These past few days.
After learning cultivation methods at Vermilion Bird Academy.
The freshmen were all striving to break through to the Dew Realm.
Someone had asked Wang Mingyuan in class.
How long does it usually take for an average person to reach the Dew Realm after learning cultivation?
Wang Mingyuan's answer was—he hadn't compiled statistics for average people, and it wasn't easy to do so.
But at Vermilion Bird Academy, the average time to reach the Dew Realm after learning cultivation was about 15 days.
With this benchmark.
The freshmen had a clear goal.
On the third day.
Freshmen dormitory area.
Room 302, Building 1.
Su Zhan sat cross-legged, surrounded by swirling spiritual energy.
The Eye of Time Abyss floated before his chest, its golden gears rotating slowly.
Just a bit more...
The spiritual energy vortex in his dantian had compressed to its limit, yet that final breakthrough step remained elusive.
"Accelerate."
He murmured softly.
The Eye of Time Abyss suddenly brightened.
The rotation speed of the gears increased dramatically.
The flow of spiritual energy within his body instantly quickened, forcibly speeding up the normally slow compression process.
Spiritual energy rushed through his meridians like a raging flood, converging wildly toward his dantian.
Not enough, faster!
Su Zhan clenched his teeth.
The strain from the Eye of Time Abyss made blood seep from his nostrils.
But the efficiency of spiritual energy compression multiplied exponentially.
Crack—!
Within his dantian, the spiritual energy vortex finally condensed into a core.
Tremendous energy surged through his entire body.
Faint golden patterns emerged on Su Zhan's skin.
At the center of the Eye of Time Abyss' gears, a new rune slowly took form.
Dew Realm—breakthrough successful!
Su Zhan's eyes snapped open as he waved his hand.
"Whoosh!"
The cup on the table suddenly shot toward the wall at several times normal speed, smashing against it with tremendous force!
Unfortunately, the cup's hardness couldn't compare to the wall.
It shattered upon impact.
New ability.
Time Acceleration!
Let's try again.
Su Zhan sat on the bed's edge, lightly tossing a coin in his palm.
"Accelerate."
The Eye of Time Abyss flickered slightly, and the coin's movement in his palm suddenly sped up.
Control still needs practice.
He reached to catch the flipping coin.
"Snap!"
The coin, moving too fast, bounced off his fingers, hit the wall, and rebounded back.
Su Zhan raised his hand and caught it steadily.
"My speed increased, but my reaction didn't."
In other words, his hands could keep up but his eyes couldn't.
Su Zhan stared thoughtfully at the coin in his palm.
"If I can accelerate objects... can I accelerate myself?"
Once this thought emerged, he couldn't suppress it.
Taking a deep breath, he focused his gaze and murmured:
"Accelerate."
The golden gears of the Eye of Time Abyss rotated slightly as a strange power instantly enveloped his entire body.
An indescribable sensation arose.
Su Zhan blinked, realizing his thoughts remained normal, but his body moved ridiculously fast.
He tried raising his hand.
"Swish!"
His arm instantly became a blur, even creating a gust of wind!
"This speed..."
Delighted, he wanted to stand and test it.
But then...
"Bang!"
His knee smashed into the bed frame, making him stagger and nearly fall.
"Ouch... too fast!"
Rubbing his knee, he tried adjusting his posture when his foot moved.
"Screech!"
His motion was so fast his slippers made an awful scraping sound against the floor, sending him sliding uncontrollably forward.
!?
Flailing, Su Zhan tried grabbing the table for support.
"Smack!"
His hand moved too fast—he slapped the table hard, sending the cup flying.
"Crash!"
It shattered against the wall.
Great, now all the cups are gone.
Su Zhan: ...
After a stunned second, he tried carefully moving to clean up.
"Clatter!"
His too-fast arm accidentally knocked into the bookshelf, sending several books tumbling down—one smacked right into his face.
Su Zhan: ...
Silently deactivating the ability.
Standing still for two seconds before exhaling slowly.
"Looks like I need to practice control first."
