Chapter 146: Zhang Yu’s Meteoric Rise
Inside the training grounds.
The students of the first-year model class were engaged in one-on-one combat training.
The martial arts teacher, Lei Jun, shouted at the crowd, “Daoist arts are a battle of wealth, martial arts a battle of life! If you want to spend less money, you have to risk your life more.”
“Every bit of hard work you put in now is one less expense you’ll have at tutoring classes.”
“In two more months, you will officially be second-year students. Think about it, is your current level worthy of the second year?”
While urging everyone to cultivate diligently, Lei Jun looked at the purple people, beastmen, and black people in the class and sighed internally, For this year’s high school admission interviews, a willingness to undergo the new body tempering surgery after enrollment will probably be a major bonus.
In another five or ten years, it will likely become a standard requirement for admission, just like sterilization surgery.
Lei Jun could already imagine the situation then would probably be… What? You want to cultivate immortality with a regular human body like that? Go complete the modification surgery first.
But Lei Jun was also somewhat fortunate. Good thing I’m not a physical education teacher; this has little to do with me.
With the advancement of new body tempering technologies, Lei Jun knew that the physical education teachers were having meetings almost every day, constantly researching new teaching plans.
“So it’s still better to be a martial arts teacher; the teaching duties are the most relaxed.”
“But only for first-year martial arts teachers.”
Lei Jun knew that the pressure on third-year martial arts teachers was truly immense.
After all, facing those third-year students who had already stepped into late-stage Qi Refinement and were at an age most obsessed with grades required real combat experience.
“A teacher like me, who is only proficient in basic combat experiences like sneak attacks, insults, and provocations, can only handle arena fights.”
But to be a third-year teacher just by being a good fighter?
Lei Jun knew that was a pipe dream.
“How could a third-year teacher be competent without studying insurance contracts, injury assessment, medical compensation, and organ appraisal for a few years? If not, they wouldn’t even be able to figure out how their students were killed or injured in class.”
However, with high risk came high reward, and Lei Jun sometimes envied the income of third-year martial arts teachers as insurance and medical intermediaries.
Just then, a sound of footsteps came from outside. Seeing the rows of second-year students walking over, especially the one leading them, Lan Ling, Lei Jun’s brows furrowed.
At the same time, the first-year students who had been practicing individually all stopped and bowed to the approaching second-year students.
“Greetings, seniors!”
Seeing the respectful gestures of the first-year students, Lan Ling nodded slightly. “Carry on.”
He then walked toward Lei Jun and smiled faintly. “Teacher, a combat exchange between the second and first years has been arranged for today. You’ve received the notice, haven’t you?”
Lei Jun checked and found that this matter had indeed just been arranged, and his displeasure grew.
Because it reminded him of the scene a few months ago when Lan Ling had ‘guided’ Bai Zhenzhen.
But he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
Lei Jun sighed in his heart, So it’s finally here?
Lei Jun knew that the Student Council of Songyang High School, and indeed the 16 prominent families of Songyang City, would not sit idly by and watch two paupers like Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen snatch competition rankings time and time again.
Because for the wealthy people of Songyang City, every competition ranking was a crucial achievement for interviews with the Ten Greats. How could they be given to paupers who were destined never to get in?
Even at the peak of Qi Refinement, Lei Jun dared not go against such a tide at this moment and could only say reluctantly, “Don’t hurt anyone.”
Lan Ling said, “Rest assured, teacher. I’ve told all the students that when they have combat training with their juniors, they must be careful and must not injure them.”
“By the way…” Lan Ling’s gaze swept around but didn’t see Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, so he said casually, “Are all the students here? If not, please call them over.”
In a corner of the training room, Zhao Tianxing, who was purple all over like a human-shaped eggplant, secretly took out his phone and began sending a message to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen: “The bullies are looking for trouble with you, don’t come over.”
But just as he sent the message, a hand gently patted him on the shoulder, scaring him so much he almost threw his phone.
“Junior, let this senior guide you a bit.”
Zhao Tianxing turned his head to see a senior, a full circle wider than himself, smiling at him.
Lan Ling said coolly, “Zhou Ke, remember, you must not injure our junior.”
“Don’t worry.” Zhou Ke pulled Zhao Tianxing out and said gently, “I guarantee I won’t harm a single hair on his head.”
In the small garden of the school.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were hiding here, cultivating silently.
As Zhang Yu circulated the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi, accompanied by the intense movement of his muscles, organs, and bones, his entire body was steaming, as if he had turned into a radiator, constantly emitting heat into the surroundings.
Since returning from the Immortal Capital, Zhang Yu had charged full-speed ahead on the path of the Immortal Dao by throwing money at it, and his strength had naturally advanced by leaps and bounds.
As of today, his magic power had reached 69.4, and his physical strength was at level 6.81, drawing ever closer to the average level of a new third-year at White Dragon High.
Only the progress of his Dao heart had been slower during this period, having only advanced to level 5 (37%).
That guy Yu Xinghan, he said he’d introduce me to a channel in the Spirit Realm to cultivate my Dao heart after this year’s college entrance exams were over. How come it hasn’t happened yet?
