Turning to Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen asked in surprise, "Are you sure?"

"Yu, don't make decisions too lightly."

"Wanting to get into the top ten prestigious schools means going against countless people in Songyang City."

"Are you saying this just to show off?"

Zhang Yu angrily replied, "What the hell... I'm being serious with you, and you think I'm joking?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's serious expression, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly smiled, "Alright, let's assume you're also aiming for the top ten schools."

"They gave you a month to think about it, right?"

"The deadline they gave me is also a month."

"In the next two weeks, you should focus on improving yourself. I'll take you to meet some people at the martial arts competition."

"Martial arts competition?" Zhang Yu's heart stirred.

He remembered that the martial arts competition he signed up for was starting this month, just two weeks away.

"Meeting people at the competition? Who?"

Bai Zhenzhen said mysteriously, "People who might be able to help us."

Damn riddles!

Zhang Yu pressed, "Who exactly are they?"

Bai Zhenzhen replied, "I'm not sure yet, but you'll find out when the time comes."

Zhang Yu had no choice but to focus all his energy on self-improvement in the coming days.

No matter what, the only thing he could rely on now was his own strength.

...

In martial arts class.

"Magic is useless."

"Martial arts are what truly matter."

"When you face an opponent head-on, your martial skills are your most reliable weapon."

"At that moment, there are only two outcomes: either you kill your opponent, or you fall and get killed by them..."

Listening to martial arts teacher Lei Jun's speech, He Dayou secretly rolled his eyes, clearly not agreeing with the statement.

Just then, Lei Jun said, "Alright, now pair up for sparring practice."

"He Dayou, you're with Zhang Yu."

"Huh?" He Dayou was stunned and instinctively looked at Lei Jun, pointing at himself.

Lei Jun snorted coldly, "What are you looking at? You performed so poorly in the monthly exam. Did you even reflect on it?"

"Now I'm giving you another chance to learn from Zhang Yu. Don't you want it?"

With the weight of his poor performance in the martial arts exam, even He Dayou, the son of a school board member, couldn't argue back.

After all, in a system where poor students are always wrong, He Dayou couldn't defy this in class.

Damn martial arts teacher, bullying a magic prodigy, huh?

He silently walked up to Zhang Yu, thinking to himself, "But I might not necessarily lose to Zhang Yu now."

Having lost three times in a row to Zhang Yu, He Dayou didn't plan to hold a grudge, but that didn't mean he wouldn't reflect on his performance.

He had watched the recordings of those three fights multiple times and even showed them to his private martial arts instructor.

The analysis was that Zhang Yu's free-hand combat had reached level 3, and once he spotted a weakness, he could deal heavy damage.

But Zhang Yu's weakness was also obvious.

From the third fight, it was clear that Zhang Yu severely lacked practical combat experience.

So He Dayou had been practicing some countermeasures.

For example, in this sparring match, he decided not to attack first but to focus on defense, waiting for Zhang Yu to become impatient before finding an opportunity to strike with his Small Heavenly Star Palm...

With these countermeasures, He Dayou believed that even if he lost, it wouldn't be a humiliating defeat, and he might even have a chance to win.

Bang!

He Dayou managed to block several of Zhang Yu's strikes at first.

But soon, he felt Zhang Yu's punches getting heavier, making his arms ache, and his internal energy began to churn.

Boom!

Zhang Yu's next punch broke through He Dayou's guard, and he was sent flying with a kick.

He Dayou fell to the ground, feeling his internal energy surging, unable to get up for a moment.

"Zhang Yu's free-hand combat is stronger than last time?"

"Could he have..."

He Dayou looked at Zhang Yu in disbelief.

Lei Jun appeared beside Zhang Yu in a flash, exclaiming, "Your free-hand combat has reached level 4?"

Zhang Yu, who had actually reached level 5, awkwardly smiled, "Yeah, I just broke through yesterday."

Originally, Zhang Yu didn't plan to reveal his progress and had been holding back during the sparring with He Dayou.

But due to his lack of practical experience, when He Dayou switched to full defense, Zhang Yu accidentally lost control and pushed his free-hand combat to level 4.

Lei Jun laughed, "Seems like you have quite a talent for martial arts."

"How about it? Want to join next month's Songyang City Martial Arts Competition?"

Zhang Yu's eyes lit up, "Is there a prize?"

Lei Jun said, "Of course. The city champion gets 50,000, plus the right to use expert-level martial arts."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "The magic competition I signed up for has a prize, and now this martial arts competition also has a prize..."

He suddenly realized that if he could win more competitions and prizes, he might have enough money for daily expenses and even accelerate his cultivation, even without the student council's support.

Seeing Zhang Yu's interest, Lei Jun added, "I've always told you that martial arts are useful. If you perform well in competitions, you won't have to worry about money."

"I'll sign you up, and I'll take you and Bai Zhenzhen there."

After Lei Jun left, Zhang Yu looked at He Dayou, who was still on the ground, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, nothing serious."

He Dayou quickly stood up, giving Zhang Yu a deep look before saying, "I heard the student council called you in yesterday?"

Seeing Zhang Yu nod, He Dayou slowly calmed his anger.

"No need to be mad at him. It's all school politics, and it won't affect my college entrance exam."

As he rubbed his chest, He Dayou comforted himself, "Being strong or weak in practical combat in the first year doesn't matter much. Once I build a solid foundation and start practicing expert-level techniques, I'll quickly surpass Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen."

On the other side of the training ground, Bai Zhenzhen impatiently said, "Are you done watching? Let's continue."

Qian Shen's gaze shifted from Zhang Yu to Bai Zhenzhen, feeling a wave of pressure.

If his opponent were a 550-point subhuman, he was confident he could crush them.

