Chapter 7: Genius Loan and Part-Time Job (Request Follows)

"The second floor is different—the meals are called nutritional meals, with rice and vegetables specially grown, and meat sourced from grade-one disaster beasts."

"Even the most basic grade-one disaster beast meat contains considerable source energy, helping warriors strengthen their bodies and boost blood qi levels."

"In the entire Second High, only teachers, administrators, and students from well-off families choose to eat on the second floor."

Lin Qi shook his head: "Too bad—even the cheapest nutritional meal costs over a hundred yuan."

"Regular meals, even if you eat more, only cost around ten or so yuan."

He looked at the abundant meal on his tray—plenty of large chunks of meat—and thought how the cafeteria aunt at Second High didn’t use the traditional ‘shaking the ladle’ technique.

She always gave a bit extra, equivalent to 1.5 portions, and the school turned a blind eye.

Today, eating a bit more than usual only cost him fifteen yuan.

After eating, Lin Qi rubbed his stomach, feeling warm and cozy, his stomach rapidly digesting and absorbing with powerful efficiency.

"I’ve decided—from tonight on, I’ll eat nutritional meals."

Jiang Tao made his decision instantly.

"I can’t keep being stingy with money anymore."

"Big Brother Qi, my Genius Loan application got approved—the money will be deposited into my account in a few days."

Jiang Tao shared the good news, his smile impossible to suppress.

Lin Qi showed a look of surprise: "Taozi, congratulations!"

The Genius Loan was quite similar to the student loans of his past life.

It was an interest-free loan offered jointly by the Xia Nation’s Martial Arts Education Bureau and multiple banks, specifically for talented students from ordinary or financially struggling families.

The Genius Loan had four tiers, and even the lowest tier offered 200,000 Xia Nation currency—a substantial sum.

The requirements for the Genius Loan were extremely strict; only true geniuses could qualify.

Jiang Tao applied for the top tier, worth over a million Xia Nation currency.

"Too bad I failed!"

Lin Qi smiled bitterly—he and Jiang Tao had applied together last semester; he applied for the third tier, but just before school started, the app notified him his application was rejected.

"Big Brother Qi, if you get into the Elite Class, you’ll definitely get the Genius Loan."

"Past students all followed this pattern—almost no one failed."

Jiang Tao offered reassurance.

Lin Qi nodded—he’d heard that getting into the Elite Class greatly increased the chance of approval.

Lin Qi stared at the stairs to the second floor, his mind filled with the requirements for the Elite Class.

He made his decision—he had to accelerate his progress.

"I’ll eat nutritional meals tonight too."

He also remembered he still had over 3,000 yuan left—he’d use it all to buy resources; Jiang Tao’s money could be repaid after he entered the Elite Class.

"Good brother, let’s push forward together!"

Jiang Tao nodded firmly.

"But you’ve got to help me find a part-time job—I’m broke."

"Leave it to me—we’ll do it together."

…

Building No. 3, third floor, teacher’s office.

This was a private office, reserved only for outstanding martial arts teachers.

The office was extremely spacious—three or four hundred square meters—with a dedicated work area and an open space filled with weapons: knives, spears, swords, staves.

In front of a black desk stood a large-screen monitor, and Wu Kang sat comfortably in his ergonomic chair.

He held a form in his hand, reviewing it.

"This semester, fifteen students applied for the Elite Class."

Yan Hong sat on a brown leather sofa, sipping mineral water calmly as she reported the details.

After glancing through the forms, Wu Kang spoke slowly:

"In the entire senior year, there are ten martial arts classes with 521 students total—only fifty can enter the Elite Class."

"That’s about five per class on average, but Class One is called the ‘Mini Elite Class’—around ten students might make it, while other classes will have far fewer."

"In our class, only the top five have a solid chance—the rest still need to work hard."

"So we need Teacher Wu to help them out—after all, how many make it affects our bonus."

"Once they’re in the Elite Class, they’re no longer under our care."

Yan Hong said.

Wu Kang stared at Lin Qi’s application form for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Alright, I’ll help them out."

