Zhang Wan did not rush to deepen his relationship with Xu Hui.
The two were in the same class, the only two who had broken through to the Postnatal realm. They also ate their meals at the exclusive cafeteria in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, and both lived in the independent residential compound.
They had plenty of opportunities to interact, so there was no need to be overly deliberate.
Every day, they chatted a few sentences in class and at the cafeteria. Given their many years as classmates, it was easy for them to grow familiar with each other.
And it was not only Xu Hui.
The students from the other sixth-level classes who had broken through to the Postnatal realm were the same.
Although they were not in the same class, they were all students of the same level. They could also run into each other at the cafeteria or in the independent residential compound.
Once they came into contact with the circle of Postnatal students in the academy, these sixth-level Postnatal students instinctively banded together for warmth.
After all, compared to the Postnatal students from the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth levels, they not only had fewer people who had broken through to the Postnatal realm, but their cultivation was also somewhat weaker.
Without banding together, they truly felt insecure.
Adults would take the initiative to do such a thing, whereas these still somewhat muddled students did it instinctively.
Zhang Wan simply followed this trend.
He naturally became familiar with the Postnatal students among the sixth-level students.
The number of sixth-level students who had broken through to the Postnatal realm also stabilized at twenty.
The other sixth-level students still lacked some accumulation. They needed several more months of accumulation before they might be able to break through.
After becoming familiar with one another, the small group of sixth-level Postnatal students also vaguely divided itself into ranks.
The twenty students mainly revolved around two people.
They were Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui.
The two were among the fastest few to break through in their cohort, and they were also the strongest.
Although they were only at the First Level Postnatal, their comprehension of their cultivation techniques clearly surpassed that of the others. They had even begun cultivating the martial skills that came with their techniques.
Their strength was far greater than the others'.
After becoming somewhat familiar with them, Zhang Wan also figured out the backgrounds of the two.
Unlike him and Xu Hui, who came from ordinary families,
both of them had elders in their families who were martial artists of the Jade Bone Sect.
And they were not ordinary members of the Jade Bone Sect, either.
Yu Shui's grandfather was a veteran Seventh Level Postnatal martial artist of the sect. As the grandson of the direct line, Yu Shui was highly valued at home.
Zhao Qixin's background was even more impressive.
Her father was an inner sect disciple of the sect and a Prenatal martial artist who held the position of elder within the sect.
Her mother was also an Eighth Level Postnatal martial artist, with considerable strength.
Among all the students of the Beginner Martial Arts Academy, Zhao Qixin's background was among the very best.
After finding all this out, Zhang Wan clicked his tongue in amazement.
He decided that he absolutely would not become too familiar with Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui.
He would rather not stand too close to them, attract too much attention, and ruin his strategy of developing quietly.
Yes, being a fringe figure who was only familiar with others on the fringes of this group was perfectly fine!
As for the future, he would consider whether to deepen their friendship once his cultivation was sufficient.
Just like with Xu Hui: they had not been familiar in the past, but after appearing in front of each other for many years, it was easy for them to grow close.
During these days of building connections with the sixth-level Postnatal students, Zhang Wan put a little experience into the First Level Postnatal cultivation technique of Bronze Iron Body every night.
After investing it, he relied on the afterglow of his greatly increased comprehension to study the technique.
After eight days, the progress behind the technique had become 9.82/14.
The 9 at the front was the nine points of experience Zhang Wan had invested. The 0.82 at the back was the result of Zhang Wan's own comprehension, relying on the afterglow of insight he had gained after investing the experience.
"If I invest four more points and work a little harder myself, I should be able to fully comprehend this First Level cultivation technique."
"If that happens, I'll only have invested thirteen points of experience from beginning to end, saving one point." Zhang Wan was very satisfied with this result. Saving one point of experience through his own efforts felt pretty good.
He actually did not want to use his experience so sparingly.
He really wanted to splurge for once.
But nine days had passed since he broke through to the Postnatal realm.
Zhang Wan discovered that the experience he randomly obtained each night still had not exceeded the limit of three points.
This meant that his rate of acquiring experience had not changed.
Under such circumstances, squandering experience at will could easily leave him without enough when a critical moment arrived.
The restriction on acquiring experience and his concern about running short of it made Zhang Wan continue to use his experience sparingly.
