109: Chapter 109 Dedicated Cultivation, Martial Arts Club Perfected

Mei Wushuang flicked her finger, and a long, thin, transparent vial landed on the desk in front of Lu Cheng.

The liquid inside the vial shimmered with a pale golden luster. As it swayed gently, tiny specks of light flowed slowly along the walls of the bottle.

"Take it." Mei Wushuang's voice had returned to its usual cold indifference, devoid of any unnecessary emotion.

"You have now stepped into the Extreme Realm. This vial of potion can help you solidify your foundation.

The Origin Qi concentration in the top-floor villa area is on par with ordinary energy rooms, which is sufficient for your upcoming cultivation."

Lu Cheng reached out to take the potion, feeling a refreshing coolness as soon as it touched his hand.

He looked down at the bottle; it was stamped with the internal code exclusive to the Mechanical Institute. The markings were clear, clearly indicating it was a special supply from within the institute, not some ordinary potion that could be easily bought outside.

Damn! It's great to have a big shot looking out for you!

Oh, my father whom I've never met, thank you for the gift sent by your lover!

Mei Wushuang raised her eyes to look at him, her tone suddenly deepening with an indisputable admonition:

"Do not be in a hurry to break through your realm.

"After the Extreme Realm, you must compress your blood-qi until it is sufficiently solid... You must compress it to at least 1.5 times before attempting a breakthrough. The best-case scenario is to compress it until you reach your absolute limit, where you can no longer compress your blood-qi any further, before you proceed to break through."

Her gaze fell on Lu Cheng, her expression calm and waveless:

"If your foundation is lacking by even a fraction, you might not notice it in the early stages, but as you progress further, the gap will only widen. One wrong step leads to another, making it difficult to catch up later.

"Many people, relying on their outstanding talent, rush to enter the Source Gathering Realm for a moment of glory. In the end, when they reach the critical nodes of opening meridians and forming the sea, they discover their foundations are shaky and the damage is already done. By the time they want to make up for it, it is already too late.

"You must remember, in the Navigator Academy, what we lack least are people who level up quickly. What we lack are people with solid foundations who can go the distance."

Lu Cheng listened quietly, his expression slightly strange.

1.5 times?

His current blood-qi compression level had already reached over 2.7 times.

Having practiced the Origin-level Guiding Technique to this extent, he could no longer increase his blood-qi by two-plus points every day like he did at the beginning.

But even so, when actively cultivating, he could still steadily increase his blood-qi by one point every day.

So the question was... where exactly was his limit?

Mei Wushuang did not notice his strangeness, nor did she ask further, simply waving her hand faintly:

"Go back and cultivate. Do not treat my words as wind passing by your ears."

After a pause, she added, "Also, take this entire vial at once. Be sure to use it while cultivating; do not waste it."

Lu Cheng nodded immediately, "Understood, Aunt Mei."

As he stood up, his gaze subconsciously swept over the corner of the table, where a row of energy bars supplied exclusively by the Mechanical Institute was placed.

Just at that moment, his stomach let out an untimely growl, clearly breaking the silence of the office.

He had been busy all day and was already famished, but he had been too embarrassed to show it while facing Mei Wushuang.

Mei Wushuang glanced up at him, a trace of imperceptible amusement flashing in her eyes, but she couldn't be bothered to expose him. She just waved her hand, her tone remaining cold:

"Take some with it."

"Alright."

Lu Cheng felt as if he had been granted an amnesty. He turned to walk out, pausing slightly when passing the corner of the table to casually pick up an energy bar.

The office door slowly closed, blocking out the sounds from inside and outside, and the room returned to silence.

Mei Wushuang sat quietly for a moment, then slowly stood up and turned around, casting her gaze toward the playground outside the window.

At this time, there were still scattered students on the playground training diligently. The streetlights in the distance lit up in rows, their warm yellow glow dispelling the night. The faint light of the energy barrier flickered gently at the edge of the night, appearing and disappearing.

She watched quietly like that, her expression sinking bit by bit, indescribably complex emotions surging in the depths of her eyes.

After a long while, she finally parted her lips.

"This time..."

"We are prepared."

The wind swept past the top-floor dome, brushing against the cold glass surface... No one responded to her whisper.

Only that low-voiced remark drifted slowly through the empty office.

...

When Lu Cheng emerged from the main building of the Mechanical Institute, it was already completely dark.

On the tree-lined path between the training grounds and the dormitory area, the streetlights had just turned on, one after another, the warm white light extending into the distance along the winding road.

Lu Cheng hadn't walked many steps along the path when he saw a slender figure standing under the shadows of the trees.

It was Xia Xi.

He paused slightly, stopping in his tracks, "Why are you here?"

Xia Xi had been looking down, kicking small stones on the side of the road. Hearing his voice, she immediately looked up, her clear eyes instantly brightening.

"You're finally out!" She ran quickly toward him, her face showing clear relief, "I just happened to have nothing to do, so I was waiting here for you."

"Waiting for me?" Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow, teasing her on purpose, "What, afraid I'd be caught by people from the Mechanical Institute and taken apart for research?"

Xia Xi thought for a moment, then nodded seriously, her eyes exceptionally sincere, "A little bit. Dean Mei's aura is so strong; calling you away alone, I was really worried something might happen to you."

"Could Dean Mei possibly eat me?"

Lu Cheng scanned his surroundings and didn't see anyone else, so he asked casually, "Where did they go?"

"They all went to the training room," Xia Xi answered softly, "My mentor said they would help me with my training direction tomorrow, so I didn't follow them today and stayed here to wait for you."

