Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Crazy
Yang Shen gazed at the "Microscale Raincloud" in his hand as if it were a curious little toy, finding it utterly fascinating.
A corner of the Xuanqi mysteries of Cultivation had been unveiled.
The sparse raindrops fell into his palm, and soon, a small puddle had gathered. Yang Shen curiously took a sip.
It was sweet... rich in "Spiritual Power" that a Martial Artist could absorb.
But... the loss was probably not worth the gain at all.
He had expended Spiritual Power equivalent to 0.5 points of his Qi and Blood Value, but he probably didn’t even get 0.1 back from absorbing it.
Because Spiritual Power wasn’t some revolving door; what went out didn’t just come back in.
Generating the cloud, gathering water vapor, and keeping it from dissipating all required consumption.
No matter how miraculous Spiritual Qi or "Source" was, the law of conservation of energy still had to be obeyed... at least, at Yang Shen’s current level.
Stopping the "Ganlin Curse," Yang Shen poured the small handful of clean water into a potted plant in the corner of the room. According to the inheritance’s information, if this "Ganlin" wasn’t absorbed by a plant and its soil, it would quickly dissipate.
The potted plant was a common snake plant. This tiny amount of water only dampened a corner of the soil, showing no immediate change. Yang Shen planned to check on it tomorrow.
Afterward, he tried out all the other "Little Tricks" that wouldn’t cause too much of a disturbance. Each was magical in its own way, but something like the "Bee Control Technique," which required a specific target, couldn’t be used.
On Cyan Blue, a planet rich in "Source," humans weren’t the only ones whose bodies were changed by it; there were also existences like "Source Beasts" and "Exotic Insects."
For example, "High Source meat" was actually from special Source Beasts raised on a massive scale, crossbred with livestock over generations to eliminate their aggression while retaining their Source-infused bodies.
His Uncle had gone out to sea only to encounter a migration of powerful Sea Beasts. Compared to the land, the situation in the ocean was far more complex and terrifying.
’Maybe in the future, I can check if there are any special bee-type Exotic Insects on Cyan Blue.’
Excitement was one thing, but he couldn’t stop his training for the night. He wanted to reach the second level of Qi Cultivation as soon as possible, develop "Qi Sensitivity," and then, at the third level, open his "Qi Sea."
As for Martial Arts, his short-term goal was to have a Qi and Blood Value of over 180 by the time he returned to school from the training camp, enter the mid-stage of Bone Training, and get a good score on the monthly exam.
Yang Shen hesitated no longer. Immersing his mind, he began another night of All-Night Cultivation.
The path of cultivation is long; perseverance is what matters.
The search for the Dao is fraught with hardship; a constant mind must not stray.
---
The sixth day of the training camp began as usual, meaning the ten-day trip had entered its second half.
Only the snake plant in his room had quietly become even more vibrantly green.
The young men and women had all forgotten their worries about "Martial Arts Psychosis," gradually coming to think they were just here to improve their scores. After getting to know one another, it even started to feel like a camping trip.
Young people are like that. A short period of living together can cause feelings to heat up quickly. It doesn’t matter how long those feelings might last; in this moment, they were fiery hot.
Even now, some of the youths were still staying up all night whispering to each other about everything from personal hobbies to celebrity gossip.
It seemed a second-year girl had even confessed her feelings to a boy. Yang Shen didn’t know the outcome, but he saw the two of them eating at the same table the next day.
As third-years, Yang Shen and his two friends were a bit removed from it all, but that didn’t stop them from observing and enjoying the lively atmosphere.
At dinnertime, a nearby farmhouse restaurant delivered the food. Tonight’s meal was especially lavish; they had set up two charcoal grills, and everyone gathered on the viewing platform for a barbecue.
Yang Shen sat in a camping chair at the edge of the platform, staring blankly with a drink in hand, but he was actually observing the surrounding vegetation.
After obtaining the "Spirit Plant Inheritance," he was actually quite curious if there were any noteworthy Source Grass or Source Fruits in these mountains. Unfortunately, the training camp was relaxed on the outside but strict on the inside. To prevent anyone from having an episode, they were under the teachers’ watch 24 hours a day.
It was impossible to leave the main group and go into the mountains.
Xu Bamboo was with Yang Shen, their shoulders lightly touching. She was leisurely eating barbecue, letting out a cute, silly laugh. "Hehe~ This barbecue is so good."
Yang Shen: "Have you never had it before?"
"Of course I have, but rarely. I’ve only had it three or four times in my entire life..."
Xu Bamboo took a sip of her drink and wiped her greasy lips. "I’m going to go grill some more. What do you want?"
"Just... chicken wings, I guess."
Xu Bamboo got up excitedly and joined the army of grillers.
A little while later, Huang Gang came back with a handful of skewers. Seeing Yang Shen empty-handed, he pursed his lips and handed one over. "Here. The master chef grilled it. You’re lucky."
