18 Acting

"It's windy outside, let's chat in the cafeteria," Ma Ran said, and suddenly thirty-one followers appeared behind him.

Perhaps it was because they needed something from him, or perhaps Ma Ran's aura was too powerful, but even though he hadn't said anything, the club members all consciously followed behind him, with no one daring to walk alongside him.

Wan Haihao had to admit that being part of this throng, following closely behind Ma Ran, felt pretty cool.

Everyone walked at a moderate pace, but their steps were steady.

No one spoke casually.

Everyone was immersed in a strange atmosphere of silence.

It felt like being on an ancient battlefield, following an unparalleled general charging into enemy lines to capture flags.

"He's been corrupted by Xiao Ming..."

"That thought process is typical of a chuunibyou."

Wan Haihao chuckled wryly and quickened his pace, moving to stand behind Ma Ran. He looked at the young man's shoulder-length hair and lowered his voice, "Your hair grows so fast..."

He had noticed this phenomenon the previous two days but had kept it to himself, not daring to ask.

Now that the atmosphere was right, it was the perfect time to bring it up.

Ma Ran turned his head, his dark hair dancing in the air.

He smiled faintly and said in a calm voice, "You'll be like this too when you reach the Third Stage of Inner Qi."

"Nurtured by inner energy, your vitality is strong, your cell activity increases, and it's normal for your hair to grow faster."

"Once you reach the Fourth Stage of Inner Qi, this phenomenon will naturally disappear and return to normal."

Ma Ran hadn't reached the Third Stage of Inner Qi.

This shoulder-length hair wasn't real.

It was an illusion created by Ma Ran's recent study of You script.

He had thoroughly researched the illusionary system of You script in his previous life, and picking it up again now allowed him to get into it quickly.

The fake hair Ma Ran created could perfectly deceive human senses and could even be touched by hand.

They currently had only one drawback—they lacked real substance.

This drawback didn't need much attention.

For Ma Ran, being able to fool the eyes of the people around him was enough for now.

Without needing to calculate the positions of acupoints, and with the boost from the [Inner Qi Genius] medal, if he spent twenty hours a day desperately cultivating and accumulating inner energy, it would take approximately 2.33 days to advance from the Second Stage of Inner Qi to the Third Stage.

The Fourth Stage would take 4.66 days.

The Fifth Stage would take 9.32 days.

The Sixth Stage would take 18.64 days.

The Seventh Stage would take 37.28 days.

The Eighth Stage would take 74.56 days.

The Ninth Stage would take 149.12 days.

It sounded like it wouldn't take much time; all of it added up to less than a year.

However...

What Ma Ran lacked the most right now was time!

Moreover, that was just the theoretical time.

Prolonged, overloaded cultivation would inevitably lead to a significant decrease in the efficiency of inner energy accumulation.

To avoid accumulating hidden injuries, he also had to allocate a certain amount of time for rest.

Therefore...

The actual time required to reach the Ninth Stage of Inner Qi would be at least three times this result!

Since revealing his power the day before, Ma Ran had put aside inner energy cultivation.

Not cultivating didn't mean Ma Ran's inner energy cultivation would be stuck at the Second Stage, unable to progress.

With the help of You script's illusions, through [Acting], he could pretend to have advanced, and with widespread recognition...

Ma Ran would truly achieve advancement!

Every afternoon during Moral Studies class, the club members felt that Ma Ran's demeanor had become sharper and his presence stronger.

That...

Was just his acting.

A glance, a frown, a sidelong look...

Every gesture, every expression of Ma Ran was filled with detail.

As someone who lived by [Acting], he had already honed his skills to the extreme!

From the noble young masters of ancient aristocratic families to the desperate gamblers in the back alleys of the marketplace...

Ma Ran could easily handle any demeanor, controlling it with ease!

"The Third Stage of Inner Qi?"

Wan Haihao stared intently at Ma Ran's long, jet-black hair, a mix of emotions churning within him. "You've already filled eight acupoints!"

"That's amazing!"

Genuine admiration laced with a hint of discouragement.

When faced with setbacks and frustrations, the vast majority of people choose to flee.

A very small minority, like Su Qiangwei, will fight against the current, performing at 120% of their capacity.

Wan Haihao belonged to neither of these categories.

Having sailed smoothly through life without encountering any significant setbacks, he would, upon facing adversity, descend into despair at a speed incomprehensible to others, negating all his past achievements and merits.

Ma Ran gazed deeply at his senior.

A comrade...

You might not know this.

I understand you better than you understand yourself!

Curious, observant, intelligent yet fragile, yet valuing responsibility and honor above life itself...

A warrior!

Even when the Method of Suffering and Grinding training failed, his spirit broke, and disaster struck, Wan Haihao still struggled to rise from his sickbed to fight and protect his companions.

In his previous life, Wan Haihao died very young.

But his heroic stance, fighting until his very last moment, was forever etched deep within Ma Ran's mind!

Not just Wan Haihao.

Su Qiangwei, Dong Huaiming, Zhu Hanyi, He Nanguang, Liu Huadie...

Ma Ran remembered the faces and voices of every single comrade.

He never dared to forget.

Suppressing the memories, Ma Ran looked at Wan Haihao again and said, "Inner Qi cultivation is a gradual process. You can't rush it. You must avoid arrogance and impatience, carefully capturing every wisp of bio-energy and slowly converting it through your acupoints."

He then changed the subject, "However..."

"I've been researching ways to get started quickly recently."

Ma Ran's voice gradually grew louder, ensuring the thirty people behind him could hear clearly. "As long as you accurately pinpoint the location of your own acupoints, you can rapidly refine your first wisp of inner energy."

"I've already achieved some results."

Because many people were watching, Ma Ran only ate three bowls of beef and alkaline noodles and a plate of fried rice with shredded pork and eggs for breakfast.

A junior, who seemed to be in middle school, was perceptive and proactively helped Ma Ran carry away his tray and utensils, wiping the table clean with a paper towel.

Ma Ran gave him a smile and said calmly, "You can think of acupoints as underdeveloped mini-organs."

"By accumulating bio-energy through eating, you convert it into inner energy to fill the acupoints..."

"This isn't the end."

"Once you fill your first acupoint, you'll face a problem."

Ma Ran held up a finger. "How do you make the acupoint automatically refine inner energy?"

His thoughts were a bit scattered.

Hearing this, many members present looked stunned, unable to process it immediately.

They hadn't considered things so far ahead; they were merely asking how to refine the first wisp of inner energy and if there were any shortcuts.

"I think... I think I understand what you mean."

Wan Haihao was the first to snap back to reality.

His voice was much quieter than usual, and he seemed to speak with less confidence. "Theoretically, Nine Stages of Inner Qi corresponds to five hundred and twelve acupoints."

"Let's assume, for now, that we are all at the Nine Stages of Inner Qi..."