Chapter 14: Preparations and a New Job
The stationery shop at the school entrance always sold all sorts of things students needed.
The one at the entrance of Songyang High School was no different.
Beyond the usual stationery, the massive display cabinet behind the owner looked just like a pharmacy, filled with all the drugs a high school student could need, from sedatives and stimulants to focus potions.
Zhang Yu leaned on the counter with both hands and asked, “Boss, do you carry neural fillers?”
The owner, who was scrolling through his phone, replied without looking up, “You want the expensive kind or the cheap kind?”
Zhang Yu said, “I’m a student. Can you give me a discount on the expensive one?”
The owner finally looked up, giving Zhang Yu a sideways glance.
Zhang Yu said nonchalantly, “I’m tenth in my year in Class One, a big name on campus. If your stuff works well for me, my classmates will definitely follow my lead and buy from you.”
The corner of the owner’s mouth twitched. He pulled a box from the cabinet and placed it in front of Zhang Yu.
“Purple Cloud Company’s neural filler. Guarantees you’ll only need twenty minutes of sleep a day. Five hundred a box. I’ll give it to you for 480 this time.”
Zhang Yu picked up the box and examined it.
“Not going to throw anything in for free?”
The owner frowned, then pulled out a few painkillers.
“Here, these are for you.”
Zhang Yu gave a sly grin, stuffed the painkillers into his pocket, and said, “Thanks, boss. In that case, maybe I don’t need the neural filler after all.”
Seeing the owner’s face darken, Zhang Yu scanned the payment code at the side of the counter.
“Just kidding. Sending the payment now.”
As he picked up the neural filler from the counter, Zhang Yu felt the sharp sting of the expense.
A single box would only last about a week, yet it had cost him a full 480. His account balance instantly dropped to just over seventeen hundred.
But Zhang Yu was certain it was all worth it.
After all, he had already decided to enter the Magic Power Competition, so he was prepared to give it his all. He wouldn’t sleep for the next week, dedicating every moment to cultivating the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method.
Heh, my goal isn’t just top ten in our year.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tianxing had followed him into the stationery shop. Watching Zhang Yu leave with his purchase, he wondered, Is it really neural filler?
He followed Zhang Yu out of the shop and down the street, until he rounded a corner and was startled to find Zhang Yu already standing there, waiting for him.
“You… uh, hello, Zhang Yu,” Zhao Tianxing said awkwardly. “What a coincidence. You take this way too?”
Zhang Yu stared at him and asked, “Why are you following me?”
Zhao Tianxing scratched his head, playing dumb. “Following you? Nah, I always go this way after school.”
Zhang Yu said impatiently, “Do me a favor and take a look at yourself.”
“You’re over two meters tall and weigh more than three hundred pounds. I spotted you the moment I left the cafeteria.”
“So what is it you really want?”
Of course, Zhao Tianxing couldn’t tell him that his PE teacher, Wang Hai, had asked him to get close to Zhang Yu and find out about his supply channels.
So, Zhao Tianxing scratched his head again and said sheepishly, “Zhang Yu, I just think you’re really exceptional. I want to stick with you and learn a thing or two.”
Looking at the shy expression on the eighteen-year-old, three-hundred-plus-pound boy before him, Zhang Yu thought, Seriously… are your social skills stuck at the elementary school level?
Zhang Yu thought for a moment, then said, “Fine. Just buy me some fried chicken, and you can follow me around all you want.”
Feeling a dreadful chill creeping through his body and a relentless countdown ticking in his mind, Zhang Yu knew he couldn’t linger.
He started walking again with a sense of resignation, waving a hand over his shoulder.
“Let’s talk while we walk.”
Zhao Tianxing trailed behind Zhang Yu, hesitating. “You’re going to eat fried chicken? That’s strictly forbidden for body tempering. Mr. Wang told us not to eat it. Could we get chicken breast instead?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to eat it. You just have to buy it for me.”
At the thought of fried chicken, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Ever since arriving in this world, his three meals a day had been the ‘pauper’s health meal’ from the high school cafeteria. It had been a long time since he’d eaten anything like fried chicken.
The daily grind of his harsh training had caused stress to build up inside him, leaving him no time to relax and no courage to spend an extra cent.
Now, the thought of eating fried chicken soon made his heart feel much lighter, as if some of that pressure had already melted away.
Zhao Tianxing followed him onto the subway and off again, watching as he stopped in front of a fried chicken shop.
“We came all this way,” he asked curiously, “this place must be really good, right?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Because it was on the way.”
Unfortunately, the moment Zhang Yu stepped into the fried chicken shop, he heard that damn countdown start up again in his head.
He had no choice but to turn to Zhao Tianxing.
“Buy me a fried chicken combo meal. I’ll wait for you here.”
Watching Zhang Yu sit down right where he was and begin to meditate, Zhao Tianxing scratched his head, completely baffled.
A moment later, as he watched Zhang Yu happily chewing on a drumstick as they walked, Zhao Tianxing felt things were getting even weirder.
He’s so self-disciplined he uses the time waiting in line for breathing exercises, yet he insists on eating fried chicken… What a strange guy.
What surprised Zhao Tianxing even more was that after following Zhang Yu, he didn’t go to a tutoring center or to buy more medicine, but instead went to a public square to wait for temporary work.
Zhao Tianxing asked, “You’re looking for work?”
Zhang Yu rubbed his stomach, found a clean spot on the ground, and sat down comfortably. He waved a dismissive hand.
“One fried chicken meal doesn’t buy you conversation. I’m going to cultivate while I wait for a job. Do whatever you want.”
