From various texts, Cultivators of the Immortal Sect discovered that before the Calamity of Heaven's Fall, their predecessors widely believed life-and-death battles were the fastest way to break through bottlenecks, advance their Realms, and achieve enlightenment.
In fact, for a time, the entire Immortal Sect was so convinced of this that the practical combat score once made up 50% of the total for the college entrance exam.
However, with the popularization of cultivation for all, it was discovered that this was a flawed view born of "survivor bias," as all those who failed to improve in life-and-death battles simply died.
Moreover, extensive data analysis has shown that bottlenecks exist due to a lack of understanding.
They can be caused by hidden injuries, insufficient training, or other factors that the Cultivator is unaware of. This is why they get stuck at a certain Realm, unable to advance. No matter how much you fight, you are only improving your proficiency with Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques.
Of course, intense battles aren't completely useless. The reason the ancients believed in them is that every all-out fight unleashes a portion of a Cultivator's latent potential.
That's why in class, Li Xiaoshuang had repeatedly instructed the students that Cultivation after completely depleting one's True Essence would yield twice the results with half the effort.
But after Chen Che tried it a few times, he found it wasn't very effective.
It wasn't just him; other students had a similar feeling.
Gradually, fewer and fewer students were willing to do it.
"So that's the reason!"
"The Spiritual Qi on Earth Element Star is sparse, so recovery takes a long time, making the effect less obvious. But in Yunzhou, where Spiritual Qi is abundant, the results would be perfectly clear."
Chen Che mused. 'Take my current Cultivation for example. On Earth Element Star, it takes four hours or more to recover my True Essence with the Energy-Introducing Technique.
'Even if I did improve, I'd just chalk it up to my own arduous Cultivation.
'But in the Cave Mansion, it only takes a little over half an hour. The effect is practically instantaneous.'
This frantic Alchemy was grueling.
But it was also a form of Cultivation.
Chen Che suddenly felt that Foundation Establishment, which once seemed so far away, was now beckoning to him.
'A pity.'
'If I could just borrow Old Li's Miniature Crystal Brain Plus 3, I could see exactly how much progress I've made from this Cultivation session.'
'My phone's processing power is too weak. The most it can do is detect which Realm I'm in.
'Once, when I was at the Qi Refining Third Layer, it even had a system failure and gave me a faulty notification for "Peak Great Perfection of Qi Refining Third Layer."'
Of course, borrowing the Miniature Crystal Brain was just a passing thought.
'My Cultivation progress is classified information. I can't let anyone else see it.'
...
The Magic Skill Class continued its lesson on the Rain Walking Technique.
In Elixir Medicine Class, the lecture was on the Bone Marrow Supplement Pill.
After class, Chen Che followed his usual routine and took his Pill to Ding Dawei for critique. Ding Dawei gave it high praise, but also told him to keep practicing, because skill is gradually mastered and perfected through repeated Alchemy sessions.
These skills and techniques were directly related to the final yield and quality of the Pills.
In the afternoon was Wei He's Martial Arts Class.
This man, as powerfully built as a Beastman, made an announcement right before class started. "From this day forward, Chen Che is our Martial Arts Class representative!"
Before anyone had a chance to applaud, Wei He continued,
"Students, in your first year, we learned some routine exercises to improve flexibility and stimulate Qi and Blood, as well as some simple offensive techniques. This semester, we will build on that foundation and begin learning the *True Martial Seventeen Scattering Hands*!"
'A new technique to learn?'
Chen Che's eyes lit up, a thrill of excitement running through him.
'Every new skill I learn gives me a better chance of establishing a foothold in Yunzhou.'
The other students were also buzzing with excitement. The name alone sounded badass.
"The Immortal Sect's top Body Refining Cultivators from the Buddhist, Daoist, and Demonic paths spent a century creating this. It is a discipline that encompasses the entirety of unarmed combat."
Wei He's booming voice carried across the training field.
A group of first-years also having Martial Arts Class immediately cast envious glances over, and quite a few looked eager to secretly learn a few moves.
But they were immediately reprimanded by their own martial arts teacher:
"Don't look at the others!"
"Your Qi and Blood isn't strong enough. If you force yourselves to practice this, you'll only end up injuring yourselves."
Then, worried his students might try to copy the moves, the teacher shouted a cadence and led them away to a corner of the field for their own drills.
"This technique is enough to last you until Foundation Establishment! If you can demonstrate all of it during the college entrance exam, you're guaranteed a spot in Yiben Daoist School, and you might even have a shot at one of the Four Top Daoist Schools. But that all depends on whether you have the talent and perseverance!"
Wei He's words made all the students' breathing quicken.
'Master it all, and I can get into the Four Greats!'
'A chance at a top Daoist School?'
At this moment, even Chen Che didn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that all the students had tensed up.
"Students, watch carefully. I will now demonstrate the full set once!"
As Wei He spoke, he took out thirty-six reinforced concrete slabs from his Storage Pouch and lined them up in a row. Each slab was two meters high, about one meter wide, thirty centimeters thick, and weighed around a thousand jin.
He cracked his neck and loosened up his body.
BOOM!
The next moment, a terrifying aura erupted from his body, as if a slumbering beast had suddenly awakened.
This powerful aura was almost tangible, causing the surrounding air to crackle sharply. With his body at the center, powerful waves of air instantly billowed outwards, making everyone's clothes flap violently.
Wei He's body blurred.
As if teleporting, he appeared before a concrete slab and threw a punch.
BOOM!
Before the students' horrified eyes, a reinforced concrete slab exploded, instantly turning into a cloud of dust. Even the rebar inside was completely twisted.
Then, he shifted his body, swept his leg, and another concrete slab turned to dust. His moves seemed ordinary, but each strike blew a slab apart. In the blink of an eye, seventeen concrete slabs had been shattered.
"Holy shit!"
"So badass!"
The first-years in the distance immediately burst into exclamations of amazement.
In contrast, the students of Chen Che's class were so shocked by the scene before them that they were speechless.
GULP!
Chen Che swallowed hard.
'If it were me, I could probably manage it by mobilizing all my True Essence, but I'd probably run out after shattering half the slabs. But Wei He didn't use any True Essence; he relied purely on his physical strength.'
This powerful display of martial might made Chen Che's blood boil with excitement, filling him with anticipation for the rest of the class.
Just as he was thinking this, Wei He suddenly turned to look at him.
"Class representative!"
"Present!"
Chen Che quickly puffed out his chest.
'I've often heard that some lazy teachers first teach the class representative, who then teaches the rest of the class for them.
'I've always been so envious when I heard those stories.
'Is it finally my turn to enjoy such a privilege?'
Just as his imagination was running wild, Wei He cleared his throat and continued:
"Clean up this mess on the ground!"