Back home, Shen Han's mind was filled with how to raise his Mental Energy to over three digits within four months.
Based on the original owner's Physique and Cultivation Aptitude, even with daily meditation training without the aid of Cultivation resources, he would only see an increase of one or two points, which was still some distance from the minimum requirement.
Therefore, for the remaining four months, while continuing with the original training plan, he also needed to find ways to acquire external resources.
According to current market prices, each unrefined Spiritual Crystal Stone could boost Cultivation speed by about 30% and would only last for about a month, meaning he would need at least ten of them.
Each Spiritual Crystal Stone cost around 20,000 yuan. It would be easy to talk to Uncle Li, but Li Muhua also needed resources to improve, so he couldn't bring himself to ask. He really had to rely on himself.
Shen Han searched his memories and found that besides the house he was living in, his parents had left no other assets or Legacy. He needed at least 200,000 yuan to buy Spiritual Crystal Stones, and the only way to quickly get this amount in the short term was to sell the house.
If he still couldn't successfully Awaken, he would only be able to accumulate Mental Energy and Awaken as a societal Martial Artist in the future, but the path of a societal Martial Artist would be even more arduous and difficult.
Therefore, the school's Awakening ceremony was his excellent opportunity.
"Not becoming a Martial Artist? That is absolutely not my choice!"
Shen Han took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and firmly told himself. He understood that this was a path he had to take, even if it was full of sacrifices and uncertainties.
To avoid being manipulated by fate, he would rather fight with his back against the wall, moving forward regardless of the consequences. He wanted to become a true Martial Artist, no matter the cost.
He acted immediately. Contacting a real estate agent went smoothly, and within about a week, he signed a contract with a new buyer, then quickly rented a one-bedroom apartment nearby.
The house sold for around 400,000 yuan. Shen Han immediately bought 15 Spiritual Crystal Stones and directly entered a state of Cultivation in his rented room, racing against time to increase his Mental Energy.
His eyes were slightly closed, maintaining slow and deep breaths. The Spiritual Crystal Stone next to him released a moon-white halo as Shen Han began to meditate. The halo slowly flowed into his body with each of Shen Han's breaths, and a faint coolness entered his Sea of Consciousness, nourishing his spirit.
A month later, he retested his Mental Energy value: 78.
"Not bad, an increase of 10 points in one month. Besides being much more diligent than usual, it's also thanks to the Spiritual Crystal Stones I bought. At this rate, I should be able to Awaken then, and with good luck, I might even get a decent Rank Special Ability."
After he Awakened, he would choose a good Martial Skill to Cultivate for one or two semesters, and then he could start taking on missions to earn income.
During this month, Shen Han spent his evenings diligently meditating, and his days catching up on everything about this world.
It turned out that compared to the previous Earth, people here, whether in physical fitness or Mental Energy, far surpassed those on Earth. Not only humans, but the animals and plants of Lan Star were also much stronger.
All of this was due to a Spiritual Qi resurgence several hundred years ago.
However, because of the Spiritual Qi resurgence, animals, also called Strange Beast (Evolved Beasts) here, also became more fierce and cruel. Many of them preyed on humans, and human domestication of Evolved Beasts was far from the level of Earth in his previous life. Here, humans and Evolved Beasts were more in a relationship of mutual slaughter and hostility.
To acquire better survival resources, humans needed Martial Artists to expand territory and seize resources, which led to a martial spirit.
In short, this was a more brutal world than his previous life. To survive and live better, one could only climb higher in the Martial Dao, making oneself strong enough to protect oneself, friends, and Family.
"Han-ge, I haven't seen you after school lately?"
During class break, Li Muhua leaned over.
"I'm just making full use of every moment to improve my Mental Energy. After all, I don't want to give up on this Awakening."
"Go, Han-ge. My hopes are pretty slim. My dad bought me some Spiritual Crystal Stones, but it cost our Family a lot of savings. I've also been trying hard to Cultivate this month, but the speed really isn't picking up. I just tested it, and it's almost 70, still a ways from 100."
Li Muhua was a bit dejected.
"Keep it up. As long as you can Awaken and become a Martial Artist, that's what matters. Even if you Awaken an E-Rank or F-Rank Special Ability, it's much better than not being able to Awaken at all."
... There was one month left until the Awakening ceremony.
Xue Yixiang walked to the podium: "Students, this is the last test before the Awakening ceremony. Everyone should have a basic understanding of their Mental Energy values. Whether you can successfully Awaken, your Mental Energy value is a very important indicator. A Mental Energy of 100 is a reference value; the higher it is, the higher the probability of Awakening, and the higher the probability of Awakening a high-Rank Special Ability. Of course, this doesn't mean that around 90 there is no chance, but the probability of Awakening is indeed not high."
"For this last month, everyone can adjust their training plans based on the values from this test. All available resources can be put to use. Don't be stingy with buying Spiritual Crystal Stones, Quenching Spirit Liquid, or higher-Rank resources. Every year, some students miss out on Awakening by just a few points. I'll emphasize one last time, 100 is a relatively safe value; the higher, the better. You can go back and tell your parents to spend what needs to be spent and use all the resources you can. Alright, let's start the test."
[Lü Ziming, 111]
[Li Zhenqiang, 91]
[Zhu Yunzheng, 93]
... [Shen Han, 98]
[Li Muhua, 90]
"It seems everyone has been very diligent over the past three months, making significant progress compared to three months ago."
Xue Yixiang nodded, his tone filled with approval, "This is very good; your performance is even better than the previous batch of students. However, don't be too happy yet. I'm going to pour a bucket of cold water on you now. In No. 1 and No. 2 High Schools, Prodigy Geniuses with Mental Energy exceeding 130 have already appeared in our current batch. They are similar in age to you but are already far ahead in Mental Energy. Everyone still cannot relax; continue to work hard to improve."
A low murmur of whispers came from the students; the previously excited atmosphere immediately became serious and tense.
Everyone was initially pleased with their progress, but upon hearing about the strength of their rivals, their hearts were instantly alerted. This huge gap made many people's faces heavy, and anxiety, even a hint of unease, arose within them.
Xue Yixiang saw their reactions and smiled slightly, with a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.
Back home, Shen Han inventoried his resources. Aside from the remaining 2 Spiritual Crystal Stones out of the original 15, he had about 90,000 yuan in leftover funds. The 2 Spiritual Crystal Stones would only last about two weeks, which, while enough to raise his Mental Energy to 100, still required further investment to Awaken a high-quality Special Ability. As expected, Cultivation required wealth.
After purchasing a bottle of Quenching Spirit Liquid with the remaining 90,000, he would have about 10,000 left, enough for two or three months of rent and living expenses. If he couldn't successfully Awaken, he would truly be at his wit's end.
"Fine, I'll gamble. If I can't become a Martial Artist, holding onto the last few tens of thousands of yuan is meaningless."
He felt a resolute force surge within him. For him, Awakening was not just a symbol of status, but a path to changing his destiny. In this world where the strong reigned supreme, being unable to become a Martial Artist meant being suppressed at the bottom of society, drifting with the current, forever controlled by fate. But Shen Han was unwilling to accept such an outcome; even with a sliver of hope, he would do everything in his power to seize it.