The wind on the tree-lined path carried a hint of chill, blowing her hair tips gently. The warm white light fell on her hair, coating it with a layer of soft halo.

With the blessing of her future dreams, Xia Xi cultivated martial arts extremely quickly, and her combat reactions were far superior to her peers. What she lacked most now was her realm.

Su Wan and Lu Cheng had both stepped into the Extreme Realm, while she had only just entered the Viscera Realm.

She knew this, but there was nothing she could do. The family technique she cultivated was special, and the speed of accumulating blood-qi in the early stages was slower than the average person.

That was why the Xia family hadn't intended to send her to the Navigator Academy at first; it was only because Xia Xi had strongly insisted that she came.

Xia Xi looked up at him, her cheeks slightly flushed, and asked in a low voice, "Are... are you hungry?"

As soon as her words fell, a clear "grumble" sound came from her own stomach, which was particularly noticeable on the quiet tree-lined path.

The air went silent for two seconds.

Xia Xi froze on the spot, her cheeks turning bright red in a "whoosh," even her earlobes turning a scorching pink. She wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Lu Cheng was stunned at first, then couldn't help but chuckle, almost laughing out loud.

"Don't laugh!" Xia Xi immediately glared at him, her tone carrying a hint of coquettishness, though her cheeks turned even redder.

"I'm not laughing." Lu Cheng suppressed the corner of his mouth, pretending to be serious, and handed over the energy bar in his hand, his tone natural, "Here, for you."

Xia Xi looked down at the energy bar, her voice full of surprise, "For me?"

"Yeah," Lu Cheng responded lightly.

Xia Xi took it with a grin, the smile in her eyes impossible to hide. She couldn't help but sway her head gently as she walked, her mood visibly improving.

Watching her like this, Lu Cheng couldn't help but ask, "It's just an energy bar, are you that happy?"

Xia Xi bit the edge of the energy bar packaging and said vaguely, "That's different."

She tore open the packaging and looked up at Lu Cheng with a grin.

"This was given to me by you."

That smile was too bright, especially dazzling under the warm yellow streetlights. Lu Cheng was slightly stunned by her gaze and subconsciously looked away.

With a light cough, he pretended to be cold and said, "Eat quickly, don't let your stomach grumble again later."

"Oh," Xia Xi responded, lowering her head to take a big bite.

She was truly happy.

Whether in her dreams or in reality, from the moment she first saw Lu Cheng, her gaze would always unconsciously follow him.

In her dreams, the relationship between her and Lu Cheng was full of chaos, danger, and pursuit, as well as too many regrets and concerns left unsaid.

But in this life, everything was different.

Such a plain and warm interaction: walking together, talking together, occasionally waiting for him, occasionally eating something he handed her.

Loose and relaxed, soft and sweet, it made her feel exceptionally secure and comfortable.

Xia Xi thought to herself, her steps becoming lighter and lighter. She subconsciously walked a few steps ahead, her hair tips fluttering gently in the wind.

Lu Cheng followed by her side, and Xia Xi asked casually, "By the way, what did Dean Mei talk to you about?"

Lu Cheng thought for a moment, then gently shook his head, saying, "Just some trivial matters, nothing special."

This was not a lie.

The old-generation romances Mei Wushuang mentioned wouldn't mean anything if told to Xia Xi; as for the rest, Mei Wushuang hadn't explained anything clearly.

Xia Xi nodded and did not ask further.

In her dreams, Lu Cheng did eventually successfully enter the Navigator Academy and was called the "Demon King."

The first time she truly had an intersection with him was during the Navigator Academy's first mission. A great disaster broke out in North City, and it was in those ruins that she met Lu Cheng.

But that memory was too chaotic; in her impression, Lu Cheng had already died two or three times...

The two walked slowly along the tree-lined path, chatting all the way, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant.

After leaving the academy's internal training area, they found a small restaurant often frequented by students and ate something simple.

The restaurant was not big, but it was clean and tidy, with bright lights. The air was filled with the fresh aroma of hot soup and the charred scent of grilled meat. It was also one of their few times alone together.

After the meal, the two returned to the top-floor villa area together.

As soon as Lu Cheng entered the house, he dove straight into the exclusive training room inside the villa.

As the training room door slowly closed, the entire space instantly became silent.

Lu Cheng sat cross-legged, slowly took out the pale golden potion, pulled out the cork, tilted his head back, and drank the potion in one gulp.

The potion was cold as it entered his mouth, sliding down his throat into his body. The next second, a dense and scorching warm current instantly exploded inside him, surging madly along his meridians toward his limbs and bones.

Lu Cheng's eyes narrowed; he dared not slack off in the slightest and immediately activated the Origin-level Guiding Technique.

Boom!

Under the effect of the potion, the blood-qi inside his body, which was already extremely condensed, was instantly pulled, squeezed, settled, and constricted. Every inch of his Tendon & Bone Stage, every piece of flesh, and every organ sent waves of swelling pain, as if they were about to be torn apart by the blood-qi.

Fine beads of sweat soon seeped from Lu Cheng's forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto his collar, creating a small wet stain.

Time passed bit by bit. In the training room, only his heavy and rapid breathing remained.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Cheng suddenly opened his eyes, and a breath of scorching white air gushed out from his mouth.

He opened the system panel, and the blood-qi column read '100 (2.88)'

"This number is quite auspicious."

The goal of compressing blood-qi to three times was getting closer and closer.

A night of silence, spent in diligent cultivation.

Early the next morning, as soon as Lu Cheng exited his cultivation state, the terminal on his wrist vibrated gently.

He looked down; it was a message from President Ji Guyan, the content concise and clear

"The Martial Arts Club has been fully perfected. Please come over for a visit."