Although Feng Qingmo couldn't make out the expressions on his parents' faces, he could easily feel their deep love for him and their hopes that he would make something of himself. A warmth he had never felt before welled up inside him.
"I understand. Don't worry!" Feng Qingmo replied solemnly. After a brief hesitation, he smiled and said, "Mom, Dad, I didn't just sense the universe's energy today. I also have a surprise..."
"Oh? What sur—How is this possible?" Zuo Huifen had just asked curiously when her mouth fell open as she watched the wine bottle on the table rise into the air.
Feng Qingmo smiled without answering. Using his Spiritual Force to control the bottle, he poured a glass for each of his parents, then one for himself, before returning the bottle to its place.
"Qingmo..." Feng Jiansong swallowed hard, then asked excitedly, "Have you awakened your Spiritual Force?"
"Yes, Dad." Feng Qingmo nodded. "After I finished absorbing Genetic Energy for the first time, my physical abilities should have improved by quite a bit..."
He paused. "That's why I awakened my Spiritual Force!"
"My son is a Spiritual Master!" Zuo Huifen murmured. Though her voice was soft, it couldn't hide her overwhelming joy, excitement, and pride.
"How strong is the core of your Spiritual Force?" Feng Jiansong had faced death many times as a Junior War General, so he quickly composed himself and asked expectantly, "Is it solid or liquid?"
Feng Jiansong had been a Martial Artist for more than twenty years. Although he hadn't met many Spiritual Masters, how could he not be curious about their mysterious abilities? He had naturally read all kinds of posts about them.
"Somewhere between liquid and solid." Feng Qingmo gestured with his hand. "It's kind of like jelly—maybe a little firmer than jelly, but definitely not solid..."
"That's already excellent!" A smile bloomed across Feng Jiansong's face. He turned to Zuo Huifen and said, "I once read in a post that someone with a solid core can grow to at least the War God level, while someone with a liquid core can reach at least the War General level. Qingmo's core is stronger than liquid but not quite solid, so he can at least reach the Advanced War General level. Maybe even Beginner War God..."
A smile blossomed across Zuo Huifen's face as well, and she nodded repeatedly.
As an Advanced Warrior who used firearms, she knew how powerful an Advanced War General could be. She hadn't met many War Gods, but that didn't stop her from knowing their status among Martial Artists.
"Qingmo," Feng Jiansong said with a small sigh of relief, "I've always hoped you'd become a true Martial Artist, but I've also been worried about your eyesight. Now that you have your Spiritual Force to help you, your eyesight shouldn't affect your combat ability too much..."
Because of his poor eyesight, Feng Jiansong and Zuo Huifen had taken Feng Qingmo to countless hospitals and doctors over the years. Every attempt had been fruitless.
His eyesight had also kept him from attending school like other children. He could only listen to his courses online, and his academic performance wasn't good. He hadn't even taken the college entrance exam.
"Mom, Dad," Feng Qingmo said, recalling the memories in his mind. "After cultivating Genetic Energy and awakening my Spiritual Force, my physical abilities improved quite a bit. My eyesight seems a little better, too. Maybe as I keep cultivating and my body gets stronger, my eyesight will gradually improve."
He wasn't just trying to comfort them. After merging with the memories, he had realized that his eyesight really was a little better than before he had crossed over.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Zuo Huifen was even happier.
"You make a good point." Feng Jiansong nodded. "Tomorrow, come with me to the dojo so we can test how much stronger you've become. Then, on the first of next month, you'll take the Quasi-Warrior Assessment."
"Okay, Dad."
Although the family's training room had equipment to test punching power, it didn't have anything to measure speed or neural response. They might as well wait until tomorrow and get all the tests done at the dojo.
"Huifen, Qingmo," Feng Jiansong said, his voice turning serious as he looked at his wife and son. "Spiritual Masters are far too rare, and Qingmo has only just awakened. We shouldn't tell anyone for now. After he passes the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, we can decide what to do based on the situation."
"Your dad is right," Zuo Huifen added. "Although your dad is an instructor at a dojo, ours isn't the Limit Dojo or the Thunder Dojo. It belongs to our country's military, so your dad and I are both in the military. Let's wait until your dad has looked into the situation before we decide."
Feng Qingmo had no objection. He hadn't planned on revealing so soon that he had awakened his Spiritual Force, but his parents' concern made him willing to share the secret with them. It would put their minds at ease.
The three of them soon finished the bottle of wine. They talked for a long while before finally heading off to rest.
Since he had cultivated that afternoon, Feng Qingmo didn't try to absorb Origin Energy again as he sat in his room. Instead, he quietly thought things over.
Since I've come to this vast, wondrous, and beautiful world, I can't just sit around and waste my life. If I want to live forever, I'll have to at least reach the Immortal level...
Feng Qingmo searched through his memories for the date and couldn't help feeling stunned. "It's only 2053! It's almost the end of the year, but the timing's all wrong..."
"Going by the timeline, Luo Feng is only fifteen, right? He should still be in junior high. He hasn't even started high school, let alone joined a dojo..."
"We're both in Jiangnan City, but I'm in the main urban district and he's in Yangzhou. I'll wait a few years, until he joins a dojo, then see if there's a chance to get to know him..."
"Mom and Dad are both in the Military, but Dad lost his right hand in a beast tide a few years ago. Mom was pregnant with their second child at the time, but she was injured in that beast tide, which led to..."
"Because of that injury, Mom was never able to get pregnant again..."
"In that case, I'll need at least two doses of the Water of Life..."
"Maybe my eyesight will need one, too. That makes three doses, which will cost at least forty billion... I'll also need to get into the War God Palace..."
"A few days ago, I finally met the standard for becoming a Martial Artist. After sensing the energy for several days, I completed my first cultivation this afternoon." Feng Qingmo clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, and carefully recalled what had happened. "My first cultivation should have increased my strength by over 1,000 kg. My physical abilities improved so much that the Spiritual Force in my mind awakened directly..."
"After awakening, the feedback from my Spiritual Force added about another 1,000 kg. I remember Luo Feng gained 500 to 600 kg of strength the first time he cultivated, then about 1,500 kg when his Spiritual Force awakened. Judging by that, my talent for Spiritual Force is probably worse than his, but my talent as a Martial Artist seems a little better?"
He carefully assessed his strength. "I'm probably at around 3,000 to 3,300 kg now..."
Although he had read the original novel in his previous life, he had never expected to cross over into it, so he hadn't prepared in advance. It had millions of words' worth of plot, after all.
Besides, he didn't have a photographic memory. Even though he'd read it several times, he couldn't remember every detail. Only certain parts of the story had left a particularly deep impression on him.
I should take advantage of what I still remember and go over it quickly...
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