Chapter 137: High School Ends, Pianpian Departs
Xiong Wenwu knew that the conservation area was a relatively insular place.
And the breeding base within the conservation area was even more isolated.
The demon-kin employees here were born here, grew up here, and died here…
An’an, the young woman before him, was vastly different from him, who had already completed his first year of high school.
Because An’an had failed the streaming exam at age six, she had been left to work at the breeding base since she was a child.
Though, as a result of this, An’an had worked and grown up at the base, which allowed her to help Xiong Wenwu later on.
But with over twenty years of work experience and long-term company training, she had become an exemplary employee of Red Pagoda, elected as the conservation area’s employee of the year for eight consecutive years.
Her award poster read: My favorite thing is working for the company!
My most hated days are in February, because I can only work twenty-eight days that month!
The thing I care least about is my salary! I am willing to lessen the company’s burden and be the first in the conservation area to take a pay cut!
My creed is not to compete with money, not to compete with connections, but to compete with my life!
“I have been the conservation area’s best employee for eight consecutive years!”
An’an looked at Xiong Wenwu as if he were a rebellious son, pointing at the eight best-employee certificates behind her as she said furiously, “You actually want me to exploit a company loophole to help them freeload off a spirit vein?”
She was so incensed that she rushed forward and slapped Xiong Wenwu hard with her claws.
Xiong Wenwu dared not retaliate and could only continue to persuade her,
“Sis! The breeding base is about to be shut down, and the company is going to package you up and sell you to the Oasis Group!”
“Whoever the company sells me to, they must have their reasons. I will simply follow the arrangements.”
Xiong Wenwu said, “The Oasis Group doesn’t treat its demon-kin employees as well as Red Pagoda Husbandry. They’ll use you for experiments.”
An’an was skeptical. “The manager said that after I go to the Oasis Group, I will still be assigned to work at a breeding base. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
Xiong Wenwu sighed, knowing that in An’an’s eyes, he had less credibility than the conservation area’s manager.
With a thud, Xiong Wenwu’s massive form dropped to its knees.
“Sis, please help me.”
Seeing Xiong Wenwu in such a state, An’an’s imposing manner instantly deflated, and she asked, at a loss, “You! You! What are you doing? Did you do poorly on your monthly exam? Or can you not repay your loans?”
Xiong Wenwu said in a low voice, “Sis, I’m about to be culled.”
An’an exclaimed, “What? You… didn’t you do well on the last few monthly exams? How could…”
Xiong Wenwu explained, “It’s because my performance in the competition was abysmal. If I continue to do this poorly, the master will have me culled and sent to an inferior class.”
He pointed to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen beside him and said, “If you don’t believe me, ask them. They were the ones who defeated me in the competition and got me eliminated.”
Seeing the signal in Xiong Wenwu’s eyes, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen exchanged a look and gave a curt nod, acknowledging the matter.
Xiong Wenwu looked at the bewildered An’an and continued, “Sis, they said that if I arrange an opportunity for them to perform breathing exercises by the spirit vein, not only will they let me win the next competition, but they’ll also tutor me for free to improve my grades.”
“Sis, I’m begging you. I don’t want to be culled by the master. I want to achieve a better rank in the competition. Will you help me?”
“If you don’t believe me, here are the news reports and videos from the competition. Take a look…”
An’an first went online to check the information on the competition, then watched a video of Xiong Wenwu bleeding profusely after being beaten by Bai Zhenzhen in the martial arts event. In the athletics competition, he fought until his muscles tore, yet he still lost to Zhang Yu…
The little panda, An’an, turned to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, pressed her paws together in a gesture of supplication, and said, “How much money do you want? I’ll pay it for him. He worked so incredibly hard to get into high school, and he has a chance to attend a university…”
Zhang Yu chuckled. “Ten thousand an hour.”
An’an’s face went pale at his words. As a demon-kin who hadn’t even attended high school or begun cultivating, her monthly salary was a mere two thousand.
Bai Zhenzhen added from the side, “If you can’t afford it, then let us use the spirit vein. For every hour we use it, we’ll give him an hour of tutoring when we leave.”
Xiong Wenwu pleaded, “Sis! I want to be tutored! I want to stay in high school and test into a university! I don’t want to end up working in a factory. I’m begging you, please help me!”
An’an, the little panda, gritted her teeth. Looking at the kneeling Xiong Wenwu, she finally let out a long sigh. “Fine.”
At that moment, An’an felt as though her corporate identity and spirit had been shattered, that she had failed the certificates hanging on the wall.
The next day, led by Xiong Wenwu and An’an, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered the breeding base through a supply transport tunnel and arrived at a room in the incubation chamber.
The moment he stepped into the incubation chamber, Zhang Yu felt an incredibly fresh wave of air rush over him, cleansing his body from head to toe. It even felt as if his very soul had been washed, leaving him with a sense of blissful ecstasy.
“Is this air from a spirit vein? It’s far more pleasant than even the air in the conservation area.”
He took a deep breath, feeling the spiritual energy churn within him, greedily absorbed by every inch of his flesh.
