027: Surging Life Force

Tang Jian returned to his room, feeling utterly exhausted. He focused his mind, glanced at his Attribute Template, and immediately froze.

"Owner: Tang Jian.

Card Energy: [50/50]+

Spirit: [6/6]+

Life Force: [7.6]+

Special Abilities: 1. ??? (???)

2. Dream Realm. (???)

Current Energy: [400]+"

A thousand points of energy had been completely depleted.

Yet, his Life Force had directly increased by 1 point, and his Card Energy had also risen by 3 points.

This sudden leap caught Tang Jian off guard; he was startled by how quickly he had broken through.

He could feel his Card Energy was indeed stronger, and while he couldn't yet clearly sense the full extent of the enhancement to his muscles, nerves, and bones, he clenched his fist!

Tang Jian could clearly see the muscle lines on his forearm instantly bulge. He then sucked in his stomach, and a series of attractive muscle curves appeared, transforming his four-pack abs into a six-pack.

Strong!

Tang Jian flipped and leaped into the air, landing steadily with a backflip. A wild grin spread across his face, unable to contain his joy. This enhancement was incredibly worthwhile.

However, the next moment, Tang Jian grunted, feeling a sense of hunger emanating from deep within his body.

This hunger was incredibly intense, not originating from his stomach, but rather a consciousness of hunger coming from every cell in his body.

Tang Jian was startled. Suddenly, surges of energy appeared deep within his mind. He focused and saw the 400 points displayed in the energy option of his Attribute Template rapidly decreasing, inexplicably being consumed at a fast rate.

But as these 400 points of energy were depleted, the intense hunger from his body's cells was significantly curbed.

However, the hunger still lingered, but Tang Jian's Card Energy began to take over from the regular energy, visibly depleting at an alarming rate.

Fifty points of Card Energy.

It was quickly used up.

Thump—

Tang Jian felt a sudden weakness throughout his body and collapsed back onto the bed. He lay there, wide-eyed and astonished, staring at the completely depleted Card Energy and regular energy in his Attribute Template.

"What's going on?"

"Did the rapid increase in Life Force, achieved using energy, somehow tap into my body's hidden potential, leading to this intense hunger?"

"If I hadn't had those 400 points of leftover energy, would I have just, like, died?"

"Phew, much better now."

Tang Jian pondered for a moment and roughly figured out what had happened.

He had experienced something similar in his previous life when he took a Genetic Potion that enhanced Life Force.

Genetic Potions rapidly strengthen the body and increase Life Force in a very short time. While most of the energy consumed during this process comes from the energy substances contained within the potion itself, a small portion of the energy consumption also comes from one's own life potential.

If the life potential is severely depleted, it can even lead to death. With minor depletion, the body instinctively sends signals like hunger to indicate a need for energy replenishment.

Although Tang Jian had used the Red Card cheat to rapidly boost his Life Force, it had clearly caused a slight depletion of his own life potential.

This depletion of life potential causes the body to instinctively react by absorbing various forms of energy to replenish itself. If replenishment is not sustained over a long period, it can harm one's health, causing significant hidden damage and affecting one's foundation.

Thinking this, Tang Jian inwardly sighed in relief. It seemed that the cheat wasn't something to be abused casually. After all, it was his own body; it wasn't inflatable, and he couldn't just replace it if he broke it.

Now, all his Card Energy was depleted, but that slight hunger still persisted.

Tang Jian bravely got up, fumbled his way downstairs, opened the fridge, and searched for food to eat to replenish his energy.

Fortunately, the four hundred points of energy and his Card Energy had made up for most of the deficit. After Tang Jian ate a good amount of food, his stomach felt full, and that slight hunger finally disappeared.

"What a pain. I just wanted a small enhancement, but this one almost broke me. Roughly, a one-point increase in Life Force cost me 1000 energy, 50 Card Energy, and a bunch of food."

"And what I gained was a 1-point increase in Life Force and a 3-point increase in Card Energy. Hmm, when I put it that way, it's actually quite balanced, almost even."

"No, my Life Force increased by a full point, so my Card Energy couldn't have only increased by 3 points. The reason it only increased by 3 points is because my potential hasn't been fully utilized yet. Over the next two or three days, as long as I cultivate my Card Energy with all my might, it should rapidly increase."

Tang Jian analyzed the situation clearly, and a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

A 1-point increase in Life Force was a significant improvement, directly raising him from the level of a second-tier excellent athlete from the old nation era to that of a first-tier excellent athlete.

If he were asked to run 8000 meters in twenty minutes now, he could complete it without needing to cheat.

At this level of improvement, according to Kemerlu's calculation of Life Card Energy conversion efficiency, a 1-point increase in Life Force could be maximally converted into 10 points of Card Energy.

However, there were difficulties involved.

Theoretically, Tang Jian's current Life Force of 7.6 could allow him to cultivate up to 76 points of Card Energy if pushed to its limit.

But that was just in theory.

Because cultivation becomes progressively harder the further one goes, and to reach that level, one must possess extremely top-tier cultivation methods. The Three-Point-One-Line Technique was not among these top-tier methods.