He looked at his hands, then at the disaster zone that was his dorm.
Broken glass, overturned chair, scattered books, dented wardrobe door...
"Tch, this ability is hard on furniture."
Rubbing his temples, Su Zhan sighed: "Whatever, let's clean up first."
As he cleaned, he mentally analyzed:
This Time Acceleration works on both people and objects.
But it only speeds up movement and motion.
Meaning it can't accelerate cultivation speed or Life Soul casting time.
However, when used on a person, it only speeds up the body while thoughts remain normal—reactions can't keep up.
Still, that's just a minor drawback.
Imagine accelerating attacks—like speeding up bullets. The faster, the stronger the impact.
Or accelerating teammates' Life Soul skills.
Instantly boosting power while catching enemies off guard.
Conclusion: a very useful support ability.
Though next time I practice, I should find an open space.
"Knock knock knock..."
Urgent knocking sounded at the door.
Su Zhan opened it to find Xu Hao, Liu Ziming, and Feng Jue standing outside, staring at the room's condition with varied expressions.
Xu Hao's eyes widened: "Bro Su, was your dorm attacked?"
Liu Ziming's mouth twitched: "This destruction... did you fight someone here?"
Feng Jue remained expressionless but raised an eyebrow.
The room was complete chaos.
Su Zhan stood amid the wreckage, holding a shard of glass, coughing awkwardly: "Cultivation accident."
Liu Ziming said suspiciously: "Cultivation? The demolition school?"
Xu Hao patted Su Zhan's shoulder sympathetically: "Bro Su, if you're stressed just talk to us, no need to take it out on your dorm."
Su Zhan sighed helplessly: "I really was cultivating. Just broke through to Dew Realm and tested my new ability... lost control..."
"What?!"
All three shouted simultaneously, eyes bulging.
Liu Ziming's voice rose: "You reached Dew Realm?! It's only been three days!"
Xu Hao wasn't much better: "P-Professor Wang said... the average is 15 days?!"
Feng Jue spoke unusually: "...Absurd."
Su Zhan scratched his head: "Maybe... I got lucky?"
"Lucky?! This is called being a freak!"
Liu Ziming grabbed his shoulders shaking him wildly: "Do you know I haven't even mastered spiritual energy circulation yet?!"
Xu Hao covered his face: "Great. I can't even meditate properly, and Bro Su's already at Dew Realm. This gap is ridiculous."
Feng Jue stared intensely: "...How?"
Su Zhan thought for a moment: "It's not that complicated. Just followed Professor Wang's teachings. Maybe I'm slightly more efficient."
Xu Hao looked devastated: "'Slightly'? You're five times faster!"
"I think it's pressure-driven."
Liu Ziming stroked his chin knowingly.
"What pressure?"
Xu Hao asked.
Liu Ziming smirked meaningfully: "Think—who has Su Zhan provoked recently?"
"Xie Xi."
Xu Hao answered immediately.
"Exactly. A proud woman like Xie Xi won't let things go. She's definitely plotting revenge daily."
Liu Ziming grinned: "That's Su Zhan's pressure source. Tsk tsk... You two are quite the pair, pushing each other. But hey, pressure breeds progress."
Su Zhan's brows furrowed like the character "川", his tone dangerous: "Keep spreading rumors and I'll throw you out now."
"Hey hey, my bad."
Liu Ziming surrendered immediately: "I'll stop. But as a final word—I'm experienced in romance. Ask me anything if needed, no need to feel shy."
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut.
Leaving Liu Ziming alone outside in bewilderment.
Liu Ziming: ...
Su Zhan continued: "Alright, enough questions. Help me clean up first, or I'll have nowhere to sleep tonight."
Xu Hao glanced awkwardly at the door before nodding quickly: "Bro Su, next time you train, give us a heads-up so we can evacuate."
Feng Jue gave a thumbs-up, seemingly approving of Su Zhan's door-slamming.
Then silently started picking up glass.
Su Zhan smiled wryly: "Sure, next time."
And so, the three chatted while cleaning up the mess.