One Slip-Up, and I Became a Genius.

Relying on complex, high-frequency sound waves to induce meditation in the human brain is a technological product from the Western Continent. It allows the brain to find its meditative frequency in a short amount of time, thus quickly reaching the threshold of meditation.

Not only that, but it also has the ability to enhance the effects of meditation.

This is similar to how people use soothing music for hypnosis, writing, or flirting.

However, such high-frequency, complex sound waves would initially be unbearable for Transcendent individuals.

It requires extremely powerful talent to achieve, much like composers or performers; without exceptional talent, one cannot reach the pinnacle of the world.

The limit for an average Transcendent is fifteen minutes, while for a more accomplished one, it's half an hour. Reaching forty-five minutes can be considered a sign of elite talent.

And exceeding an hour places one among the top geniuses in the entire nation.

But one hour serves as a watershed. After that point, the number of people who fall away with each passing minute is immense.

As the saying goes, "The last ninety miles are the hardest ninety." Enduring the Meditation Qi Yin Art for an hour is akin to walking ninety miles of a hundred-mile journey.

At this stage, it requires not just talent, but a comprehensive test of one's willpower and other qualities.

The individual Xu Xiaojing mentioned, who could persevere for one hour and forty-five minutes, is named Dongfang Mingde. He is not only the foremost Transcendent in the Qingyang Kingdom but also ranks among the top ten most powerful beings in the world.

Such figures are practically pillars of a nation. A country without such a powerful individual is destined to be bullied.

Weak nations have no diplomacy.

What about global resources, trade, and other matters? Aren't they all controlled by powerful nations?

Without super-powerful Transcendent individuals like Dongfang Mingde, a nation can only be exploited by stronger powers in various ways. This is the reality of the entire world.

And even such a figure only managed to persist for one hour and forty-five minutes, which clearly illustrates how immense the chasm is for every minute after the first hour.

Time ticked by. Xu Xiaojing watched the clock, forgetting to organize the other students to continue adapting to the Meditation Qi Yin Art, instead watching Chen Nan with nervous focus.

Fifty minutes passed;

Fifty-five minutes passed;

One hour passed!

Xu Xiaojing excitedly clutched her collar. Was this possible? A genius, a true genius!

He, he was actually enlightened by her. She had enlightened a genius!

And at that very moment, another two minutes passed.

A new record!

Xu Xiaojing felt like she was suffocating. This Chen Nan was about to break Wu City Preparatory Academy's record. And she, as his mentor and witness, would undoubtedly be remembered in the school's history as well. Wow, happiness had come too suddenly!

Teacher Xu Xiaojing, seeing Chen Nan reach such heights, felt her body go weak, almost collapsing to the ground.

Yet, time continued to tick by. Although Chen Nan found he had grasped the pattern of the sound and entered a meditative state, he realized he couldn't maintain it for an extended period.

This was because the process of meditation involved using one's own brain's electromagnetic waves to guide the electromagnetic waves in nature to activate brain cells.

Through the complex interaction of electromagnetic waves, the brain cells naturally generated heat. This heat could damage the cell's various enzymes, protein structures, and so on, causing immeasurable, even irreversible, damage.

Fortunately, with the AI system's assistance, it could regulate the electromagnetic waves to reduce their heat-generating effect on brain cells.

Simultaneously, it would stimulate various neural activities and accelerate blood circulation, allowing the cerebrospinal fluid to circulate and exchange. This acted like a water-filled cooler, rapidly dissipating heat from the brain cells.

However, such regulation had its limits.

Chen Nan could see the AI system monitoring the SAR value and using it to create a temperature curve related to the SAR value, while also calculating the safe critical point for meditation.

On the time axis, Chen Nan could see that he could hold on for approximately fifty more minutes.

But even in his meditative state, he could sense the abnormality of his surroundings.

Everyone was staring at him in astonishment, their breathing growing heavy. The tension and focus made Chen Nan feel like he was under a scorching heat lamp.

He suddenly realized something was wrong. He had been too careless. Maintaining this state for so long was clearly unusual, and he needed to stop.

So, he immediately broke out of his meditative state, feigned a gagging fit, and claimed to have a severe headache and dizziness.

However, in her shock, Xu Xiaojing forgot to give Chen Nan earplugs. Like a robot, she glanced at her watch: one hour, twenty-six minutes, and thirty-seven seconds!

Then, her eyes seemed to bulge, her hands clenched into fists, and she rushed towards Chen Nan.

