Songyang High School.
Inside the classroom.
Campus life remained as peaceful as ever, and the students' enthusiasm for learning was as high as usual.
The Chinese teacher stood on the podium, delivering the lesson with little presence.
Below, some students were practicing martial arts, some were meditating, some were taking pills, and others had already started sparring...
That was part of their combat training.
This was the atmosphere of a top-tier high school.
Freshmen might have held back a bit at the start of the semester due to their middle school habits, but now, half a year in, everyone had shed their masks and revealed their true identities as prodigies of the immortal path.
The Chinese teacher didn’t mind this at all.
After all, whether they were practicing martial arts, meditating, sparring, taking pills, or engaging in other forms of immortal cultivation, all of it was far more important than her humble Chinese class.
As long as the students didn’t come after her, she was fine.
From what she knew, the general education teachers at Songyang High already had a bit of status.
For example, her colleague who had gone to teach at Bailong High was often used by the school administration to warn students: "If you don’t get into a good university, you’ll end up like the Chinese teacher at a high school, with no future."
Thinking of this, the Chinese teacher sighed inwardly, "If it weren’t for the demands of the sect and the city government, top-tier high schools would probably have reduced general education classes to nothing by now."
Just then, the Chinese teacher heard a phone ring from below.
She finally couldn’t hold back and wanted to remind the student: "Classmate, please set your phone to vibrate during Chinese class. Don’t disturb the others."
But when she looked up, she realized the phone belonged to Zhang Yu.
Although she was just a lowly general education teacher, she had heard plenty about this campus celebrity.
The Demon of the Freshman Class, the Traitor of Songyang High, the Impure One, the Soft Rice Eater...
She had heard all sorts of nicknames for Zhang Yu.
She had also heard that he had taken first place in the martial arts competition last night, and today, even though he was two minutes late to class, no one dared to say a word.
Considering he had the backing of a wealthy woman from Bailong and could stand up to the student council, a mere general education teacher like her didn’t dare to scold him for his phone ringing.
So, the Chinese teacher quickly lowered her head and pretended not to hear anything.
Zhang Yu had been cultivating his mental techniques to improve his Dao heart when he received a notification on his phone.
The prize money from the martial arts competition had been deposited.
"Although the amount is a bit small, it came through pretty quickly."
Even though 50,000 had been deposited, after repaying Zhang Pianpian 40,000 and settling the meal debts he owed to Qian Shen and Zhao Tianxing, Zhang Yu’s account was left with less than 10,000.
Zhang Yu knew that Bai Zhenzhen’s fourth-place prize was 10,000, so her account balance was probably similar to his now.
But thinking about the loan interest he’d have to pay next month, along with rent and utilities, Zhang Yu felt a bit frustrated.
"Also, I need to buy a new weighted training suit. And if I’m going to focus on body refining for the next two months, my daily food expenses will probably go up too..."
The more Zhang Yu thought about it, the more he realized how many expenses he had.
"At least I’ll have some income from Song Hailong."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, Bai Zhenzhen also received a notification about her prize money.
In addition, she received a message from Zhang Pianpian.
Zhang Pianpian: You don’t use your spiritual root enough, so you’re not very familiar with it, right? Otherwise, you could have gone further in the martial arts competition.
Zhang Pianpian: From now on, rent a spiritual root every day.
Just say I’m investing in you to cover the cost.
Zhang Pianpian: Evolutionary spiritual roots grow stronger the more you use them.
Seeing Zhang Pianpian’s messages, Bai Zhenzhen was first startled, then quickly realized: "She knows I have a spiritual root?"
"Is she trying to cover for me?"
Bai Zhenzhen was well aware of her spiritual root’s condition.
Every day after returning home, she would secretly use it for cultivation.
But she had always been afraid of being discovered with such a "treasure," so she never dared to use it openly at school.
After all, if people found out, she’d be hounded by banks, casinos, and scammers, not to mention the attention from wealthy individuals.
So, when Zhang Pianpian called her out, Bai Zhenzhen’s first reaction was fear—a deep-seated fear that had been with her since childhood, like being caught after ten years of constipation.
But thinking about how Zhang Pianpian had taken care of her recently, and considering her relationship with Zhang Yu, as well as Zhang Pianpian’s candid admission of her fake wealthy identity and her 699-point exam score, Bai Zhenzhen gradually calmed down.
"Zhang Pianpian should be trustworthy."
Then she thought...
If she could use Zhang Pianpian’s name as an excuse to rent a spiritual root every day, she could openly use it for cultivation at school.
"That way, I’d have at least ten more hours of spiritual root usage every day."
"Next time, I won’t feel so stifled in the competition."
Recalling the martial arts competition, even though Bai Zhenzhen had taken fourth place, she still felt a sense of frustration, like she had been cut off mid-show.
Because her stats were inferior to the top students from the three major high schools, and because her bank account balance couldn’t compare, she had always held back during the competition, eventually having to concede.
But now, with the ability to use her spiritual root more freely, she felt much more confident about catching up to those elite students.
"Zhang Yu stole the spotlight this time, but next time, it’ll be my turn."
"Although it’s nice that my ‘son’ took first place, it’d be even better if I could crush him and take the championship myself."
