“Not that innocent, huh!” Johnny looked at William Carter's reaction with a look of disdain. “At worst, I’ll find you two girls even prettier than Emily Thompson. Hey, there’s no need to hit someone just because you’re unhappy!” With an exaggerated tone, Johnny ran off with a mischievous grin.

Chapter 2 Genius Treatment (Part 2)

William Carter just sat dazed at his seat, even feeling a bit muddled when class started. Fortunately, all the classmates knew about his secret crush on Emily Thompson, so they assumed William Carter was just distracted because of Emily Thompson's departure, and tactfully left him alone.

Even after school, William Carter remained in this confused state. Others thought it was because his secret crush had suddenly left, but only he knew the real reason. Sure, that was part of it, but it was by no means the main reason for William Carter's daze.

Emily Thompson had a cultivation speed of 2.3, which already made her a genius, and she was admitted to the genius school. So what did that make him? Others needed a week of cultivation to achieve such results, but he had only cultivated for two days. Strictly speaking, he completed eight days’ worth of cultivation in just two days, and was measured at a speed of 1.1. Calculating it this way, his actual cultivation speed was at least 3.5 or even higher—definitely more than 2.3.

If William Carter revealed his true situation, he would immediately be labeled another genius and would follow his secret crush to the genius school. Maybe from then on, they’d be together, a perfect couple. But his father’s drunken words always echoed in his ears.

Geniuses are all lab rats. William Carter firmly remembered his father’s drunken truth, never daring to forget it. The military’s genius school, in name, was a school for geniuses, but William Carter knew that inside, there must be strict management, with all kinds of experiments required daily by the administrators, and constant data checks. Although the treatment was certainly better than that of ordinary students, or even regular company employees, one thing was certain: there was absolutely no freedom, and when necessary, you could be at their mercy.

On one side was his secret crush, on the other, the fate of a lab rat. William Carter weighed the two in his heart many times, but in the end, he couldn’t overcome his fear of that lab rat life, nor could he follow in his crush’s footsteps.

Maybe he would never see his childhood crush Emily Thompson again, never have any intersection with her life. Perhaps there would be a chance to meet again, but by then, she might already be an officer in the military’s special forces. Who could know what the future held?

Whenever he thought of that white lab rat he had seen dissected with his own eyes, William Carter couldn’t help but shudder. Even during his high school studies, William Carter always remembered those words. Accordingly, his cultivation speed became William Carter's biggest secret.

In modern high school curricula, internal energy classes had become essential. This was a new educational plan implemented by the Ministry of Education 270 years ago.

From that year on, every high school on Earth began to add internal energy courses in the first year, to improve the weak physical constitution of Earth’s people and gradually adapt humanity to the demands of the interstellar era.

Previously, scientists had conducted massive research, trying to make breakthroughs from every angle. In the end, the key breakthrough came from someone who practiced traditional Chinese qigong.

That genius, with profound internal energy, far surpassed normal people in both physical fitness and brain development. The principles of qigong still haven’t been fully verified, but its practical results far exceeded those of any drugs or other methods.

No toxic side effects, low cost, universal applicability—after systematic education, almost no one developed drug-like resistance. Basically, except for those born with intellectual disabilities, even people with physical disabilities could practice. Safe, efficient, no impact on genetic inheritance, almost no side effects—this method spread rapidly across the world, triggering a series of swift reforms.

Basic cultivation required little time but produced quick results. Human physical fitness, reaction speed, thinking speed, memory, brain development, and even lifespan all increased dramatically. Except for those too young to practice due to physiological development and limited understanding, everyone who practiced saw excellent results.

Differences in cultural heritage made it hard for people in non-Chinese-speaking countries to understand the Chinese way of thinking, let alone grasp the profound classical texts, meridians, dantian, and so on. Thus, Chinese became a required subject, included in the curriculum from the start of elementary school. Along with it, meridian theory was introduced in middle school, and in high school, actual internal energy cultivation courses began.

The reason for not starting practical cultivation from a young age was to consider the needs of human physical development. Moreover, such advanced skills were impossible to understand or implement without a certain foundation of knowledge.