Chapter 3: Physical Education
There wasn’t much time for sentiment. Shortly after Zhang Yu returned to the classroom, the math teacher, wearing black-framed glasses, strode in with a stack of papers.
“Today, we’re going over the tests from last time.”
“Pass the papers down.”
“Look over your mistakes. I’ve told you countless times to come ask if there’s something you don’t understand, yet I sat in my office for three hours yesterday afternoon and not a single person came to me with a question…”
Just as the math papers were being distributed, the tall and powerfully built physical education teacher arrived in the classroom.
He looked the math teacher up and down.
“You’re sick.”
After dismissing the sick math teacher, the physical education teacher, Wang Hai, looked at the students and announced, “This period has been changed to P.E. class.”
“However, don’t forget to review your math when you get home. General studies courses are worth fifty points on the college entrance exam, and on that exam, being off by a single point means you’re behind a great many people.”
“Speaking of general studies, I’ll also let you know that I’ve already spoken with your language arts teacher about the next period. It’s also been changed to P.E. Combined with the originally scheduled P.E. class, this entire morning is mine.”
Everyone followed P.E. teacher Wang Hai to the indoor training hall, which was as vast as a public square and filled with all sorts of exercise equipment.
“As the first stage of the Immortal Dao, the Qi Refinement realm is all about building a solid foundation. How firm a foundation you build in your first year will determine the heights you can reach in your second and third years…”
As he took in these familiar scenes, numerous details and memories surged forth from Zhang Yu’s mind.
Ever since the cultivation of the Immortal Dao had been systemized and integrated by the Ten Great Sects, it had long possessed a systematic division of realms and power, encompassing all aspects of Immortal Dao techniques in a truly encyclopedic fashion.
The most widely known of these were the ten great realms of the Immortal Dao.
The key metrics that determined which Immortal Dao realm a person could ascend to were their Dao heart level and their magic power level.
For high school students, only by surpassing a level 10 Dao heart and exceeding 60 points of magic power could one break through from the Qi Refinement realm to the Foundation Establishment realm.
The high school P.E. class before him now was for the purpose of honing the body and tempering the will.
After all, a powerful physical body not only increased the efficiency of magic power growth but was also a great help in forging the strong will required for one’s Dao heart level, and it could enhance one’s practical combat ability in the Qi Refinement realm.
If the Dao heart and magic power were the foundation of the Immortal Dao, then the physical strength trained in P.E. class was the foundation of the foundation.
At the same time, waves of light scanned across the bodies of the students present, displaying their physical strength data on a large screen nearby, ranked from highest to lowest.
1st Place, Qian Shen, Physical Strength 1.15
2nd Place, Bai Zhenzhen, Physical Strength 1.13
3rd Place, He Dayou, Physical Strength 1.12
…
Zhang Yu had to look all the way down to the 19th position before he found his score.
19th Place, Zhang Yu, Physical Strength 0.82
The Immortal Dao technology within Kunxu had continuously developed, and now various data points and metrics had become increasingly refined.
For instance, physical strength was not only quantified but was also re-tested every P.E. class.
This metric, just like the Dao heart, could only reach a maximum of level 10 in the Qi Refinement realm.
Although physical strength was not a key metric for breaking through Immortal Dao realms, it was related to a cultivator’s efficiency and combat power, making it an important foundation of the Immortal Dao and accounting for 150 of the 650 points in the Immortal Dao curriculum.
My physical strength has already dropped to 19th place?
Zhang Yu looked at his result, his mind recalling how his rate of progress in physical strength had been continuously surpassed by those around him recently.
Meanwhile, the surrounding students took out syringes and jabbed them into their arms, injecting various enhancement supplements into their bodies.
Once these supplements from various brands entered the body, they not only enhanced the strength of muscles and bones but also boosted training efficiency by several to even more than ten times, making them essential drugs for first-year high school students.
Here, you could go a day without training, but you couldn’t go a day without an injection; the top students often took eight or more shots a day.
Zhang Yu saw Bai Zhenzhen, not far away, give herself a total of nine injections in her rear, arm, and thigh in one go.
