Chapter 53: Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering
The moment Zhang Yu completed a cycle of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, countless images of his own cultivation flashed through his mind—scenes of him comprehending these nine disciplines time and again, perceiving their intent and contemplating their unique nature.
The next moment, nine distinct intents surfaced in his mind simultaneously.
The killing intent to shatter an army of ten thousand, the fighting spirit to face death nine times without regret, the valor to advance unflinchingly… These intents, as if forged and tempered a thousand times in his mind, finally converged into a single human silhouette.
This was the martial will that had condensed in his sea of consciousness after he mastered the first level of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art.
Its silhouette resembled Zhang Yu, but its face was a blur, radiating an aura of defiance against heaven and earth.
“The Heavenly Martial Will…”
With a flicker of Zhang Yu’s thought, the Heavenly Martial Will in his sea of consciousness began to move, performing the nine disciplines of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art move by move under his mental guidance.
As the Heavenly Martial Will activated, an aura he had never possessed before began to surge from his body.
In that instant, Zhang Yu felt like a war god, one who defied heaven and earth, poised to annihilate everything in his path with sheer, brutal force.
Bloodshot veins surfaced in his eyes, while the blood and magic power throughout his body began to quicken slightly.
Zhang Yu could feel his physical state gradually adjusting, becoming more and more suited for combat.
He exhaled, temporarily halting the circulation of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art.
Is this Heavenly Martial Will always so savage? The mindset required to match it must be that of a battle maniac, right?
That True Person Starfire… an old geezer kicked out of a major sect, actually created this kind of martial heart art?
Damn it… he couldn’t have been kicked out for assaulting his superior, could he?
The feeling it gave Zhang Yu was strange, like discovering that a sleazy, middle-aged man who got fired from his company was secretly a battle-crazed fanatic.
Logically, that shouldn’t be the case.
After all, when it came to fighting in Kunxu, killing a bystander meant paying compensation, and destroying a building meant paying even more; the greater the destruction, the higher the cost.
So, what about fighting in the unclaimed wilds? As far as Zhang Yu could remember, he didn’t know of a single plot of land that hadn’t been bought up by some corporation; at the very least, there were none around Songyang City.
If an expert wanted to fight frequently, they would have to spend money to prevent the authorities from showing up when they won, and spend even more money to make them arrive faster when they lost. Healing from injuries cost money, and staying uninjured meant paying for insurance just in case. And if you insured yourself, didn’t that mean your various magical treasures and bionics also needed annual insurance plans?
The better you are at fighting, the more you spend; the more you spend, the poorer you become; and the poorer you are, the less you can afford to fight.
Therefore, the better you can fight, the less you can fight.
Maybe True Person Starfire was kicked out precisely because the old geezer was too belligerent.
Zhang Yu remarked with a sigh, “The path of the Immortal Dao isn’t one you can walk just by fighting and killing.”
But further thought was pointless for now. Zhang Yu resumed his practice, intending to advance the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art to the second level.
Cultivating the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art required the gradual synchronization of his physical body and his internal Heavenly Martial Will, performing the nine disciplines in unison.
Merely circulating the technique within the sea of consciousness using the martial will would only activate the heart art’s effects.
And as the Heavenly Martial Will activated once more, Zhang Yu gained a deeper understanding of the heart art’s effects.
One could only operate a single heart art at any given time.
Thus, at this moment, the effects of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra were absent, leaving only those of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art.
Without the effects of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra, his capacity for enduring hardship should have been drastically reduced.
Yet, under the influence of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, he felt his fighting spirit surge to the heavens; he feared nothing, and nothing could make him shrink back.
Be it a powerful enemy or any daunting hardship, he would shatter it with a single damn punch!
The strain of cultivation was even suppressed by this fighting spirit, making Zhang Yu feel just as motivated as he would have been with the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra.
“So intense! This is exhilarating.”
Feeling the blood throughout his body quicken, Zhang Yu realized the Heavenly Martial Will not only provided a buff in combat but also enhanced his cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, more than two hours had passed. Steam rose from Zhang Yu’s body as his blood churned, having already practiced the martial art a full ten times.
Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art Level 1 (0/10) → Level 2 (0/20)
In an instant, Zhang Yu felt as though his mind had traversed countless days and nights, becoming deeply immersed in the intent of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art through repeated practice.
Simultaneously, the figure formed by the Heavenly Martial Will in his sea of consciousness grew clearer, its face faintly beginning to take on Zhang Yu’s features.
The night passed in a flash. Training intermittently, Zhang Yu finally advanced the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art to Level 3 (12/30).
He then received a call from Wang Hai, informing him that, due to the student council’s influence, he had not been selected for the school’s athletics team.
A deliberate show of force? Zhang Yu wondered. If I refuse to sign the contract again, are they going to use even more tactics against me?
Not long after, he received another invitation from the student council to discuss the contract.
…
Songyang High School.
Noon.
The Student Council Office.
With a cold snort, the temperature in the office seemed to plummet, making even the powerfully built Lan Ling shiver involuntarily.
