54: Chapter 54 [The Hexagonal Warrior]

Day 26.

When Chen Zhen opened his eyes, the room was still plunged in quiet darkness.

He did not look at the alarm clock.

There was no need; the precise "biological clock" inside his body told him: 5:01.

He lay still and first used Internal Vision.

The mass of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian, after a night of quiet rest, was more condensed than last night, rotating at a stable and composed speed, like a tamed star.

The Spiritual Qi flowed more smoothly through his meridians, and the few small branches that were somewhat sluggish yesterday had now been nourished until they were nearly unobstructed.

This was the change from the fourth to the fifth day of the Qi Refinement Stage.

It was not a quantitative change, but the eve of a qualitative transformation.

He sat up and swept his gaze across the room.

Cleaning Spell.

With 1 point of Spiritual Qi consumed, an invisible ripple swept through.

The leaves of the pothos on the windowsill trembled slightly, and the dewdrops forming on the tips were slightly larger than yesterday.

This was a sign that the infiltration of Spiritual Qi was gradually deepening.

[ Pothos affected by the long-term residual Spiritual Qi of the Cleaning Spell ]

[ Status: Weak Spiritual Qi Adaptation (Growth speed + 5%) ]

The system panel popped up a notification.

Chen Zhen glanced at the pothos, wondering if this counted as an unexpected gain.

Using the Cleaning Spell on it every day was equivalent to bathing it in trace amounts of Spiritual Qi daily; over time, it had actually developed adaptive changes.

He noted this discovery.

If ordinary plants would evolve slowly after long-term contact with a micro-Spiritual Qi environment, then the advancement speed of his pot of Mint might be accelerated.

Not just active nourishment, but he could also set up a stable micro-Spiritual Qi field around it.

He could try it once the Spirit Gathering Array was perfected.

...

During his morning run, Chen Zhen began to challenge "six-threaded operation."

Yesterday was five-threaded: running posture, breathing rhythm, Spiritual Qi buffering, Anomaly Perception, and Internal Vision monitoring.

Today, he added one more: object control training.

While running, he took out those five stones from his Storage Space, letting them hover at his side, arranged in a neat queue, moving forward with him.

Six tasks at once.

The difficulty jumped a level compared to yesterday.

After just half a kilometer, the queue fell into disarray.

The smallest stone, because it was too light, was blown off course by the morning breeze and almost drifted to the side of the road.

Chen Zhen diverted a wisp of Mental Energy to stabilize it, but once his focus was scattered, his breathing rhythm became chaotic.

The Spiritual Qi buffering also had problems, and his footsteps became heavy.

He immediately adjusted his strategy.

Not pursuing "simultaneous perfection," but rather "alternating focus."

He adjusted the queue in the gaps when his breathing rhythm was stable, and quickly resumed Spiritual Qi buffering after the queue was stabilized.

He could appropriately lower the precision of energy perception, and for Internal Vision, he would only monitor the total amount in his Dantian without looking closely at the branches.

It was like juggling while riding a unicycle; not every ball was in the air at once, but rather he was taking turns tossing, catching, and tossing again.

After half a kilometer, he found his rhythm.

The five stones hovered steadily at his side, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.

Although there were only five, their positions were precise.

His footsteps were as light as if he were stepping on clouds, and his breathing was deep and steady.

The Spiritual Qi buffering was just right, Anomaly Perception maintained a basic scan, and Internal Vision showed balanced Spiritual Qi consumption.

[ Morning run quality 'Extraordinary and Subtle' ]

[ Health Dimension experience + 85 ]

[ Cultivation + 0.95 ]

[ Initial Glimpse of Spirit Control effect increased: Spiritual Qi control precision + 10% (Currently 33%) ]

[ Mental Energy increased significantly ]

[ Unlocked hidden achievement: 'Hexagonal Warrior' (Multi-threaded processing ability significantly improved, growth speed of all dimensions + 8%, duration 72 hours) ]

Another hidden achievement triggered, and it was an acceleration for all dimensions, lasting for three days.

Chen Zhen was in a great mood.

He had to seize these three days and maximize his efficiency.

...

