Chapter 104

Evening.

By the river.

Zhang Yu’s muscles twitched continuously as he circulated the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi with the help of the True Spirit Root.

Ever since joining the sports competition team and earning a spot in the competition, Zhang Yu had never again visited the gym where the team trained; instead, he continued to cultivate in silence as he had before.

After all, a single Primordial Marrow Pill costing thirty thousand had already consumed most of his income, and he couldn’t afford the Nine Dragon Acupuncture Method and related medicines provided by the competition team.

Bai Zhenzhen, however, didn’t have to spend money on something as expensive as the Primordial Marrow Pill, so she learned the Nine Dragon Acupuncture Method and bought the associated medicines from the competition team to try them out.

And Bai Zhenzhen’s evaluation of the competition team’s training method was: “After the needles, you can’t eat enough, can’t sleep, can’t stop—the body refinement effect is explosive! Yu, doping really works better than natural body refinement, you should come try it soon.”

Of course, Zhang Yu knew that Zhenzhen could handle the needles not only because her drug tolerance was genuinely good, but also with the aid of the True Spirit Root, and recently the True Spirit Root had even been superimposing part of the effect from Zhang Yu’s cultivation of Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi, strengthening her internal organs...

Just then, his phone vibrated, and Zhang Yu opened it to find a message from Zhao Tianxing.

“Huh?”

It was a message wildly circulating in various Songyang High School group chats: that Songyang High’s sophomore students had been completely wiped out in the sports competition, that Green Oasis Group had shared some immortal arts technology, that the three major high schools had achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in body refinement technology, and that top students across all grades had seen explosive increases in physical strength...

Zhao Tianxing knew that Zhang Yu usually seized every second to cultivate and never bothered to check group chats—even though he’d joined some Songyang student groups, he’d muted them all—so he sent this to Zhang Yu to alert his good friend.

After reading it, Zhang Yu was also quite surprised: “All the sophomores from Lanling actually lost?”

“New technology? I wonder how far Song Hailong and the others have progressed... Maybe I can ask my sister.”

Zhang Yu knew that Lanling’s level was definitely not weak, and if they couldn’t even make the top ten in the body competition, then clearly, after the three major schools broke through in body refinement technology, the students’ bodies must have improved tremendously.

Feeling a hint of pressure, Zhang Yu could only settle his mind again and focus on cultivating the Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi.

A moment later, Bai Zhenzhen ran over, already wearing a blond wig, fake tattoos, padding, and a mask.

She lightly leaped onto Zhang Yu’s back, expertly jumping on and wrapping her arms around him from behind: “Time’s up, Yu, we need to get to class.”

At the same time, the True Spirit Root flickered briefly and slipped back into Bai Zhenzhen’s belly, giving her a refreshing sensation.

Over this period, as the True Spirit Root switched back and forth between their bodies, Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t tell whether she had gotten used to the shape the True Spirit Root took when stretched by Zhang Yu, or whether the True Spirit Root had adapted to the shapes of both of them; now, the switching caused almost none of the former discomfort, only a pleasant rush of spiritual energy pouring into her flesh.

Zhang Yu activated the Racing Car Legs and dashed toward the campus at breakneck speed; as his physical strength soared, the Racing Car Legs grew faster and faster.

Sensing Bai Zhenzhen’s head resting on his back, Zhang Yu said, “Zhen, you’re not slow now either. Why don’t you learn a set of Racing Car Legs for travel? This technique is really handy.”

Bai Zhenzhen: “No.”

Leaning against Zhang Yu’s back, Bai Zhenzhen closed her eyes comfortably and began circulating her breathing technique to refine magical power, squeezing in the time.

Seeing that Zhenzhen seemed not to understand his hint, Zhang Yu decided to make it more obvious: “Ah, running this far every day, I feel like my shoes are about to wear through.”

But Bai Zhenzhen kept her eyes tightly shut, as if she hadn’t heard a thing, continuing to breathe in spiritual energy.

She thought to herself: “Yu is hinting at something? This guy wants to turn the tables—have me learn the Racing Car Legs, carry him on my back while traveling, and he’ll take the chance to cultivate? Silly child, once someone rides up, why would they ever want to get off?”

Feeling Bai Zhenzhen hug him even tighter, clearly determined not to dismount, Zhang Yu cursed inwardly.

“That Zhenzhen—I was hoping that once she got stronger, she’d carry me sometimes too, so we could take turns riding, and I’d have more time to cultivate. But now she won’t even be a running buddy, just treats me purely as a driver, cultivating every day while I’m on the move.”

So Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t feel right to always have just one person running. If both of us could run, it’d be like having twin engines—if one gets sick or injured, the other can still go. Don’t you think so, Zhen?”

But Bai Zhenzhen seemed not to hear him, only clamping her powerful thighs tighter around him, while the sound of her breathing came loud and clear.

Zhang Yu thought to himself: “This guy... pretending she can’t hear me again, huh?”

Bai Zhenzhen thought: “Good son, you want me to get off now? You clearly have no idea how thick your mom’s skin can be!”

“I could ride on you for a whole year and never get off!”

In the days that followed, as the sports competition drew closer, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, through relentless hard training, gradually felt a growing sense of urgency.

Afraid of not achieving a good ranking in the competition, they constantly seized every opportunity to grow stronger.

And so time passed, day by day, amid their bitter cultivation...

That day, inside a training room at Purple Cloud High School.

Bai Zhenzhen walked in, looking a bit puzzled, and stared at Le Mulan, whose breathing was slightly quick, then asked curiously, “You want me to train with you?”

