"Method of Suffering and Grinding"—as the name suggests, it achieved the goal of tempering and strengthening one's mental fortitude through pain and hardship.
Without causing permanent physical harm, it made trainees experience and understand pain as much as possible, subjecting them to even more trials.
It involved not only stimulation of the sense of pain, but also sensory and mental tempering.
Everyone's physical and mental tolerance was different.
Therefore, anyone who wanted to undergo training with the "Method of Suffering and Grinding" had to submit an application in advance. Once approved, they would receive equipment, medical resources, a customized plan, and a mentor.
The side effect of the "Method of Suffering and Grinding" was...
It could cause the trainee to suffer a mental breakdown.
Moreover, its failure rate was extremely high.
Before his rebirth, although people applied for "Method of Suffering and Grinding" training every week, causing the failure rate to fluctuate constantly, Ma Ran roughly remembered one figure.
A 93.52% withdrawal rate!
In other words, out of a hundred people who had made thorough mental preparations and attempted the "Method of Suffering and Grinding," even under the most scientific and proper guidance, at least ninety-three would be unable to endure the pain, choosing to withdraw and give up halfway.
Apart from voluntarily withdrawing, even those who trained entirely according to the rules still faced a one-percent "breakdown rate."
They did not withdraw voluntarily, but suffered a mental breakdown halfway through because of their personal circumstances.
Senior Wan Haihao, who had been trying to get closer to Ma Ran, was one of the people who had broken down under the "Method of Suffering and Grinding."
The training was extremely difficult, so its benefits were naturally considerable.
Every person who could complete the "Method of Suffering and Grinding" was an elite warrior forged from steel and iron, who would never retreat even in the face of death.
Ma Ran was one of them!
Because he had already completed the training of the "Method of Suffering and Grinding," he did not need to go through it again in this life.
Ma Ran had never given up until the final moment of battle in his previous life. His mental fortitude could be described as exceptionally tenacious, ranking among the best in the entire Earth Human population.
This could also be considered one of the benefits left over from before his rebirth.
"..."
Ma Ran did not immediately tell Director Huang Weiguo the specifics of the "Method of Suffering and Grinding."
First, in everyone's eyes, he was merely a rookie transcendent who had just begun Inner Qi cultivation. Even if his progress was a little faster, he still did not know enough.
Second, Ma Ran's broadly acknowledged identity was only that of a "super-genius in cultivating the martial arts of the Black Rock Stele." His authority was insufficient.
Most importantly...
Through his acting ability, Ma Ran could create a mental tempering secret technique that was better suited for widespread use, consumed fewer resources, and produced stronger effects.
Under the current plan, in order to better respond to the calamity, modifying and optimizing the Inner Qi system had a slightly higher priority than creating a mental secret technique.
And so, the members of Caolu Academy studied the Black Rock Inscription in the morning and attended Moral Studies class in the afternoon.
Their evenings were free.
They could spend extra time cultivating Inner Qi if they wanted, or simply play games and binge-watch shows.
Caolu Academy had no mandatory intervention measures whatsoever.
The members who had previously been college students or had already graduated from college remained relatively calm.
For many members who had previously been middle school students, this place was practically paradise!
They no longer had to get up at five in the morning to wash up and run drills, attend evening self-study until eleven, or complete endless exam papers...
Every day, all they had to do was deduce the positions of their own acupoints, eat and drink heartily, and focus on cultivating Inner Qi.
It was simply bliss!
Studying, learning, and doing exam papers produced meager results for the gifted youths. They gained almost no sense of accomplishment from it, doing it purely to meet their parents' hopes and expectations and get into a decent university.
Now, although they were exhausted every day at Caolu Academy in Gulunzhong, they gained an immense sense of accomplishment!
The Inner Qi cultivation system was extremely clear-cut. Unlike the vague power levels in xuanhuan stories, as long as one filled a certain number of acupoints with Inner Qi, one would definitely reach the next stage.
Being able to improve and grow stronger every day, with everything quantifiable, felt a thousand times better than playing online games!
No!
Ten thousand times better!