This startled Chen Nan, causing him to retreat repeatedly. Fortunately, Xu Xiaojing managed to regain her composure as a teacher. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Chen Nan, exclaiming excitedly, "This is amazing, Chen Nan! You truly didn't disappoint your teacher."

It sounded as if Chen Nan's achievement was entirely due to her cultivation and keen insight.

Chen Nan looked around, not quite understanding the full meaning of her words.

Xu Xiaojing, however, paid him no mind. She addressed the entire class, "Continue your training, take your time, and find the rhythm. If you struggle, use the earplugs to rest. Teacher will be right back."

With that, she left the classroom, leaving the students behind.

Xu Xiaojing was going to report this to the dean. A talent like Chen Nan, who was a once-in-a-millennium prodigy for Wu City, had to be reported immediately.

Watching Xu Xiaojing leave, Chen Nan felt a vague sense of unease.

He understood that this reaction from Xu Xiaojing was undoubtedly due to his performance. It was clear he had performed exceptionally well.

Logically, this should be a good thing, as the academy would likely direct more educational resources towards him. However, he couldn't ignore the potential trouble it might bring.

After all, he was an orphan, a genius without family backing or any influence to rely on. What use would he be?

Even with immense talent, I'm ultimately just a jewel to be fought over. I won't even have a self, destined to be set in some powerful figure's crown as a display of their strength.

Why have beautiful women throughout history so often met tragic fates?

Chen Nan understood this principle all too well.

He berated himself internally, wondering how he could have been so careless. But then, he realized self-recrimination was pointless now. It seemed he had no choice but to step into the spotlight.

A diamond in the rough will eventually shine. This was a kind of trouble, Chen Nan sighed, shaking his head.

To escape such a fate, Chen Nan knew the only thing he could do was to continuously strengthen himself.

No matter how prized a cat or dog might be, it's still just a pet. But who would ever consider a fierce tiger a pet?

Of course, he had to become even stronger than a tiger, because even tigers couldn't escape being exploited. So, he had to become so powerful that no one could exploit him.

With this resolve firm in his heart, he calmed down and re-entered his cultivation state.

Chen Nan's situation was kept confidential by the academy. The other eight individuals cultivating with him were summoned for lectures, and for now, no one knew about Chen Nan's terrifying talent.

Li Nanchao, the dean of Wu City Preparatory Academy, had his own grand ambitions. Since Chen Nan was such an excellent piece on the chessboard, he absolutely would not let him be overlooked.

He intended to use Chen Nan to make the entire Wu City Preparatory Academy famous and to carve out a significant mark for himself within the Transcendent Academies.

Therefore, he issued a strict order of secrecy, and it was to be enforced with extreme rigor.

This was because, when encountering a student with exceptionally powerful talent like Chen Nan's, the superior institution, the National Transcendent Academy, had the right to immediately transfer them and directly enroll them for advanced studies.

If such a transfer order came down, the Preparatory Academy had no choice but to comply, with no room for refusal.

However, this wasn't an unbendable, criminal command. If the Preparatory Academy concealed the information and nurtured the talent themselves, they wouldn't actually face any severe punishment.

Thus, for the sake of their own reputation, resources, and other reasons, various preparatory academies would employ similar tactics if they happened upon a genius.

This was a case of "for every policy, there is a counter-policy."

In reality, across the Qingyang Kingdom, prominent families would conduct similar tests on their children. If a true genius was discovered, they would be contacted immediately by the National Transcendent Academy and directly admitted.

This bypassed the preparatory academy route entirely. Chen Jiadong of the Luojing Chen Family was one such example.

As for the trainees selected through nationwide public auditions, the chance of them possessing genius-level talent was as rare as finding gold in sand. Therefore, in practice, the method of preparatory academies enhancing their reputation by concealing geniuses was largely unworkable.

If a preparatory academy managed to encounter such a situation, it would be considered a blessing from heaven.

Given this, one could imagine the extreme lengths the Wu City Preparatory Academy would go to in keeping Chen Nan's situation secret.

The academy employed a combination of rewards and threats with Xu Xiaojing and the other eight students to ensure they wouldn't mention anything to anyone.

Concurrently, the academy naturally approached Chen Nan and explained the situation to him.

Chen Nan had no grounds to object and also felt that it might be a good thing if he wasn't publicized.

Therefore, despite Chen Nan possessing talent that was powerful by Transcendent standards, the entire academy remained completely unaware of it.

At the same time, the academy began formulating a series of plans for Chen Nan's education. However, these plans would not be overtly apparent in the short term, to avoid arousing suspicion.