The next few days went by quietly, if not for the ladies who started having breakthroughs, reaching the second stage of their cultivation one after the other.
The first ones to break through were Wei Lan and Wu Yin, who both did so on the second day of Paul's seclusion.
This allowed them to use the technique of their clan to control their urges, as well as the amount of cultivation they would be giving up during their cultivation with Paul.
Anna was next, and she even managed to achieve a perfect transformation, thanks to the advice she received from Paul.
Irina and Natalie had broken through to the lesser mage stage, but in their case, there were some changes to their bodies after their advancement, especially for Irina, who now looked no older than a 25-year-old woman, which was a bit strange because even if the cultivation could make her look younger, the difference was not as noticeable in most cases.
In addition to that, her and her daughter's eye color changed to pink, shocking everyone the first time they saw them after their breakthrough.
This only left Rina, Rin, and Ran, who were approaching the peak of the Apprentice stage quickly; however, they had to restart their cultivation from scratch once their restrictions were removed, so it would still take them a few days to reach the lesser mage stage.
The only ones who didn't need to reach stage 2 were Lia and Nia, since it turned out that they could simply switch their cultivation techniques, as they never learned any other technique than the basic one before.
Additionally, all the ladies who were still virgins took the Pure Maiden Pills, which increased their cultivation speed a bit, and it also purified their Yin essence, making it stronger.
The soldiers were amazed when they saw all the ladies going up a stage within three days.
Not to mention that what they expected to be just another boring detail turned out to be a great opportunity to relax and have fun.
Most of the time, when they were not on guard duty or taking care of their equipment, they were swimming in the pool, using the sauna, or the Jacuzzi.
But what they loved beyond anything else was the training equipment that Paul made, copying some of the equipment he had seen on Earth.
It was easy to use and adapted to the cultivator's needs, as any cultivator above the first stage could easily lift over a hundred kilograms.
So Paul placed magic circles on the weights, making them heavier, while reinforcing the other parts with magic to prevent them from breaking.
On the fourth day of his seclusion, a ripple of energy could be felt coming from Paul's room, signifying that he had successfully broken through to the Muscle and Tendon refining stage.
Then the energy disappeared while his seclusion continued.
The ladies knew he was now attempting to reach the Magwe stage, but they were worried about him since they now knew how hard it was to reach the second stage and how exhausted they felt after that.
However, no matter how worried they were, there was absolutely nothing they could have done to help him.
During these days, no one was looking for Paul, and the only visitor they had was the owner of the residence, asking if they were planning to stay longer, as their rental agreement was about to expire soon.
Anna dealt with this by renewing their agreement for another two months, for which she paid in full on the spot, making the owner happy, since if they left, she would need to look for new tenants, which was not an easy thing to do since there were not many people capable of paying to stay in the residence.
-Do you think Paul is alright in there?
Natalie asked Anna after a week of his seclusion.
-He should be, as far as I know, people at the third stage can survive up to two weeks without water and up to two months without food, and this time only gets longer as their cultivation progresses.
Anna explained.
She read about it in one of the books they bought, and so far, the book has been correct.
To test it out, she didn't drink any water for two days straight, and she didn't even get thirsty.
-Does this mean that if we reach a high enough level, we won't need to eat or drink?
The girl asked, surprised at this revelation.
-It is possible, but the book I read only covered the first ten stages, and at the peak of them, we won't need to eat or drink anything for around a year, and we will survive just fine.
Anna said, wondering if they would stop eating meals every day when they reached the higher stages of cultivation.
Their conversation was interrupted by Elaina, who had just left her room, which surprised them since she had locked herself in there after Fei Fei was taken to the higher realm.
-You're finally out, are you alright?
Anna asked the Elf with worry in her voice.
-I'm fine, sorry to have worried you, but I needed time to think everything through after reading the letter Lady Fei Fei left for me.
She said, calmly.
The letter from Fei Fei left her the choice about what to do if she was captured or killed.
She could stay with Paul, and Fei Fei did not doubt that no one would mind, or she could leave and do whatever she wished to do, with the only exception of taking her own life.
It took her a while to decide, but after thinking things through, she decided to stay with Paul.
There was no way for her to go back home, since she would be treated as a disgrace, and if she was lucky, only exiled; if not, she would be killed.
Traveling the world alone was also not a good choice with her cultivation gone, since it would be only a matter of time before she was captured and sold as a slave or forced into a brothel.
This left her only with the choice to join Paul and his ladies, which was the best choice as far as she could tell.
Staying with them meant that she would be protected, and she would also have a chance to see her lady again.
What's more, Fei Fei has given her permission to become Paul's partner if she wants to, but even now, Elaina has no idea if this would be a good idea.
-Where is Lord Paul?
She asked.
-He's in seclusion, but it should not be too long before he gets out.
Anna answered.
-Do you need him for something?
She asked.
-Yes, I want to ask him to let me stay with you.
-Why do you need to ask?
He won't mind you staying with us, and he definitely won't kick you out if you want to stay.
Natalie said, puzzled by the elf's strange behavior.
-That was when Lady Fei Fei was still here; now I have to ask his permission to stay.
Elaina explained, making both girls even more confused.
-Is this some elf custom?
Anna asked, trying to figure out what this elf was talking about.
As far as she knew, Paul had no intention of getting rid of her.
-It is how my people do things, and even if I can't go home, I wish to honor our ways.
The elf nodded slightly.
-Alright, even though I'm certain he won't refuse, you can ask him once he finishes his seclusion.
Anna said, not wanting to delve deeper into the elf's ways of doing things.
Elaina nodded and walked out to get some fresh air after being cooped up in her room for so long.