After strolling around for half an hour and waiting for the python meat in his stomach to be fully digested, feeling his strength return to its peak, Henry Clark finally found a stove and some clean water and returned to his quarters.

Foot soaking must be put on the agenda!

Entering the room, he sat cross-legged on the bed and slowly mobilized his spiritual energy. Following the revised cultivation method, he once again charged at the barrier of the Qi Nourishing Realm.

A moment later.

He stopped.

Within his dantian, a stream of spiritual energy had already been thoroughly refined, becoming incomparably pure, flowing through his meridians as naturally as moving his own arm.

“So this is the Qi Nourishing Realm?”

It was so easy to succeed... that he almost felt it was an illusion, as if he had cultivated a fake realm.

If it weren’t for the refined true qi being exactly the same as what was recorded in the cultivation manual, without the slightest difference, he absolutely wouldn’t have believed it...

He walked over to his desk and took out the formula for the fifth level of “Turtle Origin Technique.”

With the previous experience, he finished all the modifications within an hour.

He sat down again, planning to refine all the spiritual energy in his dantian into true essence.

Physical constitution enhanced, lifespan: +0.01, +0.01, +0.01...

Very soon, after refining seven or eight streams of true qi, just as he was about to continue, his body suddenly took a sharp downturn, and a series of -0.1, -1, -3 appeared.

He hurriedly stopped, and Henry Clark once again felt utterly weak.

Looking in the mirror, he saw the same sallow complexion as before, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

He knew it was still a nutrition problem, not a cultivation error, so he quickly got up and searched around the room.

It was so clean that even mice would cry, and cockroaches would faint from hunger...

Everyone ate together in the cafeteria, and he wasn’t in the habit of keeping snacks. If he could actually find something to eat, that would be truly strange!

He glanced at the Longevity Chart.

Malnutrition, lifespan: -0.01, -0.01, -0.01...

Although he had stopped cultivating, the lack of nutritional replenishment meant his lifespan was still steadily decreasing. It seemed that without finding something to eat, it would be hard to recover in a short time.

The hard-earned lifespan he had accumulated definitely couldn’t be wasted like this. Without much hesitation, Henry Clark took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“Hahahahahaha!”

The room was filled with an air of joy.

Mood uplifted, lifespan: +0.01, +0.01, +0.01...

Every bit helps—this was his last bit of stubbornness!

After laughing for a while, his cheeks started to cramp. Henry Clark forced himself to endure the fatigue and walked out of the room.

At this time, the sky outside was dotted with stars; it was already a little past nine.

According to a normal schedule, he should be soaking his feet and getting into bed, but now he still had to go look for food...

This was really not healthy!

Before long, he arrived at the cafeteria. Inside, it was pitch black, not a single light on, and the main door was tightly shut.

Usually, the cafeteria closed at eight. Getting food openly was out of the question now; he could only sneak in to see if there were any leftovers to eat. If he could find some python meat, that would be best...

Looking around and seeing no one nearby, Henry Clark walked up to the main door with a smile, reached out his hand, and pushed.

Buzz!

The iron door shook with a dull sound but didn’t open.

Knowing it must be locked, Henry Clark had a thought, and the true qi he had just cultivated immediately surged along his meridians to his palm.

Although he had never come this late before, he knew the cafeteria’s lock was very sturdy—normally, it would be hard to open even with all his strength. So this time, he didn’t hold back.

As a result, he had only used half his strength when he heard a “crack!” The lock immediately snapped and flew straight off. He had used so much force that he was startled and almost fell over.

This door weighed several hundred pounds; it was usually a hassle just to push open. Now, with only half his strength, not only did he open it, but he also sent the lock flying...

When did it become so easy?

“Never mind for now... hahahahaha!”

Seeing his lifespan was still decreasing, he knew this wasn’t the time to think about it. He continued inside, bugging the system as he went.

With the help of the moonlight streaming through the window, he quickly found the leftover food, neatly arranged in a row of basins. But not to mention python meat—even ordinary beef and mutton were almost all gone.

Knowing the situation, he couldn’t be picky. He found a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and put it in his mouth. After just one bite, he frowned.

It was cold—bad for the stomach...

He turned and walked into the kitchen. Seeing that the stove fire hadn’t completely gone out, he added two pieces of wood and rekindled it, then put the food in to reheat.

Before long, everything was hot again, and Henry Clark finally ate with satisfaction.

Nutritional replenishment, lifespan: +0.01, +0.01, +0.01...

Vegetables, beef, mutton, and the like had limited nutrition. Even after eating all the leftovers, he was still far from fully recovered.

“Looks like... I still need to eat powerful beast meat!”

After reaching the fifth level of martial artist, his body’s nutritional needs were too great—ordinary food could no longer satisfy him.

At the very least, he needed beast meat like that of the tiger-striped green python.

The animal carcasses he hunted yesterday had all been stored in the family cellar. There was no way to get in now, and even if he wanted to eat them, he couldn’t. What should he do?

He glanced at the Longevity Chart. The rate at which his lifespan was decreasing had slowed, but it still hadn’t stopped...

In other words, if he just toughed it out through the night, all the lifespan he had painstakingly accumulated over the past day or so might be completely used up...