But in the next moment, the temperature returned to normal, as if the chill had been nothing but an illusion.
Lan Ling knew, however, that it was no illusion; Zhou Chechen’s mood had simply soured.
Just a few minutes earlier, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had both, one after the other, rejected the student council’s contract offer, their reason being that the three great academies could offer a better price.
Lan Ling slowly set down his dumbbell and looked at the vice president, Zhou Chechen, who was on the sofa.
“President, what are your orders?”
Zhou Chechen murmured, “I’ve shown them enough respect, haven’t I?”
“I’ve already given them the best terms I possibly could, no?”
“I just don’t understand it. How can they refuse something that benefits them, benefits the school, a clear win-win situation?”
Lan Ling said, “Perhaps his fourth-place finish in the Magic Power Competition gave Zhang Yu some undue ambition, and now Bai Zhenzhen wants to raise her price as well.”
Zhou Chechen sighed. “Does he really think the three great academies can sign them if we don’t let them go? A higher price… Don’t they even consider if they’re worth it?”
“These paupers… if you’re too harsh, they resent you, curse you behind your back, and don’t do their work properly.”
“But give them a little respect, and they’ll take a mile, getting ideas above their station and making a mess of things in the end.”
With that, he gave a helpless wave of his hand. “As for the specifics, do whatever you think is best.”
“Just make sure I see their signed contracts within seven days.”
…
In the Year One model class classroom.
Zhang Yu was actively maintaining the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra while continuing with his studies.
Ever since he began practicing the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, Zhang Yu had started to alternate between the two heart arts.
When practicing the physical techniques of this martial heart art, he would naturally maintain the state of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art.
At other times when he couldn’t practice the martial technique, such as when resting or in class, he would maintain the state of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra instead.
This process created a sort of ideological conflict within Zhang Yu, which in turn affected the efficiency of both heart arts.
One demands I fight, fight, fight, and destroy everything. The other requires me to endure silently and accumulate strength.
Switching back and forth between them… ugh.
He couldn’t help but scratch his head, the mental conflict between the two heart arts reminding him of the contract choice laid before him.
I can choose my mindset, but it seems reality doesn’t offer a ‘fight, fight, fight’ option…
Just then, his phone vibrated.
Zhang Yu saw it was a message from his magic power class instructor, Teacher Yan.
“Zhang Yu, did you offend the student council? I’ve refunded you for the tutoring sessions. You also won’t be able to participate in the Magic Power Competition for the time being.”
“You need to find a way to patch things up with them, quickly.”
Zhang Yu’s gaze hardened as he read the message; he knew the student council was applying pressure again.
Suddenly, Bai Zhenzhen’s voice came from beside him.
“Old Yan kicked me off the team. Did you get kicked off the Magic Power Competition team too?”
Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Bai Zhenzhen fumed, “Those devils incarnate from the student council! I bet they’re going to keep coming after us now.”
“Can you still handle it?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “I can handle it, but for how long? When will it end?”
Bai Zhenzhen replied, “Until we’re strong enough. Until we’ve figured out how to get into a top-tier university.”
“And throughout that process, the pressure from the student council will inevitably grow.”
“That’s just how these rich kids are. The moment you affect their bottom line… no, even if you just cause them to make a little less money, they’ll instantly drop their phony masks and come after you with everything they’ve got.”
Bai Zhenzhen clutched her head, her face grim. “We’ll be constantly suppressed and isolated.”
“They’ll probably use combat practice classes as an excuse for teachers or upperclassmen to beat us up, use the Dao heart lessons to torture us in the Spirit Realm, bribe teachers to give us low grades, and erase any benefits or opportunities we might have…”
“And all their little lackeys will crawl out of the woodwork to pull dirty tricks—glue on our chairs, cold water over the bathroom stalls, stealing our homework—all that sort of petty nonsense.”
“Basically, they’ll use every trick in the book to screw with us.”
Her eyes seemed to foresee an incredibly dark high school experience ahead of them.
“We’ll gradually become outcasts, hated by everyone, and fall to the bottom of the social food chain. We’ll suffer constant humiliation from the rich kids until we’re the kind of people no one even wants to be seen eating with.”
She suddenly raked her fingers through her hair. “Ugh, damn it all.”
“Things won’t get any better; in fact, they’ll get worse and worse, right up until we graduate and get into a university… or until we get on our knees and sign their slave contract.”
Zhang Yu rolled his eyes. “How do you know so much about this?”
Bai Zhenzhen said, “A senior told me a long time ago, right before she killed herself.”
With that, she turned to look at Zhang Yu. “If you can’t take it, you should sign now, while you can still get a good price for yourself.”
Zhang Yu pursed his lips. “I’m not signing.”
“I’m getting into the Ten Greats. They can kill me, but I won’t sign.”
Seeing his determined expression, Bai Zhenzhen smiled. “Then we’ll get through this together.”
“But don’t worry, sitting back and waiting for disaster isn’t my style.”
“I’m close to finding the leader of that ‘Pauper’s Alliance.’ I’ll definitely get a method from him to get into a university without signing a contract.”