The term "Dual Cultivation" has come up so many times already, I bet you all have been fantasizing about it for ages. Last time we went to the big grasslands and forests for some R&R, Jill Young was the first to bring it up—half joking, half serious. Honestly, from every angle, the twins are just perfect for Dual Cultivation.
But before you all start grinning like creeps, let’s get one thing straight: just because I said "Dual Cultivation" doesn’t mean you should immediately start imagining all sorts of R-rated stuff. That’s not what this is about! Let’s fix your worldview right now: Dual Cultivation simply means two people practicing together—sounds obvious, right? But seriously, that’s all it is. It’s got nothing to do with those unspeakable moans and groans you’re thinking of.
The idea is, two people team up, help each other out, and together they get results that are way better than what either could do alone.
Here’s the simplest example: getting a back scrub. If you shower alone, scrubbing your own back is nearly impossible—especially that one spot in the middle that drives everyone nuts. But if you’ve got a buddy to help, problem solved!
Of course, back-scrubbing isn’t exactly Dual Cultivation, but the principle is the same. It’s all about teaming up, playing to each other’s strengths, and working together to achieve something you just couldn’t pull off solo.
See? Doesn’t that sound way more wholesome? Exactly—Dual Cultivation is just a normal activity. Only a certified goofball would think it’s weird or taboo. — Wait, why do I always put a dash in the middle of the word? Why does typing this totally normal phrase get censored into a bunch of asterisks?
Well... cough cough, I feel like if I go into too much detail, this whole chapter will get banned, so let’s just skip it and get back to the real topic.
There are two main factors that determine how well Dual Cultivation works: trust and synergy, and how well the two parties’ traits match. The more you trust each other and the more in sync you are, the better you’ll fit together, and the deeper you can share and benefit. That means way better results.
That’s why, most of the time, Dual Cultivation works best between lovers or married couples. In alchemy and cultivation circles, you-know-what is indeed a deep and convenient method of Dual Cultivation, but it’s definitely not the whole story.
Of course, Dual Cultivation comes with its own risks. If you’re out of sync or use the wrong method, at best you’ll get lousy results, at worst you could damage your core. Plus, there are plenty of demonic sect techniques that are basically traps—lots of folks have had their energy drained and foundations ruined.
Of course, that's all beside the point—let's get back to the twins. Honestly, there's no need to spell it out: even across all the worlds out there, you'd be hard pressed to find a pair more perfectly suited for dual cultivation than Jill Young and Jack Young.
Even before they got their hands on any proper cultivation manuals, just plain old teamwork had already worked wonders for them. Thanks to all those rounds sparring with Teacher Yang and endless schemes to refine their energy, Queen Jill could merge ten powers into one dragon without a hitch. In the last martial arts world, Jill Young scooped up a pile of divine manuals and pretty much kicked open the door to the dual cultivation universe.
Now that everything’s in place and the wind’s blowing our way, what are we waiting for? Time to get down to training!
There's a lot to work on, so first things first—we need a game plan. You know what they say: sharpening your axe won’t delay chopping wood. So, step one for these two? Make a training schedule. A month ago, when they first arrived at Sunmoon Peak, they dove right into this.
The twins sat cross-legged, facing each other with such serious faces you’d think they were scientists cracking some world-shaking puzzle.
"Look, we've got a whole stack of manuals here—Dragon-Tiger Inner Alchemy Manual, Triple Peak Harvest Technique, you name it." Queen Jill pulled out a mountain of books from her storage, grabbing them up like a deck of cards. "Which one should we start with?"
"How about this one?" Teacher Yang immediately raised a book, its cover boldly stamped with 'Triple Peak Harvest Technique.' "This one looks pretty interesting to me."
"Rejected! Your suggestion isn’t feasible. Let’s go with mine." Queen Jill raised another book, its cover carved deep with 'Yin-Yang Compendium.' "Let’s start with this one. I bet if we snip you, and you use the Bright Moon Divine Skill, you could totally pull off becoming a girl."
Teacher Yang thought about it seriously, then carefully voiced his opinion: "Maggie Monroe would murder you."
Queen Jill also pondered it for a moment, then proposed a hypothesis with mock seriousness: "What if Maggie Monroe is secretly into girls?"