"Xiaolan, your Chen Chu has made quite a name for himself this time."
"Yes, indeed. That tree was so thick, but he effortlessly snapped it in two with a single kick! It's impressive how skilled cultivators like him are. Unlike me, with my aging arms and legs; one touch, and they'd probably be gone."
"Uncle Qin, you really have a way with humor."
"Congratulations, Xiaolan! Your family has produced a cultivator."
"Oh, not at all. You flatter me, Aunt Zhang. Ah Chu has only just built his foundation. There's still a long way to go before he becomes a true cultivator. Who knows, one day he might find martial arts too demanding, and decide not to pursue it anymore."
A few elderly neighbors, who had been out on leisurely walks, surrounded Zhang Xiaolan and showered her with compliments, as she responded with great humility.
Chen Chu and Chen Hu were dismembering the peach tree, trimming off its branches and chopping the trunk into segments, and neatly stacking them on the side for easy disposal. Or, rather... Chen Hu was dismembering the tree. Chen Chu, not so much.
"Bro, it was clearly you who kicked it off. Why do I have to chop the trunk while you just stand there watching?" Chen Hu said, rubbing his sore shoulder.
Chen Chu retorted impatiently, "Because you wanted to witness the power of true martial arts. Stop talking nonsense and get back to work."
His calves were still in pain, making it inconvenient to squat. What could he really do in that situation?
However, Chen Hu's words were mere banter. Upon witnessing the formidable might of true martial arts, his entire being surged with excitement, further solidifying his resolve to cultivate.
In the evening, the six-horned salamander, stretching over fifty centimeters, lounged on the table. Its face bore a human-like expression of laziness, seemingly lost in thought as its black bean eyes were dark and dull.
Chen Chu sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes tightly closed. Inside him, his vitality followed the path of the Dragon Elephant Art, constantly circulating and refining the transcendent energy that he had pulled into his body earlier that day. With each cycle, his physique grew fractionally stronger.
According to the instructions of the cultivation method, practice in the First Heavenly Realm primarily strengthened the physique, and tempered the skin, tendons, and bones, making them more resilient.
Upon reaching the pinnacle of the current realm, where both physique and vitality were at their limits, a transformative process would occur. A genuine power like the kind portrayed in martial arts novels would emerge, marking the breakthrough to the Second Heavenly Realm. The requirement for reaching that breakthrough was to attain an arm strength of three hundred kilograms and a physique approximately five times that of an ordinary person.
However, this was just the basic data. When combined with the experience gained from diligent practice, even someone at the First Heavenly Realm could still unleash formidable combat power, far surpassing ordinary individuals.
In the following days, nothing unexpected occurred, and everything continued to operate according to the scheduled plan.
Chen Chu adhered to his daily routine of timely attendance at school for cultivation. Whenever he encountered challenges, he would seek guidance from Pang Long. In the afternoon, amid his cultivation sessions, he occasionally engaged in discussions with Xia Youhui.
The avatar, with its substantial daily intake of food, experienced a noticeable increase in size at a quick pace. Its evolution points steadily rose by 2 each day.
Come Monday morning, on the third floor in his current cultivation area, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes, a faint, weary smile on his face.
Not far away, Xia Youhui, sitting on the sofa and taking a break, grinned and asked, "So, how does it feel? Feeling like a pretty big failure, right?"
"Indeed." Chen Chu nodded.
Three days had passed since his Foundation Building. Initially, with a day of diligent cultivation, his Physique and Strength attributes had increased by 1 point each day. At that rate of cultivation, he would have reached the limit of the First Heavenly Realm in just one month.
However, after three days, Chen Chu noticed a sharp decline in the rate at which his body absorbed transcendent energy during cultivation. At the current pace, he estimated that it would now take at least four days to increase 1 point in his attributes, and it would take about four months to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm. He was somewhat astonished by this disparity.
"Heh, I was in a similar situation back then," Xia Youhui chuckled. "When I'd just built my foundation, I was really enjoying the speed I was progressing at. So, after a few days of that, the feeling of it slowing down so much was pretty uncomfortable.
"If I had been able to keep that speed past the beginning, I'm confident I could have reached the limit of the First Realm in just half a month. But now, it feels like it'll probably take more than a full month."
It had been half a month since Xia Youhui had built his foundation. Under these circumstances, needing another month of cultivation meant it would probably take just over two months to reach the limit of the First Heavenly Realm.
That was almost twice as fast as him.
Right now, the difference in their strengths might not be very noticeable, given that both of them were relatively weak. However, as they progressed to the Second Heavenly Realm, the Third, or even higher realms in the future... The gap caused by such innate talent would only grow larger as they advanced.
Of course, a fast cultivation speed didn't guarantee becoming a formidable cultivator. Even in the cultivation world, there were ordinary individuals who had started with slow progress in the initial stages only to eventually surpass even the most talented. However, the likelihood of such occurrences was quite low.
And even if ordinary individuals are diligently cultivating, weren't these geniuses also putting in effort? Such as...
In the distance, Lin Xue, clad in a snug training attire, released a breath as she slowly sheathed the long sword in her hands. The sword measured one meter and five centimeters in length, ten centimeters in width, and weighed twenty kilograms.
The school's cultivation area was divided into two types: one for static exercises and body cultivation, like Chen Chu's primary art, and another for those who needed a spacious area for practicing saber and sword arts. The surrounding walls were reinforced with a high-strength material, and there were various testing and training equipment to meet the regular cultivation needs of most students.
Some exceptionally talented individuals who preferred solitude, as well as others with specific cultivation requirements, could spend money to rent special cultivation rooms. This option was quite expensive, however. The activity room that Lin Xue and her friends had applied for cost several thousand yuan for just one month. Renting these rooms also required approval, and it was said to take two days for the request to be processed.
Wiping away sweat, Lin Xue placed her long sword on the rack and walked over. "Chen Chu, don't overthink it. Even if your cultivation speed is a bit slower than ours, your foundation is solid, and the path of cultivation rewards persistence. Short-term advantages don't represent everything."
Although Chen Chu refused to join their small club that day, Lin Xue didn't mind. As the class monitor, she would still sometimes offer cultivation knowledge to him.
Chen Chu nodded slightly and said, "Rest assured, this slight gap won't affect me."
Xia Youhui curiously asked, "Lin Xue, how much longer do you think it will take for you to reach the limit of the First Realm?"
Wiping some more sweat from her forehead, Lin Xue contemplated. "I anticipate it will take about another half month."
Xia Youhui's eyes widened, "How is that possible? We all practice the same high-level arts, and you only finished foundation building two days ahead of us. Why are you progressing so much faster than me?"
Casting a sidelong glance at him, Lin Xue sneered, "Because you're lazy. Look at Chen Chu. As long as he has the energy for it, he's cultivating and making progress every day. And what about you?"
Xia Youhui sighed, "We're just high school students, not self-denying monks. Why push ourselves so hard in cultivation? Besides, I'm not the only one taking breaks. They're resting too. Why aren't you pointing that out?"
Not far away, Luo Fei with her long, flowing hair was quietly reading a Taoist book. On the opposite sofa, a girl named Li Wenwen was enjoying some pastries. To someone unfamiliar with the situation, this scene might give the impression that it was a place for afternoon tea rather than cultivation.
However, Chen Chu knew that this was just their own way of recovery. Activating the flow of vitality and refining transcendent energy actually consumed a significant amount of spiritual energy.
Whether it was foundation building or the current true martial arts, cultivation simply wasn't easy.