No matter how well an online game was made, it could not make players truly stronger by even one percent. Inner Qi cultivation, however, could grant them greater strength, faster speed, and greater stamina. It was even said that cultivating Inner Qi could eliminate many illnesses and extend one's lifespan.
How could the two even compare?
There was absolutely no comparison!
However...
Not everyone had such a wonderful cultivation experience.
Very few people possessed top-tier intelligence along with a strong body.
Among Caolu Academy's first batch of members, a total of thirty-one had overly weak physiques and needed to spend a great deal of time recuperating and making up for their physical deficiencies.
A sickly person cultivating Inner Qi would only grow weaker the more they practiced.
Therefore, they had to patiently build up their bodies bit by bit.
These unlucky members had insufficient stomach capacity and weak digestive and absorption abilities. Before the highly nutritious food they ate could be converted into Inner Qi, their bodily cells greedily absorbed it all.
Their speed at deducing acupoints was not slow, and they had basically reached Director Huang's expectations.
But...
An entire three days!
These thirty-one members had not cultivated even a wisp of Inner Qi, let alone filled two acupoints and officially reached Inner Qi Stage One.
On the morning of the fourth day.
Ma Ran pushed open his door and found the entrance to the dormitory packed with members.
His gaze swept over them, and there were exactly thirty-one people.
"Good morning, Ma Ran!"
"Morning, Ma Ran!"
The members greeted him one after another, calling out his name.
The scene looked remarkably like the brainwashing and proselytizing of some unorthodox cult.
Wan Haihao's gaze locked onto Ma Ran's face, and he subconsciously thought of a strange term—cult leader.
He shook his head and cast his jumbled thoughts aside before speaking sheepishly. "Everyone has quite a few questions about cultivating Inner Qi, and we wanted to ask you for guidance."
"We discussed it in the WeChat group earlier. We originally planned to wait until after dinner today before coming to bother you, but given the situation, none of us can sleep well without cultivating Inner Qi."
"As soon as it got light, everyone came over."
That statement was only half true.
The actual situation was...
This group of people had originally been discussing the deduction of acupoints in their newly created WeChat group, comparing how many acupoints each of them had found.
They were a bunch of rookies pecking at one another, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
Dong Huaiming, who had been lurking silently, suddenly appeared and destroyed everyone's peaceful state of mind with a single sentence: "If you can't cultivate Inner Qi, why don't you ask Brother Ran?"
Those words were like the morning bell and evening drum, waking the dazed members.
That was right...
Why not ask Ma Ran?
Because he seemed aloof, and they could not bring themselves to lower their pride, they had simply pretended there was no one nearby from whom they could learn or seek guidance?
Wasn't that just deceiving themselves?
For several mornings in a row, Ma Ran had not gone to the Black Rock Stele.
Yet during Moral Studies class in the afternoon, everyone could feel Ma Ran's presence growing sharper and his pressure growing stronger!
There was only one truth—Ma Ran had not lied!
He had really calculated 512 acupoints in just one hour!
Over the past few days, Ma Ran had been cultivating by himself in the dormitory, and the gap between him and everyone else had grown wider and wider!
Apart from Ma Ran, who had surged far ahead, the other members who had cultivated Inner Qi were currently progressing at roughly the same pace.
Someone @-mentioned Su Qiangwei, who was just as inactive as Ma Ran and had clearly muted the group messages.
"@Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang, you've cultivated Inner Qi too. Do you have any experience you can share?"
Her reply, however, made the veins on everyone's foreheads bulge with rage. They wished they could drag her out and beat her senseless.
"Are there really people who can't cultivate Inner Qi?"
"Isn't having a brain all you need?"
Those two sentences kept the group awake all night.
At four or five in the morning, before dawn had even broken, they wrapped themselves in thick down uniforms and came one after another to Ma Ran's door, standing silently in the cold wind like zombies.
Hah hah hah, the update is finished! So happy!
Please give me a wave of recommendation tickets! Recommendation tickets are still quite important during a new book's launch period!
Brothers and sisters!
See you tomorrow!
Before you continue