First Cultivation

Zhong Liang said with a trace of anger, "Don't even mention that ungrateful brat. His old man came back from the Wilderness Area and didn't even bother coming home. We might as well have raised a dog."

Guan Ning and Aunt Xue exchanged a smile when they heard this. They knew what he was like, so neither of them responded...

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 yoga, the stiffness caused by his physical training gradually disappeared, and his body became more coordinated. Even his Force Application Technique improved considerably.

Ordinary trainees were doing well if they could bring 50% to 60% of their muscle strength to bear. Guan Ning could now engage more than 75% of his muscles at the same time. That was one reason his punching strength had reached the Quasi-Warrior standard.

Yoga had other benefits, too. Although Guan Ning's speed had not improved much, his agility had increased greatly. That was also one reason his nerve reaction speed had reached the excellent level for a Beginner Warrior.

After finishing his yoga practice, Guan Ning took a shower, changed into a loose-fitting training outfit, and solemnly carried a wooden box to the third-floor terrace. It was already one or two in the morning. Apart from the stars filling the sky, everything nearby was shrouded in darkness and silence.

Inside the wooden box was a reddish-purple stick of Sandalwood Incense as thick as a thumb. It was the most precious treasure his parents had left him. Sandalwood Incense could calm the mind and focus the spirit, and it was quite helpful when sensing cosmic energy for the first time.

According to the book, one had to sense cosmic energy before absorbing it.

Most talented people could sense it on their first day of cultivation. Warriors with weaker talent, however, might spend a year or even longer just trying to sense cosmic energy.

But with Sandalwood Incense, almost anyone could sense cosmic energy on their first day. That was what made it so miraculous.

Speaking of Sandalwood Incense, one had to mention the Great Nirvana. After the Great Nirvana, birds, beasts, fish, and shrimp had all evolved, but plants had not. Still, nourished by cosmic energy, some plants had gradually developed special properties. Sandalwood Incense was made from a rare kind of sandalwood. One shouldn't underestimate it: a single small stick was worth tens of millions of Huaxia Currency. Most of Guan's Father and Guan's Mother's savings had gone toward buying it.

The most important thing about Sandalwood Incense was that it could offer some help when warriors studied cultivation techniques. It was only a little help, but treasures with this effect were exceedingly rare on Earth. If Sandalwood Incense weren't a renewable resource, its price would be even higher.

"Whoosh!"

After he lit the Sandalwood Incense, its smoke curled upward, and Guan Ning's mind cleared. He sat cross-legged on a cushion, the soles of his feet facing upward and his palms resting on his thighs, facing up. His back was straight.

The soles of both feet, the palms of both hands, and the Baihui Acupoint at the top of the head—these were the Five Hearts in the Five-Heart-to-Heaven Cultivation Method.

"Inhale, exhale..."

Guan Ning's breathing gradually steadied. With the help of the Sandalwood Incense and the unusual experience he had just gone through, his mind slowly quieted, like a lake whose surface was smooth as a mirror.

All was silent. His breathing had become almost imperceptible.

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

"Hm?" It was not until half an hour later that Guan Ning felt faint streams of energy passing through the soles of his feet, the palms of his hands, and the Baihui Acupoint at the top of his head, then flowing into his body at an extremely slow pace.

"Is this cosmic energy?" Although Guan Ning was excited, he knew he couldn't let his mind wander. Otherwise, all his effort would be wasted.

He focused his awareness on the Five Hearts. Following the instructions in the Five-Heart-to-Heaven Cultivation Method, he sent out thought after thought of "absorbing cosmic energy." The rate at which the soles of his feet, the palms of his hands, and the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of his head drew it in suddenly surged.

"Ah..."

A deep sense of comfort that seemed to come from his soul made Guan Ning's body shudder from the marrow outward.

The invisible cosmic energy entered Guan Ning's body, where his cells, starved for far too long, devoured and refined it frantically.

Guan Ning's body was undergoing constant changes. Nourished by cosmic energy, his skin, muscles, bones, and cells—even his genes at the deepest level—were changing and gradually improving. This was the process of a life-level leap!

His bones grew denser, and the power within his cells surged wildly. Since this was the first time Guan Ning's body had absorbed cosmic energy, it was in a state of extreme deprivation when it encountered the energy, so it absorbed it voraciously.

After entering Guan Ning's body, some of the cosmic energy was absorbed by his body, while a tiny amount flowed into his sea of consciousness. It was simply too scarce for Guan Ning to notice.

The next morning, the rising sun still carried a hint of chill. As Guan Ning sat cross-legged facing it, the cosmic energy flowing into his body abruptly stopped.

"Has my body reached its limit?" At the same time, this meant his first cultivation session had ended.

Guan Ning slowly stood up. The moment he did, he realized something was different.

