"Brother Zhan! Are you overconfident because you emerged as the top scholar, or do you think that I, your older sister, can't wield a knife anymore?" In response to Wang Zhan's attitude, Wang Qi raised her eyebrows, questioning him.
The intimidating aura she was emitting could be felt across the network, extremely vivid. This... Wang Zhan gasped. Thanks to advanced holographic projection and filming technologies, this conversation felt incredibly realistic. Not only could he see the full holographic projections, but every movement, even a suddenly flying bug, was clearly visible. Hence, Wang Zhan could sense Wang Qi's current state. Her aura has enhanced again.
"Sis! Have you advanced further?" Wang Zhan asked.
Wang Qi looked at Wang Zhan. "You unknowingly advanced to the Martial Student Realm. How could I not have advanced? I broke through as soon as I returned to the Martial Arts Academy. I am now a level six Martial Artist."
"Sis! Do you know about body refining?" Wang Zhan contemplated for a moment before asking. King Xing's hint mostly indicated benefits. Being one of the peak Martial Kings of humanity, King Xing wouldn't possibly elaborate in detail about cultivation to Wang Zhan. If his Wisdom didn't suffice, the only solution was to ask.
"How do you know about that!" Wang Qi's expression suddenly changed, and she became serious. "I only learned about body refining this week when the information was distributed from above. We've just realized that being a Martial Artist is merely the beginning. Many of our classmates are now strengthening their foundations. How do you know about this already?"
"King Xing told me." Wang Zhan didn't hide it. Apart from the unpredictable System, there was nothing he needed to hide from his family. Wang Zhan explained everything about being summoned by King Xing and then said, "I was just about to start body refining. I was just a bit confused and couldn't comprehend it fully. Then your call came."
「Chu State Military Academy!」
In the dormitory area of the Third Squadron, in an eight-person dorm room, Wang Qi's face became stoic. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "I have tried the Body Refining Technique, and many of my classmates have tried it as well. Body refining consumes a massive amount of resources and also burdens your body!"
"I have a classmate who forcefully turned himself into a bamboo pole!"
A bamboo pole! Is that even possible? Wang Zhan's mind immediately conjured a scene. It had a strong visual impact! As the Body Refining Technique is gradually promoted and popularized, will a large number of skinny people appear in the future?
This is entirely possible. What is the core of body refining? It is to transform internal energy and externally absorbed energy into nutrients to temper and refine the body's deep-rooted qualities. As a result, one's Martial Arts Path can be broadened and extended.
The adage 'poverty breeds scholars, wealth breeds warriors' isn't without reason. Regardless of whether it was the peace period in the past or the current Martial Arts Era, everyone shares a common understanding. For instance, when evaluating someone, if they encounter a man who is over 1.9 meters tall, well-built, and sturdy, they would say, 'This person is burly and imposing, looks extraordinarily formidable, and definitely possesses great strength; he's not to be trifled with.' If they encounter a weak, short person, they would say, 'This person looks frail.'
In essence, physical strength is related to the body. While physical strength is formless and intangible, everyone knows that it needs to be trained, requires nutritional supplements, and one needs to eat to have energy!
And body refining is about deeply enhancing and consolidating the latent physical strength within the body through special training methods. This process requires nutrition. If nutrition doesn't keep up, the body will consume itself. That's why it's said they become skinny.
"However, you have the reward of Grade-9 Essence Pills, which should be enough. You have to be careful. Martial arts practice is not child's play. Too much is as bad as too little!" Wang Qi concluded.
After chatting for a while, they also discussed the issue of choosing a school. Then Wang Zhan ended the call. Wang Zhan didn't pay much attention to Wang Qi's warning.
In a sense, the maximum value of his current attributes is a kind of Limit. Other people cannot achieve this extreme. Body refining merely aims to balance people's attributes. But his attributes are already maxed out, which is truly breaking the Limit.
Wang Zhan didn't consume the Essence Pills immediately but began to cultivate according to the Body Refining Technique. With his feet slightly apart and slightly bent, his body started to undulate with a special breathing rhythm.
About five minutes later, Wang Zhan started to feel uncomfortable. Sourness and numbness surfaced as his internal energy began to follow the route stated in the cultivation guide. After about half an hour, his forehead and body were soaked in sweat.
Drink! He opened the cap of the Essence Pills' bottle. All the actions were done in one go! This is actually the most valuable part of the reward. A Grade-1 Essence Pill itself is worth 50,000. For Grade-9 Essence Pills, the price is at least 500,000. It's also not a commodity ordinary people can afford.
Compared to Grade-1 Essence Pills, Grade-9 Essence Pills are much more viscous. It was unknown what botanical essence had been added, but the entire color appeared rather azure—exceptionally beautiful, as dazzling as a starry sky.
After gulping it down in one go, he immediately felt a massive surge of energy erupting in his body. His whole person heated up. It felt as if he was fully stuffed and energy had nowhere to vent, or like a traveler in the desert who had encountered an oasis.
