Ten-Year Cultivation Plan

Teacher Zhang Haifeng, who taught martial arts, was decisive and efficient. After speaking, he turned and left through the door.

The previously drowsy students of Martial Arts Class Six instantly became energized. In groups of two or three, they discussed Teacher Zhang's words curiously while hurrying toward the Martial Arts Classroom without slowing down.

Naturally, Li Xijun followed the diligent habits of his original self and became one of the first to arrive.

At the entrance to the Martial Arts Classroom stood a white gate-like device resembling the security scanners at high-speed rail stations. Four or five people were already lined up to enter one after another.

As the white device continuously flashed red light, each student who entered saw their name and current Blood Essence Level displayed on the enormous electronic screen at the front of the classroom.

"Zhou Mengsheng, Blood Essence Level: Level 4.1."

"Zhang Fang, Blood Essence Level: Level 4.9."

"Li Xijun, Blood Essence Level: Level 5.7."

By Federation standards, an ordinary adult citizen had a Blood Essence Level of 5.

Most ordinary students at key high schools fell within the range of Levels 4 to 5.

Once one's Blood Essence Level reached Level 9, they had met the qualification threshold for breaking through to become a martial artist. They could apply to the authorities for an advanced cultivation method that allowed them to sense Spiritual Power and achieve a breakthrough.

Even at a key high school like No.7 Middle School, only a very small number of students could reach Level 9 by the College Entrance Exam after working hard through their senior year. The goal of such geniuses was no longer an ordinary Martial Arts University, but elite institutions like the Nine Schools Alliance.

After glancing at his Blood Essence Level, Li Xijun did not linger over it. He immediately began cultivating.

Following the Physical Body's ingrained memories from years of practice, he naturally curled his toes slightly, bent his knees a little, half-closed his eyes, tucked in his chin, and held his crown upright to complete the basic posture. Then he focused his awareness on his dantian and began a rather complicated breathing technique.

Gradually, as his breathing continued, his spine trembled rhythmically like a Great Dragon slowly coming alive. As Li Xijun held his Stance Training posture, he visualized himself as a towering ancient tree reaching the heavens, with his spine transformed into an Azure Dragon coiling and swimming around the ancient tree.

For ordinary people to become martial artists, they naturally had to cultivate through basic cultivation methods.

Over the more than 180 years of the New Calendar, martial arts had grown increasingly prosperous.

In the past century or so, Martial Arts Basic Cultivation Methods capable of producing Blood Essence, tapping into the human body's potential, and strengthening the Physical Body had emerged one after another. Many ancient martial arts practitioners and Federation biological scientists had published their own versions of basic cultivation methods.

However, the most widespread, most studied, and universally acknowledged as most complete throughout the Blue Star Federation were the seven great Martial Arts Basic Cultivation Methods created by the seven Martial Saints and vigorously promoted by the authorities.

Moreover, if someone was especially compatible with one of the Seven Sages' basic cultivation methods and cultivated much faster than others, then as they continued cultivating, they might awaken compatible Martial Dao Spirituality. Once they became martial artists, they could smoothly transition to the advanced cultivation methods created by that Martial Saint.

The "Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method" cultivated by Li Xijun was a basic cultivation method created by the Wood Sage, the youngest of Blue Star's seven Martial Saints.

Unfortunately, his compatibility with this method was only average, and the same was true for the other six basic cultivation methods.

The reason he had chosen this basic cultivation method in the first place was simply because the "Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method" was the newest of the seven basic cultivation methods.

This world did not subscribe to the notion that older cultivation methods were stronger. On the contrary, the newer the cultivation methods and martial techniques were, the more refined and effective they tended to be.

For example, at the beginning of the Great Cataclysm, people generally and crudely divided the realm before becoming a martial artist into junior apprentices, intermediate apprentices, and senior apprentices. They only looked at whether one's strength and speed met the standard, without caring about Blood Essence Level. This often caused people with decent talent to remain stuck at such minor bottlenecks for years before breaking through.

Later, as the system continued improving and basic cultivation methods became more refined, the Apprentice Realm before becoming a martial artist was divided into nine levels. The minor bottlenecks that had once wasted people's time and trapped them vanished.

The Wood Sage was the youngest among the seven Martial Saints, having only advanced to Martial Saint twenty years ago.

It was said that in order to create this basic cultivation method, shortly after becoming a saint, he had entered a Mythical World and spent years observing the World Tree there, along with the Azure Dragon guarding it.

Therefore, the latest version of the "Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method," released sixteen years ago, was actually nearly ten percent more effective for someone like Li Xijun, whose compatibility with all seven basic cultivation methods was only average, than the other six methods.

This was also a little trick that students with insufficient compatibility, who chose cultivation methods purely based on personal preference, had failed to notice.

"Whoosh~~~"

"Whoosh."

