Chapter 419: Dual Cultivation’s Advantages and Disadvantages

"Yeah." She nodded. She was still a fourth circle mage even after so long.

"Well, it is not a bad thing."

She was still pretty young after all. She would be turning eight in the next two months, although they would probably be on a different continent by then. There probably would not be any large birthday parties this time around.

Aria shook her head.

’Okay, focus.’

She was already a fourth circle mage, but Adrian did not want her to become a knight yet. Even if she could not train as a proper knight, that did not mean she could not train her physical body. She needed to exercise to keep improving her physical capabilites until Adrian gave her the green light to start training as a knight.

Aria nodded firmly.

She opened her door and rushed outside, running straight toward the training grounds to join the knights.

And just like that, time quickly passed.

Aria used the three weeks to train herself while Adrian, Claire, and Serena spent those exact same three weeks with their own form of training.

By the end of it, Adrian had remained at the same mage rank. This was not particularly surprising since he was already at a pretty high rank when it came to his magic circle. Plus, he had only recently received a massive increase to his mana veins and knight rank anyway.

Despite that, he had still made considerable progress.

He had gone from the early stage of the fourth circle all the way to the late stage. He basically reached the maximum point of the fourth circle, and now the only thing remaining was to break through to the fifth.

The problem was that he had no idea how to force that breakthrough. He needed to stabilize his mana heart and veins first, and unlike simply increasing his raw mana, that was something that could not be rushed.

Still, reaching the peak of the fourth circle in only three weeks was a great achievement. Especially considering the fact that he had not even used a single mana crystal during the entire process.

Adrian sat up on the bed and looked down.

Claire and Serena were still panting beside him with the sheets pulled up over them. Both girls had satisfied smiles on their faces, and seeing them like that filled Adrian with a deep sense of pride.

"So, how did the training go? I would like some feedback, my fair ladies." he asked with a smirk on his face before he paused and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I mean, we have been doing this for three weeks and I haven’t really asked either of you about your progress."

Claire looked up at him and sighed.

"Well, you basically wrung us out like a damp cloth. But I guess I can take it as a compliment considering the fact that you could not get enough of us."

Serena immediately blushed and hid her face in a pillow.

Adrian already knew exactly how Claire’s brain worked by now. He simply smirked, leaned closer, and whispered right next to her ear.

"How could I ever have enough of you?"

Claire froze.

Adrian smiled. "Do you want to go for another round? I still have some energy left."

Claire’s face immediately went from its usual fair color to a deep crimson. She became even redder than Serena’s normally flushed face. She quickly looked away from him, suddenly becoming completely meek and silent.

"Shut up," she squeaked, her voice going up into a high pitched tone.

Adrian chuckled before turning his attention toward Serena. She was the first one to actually give him a real answer.

"I ranked up to the third circle, but I am still only at the starting stage," she muttered.

She hesitated slightly.

"Most of the mana was used to reinforce my mana veins though, and I ranked up once."

Adrian nodded. "So what rank are your mana veins now? Earlier you were E rank, right?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah."

She smiled slightly.

"I have got D-rank mana veins now."

Adrian nodded again in approval.

"D rank. That is pretty good progress for only three weeks."

"Okay, that is good," Adrian nodded. "I will give you a few books. Well, I guess only one book. But that single book should have almost every third-circle spell, along with first and second-circle spells. So just learn a few of those spells that you feel might be useful for you."

He didn’t say anything else to her and turned to look at Claire.

"What about you?"

Claire sighed heavily.

"Well, I went from the limit of C rank to getting very close to the limit of B rank. I have been stuck at the top of C-rank for months. No matter how much I trained, I was just unable to break through to B rank. I am actually pretty surprised that I could do it in just a single day, just from spending time with you. All it took me was one single night to break through to B rank, and then for the next few weeks, it basically just helped me grow even stronger."

She leaned her head back against the headboard.

"I don’t think that regular training would ever match up to this speed."

Adrian nodded.

"Yeah, but there is a big drawback with this method. When you use regular training methods, you feel your body. You feel how the mana circulates through your own blood and muscles. But when you mix your mana with sexual energy, it becomes autonomous."

He gestured with his hands.

"Once your mana merges with mine, and that combined energy is sent back into our bodies, it moves on its own will. This has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the mana naturally knows what to do and where to go. There is rarely any way for it to go wrong. But the disadvantage is that it disables you from actively feeling your own body and from connecting to yourself."