At this moment, Evelyn looked radiant, her beautiful eyes fixed on Lucian.
"Are you looking for me about something, Lucian? It seems you’ve run into some trouble."
Evelyn seemed to have already guessed what he wanted to say.
"You saw right through me, Evelyn." Lucian gave an awkward smile.
"It’s like this. I found that the Cultivation Technique I chose doesn’t seem to suit me very well. I want to try two other Cultivation Techniques, but I don’t have enough money or Merit Points."
Lucian didn’t tell her his true thoughts directly. He was afraid she would worry.
After all, even his teacher had warned him that Cultivating multiple Cultivation Techniques simultaneously was an unpredictable and potentially dangerous matter.
"I want to borrow 20,000 Federal Currency from you so I can exchange for the first stage versions of those two Cultivation Techniques and see whether they’re more suitable for me."
Lucian felt a little embarrassed at this moment.
Although living off a wealthy woman had its advantages, he had already received too much from Evelyn today, an Awakening Pill and three valuable treasures.
Asking her for money again made him feel less like someone living off her and more like a shameless freeloader.
"Logically speaking, as long as you choose a Cultivation Technique with the correct attribute, there shouldn’t be any major problem."
"However, compatibility is indeed difficult to judge. Cultivation is a major matter, so I’ll transfer 20,000 Federal Currency to you right now. Don’t worry about paying me back."
"Once you’ve become a Martial Artist, we can team up and hunt mutated beasts in the Wilderness. I’ll need reliable teammates anyway."
Evelyn pondered for a moment.
She felt that Lucian’s Cultivation problem was no trivial matter. Without hesitation, she opened her Personal Terminal and transferred 20,000 Federal Currency to him.
It was obvious that Evelyn was deliberately being considerate of Lucian’s feelings.
After all, with her S Rank Talent, did she really need a D Rank Talent like him as a teammate?
If Evelyn merely raised her hand and announced that she was looking for teammates, countless B-Rank and A-Rank Talents would eagerly come forward to join her.
However, at this moment, Lucian was confident that he could protect Evelyn.
He didn’t waste any more words.
"Then it’s settled! I’m very strong now, you know!" Lucian said playfully.
"Oh, really? Lucian, why do I feel like you’re completely different after your Awakening?"
"What do you mean, ’different’? Am I not still the same handsome, universally adored, charming campus genius?"
"Pfft. Shameless."
"But you really are different. You were confident before, but now you seem even more confident."
"Well, obviously! Young Miss Evelyn, don’t you realize what my status is now? I’m an Awakened! Hehe."
Evelyn looked at Lucian suspiciously. She couldn’t shake the feeling that his transformation wasn’t simply because he had become a D Rank Awakened.
There was an unshakable confidence about the current Lucian, something that a mere D Rank Awakening shouldn’t have been able to give him.
Still, Evelyn was genuinely happy to see him become so confident and cheerful.
"Yes, yes, yes. D Rank Awakened Master, future Martial Artist Master."
"By the way, Evelyn, how is your Cultivation going? What stage have you reached?"
"I’m very fast, you know! I’ve already reached the advanced stage of Energy Absorption, and I should be able to begin Energy Circulation within three days."
Lucian immediately realized that something was wrong.
How could Evelyn, an S Rank Awakened, not have successfully completed her first Energy Circulation yet when he had already completed 36 cycles?
He quickly asked,
"Evelyn, when you were Cultivating, did you notice anything unusual about your Martial Soul?"
"What’s unusual?"
"For example can it Cultivate on its own?"
"A Martial Soul Cultivating by itself? How is that possible?"
Evelyn stared at Lucian with her beautiful eyes, as though he had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.
"We Cultivators have to concentrate fully when Cultivating. We use our Martial Souls to draw Heaven and Earth Energy into our bodies and strengthen ourselves."
"If Martial Souls could Cultivate on their own, then what would we Talents even need to do?"
She looked at Lucian as if she were looking at an idiot.