"This feels great." After entering his state, Li Xijun's breathing gradually became calm. The Blood Essence rolling through his body kept circulating, warming every part of him and continuously vibrating his bones, tendons, and skin while lightly stimulating the rhythmic movement of his Six Viscera.

As he sensed his physique steadily growing stronger by tiny increments, Li Xijun could not help pondering the meaning behind his martial arts teacher's earlier words.

What kind of good news could benefit all the students?

Teacher Zhang was normally extremely composed. For him to be so excited this time, the situation was probably far from simple.

As a trader in the A-share market, Li Xijun hated uncertainty most of all.

This sudden variable stirred up ripples in his heart, along with a faint sense of foreboding.

Time passed quickly while he was immersed in cultivation. Before he had figured it out, the half hour of Stance Training had passed in the blink of an eye.

At some point, Teacher Zhang, who had returned from the meeting, had pressed his dark, imposing face against the window of the rear door.

After watching carefully for quite some time and seeing that the students of Martial Arts Class Six were all diligently cultivating, he finally nodded in satisfaction. He then walked around to the front door, pushed it open unhurriedly, and said,

"Not bad. Your academic classes may have gotten a little slack since school started, but none of you have fallen behind in cultivating your martial arts basic methods."

"Keep up your Stance Training. Next, I have something to announce."

As he spoke, he walked among the students holding their stances. He kicked the back of the knee of one student whose body was swaying, making the student bend his leg slightly and lower his center of gravity before continuing,

"The Martial Arts Hall has just issued a new directive. Starting this year, the nation and the Federation will jointly launch the second 'Ten-Year Talent' Cultivation Program."

The moment his words fell, the Martial Arts Classroom, which had been so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, instantly erupted.

"Holy shit!"

"The second Ten-Year Cultivation Plan!"

"I actually get to catch something this good!"

"After all these years, I finally get to enjoy the dividends of the times!"

In fact, it was not just the classroom of Martial Arts Class Six. At almost the same time, students in all eight Martial Arts Classes throughout the building were discussing it excitedly. Some could not even maintain their Stance Training, collapsing to the ground in a sweat, yet their eyes remained filled with shock and delight.

It was not that they were overreacting. This seemingly ordinary Ten-Year Cultivation Plan was simply too important to them!

As the saying went, "It takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people."

The original meaning of the idiom was that if one wished to harvest something in ten years, they should plant trees; if they wished for returns in a hundred years, they should cultivate talent. It meant that only by nurturing high-quality talent could a nation achieve sustainable development and secure its future.

But martial arts cultivation pursued fierce and relentless progress. Truly talented martial arts geniuses cultivated at a pace beyond all common sense.

The first human saint, the Flame Sage, took barely more than twenty years to rise from nothing to the Martial Saint realm. The Martial Saints who came afterward had also almost all reached Martial Saint in under thirty years.

The most recent seventh Martial Saint had risen from an ordinary high school student to Martial Saint in merely fourteen short years under the first Ten-Year Cultivation Plan, shaking the entire Federation at the time.

So rather than calling it the Ten-Year Cultivation Plan, it would be more accurate to say that after more than thirty years of accumulating sufficient resources, the Federation and Great Yan authorities wanted to recreate the previous miracle. They intended to pour immense resources into another ten-year effort and nurture a Martial Saint from among countless geniuses!

As the first year of the Ten-Year Cultivation Plan, these senior-year students in the martial arts classes would certainly receive far more school resources than in previous years, so long as they displayed sufficient talent and ability.

If they could demonstrate aptitude beyond their peers in the College Entrance Exam and gain admission to one of the thirty-three Martial Arts Universities—

Then the resources they received in university would surpass what ordinary martial artists could obtain even after risking life and limb in Mythical Worlds for an entire lifetime.

Just thinking about it made the teenagers, all in the prime of youth, so excited that they seemed pumped full of adrenaline. They were already imagining themselves becoming geniuses admired by all, obtaining every sort of Mythical World resource, advancing one realm per year, and standing at the peak of the world.

Only Li Xijun and a few others in the Martial Arts Classroom remained calm, unmoved by this "heaven-sent good news."

Some came from prominent families and had long heard the news. After all, such a major move in education was not a military secret, and leaks were inevitable.

As for Li Xijun, his experiences in the A-share market in his previous life had made him instinctively calm and vigilant whenever facing "good news" or "great opportunities."

Habitually removing himself from the situation, he calmly examined this Ten-Year Cultivation Plan from an objective perspective and quickly noticed a problem.

First, there was no stock market in the world where everyone made money.

Likewise, even if the Federation and the nation were pouring immense funds into this Ten-Year Cultivation Plan, it absolutely would not allow every senior-year martial arts student in the Federation to benefit.

The reason was simple.

