2: Chapter 2 Remember to buy insurance
School Resource Center.
This was the place to collect basic cultivation materials. According to the regulations, all students who passed the test, regardless of their aptitude, were eligible to receive a "Qi Induction Art" chip and three basic martial techniques.
Lin Fan stood in line, surrounded by classmates discussing things excitedly.
"Hey, have you heard? Zhao Yuntian from Class 1 tested with Eighth Grade Aptitude! He's already been recruited by the military!"
"Eighth Grade? My god, that's a future Grandmaster in the making!"
"While we can't compare to Zhao Yuntian, we're at least Fourth or Fifth Grade. With some effort, we can still become Martial Artists. But that Lin Fan... tsk tsk."
A few boys ahead in the line looked back at Lin Fan, their eyes full of mockery.
One of the boys with dyed yellow hair, named Zhang Qiang, usually enjoyed bullying honest people. He intentionally raised his voice, "Yo, isn't this our handsome Lin? Why are you here to collect a breathing technique with Second Grade Aptitude? You'd be better off saving time to study 'Postpartum Care for Sows' or 'How to Please Wealthy Women.' Those are more up your alley! Hahaha!"
A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.
Lin Fan lifted his eyelids and looked at Zhang Qiang indifferently.
The old Lin Fan might have felt angry or ashamed, but the current Lin Fan, looking at Zhang Qiang's arrogant face, instantly thought of over a dozen ways to shut him up or even cripple him in a moment. Although he hadn't started cultivating yet, his Lv10 Comprehension Ability gave him a crystal-clear understanding of the human body's structural weaknesses.
"Zhang Qiang," Lin Fan's voice cut through the noise, "instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. With your Fifth Grade Aptitude, if you can't reach the entry level within seven days, you might not have to be a breeding pig, but hauling coal in the Mining District is still hard labor. I heard there have been many cave-ins there lately; remember to buy insurance."
"You!" Zhang Qiang's expression shifted, looking like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Fifth Grade Aptitude was indeed in an awkward spot; if he didn't work his hardest, he really might be eliminated.
"What? Did I hit a nerve?" Lin Fan shrugged. His calm and composed demeanor was more infuriating than a direct insult.
"Everyone shut up! Get your things and get out!" The teacher behind the window slammed the desk. A wave of pressure belonging to a Martial Artist radiated out, instantly silencing the scene.
Zhang Qiang glared fiercely at Lin Fan. "Lin Fan, don't get cocky! At the assessment in seven days, I'm going to watch you get dragged out of the school gates like a dog!"
Lin Fan didn't bother with such a clown and walked straight to the window.
"Here's your chip. It contains the Qi Induction Art and three basic martial techniques: Fierce Tiger Fist, Wind Thunder Palm, and Lightning Saber." The teacher tossed out a black chip with a look of pity. "Even though you have Second Grade Aptitude, don't give up too easily... Forget it, just take care of yourself."
Clearly, even the teacher didn't believe he could create a miracle.
"Thank you, teacher."
Lin Fan took the chip and gripped it tightly. This tiny chip carried the blood and sweat of countless human ancestors over many years, and it was also the key to changing his destiny.
Leaving the school, Lin Fan didn't linger on the road but walked quickly through the bustling central district to the Slums on the edge of the city.
The streets here were narrow and filthy, with a musty smell lingering in the air. On both sides were densely packed tenement buildings, like giant beehives, crowded with people from the lower classes struggling to survive in this era.
Lin Fan skillfully navigated past a few drunks and returned to the home he shared with his grandfather—a low-rent apartment of less than thirty square meters.
Pushing open the door, the room was empty. His grandfather wasn't there, but on the old dining table lay a note left before he went out: "Xiao Fan, Grandpa will be back soon. Take care of yourself."
Lin Fan gently stroked the note, his expression softening slightly.
"Grandpa, once I become a Martial Artist, I'll make sure you live in a big house and never have to scavenge for trash in the ruins again."
He pushed all distracting thoughts from his mind, walked to the old computer he'd scavenged from a second-hand market, turned it on, and inserted the chip.
The screen flickered a few times, and dense text along with several demonstration videos popped up.
This was the Qi Induction Art.
It was currently the most widespread basic breathing technique for the human race, refined countless times to be most suitable for the masses.
Lin Fan clicked on the first page.
"Origin Qi exists between heaven and earth, scattered across the six directions and hidden within all things. One who induces qi must keep their mind as still as water, focus their intent on the Dantian, sense the rhythm of heaven and earth, and gather the hundred rivers into the sea..."
If an ordinary person saw these wordy and metaphysical phrases, their head would likely spin instantly. Even with a teacher's explanation, they would need to ponder them repeatedly and watch the video demonstrations for several days just to barely grasp the meaning.
This was why those with high aptitude found it easier to start; not only did their bodies have a high affinity for Origin Qi, but they also often had better Comprehension Ability. For those with low aptitude, just understanding this cultivation technique was an insurmountable chasm.
But at this moment, as Lin Fan's gaze swept across the screen, the complex characters seemed to come alive, automatically deconstructing and reorganizing into the most intuitive stream of information that flooded into his mind.
"So that's how it is..."
The light in Lin Fan's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"The so-called 'focusing intent on the Dantian' isn't about staring at a single point, but rather a dynamic balance. 'Sensing the rhythm of heaven and earth' is actually adjusting one's own biomagnetic field to resonate with the energy wavelengths of the outside world..."
Lv10 Comprehension Ability was simply overbearing and unreasonable.
In just ten minutes!
Lin Fan had completely mastered this obscure, five-thousand-word Qi Induction Art! He had not only memorized it perfectly but had even seen through several compromise modifications made to accommodate the general public's constitution.
"While this Qi Induction Art is balanced and stable, it sacrifices efficiency for safety in the 'qi absorption' phase. If I slightly modify the route of the meridian circulation..."
Lin Fan's mind calculated frantically, with countless possibilities colliding in sparks of thought.
If the Martial Arts Grandmasters in the outside world knew that a high school student who hadn't even reached the entry level was trying to improve the Qi Induction Art, they would probably laugh their heads off.
But Lin FanAt this moment, however, he entered a mysterious state..
Another ten minutes passed.
Lin Fan slowly closed his eyes. A brand-new circulation route, fine-tuned by him, had already formed in his mind.
"Whew..."
He exhaled a long breath of turbid air, turned off the computer, and sat cross-legged directly on his narrow bed.
"Second Grade Aptitude? Entry level in seven days?"
Lin Fan sneered.
"Those are rules for mortals. But now, I am going to break the rules!"
He adjusted his posture and formed a strange seal with his hands—the optimal guiding gesture he had derived based on his Comprehension Ability.
Close eyes, calm the mind.
Cultivation, begin!
The room was silent, save for the "creak" of the old fan turning.
Lin Fan sat cross-legged, his spine like a dragon, his breathing gradually becoming long and rhythmic.
According to the records of the Qi Induction Art, the hardest hurdle for beginners was "Sensing Qi."
Even if an ordinary person had decent aptitude, they often needed to sit in meditation for several days, catching that trace of stray Origin Qi between heaven and earth by chance through countless attempts. It was like searching for a speck of firefly light in the pitch-black deep sea, requiring both patience and luck.
Even those so-called "prodigies" with Upper Three Grade Aptitude would take at least a day to complete this step.
With a thought from Lin Fan, his consciousness instantly soared, entering a state of absolute etherealness.