Hearing this, Yan Hong smiled.

…

In the afternoon, during martial arts class.

In a corner seat on the second floor of the cafeteria, Lin Qi stared at the food on his tray—two meat dishes, one vegetable—its strange aroma making his mouth water involuntarily.

"This is the nutritional meal—100 yuan per serving."

"Go ahead, eat!"

The two immediately began eating.

"Mmm!"

The vegetables were crisp and refreshing, the meat tender and chewy, the rice pure white, each grain like a pearl, emitting a rich, enticing fragrance that stirred the appetite.

Jiang Tao and Lin Qi couldn’t help but devour their meals.

In moments, they finished.

"Really delicious—the texture is completely different."

Jiang Tao sighed in satisfaction.

Lin Qi nodded, his entire body wrapped in warmth, an invisible current slowly flowing from his stomach to every part of his body.

!

The invisible heat filled his body, slowly dissolving his fatigue.

【You consumed a nutritional meal. Your stomach begins absorbing. Blood Qi +0.01】

【……Blood Qi +0.01】

…

Lin Qi was astonished—just eating nutritional meals could raise his Blood Qi?

If he ate them daily, his Blood Qi could skyrocket to 6.0 without issue.

…

After the meal, Jiang Tao returned to the classroom to rest.

Lin Qi went out alone, leaving the school gates.

Before him stretched a bustling street—stationery shops, snack stalls, bubble tea shops…

All around, glowing holographic screens advertised products, while electric vehicles sped past.

Second High was a key school, located near the city center, surrounded by a university district.

His physical condition had long surpassed that of a grade-one athlete from his past life—he reached his destination quickly.

He soon arrived.

In Lin Qi’s view appeared a wide entrance—Chi Qiong Martial Arts Supermarket.

Chi Qiong Martial Arts Supermarket specialized in selling martial arts cultivation resources.

It belonged to the Chi Qiong Group, with chain stores nationwide; this one was the largest near Second High.

Lin Qi stepped inside; bright lights illuminated rows of shelves, new items gleaming, drawing customers’ attention.

It was a supermarket over a thousand square meters, divided into sections for potions, weapons, training equipment, clothing…

Everything neatly categorized.

Lin Qi had a clear goal—he headed straight to the potion section; today he was here to buy Blood Qi Capsules.

"I only have 3,000 yuan. After spending 200 yuan daily on meals, the rest will go to Blood Qi Capsules."

Lin Qi picked up a red square box—inside were the Blood Qi Capsules.

One box cost 120 Xia Nation currency, contained twelve capsules—ten yuan per capsule.

His family could only afford this level of resource; he took one capsule before each of his three daily martial arts sessions.

That’s 900 yuan a month for capsules, plus over 500 yuan for meals—minimum 1,400 yuan monthly.

This was already a stretch for his family.

Better resources were beyond their means.

Since he’d decided to push for the Elite Class, three capsules a day wasn’t enough—he needed more.

Lin Qi grabbed ten boxes, then walked to another shelf lined with bottles of red liquid.

"Blood Qi Potion" was a superior cultivation resource to capsules—each bottle cost 500 yuan.

Even with his current finances, he could only afford two bottles.

Then he bought many packs of compressed biscuits, socks, even a brand-new pair of athletic shoes.

Finally, he carried his shopping basket to the self-checkout counter.

In front of him were a father and daughter; the middle-aged father said to his beautiful eight-year-old daughter:

“Xiao Yu, your brother is a contracted prodigy at Chi Qiong Martial Arts Gym. You get a 10% discount when buying things at the Chi Qiong Group’s martial arts supermarket.”

“We bought items worth 5,250 yuan today. After the discount, it’s only 4,725 yuan, saving us 525 yuan.”

The little girl widened her eyes: “Saved 525? That’s a lot!”

“I’ll become a contracted prodigy of the Chi Qiong Group too.”

The father smiled: “Then you’ll have to work hard, Xiao Yu.”

Behind them, Lin Qi showed a hint of envy.

……

(End of Chapter)