December 2, 2024
Bailong High School.
As one of the three prestigious high schools in Songyang City, alongside Ziyun High School, Bailong High boasts a long history and abundant resources.
Whether it’s the number of competition awards won each year, the students admitted to the top ten universities, or even the number of students who jump off buildings, Bailong High holds a dominant position in Songyang City.
To many students at Bailong High, the term "three prestigious schools" is meaningless.
In their eyes, there’s only one prestigious school in Songyang City—Bailong High.
At this moment, in the school cafeteria, Zhang Pianpian was eating while flipping through her talisman textbook, studying the newly purchased material.
Just then, a petite girl sat down across from her and said mysteriously, "Pianbao, I’ve got some interesting news. Want to hear it? Treat me to lunch, and I’ll tell you."
Without looking up, Zhang Pianpian replied, "Not interested."
The girl chuckled.
"Your brother made quite a splash at the Central Tower last time. Too bad he wasn’t accepted by the Golden Core cultivator. Don’t you want to know his latest news?"
Zhang Pianpian frowned slightly.
"At most, it’s worth a 9-yuan budget meal. Anything more, and I’m not listening."
"That’s enough," the girl laughed.
"It’s rare for you to treat me to lunch. No one in class would believe it."
Seeing Zhang Pianpian’s impatient expression, the girl continued, "The news came from my friend at Songyang High."
"Your brother ranked third in the monthly exam this time, with a total score of 620."
Zhang Pianpian was surprised.
"620? Are you sure this is accurate?"
"Absolutely," the girl said.
"That score would easily place him in the top fifteen among our first-year students. Impressive, huh?"
"Didn’t you say your brother had no talent? Seems like he’s doing pretty well now."
A hint of doubt flashed in Zhang Pianpian’s eyes.
"My judgment is never wrong. He doesn’t have the talent for the path of immortality. Something must have happened to him recently."
The girl asked, "The student council at Songyang High will probably take notice of him now. Aren’t you going to help him?"
Zhang Pianpian lowered her gaze and said indifferently, "It’s up to him to make his own choice."
"If he’s willing to sign a contract with the student council, at least his high school life will be easier."
"Are you testing him?" the girl pouted.
"Isn’t that a bit too harsh? How many students can withstand the pressure from the student council?"
Zhang Pianpian replied coldly, "If he can’t handle it, then he’ll take the path of those who can’t. Helping him now would only harm him in the long run."
"What he’s truly made of will depend on the choices he makes."
…
Songyang High School.
Zhang Yu could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the school had changed.
During breaks, classmates he wasn’t familiar with started greeting him.
"Zhang Yu, your physical strength has improved so quickly. Is it really natural body training?"
"Zhang Yu, can I borrow your martial arts theory exam paper?"
In the hallways, students from other classes pointed at him.
"Look, that’s Zhang Yu, the one Teacher Lei mentioned."
"Ugh, these monsters from the demonstration class really leave no room for the rest of us."
In martial arts class, Teacher Lei Jun repeatedly played the video of Zhang Yu defeating He Dayou.
He even had Zhang Yu explain his combat strategy at the time, which made He Dayou’s blood boil, his heart beat stronger, and he seemed to grow younger by the second.
In the cafeteria, students started deliberately walking past Zhang Yu, as if trying to sneak a peek at what he was eating.
Some students he barely knew even wanted to sit at his table.
During dinner, Zhang Yu simply called Zhao Tianxing over and had him join Bai Zhenzhen for a meal.
After all, Zhao Tianxing alone could take up two seats, so the three of them filled the entire table.
As for Zhou Tianyi, the guy had disappeared after class and didn’t join them for dinner.
Zhao Tianxing had eaten with them a few times recently and had grown much closer to both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
Zhang Yu even noticed that Bai Zhenzhen seemed more relaxed around Zhao Tianxing than she was around Zhou Tianyi.
At the moment, Zhao Tianxing was complaining, "How much longer is the cafeteria’s electronic screen going to display the monthly exam results? It’s so inconvenient when trying to check the prices of the dishes."
Zhang Yu took a bite of his food and sighed, "Xiao Zhao, you’re thinking too small. The school is displaying the exam results to motivate everyone to study harder. I think it’s fine to keep it up for a few more days."
Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly beside him.
"Exams are the primary duty of students. The importance of displaying scores far outweighs the inconvenience of checking dish prices."
Zhao Tianxing looked at the two of them, especially Zhang Yu, feeling somewhat speechless.
Then he suddenly realized that Zhang Yu was no longer the student who had ranked similarly to him in the monthly exam.
They were no longer in the same academic tier.
The behaviors that deeply hurt other students, piled on immense pressure, and incited fierce competition were now a blatant display of Zhang Yu’s success.
"Just a few days ago, Zhang Yu was criticizing the school’s inhumane practices with me."
"Now he’s become like this," Zhao Tianxing thought with a sigh.
"Does a higher score really change a person so quickly?"
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu and smiled.
"Yu, you seem to be in a great mood."
Great mood?
Zhang Yu was feeling absolutely fantastic.