However, compared to the many hulking figures around her, Bai Zhenzhen appeared much more petite; Zhang Yu remembered this was because their physical training focused on different directions, resulting in different physiques.
Seeing Zhang Yu’s delayed action, the P.E. teacher Wang Hai walked over with a frown.
“Zhang Yu, how many days has it been since you’ve injected a functional enhancer?”
Zhang Yu didn’t dare say he was out of money. He knew that at Songyang High School, this was just as shameful as having poor grades, something he would only dare admit to a close friend like Bai Zhenzhen who knew his situation.
Furthermore, the fragmented memories in his mind told him that the original owner of this body had pushed the drugs too hard, putting a heavy burden on his internal organs and cardiovascular system, leading to several fainting spells that were beginning to endanger his life.
So, Zhang Yu evasively said, “I wanted to try without the drugs…”
Who would have thought that upon hearing this, Wang Hai’s frown would deepen, his voice booming like thunder.
“Have you been watching those internet celebrities again, the ones who can’t take the hardship of the drugs and promote ‘natural body tempering’? That’s all a scam. How can you keep up without drugs?”
“Look at how many places you’ve dropped! If this continues, you’ll be kicked out of the model class after the next monthly exam.”
He looked at him with an expression of bitter disappointment.
“Am I making you use drugs and temper your body for my sake? It’s not like I’ll gain muscle if you take them.”
With that, he casually pointed to a student in the distance.
“Look at Qian Shen. Twelve shots of Dragon-Elephant Preparation a day to grow his muscles and bones, two shots of painkiller to suppress the tearing pain of his body’s growth, and two shots of Ravenous Aid to accelerate his metabolism and the absorption of Immortal Dao elements from food. He even crams fifteen pounds of food every day to gain weight…”
“In just three short months, his physical strength has skyrocketed from 0.13 to the current 1.15, making him the strongest physique in the first year. That’s equivalent to twenty years of your ‘natural body tempering’.”
As Wang Hai spoke, Zhang Yu recalled how Qian Shen had transformed from a skinny kid under 170 centimeters three months ago into the little giant he was now, over two meters tall and weighing more than three hundred pounds.
Wang Hai then pointed to another student.
“And look at Zhao Tianxing, who used to be weaker than you. The day before yesterday, his physical strength also broke through 1.00. Now his blood is truly like lead and mercury, his arterial walls have hardened like rubber, and his heart has swelled to three times its size…”
After casually pointing out a circle of students, Wang Hai sighed.
“Zhang Yu, I’m only saying so much to you because your physical strength used to be in the top ten. Your talent isn’t bad, and your drug tolerance is exceptional…”
Seeing Wang Hai’s earnest and heartfelt expression, Zhang Yu could feel the man’s concern, but whether it was due to a lack of money or a fear of death, he was unwilling to inject any drugs now.
Just as he was wondering how to explain himself, he saw Wang Hai pull a box of injections from a nearby bag.
“As they say, training is thirty percent, diet is seventy percent, and the remaining ninety percent is all about how you take your shots.”
“This is the new Divine Elephant Force functional enhancer from the Vajra Sect. Top-quality, straight from a major sect. One shot equals ten regular ones.”
“I’ll be honest with you, this stuff was originally still in the lab. I got it from a good friend. Seeing as you have good talent, I’ll sell it to you at a twenty percent discount. Ten vials for 8,800…”
Watching Wang Hai pitch his wares, Zhang Yu now fully remembered that more than half of the various physical enhancement supplements the students in his class ate or injected were purchased from Wang Hai.
A situation like this was considered normal at Songyang High School. After all, pharmacology and physical education were two sides of the same coin. Every P.E. teacher was not only an excellent body tempering expert but also a skilled pharmaceutical salesman, often with multiple medical supply channels behind them.
But at this moment, Zhang Yu could neither afford these things nor could his body handle the drugs, so he could only think of a way to brush it off.
Seeing Zhang Yu beat around the bush and constantly make excuses, Wang Hai snorted coldly, put the medicine back, and said with a look of disappointment, “Then suit yourself.”
