"Can I also spend some money to have this poor person come into contact with me... to touch him?"
But just the thought of touching him made Le Mu Lan recall the scenes from the arena, and she felt a wave of discomfort.
The cultivation technique she had stopped seemed to naturally start up again, helping her escape this torment.
If the original Le Mu Lan could still chat normally with Zhang Yu despite her disgust, then after experiencing the scenes in the arena, she felt a strong physical aversion to touching Zhang Yu.
"No, I must change my mindset and overcome this weakness."
"How can a rich person be afraid of a poor person?"
Thinking this, Le Mu Lan steeled herself and stopped her cultivation technique again.
"But I can't start too intensely; it has to be gradual."
"Maybe I can observe their training? No... watching up close is still a bit disgusting. It needs to be even more gradual."
"Or maybe I should give up on touching him for now and try buying a few of Zhang Yu's clothes first?"
Just the thought of clothes covered in his skin flakes, oils, sweat, and other filth made Le Mu Lan feel utterly repulsed.
"No, it's still too disgusting. It needs to be even more gradual."
After some deliberation, Le Mu Lan decided to download photos from Zhang Yu's social media and start by looking at pictures of poor people every day.
"Once I can look at his photos without feeling disgusted, maybe I can level up and try touching his clothes."
...
On his way back, Zhang Yu saw the 5,000 yuan that had been transferred to his account.
He first bought a set of weighted clothing, as his original set had been damaged during the martial arts competition.
His savings decreased by 2,000 yuan, leaving him with less than 13,000 yuan.
After receiving the weighted clothing at home, Zhang Yu quickly changed into it and returned to the unfinished building to continue his training.
Late that night, as the 24-hour cooldown period ended, he was finally able to switch his specialization from "Feather Book" to "Red Marrow Primordial Qi."
The Red Marrow Primordial Qi had only one move, but this move required the coordination of every muscle and tendon in the body, stretching or contracting simultaneously.
It demanded an extremely high level of physical control from the practitioner.
But for Zhang Yu...
"Difficult?"
"The harder, the better. Otherwise, how can I show the gap in talent between me and others?"
Zhang Yu stood still, feet shoulder-width apart, hands hanging naturally at his sides.
Then, following the instructions from the electronic manual, he began to move every muscle and tendon in his body.
But on his first attempt, he couldn't possibly achieve this.
His body felt chaotic, with some muscles in his legs or tendons in his arms being neglected.
If it were the original Zhang Yu, learning the Red Marrow Primordial Qi would have required training and subduing each muscle and tendon individually, followed by integrating them into a whole.
This process could easily take months.
But the current Zhang Yu, after just one rough attempt, felt as if an electric current had passed through his body.
Memories and experiences about how to control every muscle and tendon flooded his mind.
The Red Marrow Primordial Qi was mastered!
At that moment, he felt his control over every muscle and tendon reach an unprecedented level.
Inside the unfinished building, as Zhang Yu exerted force again, a loud snap echoed from within his body—the sound of all his muscles and tendons stretching simultaneously.
In that instant, Zhang Yu's entire body seemed to grow a few inches taller, like a balloon being inflated.
The force came from the power of his muscles and tendons.
"Too easy. Again."
Zhang Yu was delighted.
He exerted force again, and with each contraction and relaxation of his muscles, his blood and qi grew hotter.
In the cold night, a white mist began to rise from his body.
He knew this was the effect of the Red Marrow Primordial Qi—using the muscles and tendons to drive the blood and qi, which in turn strengthened the bones and marrow, ultimately enhancing physical strength and explosive power.
In the blink of an eye, after ten consecutive exertions, the Red Marrow Primordial Qi reached level 2.
But Zhang Yu also felt completely drained, as if he had just fought Song Hai Long again.
"Body-refining techniques are indeed more taxing than combat techniques."
"Every time I practice the Red Marrow Primordial Qi, it feels like every muscle and tendon in my body has exploded with full force. It really drains my stamina."
Zhang Yu had no choice but to sit down, focusing on his cultivation technique to calm his mind while recovering his strength.
After more than half an hour, feeling somewhat rejuvenated, he stood up again and resumed practicing the Red Marrow Primordial Qi.
The night passed quickly.
Although he had to rest after every ten or so attempts, Zhang Yu managed to intermittently raise the Red Marrow Primordial Qi to level 6 (43/60).
At this moment, Zhang Yu's body trembled, and his blood and qi surged, producing a sound like crashing waves.
Zhang Yu exhaled deeply, feeling utterly exhausted.
"I'm so tired."
"I'm starving!"
...
Songyang High School.