He had never found the scenery at Songyang High so beautiful, nor had the students and teachers ever seemed so friendly.
For someone who had to endure daily rigorous training, this was the most beautiful scenery, a rare comfort, and a reward from the heavens for his diligence and discipline.
Zhang Yu humbly waved his hand.
"Ah, it’s all just empty fame."
"I don’t know why everyone’s suddenly so interested in me."
"Ah Zhen, you’ve been the top of the grade for so long. Why don’t so many people come to hang out with you?"
Bai Zhenzhen pouted, her face full of disdain.
"Because my first place makes them feel like there’s no hope of catching up. They only feel the absolute gap in talent."
"Your sudden improvement makes them think they can imitate you."
"So they all want to be friends with you, hoping to uncover the secret behind your rapid progress."
Bai Zhenzhen took a bite of her chicken leg, mercilessly revealing the harsh reality.
"In high school, grades are king."
"A carefully selected problem set, a paid talisman technique, or even some combat experience from a tutoring class is enough to make countless high school students flock to it. Let alone the mystery of how you improved by 70 points in a month. Even the top ten students in the grade would be tempted."
"These students aren’t here to be your friends. They just want to uncover the secret behind your rapid improvement, hoping to transfer those 70 points to themselves."
Beside them, Zhao Tianxing shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the two chairs beneath him creaking under the strain.
He thought to himself, "I’m actually tenth this time, and I did intentionally get closer to Zhang Yu."
"Is Bai Zhenzhen’s comment directed at me?"
"Although I do want to learn some good study habits from them and maybe ask Zhang Yu for tips on improving my grades so quickly…"
Thinking this, he squirmed even more, feeling the atmosphere at the table grow tense.
He decided to temporarily suppress his desire to ask Zhang Yu for advice.
Even after parting ways with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, watching them take the bus and subway respectively, Zhao Tianxing was still pondering the matter.
"Was Bai Zhenzhen really talking about me?"
…
On the bus.
As soon as Zhang Yu boarded and was jostled by the crowd, he felt his phone vibrate.
He took it out and saw a message from Bai Zhenzhen.
"In the next few days, the student council might approach you about a contract."
"Whatever terms they offer, don’t agree to anything right away."
"Wait until I’ve talked to them, and then we’ll discuss it together."
Reading Bai Zhenzhen’s message, Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered.
He thought to himself, "So the advanced contracts are negotiated with the student council?"
Zhang Yu had never paid much attention to the student council at Songyang High.
In his mind, what could a high school student council possibly do?
But from Bai Zhenzhen’s tone, it seemed the student council was far from simple, even having the authority to negotiate contracts with students.
"I wonder what terms they’ll offer me."
"From Ah Zhen’s message, it seems like she wants us to stick together and negotiate for a better deal?"
After pondering for a few seconds without reaching a conclusion, Zhang Yu heard the countdown in his mind and decided to set aside these thoughts for now.
He started browsing through the study materials stored on his phone.
However, whether it was due to the feedback from the monthly exam results or the upcoming contract negotiations, Zhang Yu found it hard to focus on his reading today.
He put down his phone and began thinking about his current cultivation path.
The ritual power didn’t pressure him much in this regard.
After all, planning his cultivation path aligned with his goals of studying hard, cultivating diligently, getting into a top university, working hard, earning money, and eventually buying all the antiques in his shopping cart.
"Next, I’ll focus on raising the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique to level 10."
"After that, my goal is the Tianwu Heart Refining Technique. But this martial arts technique requires a level 3 Dao Heart, so I’ll have to practice the basic heart refining technique first. I’ll raise it to level 10 while also increasing my Dao Heart to level 3, and then I can start practicing the Tianwu Heart Refining Technique."
"After that, the only techniques I have left to practice are basic breathing, freehand combat, and the high school basic sword technique."
After confirming his future plans, Zhang Yu thought about his current savings of over 70,000 yuan and the potential income from signing the contract.
He couldn’t help but entertain an idea.
"Should I buy some more powerful and effective techniques?"
Previously, Zhang Yu hadn’t considered this due to lack of funds.
But after receiving 66,000 yuan from Wang Hai, Zhang Yu couldn’t stop thinking about how to spend the money.
Things like spiritual roots, talismans, combat experience—many things he hadn’t dared to think about before now seemed within reach.
He decided to wait until the contract negotiations were over to see how much money he’d have before making any concrete plans.
As he thought about his future cultivation path, the idea of purchasing techniques became more appealing.
"Even if I don’t buy anything, I can at least take a look and get an idea."
The screen of his phone lit up as Zhang Yu opened a shopping website and logged in with his real-name account.
After a facial recognition scan, Zhang Yu entered the website for purchasing immortal cultivation techniques.
However, given his current status, he could only view techniques for the Qi Refining stage.
As soon as he entered, he saw a row of recommendations: "Your friends are viewing: Charming Maiden Technique (Unisex Edition), Dream Heart Sutra (Practice While You Sleep), Nine Heavens Rapid Talisman Technique…"
(End of Chapter)