to fade, leaving behind a deep, throbbing ache of exhaustion, Alex lay panting heavily on his back.
He forced his eyes open, staring up at the dark ceiling. His chest was heaving violently, trying to suck in as much air as possible.
The wet, transparent fabric of his t-shirt clung desperately to his chest. Because of the intense physical feedback and the heavy breathing, his soft, underdeveloped breasts were pushed up, entirely visible beneath the soaked cotton.
"Level 4, Iron Body Foundation Art and the Flowing Spirit Sword Forms… Thankfully, both broke through to Major Achievement," Alex breathed out, a weary, beautiful smile touching his soft lips. "Succesfully met the requirements for a C Rank Swordsman."
"Although, he was still very far away from reaching level 5 (perfection) in his skills, that's enough for now," He didn't wait, but chose to spend all the rest of his Source power on directly improving his cultivation level.
He didn't hesitate anymore and chose to proceed with the simulation.
Unlike the fast improvement caused during the skill training, the improvement in cultivation was slower than he thought.
The mana he absorbed during the training in the void was all converted directly from the Source Power he spent on the simulation.
This changed the simulation time ratio from 1:10 to 1:5. That meant one point of Source Power was equal to five days of simulation.
Eighty-two points meant exactly four hundred and ten days of non-stop, internal cultivation.
Instantly, his vision went completely dark. His consciousness was violently pulled back into the infinite mental space.
The phantom version of himself appeared again. But this time, it didn't hold a sword.
It sat perfectly still with its legs crossed, executing the Level 4 Iron Body Foundation Art breathing technique with flawless, rhythmic precision.
[ You invest 82 points of Source Power into Cultivation Level simulation. ]
[ You cultivate for 1 day. Practicing the Level 4 Iron Body Foundation Art breathing technique, your phantom body acts like a giant vacuum. You aggressively draw in the dense mana, merging it with your cool Yin-Serpent energy. ]
[ You cultivate for 15 days. Your E-Rank Sword Seed pulses rhythmically inside your heart. The mist like Yin mana flows effortlessly through your mana circuit pathways, widening your veins and strengthening your internal organs.]