Xu Kai had eaten a meal hosted by Song Jixing long ago, but dining at Song Jixing's home was an entirely different concept, especially given the current complex situation.
Xu Kai arrived at an opportune time, just as the head chef had sent down some dishes. If he had come a day earlier, he would have had to sample some stir-fried dishes.
Due to the increasing population in the development area, the number of diners had surged. The few small buildings at the school could not accommodate so many people, so a few were dining at the small villa.
Today's staple was steamed rice, with three vegetable dishes and seven meat dishes, plus one soup and one salad.
The large table in the living room was set by dedicated staff, with each dish neatly arranged.
Today, only the three of them were having lunch!
The meal was extremely sumptuous, and Xu Kai was self-aware enough to realize that his absence would not affect the abundance, as Song Jixing's disciples were all able to eat well.
After taking a seat, Xu Kai did not hesitate and joined in eating and drinking, picking dishes from the table.
It was not until Xu Kai had finished a bowl of rice that he noticed something amiss – why was Song Jixing's appetite not as hearty today?
Xu Kai glanced around the table but could not find an answer.
Recalling his recent efforts to lose weight and train his body, he eyed the salad beside the table, picked up the fork from the salad plate, and scooped some lettuce and radish into his bowl.
"This dish doesn't taste very good, you can try something else," Song Jixing kindly reminded him.
Xu Kai waved his hand dismissively, "It's fine, I'm on a diet lately, so I should eat some grass."
He then chewed on a fresh leaf of lettuce.
Ugh, why did it have such a strange taste!
Shouldn't fresh lettuce taste crisp and refreshing? How could it be so unpalatable?
Seeing this, Shen Feixian kindly served Xu Kai a bowl of soup, "Have a sip to wash it down!"
It was normal for ordinary ingredients that had just come into contact with spiritual energy to taste unpleasant.
In front of the two of them, Xu Kai could not spit out what he had just eaten, so he could only use the bowl of soup Shen Feixian had brought him to suppress all the flavors.
As he drank the meat broth in the bowl, Xu Kai gradually regained his taste.
Could this be Song Jixing's secret to eating less?
If something tasted unpleasant, his appetite would naturally decrease!
Xu Kai had guessed half right.
-
Animals and plants infused with spiritual energy could satisfy the daily dietary needs of cultivators, while also attracting the attention of quite a few scientists.
Although they could not see spiritual energy with microscopes or other instruments, it did not prevent them from studying the animals and plants that had been infused with spiritual energy.
From the current research results, spiritual energy appeared to accelerate growth rates.
To a certain extent, it promoted the rapid growth of plants and enabled self-preservation and anti-aging. Vegetables that originally took a month to grow could now mature in twenty days.
If allowed to grow naturally in the fields, tender vegetable leaves might only take five or six days to become old and develop an unpleasant texture. But now, they could remain tender and appropriate for over ten days.
Research was research, and practice was practice.
There was only one laboratory in the country that received six spirit stones, five of which were buried under different flower pots, and only two showed any reaction.
As for the other one, it was used in an animal experiment cage.
However, since animals have longer growth cycles, even the common lab mice currently showed no discernible changes.
If they were to use spirit stones as a new energy source, the first consideration would be the cost-effectiveness.
There were too few spirit stones, and too many alternative energy sources available, making it uneconomical.
Additionally, they did not possess the ability to use these spirit stones, so the laboratory's progress was minimal at present.
Perhaps one day they could develop instruments capable of detecting spiritual energy and allow ordinary people to use it, but certainly not now.
After submitting their research report, the higher-ups also began to worry, although not to the point of despair.
At least they still had backup!
The resurgence of spiritual energy was occurring globally, and other countries had already realized something was happening, but because they could not see spiritual energy, they treated these events as supernatural phenomena.
Moreover, there was another group of people who knew the truth and were cursing their luck.
The world was undergoing a transformation, and ordinary people could cultivate and extend their lifespan, while animals and plants could also cultivate, but these old folks had no qualifications for cultivation at all!
They couldn't even grasp the basics, so what right did they have?
-
"So far, over two million people have been screened, and only nine have been identified," Shen Feixian said, relaying the report to Song Jixing.
During the time Song Jixing had been away, the spiritual root screening tests had never stopped. In addition to the public physical examinations for suitable children and adolescents, a portion of adults were also undergoing testing.
Shen Feixian received the report and consoled them, saying that if they measured newborns, the data would certainly be better.
Unfortunately, due to limited equipment, they could not disperse it to various locations. Additionally, even if newborns tested positive, they could not begin cultivation immediately, so they would have to be tested again later. For now, the priority was to identify those with spiritual roots who could cultivate.
Upon hearing about the nine individuals, Song Jixing was not too surprised.
Their level of aptitude remained to be seen once they were all sent over.
Song Jixing asked, "Brother, have you arranged for someone to teach them?"
Shen Feixian nodded, "Yes! I had previously consulted with the Perfected Beings from other sects. They will help assess the new students when they arrive, but whether they teach them or not depends on the individual."
If two million people had been tested so far, scaling that up to all youth and children, the best estimate would be a few hundred at most.
Although Song Jixing felt that they might not necessarily find that many, it would certainly be more professional for the elders to handle it.
As for learning the basics of absorbing spiritual energy into the body, it was neither too difficult nor too simple, with individual physique playing a very important role.
In addition to the current test results, Shen Feixian also informed Song Jixing about other matters.
Such as the new spiritual vein detected by Huo Ling'er, as well as the demonic beasts subdued by the elders, with some handed over and the rest stored in their freezers as future reserves.
In any case, everything was proceeding smoothly.
After exchanging information with his senior martial brother, Shen Feixian casually mentioned, "Junior Sister, it seems no one has come here recently!"
The last time someone had come was during the previous cooperation.
The people here had been preparing for the contingencies around Song Jixing, but no one had arrived, as if the contingencies Shen Feixian mentioned were false, and they had been bluffing.
Shen Feixian felt some regret about this.
He had wanted to see the expressions on those people's faces when they saw a group of people suddenly appear around his junior sister.
At the mention of disciples, Song Jixing's hand paused, and her expression became somewhat stern.
Song Jixing said, "Brother, do you know who the fastest person here is?"
Shen Feixian shook his head, wasn't it his junior sister?
