Chapter 18: Sparring

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

In the afternoon, back at the school, Chen Yiming was brimming with energy.

After he returned home in the afternoon, he cut a small piece of black pork and made a plate of stir-fried pork with green pepper.

This was his first time eating mutant beast meat. Although it was the cheapest type, his body had felt warm all this time as though he had lit a fire inside.

Wang Bowen changed to a wooden sword and came to the front of the trainees.

“Today, another trainee has completed his first transformation. He is Chen Yiming, who has just joined for one month. The rest of you have to work hard too. We will be having a sparring session in the afternoon’s cultivation class.”

“Zhang Youde versus He Jiasheng.”

“Zhao Jingru versus Liang Lele.”

…

“Chen Yiming, you have just broken through. You need to get used to your new body, so I will pair up with you.”

The weather was bright and sunny.

The trainees were basking in the sun in the open space in the courtyard, enjoying a sliver of warmth during the cold winter.

Upon hearing Wang Bowen’s arrangements, many people felt a pang of jealousy in their hearts. Senior Brother Wang had never sparred with any of them before. Other than the usual cultivation classes, he rarely interacted with them.

Zhang Youde glared at his underling, a dark expression on his face. He kept silent and did not say a word.

Those like him who were from martial arts clans were not the best at their own cultivation, but excelled in making friends and expanding their social circle instead.

His underling had offended a core disciple by his presumptuous actions. Although neither party held a deep grudge, it would be difficult for them to become friends.

The underling trembled, his face full of fear.

The speed at which Chen Yiming had completed his first transformation had hit him hard.

His earlier analysis, which he thought was reasonable, had not only humiliated Zhang Youde but also offended all the trainees.

Some of the trainees were frustrated and blamed themselves for not sticking with their own judgment once they were taunted.

As fellow trainees, most of them under the age of twenty, they cared about their reputation and would not be thick-skinned enough to apologize. At most, they would avoid crossing paths in the future.

The female student, Liang Lele, smiled widely and teased Zhao Jingru.

“So it turns out that I was right. Although Chen Yiming can’t be compared to Eldest Senior Brother, he’s still a bit of a genius. He has a high chance of becoming a core disciple in the future. Females can also take the initiative to pursue the males, why don’t you just go for it?”

Zhao Jingru maintained her calm and aloof exterior.

“If you want to go, go by yourself. My body has also undergone a transformation, and I’m not even twenty yet. Cultivation is my main focus.”

She was actually quite regretful, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to make a move, unless it was someone handsome and strong like Senior Brother Lin Yixuan.

Of course, if Chen Yiming took the initiative to pursue her, she could forget about the unhappiness between them and test his patience before deciding whether to be his girlfriend.

For ordinary trainees, the evaluation criteria were different from those who came from martial arts clans, since the former would only start to cultivate after entering the school.

Chen Yiming had completed his first transformation in a month. If nothing went wrong, he would probably be able to achieve his third transformation after a year or two.

Undergoing the third transformation when one was in their twenties would undoubtedly be considered outstanding among the trainees. Even among the younger generation of martial artists in East Lake City, they would definitely be considered the new stars in the second tier, although they could not be compared to the geniuses of the top tier.

Zhang Youde was born in a martial arts clan, and had access to cultivation resources from a young age. He had started cultivating since he was 15. At 16, his body transformed for the first time. At this rate, his body would undergo the second transformation at 19. His third transformation should happen around 24.

And before his third transformation, his body would completely stop developing at the age of 23 or 24. From then on, his physical condition would start to worsen, making it even harder to break through in the future.

In other words, with his potential, Zhang Youde could only reach three transformations at most. If he encountered a hurdle that delayed him for a year or two, he might not be able to achieve his full potential.

Zhao Jingru, an ordinary trainee, entered the school when she was in her first year of high school at the age of 16. It took her three years to complete her first transformation at the age of 19, and she was still far from her second transformation.

The other trainees in the school were in a similar situation. Other than Zhang Youde, who had undergone a second transformation, most of them had undergone only the first transformation. There were a few who had just joined the school for a short period of time and had yet to undergo their first transformation.

Chen Yiming and Wang Bowen stood facing each other with their swords drawn. The other trainees also found their opponents and started their sparring practice.

Wang Bowen did not start sparring immediately, but spoke first. “Junior Brother Chen, I was in a rush this morning, and didn’t have the time to tell you all the details.”

After organizing his thoughts, he carefully said, “After completing the first transformation, the body’s energy requirement is no longer the same as before. I believe you have realized this on your own. Generally, if possible, the main dish for each meal will be changed to mutant beast meat. Otherwise, the intensity of cultivation must be controlled to prevent damaging the body through excessive cultivation.”

Hearing this, Chen Yiming mulled over his situation.

“Other people feel that the energy provided by ordinary meat is insufficient after the first transformation, but I only felt this way after the third transformation. Is my experience different from others?”

“Does this mean that after upgrading my swordsmanship talent, my body will also evolve towards a constitution suitable for swordsmanship?”

There was no corresponding explanation in the martial arts talent system. He could only guess that the Level-1 swordsmanship talent was just that good.

Although it mainly increased his comprehension of swordsmanship, his body should also have been strengthened to a certain extent. His body’s ability to digest and absorb the nutrients from meat must be higher than others.

At the same time, Chen Yiming’s sense of urgency to earn money intensified.

According to what his senior brother had said, if he wanted to maximize the efficiency of his cultivation, he would need to replace ordinary meat with mutant beast meat.

The cheapest was black pork, which cost 200 yuan per kilogram. Based on his appetite, he needed at least 3.5 kilograms a day to fill his stomach.

Under normal circumstances, the Chen family’s restaurant made a monthly profit of slightly over 10,000 yuan. In the short term, his family could just barely afford to pay for his daily expenditure on the black pork.

However, after witnessing the tragedy of the young girl’s family in the afternoon, he had the idea of moving his whole family into the residential district. There were more and more areas that he needed to spend money on.

Wang Bowen glanced at the trainees who had begun sparring and added, “If a person does not get enough rest after a long period of cultivation, it is very easy for them to develop mental issues. In serious cases, they might even develop psychological barriers and add more hurdles to their cultivation process.

“You can consider lighting a stick of Spirit Calming Incense when you are resting. It can help you clear your mind and quickly fall asleep.”

The Spirit Calming Incense was made from the excrement of a creature from the otherworld. The Ambergris Incense from the blue planet had similar effects, but its effectiveness was much lower than the Spirit Calming Incense.

This excrement was originally used as an ingredient for sedatives for those above the warrior rank, and was specially used to capture and kill large creatures from the otherworld. However, if only a small amount was used as an additive, it could be used to make incense.