I Really Am a Genius

The next day, early in the morning.

Jiang Ping opened his eyes and stretched lazily.

Although he had nearly been slapped awake last night, he had slept quite comfortably overall.

The fatigue from yesterday's training had completely vanished, leaving him clear-headed and full of energy.

He got dressed, took a towel, and went outside to wash up.

By this time, quite a few people had already gathered in the washing area.

Jiang Ping noticed that they all used willow twigs to clean their mouths. In contrast, he brushed his teeth with salt, making him seem slightly out of place.

"Does rinsing with salt work well?" someone asked him. Quite a few people looked over curiously as well.

"It's alright," Jiang Ping replied.

He knew that ordinary poor folk could hardly bear to use salt for rinsing. Even his old coworkers had used willow twigs. Since his ancestors had once been wealthy, and his parents had taught him by word and example, he had never changed his way of cleaning his mouth.

"I'll buy some and try it next time." Liu Wensheng looked at the twig in his hand and spoke.

"See you later." After washing up, Jiang Ping headed back to the dormitory.

Compared with Luo Tiegen, everyone else had a better sense of propriety and had not asked him for any.

He was too poor. His salt would only last himself a month or two.

Yet what one thought about day and night would surely return in some form.

The moment he entered the dormitory, he saw Luo Tiegen and his fellow villager heading out to wash up.

When Luo Tiegen saw Jiang Ping, he was like Jerry seeing cheese. His eyes lit up as he said, "Jiang Ping, lend me some salt to use."

"No." Jiang Ping refused without hesitation.

He was actually a kind and easygoing person, but he was definitely not a fool.

The other man had already freeloaded off him once yesterday. During training, he had even wanted Jiang Ping to act as free labor and guide his fellow villager in the Nourishing Life Technique.

And today, he still wanted to freeload off Jiang Ping's salt.

Jiang Ping had understood by now that this person was the sort who pushed his luck and loved taking advantage of others.

If he generously opened this door now, then half his salt would surely belong to the other man from now on.

What was more, Jiang Ping had noticed yesterday that Luo Tiegen had paid for an extra serving of beef at both lunch and dinner.

With that money, could he not afford a little salt?

He had merely seen Jiang Ping agree to lend him salt the first time and thought he was easy to talk to. That was why he kept probing bit by bit, trying to test more boundaries and grab more benefits.

But how could Jiang Ping agree? They had only known each other for two days, far from deserving the word "friends."

Luo Tiegen's hand, which had been reaching for the salt, froze in midair. The atmosphere turned somewhat awkward.

"Use mine. I bought some," his fellow villager said, stepping in to smooth things over.

"Da Niu, you bought salt?" Luo Tiegen's embarrassment instantly vanished. He no longer paid Jiang Ping any attention and instead turned to look at Luo Da Niu.

Da Niu glanced at Jiang Ping as he walked past and said, "Yesterday, I saw Jiang Ping rinsing with salt, so I went out and bought some myself last night to see whether it worked well."

Look at that. That was someone who understood propriety. If he wanted to try salt, he would not ask someone else for it. He would choose to spend his own money and buy it.

Come to think of it, Luo Da Niu had been the one who spoke up last night to stop Sun Zheng, preventing that slap from landing.

But now Sun Zheng still asked about his condition.

"Didn't feel anything." Jiang Ping naturally would not tell the truth to an idiot. He casually brushed him off.

After tidying up a little,

Jiang Ping headed out to the dining hall.

He had no intention of missing the Escort Agency's free meals, so he chose to go early.

However, some people were even earlier than he was.

Fortunately, the dining hall had opened early too. Before long, Jiang Ping was eating fresh, steaming-hot beef.

After eating, he practiced the Nourishing Life Technique at the Training Ground.

The two escorts naturally could not supervise them every day anymore. Training now depended entirely on one's own initiative.

As he performed the movements of the Nourishing Life Technique, a strand of Blood Qi traveled through his body. The Destiny in Jiang Ping's mind flickered faintly:

[Nourishing Life Technique Second Level (13/100): Practice ten times daily, and it will be achieved in half a month]

The Destiny's effect could not be wrong. What was wrong was his body.

His talent was simply too strong!

[Nourishing Life Technique Second Level (13/100) → Nourishing Life Technique Second Level (14/100)]

After finishing the first round, his proficiency had risen to twenty.

The second round added another eight points.

After six rounds, the Second Level's progress had already passed the halfway mark again.

"After practicing six rounds, I no longer have the strength to continue, and the training effect has diminished. Across those six rounds, proficiency never increased by more than nine at a time."

"As expected, each level of the Nourishing Life Technique is harder than the last. Otherwise, the Escort Agency would not have only a scant few people who became Martial Artists."

"But with my talent, I'll soon break through the Nourishing Life Technique's Second Level, and my Fist Force will rise by another forty pounds!"

Jiang Ping pondered this, anticipation in his eyes.

With his talent, how long would it take for him to become a Martial Artist?

One month?

A day passed quickly.

Jiang Ping progressed at a tremendous pace. He was only two proficiency points away from mastering the Second Level.

