Chapter 84: Transplant
“In that case, could I also pay some money to have this poor person let me get close to him… to touch him?”
But just the thought of touching him made Le Mulan recall the scenes from the ring, and a wave of revulsion washed over her. The dormant heart art seemed to stir on its own, wanting to activate again to save her from this torment.
If the former Le Mulan could still talk to Zhang Yu normally despite her inner disgust, then ever since the events in the ring, she felt a strong, physiological aversion to any contact with him.
“No, I must change my way of thinking, overcome this weakness.”
“How can a rich person be afraid of a poor person?”
With this thought, Le Mulan steeled her resolve and once again suppressed the heart art.
“But I can’t start too intensely; it has to be gradual.”
“Maybe I can observe their training? No… watching from a close distance is still a bit nauseating. It needs to be even more gradual.”
“Or perhaps I should give up on human contact for now and try buying some of Zhang Yu’s clothes?
The clothes, covered in his dead skin flakes, oils, scent, sweat, and other filth—the mere thought was too foul for Le Mulan.
“No, that’s still disgusting. It needs to be even more gradual.”
After mulling it over, Le Mulan decided to download the photos from Zhang Yu’s social media feed and start by simply looking at a poor person’s picture every day.
“Once looking at his photo doesn’t sicken me, maybe I can level up and try making contact with his clothes.”
…
On the way back, after receiving the 5,000 yuan, Zhang Yu first bought a new weighted suit, as his original one had been damaged during the martial arts competition.
His savings decreased by 2,000, leaving him with just under 13,000.
After receiving the weighted suit at home, Zhang Yu quickly changed into it and returned to the abandoned building to cultivate.
Late that night, as the 24-hour cooldown period ended, he was finally able to switch the Feather Book’s specialty to the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi.
This Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi had only one move, but this single move required the coordination of every muscle and tendon in the body, with every muscle fiber and major tendon stretching or contracting in unison, demanding an extremely high level of physical control from the cultivator.
But for Zhang Yu…
“Difficult?”
“The more difficult, the better. Otherwise, how could it highlight the difference in talent between me and others?”
Zhang Yu stood his ground, his feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging naturally at his sides. Then, following the instructions in the digital manual, he began to move all the muscles and tendons in his body.
However, on his first attempt, it was impossible for him to achieve this. He felt a scattered mess throughout his body, either missing the muscles in his legs or the tendons in his arms.
Had it been the original Zhang Yu, self-studying this Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi would have likely required training and subduing the muscles of each body part one by one, finally completing the overall integration training, a process that could easily take several months.
But the current Zhang Yu only needed to practice it roughly once before he felt a jolt run through his entire body, as a flood of memories and experiences on how to control every muscle and tendon poured into his mind.
Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi, mastered!
At that moment, he felt his control over his body’s muscles and tendons reach an unprecedented level.
Inside the abandoned building, as Zhang Yu exerted force again, a loud thud seemed to echo from within his body; it was the sound of all his muscles and tendons stretching in unison.
In that instant, Zhang Yu’s entire frame seemed to shoot up by several inches, as if a ball had been inflated with a puff of air, and that air was the force generated by his muscles and tendons.
“Too easy. Again.”
Delighted, Zhang Yu exerted force once more. With each contraction of his muscles and tendons, the vital energy in his body grew hotter, and steam began to rise from his body in the cold night.
He knew this was the effect of the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi: using the muscles of the entire body to drive the vital energy, and the vital energy to drive the bone marrow, ultimately strengthening the muscles and bones, and increasing physical strength and explosive power.
In a flash, after 10 consecutive exertions, he had raised the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi to level 2.
But Zhang Yu also felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, as if he had just fought another great battle with Song Hailong.
“Body tempering cultivation techniques are indeed more troublesome to practice than combat techniques.”
“Each practice of this body tempering Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi is like a full-power explosion from every bit of flesh and blood in my body. The stamina consumption is immense.”
Zhang Yu had no choice but to sit down, focusing on cultivating his heart art to enhance his Dao heart while recovering his stamina as quickly as possible.
More than half an hour later, feeling his strength return, he stood up and once again began to practice the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi.
In the blink of an eye, a night passed. Although he had to rest for a period after every dozen or so repetitions, Zhang Yu still managed to intermittently raise his Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi to level 6 (43/60).
At this moment, Zhang Yu’s body trembled, and the vital energy within him surged, creating a sound like crashing waves.
Zhang Yu let out a long breath, feeling a wave of weakness throughout his body.
“I’m dead tired.”
“And starving!”
…
Songyang High School.
The cafeteria.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were wolfing down synthetic food.
As for their former disdain, all they could say now was how delicious it was.
