At first the ripple is stopped and corruptive power gathers. Slowly the ripple begins to be devoured, weakened, transformed, and ultimately corrupted into those powers Jason first rejected. But just like Jason’s new foundation, this ripple is not alone and from within the space all the elements provide support. Even those powers that had been pushed out later on.

And from each of those powers, a spark rises up and joins the wall created by the ripple. A glow develops that should have been unseen if not for some very high-tech energy monitors surreptitiously placed around the home after the exclusion zone first formed. All along the edge this glow spreads as more sparks form and join in until finally the corruption can no longer hold the line.

If before the area around Jason’s house was free of the corrupting energies because it was trying to avoid his attention, now it was being pushed back and could no longer enter even if it wanted. The ripple continues outward for quite a distance, eventually covering the entire arcology. Along the way, its progress is almost unnoticed except for a few strange happenings.

The shadows seem to grow darker and yet less sinister. Various seedlings that had been failing for no discernable reason perked up. The water purification plant saw a sub-percentile rise in efficiency and the fusion reactor experienced the slightest moment of lowered output almost not detected by the instruments before returning to a hair above normal.

Though not all the results are good. Some healthy seedlings died. Older trees all started to lose patches of leaves early. The condition of a handful of elderly people worsened, and a number of very secret experiments suddenly failed. All of this the result of those corrupting powers being expelled. Things that had gotten a dose of them and resisted like the dying seedlings would suddenly be freed. Others that had been taken over by the powers would in turn be hurt as they get stripped away.

And around the entire arcology in a great sphere there is a layer of those expelled powers. But it doesn’t last long. Those powers quickly disperse themselves and fade into the background once again. For that short period of time, though, a number of sensors are going crazy and more data is collected than had been in the last few decades. To say that there were some excited scientists is underselling it.

Of course, none of this is known to Jason. During those moments his entire attention is turned inward, even the thread of consciousness he usually keeps watching for threats. Everything is in place and stabilizing but Jason waits until he can feel the change. The first step isn’t the hardest but for someone who hasn’t ever walked before it is going to pretty darn difficult.

But with time the energy in Jason’s dantian settles down and solidifies and the shock-wave happens. Still, he is turned inward, missing the havoc his first step into cultivation causes. He can feel the power start to flow through his body without prompting. The energies nourish his muscles, supports his bones, his brain begins to shift as the pathways within it optimize, and so much more.

Jason isn’t stronger or tougher and he isn’t smarter. But from now on, all those things are more easily within his reach as his cultivation base can finally support him. While the stage has many names and isn’t always the first step or even done, he finds this step the most important. The stage has so many names but Jason prefers the simplest one, body building. Where one forges the physical form in all aspects. Preparing oneself to handle the later stages and the power that can bring.

And while Jason would love to spend more time observing the changes happen. Partly to make sure nothing is going wrong and mostly because while nothing is changing too quickly it is the most magical of changes he will experience for a while. Time will not allow it. His alarm had gone off at some point to indicate he needed to get back into NeoRealm. Worse, it didn’t just go off but had been ringing for a while.

Jason cracks an eye to check the time only to find he is almost an hour overdue. Doesn’t sound like much until you realize that with the time difference he is now five hours late. A quarter of the day is gone, but not wasted. If he stuck around any longer though, it would be going into waste territory so Jason stands up.

There isn’t anything to clean up, luckily. Unlike how some of the novels portray it, you don’t excrete impurities out of your body like crazy. While the body will become more efficient at removing things it isn’t to that extent. Plus, the body has a number of much more efficient ways to remove waste.

With a quick stretch, Jason heads back to his pod and gets in. Through his waiting room and directly into NeoRealm. He might have missed breakfast, but that doesn’t mean he has to miss the rest of the day. Not that he is going to do all that much. After his discoveries the day before, it is going to take some introspection to figure out how best to rid himself of the System’s lines.

After hitting up the kitchen for some vegetables, Jason settles back down on his bed. Because of the houseplant, he already has something to try things on so doesn’t need to head out. Though speaking of the houseplant, it is looking a bit sad and reminds him of the scamps who turned aggressive on him. Perfect for him to examine and figure out what exactly is going on.

At least with an animal, it is easy to turn aggressive. How is the System cursing the plant to just die? First Jason takes the plant and examines it manually. All the special examinations in the world won’t help if the reason it is dying is because of some other reason. Of course, with his farming skill and some miscellaneous knowledge Jason easily crosses that out. Not that he expected otherwise, but checking simple things like that can save a lot of time in the long run.