Zhang Yu didn’t have much time to dwell on his thoughts.
Shortly after returning to the classroom, the math teacher, wearing black-framed glasses, walked in with a stack of test papers.
"Today, we’ll go over the test you took last time," the teacher said.
"Hand out the papers. Look at the mistakes you made. I’ve told you countless times to come to me if you don’t understand something. Yesterday, I sat in the office for three hours, and not a single person came to ask me a question…"
Not long after the math papers were handed out, the tall and burly physical education teacher entered the classroom.
He looked at the math teacher and said, "You’re sick."
After sending the sick math teacher away, the PE teacher, Wang Hai, addressed the students.
"This class is now a PE class. But don’t forget to review your math on your own. General education courses account for fifty points in the college entrance exam. A single point can make a huge difference."
"Speaking of general education, I’ve already talked to your Chinese teacher. The next Chinese class will also be a PE class. So, including the original PE class, the entire morning will be dedicated to PE."
The students followed Wang Hai to the indoor training ground, which was as vast as a square and filled with various exercise equipment.
Wang Hai explained, "The Qi Refining stage is the first stage of the immortal path. It’s crucial to build a solid foundation. How strong your foundation is in your first year of high school will determine how far you can go in your second and third years…"
As Zhang Yu took in the familiar scene, memories flooded his mind.
Since the immortal path was systematized by the ten great sects, it now had a clear hierarchy of realms and power levels, covering every aspect of immortal techniques.
The most well-known were the ten major realms of the immortal path.
The key indicators determining which realm a person could reach were their Dao Heart level and their mana capacity.
For high school students, only by surpassing the 10th level of Dao Heart and having a mana capacity of over 60 points could they break through from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage.
The current PE class was designed to temper the body and strengthen the will.
After all, a strong body not only increased the efficiency of mana growth but also greatly aided the willpower needed for Dao Heart levels, while enhancing combat abilities in the Qi Refining stage.
If Dao Heart and mana were the foundation of the immortal path, then the physical strength honed in PE class was the foundation of that foundation.
At the same time, waves of light scanned the bodies of the students, displaying their physical strength data on a large screen in descending order.
1st place: Qian Shen, Physical Strength 1.15
2nd place: Bai Zhenzhen, Physical Strength 1.13
3rd place: He Dayou, Physical Strength 1.12
…
Zhang Yu finally found his score at 19th place:
19th place: Zhang Yu, Physical Strength 0.82
The immortal techniques of Kunxu had evolved over time, and now various data and indicators were becoming increasingly precise.
Physical strength was not only quantified but also rechecked every PE class.
This indicator, like Dao Heart, could reach a maximum of 10 levels in the Qi Refining stage.
Although physical strength wasn’t the key indicator for breaking through immortal realms, it was crucial for a cultivator’s efficiency and combat power.
It was an essential foundation of the immortal path, accounting for 150 points out of the 650 points in the immortal subjects.
"Has my physical strength really dropped to 19th place?" Zhang Yu looked at his score, recalling how his progress had been consistently surpassed by those around him.
Meanwhile, his classmates took out syringes and injected various enhancement supplements into their arms.
These supplements, from different brands, not only increased muscle and bone strength but also boosted training efficiency by several times to over ten times.
They were a must-have for first-year high school students.
Here, you could skip a day of training, but you couldn’t skip a day of injections.
Top students often injected themselves eight or more times a day.
Zhang Yu saw Bai Zhenzhen, not far away, inject herself nine times in her buttocks, arms, and thighs.
Compared to many of the burly students around her, Bai Zhenzhen looked much smaller.
Zhang Yu remembered this was because their physical training directions were different, resulting in different body shapes.
Seeing Zhang Yu hadn’t injected himself, Wang Hai frowned and walked over.
"Zhang Yu, how many days has it been since you last injected a performance enhancer?"
Zhang Yu didn’t dare say he was out of money.
He knew that in Songyang High School, being poor was as shameful as having poor grades.
He only dared to mention it to close friends like Bai Zhenzhen.
Moreover, fragmented memories in his mind told him that the original owner of this body had fainted several times due to the heavy burden on his internal organs and cardiovascular system from excessive drug use, which had even begun to threaten his life.
So Zhang Yu replied evasively, "I wanted to try training without drugs…"
Wang Hai’s frown deepened, and he thundered, "Have you been watching those influencers who promote natural body training because they can’t handle the pain of injections? That’s all nonsense. How can you keep up without drugs?"
Look how far you’ve fallen.
If this continues, you’ll be kicked out of the advanced class in the next monthly exam.
"He spoke with a tone of disappointment,"Do you think I’m telling you to take drugs for my sake?
Your gains won’t benefit me.
"He pointed to a student in the distance,"Look at Qian Shen.
