Early the next morning...
Since breaking through the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique to level 10 last night and starting to practice the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique, Zhang Yu had been feeling an unprecedented sense of harmony.
The progress was faster and more intense than he had imagined.
As the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique continued to level up, Zhang Yu found himself increasingly able to endure the monotony, boredom, and loneliness of cultivation.
Apart from using the ritual force to push himself, he hardly took any breaks, advancing relentlessly on the path of the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique.
By the time the sky began to lighten, Zhang Yu slowly opened his eyes.
His Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique had already reached level 7 (15/21).
Overnight, he had elevated this technique to such a level that even he was sometimes frightened by his own talent.
Moreover, his Dao Heart had also made significant progress.
Zhang Yu noticed new data on his Yu Book: Dao Heart Level 2 (1%).
"Could it be that after practicing the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique, my grasp of the Dao Heart has become more precise, allowing me to sense its specific progress?" Zhang Yu shook his head.
He still knew too little about the Yu Book.
After getting up, brushing his teeth, and washing his face, Zhang Yu continued to practice the heart technique on his way to school.
Given the rapid progress he was making with the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique, he felt that he might be able to push it to level 10 by the end of the day.
...
At Songyang High School, during a break between classes...
While practicing his heart technique, Zhang Yu heard footsteps approaching and couldn't help but frown slightly.
A tall, bald teenager walked up to him and asked, "Zhang Yu, sorry to bother you, but could I take a look at yesterday's math test?"
After waiting for a moment and seeing that Zhang Yu didn't respond, the teenager smiled indifferently.
"Sorry, it seems I've disturbed you. I'll come back later."
However, as the teenager turned away, a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.
Zhang Yu's complete disregard made him feel disrespected.
He thought to himself, "Hmph, as expected of the third-ranked student in the grade. So arrogant. Someone like me, with a score of 530, isn't even worth his time."
On the other hand, Zhang Yu felt a sense of relief as the footsteps faded away.
"That Liang Qin, isn't he a bit too familiar?"
Liang Qin was the teenager who had just asked to borrow Zhang Yu's math test.
Ever since Zhang Yu's midterm results came out, many classmates had approached him, trying to uncover the secret behind his rapid improvement.
But most of them stopped after a couple of attempts, especially since Zhang Yu spent almost every break practicing, ignoring everyone else.
As the excitement around the midterm results faded, fewer and fewer people bothered him.
Only Liang Qin persisted, approaching Zhang Yu almost every break.
And it wasn't just during breaks.
During martial arts class, Liang Qin would bring him water.
After physical education class, he would offer Zhang Yu a towel.
In the cafeteria, he would try to save a seat for Zhang Yu.
In conversation, he always flattered Zhang Yu, buzzing around him like an eager little bee.
At first, Zhang Yu thought Liang Qin was a nice guy.
But after a few days, he found him increasingly annoying, especially since Liang Qin kept interrupting his practice during breaks.
Moreover, while flattering him, Liang Qin always subtly probed for the secret behind Zhang Yu's improvement, which Zhang Yu found rather tiresome.
So, in the past couple of days, Zhang Yu had gradually stopped responding to Liang Qin, hoping he would take the hint and back off.
Although this seemed to have caused some resentment in Liang Qin, Zhang Yu felt he had no other choice.
...
Time flew by, and it was almost time for school to end.
During self-study class, Zhang Yu's body trembled slightly as he felt a surge of sweet dew welling up from the depths of his consciousness, nourishing his entire body and filling him with an indescribable sense of joy.
At the same time, a soft roar echoed from the mental image in his mind.
The old bull he had visualized not only came to life but also raised its horns to the sky, letting out a low roar, as if it had truly come alive.
Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique Level 10
As the technique reached level 10, Zhang Yu felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and happiness.
Just thinking about his continued steady improvement and the prospect of pushing more techniques to level 10 filled him with anticipation and the joy that came with it.
"Is this the effect of reaching level 10 with the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique?" Zhang Yu wondered.
"As long as I have hope for the future, even the most monotonous and arduous cultivation can bring joy and satisfaction."
Zhang Yu found the technique increasingly fascinating.
A technique that could bring joy during cultivation—wouldn't that reduce the pain of cultivation and increase efficiency? Why did so many people give it bad reviews?
