First Cultivation

Zhong Liang said with a hint of irritation, "Don't even mention that ungrateful wretch. His old man returned from the Wilderness Area, and he didn't even bother to come back. Truly a waste of effort raising him."

Guan Ning and Aunt Xue exchanged a smile upon hearing this; knowing his temper, neither of them bothered to respond.

After returning home from Aunt Xue's place, Guan Ning first practiced yoga for an hour. He had specifically learned it to improve his body's flexibility. Through this practice, the stiffness caused by his physical training gradually vanished, his body became more coordinated, and even his force-generating techniques improved significantly.

An average trainee would consider it remarkable to exert 50% to 60% of their muscle strength, but Guan Ning could now mobilize over 75% of his muscles to exert force simultaneously. This was one of the factors that allowed his punch power to reach the Quasi-Warrior standard.

The benefits of yoga didn't stop there. Although Guan Ning's speed hadn't increased much as a result, his agility had greatly enhanced, which was one of the reasons his neural reaction speed could reach the "Excellent" level of a Junior Warrior.

After finishing his yoga, Guan Ning took a shower. Dressed in loose training clothes and wearing a solemn expression, he carried a wooden box to the third-floor terrace. It was already one or two in the morning; aside from the stars filling the sky, the surroundings were dark and silent.

Inside the wooden box was a thumb-thick, purplish-red sandalwood stick. This was the most precious treasure his parents had left him—Sandalwood Incense. It could help one calm the mind and focus, playing a significant role in "sensing" cosmic energy for the first time.

According to the texts, to absorb cosmic energy, one must first be able to sense it.

A genius might be able to sense it on the very first day of cultivation, while a warrior with weaker talent could spend months or even half a year just trying to sense cosmic energy.

However, with the help of the Sandalwood Incense, one could basically sense cosmic energy on the first day. Such was the miraculous nature of the incense.

Speaking of the Sandalwood Incense, one must mention the Great Nirvana. After the Great Nirvana, whether it was birds, beasts, fish, or shrimp, all had evolved. Plants, however, did not evolve, though some, nourished by cosmic energy, gradually developed special effects. The Sandalwood Incense was crafted from a special type of sandalwood. One should not underestimate it; this single small stick was worth ten million Huaxia Currency, and most of the savings left by Guan Ning's parents had been spent on it.

The most important aspect of the Sandalwood Incense was that it could provide a bit of assistance when a warrior was contemplating cultivation techniques. Although it was only a small amount, treasures with such effects were rare on Earth. If it weren't for the fact that the sandalwood was a renewable resource, the price would be even higher.

"Hoo!"

After lighting the Sandalwood Incense, the smoke curled upward, and Guan Ning's mind felt a sudden clarity. He sat cross-legged on a mat, soles of his feet facing upward, palms resting on his legs facing upward, his back straight.

The soles of the feet, the palms of the hands, and the Baihui Acupoint on the crown of the head—these were the five hearts of the Five-Heart-to-Heaven Cultivation Method.

"Hoo, ha..."

Guan Ning's breathing gradually leveled out. With the help of the Sandalwood Incense and his earlier state of mind, his heart grew quiet, like a lake as calm as a mirror.

Silent and still, his breathing became almost imperceptible.

One minute, two minutes... five minutes... ten minutes...

"Hmm?" It wasn't until half an hour later that Guan Ning felt wisps of energy passing through the soles of his feet, the palms of his hands, and the Baihui Acupoint, flowing into his body with extreme slowness.

"Is this cosmic energy?" Although excited, Guan Ning knew he couldn't lose focus, or all his efforts would be in vain.

He immediately concentrated his consciousness on the 'five hearts.' Following the instructions of the Five-Heart-to-Heaven Cultivation Method, he projected thoughts of 'absorbing cosmic energy,' and the rate at which the soles, palms, and crown of his head absorbed energy surged instantly.

"Ah~~"

A sense of comfort originating from his soul made Guan Ning's body tremble deeply, starting from the bone marrow.

Once the formless cosmic energy entered Guan Ning's body, it was frantically devoured and refined by cells that had been starving for far too long.

At this moment, Guan Ning's body was undergoing constant changes. Skin, muscles, bones, cells, and even his deep-seated genes were being nourished and transformed by the cosmic energy, gradually optimizing. This was the process of a life-form leap!

His bone density increased continuously, and the power contained within his cells grew wildly. Because this was the first time his body was absorbing cosmic energy, it naturally absorbed it frantically, having been in a state of extreme hunger.

After the cosmic energy entered his body, besides being absorbed by his physique, a tiny wisp entered his sea of consciousness, though it was so faint that Guan Ning did not notice it.

The next morning, the rising sun still carried a hint of chill. Guan Ning sat cross-legged facing the sun, and the cosmic energy flowing into his body came to an abrupt halt.

"Is my body saturated?" At the same time, this meant his first cultivation session had ended.

Guan Ning rose slowly, and as he stood up, he realized something was wrong.

Although his weight had increased due to the cosmic energy, Guan Ning felt his body was even lighter. With a gentle leap, he jumped two or three meters high; had he not been on the terrace, he might have hit the ceiling.

