During dinner that evening, Zhang Xiaolan showed concern for Chen Chu's progress in cultivation, and even his younger brother, Chen Hu, displayed some curiosity. However, since it was only the first day of instruction, and the focus was on the basic foundation-building method, Chen Chu offered only a few words before changing the subject.
After dinner, Chen Chu took a shower and returned to his room. He sat cross-legged on the bed and began to meditate. As he closed his eyes and concentrated, the ethereal lotus flower in his mind gradually emerged. According to the post he had read about Yipin Lotus Platform Meditation, manifesting this lotus was a process of continuously purifying and concentrating spiritual power. The key to establishing a foundation for introducing qi into the body was to transform ordinary, dispersed spiritual power into a "real" form capable of weakly interacting with matter. The specifics of how to introduce qi into the body were not elaborated upon, as the school teachers were expected to cover that topic. The lotus flower had twelve petals, and during the afternoon's meditation class, Chen Chu had managed to condense most of them. Now, as he continued to practice, the remaining petals slowly took shape.
After more than half an hour of practice, Chen Chu opened his eyes, a hint of fatigue in his expression, but also a sense of satisfaction. He had successfully manifested another petal. However, his proficiency had only increased by 4 points this time, which was 1 point less than in the afternoon. He wondered if this was due to the assistance of the meditation diagram during his first attempt. At this rate, even with a proficiency of 4 points per session, if he practiced twice a day, he could expect to break through in about ten days. Additionally, his spiritual attribute had increased by 0.1 through this practice.
Next, Chen Chu proceeded to practice body casting in his room. Despite the absence of the bloodstone's light, he keenly sensed the faint blood within his body while practicing the Body Casting Art. This physical training involved using mental power to control the circulation of qi and blood, subtly strengthening his physical fitness. The first session took thirty-five minutes. In the subsequent practice, it took only 30 minutes, increasing his proficiency by 2 points. However, this time, his physical attribute increased by only 0.1, less than half of the increase achieved during the first session in the afternoon.
After practicing two sessions in a row, Chen Chu felt utterly drained, both physically and mentally. He realized that his physique was still lacking, as he could only complete two rounds of qi and blood circulation before exhaustion set in. He sighed, thinking about his physical limitations. Drinking some hot water, he lay down on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Chen Chu was highly motivated to engage in exercises that could enhance his extraordinary strength. Even though his progress might be slower due to his physique, he remained undeterred. With the help of the attribute page to improve his proficiency, he knew that hard work would eventually pay off. If he could, he would practice 24 hours a day.
The next day, when Chen Chu arrived at class, the students were engrossed in discussions about their cultivation progress. Some asked each other about the number of lotus petals they had visualized, while others sought advice on how to improve their body casting techniques. However, a few students, mainly girls, expressed frustration and contemplated giving up cultivation. They experienced soreness, fatigue, and dizziness after practice, indicating a lack of talent in this area.
When Chen Chu took his seat, Xia Youhui, sitting in front of him, turned around and asked, "Ah Chu, how's your progress with meditation and body casting?"
"It's alright," Chen Chu replied casually.
Xia Youhui persisted, "But how 'alright' is it?"
"Why don't you guess?" Chen Chu replied with a playful tone.
"We're good buddies, and you're making me guess your progress in basic foundation exercises?" Xia Youhui pretended to be hurt.
"You didn't share your progress either. Why don't you tell me how far you've reached?" Chen Chu remained unfazed.
"There's not much to share," Xia Youhui replied modestly. "My talent is pretty average. I've visualized up to the third lotus petal, and I can barely perform two rounds of the Casting Art in half an hour."
"Last night, I only practiced six times before feeling too tired to continue."
Chen Chu couldn't help but roll his eyes. Practicing the Casting Art twice as fast as him, Xia Youhui could complete six sessions in a row. Chen Chu had only practiced two times and felt exhausted. His friend's progress was indeed quite average.
Xia Youhui asked curiously, "And you, Ah Chu?"
"I'm much worse than you," Chen Chu admitted. "I've visualized just the first lotus petal and can perform blood circulation for 30 minutes."
Hearing Chen Chu's response, Xia Youhui was momentarily taken aback. "Wait, I remember you managed to do it for almost an hour yesterday, right?"
"That's probably because I was still unfamiliar with the process during my first practice, but I became more proficient during the second session at night," Chen Chu explained casually.
Xia Youhui nodded thoughtfully, processing this information.
The morning's academic classes flew by quickly. During lunch break, Chen Chu grabbed food from the cafeteria and found a quiet corner to eat. Before he could begin, Xia Youhui approached him excitedly.
"Ah Chu, the freshmen in our grade have been ranked. Can you guess where our class leader, Lin Xue, is ranked?"
"They rank newcomers too?" Chen Chu was a bit surprised. He had heard of rankings for university students, but he hadn't expected a ranking system for high school students, especially in the context of cultivation.
"Don't underestimate these rankings," Xia Youhui said with a shake of his head. "There are over 1,800 new students at Wugao this year, and all of them have practiced the foundation-building method. Those who stand out are considered geniuses."
"The ranking only records the top 100, so it's no easy feat to make the list."
"For instance, An Zhengqing from the first class has already visualized eleven lotus petals and can perform seven revolutions of the Casting Art in half an hour, putting her in first place."
"I believe she'll be the first to successfully establish a foundation within the next couple of days."
Chen Chu couldn't help but feel inadequate upon hearing about An Zhengqing's astonishing progress. He could barely manage one lotus petal in 30 minutes, while others were visualizing eleven and more. The gap was so vast that he couldn't even muster jealousy.
Seeing Chen Chu's reaction, Xia Youhui quickly tried to console him. "Ah Chu, don't be discouraged. This is just the foundation-building stage."
"Speedy progress in foundation-building doesn't necessarily equate to a high compatibility with true martial arts."
"Even if we're behind by ten days or half a month in foundation-building, as long as we have high compatibility with true martial arts, we'll catch up quickly."
"But what is compatibility with true martial arts?" Chen Chu asked inquisitively.
"To be honest, I don't know much about it," Xia Youhui admitted. "My brother mentioned it briefly to me once."
Xia Youhui cleared his throat and said, "Go on, take a guess, how high do you think our class monitor, Lin Xue, ranks?"
"Hahahaha, there's no way you'll guess it." Xia Youhui couldn't contain his laughter before Chen Chu even had a chance to guess.
"Lin Xue is ranked 67th, yes, 67th! I burst out laughing when I saw that."
"That girl acted so arrogantly yesterday. I thought her talent was exceptional. Little did I know, she's only 67th."
"Hahahaha... Ah Chu, let me tell you, I had a good laugh when I saw that ranking."
Cough!
Chen Chu glanced behind him and stopped abruptly, especially when he noticed the girl with an increasingly indifferent expression. He smoothly changed the subject.
"Xia Youhui, how did you find out about this? As far as I know, only I'm aware of everyone's cultivation progress. Who's responsible for ranking them?"
"Don't you know?" Xia Youhui was surprised.
"The ranking of freshmen is posted on the school's official website. Anyone who follows the official website can see it."
"As for the progress in cultivation, they shared it this morning when someone asked, and someone compiled a list."
"Although this ranking isn't very accurate and changes daily, it reflects their potential and talent. Many teachers are keeping an eye on it."
Having explained this, Xia Youhui suddenly shivered and remarked, "Strange, why do I suddenly feel a bit chilly..."