"Lucian, you’re acting strange. How could you ask such a silly question?"
Lucian’s mind was filled with speechless disbelief.
So I’m the idiot whose Martial Soul can Cultivate on its own?
Looks like I’m the only one who’s different!
However, Lucian decided to keep this matter a secret for now.
After all, it was simply too shocking.
A Martial Soul could actually Cultivate on its own!
With this thought, Lucian’s mind stirred, and he once again visualized the Martial Soul Space within his Sea of Consciousness.
The Shadow Soldiers were still diligently Cultivating, but their progress was much slower than it had been inside the Cultivation Room.
After all, the concentration of Heaven and Earth Energy outside was only one-tenth of that inside the Cultivation Room.
It’s seem I’m the only one with a cheat. This is great!
Lucian couldn’t help but feel delighted.
"I was just curious. Just curious."
Lucian looked at Evelyn, who was still staring at him as though he were an idiot, and replied helplessly.
"Enough talking. Let’s go eat. My stomach is already growling. My treat."
Having just received 20,000 Federal Currency from Evelyn, Lucian was feeling rather confident. He was even a little carried away.
"Boiled Mutated Beast Slices, Sweet and Sour Mutated Beast Ribs, and Farmhouse Stir-Fried Mutated Beast Meat. Your total is 2,853 Federal Currency."
The cafeteria attendant looked at him and asked,
"Student, will you be paying by card or cash?"
Lucian froze.
He had thought that now that he was about to become a Martial Artist, he should finally try some mutated beast meat.
After all, mutated beasts were said to be a great source of nourishment for Cultivators.
But...
2,853 Federal Currency for one meal?!
Lucian had two thousand Federal Currency on hima considerable sum to him, and enough to cover his living expenses for the next few weeks.
He had thought it would be more than enough and had even planned to treat Evelyn to a lavish meal.
He never expected that he was still just a poor wretch.
"Forget it. I know your situation. This meal is on me."
Evelyn had clearly noticed Lucian’s embarrassment and immediately came to his rescue.
Lucian’s face flushed red.
How embarrassing!
He was supposed to be treating her, yet he had ended up making his guest pay.
It was truly a case of:
"My treat. You pay."
He could only force himself to maintain his dignity.
"Next time, I’ll treat you. Next time, I’ll definitely treat you to a big meal. I just underestimated the price of mutated beast meat this time."
"Why are we even making such a big deal out of it?"
Evelyn smiled softly.
"If it weren’t for you when we were children, I wouldn’t even be here today."
"Don’t be so polite. Now that we’ve both Awakened and officially begun Cultivating, our bodies need much more energy than before. Hurry up and eat. You need to replenish your strength."
Evelyn’s words only made Lucian feel even more embarrassed.
Am I really destined to live off a woman?
I’m a Divine-Rank Talent, yet I can’t even afford a single meal. What a failure!
Still...
Hmm, this mutated beast meat really is delicious.
As soon as he ate it, a powerful surge of energy spread through his limbs and bones, nourishing his entire body.
Incredible!
It really is delicious!
Compared to Lucian’s ravenous eating, Evelyn remained elegant and graceful. However, even she ended up eating several bowls.
Lucian rubbed his stuffed belly and let out a satisfied burp.
"So full!"
"Look at you. You eat like a bear!"
Evelyn rolled her eyes at Lucian, looking both annoyed and amused.
She was so charming that Lucian couldn’t help but feel warmth spreading through his heart.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Evelyn, tomorrow is a holiday. I’m planning to go home and tell Grandma the good news that I’ve become an Awakened. Are you going to keep Cultivating in the school’s Cultivation Room tomorrow?"
"Then I’ll go with you to see Grandma tomorrow. I haven’t seen her in a long time either."
"What about your Cultivation?"
"It’s fine. The school’s Cultivation Room is far inferior to the one at my house. I’ll just go home and Cultivate."
Lucian was speechless once again.
Sigh...
So this is what it’s like to be rich.