[Basic Level Achievement - Deep Sleep (2/7)]
The next morning, as soon as Qin Shi opened his eyes, textual information flashed by and quickly sank into his subconscious.
The Monument Panel with a black border, that fleshy embryonic mass resembling a budding seed, seemed to have grown somewhat larger and more robust.
[Anchor Point: Qin Shi]
[Growth Stage: Embryo]
[Progress: 0.008%]
[Monument Number: 2]
"Although the progress hasn't moved, I feel that my enhancement is significant. Moreover, the growth has been accumulating continuously. What Mr. Liang taught me should be error-free!"
After a night of deep sleep, Qin Shi felt energetic, and the fatigue accumulated from yesterday's training was cleared, not lingering in his body.
"Xie Yucheng said that the first time tendon stretching causes muscle soreness, one can't even crawl the next day... Mr. Liang gave me such intense training, probably thinking my physique couldn't handle it, and I'd quit after some suffering."
Qin Shi quickly washed up. His little sister Qin Lan had left early, leaving a bowl of soaked rice and a pot of hot water on the table.
He took out two plates of pickles from the sauce jar in the corner of the room, then poured hot water into the covered rice bowl and ate it with the salted vegetables.
After gulping down two large bowls, his growling stomach felt about 60% full.
In the past, when the family conditions were poor, meals were often dealt with this casually.
"Training indeed consumes a lot. In the past, two bowls were enough, but now I still feel hungry, with my stomach feeling empty."
Qin Shi couldn't help but miss the nutritious meals in the school cafeteria, although the synthetic food tasted bad and made him want to puke.
But it provided full energy, absolutely enough to support the required training.
He tossed the bowls and chopsticks into a plastic basin for water collection, planning to wash them later when he returned. After securing the windows and doors, he jogged toward Sons and Daughters Ninth Middle School.
"I'm not sure how much my Life Force has increased, but after Mr. Liang stretched my tendons, my muscles did become more solid and powerful."
Qin Shi calculated silently. The journey that used to take half an hour, this time only took just over twenty minutes.
Moreover, he felt relaxed, without sweating profusely or being out of breath.
"The strengthening of physical fitness from tendon stretching is visibly evident."
Qin Shi slightly calmed his heartbeat and bought a few large meat buns from a breakfast shop near Ninth Middle School to fill his stomach.
Seeing a familiar figure walking slowly into the guard's booth, he wiped his mouth and crossed the road.
"Hey, kid, why are you here again?"
The old guard was stunned.
"Got carried home yesterday, still not giving up, insisting on suffering at Mr. Liang's hands?"
Qin Shi smiled obediently:
"What student leaves after one class? I've always been a good student, never failed a course."
The old guard looked at the well-behaved Qin Shi, who was like his own grandson, and sighed:
"Mr. Liang running a tutoring class to recruit students isn't exactly following the rules, let alone, you're not from our Ninth Middle School..."
Qin Shi put a pack of hard-shell Rimingin cigarettes through the small window of the guard's booth.
"I really want to learn from Teacher Liang and make progress. Please do me a favor."
The old guard's eyelids twitched, and he reluctantly said:
"Oh, I'm not trying to make it hard for a kid like you. Fine, fine, I'm old, my eyes are blurry, I didn't see anything.
Remember to enter from the back door, not the front."
Qin Shi nodded vigorously, thinking that his sister was right—there's no small problem a pack of cigarettes can't solve!
If one pack isn't enough, then two packs!
...
...
"You, why are you here?"
Mr. Liang was stunned to see the lively Qin Shi.
"Didn't you say I should follow for a couple of days and take two classes?"
Qin Shi replied earnestly, trying hard to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.
No matter how much Mr. Liang calculated, he couldn't beat the plot!
"You can walk?"
Mr. Liang was extremely surprised.
"I ran here," Qin Shi answered truthfully.
"This...doesn't make sense!"
He must have been too drunk and still not sober! Mr. Liang thought.
Even if Qin Shi studies at the Urban Circle New First Middle School and has a better-developed Life Force compared to the Ninth Middle School students from Old Factory Street,
it was impossible to withstand the test of rough tendon stretching!
