Learning Is Important

Learning Is Important

Hearing Tang Yangwu say that, Su Tu immediately recalled what had happened at the restaurant yesterday.

It seemed his extreme hunger back then had been caused by excessive internal depletion, leaving his body drained.

Martial artists consumed an enormous amount while cultivating and required vast amounts of nutrition to replenish themselves. If they relied solely on food, the quantity they needed to eat would be unimaginable.

But this medicine made things much more convenient. Not only could it quickly replenish what the body lacked, it also saved time. Otherwise, eating alone would take several hours every day.

"Has technology already advanced this far?" Before this, Su Tu had never heard of such a miraculous medicine.

"The Federation has always been far ahead in its Martial Dao research. Nutrient medicine like this appeared long ago, but the compound type is a new product developed only recently. Its effects are excellent. It can quickly replenish the body's deficits, promote physical metabolism, and accelerate recovery."

Tang Yangwu explained it to Su Tu.

Su Tu felt somewhat tempted as he listened. This medicine truly was much more convenient. Otherwise, having to eat for several hours after every cultivation session would be far too wasteful of his time.

But honestly, Su Tu did not think he should accept it. Although Tang Long had come looking to cause trouble, he had not even managed to finish a single insult before Su Tu kicked him unconscious.

At most, both sides should take a step back in such a situation. Taking something from the other party would be somewhat unjustifiable.

But before Su Tu could refuse,

Tang Yangwu spoke first. "This is not only an apology on behalf of my younger brother. More importantly, I want to be friends with you!"

"The more friends you have, the more paths you have. I do not want us to only become acquainted through future dealings. There happens to be an opportunity now, and I want to take it to get to know you!"

Tang Yangwu spoke bluntly, without the slightest attempt at concealment.

Hearing this, Su Tu looked at Tang Yangwu in surprise. He had not expected this person to be so straightforward.

"Then what do I need to give in return?" Su Tu knew well that everything in this world came with a price.

Tang Yangwu was willing to set aside the conflict between his younger brother and Su Tu, using compound medicine to befriend him. There had to be a reason.

"The Body Tempering Room." Tang Yangwu said only three words, and Su Tu immediately understood what he meant.

Yesterday, Su Tu had displayed an exceedingly terrifying talent for physical cultivation in the Body Tempering Room. That was precisely why Tang Yangwu was willing to befriend him.

"In that case, I will gladly accept."

Su Tu no longer declined. He truly needed this compound medicine right now, and Tang Yangwu had already put things this plainly. Refusing any further would make Su Tu seem excessive.

Seeing Su Tu accept the medicine, Tang Yangwu's lips curled upward slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"Tang Long, from now on, Su Tu is your real elder brother at school. Understand?" Tang Yangwu rebuked Tang Long.

After that, he and Su Tu chatted for a while. During their conversation,

Su Tu raised his question: why, with only three months left, did Old Zhou still make him attend school during the day instead of devoting himself wholeheartedly to the Martial Dao?

Tang Yangwu gave his explanation.

"Martial Dao cultivation does not only cultivate the body. It also cultivates the heart and mind. The two support one another."

"You should know that cultivation of the heart and mind is called Dao Gathering. It requires contemplating a Secret Painting and glimpsing its divine mysteries. But Dao Gathering has a threshold. It is not enough to simply possess a Secret Painting to contemplate it. Your heart and mind must reach a certain level before you can glimpse the divine mysteries within it.

"Other than a few monstrous geniuses, most martial artists cannot meet that requirement. So the Federation began researching ways to raise the heart and mind, stimulating neurons and using medicine. They tried all these methods, but none had any effect.

"But in the end, Federation scientists discovered that the heart and mind slowly improved during the process of learning. It was not about what one learned, but the act of learning itself. Scientists believed that the human heart and mind were connected to wisdom, and that learning itself was a tempering of wisdom."

"That is why your teacher has you continue studying. He hopes that during this period, your heart and mind can rise to the point where you can glimpse the divine mysteries in a Secret Painting."

After listening to Tang Yangwu's explanation, Su Tu understood why Zhou Wuliang had made him study.

But the problem was that he could not only glimpse the Secret Painting; he had even imprinted the divine mysteries within it into his heart and mind.

"Spiritual Wisdom is related to the heart and mind!" These words also led Su Tu to this conclusion.

