Being forced to grow like a pig? But I'm immune to the consequences!

Royal Gardens Viewpoint.

Wu Sheng and Cheng Mingyuan had almost finished eating. The dishes on the table were exquisite, but neither of them were greedy and only took a few bites.

Cheng Mingyuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "How about it? Want me to take you somewhere fun tonight to let loose? Don't worry about the martial arts academy, I'll just let them know."

Wu Sheng shook his head and politely declined, saying, "Now is not the time to indulge myself. We'll talk about it when I've truly become a martial artist."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mingyuan's eyes showed a hint of approval: "You do know how to set goals for yourself. Good, just based on that statement, you might actually become a martial artist someday."

He put down his teacup and stood up: "Then let's go back to the Martial Arts Academy."

The two got up and left the observation deck together.

The Royal Garden was exceptionally tranquil in the night. The lights were reflected on the lake, and a gentle breeze rippled across the surface. The two walked out of the gate side by side, hailed a car, and returned to the Martial Arts Academy.

Shortly after, the vehicle stopped at the entrance of the martial arts academy. The two said goodbye and went their separate ways to their dormitories.

Cheng Mingyuan took a few steps, then stopped, turned back to look at Wu Sheng's retreating figure, and muttered to himself:

"Xu Wenbo...it seems this matter needs to be thoroughly investigated."

……

Meanwhile, Wu Sheng returned to his dormitory.

Pushing open the door, he saw Zhao Dele leaning against the headboard. Seeing him return, he asked in surprise, "Brother Wu, why are you so late tonight?"

Wu Sheng casually replied, "I went out for a meal with that friend from the advanced training ground."

He walked to Soguli's bedside, remembering the important matter: "By the way, Soguli, I asked about the thing you asked me to inquire about. If you're willing to sell the other party your two-day supply of beast meat, he'll offer four potential potions in exchange for one share."

"Four?" Suoguli's eyes widened instantly, and he almost sat up in bed.

"That's right, four sticks." Wu Sheng nodded. "That way, the four of us can each have one."

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!" Soguli nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy.

Four potential-enhancing potions—this is absolutely fantastic!

You know, just a few days ago, when Xu Fei and his group wanted to buy the exotic beast meat, they only asked for two and a half pieces! Wu Sheng's friend bought four pieces right away, far exceeding their expectations.

"Alright, I'll introduce you to them tomorrow and finalize this matter," Wu Sheng said.

Suoguli nodded, then turned to Zhang Lin and Tu Nan: "Do either of you have any objections?"

"Of course not!" Zhang Lin and Tu Nan said in unison, their faces beaming with smiles.

Being able to get an extra potential potion every two days is an incredible stroke of luck.

Zhao Dele, who was listening from the side, was envious and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Listening to this makes me want to sell my share."

Wu Sheng said seriously, "Dele, you absolutely must not sell it. The meat of exotic beasts is very precious. Even for nobles or descendants of martial artists, the quota is limited and cannot be supplied indefinitely."

He paused, then continued, "Potions that enhance potential can damage the body, while meat from exotic beasts won't. If you want to avoid hitting a bottleneck at the sixth or seventh level of Body Tempering, you should consume more meat from exotic beasts and use fewer potions that enhance potential."

Zhao Dele keenly caught the information in his words and pressed, "Brother Wu, have you found out anything about martial artists? Share it with us!"

Wu Sheng did not hide anything and recounted Cheng Mingyuan's words about life potential, the ratio of exotic beast meat to medicine, and breaking through the threshold of martial arts in their entirety.

The group listened intently, gaining a deeper understanding of the potential-enhancing potions and the dangers of the beast meat, as well as the perils of the martial arts path.

After saying that, he added it to his favorites so he could continue reading "Trapped Like a Piglet? But I'm Immune to the Cost!" anytime, anywhere. Wu Sheng looked at Zhang Lin and Tu Nan: "You two think this through. Potential-enhancing drugs definitely have harmful effects on the body, but for us from the outer city, having extra drugs to take is a good thing. You decide the pros and cons yourselves."

Zhang Lin and Tu Nan nodded solemnly.

Zhao Dele sighed, "I've been asking around these past few days. According to them, of the students graduating from each martial arts academy—including those of us from ordinary training grounds—no more than five can truly become martial artists within a year."

"Really? So little?" Zhang Lin exclaimed in surprise.

"And what about a year from now?" Tu Nan pressed.

"A year from now? Then there's even less chance." Zhao Dele shook his head. "You all heard what I said about life potential. Martial arts practitioners can't just grind themselves up over time. On the contrary, the chances become increasingly slim as time goes by. Basically, if you can't succeed in about a year, there's no hope after that."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming more relaxed: "However, one should be more open-minded. Precisely because so few people become martial artists, we should be even more open-minded. Even if we end up stopping at the sixth or seventh level of Body Tempering, it's not so bad. Of course, we should still set our goals high; who knows, we might achieve it someday."

The people in Suoguli agreed wholeheartedly with this statement.

Every word of this conversation reached Yan Liang's ears in the corner.

He lay motionless on the bed, like a lifeless corpse.

But when he heard the words "monster meat" and "potential potion," he couldn't help but think of the vote he cast for Ning Yi—he got nothing in return, and instead fell out with Xu Fei and the others.

Thinking about this made him feel extremely frustrated.

But he could only swallow his anger and console himself: starting tomorrow, he would completely withdraw from the task of cleaning the training ground. He would find another task, stop contacting Xu Fei and the others, and start afresh.

And so, the first week at the martial arts academy passed quietly.

……

The ninth day at the Martial Arts Academy.

The morning sun shone into the training ground, and many people felt refreshed—most of them were those who had received their share of the alien beast meat.

Although the injuries to his bones were not minor, his physique at the fourth level of Body Tempering was not to be underestimated. After a night's rest, he had already shown significant improvement. At this level of Body Tempering cultivation, as long as the practice was slow, the injuries would not have a major impact.

Early that morning, he followed the others to the training ground.

"Brother Wu! Brother Suoguli!"

As soon as they entered, a warm voice rang out. Liu Zhen greeted them with a smile.

Out of courtesy, Wu Sheng and Suoguli nodded to him as well.

Today, the training ground is more clearly divided into different groups.

The ordinary trainees gathered in twos and threes, each forming their own small cliques. But Liu Zhen, after last night's dinner, had managed to bring together the top eight.

Xu Fei and Ning Yi are currently in that circle—they have left their original "Xu Fei clique," which is Zhou Wei, Liu Zhi, and their group.

Although Ning Yi wasn't in the top eight, she sat right next to Iris, and the two looked very sweet together, clearly already a couple.

Zhou Wei, Liu Zhi, and the others instinctively gravitated towards Xu Fei and his group. Thus, a subtle merging of relationships formed within their circle—

Liu Zhen's top eight circle is the large circle, while Zhou Wei's small circle is the small circle. Through Xu Fei and Ning Yi as the two points of contact, the small circle is closely attached to the large circle.

The small circle may seem to be in contact with the large circle, but it can never truly merge with it.

Unless... they can come up with something truly impressive...

If I could only read one science fiction novel in my lifetime, it would probably be "Forced to Grow Like a Piglet? But I'm Immune to the Cost!"