Chapter 35: Choices and Techniques

White Dragon High School.

As one of the three prestigious schools in Songyang City, alongside Ziyun High School, it has a long history and abundant financial resources, dominating the city in terms of annual competition awards, the number of students admitted to the top ten universities, and even the number of suicides.

For many White Dragon High students, what three prestigious schools? Songyang City has only one renowned school, and that is White Dragon High.

At this moment, in the White Dragon High cafeteria.

Zhang Pianpian was eating while flipping through her record book, studying a newly purchased talisman textbook.

Just then, a petite girl sat down across from her and said mysteriously, "Pianbao, I heard something interesting. Want to know? Buy me a meal and I'll tell you."

Without looking up, Zhang Pianpian said, "Not interested."

The girl chuckled, "Your brother caused quite a stir at Central Tower last time, but in the end he wasn't accepted by Jindan. Don't you want to hear his latest news?"

Zhang Pianpian frowned slightly and said, "At most it's worth a 9-yuan poor man's combo. If it's more expensive, I won't listen."

"Enough, enough." The girl smiled. "It's rare for Pianbao to treat me to a meal. If I told the class, no one would believe it."

Seeing Zhang Pianpian's impatient expression, the girl continued, "The news came from my friend at Songyang High."

"Your brother got third in the grade in this month's exam, with a total score of 620."

Zhang Pianpian said in surprise, "620 points? Are you sure this news is true?"

"Guaranteed true," the girl said. "This score would easily make the top fifteen in our freshman year. Impressive."

"Didn't you say your brother had no talent? Now it seems he's doing pretty well."

A trace of doubt flashed in Zhang Pianpian's eyes. "My judgment is never wrong. He has no talent for cultivating the immortal path. It seems something has happened to him recently."

The girl asked, "The student council of Songyang High will probably set their sights on him now. Aren't you going to help him?"

Zhang Pianpian lowered her eyelids and said calmly, "It depends on his own choice."

"If he's willing to sign a contract with the student council, at least he'll have an easier time in high school."

"Are you testing him?" The girl pouted. "Isn't that too strict? How many students can withstand the pressure from the student council?"

Zhang Pianpian said coldly, "If he can't withstand it, he'll take the path of those who can't. Otherwise, helping him would be harming him."

"What he's really made of depends on the choices he makes himself."

Songyang High School.

Zhang Yu could clearly feel that the entire school's atmosphere had changed.

During breaks, classmates he didn't know well started greeting him.

"Zhang Yu, your physical strength is improving so fast. Is it really natural body tempering?"

"Zhang Yu, can I borrow your martial theory exam paper?"

In the hallway, students from other classes whom he didn't know were pointing at him.

"Look, that's the Zhang Yu Teacher Lei talked about."

"Sigh, these monsters from the demonstration class really leave no room for others."

In martial arts class, Teacher Lei Jun repeatedly played the video of him defeating He Dayou.

He also had Zhang Yu describe his combat thinking at the time, causing He Dayou's blood and qi to surge, his heartbeat becoming stronger, making him feel younger.

In the cafeteria, students began to walk past Zhang Yu deliberately, seemingly sneaking a look at what he was eating.

Some students with little connection to him wanted to eat at his table.

At dinner time, Zhang Yu simply called Zhao Tianxing over and pulled him to eat with Bai Zhenzhen.

After all, Zhao Tianxing alone took up two seats, so the three of them exactly filled the entire table.

As for that guy Zhou Tianyi, he was doing who knows what today—he left school as soon as class ended and didn't even come to eat dinner with them.

Zhao Tianxing had eaten with them a few times during this period and gradually became much more familiar with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Zhang Yu even noticed that in front of Zhao Tianxing, Bai Zhenzhen seemed much more relaxed than in front of Zhou Tianyi.

[]

At that moment, Zhao Tianxing complained, "How much longer will the canteen's electronic screen keep showing the monthly exam results? Now it's inconvenient to see the prices when ordering food."

Zhang Yu took a bite of rice and sighed, "Xiao Zhao, that's where your perspective is too narrow. The school displaying monthly exam results is meant to encourage everyone to study hard. I think it's fine even if it stays up a few more days."

Bai Zhenzhen, sitting nearby, nodded slightly: "Exams are, after all, our duty as students. How can the importance of showing scores compare to mere food prices?"

Zhao Tianxing was a bit speechless looking at these two, especially Zhang Yu.

Then he suddenly realized that Zhang Yu was no longer a student whose monthly exam ranking matched his own—they were no longer on the same academic level.

The behaviors that deeply stung other students, relentlessly pressured them, and stirred up fierce internal competition were now, for Zhang Yu, nothing but blatant showing off.

"Just a few days ago, Zhang Yu was cursing these inhumane school practices with me."

"But now he's turned out like this." He thought to himself, "Does a person really change this fast once their scores get high?"

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu and smiled, "Yu Zi, you seem to be in a pretty good mood."

It wasn't just good.

Zhang Yu felt absolutely exhilarated right now. He had never found Songyang High School's scenery so beautiful, or the students and teachers so warm.