After all, the current synthetic food was not as unpalatable as it used to be, and it was cheap, convenient, and nutritious. For Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who were now focused on body tempering, it was simply too suitable.
But compared to the heartily eating Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen and Zhao Tianxing, who were sitting opposite them, looked gloomy, and even their food didn’t taste good.
This was because they had attended the remedial class for the sports competition team after school yesterday, and after signing various confidentiality agreements, they finally learned what the special training program was all about.
At this moment, whenever Zhao Tianxing recalled what he had learned yesterday, he felt a sense of suffocation.
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 Dao technology, fusing with their original muscle fibers.
With the support of this Immortal Dao technology, not only could physical strength be immediately enhanced after fusion, but the fused muscles could also continue to be trained, constantly increasing physical strength.
In other words… muscle fibers from second-year students would be transplanted into Zhao Tianxing and the others, fusing with their original muscle fibers, allowing them to gradually possess a portion of the powerful physique that the second-year seniors had spent an extra year cultivating.
To put it another way… first-years could buy the flesh of poor second-years, and second-years could buy the flesh of poor third-years.
This was the special training program, a plan that Zhao Tianxing found incomparably cruel and brutal.
He felt even more horrified when he saw the price list yesterday.
The names of second-year students, accompanied by the values and prices of different body parts like the trapezius, deltoids, supraspinatus, biceps, were all listed line by line, looking just like a menu at some restaurant.
Zhao Tianxing even saw Shuang Youpeng, the former first-in-grade, on the list.
All of this made Zhao Tianxing feel as if his mental state was on the verge of collapse.
He still remembered his and Qian Shen’s conversation with Lan Ling.
Lan Ling, the top athlete in the second year, was also a member of the sports competition team and one of the executors of the special training program.
In comparison, Wang Hai was only responsible for the daily training of the competition team and had no say in the special training program, only holding the title of ace sports teacher thanks to the team’s results.
…
Zhao Tianxing: “If we buy their flesh, what happens to them?”
Lan Ling said nonchalantly, “Don’t worry, we’ll leave them the root. They can eat, exercise, and it will grow back.”
Zhao Tianxing’s breathing quickened. “Just grow flesh, cut flesh, grow flesh, cut flesh… isn’t that just like cattle and sheep?”
Lan Ling smiled. “Humans are still much more expensive than cattle and sheep. They make a good profit at this price.”
“This isn’t a matter of price.” Qian Shen, who was beside him, couldn’t help but say, “Buying flesh directly like this, isn’t it just buying physical strength? It’s equivalent to buying sports points with money, isn’t it?”
Lan Ling, however, said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “Yes, you could indeed say it’s buying points with money.”
Qian Shen questioned, “How can you buy points with money?”
Lan Ling said flatly, “Of course you can buy points with money.”
“Otherwise, where do you think your cultivation came from? The enhancers you’ve been injected with, the cultivation techniques you’ve practiced, the knowledge you’ve learned… where did it all come from?”
“It was bought with money.”
“And why do you think you are standing here, and not Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who have better grades than you?”
“It’s only because you are richer than them, because your parents could afford the sponsorship fee.”
“Money can indeed get you better grades. It can buy you points.”
“Sponsorship fee?” Zhao Tianxing was slightly taken aback. Thinking about his parents’ recent talk of selling their house, he instantly understood something.
But Qian Shen still looked as if he couldn’t accept it.
He Dayou, who was standing nearby, tried to persuade him, “Come on, Qian Shen, this is just how the world works. Money is the most important thing. If you’re afraid of others knowing you bought flesh, you can rest assured. Everyone has signed a confidentiality agreement in the presence of a righteous god; no one will talk.”
As the Son of the School Director, who had long been aware of this, He Dayou smiled and said to Lan Ling, “Senior, I’ve made my choices. After signing the contract, can the transplant surgery begin today?”
To officially begin the special training program and start the muscle transplantation, a contract naturally had to be signed first, which of course included the school and the Student Council’s right to decide the signatory’s future university and major choices.
He Dayou was, of course, not worried about this.
As the Son of the School Director, he had no restrictions on his choice of university and major.
However…
He subconsciously glanced at Zhao Tianxing next to him, knowing that if the other party wanted to join the competition team and accept the special training program, his university choices would definitely be restricted.
This was simply because his family was not wealthy enough; they had only just barely managed to pay the sponsorship fee.
He Dayou thought to himself, A minor household, still a long way from the truly wealthy circle of Songyang City.
Hearing He Dayou’s question, Lan Ling nodded and said, “From now on, a small part of the transplant will be performed every day. You will feel your physical strength increasing dramatically at all times.”