"Dantian Core seems okay. Both the primary and secondary." Jin talked to himself. The Meridians are fully opened as well, no obstruction in that." He took another breath in and started to push the Maqi to move faster through his circuits now that he had completed a cycle.
Eventually, he managed to connect all the circuits with ease but for some reason, the quality of the Maqi was not the same as he had imagined it to be. Jin wondered if he had been too used to being a Grade 4 Cultivator in the Synthesis World that he could not feel and understand what it was like to be of his previous grade.
He took another deep breath and now started to exude a Maqi aura. This time he was going to pour out as much Maqi as possible so that the System could measure the quality and quantity of the Maqi.
"Quantity and Quality had surpassed for Grade 1, commencing check for Grade 2."
"Quantity and Quality had surpassed for Grade 2, commencing check for Grade 3."
"Quantity and Quality had surpassed for Grade 3, commencing check for Grade 4."
"Quantity and Quality had not surpassed for Grade 4, recommencing check for Grade 4 and Grade 4 Peak."
"Quantity and Quality had not surpassed for Grade 4 but reached Grade 4 Peak. Commencing validity checks for Grade 4 Peak."
"Error. Invalid Check. Error. Mismatch of Quality. Rechecking Quantity and Quality check for Grade 4 Peak."
"Error. Invalid check for Grade 4. Performing backward checks for Grades 3, 2, and 1"
"Error. Invalid check for Grade 3. Error. Invalid Check for Grade 2. Error, Invalid Check for Grade 1."
"Results: No Cultivation Grade available for User. Suggested result: Commoner. Error."
"User has Maqi Aura. Recommencing and checking for Quantity and Quality for Magic Levels 1 to 4. Error. Suggested Result: Commoner. Error."
Jin heard the errors multiple times but decided not to think much about it and kept pouring his Maqi out regardless of the results. Yet the System continuously gave an error that eventually Jin got fed up and stopped.
"What the hell? That much Maqi and I failed your usual tests?" Jin said as he panted a little.
"User, the System suggests that you portray your cultivation grade to the System for verification." The System said and Jin closed his eyes and did as he was told. When that happened, he could hear and feel a couple of footsteps surrounding him. Not just that, he felt the presence of four other beings right beside him as if they were alive. They were breathing in and out just as a normal being would as well.
This made Jin curious and opened his eyes to see there were four pandas that were waiting for Jin to open his eyes. The moment he did, they pounced on him and he could feel the weight of the Pandas as well as their fur.
"System, what are you doing? Why are you putting out these Pandas here for me?" Jin asked and the System gave a negative answer.
"The System did not produce those Pandas out. Look closely." The System replied and Jin then noticed that their paws and fur whenever he ruffled them, there was some sort of yellowish dust that emerged and it sparkled. Not only that, their black fur felt like it was the darkest of the nights while the white was the brightest of it all. They were not natural looking Pandas but rather, they were Perfectly molded Pandas.
"No way. This can't be…" Jin realised what he had created and the possibility that he had indeed dropped his Grade.
"Usually, whenever a cultivator portrayed their cultivation, silhouettes emerged. If such a cultivator would be at its peak, its silhouettes get sharper and clearer, meaning that had a better understanding of his own chi abilities as well."
"…" Jin did not make any comments as he hugged the 'live' Astral Pandas.
"But User had successfully made your cultivation alive. The Pandas you are hugging is the culmination of your understanding of your cultivation."
"No, I don't know shit about it."
"But your subconscious does especially after what it had experienced in the Synthesis World. While this is the System's theory, just as Sub System User Lynn had experienced your Maqi and gained enlightenment to be able to unlock it, your subconsciousness had understood the understanding of cultivation and enabled you to portray the best of the best abilities from you." The System added that even when Lynn had been exposed to Maqi previously even in large quantities, her body did not react to it at all. It was when her subconsciousness had been exposed to Maqi and even practiced how to use Maqi, Lynn was able to wield it effortlessly.
"Fuck…" Jin knew what that meant. If his portrayal of cultivation could only show four Astral Pandas, it means that he was technically just a Grade 4 cultivator.
"The System might beg to differ but needed evidence to show that its hypothesised theory holds water," A punching bag came down right beside Jin and the System requested Jin to hit as hard as he could, just like when he had done so every time he gained a grade previously for record purposes.
Jin knew that tangible results were the only thing that mattered now that the current cultivation tests were not able to get anything out of him. Perhaps, those tests could not detect this kind of 'ultimate peak' cultivation grade but a punching bag could.
Thus, Jin put down his pandas who eventually yawned when left alone and started to laze together. Only when the Cultivator started to gather his chi within his fist, the pandas begin to disappear since the portrayal of cultivation was over.
As always, he cleared his mind of all distractions as the Maqi around him began to gather around each of his fingers and subsequently in each piece of muscle fibre within his hand and later enveloped his entire right upper limb.
When he believed it was the right time to do so, he let it go.
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