Chapter 29: Health-Enhancing Delicacies in the Dining Hall? (Part Two)

The four fell silent, not daring to utter another word. If they provoked that master and ended up tossed into the slop bucket to become pickled chicken feet, they’d have nowhere to cry.

“If you don’t dare, then just behave and be subservient. Keep at it until he grows tired of you, or until someone gets expelled from school,” Zhou Nan whistled gleefully, looking thoroughly delighted by their misfortune. “No telling how long you’ll have to keep this up—enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Don’t act like you’re innocent! You were the one who got us to take him on in the first place!”

“Exactly! If we go tell him, you won’t escape either!”

The four grew rowdy.

Zhou Nan sneered coldly, “Idiots, let your brother teach you a lesson: did I ever tell you to deal with him? I merely informed you that Zheng Bighead was drawn here by him. You were the ones who sought him out; you were the ones who challenged him in the dark restroom; and you were the ones who got beaten. None of it concerns me.”

“You—!” The four were furious and looked ready to start a fight.

“Settle down, fools. Don’t be so hasty. Let your brother teach you another trick,” Zhou Nan said, unhurried. “Do you want to get rid of that guy?”

The four exchanged glances, and after a moment nodded reluctantly. One retorted, “Get rid of him? What clever plan could you possibly have?”

“I call you stupid and you still won’t admit it. Think about it: if a student is beaten, extorted, threatened—who should they go to?”

At these words, all four pairs of eyes widened, as if startled by Zhou Nan’s ingenious idea.

Zhou Nan grinned like a fox. “That’s right, go to that person, and you’ll get Shi Ironheart out of here.”

They stared at each other, and at last, the fat one cautiously spoke.

“Who exactly?”

“Damn! Utter morons!” Zhou Nan nearly lost his temper. No wonder these guys never got anywhere; their brains were truly lacking. He beckoned them closer and whispered a name.

Hearing it, the four were genuinely shocked, shaking their heads in unison. “No way, no way, are you joking? Going to him? That’s suicide!”

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“What are you afraid of? You’re the victims this time, not the perpetrators. What’s wrong with defending your legal rights? Besides, the former top student Shi is now Five Fingers Mountain. You can’t beat him, and with your connections you can’t rally anyone. He’s a public enemy now, brothers!

“You have no other choices. Unless you plan to be crushed under Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years.” Zhou Nan slapped the table, making the plates and bowls clatter. “From now on, eat vegetarian and chant scriptures.”

The four stared at their plates and dipping bowls, falling silent together.

In their hearts, it seemed a decision was made.

Meanwhile, Shi Ironheart left the cafeteria but didn’t return to his dorm. He veered toward the sports field instead. The first stage of nourishing essence was called storing essence—accumulating raw, unrefined vital energy. Ancient texts referred to this phase as “a hundred days to lay the foundation,” because it typically took a hundred days to complete. The process was intricate and demanding; a single mistake or loss of essence would mean starting over from scratch.

But in Shi Ironheart’s world, it no longer took a hundred days. It was an era of flourishing martial arts, with new treatises ever emerging, and many people used scientific methods to refine essence techniques. Even the most basic, widespread methods were far more efficient than those in ancient texts.

Depending on one’s physique, diet, and mastery of the foundational technique, the time needed for storing essence varied. When Shi Ironheart first practiced storing essence, barring other influences, he estimated it would take about seventy days.

At that time, he had only just achieved a passable level in the basic technique. Now, he had reached an excellent level, with efficiency far beyond the ordinary. Moreover, he was experienced, so he could push his speed even further.

The basic technique required special movements and postures, carefully balancing stillness and activity. But once mastered at an excellent level, many tedious steps became simplified and less rigid.

He walked slowly around the sports field, subtly performing the simplified movements, while focusing his attention on his lower abdomen. As he practiced, his stomachful of meat and vegetables digested at a rate far surpassing ordinary people, transforming into nutrients that flowed from his small intestine through his bloodstream to every part of his body.

Passing through his organs, the nourishment of water, rice, meat, and eggs converted into a kind of primal essence—unfamiliar, yet tangibly real. This essence wafted like wisps of mist through his lower abdomen. With each increase, his body felt fuller, his mind clearer.

“Hm?”

After half an hour, Shi Ironheart completed a round of practice and suddenly noticed something.

“The speed… so fast!”

He was astonished—the progress of storing essence was even quicker than he’d anticipated. Even with his experience and the excellent level of his technique, it shouldn’t have had such remarkable effects.

After all, the basics are just basics; common methods couldn’t possibly yield miraculous results.

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But once he started practicing, he found his efficiency to be extraordinarily high.

Could it be that, since this body was cultivating for the first time, the results were better, and would slow down later? Shi Ironheart was puzzled and decided to continue storing essence.

Oblivious to the passage of time, he went through another round, and the mist of primal essence in his abdomen grew denser. He checked carefully, still perplexed. By his rough estimate, the speed hadn’t diminished.

What was going on?

“Too bad, my mind technique is too weak…”

If his mind technique were strong enough, and his brain energy abundant, he could exert greater control over himself, accurately calculating the increase of primal essence after each round. Shi Ironheart’s cultivation was far from sufficient, so precise mastery was impossible. But even by his rough estimate, he realized that this time, his storing essence was about thirty percent faster than expected.

Thirty percent—a vast difference!

If he could sustain this pace, he estimated that in just ten days, he could complete the first stage of storing essence.

Ten days to complete storing essence—at the Orphanage, no, even at the Star Workers’ Union School, no one would ever achieve such a record. Shi Ironheart was exhilarated, but soon puzzled. Where did this thirty percent boost come from?

As far as he knew, the only thing that could accelerate cultivation was nutritious essence food. The more and better one ate, the faster the progress. Shi Ironheart had never tried it, and didn’t know how much it could speed things up. But the only factor affecting his speed seemed to be this.

Could it be—the cafeteria’s trash-class meal was actually legendary essence food?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Shi Ironheart refused to believe the world could be so absurd.