However, Tang Jian possessed the Red Card cheat, a tool that allowed for direct point allocation and improvement, so he wasn't worried about any limits.

All his Energy Cards were depleted, and Tang Jian realized he had no chance of entering the Dream Realm today.

Actually, there were still some electrical appliances at home that contained Card Energy.

For instance, the battery in Tang Lin's electric bike, the refrigerator, the TV, and so on, were all charged with Card Energy.

However, Tang Jian couldn't just mess with them like that.

Immediately, he dutifully washed himself, then returned to his room to practice the Three-Point-One-Line Technique.

Although this increase in Life Force consumed a lot of energy, the improvement in his strength was crucial. It was no less significant than his gains from the last Dream Realm session, and Tang Jian felt greatly invigorated.

The next day at school, Sun Yiying was the first to notice Tang Jian's changes.

The increase in his Life Force had made Tang Jian grow about three centimeters taller, and his aura had subtly changed, making him impossible to ignore.

However, Sun Yiying had already presumed Tang Jian had secrets, so while she was surprised, she wasn't completely shocked.

"Did you take a Solar Energy Potion last night? No, it shouldn't be a Solar Energy Potion. It must be some kind of medicine that enhances Life Force and physique. You need to be careful not to abuse this kind of medicine; it could very likely damage your life potential, which wouldn't be worth it."

Sun Yiying warned Tang Jian with a slightly serious expression.

Although what she said wasn't entirely accurate, in terms of common sense, she had almost hit the nail on the head.

While Tang Jian hadn't taken any Genetic Potions or similar drugs, directly boosting his Life Force with energy was somewhat similar in function to a Genetic Potion.

Yang Mao and the others, who were nearby, couldn't help but be startled when they heard this, staring at Tang Jian in astonishment.

When did Tang Jian, from such a poor family, get the chance to take precious medicine that enhances Life Force?

"Tang Jian, you sly dog, you've been hiding it well! It seems you've been doing well lately; your parents are really going all out to cultivate you." Yang Mao said, a mix of envy and frustration in his voice.

Tang Jian's improvement speed was simply too fast. While it made him happy as a brother, it also put immense pressure on him, as he didn't want to be outdone.

So he's been taking medicine to improve his strength all along. No wonder, thought the chubby Jia Ling, glancing at Tang Jian. He inwardly cursed Tang Jian for being cunning, taking medicine all this time yet claiming his family was poor and couldn't afford Solar Energy Potions. Who is he trying to fool?

"Teacher Sun, I'm fine. I was quite well-prepared and managed to get through it without harming my body," Tang Jian said to Sun Yiying with a smile, winking.

Sun Yiying nodded slightly. She could sense the vibrant Life Force emanating from Tang Jian; indeed, there were no hidden injuries, otherwise it would have shown directly on his complexion, visible at a glance.

"Don't try to imitate him easily. You are all high school students and have brains. This method of boosting Life Force is not the right path. It's quite risky. With the college entrance exam approaching, if anything goes wrong, it will be very troublesome."

Sun Yiying then turned to Yang Mao and the others, whose eyes were flickering.

This instantly sent a chill down their spines, and they somewhat abandoned their ideas.

Indeed, there are no shortcuts in cultivation. Any quick method inherently carries significant risks.

Tang Jian was lucky not to suffer any loss of life potential, but that doesn't mean others would be as lucky if they took a Genetic Potion.

If someone made a mistake and couldn't endure it, resulting in potential loss, it would be fatal, especially with the college entrance exam so near.

For a moment, Yang Mao and the others felt somewhat disgruntled.

"You too. Don't take any more risks. Otherwise, I'll have to dig up all your little secrets." Sun Yiying glared at Tang Jian.

Tang Jian's expression changed when he heard this, and he repeatedly chuckled and waved his hands.

Yang Mao and the others were a bit dumbfounded.

What was going on?

Tang Jian and Teacher Sun...?

Even the usually composed Gao Yang couldn't help but look astonished.

Sun Yiying didn't offer much explanation; she was always like that. She waved her hand and immediately instructed everyone to begin today's intensified training.

She taught according to individual aptitude, developing different training plans tailored to each person's unique Life Force, Card Energy, and special aptitudes.

After Sun Yiying recognized Tang Jian as someone with secrets and potential, she naturally gave him special attention.

As a result, during the subsequent period of intensified training at school, Tang Jian spent his time in extremely diligent practice. His performance was exceptionally outstanding, and his progress was astonishingly fast.

Because he had already revealed some things to Sun Yiying, Tang Jian didn't try too hard to hide his abilities.

His progress, in the eyes of Yang Mao and his classmates, was nothing short of a miraculous comeback. He seemed to be making insane progress almost every day, as if he had cheated.

This left Yang Mao and the others extremely puzzled and unwilling to accept it. Even Liu Kun, the strongest among them, felt immense pressure. For a time, almost everyone poured 100% enthusiasm into their training, and more or less all made significant progress.