You promised yourself to be a caged bird, but you became the supreme young master?

There is no such thing as a free lunch; if there is, it's likely to be your last meal before you die.

Faced with so many benefits after breaking through the beginner-level "Basic Body Refining Method", Lu Heng was excited for a moment, but quickly became suspicious.

And he quickly found the root answer to the problem.

That is the resource for cultivation, or rather, the consumption required for cultivation!

In the early stages, the reason why hundreds of young disciples from different families were able to maintain at least three training sessions a day in the training grounds was not solely due to the free low-grade spiritual food provided daily.

There is also plenty of food provided free of charge by the family canteen.

Based on Lu Heng's memories from this life, in the early stages of cultivation, the amount of food these young people needed to consume each day was already outrageous.

The amount of ordinary food needed to eat daily has increased to more than 10 times the amount before the cultivation.

And there has never been a shortage of meat and vegetables in the food.

Without even thinking, Lu Heng knew that such a drain would be an unbearable burden for ordinary people in this world.

It is said that the poor are scholars and the rich are warriors, but in this world, the savings of several generations of ordinary people may not be enough to support a cultivator.

Even during the accumulation process, it cannot withstand any setbacks.

Even before one has mastered the "Basic Body Refining Method" and is considered a practitioner, this is still the case.

So, after mastering the basic body-refining method, how does one become a cultivator?

Undoubtedly, this is in comparison to the increase in the number of daily practice sessions.

The daily consumption required would probably double.

Even after cultivating to a certain level in a body-refining secret realm, one might find that ordinary food is insufficient to meet their needs.

They need to maintain their daily needs through low-grade spiritual food.

"Sigh." Lu Heng sighed with worry.

However, he did not immediately attempt to verify the energy required for his current cultivation.

What will happen? We'll probably have to wait and see what happens when he reports to the foreign language institute tomorrow.

I only heard from Lu Jinnian that, depending on the time of Foundation Establishment, the treatment one receives in the initial stage upon entering the outer academy is also completely different.

But no matter what, he is confident that he can accept it calmly.

………………

The following day was the 27th day of the Foundation Establishment in January.

On the training ground, more than a dozen teenagers disappeared silently.

Undoubtedly, they were all lucky ones who managed to complete the Foundation Establishment stage within a month of the deadline.

However, even today, there are still one or two hundred people on the training ground who have not yet completed the Foundation Establishment stage.

"That guy named Lu Heng seems to have reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

Several teenagers turned their gazes toward the place where Lu Heng usually cultivated.

One of them said quietly.

Because of Lu Jinnian, a near-genius friend who completed Foundation Establishment in just seven days, entered the outer academy, and even came back to find him.

In the martial arts arena, Lu Heng can't really be considered a complete nobody.

"With Lu Jinnian, a friend who was willing to lend money, and having spent so many geniuses to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, what a waste!"

I don't know how much faster it would be if it were me!

One of the teenagers said sourly.

"And what exactly did Lu Jinnian see in Lu Heng?"

He just has a pretty face.

"I've heard that rich people often have unusual hobbies," a teenager speculated maliciously.

"Why think about these things? It took so long to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and it won't be long before you fall back down and become a menial servant, no better than us. There's no chance of ever reaching the upper levels."

Someone nearby spoke up in a very dejected tone.

For these branch families, the Foundation Establishment stage was nothing but a trap, a lie, and they would soon fall into it and be reduced to menial labor.

"But he has at least reached the Foundation Establishment stage," someone finally said helplessly.

It instantly killed the already boring conversation.

………………

At this moment, after asking a servant, Lu Heng then led him to the residence of the middle-aged man with blue eyes.

This is a family rule, and no servant dares to disobey it.

The middle-aged man with blue eyes had no special features or luxury in his residence; it was simply large, dozens of times larger than Lu Heng's residence.

Here, Lu Heng met the middle-aged man with blue eyes who had been staying at his residence to cultivate during this time because he was in charge of the martial arts training ground.

"My lord, I have already reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

Following the instructions he received from his servants, Lu Heng guided his Qi and blood through the "Basic Body Refining Method," which he had already reached the beginner level.

"I know."

The middle-aged man with blue eyes didn't even glance at Lu Heng twice. After scanning him and confirming that he had indeed grasped the basics of the "Basic Body Refining Method,"

I registered it casually, stamped it, and handed out a token.

"This is your identity token. Don't lose it."

At least for now, you can't even afford to replace it.

Alright, go down now. Have someone take you to the Foreign Languages ​​Department to report.

After that, you're no longer under my control.

The middle-aged man with blue eyes spoke calmly.

"Thank you for your trouble, sir," Lu Heng said politely.

Whether one is respectful in one's heart is one thing, but on the surface, one should still maintain basic respect when facing a cultivator from the Qi Refining Secret Realm.

Putting everything else aside, just during his time at the martial arts arena, Lu Heng even overheard some people expressing relief that the person in charge was the middle-aged man with blue eyes.

At least his attitude was just so-so, and he was a bit too troublesome; it wasn't exactly nasty.

If it were someone with a bad attitude or even a bad mood in charge, it would be perfectly normal for one or two of these teenagers to be beaten or killed on a whim.

For cultivators in the Qi Refining Secret Realm, these teenagers who haven't even reached the Body Refining Secret Realm over the years aren't even considered human.

"The law of the jungle is one thing, but can people who practice the law of the jungle accept being preyed upon by others?"

Lu Heng thought indifferently to himself.

There was no need to answer this question; the answer had already been in his mind.

"Come with me."

After leaving the residence of the middle-aged man with blue eyes, the two arrived at the registration office in the outer courtyard, led by a member of the clan.

"We've arrived. From now on, just follow our instructions."

As required, the servant was given a reminder and left quickly.

Enter the registration area of ​​the outer courtyard.

The interior was very simple, containing only a stone table and an account book.

Behind the stone table sat a young man with blue eyes, dressed in blue.

Lu Heng's expression immediately hardened. The appearance of blue eyes in the Lu clan usually indicates either outstanding talent, having initially awakened the family's bloodline talent, or that the other party's cultivation level is at least at the Qi Refining Secret Realm.

The young people at the registration desk are so young, they are very likely to be exceptionally talented.

He is definitely not someone he can afford to offend right now.

However, the young man in blue also had a very obvious blue mark on his forehead.

This explains the identity of the other party's family members.

"Here to register?" the young man in blue asked lazily.

"Yes, sir." Lu Heng behaved like a normal young man who had separated from his family.

"Foundation Establishment time," the blue-clad youth said calmly.

"Twenty-six days," Lu Heng replied.