Awakened?

On the second day of intensive training, when Ren Suo went to eat, he found that the trainees of the Eighth Team were all secretly giving him thumbs-ups when they saw him. Some even came right over and told him, "Awesome."

Ren Suo was baffled, but Jie Qiansi explained, "Never expected someone with those thick eyebrows and big eyes like you—nowhere near as handsome as me—to make a move so fast."

"What move?"

"Stop pretending. I only found out just now too. You said you went out for a drive last night, but you actually went to the girls' dormitory upstairs! Someone saw you come out of Qiao Muyi's dorm room, and everyone came back alone!"

Ren Suo was confused. "I bought cards and went up there to play."

For the key, Ren Suo naturally wanted to seize every chance to get close to Qiao Muyi.

There were no classes last night. The trainees, exhausted from the day, had yet to recover, and the sports field's aura-gathering effect was not activated at night.

So Ren Suo bought a deck of cards and went up to the girls' dormitory to play. There were four people in Qiao Muyi's dorm, but that was fine—when playing Big Two, whoever lost could just leave.

Based on Ren Suo's college experience, playing cards was one of the fastest ways to build rapport!

"Pfft, stop explaining. Explaining means covering up." Jie Qiansi patted Ren Suo on the shoulder. "If you need a brother's help, just say the word!"

Although Ren Suo had snapped back at Jie Qiansi a few times before, after sleeping through the night, there was basically no bad blood between them. Besides, Ren Suo was the only powerhouse in the Eighth Team who could use the Advanced Breathing Method. He was sure to have a bright future, so Jie Qiansi naturally wanted to build a good relationship with him.

What was most important for public servants? Connections.

After breakfast, Instructor Zhao Jingzhong led them to another sports field.

"Today, you'll train here."

Before Ren Suo was an open-air fitness area surrounded by a running track. Many exercise machines were bolted to the ground, and quite a few people were already working out on them while panting "huff huff." The place was bustling.

Zhao Jingzhong said, "This morning, you'll use these machines for cultivation training. Maintain your breathing exercises throughout. After resting at noon, you'll go to the athletic field in the afternoon for running cultivation."

"The day after tomorrow will be about the same. You need to cultivate your own aura vortex as quickly as possible."

Li Qingxuan raised her hand and asked, "Won't this be too exhausting? After training for one morning yesterday, it took us almost the whole day to recover..."

"Yesterday was for familiarizing you with the Breathing Method," Zhao Jingzhong said. "Now that you've basically gotten used to it, even if you exhaust yourselves in the morning, starting at noon today, you'll be able to drink No. 3 Spirit Liquid. After drinking it and sleeping for about an hour, you'll recover most of your strength and can continue cultivating in the afternoon."

The trainees were shocked. There was something that good?

And it was called No. 3 Spirit Liquid. It sounded pretty high-end.

"One bottle of spirit liquid per person. If you still have strength left, its effects will be greatly reduced." Zhao Jingzhong glanced at them. "What are you waiting for?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" The trainees scattered at once to work out and practice their breathing.

Zhao Jingzhong watched them for a moment, then turned and walked to the foot of the Dormitory Building outside the sports field. He took out his phone and sent a message:

"Today, the target did not appear."

"Any suspected targets?"

"No."

"Continue observing."

Over the next two days, the trainees followed their instructors around the various Athletic Fields, searching for the training method that suited them best. After all, people had individual differences. Some might cultivate slowly through running and be unable to use the Intermediate Cultivation Method, yet find strength training easy and far more efficient.

Although Deputy Director Yu Kuangtu had not said so, the civil servants who could appear at the intensive training base were already considered "important technical personnel." They were highly likely to become strategic talents in the coming era of Aura Resurgence, so naturally the state would not shortchange them in cultivation—at least not before they got started.

At the same time, they needed to find the training method most suitable for themselves—these would be sample data reported to the state for statistics.