He takes 12 Dragon Elephant injections a day to grow his muscles and bones, 2 painkillers to suppress the pain of muscle tearing and growth, and 2 Gluttony injections to speed up metabolism and absorb immortal elements from food.
He eats 15 pounds of food daily to gain weight…
"In just three months, his physical strength has skyrocketed from 0.13 to 1.15, making him the strongest in the first year. That’s equivalent to 20 years of natural training for you."
As Wang Hai spoke, Zhang Yu remembered how Qian Shen had transformed from a skinny kid under 1.7 meters tall three months ago into a giant over two meters tall and weighing more than 300 pounds.
Wang Hai then pointed to another student, "And look at Zhao Tianxing, who used to be worse than you. Two days ago, he broke through to 1.00 in physical strength. Now his blood is as thick as lead, his arteries are hardened, and his heart has tripled in size…"
After pointing out several students, Wang Hai sighed, "Zhang Yu, I’m telling you all this because you used to be in the top ten in physical strength. You have talent and exceptional drug tolerance…"
Seeing Wang Hai’s earnest expression, Zhang Yu felt the teacher’s concern.
But whether it was due to lack of money or fear of death, he wasn’t willing to inject himself now.
Just as he was thinking of how to explain himself, Wang Hai pulled out a box of medicine from his bag.
"They say training accounts for 30%, diet for 70%, and the remaining 90% depends on how you take your drugs."
This is the latest Divine Elephant Strength performance enhancer from the Vajra Sect.
It’s from a major sect, so the quality is guaranteed.
One injection is worth ten.
"To be honest, this product is still in the lab. I got it from a good friend. Seeing your talent, I’ll sell it to you at a 20% discount. Ten bottles for 8,800…"
As Wang Hai tried to sell him the drugs, Zhang Yu fully remembered that more than half of the body-enhancing supplements used by the students in the class were bought from Wang Hai.
This was a normal phenomenon at Songyang High School.
After all, drugs and physical training were inseparable.
Every PE teacher was not only an excellent physical training expert but also a skilled drug salesman, often backed by multiple pharmaceutical channels.
But Zhang Yu couldn’t afford these drugs, nor could his body handle them.
He could only think of ways to evade the issue.
Seeing Zhang Yu making excuses, Wang Hai snorted coldly, put the drugs back, and said with disappointment, "Do as you please."
As Wang Hai turned away to instruct and sell drugs to other students, Zhang Yu sighed helplessly, thinking, "Is PE class really this hard in this place?"
Just then, a young man walked over and asked, "Did Wang Hai try to sell you something again?"
The student looked clean-cut, like the boy next door.
Zhang Yu’s mind recalled memories related to him.
"He’s… Zhou Tianyi."
Zhou Tianyi was someone Zhang Yu had met on the first day of school.
They had been eating and studying together for three months, forming a fragile friendship.
But as the memories surfaced, Zhang Yu first thought of Zhou Tianyi’s class ranking.
"Ranked 25th in the grade, good enough to eat with me… Huh? When did I start caring so much about rankings?"
Zhang Yu felt that as the memories merged, he was increasingly influenced by the school’s emphasis on rankings.
Hearing Zhou Tianyi’s question, he nodded and said, "Yeah, he tried to sell me Divine Elephant Strength."
"You didn’t buy it?" Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Zhou Tianyi hissed, "Aren’t you afraid Old Wang will mess with you?"
"Mess with me?" Zhang Yu said, "It’s just not buying drugs. It’s not that serious, is it?"
Zhou Tianyi shook his head repeatedly.
"Do you want to hear some gossip about Wang Hai?"
"Forget it, I’m not into gossip."
Zhang Yu turned and walked toward the exercise equipment, intending to familiarize himself with his body and the PE class content.
Zhou Tianyi continued, "Some teachers complained that Wang Hai was jerking off in the next office, and the vibrations cracked the ceiling."
Zhang Yu stopped in his tracks.
He wasn’t one for gossip, but this was too ridiculous… he had to see what was going on.
Zhou Tianyi said, "Wang Hai later explained he wasn’t doing that. The banging sounds were him disciplining disobedient students." Then I asked students from the previous two years, and it turns out Wang Hai has always had a habit of physically punishing underperforming students.
"Especially if your grades drop and you don’t buy his drugs, he’ll lead the bullying."
I heard a few years ago, one student was driven to jump off a building by him.
"Hearing the words"jump off a building,"Zhang Yu’s eyes sharpened."
Wang Hai got away with that?
"Zhou Tianyi shrugged,"Wang Hai’s teaching results have always been excellent.
He’s the star PE teacher at Songyang High School, having produced three students with the highest physical strength in the city during the college entrance exam.
Some say he has connections to major sects for drugs still in the lab.