"Did you take drugs?"
Mr. Liang looked at him suspiciously.
In recent years, a "technology craze" has emerged in the Urban Circle, where people use supplements first when faced with problems, and when strength is not enough, they resort to illegal drugs.
Indeed, this method can make ordinary people's overall quality improve rapidly in a short time.
Moreover, it enhances everything from physique to muscles!
But the price paid is higher than that of Old Martial training.
Such as cardiovascular blockages and premature organ failure are minor issues.
Some reckless individuals who blindly adopt large doses of injections could even cause physical deformities, transforming into non-human beings.
Qin Shi pulled the corner of his mouth:
"Do I look like someone who has that kind of money?"
Mr. Liang was speechless. This kid even had to secretly stash his registration fee in his shorts. The aura of poverty radiating from him was hard to conceal.
"Come here, raise your arm, let me squeeze a bit."
He reached out and grabbed Qin Shi's shoulder, kneading it discreetly with force.
After a moment, the surprise in his eyes intensified.
"Such high intensity in tendon stretching yesterday, yet not a trace of muscle fatigue accumulated, no wonder there's no soreness... this kid, truly endurance king!"
On the open ground by the playground, Xie Yucheng stopped warming up:
"No way, this guy looks like nothing happened? After being tortured by Mr. Liang, he can still get up from bed?"
Li Yuan, stretching his legs nearby, glanced at the weak-looking Qin Shi:
"His build doesn't look tough either. Mr. Liang must've gone easy on him!
If he can still be lively after twenty minutes of tendon stretching, what kind of Legendary Endurance King would he be!"
Xie Yucheng scratched his head. He had specially asked after sending Qin Shi home and learned that this guy was from the Urban Circle New First Middle School.
Old Factory Street's well-known "good student" and "obedient kid" representative.
"Hard to say, he doesn't go to our sons and daughters school. Brother Ze mentioned that the rich kids in the Urban Circle soak in cultivation halls as early as junior high, many have their stages determined at eleven or twelve."
Li Yuan stood up and spat, not hiding his displeasure:
"Rubbish Urban Circle; without Dangyang's blood transfusion, how could it develop so fast? They really think they're the Imperial Capital's big shots!"
Xie Yucheng smiled, indifferent:
"Brother Yuan, you weren't paying attention in class. Dongxia's development policy for administrative new stars has always been to concentrate on building large urban circles around major cities as blood donors.
The surrounding areas are the blood donors, hmm, this is called local support, the rich first lead the way."
Li Yuan, filled with complaints, couldn't help but grumble:
"Dangyang District bled dry to create the Tai'an Metropolitan Area, but over the years, there's been no support for Old Factory Street."
"Cough, cough, wonder how Mr. Liang will train this guy today."
Xie Yucheng changed the subject.
Brother Yuan used to come from a typical worker family; his dad assembled in the military workshop, and his mom worked as a female worker in the textile factory.
Later, they hit that wave of layoffs, losing both pillars at once, collapsing instantly.
Thus, Brother Yuan had a lot of grievances toward the Tai'an Metropolitan Area.
Li Yuan curled his lips:
"Tendon stretching is just a test. Capturing Qi Sensitivity is the real challenge.
Without this step, he won't even see the threshold of Old Martial!"
...
...
"Not bad, not bad; it seems your 'tendons' are quite sturdy, suitable for the Old Martial physique."
By the playground, Mr. Liang rarely gave praise:
"Alright, today I'll give you another lesson!
Life Force is a fleeting thing, invisible and intangible, this is called 'void'.
The human body is the root that nurtures blood and limbs, this is called 'substance'.
The secret of Old Martial's development of Life Force lies in 'nurturing the void with substance'."
Qin Shi felt like scratching his head. No wonder Dongxia promoted New Martial; such scholarly-sounding jargon makes people dizzy, impossible to grasp the true meaning.
So, he earnestly asked:
"Teacher Liang, what does 'nurturing the void with substance' mean?"