The pressure of studying in this world isn't great, high school starts cultural class at half past eight in the morning, and Martial Cultivation Class at one-thirty in the afternoon, with school ending at four o'clock.
After school, students can participate in the school's club activities or leave school and head home.
Accompanied by the school bell, the school instantly became clamorous, with thousands of students pouring out from various teaching buildings.
Soon, soccer balls, basketballs, tennis balls, and even the figures of students filled the corridors, and those joining club activities were even more boisterously playful.
For most high school students, cultural class is boring and Martial Cultivation Class is difficult; club activities are much more interesting.
Especially for those sophomore and Senior students who don't have cultivation talent and have chosen cultural class, they exude an aura brimming with youthful vitality.
Singing the praises of youth, enjoying the relaxed campus life.
In contrast to the bustling literary areas, the Martial Sects Area is much quieter, with individuals staying in the Cultivation Room to practice arduously, creating a feeling of two entirely different worlds.
Jack Clark, carrying a single-shoulder bag, walked out of Building B massaging his shoulder.
The excitement of starting True Martial had turned into all-over muscle soreness and mental exhaustion in just a few short hours.
There's no need to mention the Meditation Method; it natively consumes spirit, but at least with the school's help he directly entered the beginning stage and, in his first session duration, he was mid-level in his class.
But the progress of Body Casting Skill was far too slow.
It wasn't until school was out that he barely managed to complete the eighteen positions and, under the radiance of the Essence Blood Stone, felt the so-called Qi Blood; overall, his progress ranked as the worst in the class.
Not considering the fastest one, the slowest also completed the first cycle in just over thirty minutes, while the others took around twenty minutes or so.
Moreover, during the one-hour Body Forging Cultivation Class, the fastest person practiced four times before stopping, each time shortening the duration of his practice.
And after Jack practiced one cycle, he felt a deficiency in Qi Blood and struggled to keep up with the physical demands.
That is to say, his Mental Talent was decent in terms of cultivation, but his physique was weak and hence his talent was poor.
Or it could be said that his Mental Talent was actually very good. Even under the condition of Soul Split, his Spiritual Attribute was above average, and if his soul were intact...
Looking up at the bright sun hanging in the sky, Jack's face revealed a faint smile, "It's fine, the ability to cultivate is what matters, and overall, it's pretty much what I expected."
He had anticipated this situation well in advance, although he hadn't abandoned the fantasy that he might actually be a genius.
But reality is harsh; his overall cultivation talent was very ordinary. In a class of forty, he was below average, not to mention amongst the thousands in the whole grade.
However, if talent was lacking, he had his "cheat" to make up for it.
Thinking this, Jack's thoughts called up the attribute page.
Physique: 7.1
Strength: 7
Agility: 6
Spirit: 10.1
Talent: Soul Split
Cultivation Methods: Lotus Platform Meditation Skill[Progress 5/100]Body Casting Skill[1/100]
Avatar Body: ...
On the attribute page, there was a listing for the Meditation and Body Casting Skills he learned today, and each one had a progress note attached.
Besides that, both the Physique and Spiritual Attribute had increased by 0.1, an apparent result of cultivation—even this foundational cultivation method had the effect of boosting attributes.
Moreover, Jack had tested that once a Cultivation Method was recorded by the attribute page, his body wouldn't forget it.
For instance, the first time he practiced Body Casting Skill until the tenth position, due to the pain and discomfort, he had to interrupt the cultivation.
After resting briefly, he resumed cultivation and his body smoothly executed the first nine positions without any difficulty.
This phenomenon, similar to skill retention, where the body "remembers" once it learns, had narrowed the distance between Jack and those 'geniuses' significantly.
Furthermore, clearly seeing his own cultivation progress motivated him even more in his practice.
"No rush, take it slow."
With a relaxed smile on his face, Jack walked out of the school at an unhurried pace.
The September weather was scorching, yet the city's greenery was well-maintained. Jack Clark walked under the shade of the trees on the Pedestrian Walkway, a gentle cool breeze greeted him as he headed towards the market.
The streets were bustling with vehicles coming and going, with skyscrapers lining the route. Many billboards featured celebrity endorsements, and the shops on both sides were filled with a variety of goods, creating a thriving scene.
As he passed an intersection, feeling a bit hungry, Jack casually bought an egg pancake and a bottle of juice.
