When the dust had finally settled.
Qin Feng slowly awoke from his deep cultivation.
He glanced at the starry sky outside his window, then at the time on his personal terminal. A faint, almost imperceptible daze flickered in his eyes.
’My life force index... finally reached 50.0.’
’But those three premium Spiritual Energy Potions are all used up.’
’This secluded cultivation... from start to finish, a full five months have passed... Yet it feels like it all happened in an instant.’
’During my cultivation, I entered a complete flow state, almost oblivious to the passage of time.’
Emotion welled up within Qin Feng.
He did a quick calculation.
Counting the six months for the assessment, the one month he rested at home, and the two months he spent on missions, a full year had passed since he graduated from Qiming First High School.
And it had been seven months since he’d enrolled at Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University.
’If I’d had premium deep recovery packs for medicated baths to speed up my body’s healing and ease the fatigue from forming Acupoint Shells... and paired that with premium Mental Power recovery Potions to nourish my mind... this cultivation session might have only taken three months, maybe even less.’
He reached a conclusion.
’Recovery Potions are a matter of efficiency. Spiritual Energy Potions, on the other hand, are fundamental.’
’Now my resources are gone again. I’ve got to figure out a way to earn more Contribution Points.’
Qin Feng gave a helpless, bitter smile.
He calculated that the three premium Spiritual Energy Potions he had bought with his hard-earned 30 Contribution Points had only raised his life force index by 15 points. It was only enough to fill one and a half Great Sun Acupoints with Spiritual Energy.
And he had a total of three hundred and sixty Great Sun Acupoints to open.
The further he progressed, the more difficult it would become to open the acupoints, and the more resources he would need.
The gap in Contribution Points he needed to fill was astronomical!
’Looks like I can’t just focus on daily missions anymore.’
’Clearing the tower, the Canaan Newcomer Cup, the Imperial Arena, all the official tournaments... I have to sign up for and compete in everything I can! I can’t let a single Contribution Point slip through my fingers!’
A powerful sense of urgency surged within him.
He remembered the advice Master Gu Yue had given him—that a Martial Artist, especially a genius, must immediately catch up on outside information after every period of seclusion to avoid making poor judgments due to an information deficit.
’Seize every moment, but don’t shut yourself off from the world.’
Qin Feng adjusted his mindset, fully emerging from his state of seclusion.
Cultivation after reaching the fourth level of the Acupoint Opening Realm had indeed slowed down.
This was no longer a stage where one could make rapid progress through talent and arduous training alone.
It was more of a long, slow grind that required day-in, day-out perseverance, fueled by a mountain of endless resources.
He had more or less adapted to this new rhythm of cultivation.
He opened the Subspace Network and began to sort through the information that had piled up over the last five months.
First, he replied to messages from his three mentors: Wu Shangfeng, Lin Yue, and Gu Yue.
Their replies were filled with relief and encouragement, and without exception, they all ended with the phrase "May your martial path be prosperous," conveying their deepest hopes for him.
Next were the messages from Shi Potian and the others.
Shi Potian’s message left him in a bit of a daze.
"Qin Feng, this year’s Qiming School-Level League is over. I placed seventh in the upperclassman tournament. Next year, I’ll have a chance to compete for the title of ’General Star of Qiming.’ What about you? Are you doing okay at Canaan?"
Only then did Qin Feng realize that during the year he’d spent on his assessment and in seclusion, a whole new school-level league—one that belonged to someone else now—had already come and gone on the distant Qiming Star.
’Time really does fly.’
After that were messages from Tie Mu, Lei Meng, Xiong Yanfu, and others.
Most of their messages had been sent about half an Imperial Moon ago.
The content was largely the same: they had all just successfully opened their first acupoint, their strength had surged, and they wanted to get together sometime to share what they’d learned.
Qin Feng replied to each of them, but no one replied instantly. He figured they were all busy running around, trying to earn Contribution Points.
He then casually browsed Master Yu Han’s private forum.
The forum was as bustling as ever.
The threads about him had long since been buried.
The new, popular posts were about another batch of freshmen who had enrolled early through special recruitment channels.
Another crop of new "monsters" was stirring up discussion.
Battle reports from various tournaments and team-up requests for missions continuously flooded the feed.
There was never a shortage of geniuses here, and certainly no shortage of news.
’Seize every moment and focus on my own path. That’s enough.’
Qin Feng closed the forum, his mind at peace.
He began to check his private inbox.
The team-up post he had made five months ago had surprisingly received over a hundred replies.
He opened it, only to find that not a single one was from a freshman.
Every single invitation, without exception, came from powerful, well-established upperclassman Warbands at Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University!
[Dear Student Qin Feng,]
[The Moonlight Warband, a Student Warband affiliated with Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University, cordially invites you to join.]
[The Moonlight Warband was founded many years ago by the legendary senior, Dongfang Yue, of the 298,123,322nd class, and has been passed down through generations. Countless outstanding alumni who have made a name for themselves across the Empire have emerged from our Warband. They have left behind a trove of unique killing arts, precious cultivation recordings, and countless other valuable resources in the Warband’s treasury.]