Volume 1, Chapter 7: My Cultivation Time Is Twice Yours

Time flies like an arrow, and the years pass in the blink of an eye.

Deep in the back mountains of Cloud Peak Academy, a handsome young man sat cross-legged under an ancient tree, holding his breath and calming his mind as he cultivated.

He was Chen Tianming, and for the past two months, he had often come to this old tree to practice the art of "Gu Refining."

In the very first lesson after Awakening Day, their homeroom teacher, Zhang Kai, had explained that the primary prerequisite for unleashing Gu techniques was "Gu Refining." This process was not merely about training the Gu insect itself, but also about tempering the Gu vessel. The relationship between a Gu insect and a Gu vessel was akin to that of a handgun and a bullet; if you refined your Gu vessel into a Barrett and your Gu insect into a high-caliber bullet, the power of your Gu technique would naturally far exceed that of a small pistol.

"Gu Refining," as the name implied, involved using spiritual energy to continuously temper the Gu vessel and the Gu insect within one’s spiritual sea, making them both harder and larger. Hardness was necessary to withstand energy without shattering, while size was required for carving Gu patterns.

To unleash a Gu technique, every Gu Master must first carve a Gu pattern onto their Gu vessel. This was achieved by scouring the surface with spiritual power. Once the pattern was etched, the Gu Master had to manipulate the Gu insect to travel along the groove. Once the insect successfully completed a full circuit of the pattern, the Gu technique could be unleashed.

"Phew! Finally done," Chen Tianming exhaled, a long sigh of relief.

Within his consciousness, the once-blank surface of his Gu vessel now bore nine interconnected Gu patterns. These lines were etched into the surface with uniform depth and width, just enough for a Gu insect to move through them.

Now, all Chen Tianming had to do was guide his Gu insect to traverse this pattern from beginning to end, and he would be able to unleash his first Gu technique: "Palm Thunder."

This technique was a foundational requirement for all apprentice lightning-element Gu Masters. It was popular because it could be used in various scenarios, was both fast and fierce, and consumed very little spiritual energy.

Moreover, Chen Tianming had heard whispers of an advanced version called "Thunderbird." It allowed a Gu Master to firmly lock the power of lightning within their palm and continuously condense it; as time passed, the lethality of the Thunderbird would skyrocket.

Chen Tianming recalled a book he had once read, which documented a lightning-element Gu Master surnamed Zhang. Somehow, this man had obtained the Gu pattern for the Thunderbird. After carving it onto his vessel, he began testing the limits of the technique. He ended up causing a massive catastrophe; in his attempt to push the Thunderbird to its limit, he had condensed lightning power for nearly an hour before firing it into the sky.

The resulting blast dimmed the very heavens, the intense light illuminating the night sky. The surrounding mountain ranges were ground into dust by the powerful electric currents, and the piercing cry of the Thunderbird echoed for tens of kilometers. But that wasn't all—the remnant power of such a destructive strike continued to surge upward, where it accidentally obliterated a satellite belonging to the Sakura Kingdom.

This incident immediately strained relations between the two nations. The Sakura Kingdom demanded retaliation, while the Dragon Kingdom repeatedly explained it was an accident and urged calm. The Dragon Kingdom, however, was quietly hoping for a fight, as opportunities to rewrite their family history in such dramatic fashion didn't come often. Through international mediation, the matter eventually faded into obscurity. As for the true outcome, the book hadn't recorded it, and Chen Tianming could only guess.

Still, this served as a testament to the terrifying potential of a charged Thunderbird and the sheer power of a lightning-element Gu Master. That Gu Master surnamed Zhang, realizing the trouble he had caused, vanished without a trace, and with him, the method to learn the Thunderbird was lost to time.

However, Gu techniques were not so easily mastered.

Chen Tianming had tried for a long time, but the Gu insect couldn't even complete a single path; it would just sit there stupidly, looking around like a rebellious, good-for-nothing child. No matter how Chen Tianming manipulated it, it remained unresponsive, frustrating him to the point where he wanted to curse its entire lineage.

It turned out that learning Gu techniques, much like studying, required the accumulation of time to succeed.

In the blink of an eye, the semester drew to a close. After another month of practice, Chen Tianming could finally guide his Gu insect through five paths. The process of controlling the insect was, in a sense, like training a puppy—it required infinite patience. He discovered that Gu insects were not inanimate objects; they had their own temperaments. You could try to love them, pamper them, and influence them, but he soon realized that was entirely useless.

The only way to succeed was through the iron-fisted control of one's spiritual power.

You had to use your spiritual strength to command them to act according to your will. If your Gu insect decided to throw a tantrum during a life-or-death battle, you would be moments away from your own demise. Therefore, there was no room for sentimental "love"; the insect had to strictly obey its master. It required constant, grueling training to make the insect an extension of your own body, responding as fluidly as one’s own arm.

Every time Chen Tianming failed to guide the insect, he felt a wave of mental exhaustion. After two or three hours of practice, he would feel dizzy and drained. He had to stop then, or risk permanent damage to his spiritual sea. Simply put, controlling the Gu insect was extremely taxing. At full capacity, he could only manage about three hours of practice.

Through constant repetition...

"Six paths, seven paths... the difficulty is increasing."

"Sigh! I wonder if I can get this little brat to finish all nine paths before the term ends."

"It's strange, though. I've noticed Little Monkey can only practice for an hour and a half at most before his head starts splitting, yet I can manage at least three hours every day. Why is that?"

"Could it be because I am a dual-element Gu Master, and my spiritual strength is inherently greater than the average person's?"

If the spiritual cost of controlling a Gu insect is the same for everyone, then my dual-source nature must mean my 'mana bar' is twice as large as others. This gives me double the practice time compared to everyone else.

This extra 90 minutes a day allowed him to become increasingly adept at controlling his Gu. Even Li Chengying, the most outstanding student in Class Six, could only guide his insect through four paths. Chen Tianming was already proficient with six and would soon master the seventh.

This was a massive advantage!

The day he would reach the pinnacle of life and crush his rivals was just around the corner!