But after briefly circulating his Great Sun Qi Sea technique, he looked at the surrounding light sources, and a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes.
Xiong Wenwu asked from the side, “Is there another problem?”
“Are there any light sources here? We need more light for our cultivation.”
“Light?” Xiong Wenwu thought for a moment. “Would an incubation lamp work? They’re used to warm dragon eggs.”
And so, with An’an reluctantly leading the way, Zhang Yu and Xiong Wenwu moved more than a dozen incubation lamps into the room.
As the lamps switched on, Zhang Yu felt as if a dozen small suns had appeared before him. Under the intense glare, the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to converge and shine upon his body, causing the Great Sun magic power within him to surge violently.
Fu Ji, residing in Zhang Yu’s chest, analyzed, “These aren’t ordinary lamps. They’re meant for incubating dragon eggs. The light has been processed by some form of Immortal Dao technology and seems to be more effective at concentrating spiritual energy.”
With the combined effects of the spirit vein and the incubation lamps, the True Spiritual Root began its breathing exercise in unison with the Great Sun Qi Sea…
The Great Sun magic power inside him erupted like a volcano, roaring as it surged back and forth through his body.
Zhang Yu felt the surrounding spiritual energy swarm toward him, creating the illusion that he was soaking in a pool of pure spiritual energy.
His breathing exercise efficiency continued to rise! And rise! And rise again! It finally reached a plateau, unable to increase any further.
“So this is the true, full-power effect of the breathing technique when combined with a spirit vein, a spiritual root, and a level ten, mid-stage Qi Refinement breathing method.”
Zhang Yu felt that only now was he truly performing a breathing exercise, truly cultivating. By comparison, everything he had done before was like inhaling car exhaust.
But on second thought, for the students of a key high school, magic power was something that could be systematically raised to the limit of one hundred over a few years.
Yet now, in order to reach a third-year’s level by the end of his first year, he and Bai Zhenzhen had to expend a great deal of effort and money.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen, who was beside him, said, “Yu-boy, hurry up and give me the spiritual root. I want to try, too.”
After the True Spiritual Root was withdrawn, Zhang Yu felt his breathing exercise speed plummet by thirty or forty percent, and a wave of disappointment washed over him.
It seems Zhen and I will have to come separately from now on…
So, Zhang Yu let Bai Zhenzhen remain to cultivate, deciding he would come back next time.
On the way out, Zhang Yu curiously asked Xiong Wenwu, “The money you asked us for—you’re planning to use it to help An’an, aren’t you?”
Xiong Wenwu was silent for a moment before replying, “I want to help her pay off her breeding debt so she can leave this place. That way, she won’t have to worry about being sold to the Oasis Group in the future.”
In the days that followed, the cultivation of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen advanced by leaps and bounds, with both their physical strength and magic power climbing steadily.
Although their Dao hearts didn’t experience the same explosive growth, they too were improving at a stable pace.
Zhang Yu’s only regret was that there was still no news from Yu Xinghan about the Spirit Realm. He had said they would have to wait until after the university entrance exams, when a large number of third-year students graduated, before any spots would become available.
In the blink of an eye, time had flown to early June.
The university entrance exam was tomorrow.
This also meant that the day of Zhang Pianpian’s departure was drawing ever closer.
As the exam approached, the atmosphere within Songyang High School grew increasingly tense. The status of the third-year students soared; a single glance from them was enough to make first and second-year students give them a wide berth.
Even the normally stern teachers now spoke to the third-years with gentle words, fearing any mishap before the crucial exam.
During this period, although the effectiveness of any training method would inevitably diminish as his stats increased, Zhang Yu had still made progress.
By the time June arrived, his physical strength had risen to 5.99, his magic power had grown to 60.2, and his Dao heart had reached level 5 (25%).
However, with his increased food and alchemical enhancer consumption, on top of his expenses at the conservation area, his savings were dwindling faster than ever. Even with the income from tutoring and sparring, his funds had now dropped to just over 120,000.
And as far as he knew, Bai Zhenzhen’s income was even lower than his; her savings were on the verge of being depleted.
These days, Zhang Yu often found himself sighing inwardly, The path of the Immortal Dao is truly a drain on one’s finances.
But thankfully, the money hasn’t been wasted. I’m getting closer and closer to the standards of a new White Dragon third-year: a level six Dao heart, over seventy units of magic power, and a physical strength of over 7.5.
I should be able to reach all of those within the next two months.
But Zhang Yu also knew that with Zhang Pianpian’s departure, he would soon have to face even greater challenges.
Three days later, not long after the university entrance exam concluded, Zhang Yu received a call from Zhang Pianpian.
“I’ll be leaving soon.”
“After I’m gone, the safest thing for you two to do is stay in the city and at the school.”
“But you and I both know that’s impossible.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Since they had to take the Foundation Establishment exam, they couldn’t possibly remain in Songyang City or at the school indefinitely.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “The other wealthy individuals pose no immediate threat. For now, the ones with the deepest animosity toward you are Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling.”
“You two must be careful after I’m gone.”