Songyang High School.
In the blink of an eye, four days had passed since Zhang Yu rented the Qi Sea Spirit Root.
Today was the day when the first-year students of Songyang High School were selected to sign up for the city-wide Magic Competition.
During the mana class.
As the bell rang signaling the end of class, Zhang Yu, who rarely stopped his breathing exercises, opened his eyes and looked towards the large screen.
After several days of intense cultivation, his mana had surged from 9.5 to 10.5, a rapid improvement that caught the attention of many classmates.
Zhang Yu's Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique had also advanced from level 6 to level 8 (3/160), though only he knew about this achievement.
If his classmates and teachers found out, it wouldn’t just be a matter of surprise.
While Zhang Yu's mana growth was impressive, it wasn’t unheard of, as many wealthy individuals could achieve even faster progress by spending enough money.
However, advancing a breathing technique to level 8 in such a short time... at least at Zhang Yu's current level, he didn’t know anyone else who could do it.
Looking at the large screen, the mana rankings for the entire grade were displayed.
First place: Bai Zhenzhen, 12.1
Second place: Qian Shen, 11.9
Zhang Yu scanned further down and quickly found himself in eighth place.
Eighth place: Zhang Yu, 10.5
"Eighth place?" Zhang Yu nodded slightly, knowing that signing up for the Magic Competition wouldn’t be a problem.
But soon, a chill crept into his heart.
Hearing the countdown, he had no choice but to close his eyes again and focus on his breathing exercises.
On the podium, Teacher Yan brushed her hair aside and glanced at the rankings with satisfaction.
"Over the past week, the distraction rate has dropped by 8%, and the efficiency of mana growth has increased by 12% compared to last month. I’m very pleased."
She noticed Zhang Yu diligently continuing his breathing exercises and nodded approvingly.
"I’d like to especially commend one student—Zhang Yu."
"Not only has he maintained a 0% distraction rate for two consecutive weeks, but his mana has also made a qualitative leap, jumping from 16th to 8th place. Truly remarkable. Let’s give him a round of applause."
A smattering of applause followed.
Teacher Yan then announced the top ten students who would participate in the Magic Competition.
"The Magic Competition starts next month. I’ll share the specific schedule and rules with you once I have them."
"Alright, class dismissed."
"Oh, and students who want to buy Spirit Gathering Pills, remember to come to my office. There’s a special promotion going on..."
Bai Zhenzhen, sitting below, seemed to have lost some weight, her cheeks slightly sunken.
Watching Teacher Yan’s cheerful demeanor, she thought to herself, "Everyone’s been working so hard lately, all because..."
Her gaze involuntarily shifted to Zhang Yu’s seat, where she saw him already back to his breathing exercises.
"Beast! Zhang Yu, you beast! Stop it! Don’t you dare keep pushing yourself like this!"
After a mental tirade, Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t bear to watch her good friend progress alone.
She closed her eyes in agony and also began her breathing exercises.
Not far from Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen had been watching both her and Zhang Yu.
Seeing them both seize every moment to cultivate, even during breaks and while the teacher was speaking, his heart sank.
As a top student in Songyang High School’s exemplary class, Qian Shen had always prided himself on his ability to keep up with the competition.
But after eight days of competing with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, his perspective had shifted.
"They barely even go to the bathroom, and they don’t even scratch an itch. I can’t keep up with them!"
"Compared to them, am I the one who’s not fully evolved?!"
Staring at the two who were still cultivating, Qian Shen finally closed his eyes in resignation.
Competition! It’s all about competition!
...
During physical education class.
Students were either practicing acupuncture or body refining, accompanied by beast-like roars.
The floor was drenched in sweat.
Bai Zhenzhen wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced at the small dark room in the corner.
Due to being ostracized by the PE teacher, Wang Hai, Zhang Yu had been practicing alone in that room during recent PE classes.
But today, Zhang Yu wasn’t focusing on his breathing exercises as he had in previous days.
Instead, he was practicing the 36 Forms of Body Strengthening.
With a series of cracking sounds, Zhang Yu’s muscles bulged as he lifted and lowered the exercise equipment with immense force.
At the same time, he switched his focus from the level 8 Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique to the level 3 36 Forms of Body Strengthening.
Zhang Yu had his reasons for this.
First, due to the lack of a compatible spirit root, the amount of spiritual energy he could absorb was limited, making further progress with the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique increasingly difficult.
Second, since he had already secured a spot in the Magic Competition, his next goal was the monthly exam in nine days.