But facing a 651-point prodigy like Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen felt like every move he made was being read, and his combat power plummeted as soon as they started sparring.

"I'm so far below her in points. How could I possibly beat her? Old Huang really should have paired me with Zhang Yu, who's 6 points lower."

Zhang Yu glanced at He Dayou, Qian Shen, and other wealthy students, suddenly wondering how these seemingly friendly rich kids would react if they found out he and Bai Zhenzhen were aiming for the top ten universities.

Would they team up against him and Zhenzhen?

Seeing Qian Shen completely suppressed by Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Qian Shen's obsession with points makes it seem like he doesn't know that poor students have no chance of getting into the top ten universities. Is he acting?"

Zhang Yu didn't think so.

Qian Shen's behavior didn't seem like an act.

Could it be a case of "let the young master focus on his studies and keep him away from the dirty realities of society"?

Zhang Yu shook his head, unable to be sure.

...

In magic class.

The teacher looked at He Dayou with admiration, "This health talisman is well-written. It seems you've deeply understood the talismans of the God of Health and Spring."

He Dayou humbly replied, "Teacher, you flatter me. I still have much to learn."

The teacher waved his hand, "Excessive modesty is just pride."

"To achieve this level in your first year, He Dayou, I think you don't even need to attend the first-year classes anymore."

"You can skip this class from now on, and I'll count you as present."

He Dayou felt the envious gazes of his classmates and continued to modestly decline.

The teacher suddenly turned and said, "Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, you two need to work harder."

"Being too specialized isn't good."

"If you have time, come to my extra classes. I'll give you both a 20% discount..."

Both Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu could only bow their heads and accept the scolding, but their hearts remained unmoved.

The cost-effectiveness of attending extra classes for talismans was too low, and they planned to spend their money on more worthwhile things.

...

In the meditation room.

The administrator, Wei Xin's voice came through.

"Zhang Yu, your time is almost up. Do you want to extend?"

Having once again achieved the lowest distraction rate for the week, Zhang Yu hesitated before saying, "Add one more hour."

Thinking about the approaching magic competition, Zhang Yu decided to slightly increase his energy cultivation speed.

He took a deep breath, feeling the spiritual roots in his dantian tremble as spiritual energy from all directions surged in, being refined into energy bit by bit.

An hour later, watching Zhang Yu's departing figure, Wei Xin sighed, "As expected of a Golden Core disciple. The progress in his breathing efficiency is remarkable."

"I just wish he'd upgrade to a platinum membership already."

...

After school.

On the school rooftop.

Amidst the sounds of collisions,

Two figures continuously clashed at high speed, creating bursts of wind and thunder.

It was Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, sparring in private.

Compared to the controlled sparring in class, their private sessions allowed them to go all out without worrying about revealing their true strength, greatly enhancing their practical combat experience.

As they exchanged blows, Zhang Yu's free-hand combat was more powerful, but his physical strength was slightly weaker than Bai Zhenzhen's.

Although Bai Zhenzhen's free-hand combat wasn't as high-level as Zhang Yu's, she also mastered a basic high school sword technique, occasionally using finger swords to keep the inexperienced Zhang Yu on his toes.

"Yu, don't just watch my hands. Look at my waist and shoulders to predict my movements."

"Don't rely solely on your familiarity with free-hand combat to make judgments..."

...

At the stationery store near the school entrance.

The owner pointed at this year's first-year ranking chart and said, "Zhang Yu, ranked third in the first year, improved by 70 points in a month after buying my calming agents, painkillers, fillers, and muscle supplements..."

He then pulled out a bag of bottles and recommended to the Songyang students in front of him, "Zhang Yu's original cultivation package, now at a 10% discount."

Zhang Yu, who had come to restock, stood at the door, watching the adult behind the counter trying hard to sell his products, once again feeling the ugliness of the adult world.

After the students left, Zhang Yu walked up and said, "So, I told you I'm a campus celebrity, and my endorsements work well."

"Shouldn't you pay me more?"

The owner grumbled, "I haven't even broken even on the batch of neural fillers I gave you."

He pointed to the gift bag, "See, I only sold one today."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "What you're selling is just common stuff, and it's not cheaper than online. People can buy it anywhere."

The owner added, "Also, about the body refining medicine, many students say you naturally refine your body without using drugs."

Zhang Yu quickly changed the subject, "It's just that I haven't been taking your medicine enough at school. Give me two more bottles of neural fillers, and I'll take them every day at school. That'll boost the promotional effect."

...

Studying, attending classes, cultivating, breathing exercises, sparring...

For five days, Zhang Yu poured all his energy into cultivation.

That night, as he sat on his bed practicing breathing exercises, a smile suddenly crept onto his face.

After completing his final cycle of breathing exercises, his Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique had finally reached level 10.

In an instant, the energy circulation within Zhang Yu's body surged like a mighty river, making him feel as if he could hear the roaring sound of the energy flow.

After a long while, as the energy circulation gradually calmed down, Zhang Yu felt that his passive breathing had become more powerful and agile.

"After reaching level 10 in the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique, passive breathing now has the full efficiency of active breathing."

Zhang Yu's smile widened.

This meant that from now on, even if he didn't actively practice breathing exercises, it would be as if he were constantly circulating the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique, continuously improving his internal energy.

After this period of intense cultivation, his internal energy had also greatly improved, reaching 13.3, making him the second-highest in his grade.

Thinking of this, a strange expression appeared on Zhang Yu's face, "With my incredible potential and extreme self-discipline, it's no surprise I've progressed this fast."

"But why does Zhenzhen's progress seem to be speeding up too?"

"Has she also unlocked something?"

(End of Chapter)