Chapter 105: Can I Touch You?

Looking at the amenities in the Songyang High School rest area, Qian Shen and Zhao Tianxing exchanged glances.

They had both been to White Dragon High School and witnessed the last martial arts competition, so the treatment of the Songyang High School rest area back then was still fresh in their minds.

Now, seeing such well-appointed facilities at the athletics meet, Zhao Tianxing suspected they might have gone to the wrong place.

Qian Shen couldn’t help but think, No way… with Songyang High School’s average score, do they really rate a rest area with these kinds of conditions?

Even Wang Hai had to admit that in all his years of leading teams to athletics meets, this was the grandest event and the best treatment Songyang High School had ever received.

Lian Tianji, standing nearby, seemed to be aware of their surprise and explained with a smile, “The on-site facilities this time are co-sponsored by Purple Cloud Supplements and Oasis Group, so the conditions are indeed excellent.”

He pointed toward the east side of the arena and said, “Over there, Oasis Group and Red Pagoda Husbandry are providing a complimentary buffet for all competitors, as well as the Purple Cloud students and other staff helping out. Would you like to go and have a taste?”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who had just sat down, immediately stood up. “We’re going to familiarize ourselves with the competition environment.”

So the two of them followed Lian Tianji across the arena to the buffet area on the east side.

From a distance, they could see purple-skinned students from Purple Cloud High School holding plates and eating inside.

The reason they were holding plates was that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen noticed these Purple Cloud students would start eating while walking as soon as they had filled their trays.

By the time these Purple Cloud students reached the exit of the buffet area, they would have finished everything and placed their trays on the dish return table.

Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes lit up as she said, “I get it. These students eating while walking must be the poor performers from your school, right? Because their grades are so bad, they aren’t qualified to sit down and eat. They have to finish their food while walking from the moment they get it to the moment they return their trays.”

Lian Tianji chuckled. “You think too harshly of our Purple Cloud High. Our requirements for underperforming students aren’t that strict. These are just the ordinary students who aren’t qualified to sit and eat.”

“Huh? What about the underperformers then?”

Lian Tianji said nonchalantly, “The bottom 50 students eat in the restroom. They can take as long as they want, no requirements at all.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, These Purple Cloud High students really are devil incarnates.

But on second thought, although making the bottom 50 students eat in the restroom was a bit inhuman, on the flip side… didn’t this just mean that Purple Cloud High at least had plenty of restrooms?

In that respect, at least they’re doing better than White Dragon High School, Zhang Yu thought.

Just then, a rumbling sound, like the thundering of ten thousand horses, echoed as a large group of black monsters in Red Pagoda High School uniforms entered the buffet area.

Zhang Yu’s eyes widened in astonishment. “What the hell… are those students? Students from Red Pagoda High School?”

It wasn’t that Zhang Yu had never seen the demon-kin students from Red Pagoda High before.

Although their appearances were a bit different from humans, forms like brown bears and tigers were still within the realm of normalcy.

But these creatures before him… each one was covered in an oily, smooth blackness, with only a pair of eyes glowing crimson.

He thought in shock, My sister said that Red Pagoda High’s technological breakthrough allowed their demon students to awaken the bloodline power of a black creature, which they successfully extracted and injected into the human students…

Could it be that they’ve awakened a black person’s bloodline? Gaining powerful athletic abilities, which is why they’ve become black bears, black tigers, and… black students?

Lian Tianji, noticing Zhang Yu’s shocked expression, kindly explained, “Red Pagoda High School successfully stimulated the Black Dragon bloodline in their demon-kin students, resulting in a transformative change in their physique.”

“If you look closely at their skin, the blackness is the texture reflected by dragon scales.”

As Zhang Yu got closer, he could faintly discern a layer of fine black scales within the black sheen, which shimmered with an iridescent blackness.

At the same time, he noticed more black details that were hard to see from a distance.

For instance, the two small horns on Xiong Wenwu’s forehead, the five sharp and slender claws on his hands, the small tail on his backside, and the long whiskers at the corners of his mouth… moreover, a heart-palpitating pressure continuously emanated from their bodies, as if predators were eyeing their prey.

Lian Tianji continued at his side, “It’s said that among these demon-kin students from Red Pagoda, those who have awakened more of the Black Dragon bloodline exhibit more Black Dragon features, and their physique inherits more of the Black Dragon’s traits, resulting in a more terrifying increase in body strength.”

As he said this, a hint of excitement crept into Lian Tianji’s tone. “In terms of body strength, these guys have a unique advantage. I’m really looking forward to competing against them.”

Bai Zhenzhen urged from the side, “Are you done talking? If we don’t eat now, I don’t think there’ll be anything left.”

Indeed, within the buffet area, the students from Red Pagoda High were devouring all kinds of food like a storm sweeping away clouds. A single opening and closing of their mouths often meant an entire plate of food was swallowed into their bellies.

Zhang Yu quickly pulled Bai Zhenzhen and rushed in, grabbing a plate of food and pouring it into his mouth.