He would save wherever he could, but he would never be stingy when it was time to use it.
Several more days passed, and Zhang Wan had completely comprehended the First Level Postnatal cultivation technique of Bronze Iron Body.
Once he began cultivating, his efficiency doubled.
The speed at which his internal power grew clearly accelerated.
Zhang Wan also began to feel the effects brought by cultivating Bronze Iron Body.
Just as its name suggested, this technique cultivated internal power, but it cultivated the physical body even more!
Seventy percent of its effects went toward the physique, while only thirty percent went toward internal power.
As his internal power improved, Zhang Wan's physical growth was even more apparent.
His strength increased, while his skin, flesh, and bones became tougher, advancing toward a state where blades and spears could not pierce him and his strength could not be resisted.
But Zhang Wan's aptitude was ultimately only average. Even cultivating with a perfected First Level Postnatal cultivation technique of Bronze Iron Body, his rate of improvement was still not fast.
He was also in no hurry to invest experience into his cultivation level.
It was different from comprehending a technique.
As for comprehension of a technique, even if he said nothing, others could not tell whether he had comprehended it.
But when it came to his cultivation level, if he invested more experience, the senior brothers in the academy whose cultivation was higher than his would immediately notice something amiss.
Therefore, he was not in a hurry in this regard.
He could cultivate slowly and invest his experience slowly.
When speaking with Xu Hui, Yu Shui, Zhao Qixin, and the others, Zhang Wan continued to put on a troubled look, as though comprehending the technique was difficult for him.
Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, Xu Hui, and the others did not suspect anything, either.
After all, they were only ten-year-old children. They were not as sharp as adults, and Zhang Wan's acting was not bad.
Unlike Zhang Wan, who was pretending that he could not comprehend the technique, the others genuinely found the cultivation technique obscure and difficult to understand.
Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui were in a better position. Their backgrounds were powerful, and their parents had connections in the academy. Zhao Qixin in particular was well looked after by the academy's instructing martial masters.
Whenever the two encountered questions during cultivation, the academy's instructing martial masters enthusiastically offered them guidance.
The elders in their families also came to give them pointers from time to time.
Even their cultivation resources were provided by their family elders, making them exceptionally abundant.
Their cultivation progress stood head and shoulders above the other twenty. Even among the seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-level students, the Postnatal students who had broken through only recently were surpassed by the two of them.
Xu Hui, who had been somewhat lax before his breakthrough,
also became much quieter and more mature after entering the circle of Postnatal students in the academy and seeing the circumstances of Zhao Qixin, Yu Shui, and the others.
He became extremely diligent in cultivation.
Although his cultivation progress could not compare to Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui, it was still not bad.
Watching in secret, Zhang Wan found that Xu Hui's cultivation speed was almost the same as his own, now that he had fully comprehended the First Level technique.
This left Zhang Wan quite speechless.
The advantage he had in comprehending the technique had been forcibly leveled out by Xu Hui relying on his talent.
Having average aptitude really hurt.
Because the sixth-level Postnatal students had formed a small group around Zhao Qixin and Yu Shui,
they could rely on the backgrounds of the two.
The others could also listen in on a few words whenever the academy's instructing martial masters gave the two guidance.
As time went by, Xu Hui and the others also became familiar with some of the academy's instructing martial masters, more or less solving the problem of having nowhere to ask about the difficulties in their cultivation techniques and martial skills.
Zhang Wan quietly followed the group around and made himself familiar to these instructing martial masters.
Actually, if Senior Brother Liu had not cultivated a different technique, Zhang Wan would not have needed to go around such a long way to find a reasonable excuse.
Still, the current situation was not bad.
Moreover, Bronze Iron Body truly lived up to its connection with the Jade Bone Fist Scripture.
Zhang Wan discovered that within this small group alone, Xu Hui, Yu Shui, and three others were cultivating this technique.
There were quite a few people cultivating it.
Zhao Qixin, meanwhile, cultivated Crimson Sun Fist, another cultivation technique connected to the Jade Bone Fist Scripture.
"They're all ambitious. They're all watching the Jade Bone Fist Scripture." Zhang Wan chuckled. He was not surprised by this, but how many of them would ultimately obtain the inheritance of the Jade Bone Fist Scripture remained unknown.
Before you continue