By the time he ran to the Riverside, the old man was already waiting under the willow tree.

Seeing the queue of five stones hovering at Chen Zhen's side, the old man raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Chen Zhen ended his practice, the stones fell back into his palm, and he put them into his Storage Space.

"What was that just now?" the old man asked.

"Object control training; practicing while running."

The old man was silent for a few seconds, and a hint of a smile finally appeared at the corners of his mouth: "Interesting."

He paused: "I originally wanted to teach you something new today, but it seems that won't be necessary. You've been practicing quite well on your own. Remember that feeling, add a little difficulty every day, and don't stop."

"Yes."

"Alright, that's it for today." The old man pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket, "This is for you."

Chen Zhen took it.

The cloth bag was very light, containing some dark brown, finely crushed material that looked like tea leaves or grass roots.

It had a cool herbal scent, a bit like Mint, but richer.

"What is this?"

"Spirit Fragrant Grass, grown by me," the old man said. "Before going to sleep at night, pinch a small amount and put it by your pillow. It can help you sleep, nourish your spirit, and repel mosquitoes."

Chen Zhen thanked him and put away the Spirit Fragrant Grass.

...

On the way home, Chen Zhen couldn't help but grab a small pinch of the Spirit Fragrant Grass and sniff it.

The scent was crisp and cold, piercing straight to his brain; it was more restrained than Mint, but had a stronger lingering effect.

Through [ Anomaly Perception ], these finely crushed grass leaves emitted pale green, gentle energy fluctuations—not strong, but very stable.

To be able to grow plants containing Spiritual Qi himself.

What exactly is the old man's Realm?

He didn't ask.

Some things would naturally be known when the time came.

...

He arrived home at 7:05.

His mother was already up and busy in the kitchen.

His father hadn't returned from the training camp, so the house was quieter than usual.

"Mom, I bought breakfast." Chen Zhen put the soy milk and fried dough sticks on the table, "Stop busy yourself."

"There's still porridge." His mother poked her head out of the kitchen, "You start eating first; Mom will dish out this pot of porridge."

The mother and son sat down to eat.

Fried dough sticks dipped in soy milk, soft yet crispy—it was the taste Chen Zhen had grown up with.

"Zhenzhen," his mother said suddenly, "Your dad called last night and said the training camp is going quite smoothly, and there's a skills competition next Monday."

"Next Monday?"

"Yes, he said he's striving to place in the competition." His mother paused, "Your dad is not good with words; he doesn't know how to say flowery things. But Mom knows how much he values this opportunity."

Chen Zhen nodded: "Dad will definitely succeed."

"Mom thinks so too." His mother smiled, "Eat, the porridge is getting cold."

...

For his morning study, Chen Zhen decided to test the practical value of [ Knowledge Fusion ].

He opened his collection of actual physics exam questions and found a comprehensive final question involving electromagnetic fields and mechanics.

These types of questions usually involve the intersection of multiple knowledge modules and are the kind of difficult physics problems found on the college entrance exam.

He read the question for ten seconds.

[ Knowledge Fusion ] activated automatically.

A related knowledge network instantly appeared in his mind:

Laws of electromagnetic induction, Lorentz force formula, circular motion dynamics, conservation of energy... These knowledge points automatically connected in his consciousness, forming a complete problem-solving path.

What was even more magical were the hidden "traps" in the question.

The boundary conditions of charged particles moving in a composite field, and the handling of the angle between the velocity direction and the magnetic field.

They were also automatically highlighted and marked.

He picked up his pen and fluently wrote down the problem-solving steps.

Fifteen minutes later, the entire major question was completed.

Checking against the answer key, everything was correct.

The time taken was more than twice as fast as usual, and there were no pauses throughout; his train of thought was so clear it was like he was copying the standard answer.

[ Knowledge Fusion practical application ]

[ Learning Dimension experience + 135 ]

[ Cultivation + 0.88 ]

[ Problem-solving speed and accuracy significantly improved ]

Chen Zhen put down his pen and let out a long breath.

This feeling of "seeing through the essence of the question at a glance" was amazing.

He immediately opened the next question.