He threw a few punches into the air, noticing the air in front of him being compressed and whistling with force. The power contained within his body had increased by a significant margin.

He hurried to the underground training room to test his punch power and speed. Upon seeing the results, Guan Ning burst into loud laughter.

Punch Power—"2942kg";

Speed—"55.6m/s";

Although there was no neural reaction tester at home, even his previous "Junior Warrior Excellent" rating was equivalent to a "Mid-level Warrior Qualified" rating. Not to mention that after the night's cultivation, his neural reaction score would surely climb even higher.

Based on his current physical fitness, he had already stepped into the Mid-level Warrior rank. Guan Ning couldn't help but be excited; after all, in the original story, Luo Feng was only slightly stronger than the current Guan Ning after his first absorption of cosmic energy and the strengthening of his spiritual power.

If this was the case, he should be able to qualify for early admission to the Limit Martial Hall. Just thinking about that detached villa, the 20 million startup capital, and the 50 million worth of Guiding Techniques, sword manuals, and movement manuals made Guan Ning drool.

One couldn't blame him; after the expenses of this period, the funds left by his parents were nearly gone, so he was in urgent need of money. Moreover, since he already lived in the Ginkgo Residential District, that villa could be exchanged for another 10 million in funds. In this way, Guan Ning would effectively gain 80 million in capital. How could he not be tempted?

His current thought was to rush to the Limit Dojo and tell Qian Yun the good news. Too impatient to tidy up his home, he put on his training suit and dashed out the door, sprinting toward the dojo at full speed.

A minute later, he appeared at the entrance of the dojo. Fortunately, it was early morning and there weren't many people in the residential district; otherwise, his current speed would have long since attracted the attention of the residents.

After all, the residents of the Ginkgo Residential District were either warriors or their families, and they were quite knowledgeable. They could easily deduce his strength from his speed, and it would have become quite a scene.

Standing at the entrance of the dojo and looking at the tightly closed gate, Guan Ning was suddenly at a loss.

He hadn't received his "Quasi-Warrior" certificate yet, and as for a "High-level Trainee" certificate, he didn't have one.

The martial hall had a rule that trainee certificates were only issued at sixteen. Since Guan Ning was only fifteen at the time, he was too young, so the hall hadn't issued him a "High-level Trainee" certificate. Later, due to his parents' incident, Guan Ning hadn't come to the hall for assessment, so he couldn't get in at all.

As for the Quasi-Warrior assessment yesterday, it was because Guan Ning, as a warrior's family member, often came to the hall as a child to listen to instructors' lectures, and since the main gate had already been opened, he could naturally enter.

But now, because it was too early, the gate hadn't opened yet, and only those with a trainee certificate or a warrior certificate could enter. Guan Ning had no choice but to call Qian Yun, partly to wait for her to open the gate, and partly because his qualification rating required her witness.

"Beep, beep..."

The call connected after a short while, and Qian Yun's groggy voice came through the wrist device, "Xiao Ning, why so early? Is something the matter?"

"Aunt Qian, I am truly sorry. I was just too excited and lost track of time," Guan Ning said, feeling a bit apologetic as he finally realized what time it was.

"Alright, speak. If you can't satisfy me with your answer, you'd better watch out," Qian Yun said, now fully awake and speaking with a fierce tone, clearly very unhappy about being disturbed by Guan Ning.

"Aunt Qian, I absorbed cosmic energy for four hours yesterday. My punch force reached nearly 3,000 kilograms, and my speed increased to 55 meters per second. I wanted to test my neural reaction speed, but I didn't expect to arrive so early and didn't pay attention to the time."

Hearing Guan Ning's excited words, Qian Yun gave a start and hurriedly asked, "What did you say?"

Before Guan Ning could even reply, Qian Yun continued, "Little Ning, wait there, I'll be right over."

In about a minute or two, Guan Ning felt a gust of wind blow past, and Qian Yun's figure appeared before him, the excitement on her face impossible to conceal.

"Beep!"

The door opened, and Qian Yun took the lead, saying, "Let's go, test it for me."

"Yes," Guan Ning said respectfully.

As each test result came out, Qian Yun's eyes grew brighter and brighter. She looked at Guan Ning as if he were a peerless treasure, her face flushed with excitement.

Punch Force--2965kg;

Speed--55.3m/s;

Neural Reaction Speed--Junior Warrior: Perfect Score; Intermediate Warrior: Excellent.

Qian Yun could not help but be excited; martial artists of the Limit Martial Hall all placed great importance on martial hall contribution points.

The fastest way to increase contribution points was to hunt monsters.

However, ever since Qian Yun became Chief Instructor, she had not gone out to hunt monsters for a long time, so her contribution points naturally grew slowly.

But if one discovered talent, especially a genius like Guan Ning, the contribution points awarded by the martial hall were substantial, not to mention the prestige it brought in front of other Chief Instructors.

From the moment humans are born until they first cultivate Genetic Origin Energy, their bodies have never absorbed it, so the improvement during that first session of cultivation is the greatest.