Unless... many of those who practiced this technique, even after reaching level 10, no longer felt joy because they had lost hope for the future? Thinking about the current state of the Kunxu First Layer, Zhang Yu shook his head helplessly.
"The Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Heart Technique is a good technique. But no matter how good the technique is, it's still just a technique. The future ultimately depends on the person."
Just as Zhang Yu was lost in thought, a female voice called out, "Yu Zi?"
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu's satisfied and joyful expression, scanning him from head to toe before saying suspiciously, "Yu Zi, you didn't... overflow in the classroom, did you?"
Zhang Yu opened his eyes abruptly, looking at Bai Zhenzhen's disgusted expression.
"Ugh, I was just appreciating the beauty of cultivation and pondering the hardships of life, and then you come along with your crude words and ruin the mood."
Bai Zhenzhen ignored Zhang Yu's musings about beauty and hardship.
She grabbed him and dragged him out of the classroom.
"Enough with the nonsense. Did you forget about the magic competition tutoring after school today? We already paid 3,000 yuan for it."
After Zhang Yu's magical power broke into the top ten of the grade last month, he and Bai Zhenzhen were selected to represent their grade in the upcoming magic competition.
However, the competition tested things that were completely beyond the scope of their school curriculum.
So, their magic teacher, Ms. Yan, had organized tutoring sessions to teach them the necessary skills.
...
In the classroom...
Apart from Ms. Yan, who had her hair tied up and wore black-rimmed glasses, only Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were present.
Ms. Yan explained, "The other students have private tutors and their own tutoring arrangements, so they won't be attending these sessions."
Zhang Yu thought to himself, "So, out of the top ten in magical power, we're the only two poor ones?"
Bai Zhenzhen clenched her fists tightly, thinking, "I didn't expect this tutoring to be something that would lower my school reputation."
Ms. Yan's eyes burned with determination as she thought, "These rich kids have no respect. They all trust their private tutors instead of me. Those private tutors are all talk, just out to make money. How can they compare to my 30 years of solid teaching experience at a top high school? Only two out of ten showed up. This is a blow to my reputation. Not only did they not come, but they didn't even pay the tutoring fee!"
If it were students from classes 2 or 3, Ms. Yan would have called their parents and made them come to school to understand the consequences of underestimating a magic teacher.
But thinking about the parents of these eight students from the elite class...
Well, their parents were too busy.
As teachers, they should be more understanding.
She looked at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, thinking, "You two poor kids better work hard and surpass those eight. Make them come crawling back to me for tutoring."
Despite her inner thoughts, Ms. Yan maintained a calm exterior and began explaining, "The magic competition tests things completely different from what you usually learn. Total magical power is just the foundation. The key is control over your magic..."
She projected a diagram of the human body's energy flow and started explaining enthusiastically, "The magic in your body right now is in its most basic form. By controlling the flow and path of your magic, you can change its form. For example, one advanced direction is to use it for martial purposes like sword energy or palm force. Further still, you can create phenomena like heating, cooling, or generating electricity..."
As she spoke, she extended a finger.
First, a sharp fluctuation appeared at her fingertip, easily cutting through a sheet of paper.
Moments later, her fingertip glowed slightly red, producing a small flame.
"This is the most basic form of magic transformation. Of course, basic transformations rely on fundamentals—your control over magic—and their power is extremely limited. The truly advanced and practical forms are the special types of magic created by various unique techniques..."
Listening to Ms. Yan's explanation, Zhang Yu suddenly remembered the cold palm force He Dayou had used during their midterm practical exam.
He guessed that must have been a special type of magic created by some technique.
On the podium, Ms. Yan projected an animated diagram of energy flow and said to the two of them, "This is the simplest route for transforming magic into sword energy. Try to see if you can do it."
Bai Zhenzhen stared at the animated diagram for a while before feeling a bit dizzy.
"This energy flow is too complicated!"
She tried it herself but only felt frustration.
The magic in her left arm kept circling around, unable to transform into even a hint of sharp energy.
Was this really the simplest sword energy transformation route? Was this the difficulty level of the competition? She felt like she had just learned addition, and now the teacher was giving her a quadratic equation to solve.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen heard Zhang Yu's voice calling out, "Zhen Zhen, come take a look!"
She turned to see Zhang Yu lightly tapping his fingertip on his notebook, effortlessly solving a quadratic equation.
"Yu Zi, this unfamiliar side of you is making me sick."
(End of Chapter)