It was said that cities were preparing to build aura training centers, or add "plug-ins" to existing infrastructure, so that civil servants could continue cultivating with local facilities after returning home. But funding was limited for now, while there were many kinds of facilities to build, so they could not cover every training method. Which training methods suited local civil servant cultivators best would be an important consideration when constructing aura Athletic Fields.

Three days passed. After the trainees had tried every facility in the aura Athletic Fields, the fourth morning was free training. Starting from the second day, people had gradually begun to suddenly shriek like seagulls while running, working out, playing soccer, basketball, or badminton.

Don't misunderstand. They had not suffered mental breakdowns because their shut-in traits conflicted with athletic traits. They had awakened their aura vortices.

Simply put, they had gained a controllable "organ" in their lower dantian. It was even more mysterious than having a child. After awakening an aura vortex, they had to train even harder. After all, they would not have something as wonderful as an aura sports field after returning home, and they also needed to master the Intermediate Cultivation Method and Advanced Cultivation Method as quickly as possible.

The instructors were not at all surprised by the trainees' pace. They themselves were cultivators carefully selected from various units. Zhao Jingzhong, for example, had awakened his aura vortex on the second day.

Ren Suo, meanwhile, claimed that he had only awakened his aura vortex on the morning of the third day. That was an average pace, since most people awakened theirs around then, so it drew no attention.

But only Ren Suo knew that he had actually awakened his aura vortex from the start.

As early as the first day of cultivation, Ren Suo had felt a subtle pulse in his lower dantian. At the time, he thought it was normal, until Aura Cognition Class taught him that it was an aura vortex.

However, Aura Cognition Class said that one would feel it clearly when an aura vortex formed. Ren Suo asked the others, and they also said the sensation had been obvious.

But Ren Suo had no idea when he had awakened his aura vortex!

After thinking it over, he felt it had to be due to "Physical Fitness Optimization." He had been completely asleep at the time and had no idea what his body had gone through. Other than that, Ren Suo could find no explanation.

Still, it did not affect his training. It was already the fourth day, and training would end tomorrow.

At the thought of being able to go back and play the Little World Game Console, Ren Suo was practically desperate to return.

At noon on the fourth day, in the dining hall, Ren Suo finished his spirit liquid and waited nearby for his roommates to finish eating so they could return to the dormitory together, sleep, properly absorb the spirit liquid, and continue training in the afternoon.

But he was not idle at all. He took out a deck of cards and challenged Qiao Muyi and the others to Landlord. Their favorability should be almost high enough by now, right?

She should be able to sleep soundly and let me feel around for a few minutes to find the key, right?

Over the past few days, under Ren Suo's "strong insistence," his dorm had always eaten with Qiao Muyi and the others. His other roommates had not refused the request either—they even patted Ren Suo on the shoulder with wicked grins and righteous expressions, as if they had split personalities, saying, "We'll definitely help you. You have to help us too!"

Ren Suo had nearly thought they wanted him to become Calabash Brothers.

At that moment, an argument broke out at the dining hall entrance. Everyone looked over curiously, while Ren Suo took the chance to tilt his head and peek at Li Qingxuan's cards—she was the Landlord now.

"What are you looking at?" Li Qingxuan curled a slender finger and flicked Ren Suo on the forehead. "You can't even behave while playing cards?"

The argument at the dining hall entrance grew louder and louder. It sounded like someone had started fighting. The onlookers hurriedly made a circle to watch them, making the already cramped entrance even more crowded.

Seeing that he had basically no chance of beating the Landlord, Ren Suo simply put away his cards. "Finished eating? Then let's go back and sleep."

They placed their trays onto the conveyor belt for recycling. As they passed the entrance on their way out, they found that a fight really had broken out. Two male trainees in gray vests were being held back by the crowd, glaring at each other as though fire were shooting from their eyes, like a husky and a poodle in a public square.

But they probably would not be able to fight. They were both being restrained, and the trainees here were civil servants after all, with high awareness. They definitely would not let them start fighting again.

However, just as they were about to leave, an angry roar suddenly erupted from the crowd: "I'll kill you!"

With a thunderous boom, countless flames surged like a torrent, rapidly spreading outward across the ground!