Chapter 15: Cultivation
Su Ke held the 2 crystal cores and the 5 Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions that had been allocated to him.
He first took 3 of the potions to different Spirit Medicine shops and exchanged them for 6 Intermediate Spiritual Energy Potions.
If he went to his father's place, he could definitely get more, but he did not dare to do so. He could not explain the source of these potions, and if his father found out that he had gone into the wilderness, he would definitely scold him to death.
When Su Ke returned home, his parents had already come back.
"How was your day out?" Su Yuan asked.
"Quite exciting," Su Ke replied.
"What did you do that was so exciting?" Zhang Xu asked.
Su Ke immediately realized he had misspoken.
"Uh… we went to a haunted house at the amusement park."
"What's so exciting about a haunted house?" Su Yuan said proudly. "Learn from your old man. I'm fearless. I could walk through a haunted house with my eyes closed."
Zhang Xu slapped the back of his head. "With your eyes closed? You were so scared you didn't even dare to open them. You just ran around blindly until they kicked you out!"
Su Yuan's face stiffened in embarrassment.
Seeing the topic successfully diverted, Su Ke hurried back to his room.
He took out an Intermediate Spiritual Energy Potion.
The speed at which potions were refined was not only related to talent, but also closely tied to cultivation level. The higher one's Realm, the faster the refinement.
Someone like Su Ke, who had already reached the second watershed of the First Rank, could already use Intermediate Spiritual Energy Potions for cultivation.
Of course, this was also because he had money.
Cultivation was not as simple as it sounded. Those who could break through a stage in a single day were people who did not lack resources.
People from ordinary families could only cultivate step by step. Even after an entire summer break, their progress would be extremely limited.
Under normal circumstances, after awakening a Supernatural Ability, an average person could only reach the fourth stage after a summer of hard cultivation without resources. If their family gritted their teeth and bought a low-grade Spiritual Energy Potion, they might reach the fifth stage.
As for those who awakened only a Common-grade Talent, it was uncertain whether they could even cross the first watershed.
Su Ke had reached the fourth stage within a week because his family was willing to buy him potions. The same was true for Wang Zhong, Lin Ning, and Lan Bingxuan.
Su Ke opened the potion and swallowed it in one gulp, then randomly chose an Alien Hero to transform into.
The medicinal power instantly spread throughout his body, and the massive spiritual energy gradually pushed his Realm higher.
He had already stepped into the fourth stage and advanced quite a bit due to the Lingyuan Grass earlier. This bottle of potion pushed him even further.
"Very good. With 5 bottles left, it should be enough to reach the sixth stage."
Intermediate Spiritual Energy Potions were powerful yet relatively gentle. One only needed to rest for 2 hours before taking another.
Even so, Su Ke stopped after drinking 2 bottles. These were external aids, after all, and could not be used too frequently. Moreover, cultivation required moderation. Cultivating nonstop all day would damage the body.
Six hours was about the limit.
Once his Realm became higher in the future, this would no longer be a concern. At that time, even half a year of closed-door cultivation might not result in any noticeable progress.
After eating dinner, Su Ke cultivated on his own for another 2 hours before going to sleep.
Early the next morning, Su Ke went out for morning exercise.
According to scientific research, exercising in the early morning helped with the rapid absorption of Spiritual Qi.
After exercising, he quickly finished breakfast and continued cultivating.
This time, he did not take any potions, instead cultivating steadily step by step. Since he was not far from the fifth stage, he planned to wait until reaching the peak of the fourth stage before using a potion to break through.
He had now unlocked 4 Alien Heroes, and his talent had risen to Excellent grade, so his cultivation speed was fairly decent.
After cultivating continuously for 5 hours, he finally felt the bottleneck of the fifth stage.
Su Ke took another potion and transformed.
The medicinal power dissolved into his body, allowing him to successfully break through to the fifth stage.
He immediately checked the newly unlocked Alien Hero.
"Stinkfly."
Su Ke was pleasantly surprised. After all, this was his only flying unit in the early stages.
However, it was clearly not suitable to transform into this form and fly around inside the city. That would be far too conspicuous.
For the next week, Su Ke did nothing but cultivate.
Just as he had expected, after finishing all the Intermediate Spiritual Energy Potions, they barely helped him break through to the sixth stage. He had almost failed.
Even so, Su Ke could clearly feel that his body was now "full" in a certain sense.
This was caused by continuous cultivation, with spiritual energy constantly being absorbed into the body without enough time to be digested, gradually leading to saturation.
To alleviate this condition, one either had to wait several days for the body to naturally digest the excess spiritual energy, or engage in an intense battle to rapidly consume it.
Thinking of this, Su Ke contacted Wang Zhong and Lin Ning and asked them to meet at the Martial Arts Hall.
Using XLR8, Su Ke rushed over. After breaking through to the sixth stage, his speed had increased significantly. He truly moved like a bolt of lightning now.
After arriving and informing the staff, he went to the same venue they had used last time. Before long, Wang Zhong and Lin Ning arrived as well.
"You feel the saturation too, right?" Lin Ning asked.
"Yeah," Wang Zhong replied. "It feels like my body's been filled with water. I'm always bloated."
"I still have 3 Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions and 2 crystal cores unused," Su Ke said. "If this continues, my progress will stall because of saturation."
"Then there's no time to waste," Lin Ning said decisively. "Let's have a proper fight. Once we all break through to the seventh stage, I plan to head out again."
"A Ning, you're in the Support Class," Wang Zhong said. "Can you handle this too?"
"Of course," Lin Ning replied. "Besides time and combat, continuously using Supernatural Abilities can also clear saturation."
"For example, if you keep using Muscle Reinforcement to perform Stone-Shattering Fist, or if Old Ke transforms into Heatblast and keeps releasing flames, that will consume spiritual energy."
"Of course, nonstop ability usage can overload the body, so it's not recommended under normal circumstances."
"When you two fight later, I'll apply Panshi Armor and Defense Aura to both of you. Maintaining these skills will constantly drain my spiritual power and help clear my saturation."
Defense Aura was Lin Ning's talent skill. At its current level, it could increase a person's defense by 30%. As her Realm improved, the effect would become even stronger.
"Then let's not waste time," Wang Zhong said eagerly. "Old Ke, let's have a real man's duel."
"I've already reached the sixth stage of the First Rank, and I want to see what new Beast Transformation Heroes you've unlocked."
"Sure," Su Ke replied calmly. "I just reached the sixth stage too. Don't cry later when I beat you."
The two stepped into the combat zone and faced each other.
Wang Zhong was the first to activate Muscle Reinforcement. His physique instantly expanded, becoming at least 30% larger than before.
Su Ke transformed into Four Arms. Although his size did not increase dramatically, the surge in strength was unmistakable.
Lin Ning applied Defense Aura and Panshi Armor to both of them.
The great battle was about to begin.
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