Mini World Game Console

"So... you've already spent all your money?"

Looking at Dong Chengling, who was alternating between sips of porridge and bites of custard buns, Ren Suo felt his own appetite picking up.

"No... not exactly..."

After chewing up the bun, Dong Chengling took a sip of the smooth preserved egg and lean pork porridge and said, "I've saved a little to buy salt and noodles, just in case."

"Just noodles will be enough?"

"Doesn't each floor of the cafeteria provide free rice and soup?" Dong Chengling said without any hint of embarrassment, "I've been solving my breakfast, lunch, and dinner this way for the past few days. If it weren't for the fact that Cultivation could lead to Hunger, which might decrease mental alertness and reduce the efficiency of Cultivation, I wouldn't even need to prepare noodles."

It was true that each floor of the cafeteria had free rice and soup. Ren Suo looked at the last window on the third floor, which had a sign saying "Free Rice and Soup" above it, but there was nobody at the window—it seemed someone would be called over from an adjacent window if needed.

A thought crossed his mind, and he figured out the system: this was the minimum standard of living provided by the academy. After one or two monthly exams, there would surely be students who, due to their poor performance, would run out of Bracelet Points and be reduced to relying on the free rice and soup provided by the cafeteria.

This type of meal naturally wouldn't be delicious, but it at least provided the necessary nutrients to keep a person going, letting students feel the tragedy of 'if you don't study hard, you'll face a difficult life every day,' creating a significant motivational effect.

Although eating this free rice and soup might be a bit embarrassing, it wouldn't hurt their self-esteem—because it had nothing to do with their family backgrounds. If they wanted to eat better, they could do so on their own merits and hard work. Even if their family were wealthy, if they ran out of Points, they ran out of Points.

But for a Cultivation Instructor like Dong Chengling to eat this free rice and soup... it was a bit embarrassing to even think about.

However, Dong Chengling didn't seem to care at all, seriously laying out her plans as naturally as a chubby person explaining they ate a Fried Chicken Combo every day of the month.

"You really used all your money to buy Cultivation time?" Ren Suo still found it somewhat unbelievable. "The semester only started three days ago."

"But I've been here for thirteen days," said Dong Chengling, "I used up all my Cultivation quota three days ago."

"That's impossible!"

Ren Suo instinctively objected. He had heard Dong Chengling mention she had spent all her Bracelet Points on Cultivation quotas and thought she was speaking offhandedly, not that it was true.

Ren Suo himself had a Cultivation time quota of ninety hours, sufficient for his Cultivation of three hours a day for a month.

I don't know Dong Chengling's exact Cultivation quota, but it's definitely more than mine. Does that mean she spent nine hours a day cultivating over the last ten days?

Logically speaking, although absorbing Spiritual Energy and practicing the Qi Cyclone could be seen as 'visible progress,' 'improving every second,' and 'bringing pleasure,' it also brought fatigue to both mind and body. Like Ren Suo himself, he could only Cultivate for an hour before needing a rest, at most three hours a day, unless he activated 'Unlimited Energy.'

If he Cultivated too much, Ren Suo would feel an extreme Exhaustion that would lead to mistakes in his Breathing Technique and make it impossible to concentrate, dramatically reducing Cultivation efficiency.

In this sense, Cultivation is like running while completing a comprehensive science exam, torturing both mind and body, and getting double the happiness...

Therefore, the rationing of the spirit energy condensing device in the dormitory wasn't fundamentally about limiting a Cultivator's Cultivation time. It was simply to prevent wasting resources by running the device all day long. Ren Suo had asked Zhao Huo, and even Zhao Huo said he rarely managed to Cultivate for three hours these days.

"How could it not be possible?" Dong Chengling retorted.

"It would be exhausting!" Ren Suo blurted out.

"Exhaustion is the latent Imprisonment of the body and spirit. By actively breaking through it, your limit can be higher. It's normal to give up because of Exhaustion, but we have already abandoned 'normality'," Dong Chengling said matter-of-factly. "If I were still an ordinary person, naturally I would need to follow the cues of my body. But through Cultivation, I gain greater rewards every time I break through Exhaustion. That is the correct way of Cultivation."

"In fact, I learned about this from a scientific article I read during special training. I once suggested that the academy should adopt this method, but the vice principal didn't agree."

My goodness, I've encountered a true powerhouse, who can actually push through Exhaustion on her own! And she'd rather eat the bare minimum and spend all her resources on Cultivation? She's practically a weakened version of a Truth Seeker!

Of course, the vice principal would never agree to such a masochistic method of Cultivation. This method is like 'studying hard to become a leader of the Mysterious Country'—merely a theoretical possibility!

If it were someone else, Ren Suo would definitely think it was bragging. However, when these words came from Dong Chengling, Ren Suo believed her.

Although we've only met three times, and in terms of actual conversation, only twice, Dong Chengling indeed seems to be that kind of person: incapable of lying, but also not one to speak pleasingly—like a smelly rock.

"Then last night, when I... um... 'invited' you for a late-night snack, why didn't you come?" Ren Suo asked. "Why miss out on a free meal?"

"I told you, I had to prepare lessons," Dong Chengling said. "I needed to modify today's teaching according to the students' progress."

So it wasn't just an excuse to refuse!

After eating her fill, Dong Chengling wiped her mouth contentedly, and said, "Thank you for the treat, but I will not establish an impure relationship with you."

By this time, Ren Suo had learned more or less how to communicate with the heroine before him. He asked, "Why?"

"Firstly, I have no such intention. Secondly, my impression of you is just average. Thirdly, all my thoughts are on the future right now," Dong Chengling continued. "Due to an opportunity in my childhood, I have always hoped to gain great power and support Justice. Now that I have such a chance, I will not divert my energy elsewhere. It will be either bitter Cultivation or serving my country."

Then she changed her tone, "However, if you still want to treat me to a meal and if my time permits, I won't refuse."

It was apparent that Dong Chengling felt a bit embarrassed as she said this, her eyes looking away. Ren Suo found it amusing. "Why?"

"I have made my stance clear, but if you still wish to show goodwill, I, I won't refuse," Dong Chengling said. "I can't give you what you want, but, but acceptance is also a form of giving. If treating me to a meal makes you happy, then I, I am duty-bound!"

Though she spoke with righteous vigor, Dong Chengling was stammering, clearly aware of how dubious her statement was.

But this was exactly what I wanted.

"Sometimes I get hungry at night and don't dare to walk outside alone. Could I ask you to accompany me to the cafeteria for a late-night snack?" Ren Suo blinked and asked.

Dong Chengling immediately showed a broad smile—

"Duty-bound!"