After all, scientists could only speculate that learning improved the heart and mind, but Su Tu could directly see that his Spiritual Wisdom Proficiency increased each time he learned. From that, he could infer that Spiritual Wisdom was connected to the heart and mind.

After agreeing to meet at the Martial Arts Academy that evening, Tang Yangwu left. He did not even glance at his younger brother before going.

Tang Long looked somewhat dazed and dispirited.

But Su Tu had no spare thought to spare for his feelings.

Carrying the box of medicine, he prepared to return to class. Who knew what things might have turned into by now.

When he arrived at the classroom, he found that the Class Teacher had not yet come to school.

Seeing Su Tu return, many students looked at him with concern. Su Tu nodded to reassure them.

He then returned to his seat. Chen Xi, beside him, hurriedly asked when she saw him back.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was just a misunderstanding."

"For real, for fake?" Seeing Su Tu like this, Chen Xi knew it had already been resolved, so she spoke in a deliberately silly tone.

"Stop using those awful internet memes. That's how you fried your brain." Su Tu shot back.

Then he began working through practice problems.

After school, Su Tu immediately headed to the Martial Arts Academy.

Today was his first official day cultivating the Base Skill. He found a corner in the Body Tempering Room, assumed his stance, and began circulating the Base Skill.

"Straighten your arms. If you release even a tenth of your strength or slack off by even a fraction now, one of your acupoints may fail to receive qi in the future because your Base Skill was not cultivated properly!"

"Bend your legs and turn your awareness inward!"

"Your back, watch your back!!"

Zhou Wuliang corrected several students' stances, his brows slightly furrowed.

Only when he saw Luo Fan, Mo Ya, and Tang Yangwu did his expression relax.

"Not bad. The three of you have an excellent foundation in the Base Skill. Luo Fan and Mo Ya have already guided qi into more than ninety acupoints, while Yangwu has done so for more than eighty. You have a chance to reach Second Order Whistling before the Martial Examination. Work hard."

"When you finish later, come with me. Your Heart and Mind Height should be sufficient for Dao Gathering."

Zhou Wuliang encouraged them.

At his words, a trace of delight flashed through all three of their eyes. One important reason they had chosen to join the Moon Stepping Martial Arts Hall was because of that Secret Painting.

It was said that the Secret Painting came from the True God Burial Ground and contained the spiritual essence of a true god, powerful and mysterious.

Thirty years ago, Zhou Wuliang had broken through his limits and drawn the divine mysteries within the Secret Painting into the real world. Someone had once seen a great moon emerge from above the river of stars and descend with overwhelming force, cleaving an abandoned meteorite planet in two.

As Zhou Wuliang looked at the students, he thought to himself,

The Ancestral Star is still somewhat lacking. Among these children of great families, only Tang Yangwu stands out more. But the Tang Family itself fell from the New Star, so it possesses a little more foundation than the other great families.

This Martial Examination will mainly depend on Luo Fan, Mo Ya, or that monster.

His gaze then fell upon a Youth in the corner.

Su Tu held a horse stance. His left hand was like the heavens, placed above his dantian, while his right hand was like the thick earth, beneath his dantian. Above and below came together like a world of their own.

Every movement he made carried an indescribable divine mystery. Others could not see it clearly at all.

But Su Tu could feel that as his movements changed, the weak clump of qi inside his body continuously flowed through every part of him. Wherever it passed, he felt a scorching heat within. That was the reaction of his blood and vitality being stimulated.

His breathing changed according to a special rhythm. When qi reached certain places, it needed to grow rapid; when it reached others, it needed to slow. It was like an instinct, imprinted into Su Tu's body ever since the day he comprehended the Base Skill.

Cultivating the Base Skill was the process of continuously tempering the body with qi, like a great hammer endlessly striking and refining blood vessels, sinews, meridians, and acupoints. Only when every blood vessel and meridian could circulate qi perfectly, and every acupoint could bear qi, would it be considered successful.

This process was grueling, because one never knew when this arduous cultivation would finally end.

But for Su Tu, the process was strangely enjoyable, because he had discovered the difference between Burial of Immortals and other Base Skills!!

After cultivating Burial of Immortals for twenty minutes, his blood and vitality surged. Body Strengthening Proficiency +20

After cultivating Burial of Immortals for forty minutes, his meridians trembled with aftershocks. Body Strengthening Proficiency +20

After cultivating