I Believe You, My Ass

Late at night, dark clouds obscured the moon.

The night breeze whispered.

Aside from the graduating class, students from every other grade had already gone on break, leaving the Training Field completely empty. There were no hand-holding couples either, making the place exceptionally quiet.

Feng Qi stopped in a corner of the Training Field and closed his eyes.

Following the opening stance of the Cultivation Gymnastics he had learned in the dream, he slowly spread his arms. Then his right arm extended forward and traced an arc as his knees bent... He jumped, spun, and twisted his body.

A moment later, he indeed sensed the spiritual energy motes floating around him.

Normally, it took him around ten minutes of performing Cultivation Gymnastics before he could sense the spiritual energy motes drifting through the air. Now, using the future version of Cultivation Gymnastics, he only needed one minute.

Even the rate at which he absorbed spiritual energy had increased severalfold.

But a problem soon arose. Feng Qi discovered that the spiritual energy he absorbed still could not gather in his dantian. It quickly dissipated from his body again.

This discovery made him realize that the body in his dream seemed to have formed some kind of connection with his body in reality, causing his real self to be unable to cultivate as well.

"Could it be that I can only grow stronger in my dreams from now on?"

"That's not necessarily a problem. My goal is the Galaxy Research Institute anyway, so personal strength isn't that important."

Feng Qi, being rather thick-skinned, calmly accepted this change.

He then began considering how to promote the future version of Cultivation Gymnastics in reality.

As he thought, Feng Qi gradually formed a plan.

Although he had no way to contact the major Technique Research Institutes and did not know any influential online personalities, he knew History Teacher Wang.

Unlike most of the teachers at the school, History Teacher Wang had once received an offer from the Tiger Soul Research Institute and had been an Outstanding Graduate of Star City Academy.

As long as he was willing, he definitely had the means to submit the future version of Cultivation Gymnastics to the Tiger Soul Research Institute for testing. Once it passed, it could rapidly be promoted throughout society.

The achievement of improving a cultivation method could also earn Feng Qi a specially recruited position at the research institute of any Higher Academy.

Since he had decided to become a savior, Feng Qi no longer intended to keep a low profile.

"I'm not some novel protagonist. Why would I play weak to fool the strong? Screw keeping a low profile. If you've got the ability, you have to show it off!"

Having made his decision, he planned to find History Teacher Wang right away.

Feng Qi knew Old Wang's daily routine very well. They interacted frequently, and Old Wang had even been the one to recommend the path of technique research after recognizing Feng Qi's talent in that field.

A bottle in his left hand, a cigarette in his right.

Sitting on the rooftop balcony of the teaching building, Wang Jinsheng was in a heavy mood.

He had just received a notice that a former roommate from his school days had died in battle against Domain Creatures.

The news had hit him hard.

He vaguely remembered the promise he had made with that roommate at their Graduation Gala twelve years ago.

They would devote their entire lives to fighting for humanity's future!

After graduation, his roommate had joined the Domain Battle Group and fought on the front lines against Domain Creatures. Meanwhile, Wang Jinsheng had given up the opportunity to work at the Tiger Soul Research Institute and chosen to become a history teacher.

After taking a sip of liquor, Wang Jinsheng's drunken eyes grew hazy. Then he suddenly noticed a figure beneath the streetlamp in front of the teaching building performing Cultivation Gymnastics.

"The exams are coming up, yet you're not studying and still have the leisure to work out here?"

As he watched, Wang Jinsheng's expression gradually changed.

He discovered that the Cultivation Gymnastics performed by the blurry figure in the distance differed from the original version in many ways. The movement paths of the limbs had clearly changed, and the connected motions were smoother than those of the original Cultivation Gymnastics.

The one practicing Cultivation Gymnastics beneath the streetlamp was Feng Qi.

He knew that History Teacher Wang drank and watched the stars from the rooftop balcony every night, so he had come here deliberately.

To let Wang Jinsheng see more clearly, he slowed his movements and tirelessly repeated the routine again and again.

To verify his guess, Wang Jinsheng put down the bottle, stood up, and began spinning, jumping, and twisting his limbs in accordance with Feng Qi's movements.