By the time he got home, it was five o'clock.
First, Jack took out some fish meat and defrosted it in the microwave, then he started preparing the vegetables for the evening meal, blanching and slicing the pork, and crushing the ginger, spring onions, and garlic.
After all that was done, he proceeded to take the defrosted fish meat, cleaned it, and cut it into small pieces for easy eating.
In the second-floor room, a Six-legged Salamander that had grown to eighteen centimeters long and doubled in thickness, under Jack's mental control, chomped down on the fish meat.
As its stomach digested the food, after gorging twice in a row, the Six-legged Salamander visibly thickened and grew by two centimeters at a pace noticeable to the naked eye.
Such a growth rate was faster than if it had eaten expansion-promoting feed, defying the normal growth patterns of biological creatures.
The Evolution value also accumulated to 5 points.
Just a couple more days of feeding, and the Avatar would be ready for its first Evolution, something Jack was looking forward to.
The Salamander Avatar, having eaten its fill, sprawled lazily on the table, its face exhibiting human-like sloth, while Jack turned on the computer to start searching for information about True Martial.
Perhaps it was because the fire had been so severe back then, nearly burning 'him' to death, potentially resulting in brain cell damage. Over the past few days, Jack realized that many of his memories had become blurry.
Only some memories, including those of his mother, his brother, and his daily habits, remained clear, making him feel like a complete novice in the art of cultivation today.
Logically, even if his family was average and did not have access to high-end information, he should still know some common knowledge in a world dominated by martial arts.
Now, as Jack made a precise search, an abundance of information about True Martial surfaced on the internet, including the origins of True Martial and its developmental history.
There was also the categorization of the True Martial Realm that Jack wanted to know, referred to as the True Martial Nine Layer Heaven.
The first layer was the lowest, and the ninth the strongest, though details on just how strong were not elaborated upon.
Besides that, a casual internet search yielded many videos of experts from martial arts halls performing.
Some demonstrated punching through walls, others leaped dozens of meters high, moving from building to building, or even surrounded by rings of flames.
There were also scenes of Body Refinement experts enduring submachine guns, sniper rifles, and even tests with rocket explosions without a scratch.
After browsing through the exciting videos for a while, Jack remembered his real purpose and searched for a highly rated article on Foundation Cultivation Methods for high school students.
"The current high school Foundation Establishment is divided into the Meditation Method and the Body Casting Skill."
"The Body Casting Skill was simplified into a method of foundation establishment ten years ago by the True Martial Heavenly King, who integrated the essence of various martial schools and exhaustively explored the mysteries of the human body."
"This method helps ordinary people stretch their fascia, clear their meridians, transport Qi Blood, and quickly achieve a state of Qi Blood fulfillment throughout the body."
"Research has shown that the Body Casting Skill works well for individuals under the age of twenty, with the high school period being the most suitable."
"Coupled with the Lotus Platform Meditation Skill, it can help people build their foundation quickly. In the past decade, it has multiplied the number of cultivators nationwide by more than tenfold, greatly enhancing the country's foundational strength."
"Unfortunately, the Lotus Platform Meditation Skill only comes in one grade and can only be used for Foundation Establishment, which pales in comparison to Sky King Denny Kaye's Grade 9 Divine Lotus Meditation Method..."
Beneath this post, there was a classification of talent by the author.
He believed that under the guidance of the Meditation Method and Body Casting Skill, supplemented by the Essence Blood Stone, students who completed Foundation Establishment within a week had top-notch talent, within half a month were average, and within a month, below average.
As for those who only complete Foundation Establishment after a month or within two months, he didn't recommend they continue down the path of cultivation.
Because, even with the variety of resources and systematic training provided by schools, those who took a month or longer to establish their foundation simply lacked the talent for cultivation.
Even with forced cultivation, there was no hope for them to break through the Third Layer Heaven in their lifetime.
And as with rowing against the current, if you don't advance, you fall back.
Rather than spending a lifetime on cultivation only to end up weak and lonely in old age, it would be better to live as an ordinary person and enjoy life.
"True Martial Heavenly King, Sky King Denny Kaye."
After reading this post, the names that made the strongest impression on Jack were those of these two individuals.
He wondered what kind of people they were and how strong they must be to create such foundational cultivation methods that benefited countless individuals.