"Even if the school wanted to fire him, most students and parents wouldn’t agree. They all rely on Wang Hai to buy drugs and improve their physical strength."
He looked at Zhang Yu and warned, "If you keep refusing to buy drugs and your grades don’t improve, he’ll probably mess with you too."
Seeing Zhang Yu’s furrowed brow, Zhou Tianyi asked curiously, "You used to inject a lot, didn’t you? Why did you suddenly stop? Are you out of money? Do you want me to lend you some?"
Feeling the sincerity in Zhou Tianyi’s eyes, Zhang Yu smiled helplessly.
"No, thanks."
"Really?" Zhou Tianyi said, "How about you take one of mine today?"
Zhang Yu shook his head repeatedly.
He was afraid that a few more injections might kill him outright.
According to his memories, there were plenty of people who had been severely injured, disabled, or even died from drug overload.
Even Songyang High School had students who were seriously injured every year from excessive drug use.
Yet, students continued to pursue physical strength through drugs in droves.
The original owner of this body had already shown signs of being overwhelmed since last week.
Thinking about how the original owner had left him with not only a 700,000 debt but also this body, Zhang Yu sighed again.
As the two whispered, a cold gaze suddenly swept over them.
Wang Hai barked, "Stop chatting during PE class."
Zhang Yu and Zhou Tianyi immediately stopped talking and began their exercises.
Zhang Yu walked over to a large iron ball, tensed his muscles, and with a burst of strength, lifted the 100-kilogram ball.
As his muscles contracted and expanded, the iron ball moved around his body like a toy.
With the ball flipping and spinning, Zhang Yu felt his blood surge, and his body gradually warmed up.
"This is the warm-up…"
The entire process seemed instinctive, etched into his flesh and blood.
Zhang Yu completed the warm-up almost without thinking.
As the training continued, he became more familiar with his body, and more memories surfaced.
"Physical training in the Qi Refining stage mainly involves tempering muscles and bones, breaking through limits through repeated practice, and ultimately increasing physical strength levels."
The most common method among high school students is the Body Strengthening 36 Forms.
"The Body Strengthening 36 Forms was a physical training technique created by the ten great sects specifically for high school education. The 36 movements, combined with different equipment, could fully develop the body and effectively increase physical strength.
Under the immortal framework summarized by the ten great sects, all martial arts and techniques were divided into levels 1 to 100. Most students at Songyang High School could master the Body Strengthening 36 Forms to level 1 after one or two weeks of study.
If they could continue to improve, the training effects of the Body Strengthening 36 Forms would become increasingly powerful and incredible. But this was clearly not easy. In Zhang Yu’s memory, only Bai Zhenzhen had reached level 2 in the Body Strengthening 36 Forms in the three months since school started.
This was why Bai Zhenzhen could maintain her physical strength at second place in the grade with just nine injections a day, closely following Qian Shen, who took sixteen injections daily."
The level of the Body Strengthening 36 Forms affects the efficiency of physical strength improvement, but the key factor determining strength and PE class performance is still physical strength itself.
"Speaking of which, my physical strength is 0.82, and I can easily toss around objects weighing hundreds of pounds. The maximum physical strength in the Qi Refining stage is 10, and after Foundation Establishment, it can reach 20… The gap between people is just too big."
Zhang Yu initially just wanted to familiarize himself with the PE class content and his body.
But as he practiced the Body Strengthening 36 Forms, he became more serious and meticulous, as if an instinct within him urged him to keep training.
His muscles were constantly torn, and his bones were repeatedly impacted.
After countless repetitions, his body, battered and bruised, finally released a warm current that silently repaired the damage.
This was the mana within Zhang Yu.
Just like in the past few months of PE class, his body was destroyed under pressure, then repaired and strengthened by mana.
Whoosh!
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Yu exhaled deeply, feeling sore all over, as if his body was about to fall apart.
"No wonder they need painkillers…"
He glanced at Bai Zhenzhen, who was still sweating profusely in the distance, and the other students who were also training intensely.
A sense of urgency instinctively rose in his heart, urging him to push his body further.
"If I trained this intensely in my original world, I’d probably have died by now."
Only here, with the support of various immortal techniques and drugs, and mana… can I keep going and get stronger."
Feeling the pain throughout his body and the instinctive desire to train and grow stronger, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel at the original owner’s deep obsession.
But as the training continued, this instinct buried deep within his body seemed to fade.
The path ahead would ultimately be chosen by the current Zhang Yu.
By the time the morning PE class ended, Zhang Yu was exhausted, lying on the ground, while a group of students around him were still full of energy, training like mad.
Zhang Yu sighed, realizing this was the difference between those who used drugs and those who didn’t.
Suddenly, he noticed the blackened palm of his hand, with less than a quarter of it still unmarked.
(End of Chapter)