...
During P.
E. class.
The smell of sweat and medicinal herbs mixed together, creating the unique scent of Songyang’s immortal path.
The clanging of equipment and the groans of students filled the air as they pushed themselves on the path of immortality.
But some students couldn’t help but glance at Bai Zhenzhen, sensing the spiritual energy swirling around her, their thoughts running wild.
Some were envious: "She gets to rent a spiritual root every day? Zhang Pianpian is so good to her!"
Others were scheming: "I could also love Bailong. I want to be Zhang Pianpian’s dog too."
And some were fantasizing: "Bai Zhenzhen is Zhang Pianpian’s dog and gets to rent a spiritual root every day. If I become Bai Zhenzhen’s dog, maybe she’ll let me use the spiritual root for an hour every day?"
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu wasn’t training his body like the other students.
Instead, he had gone to a small room to practice the Dragon-Flipping Mountain Hand technique he had learned the day before.
After switching his specialization to this grappling technique yesterday, the 24-hour cooldown hadn’t passed yet, so this was the only combat skill he could improve quickly.
"Might as well practice it. Once the cooldown is over tonight, I’ll switch back to the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi."
Zhang Yu’s hands moved with blurring speed as he practiced the Dragon-Flipping Mountain Hand.
Dragon-Flipping Mountain Hand Level 2 (4/20)
This purely physical martial art consisted of eighteen moves.
Although there were quite a few, each move was short and focused on breaking bones, throwing opponents to the ground, or locking them in place.
Grappling techniques were all about speed and ferocity.
Each move took less than a second, and in no time, Zhang Yu had gone through the entire set.
Thinking back to the other combat techniques he had practiced, Zhang Yu mused, "Combat techniques are always about simplicity and speed. That’s why you can finish a set so quickly."
Zhang Yu knew that if it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t have been able to learn and surpass Song Hailong’s Dragon-Flipping Mountain Hand on the competition stage.
A few minutes later, Zhang Yu felt a surge of knowledge flood his mind.
The technique had leveled up from Level 2 to Level 3.
"At this rate, I should be able to get Dragon-Flipping Mountain Hand to Level 10 today."
While Zhang Yu was diligently practicing in the small room, P.
E. teacher Wang Hai called Qian Shen, He Dayou, Zhao Tianxing, and two other students aside.
"The school plans to select a group of promising students from the freshman class to join the sports competition team for training."
"Are you five willing to go?"
Before the others could react, Qian Shen asked directly, "Just the five of us? What about Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen?"
Wang Hai replied, "The school leadership thinks they still need more time to develop."
Qian Shen was puzzled, "They’re ranked first and second in the monthly exams. They need more time to develop? And we’re the ones being selected?"
Wang Hai couldn’t say it was all because of the student council, so he came up with another reason.
"It’s because they’re too poor."
Seeing the five students look confused, Wang Hai continued, "They can’t even afford the training fees and nutrition costs for the competition team. How can they join?"
Not only did the other four find this reasonable, but even Qian Shen had nothing to say.
Especially when he thought about how Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had borrowed money from him to buy dinner, he understood just how bad their financial situation was.
After recruiting the five students into the sports competition team, Wang Hai called Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen over.
"Your applications for the sports competition team have been rejected again."
Wang Hai looked at them with some regret, "You probably know why."
Previously, Wang Hai had thought Zhang Yu was a disciple of the Golden Core realm, but after Zhang Pianpian came to Songyang High to back him up and clashed with the student council, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
But regardless of whose disciple he was, Wang Hai could tell that Zhang Yu had extraordinary talent and the potential to compete in sports competitions.
He thought to himself, "It’s a shame. The student council just won’t give them a chance."
Hearing Wang Hai’s words, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen naturally understood that the student council was behind this.
Wang Hai continued, "But it’s not completely hopeless. If you can maintain a top-five ranking in physical education a month from now, you can represent the school in the sports competition."
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen exchanged puzzled glances.
As if understanding their confusion, Wang Hai added, "The school has selected five students from the freshman class to join the sports competition team."
"If you can outperform them and maintain a top-five ranking in physical education a month from now, you’ll be able to represent the school in the sports competition."
Now Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen understood.
The student council clearly believed that after a month of training, these five students would surpass them in physical performance.
Seeing the fire in Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes, Wang Hai sighed inwardly.
As Songyang High’s top P.
E. teacher, he knew all too well how the competition team trained.
"The so-called opportunity to compete a month from now is just an excuse from the student council. It’s a way to legitimately push Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen out of the competition, leaving Zhang Pianpian with no grounds to object."
"Based on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s progress, their physical strength might reach 2.1 or 2.2 at most in a month."
"But with the competition team’s special training program, He Dayou and the others could reach 3.0 or higher in the same time."
"This isn’t about talent. It’s purely a matter of the vast difference in immortal techniques. If Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were in the special training program, their progress would likely be even greater..."
Because he understood all this, Wang Hai knew that once Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were excluded from the special training program, they had no chance of catching up to the competition team in physical strength, let alone participating in the sports competition.
——
Fellow Daoists, another chapter of monthly ticket debt has been repaid.
Keep lending those tickets!
(End of Chapter)