Surprising Progress

What did "those without cultivation potential will be assigned other arrangements" mean?

Others might not know, but Chu Fei had already learned quite a bit from the Dawn Team.

Those so-called other arrangements were merely another way of saying "elimination."

What were Dawn Academy's core values?

Training talent for Flying Tiger City? Providing talent for the post-apocalyptic world? Giving ambitious youths a platform to pursue their dreams?

Think again!

Dawn Academy had been founded under Wu Yong's leadership. Wu Yong was Flying Tiger City's second-strongest expert, second only to the city lord.

Wu Yong had founded Dawn Academy in order to find disciples for himself.

As for why Wu Yong wanted disciples, did that even need asking?

Finding a master was difficult, but finding a good disciple was even harder.

Finding a master was actually easier, since famous experts were well known. Finding a good disciple, though, was like panning for gold in the sand.

There was nothing wrong with creating an academy just to find disciples. That was the sort of grandeur a big shot ought to have!

And if one thought about it carefully, founding an academy only required some initial investment. It could completely pay itself back later—those who joined battle teams had to hand over half their salaries for the first three years!

Awakened and Semi-Awakened salaries were not low.

Since Dawn Academy's purpose was so clear, how would those without cultivation potential be handled?

Cao Liwen had said they would continue to be sorted by grade and trained as technicians or the like.

But in truth, Dawn Academy did not have that much kindness, nor did it have that many teachers.

The method was simple, reasonable, brutal—and even more cruel: examinations, classification, then selling them off in batches!

Factories, gladiator arenas, implant laboratories, and countless other places all needed people.

"Students" trained by Dawn Academy all fetched high prices.

These thoughts flashed through Chu Fei's mind. Looking at the silent students around him, he sighed softly and headed back to the dormitory.

There were still twenty-five people in this class.

By next March, one year after entering Dawn Academy, only a third to a quarter of them would likely remain—six or seven people, perhaps even fewer.

The rest, aside from those who committed suicide or were beaten to death, would gradually be sold off to recoup costs.

But Chu Fei could only sigh. He was still caught in the vortex himself.

After lights-out that night, Chu Fei sat cross-legged and began meditating, training his thoughts!

Only by becoming Wu Yong's disciple would he have a chance to rise above the rest.

And to become Wu Yong's disciple, he first had to become a true Awakened.

A true Awakened needed a Potential Index of at least 8.0.

His last physical examination result had been 7.5587.

Using 8 as the base, the gap was a full 2.5 times.

And there was a ceiling in between: 7.8!

At the Dawn Team, Chu Fei had obtained some data.

Over the more than thirty years since Dawn Academy had been founded, it had accepted around twenty-five thousand students. So far, it had produced only two Fully Awakened, thirty-four Awakened, and over two hundred Semi-Awakened.

The proportion who became Awakened was less than 0.14%!

The proportion who became Semi-Awakened was around 0.8%!

Ninety-nine percent of people could not break through 7.8.

Even with the Wisdom Tree Seed, I can't say for certain that I'll break through 8.0!

So, keep going!

Precisely because I can see hope, I should work even harder.

The first Wisdom Dewdrop was depleted, and it was already the early hours of the morning.

Chu Fei opened his eyes and began checking his meditation results under normal conditions—without relying on Wisdom Dewdrops.

After testing himself, Chu Fei smiled.

Three-dimensional thought training began with constructing a sphere and making it move through three-dimensional space. Then came the Regular Tetrahedron, followed by the regular hexahedron, regular octahedron, regular dodecahedron, and regular icosahedron.

After that, it returned to the tetrahedron, except now it was an arbitrary tetrahedron, continuing the meditation—thought training.

This four-dimensional training continuously strengthened the brain's ability to simulate and calculate, as well as its grasp of knowledge.

By now, Chu Fei had completely consolidated the training method for three-dimensional thought.

Without Wisdom Dewdrops, he could steadily maintain a Thought Model of a moving Regular Tetrahedron.

With Wisdom Dewdrops, he could maintain a Thought Model of a regular hexahedron.

After finishing his self-check, anticipation appeared on Chu Fei's face. I wonder what tomorrow's physical examination results will be? How much will my Potential Index increase?

With those thoughts in mind, he fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, wind and rain raged outside.

Chu Fei did not go running, but he did not idle around either. He found the four old men, Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, and practiced using the whip.

A man had to possess excellent whip skills. It was an outstanding survival skill—well... also an outstanding life skill.

He practiced until breakfast, then left beneath the astonished gazes of the four old men.

In just a few days, Chu Fei had stunned the four old men with his diligence and unimaginable learning speed.

Old Man Jia watched Chu Fei's retreating figure and chuckled. "Second Brother, you take over tomorrow. He's basically learned all my skills, aside from a few tricks I've kept hidden away."

Old Man Yi nodded, looking thoughtful. "I wonder whether this little fellow can create a miracle. It's a pity his initial potential was below 7.56."

After eating, Chu Fei went to the classroom to assemble.

Before long, everyone had arrived. Yet the classroom was so quiet that only heartbeats and heavy breathing could be heard.

Amid the silence, Cao Liwen slowly approached with an expressionless face, his footsteps carrying a distinct rhythm. Seeing that everyone had arrived, he nodded slightly. "Come out and line up."

Everyone rose to their feet, then crowded around the doorway without moving.

They had to line up—but who would take the lead?

Cao Liwen was long accustomed to such situations and directly called out, "Class monitor, lead the way."

Li Honggang forced himself to take the first position, followed by Lu Hong, Chu Fei, Zhang Xuan, and then the rest, one after another.

Some tried to grab spots farther back in the line. Cao Liwen saw it but said nothing, merely gesturing for them to follow.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the medical room once more.

Looking at the familiar equipment and medical staff, even Chu Fei felt his heart pounding erratically.

The other students were even more nervous. Zhang Xuan, for instance, was grinding her teeth until they creaked.

Scores, scores, scores—the lifeblood of students!

It truly was their lifeblood. Those who failed to meet the standard would be eliminated.

Once eliminated, their futures would be bleak.

Those with poor results might be whipped now, but at least they still had a chance to change their fate.

Amid the tension, the tests began.

Class monitor Li Honggang's result came out first: 7.6240→7.6402, an improvement of 0.0162.

Then came Lu Hong: 7.6125→7.6334, an improvement of 0.0209.

Seeing those two numbers, Chu Fei's heart skipped a beat. He immediately thought of the second condition for the Greedy Wolf Team's additional investment:

A physical examination every four weeks. An increase of 0.03 in Potential Index earned a subsidy of 1,000 yuan; after 0.03, every additional 0.001 increased the subsidy by 50n(n+1) yuan.

Li Honggang and Lu Hong had taken Superbrain Potion, yet Lu Hong had only improved by slightly over 0.02.

Sure enough, the capitalists had calculated everything in advance!

As he thought, it became Chu Fei's turn.

Not long after lying down in the equipment, Chu Fei heard exclamations from outside.

Could my improvement be that great?

He felt both anticipation and nervousness.

When he emerged from the equipment, before he even had time to get up, Cao Liwen patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

Chu Fei hurriedly climbed up and looked at his data. A brilliant smile bloomed across his face:

Chu Fei, 7.5587→7.5921, improvement of 0.0334!