In less than a minute, Wang Jinsheng sensed the spiritual energy motes drifting through the air.

After continuing for a while longer, Wang Jinsheng stopped moving, his face filled with shock.

"There's something special about this set of Cultivation Gymnastics!"

He discovered that this set of Cultivation Gymnastics allowed one to enter a cultivation state ten times faster than ordinary Cultivation Gymnastics, while the speed of absorbing spiritual energy was more than three times greater.

He could already imagine the immense impact it would have on humanity's future development if this set of Cultivation Gymnastics were promoted.

When the young were strong, the nation was strong. If humanity's new generation used this set of Cultivation Gymnastics to build their foundations, they would surely go farther than those who came before them.

Wang Jinsheng, who cared deeply about humanity's future, found the sorrow in his heart completely swept away at that moment.

A flame burned in his chest. He desperately wanted to know who that person had been and where he had obtained this improved version of Cultivation Gymnastics.

With that thought, Wang Jinsheng leaped down from the rooftop and landed a short distance behind Feng Qi.

"Feng Qi?" Wang Jinsheng called out uncertainly.

Hearing the call, Feng Qi grinned and turned to look at Wang Jinsheng.

"Teacher Wang, what is it?"

"You did that on purpose, didn't you? You deliberately performed that set of Cultivation Gymnastics in front of me because you wanted me to see it!" Wang Jinsheng immediately glared.

"Come with me. We need to talk!"

"It's too late. How about tomorrow? I still need to study."

At Feng Qi's refusal, the veins on Wang Jinsheng's forehead throbbed. He stepped forward, locked Feng Qi in a chokehold, and dragged him toward the teaching building.

"You brat, I haven't even settled the score with you over what happened in class today, and you still dare put on airs with me!"

"Old Wang, let go. I can't breathe. Your prized student is going to die!"

"Are you coming or not?!"

"I'm coming!" Feng Qi promptly gave in and begged for mercy.

Feng Qi genuinely admired Wang Jinsheng.

Even before seeing the future evaluation, he had already gained a general understanding of Wang Jinsheng.

He knew Wang Jinsheng had once been invited to join the Tiger Soul Research Institute and had been a highly promising talent in technique research at the time.

In their usual interactions, Wang Jinsheng was easygoing, like an older brother. He could take a joke and got along well with them.

Except during class. In the classroom, Wang Jinsheng was extremely strict, as though he were a completely different person.

Following Wang Jinsheng to the rooftop of the teaching building, Feng Qi's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Feng Qi, where did you learn that improved version of Cultivation Gymnastics?"

"If I said I researched and figured it out myself, would you believe me?" Feng Qi asked with a grin.

"Believe you? I believe you, my ass!" Wang Jinsheng could not help glaring.

In his view, researching Cultivation Methods was absolutely not something that could be accomplished through blind experimentation or lucky guesses.

That was because the circulation routes of every Cultivation Method were connected to the body's acupoints.

For this reason, the physical body was also known in Cultivation Studies as the "divine treasury of the body," while cultivation techniques that absorbed spiritual energy were the driving force for excavating the potential of that divine treasury.

The human body had fifty-two single acupoints, three hundred and nine paired acupoints, and fifty extraordinary acupoints outside the meridians, for a total of seven hundred and twenty acupoints.

The spiritual energy absorbed into the body needed to circulate through different acupoints according to the routes of the cultivation method, excavating the potential of the divine treasury and strengthening the power of the bloodline and the body.

If there was a problem with a Cultivation Method, it could disrupt a Cultivator's qi and blood, or even leave the body paralyzed.

Thus, even researchers at top cultivation-method research institutions such as the Tiger Soul Research Institute and the United Research Institute did not dare experiment carelessly when researching Cultivation Methods.

Now that Feng Qi claimed he had improved Cultivation Gymnastics through his own exploration, Wang Jinsheng found it difficult to believe.

Although he knew Feng Qi was highly talented in technique research, Wang Jinsheng felt that Feng Qi still had much to learn before he could truly improve a cultivation method. He was nowhere near ready yet.