"My mana has improved a lot recently, and even without active breathing exercises, the passive effect of the level 8 Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique is still 65% as effective."
"My mana score for the upcoming exam won’t be bad, but investing more effort into it... the return on investment isn’t great."
Zhang Yu pondered, "To improve my exam results, I need to focus on Dao Heart, physical fitness, martial arts, and Dao techniques."
"For Dao Heart... although I haven’t mastered the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Technique, I’ve fully grasped its essence, which should help me score well in the Dao Heart exam."
"As for martial arts, aside from the theoretical 20 points, the remaining 80 points depend on practical combat. Improving that requires hiring someone to spar with me, which isn’t quick."
"Dao techniques are even harder; there’s no way to improve them in such a short time."
After much thought, Zhang Yu decided to spend the next nine days improving his 36 Forms of Body Strengthening and physical strength.
While practicing the 36 Forms, he discovered an additional benefit from the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique.
As he exerted himself, his muscles contracted and expanded, and the mana circulation within his body continued to flow, converting wisps of spiritual energy into mana.
This mana flow nourished the strained tendons and torn muscles, accelerating recovery and enhancing the effectiveness of his training.
Normally, reaching level 3 in the 36 Forms of Body Strengthening would allow one to use mana for similar effects.
But with the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique, the more complex and refined mana circulation covered his entire body, significantly boosting his recovery and body refining effects.
He estimated that if he could only practice the 36 Forms 20 to 30 times a day before, with the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique, he could now practice it 50 to 60 times daily.
Thus, Zhang Yu decided to focus on mastering the 36 Forms of Body Strengthening.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Zhang Yu felt a pang of realization.
"I’m getting more and more used to this relentless competition."
"Sigh, this damned Kunxu world really turns people into ghosts."
But after practicing the 36 Forms 15 times in a row, Zhang Yu realized he was wrong.
Drenched in sweat, he lay on the floor, his body forming a faint outline on the sweat-soaked ground.
Even PE teacher Wang Hai, if he saw this scene of diligent practice, would likely say, "Good job, take a rest."
But the one supervising Zhang Yu wasn’t human; it was... the ritual: "Keep practicing."
"Please adhere to the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, and do not intentionally slack off or delay. 10."
Zhang Yu sighed, "Idiot! I’ve reached my limit."
This body refining was much harder than breathing exercises.
Zhang Yu felt like his lungs were heaving like bellows, and every inch of his body ached with a tearing pain.
"I was too naive to think I had adapted to this damned world."
Listening to the relentless countdown, Zhang Yu lay on the floor like a dead fish.
Only when the countdown was about to reach zero did he suddenly jump up, enduring the pain and exhaustion, and continue practicing the 36 Forms of Body Strengthening.
36 Forms of Body Strengthening, level 3 (22/30)
After barely completing another round, Zhang Yu collapsed onto his sweat-soaked floor, listening to the chilling countdown and feeling the ritual’s power threatening to tear his body apart.
"Is this world even livable?"
"Damn it... before I’m driven to jump off a building, I’ve got to break this cursed ritual!"
At noon that day, Zhang Yu, to the surprise of Bai Zhenzhen and Zhou Tianyi, spent over 100 yuan on a large bucket of food.
If increasing mana required absorbing more spiritual energy, then improving physical strength required more and more nutritious food.
"I’m going to eat ten pounds!"
Seeing the amount of food Zhang Yu had for lunch, Bai Zhenzhen realized just how hard he had been pushing himself during PE class.
"Has he decided that he’s done enough with mana and is now focusing on physical strength?"
When did this guy start working so hard?
Was it the extra competitiveness from not being neutered?
Watching Zhang Yu devour an entire chicken leg in one bite, even chewing the bones to pieces, Bai Zhenzhen unconsciously sped up her own eating.
Zhou Tianyi sighed, "Slow down, there’s no grade for eating speed."
Not far away, Su Haifeng, also eating in the cafeteria, watched some students eating slowly and thought, "Lunch break is too long."
"I’ve always said the school should install more surveillance cameras in the cafeteria. Anyone taking more than 10 minutes to eat should be publicly criticized and fined."
With that in mind, he drafted a proposal to send to the principal, suggesting this valuable cafeteria improvement.
For the next several days, Zhang Yu spent every available moment practicing the 36 Forms of Body Strengthening.
When he reached his limit and couldn’t train anymore, he was forced to focus on breathing exercises.
Day after day of this torment, the time finally came for the monthly exam nine days later.
Thanks to "Wind Dance Mad Song" for the generous reward.
(End of Chapter)