"Which master chef?"
"Chef Huang."
Huang Gang plopped down next to Yang Shen. The seating wasn’t fixed, so Yang Shen didn’t say anything.
Yang Shen took a couple of bites. It tasted alright. "Is your cramp any better?"
Huang Gang moved his leg. "It still feels a little weird, but it’s bearable."
At noon, Huang Gang had a sudden, severe cramp. The muscle in his calf was twitching visibly under his skin, and the pain had the guy rolling on the ground.
Thankfully, Yang Shen had pulled out his "Copperman Anti-Fall Oil" and sprayed it on for him.
While devouring his skewer, Huang Gang asked casually, "Yang Shen, what’s your Qi and Blood Value now?"
Yang Shen: "155."
Huang Gang paused. "How can it be that fast... Just how many Supplements did Xu Bamboo secretly give you?!"
But then, as if deflated, he added, "Forget it, forget it. It’s not about the Supplements anyway. Even if you gave me that much, I wouldn’t be able to absorb it all. It would just build up in my body and make me sick..."
He had thought his own progress over the past few days was significant, but compared to Yang Shen, the difference was like heaven and earth.
"Is Fist Intent really that powerful? The speed at which you absorb Qi and Blood is just insane! You’re so lucky... *Sigh*..."
Yang Shen was noncommittal. "It’s alright, I guess. You, on the other hand, I didn’t expect you to work so hard. I thought you’d be crying and begging to go home by the second day."
Huang Gang was silent for a moment before finally mumbling, "I thought about it... I wanted to run away on the second day. It was too tiring."
"On the second day, I got a huge blister on the bottom of my foot, my whole body ached, I didn’t even have a change of clothes, and I stank to high heaven."
Yang Shen: "Yeah, I could smell it. And your snoring shakes the heavens every night."
’If I actually slept, I would have had to beat him up one of these nights.’
Huang Gang gathered the metal skewers together, clutched them in his palm, and imagined he was holding a treasured sword.
He swung the "sword" forward, sending a few sesame seeds flying.
"I must have been crazy, taking out an online loan to try that ’Buddha Sound Body Forging.’ My dad beat me half to death. I didn’t dare go home for days; I just slept at an internet cafe."
"When I got the call from the police, I thought I was going to jail. But in the end, it turned into this training camp. At first, I wanted to study hard, but by the second day, I wanted to run away again."
Yang Shen shrugged. It was just small talk; he wasn’t demanding an answer.
He just took out his phone, sent a picture of the barbecue to the contact saved as "Tractor," and asked if he wanted to join the fun.
’A mature tutor needs to learn how to proactively maintain client relationships.’
Huang Gang stared at the grease on the skewers in his hand, his voice low as he mumbled:
"I’m always like this. Sporadic bursts of motivation, followed by a chronic desire to just lie flat. When I try, I lack perseverance, but when I slack off, I’m not content with it... I’ve wasted so much time going back and forth."
"But this time is different. I’m going to give it another try. You’ve provoked me."
Yang Shen asked curiously, "How so?"
"If even someone as pathetic and miserable as you hasn’t given up, what right do I have to quit?"
Yang Shen: "Wow, thanks a hell of a lot. Don’t you have the slightest bit of respect for someone a whole realm above you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll beat you up?"
Huang Gang chuckled. "Go ahead. It’s not like you haven’t beaten me before. I’ll just count it as gaining practical combat experience."
"Then I should just beat you to death. That way, there’d be no ’experience’ to talk about."
Xu Bamboo returned with her skewers, holding up a chicken wing gleefully. Seeing her spot was taken, she didn’t mind and simply stood behind Yang Shen, wrapping a delicate hand around his neck to feed her deskmate the chicken wing.
Watching the prettiest girl in their class acting so perfectly matched with Yang Shen, Huang Gang suddenly felt a bit bored of it all.
’I’m totally the third wheel here.’
Huang Gang stood up and patted his butt.
"I’ve made up my mind. For these last two months, I’m going to go all out. Even if I lose, I’ll lose knowing I tried. What if—and I’m just saying, what if—I get lucky like you? And comprehend Fist Intent or something."
"If I don’t go crazy now, I’ll graduate. It’ll save me from being an old man telling people, ’Back in my day, I just didn’t have the opportunity, otherwise I would’ve studied hard’... That’s just like my dad. He’s been saying that his whole life."
Yang Shen watched Huang Gang’s back as he limped away.
But he was still standing relatively straight.
He suddenly called out, "If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come ask me."
Huang Gang just scoffed. "Cut the crap. There are so many teachers here. Why would I ask you?"
Xu Bamboo held up a skewer. "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing. He said he wants to go all out."
Just as he said that...
A sudden roar echoed from the distance!
"I’ll kill you! AHHH!!!"
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