Watching the P.E. teacher turn and walk away to instruct and sell to other students, Zhang Yu sighed helplessly.
This damn place, is even P.E. class this hard to get through?
Just then, a teenager walked over, leaned in close to Zhang Yu, and asked, “Wang Hai was pitching to you again?”
The speaker was a handsome youth with a wholesome, next-door-neighbor look.
Memories related to him also surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind.
He is… Zhou Tianyi.
Zhou Tianyi was a meal and study buddy whom Zhang Yu had met on the first day of school.
The two had eaten together and studied together for three months, establishing a fragile friendship in the process.
However, as the memories emerged, the first thing that came to Zhang Yu’s mind was the other boy’s grade ranking.
Ranked 25th in the grade; brarely qualified to eat at the same table as me… Hmm? How did I also develop this kind of academic discrimination?
Zhang Yu felt that as the memories continued to merge, he seemed to be constantly influenced, placing more and more importance on the school’s academic rankings.
Hearing Zhou Tianyi’s question now, he nodded.
“Yeah, he wanted to sell me Divine Elephant Force.”
“You didn’t buy it again?” Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Zhou Tianyi hissed, “Aren’t you afraid that Old Wang will mess with you?”
“Mess with me?” Zhang Yu said, “I just didn’t buy some drugs, it can’t be that serious.”
Zhou Tianyi shook his head repeatedly. “Tsk, do you want to hear some gossip about Wang Hai?”
“Forget it, I’m not one for gossip.”
Zhang Yu turned and walked toward a nearby piece of training equipment, intending to familiarize himself with his body and the P.E. curriculum.
Zhou Tianyi continued, “A teacher complained that Wang Hai was… relieving himself… in the office next door, and when he finished, the force cracked the ceiling.”
Zhang Yu’s footsteps halted. He wasn’t a gossip, but gossip this bad… he had to see what this was all about.
Zhou Tianyi grinned.
“Wang Hai later explained that he didn’t do it, and that the banging sounds were him disciplining disobedient students.”
“Later, I asked some senior students, and they told me Wang Hai has long had a habit of corporal punishment for underperforming students.”
“Especially if your grades drop and you don’t buy his medicine, he’ll lead the charge in bullying you.”
“I heard a student a few years ago was even driven to a mental breakdown by him.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened instantly.
“And Wang Hai got away with it?”
Zhou Tianyi shrugged, “Wang Hai’s teaching results have always been excellent. He’s the ace P.E. teacher of Songyang High School, having coached three students who earned the city’s highest physical strength scores on the college entrance exam. Some even say he has connections to the great sects, getting access to drugs still in the laboratory phase.”
“Even if the school really wanted to get rid of him, most of the students and parents wouldn’t agree. They all count on Wang Hai to buy drugs and help them improve their physical strength.”
As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Yu and warned, “If you keep refusing to buy drugs and your grades don’t improve, I’m afraid he’ll come after you too.”
Looking at Zhang Yu’s furrowed brow, Zhou Tianyi asked curiously, “Say… you used to take a lot of shots before, why did you suddenly stop buying? Don’t tell me you’re broke? Want me to lend you some?”
Sensing the sincerity in the other’s eyes, Zhang Yu could only give a wry smile.
“No need.”
“Really no need?” Zhou Tianyi pressed, “How about you use mine for today?”
Zhang Yu, of course, shook his head repeatedly. He was genuinely afraid that a few more injections would kill him on the spot.
According to the memories in his head, this world was not short of people who were severely injured, disabled, or even killed due to drug overdose, and even Songyang High School had students who were seriously injured every year from excessive drug use.
But even so, the stream of students using drugs in pursuit of physical strength was endless.
The original owner of his body had already shown signs of being overwhelmed since last week.
Thinking about how the original owner had not only left him with a massive debt of seven hundred thousand but also this wreck of a body, Zhang Yu sighed in his heart once more.
Just as the two were whispering, a cold gaze suddenly swept over them, and Wang Hai shouted, “No talking during P.E. class.”
