At the exclusive cafeteria window for Class 1-3, the nutrition meal for C-rank contracts was as lavish as ever.
A steaming meat patty gave off a rich aroma, served alongside brightly colored, nutritionally balanced vegetables and a blue beverage that emitted a faint Energy Fluctuation.
Qin Feng, Shi Potian, and Qian Duoduo had claimed a table in a corner of the cafeteria and were eating in silence.
The atmosphere today was a little different than usual.
Qian Duoduo was wolfing down his food, just like always.
But Shi Potian seemed distracted. He just poked at the food on his plate with his fork, taking a bite only after long intervals.
"Hey, Old Stone."
Qian Duoduo swallowed a large mouthful of meat and spoke indistinctly, "What’s up with you? You’ve been moping ever since we left the Martial Arts Room. Did Kro’s axe knock the sense out of you?"
Shi Potian ignored his teasing.
He set down his utensils, raised his head, and looked past Qian Duoduo to Qin Feng, who was sitting opposite him.
"Qin Feng, what are your thoughts?"
His voice was somewhat low.
Qin Feng’s hand, which was in the middle of cutting his meat patty, paused slightly.
He looked up, meeting Shi Potian’s searching gaze.
"Thoughts on what?"
"The matter with Kro."
Shi Potian said succinctly.
Qin Feng smiled, placed a cut piece of meat into his mouth, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed.
"At the time, I admit I got a little carried away."
He admitted candidly, "Especially after seeing those dilapidated statues of the Emperor by the mine and hearing about Kro’s experiences... I was angry, disappointed, and just plain pissed off."
"And now?"
Shi Potian pressed.
"Now?"
Qin Feng set down his knife and fork, his expression turning serious. He held up two fingers.
"First, get stronger. The weak don’t even have the right to be angry. Only by becoming truly strong can you earn the right to realize your ambitions and possess the power to change injustice."
"Second."
Qin Feng paused. "We need to figure out who our friends are and who our enemies are. Then, we unite with our friends to strike at our enemies."
His words weren’t impassioned or rousing, just filled with a rationality that seemed beyond his years.
This was perhaps a result of the slight increase in his Mental Power from practicing Meditation.
Shi Potian fell silent.
He lowered his head, seeming to mull over Qin Feng’s words.
’Only the strong have the right...’
’Friends and enemies...’
After a long while, he looked up. Much of the confusion in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a newfound resolve.
He gave Qin Feng a firm nod.
"I understand."
Listening to their conversation, Qian Duoduo, who was sitting to the side, couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
"You two, can you stop acting like a couple of old men, discussing the rise and fall of the Empire?"
He stuffed the last piece of his meat patty into his mouth, picked up the conversation, and said brashly:
"What’s the point of overthinking it? Just train hard, cultivate diligently, and that’s that! Go search the ’Cosmic Forum.’ Do you think the Martial Artists in those Star Realms with the Martial Arts Hall systems, or the ones in war-torn Star Realms, have time to think about this stuff? No! All they think about every day is how to get their next cultivation resource and how to survive their next battle!"
"To put it bluntly,"
Qian Duoduo slammed his hand on the table, delivering his closing argument, "you’re just too well-fed! You haven’t even thought about who’s putting this food on your plate."
His words were a bit crude.
But they were like a hammer, instantly shattering the heavy atmosphere.
"Hahaha—"
Qin Feng and Shi Potian glanced at each other and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
"You and your..."
Shi Potian pointed at Qian Duoduo, laughing as he chided, "Twisted logic, one theory after another."
"How is that twisted logic?"
Qian Duoduo stuck his neck out. "This is the simple Truth! Alright, alright, stop thinking about useless stuff. Let’s talk about what’s next."
The heavy atmosphere vanished amidst the three’s laughter.
"My Vitality Index has already reached 8.0."
Qian Duoduo spoke first, a hint of pride on his face. "I got 70 merit points from this mission. Adding that to what I had before, it should be enough. I’m planning to upgrade my contract to C-rank first, then sign up for the Qimingxing Inter-School League! I’ll try to get promoted to the second year before the league starts!"
"My plan is the same."
Shi Potian chimed in, "Upgrade to a C-rank contract, then get promoted to the second year."
Both of them looked toward Qin Feng.
"Sign up for the league, get promoted to the second year."
Qin Feng was succinct. "And then, train hard until the league begins."
The three of them had the exact same goal.
"Alright!"
The three of them extended their fists and gently bumped them together in the center of the table.
After lunch, the three didn’t return to their dorms, instead heading straight to their respective Cultivation Rooms.
Qin Feng once again began the monotonous, daily routine of body refining.
He circulated the >, trying to squeeze out the last dregs of his body’s potential.
However, an hour passed, and he still didn’t feel particularly fatigued.
’Maybe my Vitality Index is too high?’
After his Vitality Index broke through 10.0, the > that had accompanied him for months could no longer make him feel that near-limit, muscle-tearing pain.
No matter how much he increased the weight or extended his training time, he could no longer effectively stimulate his body’s growth as he had before.
’It’s just not difficult enough!’
’So that’s how it is...’
Realization dawned on Qin Feng.
He finally understood why Shi Potian had been "stuck" at the 10.0 Vitality Index bottleneck for so long.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to break through, but that at this stage, a basic Body Refining Technique could no longer provide him with enough "experience points."
To continue improving, he had to learn the more advanced >.
’Looks like I’ll have to put this on hold for now.’
Qin Feng made his decision.
Before he was promoted to the second year and learned an Intermediate Body Refining Technique, continuing this inefficient body refining was pointless.
He got up, rinsed himself off, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and returned to his dorm room.
The room was empty.
Qin Feng sat cross-legged on his bed and looked at the "Subspace Network Pass," which had transformed into a wrist-mounted terminal.
A familiar panel was projected into the air.
He closed his eyes and immersed his consciousness in it.
In the next instant, his consciousness was pulled by an invisible force through countless bizarre tunnels made of datastreams.
When he "opened" his eyes again, he was already standing on that familiar starry Martial Dao arena. In the distance, nebulae undulated, and gas clouds resembling the Pillar of Creation drifted and spun alongside nascent stars.
The Imperial Arena.
His Thousand Army Spear had already reached "Great Accomplishment," and he had even comprehended two killing moves: "Thousand Soldiers’ Evasion" and "Flowing Light Chasing Shadow."
It was time to grind some more points.
Besides, engaging in high-intensity combat in the arena and then reviewing his performance was currently the fastest way for him to improve his spear-fighting proficiency.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he tapped the ranked match button.
[Searching for an opponent...]
[Match found!]
[Loading opponent information...]
Qin Feng’s gaze fell on his opponent’s ID, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smirk.
Well, well. Speak of the devil.
[ID]: Mad Demon Staff