Since the Federation and the nation wanted to replicate the previous success and select the most talented young geniuses to nurture into Martial Saints—

Then with the experience of their previous success, the Federation and the nation would only be even more stringent when selecting geniuses this time!

After all, they had succeeded once already. This time, they could afford to be even more aggressive.

Concentrating the vast majority of precious resources on a small number of geniuses with talent far beyond ordinary standards was the most efficient way to nurture Martial Saints.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

"Those of you whose stances fell apart will practice for an extra hour after school today. Have your parents record a video and send it to me for inspection!"

Sure enough, Zhang Haifeng's voice, booming like a great bell, soon rang out and instantly drowned everyone else out. He continued,

"This year, the school will indeed increase its investment. There will be Blood Essence Potions, and we've invited teachers who are Outer Scenery Martial Artists!"

"However!"

"If you want to receive guidance from Outer Scenery Martial Artists, you must enter the Elite Class in the placement exam one month from now."

"To receive the school's Blood Essence Potions and other resources, such as private Martial Arts Classrooms, you must place in the top fifty of your grade in this placement exam."

"Finally, the monthly scholarships will at least double, but only the top one hundred students in the grade will receive them."

This result immediately snapped the martial arts students out of their dreams of "tremendous benefits" and "dividends of the times."

"Wait, why are there even fewer scholarship spots this year?"

"Didn't the top hundred senior-year students all receive ten Blood Essence Potions in monthly school subsidies in previous years?"

"There are only thirty Elite Class spots in total, and those who awaken Martial Dao Spirituality can directly join the competition for those slots. Why does it feel like none of these benefits have anything to do with us?"

The boys and girls in the martial arts classes could no longer hold themselves back, complaining one after another.

However, Zhang Haifeng calmly clapped his hands to signal for silence, then tossed out another piece of news that left the previously excited crowd completely speechless.

"Benefits are easy to obtain, of course. Show your talent, and every benefit will be available to you."

"As long as you can get into one of the thirty-three Martial Arts Universities, you will definitely enjoy the generous dividends of the Ten-Year Talent Cultivation Program. By then, the cultivation resources you receive will be Mythical World resources that university students from previous years would have envied."

"But likewise, all thirty-three Martial Arts Universities will reduce their enrollment quotas to a certain extent this year."

"Instead of wasting time complaining here, work hard and strive to get into a Martial Arts University. That is where the cultivation program truly focuses!"

"If you can enter the Nine Schools Alliance, even Outer Scenery Martial Artists will envy the resources you receive in university! And if you can get into the very best of them, the 'Imperial Capital Two Heavens'... Forget it. Given this year's circumstances, No.7 Middle School might not even produce a single one."

After saying that, Zhang Haifeng shook his head, feeling that even he had been daydreaming a little.

The Imperial Capital Two Heavens had been founded by the Flame Sage and Wind Sage. They were world-class top universities that countless geniuses flocked toward. Even in previous years, only a handful of students from the city could enter them, much less under the current circumstances.

If several more students from his class could enter the Nine Schools Alliance this year, he would laugh in his dreams.

As he thought this, Zhang Haifeng did not stop walking among the students. Every now and then, he would slap or kick a student at the point where their Stance Training posture had gone wrong.

Likewise, seeing that the school benefits available during their senior year had little to do with them, the students who had been complaining shut their mouths. They silently adjusted their stances and continued circulating their Blood Essence.

After all, compared to the school's reduced reward quotas, the increased difficulty of the College Entrance Exam was far more immediate and stressful for them.

They might not be able to enjoy the school benefits in their senior year, but many of them came from well-off families. With help from home, they might still be able to get into a Martial Arts University!

Regarding this,

Li Xijun, who had remained silent all this time, could not help sighing inwardly.

This Ten-Year Cultivation Plan would not only reduce the enrollment quotas of Martial Arts Universities; it would also trigger an intense Catfish Effect.

Who knew how many students would be driven by this stimulation and temptation to compete desperately? Who knew how many families would spend their fortunes helping their children improve their strength in hopes of entering a good Martial Arts University?

As an orphan burdened with a Bet Loan, what could he use to compete against them?

Watching the College Entrance Exam, which he had originally had a good chance at, suddenly become an extremely risky hell-level challenge, even Li Xijun, with his resilient mindset forged through a Stock Market Halving and Old Zhuang's torment, felt like cursing out loud.

"The Blood Essence circulation in your lumbar spine has gone off course!"

At some point, Zhang Haifeng had already arrived beside Li Xijun. This teacher with many years of teaching experience pressed a finger against a spot on Li Xijun's lumbar spine.

Li Xijun felt the Blood Essence at that spot twitch before instantly returning to its proper path. The entire Stance Training sequence of the "Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method" became a little smoother.

At the same time,

A message appeared before Li Xijun's eyes:

Your "Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method" proficiency has increased from Proficient 56% to Proficient 59%.