Zhang Yu and Zhou Tianyi immediately stopped their conversation and began their own workouts.
Zhang Yu walked up to a large iron ball, and with a tremor of his muscles and a sudden exertion of force, he lifted the hundred-kilogram sphere.
Then, as his muscles contracted and expanded with effort, the large iron ball was moved around his body as if it were a toy.
As the iron ball moved up and down, flipping and rotating, Zhang Yu could feel the qi and blood surging throughout his body, and its various parts gradually warmed up.
This is the warm-up…
The entire process seemed to be instinctively carved into his flesh and blood; Zhang Yu completed the warm-up routine almost without thinking.
And in the training that followed, his mastery over this body deepened, and related memories continuously surfaced from his mind.
“Body tempering in the Qi Refinement stage is mainly about forging muscles and bones, breaking through limits through repeated exercises to ultimately raise one’s physical strength level.”
“As for specific methods… for example, the most widespread method among high school students is a cultivation technique called the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms.”
The Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms was a body tempering cultivation technique created by the Ten Great Sects specifically for high school instruction. Its thirty-six movements, paired with different equipment, could comprehensively develop the physical body and effectively increase physical strength.
Under the Immortal Dao framework summarized by the Ten Great Sects, all martial arts and Daoist techniques were divided into levels from 1 to 10.
Most students at Songyang High School, for example, could successfully master the basics after one or two weeks of study, bringing a fundamental martial art like the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms to level 1.
And if one could continue to raise its level, the training effects of the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms would become stronger and more incredible.
But this was obviously not easy. In Zhang Yu’s memory, in the three months since school started, only Bai Zhenzhen had managed to raise the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms to level 2.
It was precisely because of this that Bai Zhenzhen, with just nine injections a day, could maintain her physical strength rank at second in the entire grade, closely chasing Qian Shen, who took sixteen injections a day.
The level of the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms affects the efficiency of physical strength improvement, but the key factor that truly determines power, as well as one’s P.E. grade, is still physical strength itself.
Speaking of which, my physical strength is 0.82, and I can toss around things weighing several hundred pounds. The highest physical strength can reach in the Qi Refinement realm is level 10, and after Foundation Establishment, it can reach level 20… The gap between people here is too vast.
At first, Zhang Yu only intended to train casually to familiarize himself with the P.E. curriculum and his own body.
But as he practiced the sets of the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms, he became more and more serious, more and more meticulous, as if an instinct within his body was urging him on, encouraging him to persevere in his training.
Muscles were constantly torn, and bones were constantly impacted. With each successive repetition, his body was repeatedly ravaged, until finally, a warm current flowed out from within, beginning to silently repair the damage in his flesh and blood.
This was the magic power within Zhang Yu’s body, and just like in the P.E. classes of the past few months, the body was broken down under heavy pressure and then continuously repaired and made stronger by the action of magic power.
Huu!
Two hours passed in a flash. Zhang Yu let out a deep breath, feeling sore all over, as if his entire body was about to fall apart.
No wonder they need to take painkillers…
He looked up at Bai Zhenzhen still sweating profusely in the distance, and at the other classmates who were also training madly on the other side, and a sense of urgency instinctively welled up in his heart, seemingly urging him to continue pushing his body.
If I trained this crazily in my original world, I probably would have worked myself to death long ago, right?
It’s only because this world has the support of various drugs from Immortal Dao technology, as well as magic power… that one can endure it and even grow stronger.
Feeling the pain radiating from all over his body, as well as the instinct that still craved training and yearned to become stronger, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel at the depth of the original Zhang Yu’s obsession.
However, as the training continued, this instinct hidden deep within the human body seemed to be gradually fading.
The path forward would ultimately have to be chosen by the current Zhang Yu himself.
When the morning’s P.E. classes were finally over, Zhang Yu was already exhausted and collapsed on the floor, surrounded by a group of classmates who were still full of energy and training frantically.
Zhang Yu mused that this must be the difference between using drugs and not.
Suddenly, he caught sight of the dark patch on his palm and noticed that less than a quarter of it remained to be filled in with black.