Chapter 23: Wisdom King
After glancing at Xia Youhui, who was in the midst of arguing back, Chen Chu's gaze swept across Lin Xue.
Today, the class monitor had tied her slightly curled purple hair behind her head. Because she was wearing a snug-fitting white cultivation robe, her already tall and slender figure appeared even more graceful. Especially from Chen Chu's perspective, where there was a wonderful view of majestic peaks.
Nevertheless, adhering to the principle of not staring rudely, Chen Chu cast only a fleeting glance before retracting his gaze.
Based on the recent conversation between the two and Chen Chu's observations of his classmates' cultivation progress in the past few days, he now had a general comparison of everyone's current level of cultivation.
Among the freshmen, the one with the greatest talent was An Fuqing from Class One. The girl had managed to establish her foundation in just two days, and during her Foundation Building, her basic attributes had reached four times that of an average person.
Xia Youhui and Chen Chu had speculated that she could reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm within a week at the most. Now, she was likely striving to break through to the Second.
Following her were the prodigies like Lin Xue, who had broken through in three or four days. After successfully establishing their foundation, they could probably reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm in about a month.
Next in line were ordinary talents like Xia Youhui, who took seven days to establish his foundation. It would take them approximately two months to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm.
As for Luo Fei and others like him, who had established their foundations within half a month, under normal circumstances, it would take at least three to four months to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm.
Chen Chu suddenly felt a sense of mild despair, as if cultivation was an insurmountable challenge.
For those geniuses who were systematically trained by the school, it would take several months to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm. How much longer will it take for them to break through to the Second?
And what about those who complete their Foundation Building within a month? How long would it take for them to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm? Half a year? One year?
No wonder that blog post had claimed that people who couldn't establish their foundation within a month, even with the help of the school, would be wasting their time if they continued to cultivate.
After taking a short break and feeling a partial recovery in his vitality and spirit, Chen Chu resumed practicing. Despite the slowdown in the cultivation of his Dragon Elephant Art and the absence of specific proficiency details on the attributes page, Chen Chu could still keenly sense his progress as he continued moving forward.
The characteristic of proficiency solidification still persisted, allowing him to enhance his skills with each practice session. This spared him from the need to consolidate his cultivation achievements daily, unlike Xia Youhui and others who had to spend some time each day on it.
Otherwise, reaching the limit of the First Heavenly Realm would take over four months for him. Instead, it would have been more similar to those who took a month to build their foundation—starting from six months. After all, this was his “true” aptitude.
Chen Chu practiced at school until five o'clock before leaving, going to the market to buy groceries and purchase ten catties of small white filets for his avatar. This was unfortunately the only available option that was both affordable and cost-effective.
As the avatar's size continued to grow, its appetite had increased accordingly. It now consumed four meals a day, each requiring more than four catties of fish. With its current size, the appetite was already significant. What will happen once it undergoes further evolution?
This only strengthened Chen Chu's resolve to release his avatar. He simply couldn't afford to sustain it.
Speaking of which, Chen Chu remembered another matter he had almost forgotten about. With one hand holding the groceries, he reached for his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, who's this?" Came the voice of a young man from the other end.
Chen Chu replied, "Mr. Li, it's me—the one who ordered the Ironclad Beetle."
"Oh, it's you. I remember now."
Chen Chu inquired, "I wanted to check if the Ironclad Beetles I reserved are available?"
Mr. Li answered, "Yes, I've already arranged it with my friends in the Northern Region. It should arrive in Wujiang in a few days. Once it's here, I'll notify you."
"Thank you, Mr. Li."
"No need to be polite. It's all business."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Chu hung up the phone.
The Ironclad Beetles were the genes he had chosen to fuse with his avatar during its second evolution. These insects were uniquely advantageous for their hardness, particularly renowned for their defensive capabilities.
An adult could step on a thumb-sized beetle, rotate on top, and upon lifting the foot, find the insect completely unharmed. There was even a record of a car running over them without causing any harm.
This kind of resilience was precisely what the six-horned salamander needed. With such a formidable defense in place, the innate strength of the salamander could be fully unleashed; and with that significant increase in power, safety was also greatly enhanced.
However, this kind of insect wasn't available in the country where Chen Chu was, and it wasn't a common pet. So, Chen Chu had gone back to the pet shop that he had bought the rhinoceros beetle from, paying a hefty price of one thousand yuan to place a special order. Even then, though, the other party had only agreed to help search, so there was no guarantee that he could get them.
Fortunately, it seemed like there were no issues. And when the avatar evolved again, his physique would undergo another substantial enhancement, possibly allowing him to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm even earlier than Xia Youhui.
With how busy he was, time passed quickly. On the second day, Chen Chu went to the school and headed straight to the logistics department.
"Sir, I want to purchase a saber."
The middle-aged person behind the counter raised his head and casually asked, "Any particular style you're interested in?"
Chen Chu nodded. "Yes, the F-grade Type 1-26 straight saber."
"Okay, input your student ID."
He continued once Chen Chu did as told. "Verification is successful. The exchange requirement for the F-grade Type 1-26 straight saber is 10 contribution points."
The middle-aged person looked up again. "You also have a one-time ninety percent discount on your first weapon exchange. With a remaining balance of 1 point, do you confirm the purchase of this weapon?"
"Confirmed!"
"Wait a moment..."
Chen Chu left the logistics department carrying a box that was over two meters long on his back. Upon reaching the third floor of Building C, he noticed Pang Long emerging from his office. He was accompanied by two vaguely familiar faces, likely students from Class Three, all getting ready to enter the elevator.
Chen Chu politely greeted, "Good morning, Mr Pang."
Nodding, Pang Long glanced at the weapon box on Chen Chu's back. "Are you practicing saber techniques? Remember, during your practice, avoid impatience and focus on a gradual progression."
Chen Chu responded with a nod and then gave a slight nod of acknowledgment to his two classmates, then went to find an empty cultivation area. Placing the box on a shelf, he opened it, revealing a sharp long saber before him.
This was a straight saber with a handle length of fifty centimeters, a blade length of one and a half meters, a thickness of one centimeter, and a width of ten centimeters. Its design resembled that of an ancient horse-cutting saber, but was more robust and substantial. According to the information Chen Chu had found, this saber was crafted from F-grade alloy, which had a strength comparable to aerospace metals, and was characterized by its sharpness and durability.
Even with good connections, in the outside world, this would have cost several tens of thousands of yuan for just one. The government was very generous to beginning cultivators, providing favorable treatment in terms of resources and other aspects.
In a moment of emotion, Chen Chu drew the saber, feeling an instant weight in his hand. With his current strength of 140 kilograms, holding the twenty-kilogram straight saber with one arm felt a bit challenging, as all the weight was concentrated on the palm. When he gripped the hilt with both hands, however, that sense of strain instantly diminished.
Chen Chu swung the saber a few times to get familiar with the feel of it before slowly adopting a starting position. Suddenly, there was a change in his aura, and his gaze became sharp and compelling.
The first stage of the Dragon Elephant Art strengthened the entire body and enhanced the durability of skin, muscles, and bones.
Meanwhile, the Insightful Blade was an art primarily focusing on the explosive power of both arms. Its core essence was its domineering and robust nature, employing broad and forceful movements to exert dominance like an enraged Wisdom King[1].
Combining this with the ferocious power of the Dragon Elephant Art would allow Chen Chu to unleash even greater combat strength.
1. A Wisdom King is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism ☜
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