Watching Zhang Yu simply begin his breathing exercises right there on the ground, Zhao Tianxing was stunned once more.
“Breathing exercises?”
He glanced at a puddle of filthy water nearby, listened to the loud music blaring from the barbershop across the street, and then looked at the rough-looking crowd of job seekers around them.
He couldn’t help but ask again, “You’re doing them here?”
But Zhang Yu had already begun to wholeheartedly cultivate the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method, and this time, he completely ignored him.
Zhao Tianxing squatted down beside Zhang Yu and watched him carefully for a while. Realizing he was genuinely performing his breathing exercises, even more questions bubbled up in his mind.
What’s the benefit of doing them here?
Is he just trying to squeeze in some practice while waiting for a job?
After waiting a while, it became clear Zhang Yu had no intention of getting up. Just as Zhao Tianxing was wondering if he should leave, his phone vibrated.
Seeing the message from Wang Hai asking for an update, Zhao Tianxing replied that he was getting close to his target.
After a long hesitation, he finally sat down beside Zhang Yu and began his own breathing exercises.
Half an hour later, Zhao Tianxing couldn’t resist opening his eyes; Zhang Yu was still performing his breathing exercises.
An hour later, Zhao Tianxing had to stand up, walk a circle, and stretch his back. When he looked over, Zhang Yu was still at it.
More than two hours later, Zhao Tianxing had long since given up on the breathing exercises and had begun to practice the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms, move by move.
And in all the time he was observing, Zhang Yu remained utterly motionless from start to finish. He didn’t make a single small movement—no scratching his head, no shifting his weight—he didn’t even so much as twitch an eyelid, and the rhythm of his breathing never changed in the slightest.
Zhao Tianxing couldn’t help but marvel internally.
Such incredible focus. No wonder he’s the guy who can go for days with a zero percent distraction rate.
But without a spiritual root to draw upon, no high-density spiritual energy in the environment, and no drugs in his system… the efficiency of these breathing exercises has to be abysmal. Is there really any point?
Meanwhile, under Zhang Yu’s focused practice, his progress in the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method advanced once again, reaching Level 4 (12/80).
Just then, another van pulled into the square. Hearing the driver call out for security personnel, Zhang Yu simply retracted his focus for a moment before returning to his cultivation.
A first-year high school student like him had no chance of competing for a security job against the old-timers surrounding him.
But then he heard the man’s requirements: young, in good shape, with a clean and fresh appearance, and couldn’t be unattractive.
Zhang Yu’s eyes snapped open. He strode toward the van with a powerful gait and raised his hand confidently.
“How about me?”
The driver’s eyes immediately lit up, and he walked in Zhang Yu’s direction.
“Excellent, excellent. You’re just what I’m looking for.”
Zhang Yu grinned, about to shake the man’s hand, only to realize the driver had walked right past him. The man grabbed Zhao Tianxing’s hand, praising him.
“Great build, and a handsome face, too.”
“Look at this chest!”
“This waist!”
“This back!”
The driver clapped Zhao Tianxing on the body as he spoke in admiration.
“Absolutely perfect proportions! His absolute power might not be there yet, but the fundamental framework is flawless. He’s like a piece of uncut jade, full of limitless potential.”
“To reach this state without persistent, harsh training, an extremely disciplined lifestyle, the guidance of a master teacher, and pushing his body to the limit with drugs and acupuncture… it would be absolutely impossible.”
“You’re the one, kid. I’ll pay you 800 an hour. Come with me.”
At that moment, Zhang Yu, standing off to the side, was stunned.
He never imagined that his own lean, defined physique, his coolly handsome face, and his otherworldly air would lose out to a mountain of muscle like Zhao Tianxing.
“Boss, take a look at me! I can do it, too.”
The driver glanced at Zhang Yu and shook his head.
“No skinny guys.”
“You don’t inspire confidence for a security job. You’d stop half as many flying swords as the next guy.”
Zhao Tianxing started to refuse. “Actually, I’m not here to…”
Zhang Yu quickly cut him off. “Boss, we’re brothers. We swore an oath that whether it’s a one-man job or a group job, we do everything together.”
The driver frowned, glancing from Zhang Yu to Zhao Tianxing, and finally back to Zhang Yu.
“Four hundred an hour for you. Four hours total. You in or out?”
Zhang Yu nodded eagerly. “I’m in! I’m in! I’m in!”
Zhang Yu pulled Zhao Tianxing toward the van.
“I’m not here for a job, and my mom will worry if I get back too late. I should go tell the boss…” Zhao Tianxing said to Zhang Yu, his face a mask of embarrassment.
Zhang Yu quickly said, “Didn’t you have something you wanted to ask me? We can talk while we work. Ask me anything you want.”
Thinking about the task Wang Hai had given him, Zhao Tianxing could only agree reluctantly.
“I need to call my mom first.”
The van carried the two of them toward the city center, and on the way, the driver explained the job.
“Ms. Li Xuelian is holding an art exhibition in the Cloudfall Hall on the 999th floor. The main security is already in place.”
“However, Ms. Li isn’t satisfied with the appearance of her regular security detail. She’s worried they’ll ruin from the viewing experience, so she asked us to find some handsome young men.”
“When you get there, you’ll change into security uniforms and follow the security captain’s orders.”
“And remember this above all else: you absolutely, positively cannot offend Ms. Li.”
Zhang Yu asked curiously, “This Ms. Li must be very wealthy, right?”
“Heh, wealthy?” The driver snorted, saying proudly, “She’s more than just wealthy. Ms. Li is the daughter of a Golden Core True Person!”