Bai Zhenzhen grabbed a handful of chicken legs, and after a few bites, tears welled up in her eyes.

For the past month, she and Zhang Yu had been eating synthetic food almost every day.

It was fine at first, but later on, she found the mush increasingly unappetizing. Her body’s craving for real food had been suppressed to its absolute limit.

At this moment, actually eating a chicken leg, feeling the real chicken juices burst in her mouth, Bai Zhenzhen had only one thought: “Real roasted chicken legs are so delicious!”

After taking a sip of the beast protein milk from Red Pagoda Husbandry, the expression on Bai Zhenzhen’s face became even more satisfied.

Lian Tianji walked over and sat down in front of the two, who were wolfing down their food, and said with a smile, “No need to rush. The buffet here is provided by both Oasis Group and Red Pagoda Husbandry. Even if there were ten times as many people, the supply is absolutely guaranteed.”

After chatting casually with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen for a bit, Lian Tianji finally asked a question he had been curious about for a long time.

“Zhang Yu, in these past two months, to what level has your body strength increased?”

Lian Tianji looked at Zhang Yu, who was currently stuffing steak into his mouth, and his mind seemed to flash back to the moment he was defeated by him on the martial arts stage two months ago.

He thought to himself, Although I want to defeat you, if there’s too great a gap in our body strength, then such a victory would be meaningless.

The thought that he might never be able to defeat the Zhang Yu from that time filled Lian Tianji’s heart with a trace of regret.

Zhang Yu casually replied, “Level 4.95.”

Lian Tianji was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled the next. “I’m not joking with you. I’m asking what your body strength is.”

Zhang Yu gave Lian Tianji a strange look.

“It’s level 4.95. Who’s joking with you?”

After saying that, he stuffed a few more lamb chops into his mouth.

Lian Tianji’s brow furrowed, and his first thought was disbelief.

After undergoing Purple Cloud Supplements’ super-metabolism modification, I’ve been injecting nearly ten kilograms of drugs daily.

I’ve endured the constant pain of torn muscles and ruptured organs, been rushed to the emergency room several times, and even then, I’ve only managed to raise my body strength to level 4.56.

How could Zhang Yu possibly be at 4.95?

Is he intentionally spouting nonsense, not wanting to reveal his true body strength? But what’s the point? Once the competition starts, everyone’s body strength will be tested and revealed.

Could it be that he’s not lying? But how is that possible?

For a moment, Lian Tianji felt that Zhang Yu probably wasn’t lying, but it was also highly unlikely that Zhang Yu wasn’t lying.

Just as he was pondering this, a slender, cold, and beautiful figure silently entered the cafeteria, drawing everyone’s attention.

The reason she drew attention was only partly due to her beauty; the main reason was that all the Purple Cloud students present stood up in unison and bowed to Le Mulan.

At this moment, Le Mulan had tied her long hair into a ponytail with a purple silk ribbon. She was wearing a purple tracksuit that revealed her snow-white arms and long, slender legs, exuding a rare athletic aura.

And what attracted the eyes of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen the most was, naturally, the purple mark on her brow.

That mark was far more complex than Lian Tianji’s simple dot; it looked like a purple vertical pupil imprinted on Le Mulan’s forehead.

The aloof, top-ranked student nodded, her cold face devoid of expression as she said, “You may all go about your business.”

Hearing her response, the bowing Purple Cloud students all returned to their previous states.

Then, Le Mulan walked straight to the table where Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Lian Tianji were and stopped.

Zhang Yu looked at Le Mulan, whose breathing was slightly heavy, and shrugged. “You want to eat with us? There’s no seat for you though.”

Le Mulan said flatly, “It’s fine.”

She glanced at Lian Tianji, who was occupying two seats due to his size, and said coolly, “I need a stool.”

Immediately, several Purple Cloud students rushed over. The first girl to reach them dropped to the ground, positioning herself like a stool in front of Le Mulan.

Holy crap! Zhang Yu thought to himself, These Purple Cloud people… they seem even more deranged than two months ago.

The reason for Zhang Yu’s curiosity was simple. It was because after Purple Cloud obtained its technological breakthrough and numerous first-year prodigies underwent the super-metabolism surgery, causing their body strengths to skyrocket… Le Mulan had defeated them all over again.

The first-year students of Purple Cloud discovered to their despair that even with the super-metabolism surgery, the gap between them and the wealthiest student in the grade, Le Mulan, had not narrowed but had instead grown even wider.

The role of wealth in cultivation and scores had once again been magnified.

And in the environment of Purple Cloud High School, this disparity had created an even more exaggerated worship of wealth and scores.

Zhang Yu sensed that Le Mulan had been occasionally glancing at him since she arrived, making him feel a bit awkward as he ate.

He thought to himself, This woman couldn’t possibly still be thinking of getting revenge on me, could she?

Just then, Le Mulan’s clear and cold voice rang out, “Can I touch you?”

Sensing the silence at the table, Le Mulan added, “I can pay.”