With the rhythm of his breathing, his whole body emitted crackling and popping sounds. His intestinal peristalsis seemed to have quickened. Wang Zhan could clearly feel all the muscles in his body constantly trembling. However, he could also feel his strength increasing.
This feeling was very mystical, without a specific reference or standard. However, as the cultivation deepened, Wang Zhan understood that his strength had increased. His skin appeared normal but was firmer and harder than before. His muscles were more solid and compact, and his fascia and ligaments were also strengthening. There were also some changes in his bones and blood.
However, the consumption was also huge. Wang Zhan soon felt hungry!
This was not hunger for food. Hunger didn't just mean needing to eat; it also signified that the body's expenditure had reached a critical state. The external manifestation of this was simply—hunger!
...
Throughout the night, Wang Zhan immersed himself in cultivation, ignoring everything else. Anyway, he would just drink a bottle whenever he felt hungry. Unconsciously, when the artificial Sun began to rise from the end of the light screen, and when the sky outside was already bright, Wang Zhan recovered from his cultivation state.
The first thing Wang Zhan did was check his attribute panel in his mind.
Host: Wang Zhan
Strength: 201
Agility: 201
Physique: 201
Charm: 25
Wisdom: 11
Apart from that damned Charm, the other attributes had grown. Wisdom is fine. But how did the other three basic attributes only increase by one point?
Looking at the four empty glass bottles neatly arranged beside him, Wang Zhan felt terrible. The little blue bottles weren't enough!
In Wang Zhan's assumption, the nine Grade-9 Essence Pills should have allowed him to improve quite a bit. But what did only one attribute point being boosted mean? Leaving Wisdom aside, his Strength had only increased by ten kilograms. However, it was clear that this growth had nothing to do with a breakthrough because Charm hadn't increased. According to the previous pattern, if he had broken through to a Martial Artist, all five attributes would have grown by one point simultaneously. Also, he would need to open up his Dantian to serve as a storage place for Inner Qi.
At this moment, Wang Zhan somewhat understood why the path of martial arts was so difficult and why so few people took it up. If it weren't for the System, at this speed, the resources he would need would have piled up like a mountain.
...
The Sun was shining brightly as usual. In fact, under the light screen, it was never not sunny and bright, except when adjusted for children to learn common knowledge: the seasons, day and night, rain, fog, ice, and snow.
If necessary, the Giant City under the light screen could have sunshine every day and summer throughout the year.
At this moment, the Entrance of No. 33 Middle School was already bustling with promotional activity. Dozens of banners were densely hung on the school gate, the fence, and even on some nearby buildings.
Entering the school gate, the original bulletin board had been transformed into Wang Zhan's special column. A huge photo of him was incredibly striking, alongside reports of his commendable deeds.
Many girls were looking. Wang Zhan secretly glanced once and couldn't bear to look further. Helping the weak, upholding justice... He really didn't know how Principal Cao dared to write such things. He didn't even remember doing them himself.
"Is that Wang Zhan? So handsome!"
"And so powerful. I wish I had pursued him earlier."
"You wouldn't stand a chance. I'm in the class next to Wang Zhan's. Girls chase him every day, but I've never heard of him being caught."
"If I could be his girlfriend, that would be great. Maybe I'll be the wife of a Martial Artist in the future."
Similar words reached Wang Zhan's ears. Wang Zhan remained composed. That damned Charm really was getting stronger and stronger.
"Wang Zhan!" Chen Jun called from the entrance of the Teaching Building.
"Teacher Chen!" Wang Zhan also smiled. The two of them walked side by side, and Wang Zhan asked, "Teacher Chen, is it really that difficult to break through the human Limit?"
Information concerning the Limit had long been distributed as a document. Wang Zhan omitted the matter of the Body Refining Technique and asked his question.
"Did you try?" Chen Jun stopped and looked at Wang Zhan.
"Yeah!" Wang Zhan nodded. "After my chat with King Xing yesterday, I went back and tried. As a result, I used four Essence Pills and only increased my strength by about 10 kilograms. The consumption is too great!"
These words left Chen Jun somewhat speechless. His face was filled with admiration. Perhaps this was a characteristic of top scholars, demanding so much from themselves. He had hidden it too well in the past.
"Wang Zhan! You're wrong. This is normal. Limits! What are Limits? They mean you've already reached the end. At this point, every increment is extremely valuable. Forget 10 kilograms of strength; even one kilogram is difficult to acquire. Sometimes, the difference between victory and defeat is that tiny bit. This is the last straw that breaks the camel's back. Don't think that 10 kilograms is small. What's your current realm? Perhaps when you reach Martial Artist, Warrior, or even higher levels, this difference will be magnified exponentially. Then, will you still think this increment is small?"
"Teacher Chen, I understand. Thank you." Wang Zhan thought for a while and felt much more settled.
However, Chen Jun suddenly said, "Wang Zhan! Yao Yao has dropped out of school."