Although the cosmic energy had increased his weight, his body felt much lighter. A gentle leap sent him two or three meters into the air. If he hadn't been on the terrace, he might have hit the ceiling.

He threw a few punches into the air. The air in front of him seemed to compress, and his blows whooshed with force. The power within his body had grown by a huge amount.

He hurried to the basement training room and tested his punching strength and speed. When he saw the results, Guan Ning burst into laughter.

Punching strength—"2942 kg";

Speed—"55.6 m/s";

Although there was no Nerve Reaction Tester at home, his previous rating of excellent for a Beginner Warrior already put him at the passing level for an Intermediate Warrior. After a night of cultivation, his nerve reaction score would surely be even higher.

With his current physical abilities, he had already reached the Intermediate Warrior level. Guan Ning couldn't help being excited. After all, in the original story, when Luo Feng first absorbed cosmic energy, even with the enhancement from his Spiritual Force, he had only been a little stronger than Guan Ning was now.

That meant he should be able to qualify for early admission to the Limit Martial Hall. Just thinking about the detached villa, the 20 million in start-up funds, the Guiding Technique worth 50 million, and the sword and movement technique manuals made Guan Ning drool.

He couldn't be blamed for that. After all, his parents' savings had dwindled to almost nothing during this period, so he desperately needed money. And since he already lived in Ginkgo Residential District, he could trade the villa for 10 million in funds. That would give Guan Ning 80 million in total. How could he not be tempted?

His only thought now was to hurry to the Limit Dojo and tell Qian Yun the good news. He didn't even bother to tidy up at home. Still dressed in his training clothes, he rushed out and sprinted toward the dojo at full speed.

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

After all, the people living in Ginkgo Residential District were either warriors or their family members, and they were fairly knowledgeable. They could easily judge Guan Ning's strength from his speed. That would have caused quite a commotion.

Standing outside the dojo, Guan Ning stared at the tightly shut doors, at a complete loss.

He still hadn't received his Quasi-Warrior certificate, and he didn't have a High-Level Trainee certificate, either.

The martial hall's rules stated that trainees had to be at least sixteen to receive a trainee certificate. Guan Ning had been only fifteen at the time, so the martial hall hadn't issued him a High-Level Trainee certificate. Later, because of what had happened to his parents, he never came back to take the martial hall's assessment. So now he couldn't get in at all.

As for the Quasi-Warrior Assessment the day before, Guan Ning had been able to enter because he was a warrior's family member. He had often come to the martial hall as a child to listen to the instructors' lectures, and the doors were already open.

But now it was too early, and the doors hadn't opened yet. Only trainees with certificates or warriors with warrior certificates could enter. Guan Ning had no choice but to call Qian Yun. He needed to wait for her to open the doors, and he also needed her to witness his talent evaluation.

"Beep, beep..."

The call connected a moment later, and Qian Yun's groggy voice came through his wristwatch. "Ning, why are you calling so early? Is something wrong?"

"Aunt Qian, I'm really sorry. I was just too excited and lost track of time." Guan Ning only then realized how early it was and spoke apologetically.

"Fine, tell me. If it's not good enough to satisfy me, just you wait." Qian Yun had woken up by then and spoke fiercely, clearly unhappy that Guan Ning had disturbed her.

"Aunt Qian, I absorbed cosmic energy for four hours yesterday. My punching strength reached nearly 3,000 kilograms, and my speed went up to 55 meters per second. I wanted to test my nerve reaction speed, but I didn't realize I'd arrived too early."

Hearing the excitement in Guan Ning's voice, Qian Yun jolted awake and quickly asked, "What did you say?"

Before Guan Ning could answer, Qian Yun continued, "Ning, wait there. I'm coming right now."

A minute or two later, Guan Ning felt a gust of wind sweep past, and Qian Yun appeared in front of him. She could barely hide the excitement on her face.

"Beep!"

The doors opened. Qian Yun took the lead and said, "Come on. Let's test you again."

"Yes," Guan Ning replied respectfully.

As the results of each test came in, Qian Yun's eyes grew brighter and brighter. She looked at Guan Ning as if he were a priceless treasure, and excitement flushed her face.

Punching strength—2965 kg;

Speed—55.3 m/s;

Nerve reaction speed—full marks for Beginner Warrior; excellent for Intermediate Warrior.

Qian Yun couldn't help being excited. Warriors at the Limit Martial Hall all valued their contribution points highly.

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

But ever since Qian Yun had become Chief Instructor, she had not hunted monsters in a long time, so her contribution points had naturally grown slowly.

However, if she discovered a talent—especially a genius like Guan Ning—the martial hall would award her a substantial number of contribution points. And it would give her far more prestige among the other Chief Instructors, too.

From birth until their first cultivation of Genetic Origin Energy, humans never absorbed any Genetic Origin Energy. That was why the first cultivation session brought the greatest improvement.