Era of Mist

In Shi Tiexin’s world, the Martial Dao was divided into two main categories: Arts of Strength and Arts of the Mind. And cultivating one’s foundation and nourishing one’s essence was the first stage of practicing the Arts of Strength. The main goal of this stage was to condition the body and mind and accumulate essence. Once one’s essence was replete, they could advance to the next stage.

At this stage, one’s physical fitness wasn’t necessarily that high; most people, at least, had yet to surpass the limits of an ordinary person. But with abundant essence, one would indeed be brimming with energy and have a robust physique, making the cultivation of both Arts of Strength and Arts of the Mind much easier. Some Martial Artists who had nourished their essence to an extremely profound level could, to a certain extent, also exceed the limits of a mortal.

Furthermore, some basic martial techniques, despite being called "basic," were impossible to use without a certain foundation of nourished essence. Using them rashly would only result in self-injury. Only by nourishing one’s essence to the required degree could one unleash their full power without any harm.

Take today’s basic boxing, for example. This body’s foundation was so poor that he couldn’t unleash any of its power.

Besides, a thousand-foot tower is built from the ground up. The smoothness of one’s future path on the Martial Dao was directly related to how well one nourished their essence. Therefore, nourishing one’s essence was something that absolutely could not be overlooked.

And the Basic Essence Nourishment Technique was the most widespread and common method for nourishing one’s essence.

Shi Tiexin had cultivated the Basic Essence Nourishment Technique to an excellent level, meaning his efficiency at nourishing essence was higher than that of the "Passable" and "Good" levels. But no matter how high the efficiency, you can’t make bricks without straw. To nourish his essence quickly, he needed specially prepared, nourishing food.

’No, forget specially prepared, nourishing food. I just need to eat until I’m full!’

Just take Shi Tiexin for example. Between last night and this afternoon, all he’d had were a few bowls of what amounted to dishwater and half a bowl of spoiled rice. Nothing else. Under normal circumstances, forget fighting—he’d be shivering from hunger just trying to breathe. The fact that Shi Tiexin could still win a 1-on-5 fight was already pretty hardcore.

Speaking of food... his stomach instantly felt hollow with hunger.

’Hungry. So hungry. I can’t stand it. I’m too hungry to even think about going to class!’

The school cafeteria had fixed meal times. No matter how hungry Shi Tiexin got, there was nothing to do but tough it out. To conserve what little energy he had, Shi Tiexin ran back to his dorm and lay on his bed. He endured the hunger until he was seeing Venus. Then, a bell rang out from the academic block—morning classes were finally over.

Shi Tiexin scrambled out of bed and made a beeline for the cafeteria. It wasn’t far from the dormitories, and he reached the cafeteria entrance in no time.

But to Shi Tiexin’s surprise, many people had gotten there even earlier than him. In that short amount of time, a large crowd had already formed at the cafeteria entrance!

The main doors burst open, and a crowd of people RUSHED inside, making a mad dash for the service counters. Using his tall and sturdy build, Shi Tiexin pushed his way to the front, snagging a prime spot near the window before a proper line had even formed.

The service window slid open, revealing the cafeteria lady’s plump, round face and the aroma of food that suddenly wafted out. No matter how terrible this food might normally taste, to Shi Tiexin’s nostrils, it was the most heavenly scent in the world.

’Ma’am, there’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time—I still want ten big buns!’

He took out his student ID and tapped it against the card reader, his eyes blazing with hope.

BEEP.

The cafeteria lady didn’t move a muscle. Her ladle didn’t even twitch.

Shi Tiexin was confused, but the woman had already snapped, "There’s no money on your card, didn’t you know? Go add some funds, and stop holding up the line. Move it, move it!"

’No money?’

’There’s no money on my card?!’

Shi Tiexin was stunned speechless. ’Am I... am I just destined to clash with this cafeteria? Why can’t I ever manage to get a meal here?!’ Still, you couldn’t buy something with no money, and Shi Tiexin wasn’t shameless enough to try and get food on credit. He had to hurry back, get some cash, and load his card.

But when he glanced back, a shiver ran through Shi Tiexin.

The line behind him now stretched far out the cafeteria doors. A long, long row of famished faces snaked into the distance, disappearing from sight.

’Damn it all. Forget how long I’ll have to queue up when I get back; by the time it’s my turn, all the food will probably be gone! And look over there at the honors students’ line—not only is it shorter, but their food portions are bigger too. The difference is just too stark!’

’No, this can’t happen. I’m so hungry I feel like I could chew up a brick and swallow it. I absolutely have to eat lunch today, no matter what! But what can I do?’

’Hmm... Huh? Isn’t that my kind-hearted roommate over there? I’ll ask him to save my place in line!’

Shi Tiexin’s eyes lit up, and he strode towards Zhou Nan, who was standing in line.

Zhou Nan stood in line, his mind a million miles away. He’d never expected Teng Chaoguo to get beaten so badly he was now known as Teng Heniao. But now he had to face a terrifying reality: he had failed to take care of Shi Tiexin, which meant he would now have to face Shi Tiexin’s revenge.

Recalling Shi Tiexin’s seemingly soul-reading gaze from that morning, Zhou Nan couldn’t help but feel a chill. Logically, he didn’t believe Shi Tiexin could have possibly detected his behind-the-scenes scheming. After all, he considered his actions to be quite covert.

But emotionally... he couldn’t shake a skin-crawling feeling, as if something terrible was about to happen.

As he was lost in thought, SLAP! A large hand smacked him on the shoulder. Zhou Nan flinched, ready to curse whoever it was, but when he looked up, he found himself enveloped in a shadow.

A creepy, expressionless face appeared in his field of vision. Gazing up at the figure, Zhou Nan saw in the depths of those eyes a look like that of a ravenous demon, one that seemed to want to devour the entire world.

Zhou Nan grew even more timid, his calves on the verge of trembling.

’B-Boss, what are you planning to do? You’re not going to throw me in the soup vat, are you? We’re in the cafeteria, please think of the witnesses!’

Just as Zhou Nan was despairing, he saw Shi Tiexin suddenly raise a hand. Zhou Nan instinctively ducked his head, terrified he was about to be hit. Then he saw Shi Tiexin point a long, thick finger toward the service window and open his mouth as if to speak.

"I get it! I understand! I know what to do, Boss!" A moment of inspiration struck Zhou Nan, and he decided to be proactive. "You just rest over there. I’ll go handle everything for you!"

Without waiting for Shi Tiexin’s next command, Zhou Nan bolted from the line as if escaping for his life. He rushed toward the service window and aggressively cut in line, ready to procure his boss’s lunch at the earliest possible moment.

Shi Tiexin watched Zhou Nan go, a question mark floating above his own head.

’Uh... Huh? This classmate is so helpful? I’ve never met such a kind and helpful student before!’

’Well, since he’s being so helpful... I guess I’ll just sit back down and rest. Let him handle it.’

A moment later, Zhou Nan came scurrying over with two food trays. He set them down in front of Shi Tiexin, fawningly offered him a pair of chopsticks, and said with a sycophantic grin, "Boss, please, enjoy your meal!"

Shi Tiexin looked down. Heh, the meal portion for the "trash class" was certainly not a luxurious affair. There was a bit of meat and some vegetables, but it was mostly fatty meat with very little lean, and the vegetables were swimming in grease.