At the same time, he discovered something about himself. He practiced three times every day, and he could train longer in the morning. By the afternoon and evening, he lacked stamina, with the afternoon being the least enduring.

It was likely related to his own talent.

However, though he had this doubt, Jiang Ping did not dare ask the Head Escort about it, lest he expose himself.

Thus, he simply stopped digging to the bottom of it. So long as he advanced at lightning speed, that was enough. Every day was a day filled with hope.

The only fly in the ointment was that he slept early and was once again nearly awakened by the noise.

There was no helping it. A ten-man dormitory was simply too crowded. Jiang Ping wanted to break through to the Fourth Level at once and be assigned a Single House.

This time, Sun Zheng still waited until everyone was present before asking each person once.

Aside from Qian Dele, who said he felt it strongly, everyone else said nothing unusual had happened.

Of course, this time Sun Zheng had no intention of waking Jiang Ping.

In his daze, Jiang Ping fell asleep again.

When he opened his eyes, it was another bright and sunny day.

"Comfortable." Jiang Ping yawned.

Sure enough, ever since he began training, his sleep had grown more comfortable by the day. All the exhaustion in his body had been washed away, and he was filled with strength from head to toe.

After breakfast,

at the Training Ground,

not long after Jiang Ping began his first round of the Nourishing Life Technique:

[Nourishing Life Technique Second Level (99/100) → Nourishing Life Technique third layer (0/100)]

[Nourishing Life Technique third layer (0/100): Practice ten times daily, and it will be achieved in one month!]

At that moment, the Blood Qi within him surged sharply, changing from a little over one strand to three strands.

With every breath he took, that Blood Qi sometimes roiled like crashing waves and sometimes sank into stillness.

Jiang Ping found that he had become increasingly adept at using Blood Qi.

At the same time, he sensed that this Blood Qi was the wellspring of strength. As long as the Blood Qi in his body remained surging, his entire body seemed to boil, as though he possessed inexhaustible strength. Once the Blood Qi settled, that sense of power vanished.

"So that's how it is. The degree to which Blood Qi surges is the beginning of the human body displaying strength. When I unleash one strand of Blood Qi, that is the strength of the Nourishing Life Technique's First level. Three strands are two levels."

Jiang Ping secretly pondered, then immediately revealed a delighted expression.

So long as he unleashed the Blood Qi within him according to the situation during the next Fist Force test, he could definitely enter the Top Five and receive extra nutritious food while concealing his true strength.

It was simply killing two birds with one stone!

Jiang Ping was rather excited.

It was only the beginning of the third day, yet he had already mastered two levels of the Nourishing Life Technique and found a way not to become the bird that stuck its head out!

He glanced at the Destiny with some disdain.

According to what the Destiny said, he would need at least a year and a half before becoming a Martial Artist.

Good thing he was a genius!

Of course, he could not say the Destiny was useless either. It should be able to guarantee his upper limit.

"Come to think of it, how long would it take people like them to reach the First level?"

Jiang Ping glanced around.

Everyone was diligently practicing the Nourishing Life Technique, but after two days, there seemed to be no news of anyone reaching Entry Level.

I really am a genius! Jiang Ping thought.

Yet by the afternoon, that carefree satisfaction of his had somewhat collapsed.

"I sensed Blood Qi! I sensed Blood Qi!"

A thrilled voice rang across the entire Training Ground, leaving everyone stunned.

"So fast?" Jiang Ping blurted out.

No way, someone had already reached Entry Level?

Wasn't the Nourishing Life Technique supposed to be difficult? It had only been three days.

Jiang Ping looked toward the voice and discovered a tall guy dancing about as he bragged to those around him.

The other man was Sun Qi, who had previously ranked in the Top Five for Fist Force.

"Amazing!" Jiang Ping exclaimed, instantly feeling pressure.

Sure enough, although he had some talent, he could not be too complacent. Beyond people, there were always greater people!

Though the other man had only just reached Entry Level, he could not be underestimated.

Of course, that man ate one more serving of beef than Jiang Ping at every meal. Otherwise, Jiang Ping was confident that he could train even faster!

But that inequality in nutritious food would be erased tomorrow.

At the Training Ground, Sun Qi had abruptly become the center of attention. Some were astonished, some jealous, and some ran over to congratulate him and ingratiate themselves.

After the uproar, everyone seemed to have been injected with chicken blood, and their practice movements became even more vigorous.

Even Jiang Ping, who felt the pressure, practiced one extra round of the Nourishing Life Technique.

"You're working pretty hard today. Feeling the pressure?" Liu Wensheng could not help but chuckle from beside him.

Aside from those at the top of the Fist Force rankings, the only one who caught his attention was this little white face before him.

There was no helping it. When a second frog appeared among a crowd of toads, it was hard not to notice.

"Yeah." Jiang Ping nodded. He sprawled on the ground, panting and drenched in sweat.

How could he not feel pressure? He was only at the Second Level, yet someone had already reached Entry Level. Clearly, he was still not genius enough. He had to work harder and strive to widen the gap to two levels of skill!

If Liu Wensheng could hear Jiang Ping's thoughts right now, he would probably have the urge to beat him to death.

Listen to that. Was that even something a person would say?