Chapter 5 Genius

After the teacher left, class leader Sherry Lesser approached the podium.

She pressed something on the lectern, and the large screen behind her slowly split open in the middle to reveal a pure and pristine Lotus Stone Carving.

The lotus occupied almost half of the wall, and the lines and veins on the petals were clearly visible, faintly emitting a strange radiance.

Looking at everyone below, Crystal said calmly, "True Martial is too powerful a cultivation method for ordinary people, so one needs to establish a foundation first."

"And to establish a foundation, you need to meet two requirements: that your Spirit Power is sufficiently active, and your whole body's Qi Blood is surging."

"The Lotus Stand Meditation Method carved into the wall behind me contains the realm of thought from a Cultivating strong man, which can help everyone to quickly enter and settle into meditation."

"When your Spirit Power can clearly outline the Lotus Stand, it means you meet the mental standard."

"As for the standard of smooth Qi Blood circulation and surging Blood Qi, it requires completing the Ten Rotation Body Casting Skill within half an hour; you need to meet both criteria to establish the foundation."

As Crystal explained these, most of the students in the class appeared calm, evidently already aware of this information.

Only a few, like Jack Clark, were hearing about it for the first time and showed contemplative expressions on their faces, listening intently.

"Remember, our ability to establish a foundation and Cultivate True Martial Arts is the greatest benevolence the country offers us ordinary people; not everyone can have an Innate Awakening."

"Alright, everyone spread out and begin the first Meditation Cultivation session," Crystal finished, then turned and stepped down from the podium, finding a spacious spot to sit cross-legged.

Seeing this, the others followed suit.

Jack sat down at the edge of the crowd and focused on the carving as Crystal had instructed. Instantly, the lotus flower in his sight seemed to grow larger and larger.

Spirit Power, for ordinary people who have never cultivated, is too ethereal to perceive or touch.

But when that lotus occupied Jack's entire vision, he subconsciously closed his eyes and for the first time distinctly felt the presence of Spirit Power.

In the endless darkness of consciousness, a transparent lotus with only some dashed lines slowly spun, existing in his mind.

"Is this what they mean by quickly entering the gate? Amazing!" Jack exclaimed in surprise.

Although it was his first cultivation session, he understood how difficult it would be for an ordinary person to sense their own Spirit Power out of nothing through meditation alone.

And that was if they could sit still.

Under normal conditions, ordinary people might close their eyes and get lost in random thoughts, unable to stabilize their minds, let alone focus on meditation.

It was evident how much time this drawing saved them.

However, as Jack tried to clearly visualize the actual form of the lotus, he found his progress extremely slow and mentally taxing.

After only half an hour, he felt dizzy with exertion, mentally exhausted, and had to stop meditating.

"It's surprisingly tiring," Jack murmured, massaging his brow.

After resting a moment and feeling a bit better, Jack turned his head to look around. He then noticed that most of his classmates had also ceased meditating.

Some were sitting idly, others were staring fixedly at the carving, and like Jack, they appeared weary, as if they had spent a great deal of energy.

But some were still meditating.

For example, right in the front row were Crystal, Matt Watkins, and nine others, including Justin Welan.

After a while, Justin and five others gradually came out of the meditative state one after another, leaving only Crystal, Matt, and another male student.

In such a situation, though no one reminded them, everyone stayed quiet to avoid disturbing those still meditating.

"Meditation class is over; Body Forging Cultivation Class will now begin," announced the speaker on the wall, prompting Crystal and the other two to slowly open their eyes.

That's when, unnoticed by Jack, Justin came to sit in front of him and said in a low voice, "The length of time one spends in the first meditation session is actually an indication of one's talent."

Jack turned to look at him, and it seemed this guy knew quite a lot.

Justin Welan said enviously, "Don't look at me, even though my mental talent is a bit better than yours, I'm still lacking compared to those three guys."

"I can be sure that they have already manifested at least three petals."

"Moreover, looking at how they don't seem the slightest bit tired, their spirit power is clearly abundant. It's possible that in two or three days, they could meditate a complete lotus."

"Three petals!"

Jack Clark was stunned. He hadn't even fully visualized one petal, and others had three already. Was the gap really that big?

Justin Welan patted Jack Clark on the shoulder, consoling him, "Don't be surprised. This is the gap between geniuses and ordinary people, incomparable."

"And even though they haven't started cultivation in advance, they have already used some resources to nurture their spirits, giving them much better innate conditions than us."

"But don't be discouraged, Jack. Being quick to meditate is just an initial step; we still have chances to surpass them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the big screen had already closed again and lit up, displaying a middle-aged man in white training attire, who slightly sank his body and began to make hand gestures.

"Everyone, pay attention."

Class leader Sherry Lesser slowly said from the front row, "Next, we will practice the Body Casting Skill, eighteen positions to be cultivated in a specific sequence that can dredge the meridians throughout our body and have a certain body-refining effect."

"The Essence Blood Stone in the cultivation classroom will open automatically, and under its illumination, we can easily feel the Blood Qi in our bodies and quickly entry-level."

"During cultivation, we have to use spirit power to drive the Blood Qi to flow with the cultivation rotation, and completing one sequence constitutes one turn."

"Alright, let's begin."

On the big screen, the middle-aged man started to cultivate at a very slow pace, and each of his poses was very standard, giving Jack Clark the impression he was practicing something like Tai Chi and ancient yoga.

But with the sixth position, the difficulty suddenly skyrocketed, many poses blatantly defied ergonomics, and the last few poses made his scalp tingle.

Minutes later, as the middle-aged man finished demonstrating once and began a second round, some people started to follow along.

At the same time, a human head-sized Red Crystal Stone on the ten-meter-high ceiling of the cultivation classroom lit up, casting a crimson radiance that enveloped everyone.

Under the glow of the red light, Jack Clark felt a warmth all over, as if his blood was beginning to boil, and he subconsciously started following along with the cultivation.

The first position was relatively simple to start, the second position was a bit difficult but manageable, the third position...

Hiss!

Just as he got to the third position, half-squatting with his right leg stretched out, his arms extended forward and back, bending down, Jack Clark instantly felt a live pain in his fascia.

Such a severe, cramp-like pain turned Jack Clark's complexion white, and he dared not move.

It wasn't until a while later when the pain started to subside, leaving Jack Clark drenched in sweat, that he dared to practice the fourth position.

Meanwhile, as he cultivated, Jack Clark felt his blood growing more and more fervent, with a barely perceptible "Qi" flowing with the blood throughout his body.

Feeling this faint Blood Qi, Jack Clark's expression became stern.

He dared not slack off; the little spirit power he had just managed to cultivate hastily restrained it, letting this trace of Blood Qi circulate with his cultivation...

At this moment, everyone was cultivating, even though many were awkwardly positioned. A fair number, about ten or so, were doing slightly better.

For instance, class leader Sherry Lesser and a few female students were also practicing along with the teaching on the big screen. Their movements were clumsy but fairly accurate.

Their bodies filled with flexibility, they were pleasant to watch, drawing the undivided attention of many male students who forgot about their cultivation.

However, the first male student to complete one turn cultivated the fastest, drenched in sweat with faint white steam coming off his head after taking just ten minutes.

With such a comparison, Jack Clark realized his body's talent seemed truly poor.

He was still struggling to bend backward, his single leg hooking back, practicing the ninth move...