Su Tianqing remained relatively calm: "What do you mean, not right?"
He knew his son well enough. If Leo Young had revealed some 'strange true nature,' Su He would definitely not have this attitude.
Su He pulled a book from his robes—it was none other than the Scripture of the Heavenly Way. After Leo Young had finished a full cycle of cultivation, Su He had made a trip to the Scripture Pavilion to specifically bring this book out.
"This evening, after his bath, he went to the Scripture Pavilion."
Su Tianqing was not surprised. The Scripture Pavilion of Zhenwu Mountain was indeed a sacred place of martial arts that many dreamed of. However, only true martial artists knew that most techniques had all sorts of demanding cultivation requirements; even obtaining a divine manual was not necessarily useful.
Therefore, in his eyes, Leo Young's action was purely that of a layman. His heart was surging with excitement after entering Zhenwu Mountain, fantasizing about cultivating a divine art and taking off instantly. The vast majority of Zhenwu Mountain disciples who lacked a foundation thought the same way, but what was the result?
It went without saying.
Just as Leo Young had initially thought, those without a stat panel didn't lack Common Traits and unique traits; it was just that someone with a player's perspective like Leo Young couldn't see them. By the same token, the cultivation requirements and breakthrough conditions that applied to players were equally valid for them.
Intelligence was not enough.
High martial aptitude was not enough.
One had to undergo all kinds of tempering to raise their Common Traits before they could cultivate profound martial techniques and arts.
...Of course, there were also those like Leo Young who could directly ignore the cultivation conditions, but that was an exception and not within the scope of this discussion.
Su He could naturally guess what Su Tianqing was thinking, so he was no longer in a hurry. With the thought of 'I'll see what your reaction is in a moment,' he slowly calmed down and said deliberately:
"Then, he selected this manual, read it for about the time it takes for a fifth of an incense stick to burn, and put it back."
As the Sect Master, Su Tianqing's understanding of Zhenwu Mountain's martial arts manuals far surpassed Su He's. He nodded slightly: "To retreat in the face of difficulty is a wise choice."
Su He abandoned all unnecessary preamble. He stared directly at Su Tianqing and said calmly, "He learned it."
Su Tianqing was slightly stunned, then slowly responded, "He learned... what?"
It was a very stupid question. Anyone who connected the dots would know what art Leo Young could possibly have learned.
Had Su He mentioned any other technique?
And yet, Su Tianqing still asked. Just as Su He had failed to immediately think of the only manual Leo Young had browsed in the Scripture Pavilion, Su Tianqing could not believe that someone with no martial foundation could learn the Scripture of the Heavenly Way in three minutes.
Su He did not answer, nor did he need to.
Sometimes, silence is the best answer.
Su Tianqing slowly began to understand his meaning.
"...The Scripture of the Heavenly Way is not some exquisitely profound, peerless art. The martial principles within it are not deep. Even a disciple of mediocre aptitude, with a bit of daily effort, could 'understand' it after two or three years of cultivation. But to truly comprehend it demands exceptional Comprehension. Over the years, very few on Zhenwu Mountain have been able to comprehend this art... A fifth of an incense stick? That's not even enough to read it through once!"
Su Tianqing paused, his expression turning serious as he said sternly, "He'er, you are usually undisciplined. I have beaten you and scolded you, but it has been to no avail. On this matter, however, you must speak honestly. Do not, on a whim, bring ruin upon others and yourself!"
Su He remained silent, merely gazing at Su Tianqing. Silence was still the best answer.
"...I understand."
Su Tianqing was silent for a long while before finally speaking, "Tomorrow morning, go and bring him to me. I will teach him personally and see for myself what he is truly made of."
——————
Meanwhile, on Leo Young's side, after completing one cycle of cultivation, he felt a slight discomfort in his body.
...Because his growth was too fast.
What was the speed of a normal person cultivating the Scripture of the Heavenly Way?
Suppose a character has 20 points in Constitution and 40 in Comprehension. This is already an outstanding talent, perhaps not found in one out of ten thousand people. In a small sect, they could even be the successor—after all, very few people can afford to practice martial arts full-time, so a one-in-ten-thousand talent can easily become a one-in-a-hundred-thousand or even one-in-a-million talent.
In that case, this person's cultivation speed would be 30^2, which is 900. Then, multiplied by a final experience acquisition multiplier, let's say 3, for a total of 2700 points. Without special unique traits, that's about it. Even with a higher martial aptitude increasing the multiplier, the progress wouldn't be much more exaggerated.
The experience required to break through the first realm of the Scripture of the Heavenly Way is 300,000 points.
This means that after 112 cycles, one would just break through the first realm. If the cultivation process goes smoothly, that would take 224 hours.
So, what about Leo Young's speed?
With 19.5 Constitution and a Comprehension judged at 459 (originally 153), the average is 239.25. Square that, apply the final experience acquisition multiplier, and then add the extra double settlement from 'Body of Prime Origin,' and the final experience gain is over 900,000!
It could be said that at this point, the gap between martial artists was laid bare. This wasn't just about Leo Young; it was the same for other martial artists. Those with special physiques, unique traits, or simply explosive Constitution and Comprehension stats had cultivation speeds that normal martial artists could never hope to match.
But back to the matter at hand.
If things had gone smoothly, Leo Young could have broken through the first realm of this art in a single cultivation session, and even completed a third of the experience bar for the second realm... however, his Constitution couldn't take it.
Constitution affects a player's internal art cultivation speed and power output, and this includes a 'limit.' The lower the Constitution, the more limited the experience that can be gained in a single cycle.
Simply put, his cultivation speed was too fast. The torrent of Internal Breath was too violent, and his meridians couldn't withstand it!
To use a more modern analogy, it was like Leo Young trying to run a AAA game on an antique computer; the machine's temperature soared higher than an old man's blood pressure.
900,000 far exceeded the limit his Constitution could bear. Therefore, after one cycle, most of the experience dissipated, and it even caused Leo Young slight discomfort... Even so, the final result was still considerable, filling nearly one-sixth of the first realm's experience bar, which amounted to almost 50,000 points.
And as Leo Young's martial aptitude grows, this acquisition limit will continue to increase.
But, martial aptitude, being 'pure theory,' has its limits. It's like tweaking a computer's settings and parameters or adding various software aids—it can undoubtedly make the game run smoother and more stable. But at the end of the day, to break through this limit, one must rely on changes to the 'hardware' of Constitution.
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