Cafeteria.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhen Zhen were devouring synthetic food.
As for their previous disdain, they could only say one thing now: it was delicious.
After all, synthetic food nowadays wasn't as bad as it used to be.
It was cheap, convenient, and nutritious—perfect for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhen Zhen, who were now focusing on body refinement.
But compared to the two of them, who were eating with gusto, Qian Shen and Zhao Tian Xing, sitting across from them, looked gloomy and had no appetite.
The reason was that after school yesterday, they had attended a supplementary session with the sports competition team.
After signing various confidentiality agreements, they finally learned what the special training program was all about.
At this moment, Zhao Tian Xing felt suffocated just recalling what he had learned yesterday.
The so-called special training program involved senior students providing muscle fibers, which were then transplanted into junior students using Songyang High School's advanced immortal techniques, fusing with their original muscle fibers.
With the support of these immortal techniques, the fusion not only immediately enhanced physical strength but also allowed the fused muscles to continue training, further increasing physical strength.
In other words... muscle fibers from second-year students were transplanted into Zhao Tian Xing and others, fusing with their original muscle fibers.
This way, they could gradually gain some of the physical strength that the second-year seniors had developed over an extra year of training.
Put another way... first-year students could buy muscle from second-year poor students, and second-year students could buy muscle from third-year poor students.
This was the special training program, a plan that made Zhao Tian Xing feel utterly cruel and brutal.
Especially when he saw the price list yesterday, he was horrified.
The names of second-year students were listed alongside the values and prices of different muscle groups—trapezius, deltoids, supraspinatus, biceps—all lined up like a menu in a restaurant.
Zhao Tian Xing even saw the name of Shuang You Peng, the former top student in their grade.
All of this made Zhao Tian Xing feel like his mindset was crumbling.
He remembered the conversation he and Qian Shen had with Lan Ling.
Lan Ling, the top athlete in the second year and a member of the sports competition team, was also one of the executors of the special training program.
In contrast, Wang Hai was only responsible for the daily training of the competition team.
In the special training program, he had no say and was merely a renowned physical education teacher due to the team's achievements.
...
Zhao Tian Xing: "If we buy their muscle, what happens to them?"
Lan Ling said indifferently, "Don't worry, we'll leave them enough to recover. They can eat and train, and their muscles will grow back."
Zhao Tian Xing's breathing quickened: "So it's just growing muscle, cutting it, growing it, cutting it... Isn't that like livestock?"
Lan Ling smiled, "People are much more expensive than livestock. They make a good profit from this."
"It's not about the price," Qian Shen couldn't help but interject.
"Buying muscle like this is essentially buying physical strength with money. It's like buying sports scores with money."
Lan Ling replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, you could say it's buying scores with money."
Qian Shen questioned, "How can you buy scores with money?"
Lan Ling said calmly, "Of course you can buy scores with money."
"Where do you think your cultivation comes from? The drugs you take, the techniques you practice, the knowledge you learn... where do they all come from?"
"They're bought with money."
"Why do you think you're standing here, and not Zhang Yu and Bai Zhen Zhen, who have better grades than you?"
"Because you're richer than them. Because your parents can afford the sponsorship fees."
"Spending money means better grades. It means buying scores."
"Sponsorship fees?" Zhao Tian Xing was momentarily stunned, thinking about his parents' recent decision to sell their house, and suddenly understood something.
Qian Shen, however, still looked like he couldn't accept it.
He Da You, who had been listening, chimed in, "Alright, Qian Shen, this is just how the world works. Money is the most important thing. If you're worried about people finding out you bought muscle, don't be. Everyone signed confidentiality agreements under the watch of the gods. No one will talk."
As the son of a school board member who had long been aware of this, He Da You smiled at Lan Ling and said, "Senior, I've made my selection. After signing the contract later, can we start the transplantation surgery today?"
To officially begin the special training program and start the muscle transplantation, contracts had to be signed first.
These contracts included the school and student council's authority over the signatories' future university and major choices.
He Da You, of course, had no concerns about this.
As the son of a school board member, he had no restrictions on university or major choices.
However...
He glanced at Zhao Tian Xing, knowing that if the latter wanted to join the competition team and participate in the special training program, his university options would be limited.
After all, Zhao Tian Xing's family wasn't wealthy enough—they had barely managed to pay the sponsorship fees.
He Da You thought to himself, "Small families like his are still far from the real wealthy circles of Songyang City."
Lan Ling, hearing He Da You's question, nodded and said, "Starting today, we'll perform small transplantations every day. You'll feel your physical strength increasing dramatically all the time."
(End of Chapter)