Chapter 14: Luo Fei
The next day, Xia Youhui successfully finished Foundation Building with another male student, just like he said. Less than two days later, another girl in the class finished Foundation Building. The day after, there were two more…
As a result, fewer and fewer people were seen in the afternoon cultivation class, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
Students who had completed their Foundation Building would move to Zone C to continue their training. This was where real cultivation would begin; with these separated areas, it was as if the cultivating students and the ones who were still building their foundations were living in two separate worlds.
With their Foundation Building completed, Lin Xue and the others seldom attended the academic classes in the morning. When they did show up, they were always in a hurry, as if they were overwhelmed and had no time to spare. Their auras had also become more intense and oppressing; other classmates didn't dare to approach them.
This situation only made those who hadn't completed Foundation Building all the more restless. They became more serious and diligent, unlike how casual they had been at the start. Unfortunately, talent was not something you could achieve by hard work.
In the blink of an eye, another week passed. Twelve students in the class had already completed Foundation Building. With less than half as many students, the classroom seemed much emptier.
On Monday, Chen Chu, having had a fun weekend, walked into the classroom and saw Xia Youhui sitting in his seat. Lin Xue and Yi Rui were also present.
Xia Youhui grinned at Chen Chu and greeted him. "Hey, Ah Chu, haven't seen you in a few days. Miss me?"
"You're no beauty. What's there to miss? Plus, you're just training in Zone C. It's not like you disappeared. You popped up today, after all." Chen Chu shook his head.
Seeing Chen Chu take out his textbook to prepare for class, Xia Youhui blinked. After a while, he couldn't help but say, "Ah Chu, aren't you curious about the difference between true martial arts and basic techniques?"
Looking at Xia Youhui's eager expression, as if he was saying, Come on, ask me, ask me, Chen Chu nonchalantly responded, "What's there to be curious about? I'll be able to practice it in some time anyway."
"… Ah Chu, you're no fun." Xia Youhui was a bit frustrated. He had come in early today, waited for a long time, just to see if Chen Chu would ask him about true martial arts. He didn't expect this result.
This reaction was the polar opposite from the beauties in front of him, who were excited about what he did and had bombarded him with questions. Such a cold reaction was far from what he had anticipated.
Chen Chu just smiled at this. He was genuinely in no rush.
At 4 P.M., the melodious school bell rang. In the cultivation classroom, Chen Chu wound down on his cultivation, calming his boiling vitality back down.
"It's getting there." Feeling the abundant vitality, and only a slight fatigue despite seven continuous cycles of circulation, Chen Chu smiled.
During this period, he had progressed a lot. He had perfected his meditation art five days ago, successfully visualizing all twelve petals of the lotus. He could also complete seven repetitions of vitality circulation within half an hour.
However, his proficiency had increased less the further he progressed. A cultivation session with seven continuous repetitions of vitality circulation had only netted him 4 points in proficiency. He would have broken through the bottleneck otherwise.
Despite that, in about three days, Chen Chu would finish Foundation Building. This happened to fall within fifteen days since he had started cultivation. His talent was average; not excellent, but not bad, either.
After taking a short break, Chen Chu took a shower and put on the clothes he washed and dried before leaving. At the same time, a girl came out of the changing room on the opposite side. She saw a smile on Chen Chu's face. "Chen Chu, are you leaving?"
"Yeah," Chen Chu nodded.
"Perfect, I'm planning to leave early as well. You wanna walk together?"
"Sure."
This girl's name was Luo Fei. She was a classmate Chen Chu had met last week. Their route home overlapped by half, both going in the same direction, so they had started to exchange their insights on cultivation and gradually became closer after seeing each other a few times.
The scorching sun beamed down as Chen Chu and Luo Fei walked side by side on the sidewalk, under the shade of the trees. The cool breeze carried the pleasant fragrance of shampoo.
"Chen Chu, it seemed you could easily complete seven cycles of circulation. You should be advancing soon, right?"
"Probably in a few days."
Luo Fei glanced at the silhouettes of students running around on the playground and said softly, "I have perfected my meditation and I can complete nine cycles of vitality circulation in half an hour. When I'm back home, I will use my Explosive Bear Essence for the night's practice. I should be able to finish Foundation Building tomorrow."
A faint smile appeared on Chen Chu's face. "Congratulations."
Luo Fei turned around to look at Chen Chu, encouragement showing on her pretty face. "Keep it up, Chen Chu. I'll be waiting for you in Zone C."
Chen Chu nodded. "Yeah, let's go for it."
As they spoke, the two walked out from under the shade, and the sunlight scattered on Luo Fei's fair and delicate face, giving her skin a translucent glow.
This scene gave Chen Chu pause. He figured that all the girls in his class were quite beautiful. The most good-looking one was certainly Lin Xue. With slightly curled purple hair, a stunning face, and a hot figure, she was like a goddess.
Next was Luo Fei. Different from the delicate beauty of Lin Xue, Luo Fei's beauty was more innocent and pure. Her face was fair and tender, with a hint of baby fat. Her features were exquisite, with slender phoenix eyes that turned crescent-shaped every time she smiled, emanating an innocent yet charming aura.
Standing at around 1.68 meters tall, she had long, pitch black hair that was tied up in a white bow on her head, creating a refreshing combination. This unique charm, pure yet alluring, made her stand out from the other innocent girls in the class.
Even Chen Chu would occasionally be affected by her unintentional charm. He couldn't help but acknowledge her natural beauty.
The two walked together for a while and then separated at a three-way intersection.
Chen Chu arrived home at exactly five o'clock, holding several bags. The largest one contained about twenty catties of frozen fish; that was enough to last his avatar for two days.
In the kitchen, Chen Chu gutted the palm-sized white strips one by one, cleaning out the organs and putting the fish into the basin, which filled up in no time.
Up in his bedroom, the six-horned salamander, forty-seven centimeters long, lifted its goose-egg-sized head from where it lay on the desk. With the three pairs of red jagged horns on the sides of its head, it looked like a miniature lion.
Even though the avatar was not that large, it started giving the oppressive aura of a flesh-eating beast.
Chen Chu placed the basin in front of the avatar, which started munching on the fish once he shifted his consciousness. With its small but sharp teeth, the fish was torn into pieces within a few bites before being swallowed with an astonishing speed.
Consume. Digest. Grow.
In no time, the six catties of fish in the basin were devoured. The salamander grew visibly thicker, now at forty-eight centimeters. Full and satisfied, the avatar lay back down on the desk to digest.
Chen Chu sat in his chair, lost in thought. He was contemplating what genetics he should fuse next. The avatar could assimilate the perks of other living beings by genetic fusion, giving it boundless possibilities.
But that also came with choice paralysis; there were too many options. From insects to larger animals, there were countless living beings with abilities so powerful the human mind couldn't comprehend them.
The explosive speed of the tiger beetle, and the supersonic attack of the mantis shrimp, and the…
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