Le Mulan nodded: "I want to train in close combat."

"But I'm telling you in advance, no using moves like spitting blood or spitting saliva."

Actually, Le Mulan had originally wanted to hire Zhang Yu as her training partner.

But she felt that jumping directly from clothes to a real person was too big an upgrade, and if he sat on top of her again... she was afraid she'd develop an even deeper psychological scar.

"Since Bai Zhenzhen is also poor, hangs out with Zhang Yu every day, and has a low bottom line, I'll try her out first."

After a short while of fighting, Le Mulan silently thought to herself, "As expected — the other person's scent on Zhang Yu's clothes is Bai Zhenzhen's."

"Bai Zhenzhen also has Zhang Yu's scent on her." "These two really... they must train in actual combat together every day, don't they? That's the only way they'd leave each other's scents."

"So now, I'm essentially doing indirect actual combat training with Zhang Yu."

Thinking this, Le Mulan felt her breathing quicken again, and her nerves tightened slightly.

"Indeed, I have to keep practicing."

An hour later, the training ended. Bai Zhenzhen stared at the 5,000 yuan credited to her account and felt a mix of emotions: "These guys from the top three high schools... really have too much damn money to burn."

That day, on the Dark Study Gang's campus.

As soon as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered the underground classroom, they noticed that many passersby—security guards, teachers, salespeople—were covered in injuries.

Upon asking, they learned that yesterday the Dark Study Gang and the Golden Lesson Gang had a brawl over student recruitment.

Zhang Yu then asked, "Where's Cai Tou? Why haven't I seen him?"

=9+Book_Bar

Che Nu sighed, a hint of sadness in her eyes: "Oh, Cai Tou is gone."

Zhang Yu was surprised: "He... did he get into trouble during the brawl?"

Che Nu smiled and said, "How could that be? Cai Tou is very strong; a small brawl like yesterday's wouldn't kill him. He was... fired."

Zhang Yu said, "Fired? If he's so strong, why fire him?"

Che Nu shook her head helplessly: "What good is being able to fight? No matter how good a Qi Refining stage fighter is, can they block a flying sword? Better to teach a few more lessons and earn a bit more money."

"But Cai Tou is old. He's been taking Dao Heart Buffer for so many years, and his memory has been getting worse these past months. Fewer and fewer students signed up for his classes, and his performance wasn't up to standard, so naturally he had to leave."

As she spoke, Che Nu gave a bitter smile: "When it comes down to it, whether in a company or a gang, if you don't pass the college entrance exam and get your Foundation Establishment certificate, who doesn't end up like this? Leaving sooner or later is just a matter of time."

Watching Che Nu's despondent back as she walked away, Bai Zhenzhen slowly pressed herself against Zhang Yu from behind and extended her Spiritual Root toward him.

She said resolutely, "Yu, we have to get into the Top Ten and complete Foundation Establishment."

Zhang Yu nodded just as firmly: "Mm, I'm going to cultivate now. Focus on your classes."

In the cafeteria at lunchtime.

Zhao Tianxing watched enviously as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen gulped down synthetic food into their stomachs.

Zhao Tianxing thought to himself: "I can't believe A' Zhen and Yu really made it onto the competition team."

"But after the top three high schools received Oasis Corporation's technology sharing, they've been too dominant."

Recalling recent rumors, Zhao Tianxing looked at Zhang Yu and asked, "Do you know about Li Yong and Ye Haitao from the competition team? They've been causing a fuss, demanding refunds."

"Huh?" Zhang Yu shook his head. "No idea. I haven't been to competition team training for two weeks."

Bai Zhenzhen said from the side, "Yeah, when I went, I did hear them arguing—seems like they want their money back."

Zhao Tianxing sighed, "Sigh, a move by a behemoth like Oasis Corporation—without even realizing it, it affects the futures of countless families."

Qian Shen nodded gravely, "From now on, the top three high schools will monopolize all competitions."

"But that's not the scariest part—they already monopolized all competitions except physical ones in the past."

"The scariest part is that after their body refinement technology improves, the top students' physical scores will inevitably rise, and their average scores will rise again."

"I calculated yesterday—if this keeps up, with the double gap in competitions and scores, each year at Songyang High School, maybe only one or two people can get into the Top Ten elite universities."

The little doll that had been disguised as a rosary hanging around Zhang Yu's neck let out a heh, then spoke inside Zhang Yu's mind: "The wealthy families of Songyang City have started an internal power struggle."

"Hehe, it's the wealthy families backing the three top high schools trying to completely monopolize the admission spots for the Top Ten and squeeze out all the other high schools."

Zhang Yu was startled: "A power struggle among the rich?"

Seeming to sense Zhang Yu's surprise, the doll chuckled and then continued, "Wealth keeps accumulating. The three top high schools win the most Top Ten admission spots in Songyang City every year, so the families behind them grow stronger and their wealth naturally grows much faster than that of other high schools."

"Otherwise, how do you think they've managed to gradually monopolize the competitions year after year?"

"The situation in Songyang City is actually still pretty good."

"I know that in some cities in the First Layer of Kunxu, there are entire cities with tens of millions of people that only have one key high school."

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "So we just happen to be living in the era when the three top high schools are further monopolizing the Top Ten spots, right?"

Zhang Yu sighed. The longer he stayed in Kunxu, the more exhausted he felt. The whole world seemed to have an invisible pressure, constantly urging him, pushing him, making him run forward.

As the days passed by one by one, the day of the sports competition finally arrived.