For him, who had to endure hard training every single day, this was the most beautiful sight, a rare comfort, a reward from heaven for his diligence and self-discipline.

Zhang Yu humbly waved his hand: "Ah, these are all useless empty titles."

"I don't know why everyone likes to come find me."

"A Zhen, you've been top of the grade for so long—how come you don't have so many people coming to hang out with you?"

Bai Zhenzhen curled her lip, full of disdain: "Because my number one makes them see no hope of catching up—all they feel is the absolute gap in talent."

"But your sudden improvement makes them think it's possible to imitate."

"So every single one wants to be your good friend, to spy on the secret behind your grade boost."

Bai Zhenzhen swallowed a chicken leg in one bite, mercilessly exposing the cruel reality.

"In high school, scores are king."

"A well-chosen practice workbook, a paid talisman technique, or combat experience from a tutoring class—all of these are enough to make countless high school students flock to them. Let alone the secret behind rising seventy points in a month; even the top ten students in the grade can't help but be tempted."

! .

"These students who come to you aren't really here to be your friends—they just want to get the secret of your massive score increase, and preferably steal those seventy points you improved for themselves."

Zhao Tianxing, sitting nearby, shifted his weight, and the two chairs under him let out a series of strained creaks.

He thought to himself, "I'm tenth place this time, and I did approach Zhang Yu on purpose before."

"Is Bai Zhenzhen hinting at me?"

"Though I really do want to learn some good study habits from the two of them, and maybe find out the trick behind Zhang Yu's rapid improvement..."

Thinking this, he squirmed even more, feeling that the atmosphere at the dining table had become awkward, and he suppressed his original intention to ask Zhang Yu about the improvement secret for the time being.

Even after parting ways with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen—watching one take the bus and the other the subway—Zhao Tianxing was still thinking about this.

"Was Bai Zhenzhen talking about me?"

On the bus.

As soon as he got on, being jostled by the people around him, Zhang Yu felt his phone vibrate.

He took it out and saw a message from Bai Zhenzhen.

"In the next few days, the student council might come to talk to you about a contract."

"No matter what terms they offer, don't agree to anything yet."

"Wait until I've finished negotiating with them, then we'll discuss it together."

Reading Bai Zhenzhen's message, Zhang Yu's eyes flickered, and he thought, "So the advanced contract is negotiated with the student council?"

Zhang Yu had never really understood this Student Council of Songyang High School.

In his concept, a high school student council? What could it do?

But judging from Bai Zhenzhen's implication, the student council is clearly not simple, and even has the power to sign contracts with students.

"I wonder what conditions the contract they'll give me will have."

"Looking at A-Zhen's attitude, does she want to advance or retreat together with me? Jointly raise the price?"

After thinking for a few seconds without figuring it out, and hearing the countdown in his mind, Zhang Yu had to temporarily set aside these random thoughts and started browsing the textbooks stored on his phone.

But after reading the textbooks for a while, whether due to the feedback from the monthly exam results or the impending contract, Zhang Yu on the bus today felt somewhat restless and couldn't concentrate on studying.

He simply put down his phone and began to contemplate his current path of cultivation.

Regarding his thoughts on this matter, the ritual power did not force anything.

After all, considering the path ahead, planning cultivation... all matched his wishes of studying hard, cultivating hard, striving to get into college, working hard, earning money, and eventually buying all the antiques in his shopping cart.

"Next, I'll first raise the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Technique to level 10."

"The next target is the Tianwu Heart Refining Art, but this martial arts heart technique requires a level 3 Dao heart. So I'll have to practice the basic heart refinement method first, raising this technique to level 10 while also raising my Dao heart to level 3, and then practice the Tianwu Heart Refining Art..."

"After that, the only things I can practice are basic breathing techniques, unarmed combat, and the high school basic sword techniques."

Having confirmed his future plans in his mind, Zhang Yu thought about his current savings of over seventy thousand and the potential income after signing the contract, and he couldn't help but have a thought.

"Should I buy some more powerful and effective cultivation techniques?"

Previously, Zhang Yu had no money, so he had no such plans.

But after receiving the sixty-six thousand from Wang Hai today, Zhang Yu couldn't stop thinking about how to spend the money.

For example, spirit roots, talismans, practical combat experience... many things he hadn't dared to think about before, he now vaguely had some ideas, just waiting to finish the contract negotiations and see how much money he had in his pocket before making specific arrangements.

And now, as he contemplated his future study of cultivation techniques, the idea of purchasing techniques involuntarily surged in his heart.

"Even if I don't buy, I can at least take a look and have a general idea."

With a flash of the phone screen, Zhang Yu opened the shopping website and entered his real-name account.

After another facial recognition, Zhang Yu finally entered the website for purchasing immortal cultivation techniques. However, given his current status, he could only see Qi Refining stage techniques.

As soon as he entered, he saw a row of recommended items with the text "Your friends are viewing": the Gender-Neutral version of the Maiden's Art, the Dream Heart Sutra (you can cultivate while sleeping), the Nine Heavens Eight-Department Talisman Quick Success...