Besides the improvements in his Dao heart, magic power, and physical body, Zhang Yu’s other gain was advancing the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm to level 10 through his combat training with Yu Xinghan.
And ever since the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm reached level 10, Zhang Yu could feel subtle changes in the structure of his muscles and bones day by day. It was his body undergoing a transformation with each day’s nourishment and exercise.
Zhang Yu understood that this was the level 10 effect of the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm, also known as Dragon Tendons and Elephant Bones, which gave the physical body a more immortal and powerful carrying capacity, able to withstand and transmit higher bursts of power.
Worthy of a 200,000-yuan martial art. No wonder Yu Xinghan practices this technique.
If I had this level 10 Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm during the athletics meet, maybe I could have lifted 13,000 kilograms? No, maybe even 14,000 kilograms of the Sky Pillar.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen, who was beside him, suddenly spoke, “Yu-boy, did you see the message Old Zhao sent us?”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu opened his phone, looked at Old Zhao’s message, then looked at Bai Zhenzhen and asked, “Zhen, what do you say?”
Bai Zhenzhen laughed. “If we don’t even dare to fight students from our own Songyang High School like Lan Ling, how can we ever compete with the young masters of the Immortal Capital?”
As she spoke, Bai Zhenzhen had already shot off toward the training room like a flash of lightning.
“Yu-boy, I’m going ahead. If you’re late, you might not get a chance to fight.”
Seeing Bai Zhenzhen disappear in an instant, Zhang Yu thought to himself, Zhen’s speed is getting faster and faster.
He knew that he wasn’t the only one who had been improving rapidly during this time; Bai Zhenzhen had also made swift progress.
Zhen’s martial arts talent was already formidable with the support of the True Spiritual Root to begin with.
Zhang Yu still remembered Bai Zhenzhen’s performance when she learned the high school’s basic martial arts, comprehended the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, and grasped the external moves of the Limitless Cloud Hand; she had succeeded in almost no time at all.
And now…
While the True Spiritual Root boosted my cultivation speed, I also stimulated the True Spiritual Root’s evolution.
Zhang Yu had too many cultivation techniques trained to level 10, far exceeding the level of a high school student.
As the True Spiritual Root continuously adapted to Zhang Yu, it was as if it absorbed more traces of the techniques from the circulation of his physical body and magic power, and then brought them back into Bai Zhenzhen’s body.
This made it so that if Bai Zhenzhen cultivated the techniques Zhang Yu had practiced, it would be as natural as water flowing into a channel, allowing her to advance by leaps and bounds.
This was especially true for purely external arts like the Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand and the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Shattering Palm, which Bai Zhenzhen could master with ease.
However, Zhang Yu knew that Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t afford the usage rights for the techniques he had, so she secretly practiced them on her own and didn’t plan to use them openly, only as a means to improve her own strength.
Inside the training grounds.
The eggplant-like Zhao Tianxing had just climbed up when he was kicked in the buttocks by Zhou Ke again, falling to the ground like a dog eating dirt, which drew a round of laughter from the second-year students.
Zhao Tianxing struggled to his feet again, but no matter how he dodged or counterattacked, Zhou Ke could always appear behind him as if from nowhere and deliver a kick to his rear.
The force used was not great, just enough to knock Zhao Tianxing down.
This represented complete dominance in terms of strength, speed, and control.
So Zhao Tianxing was not injured.
Nor did he feel disheartened by the huge gap between them.
After all, he was facing a senior from a higher grade. Zhao Tianxing knew that any first-year student in this situation could only bow their head obediently.
After all, it’s a one-year gap. It’s perfectly normal that I’m no match for a senior.
At this moment, most of his thoughts were no longer on the fight, but on his current disgraceful state.
Good thing I had the super-metabolism surgery and my whole body is purple. They probably can’t see me blushing, right?
Purple is my best camouflage right now.
Climbing up once more, Zhao Tianxing quickly fastened his slightly loose pants, afraid they might be knocked off later.
He knew that at this moment, he had certainly become a laughingstock in the eyes of everyone present.
And the only thing Zhao Tianxing could think of doing was to pretend not to care as much as possible. After they had their laugh, they would naturally stop laughing over time.
This was the experience he had gained from being a clown time and time again.
As for resisting?
First-year students like us are definitely no match for second-year seniors.
And the one leading them is from the Student Council…
Thinking of the prominent families behind Lan Ling and the others, Zhao Tianxing silently told himself not to cause trouble for his parents.
Just then, a voice was heard. “Isn’t that enough? What’s the point of this kind of combat training?”
Zhou Ke stopped and looked at Qian Shen who had spoken, tilting his head.
“This junior has an opinion on his senior’s guidance?”
Beside them, Zhao Tianxing, while getting up, looked at Qian Shen with some gratitude. “Old Qian…”
Qian Shen, however, frowned. “In the college entrance exam’s combat test, the Yellow Turban Strongmen will simulate the examinee’s stats to fight.”
“To improve our scores, we should be fighting against opponents with similar data.”
“Aren’t you just wasting everyone’s cultivation time and dragging down our scores by doing this?”
“Besides, Zhao Tianxing and most of the people here don’t have high scores to begin with. Won’t this mess-up delay them even more?”