Chapter 73

"Really, nothing's wrong?" Ning Yi was still somewhat doubtful. In the books he had read in the Chongwen Pavilion these days, there were many mentions of the process of building one's foundation (Zhu Yuan).

The books in the collection used a plethora of failure cases to warn those who aspired to become warriors, emphasizing that being a warrior was not an easy feat.

One conclusion was that to become a superior person, one had to endure great hardships, but even after enduring such hardships, one might not necessarily become a superior person.

Building one's foundation was just like that. On the entire Water Blue Star, with a population of about 5 billion, it could be said that 99.9% of the people hoped to become powerful warriors, regardless of their gender, status, or age.

However, the hurdle of building one's foundation blocked the hopes of at least 99.9% of the people.

Compared to the lucky ones chosen by heaven, ordinary people had to face a difficulty level a hundred times higher to successfully build their foundation. 99.999% of ordinary people basically had no chance, not even the courage to try.

Because the secrets of cultivation were openly available; if you could, you should give it a try.

But for ordinary people with no warrior gene inheritance, just the thought of the excruciating process of building one's foundation was enough to make them lose their courage.

Imagine injecting a foreign, extremely violent energy into your entire body's meridians. According to the books, this process was as painful as a full-body blood transfusion without anesthesia.

Moreover, this process wasn't something that could be accomplished in one or two attempts. It had to be repeated several times until it was confirmed that your meridians could withstand the violent energy. Only then could you gather the energy from your repeatedly damaged meridians, build your inner foundation, and create a sea of qi, marking success.

Countless heroes had pushed forward on this path, but the vast majority ultimately gave up.

Ning Yi didn't know whether Gu Ying was an ordinary person or a lucky one chosen by heaven.

But no matter which, anyone who could endure twelve failures was worthy of respect.

In comparison, he had suddenly acquired a heaven-defying weapon by casually practicing a few moves with Feng Yingkong, which made him feel ashamed!

Compared to Gu Ying, she was the true warrior.

Seeing Ning Yi's somewhat distracted look, Gu Ying smiled faintly and said, "Is there any need for the teacher to lie to you? I know that building one's foundation is very dangerous, but strangely, although I always fail, the backlash is not severe. I just have my internal organs shaken, making it difficult to move for a while."

Ning Yi didn't know what to say, and after a while, he sighed, "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have your courage."

Seeing the respectful expression on Ning Yi's face, Gu Ying smiled wryly, "What good is courage? It's laughable that I, as a member of the Gu family, can't even build my foundation."

She gently regulated her breathing, realizing she was in Ning Yi's arms, her beautiful face turned slightly red, and she instinctively leaned forward to avoid being too close to Ning Yi.

Ning Yi's eyes flickered, but he didn't notice this detail. He asked, "Teacher, since you are determined to cultivate, why don't you ask a high-level warrior to assist you? Wouldn't that increase your chances of success?"

Hearing this, Gu Ying's face darkened slightly, and she shook her head lightly, "The teacher has already harmed many people and doesn't want to harm anyone else."

"What do you mean by that?" Ning Yi asked, puzzled.

Perhaps due to the few drinks she had today, coupled with another failure in building her foundation, Gu Ying's mood was somewhat low. After a brief pause, she opened up, "Do you know what the principal's original profession was?"

Ning Yi shook his head; apart from knowing that Principal Gu was her father, he knew nothing else.

After resting for a moment, Gu Ying seemed to have recovered some strength and looked at Ning Yi, "First, help me get a glass of water."

Ning Yi nodded, poured her a cup of hot water, and shook it for a long time until the temperature was suitable before handing it to her.

Gu Ying's lips pursed slightly, and she looked at Ning Yi with a faint smile, "I didn't expect you to be so considerate."

Ning Yi also smiled, "For the teacher, it's only right."

"Flatterer!" Gu Ying's face flushed as she took a sip of water, and her complexion seemed to improve slightly.

Then she slowly said, "My father and the old man Feng Ying were close friends in their early years. When the Feng Ying family was established, my father was one of the nine sworn brothers of the old man Feng Ying, who had achieved great feats. Twenty-five years ago, due to my birth, my father gradually withdrew from the Feng Ying family and stayed away from the violent life. When I was twelve, the right age to build my foundation, my father decided to help me."

"But unexpectedly, that attempt not only failed, but my father's inner sea of qi also suffered a backlash. He, a high-level orange-stage warrior, saw his cultivation drop to the initial red stage within a few months. This news was kept secret, but when the old man Feng Ying found out, it was too late. My father's inner sea of qi could not be rebuilt. With the old man Feng Ying's abilities, he could only seal my father's inner sea of qi, making him an ordinary civilian..."

"My father took it in stride and accepted the arrangement to become a regular staff member at Nanling High School, eventually becoming the principal."

Hearing this, Ning Yi was taken aback. So Principal Gu had this background. If that was the case, Gu Ying should have inherited warrior genes. Why couldn't she build her foundation?

According to the books, the offspring of warrior families generally had genetic differences from ordinary people, making their success rate in building their foundation extremely high. Could it be that Gu Ying wasn't Principal Gu's biological child?

Before he could ask, Gu Ying glanced at him and said, "After losing his inner sea of qi, my father placed his hopes on me. So he asked a warrior to help me build my foundation again. The result was another failure, and the same thing happened to the warrior who helped me, damaging his inner sea of qi."

"Twice the same experience. Out of necessity, my father asked the old man to personally intervene. After examining my meridians, he said my meridians were different from ordinary people's, possibly reverse meridians. The only cultivation method I could practice was the Heavenly Foundation Technique. No one could help me; it could only depend on luck and destiny... However, he also said that if I could succeed one day, my father's sealed inner sea of qi might be restored."

"So, teacher, you started to practice on your own?" Ning Yi was deeply moved. He didn't know what reverse meridians were, as he hadn't seen such a case yet, but he admired Gu Ying's persistence even more. It seemed that her repeated failures were all for Principal Gu, "Does the principal know?"

"No." Gu Ying shook her head.

"Teacher, so you deliberately don't go back at night to hide your secret cultivation from the principal, right?" Ning Yi suddenly had a thought. Now he understood why she had a house outside and didn't return to the school at night. It was all to keep it a secret from Principal Gu.

Gu Ying nodded, but her face turned red, regretting her admission. She quickly looked at Ning Yi, "You mustn't tell anyone about this, including Weiwei, understand?"

Ning Yi was silent for a moment and then nodded, "I can promise you, but teacher, since the chances are so slim, why are you so persistent? Can't you give up?"

Gu Ying smiled faintly, "Everyone has something they are determined to stick to. The teacher's determination is to become a warrior... Moreover, the old man Feng Ying said I still have a chance. He said I would meet a person who could help me, but that person hasn't appeared yet..."

"Did he really say that?" Ning Yi was surprised. If Feng Yingkong could see the future, could the person he mentioned be himself?

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Thank you all for your support and recommendations. I updated this while on a business trip, so please bear with me if it's a bit rushed.

[End of Chapter]