Chapter 81

Lei Jun's heart surged with emotion at this moment, filled not only with satisfaction over his upcoming bonus, salary raise, and teaching results, but also with a sense of nostalgia for his own past.

Once upon a time, Lei Jun was also a high-spirited high school student who naively dreamed that one day he could defeat all opponents with his iron fists, trample every top student and wealthy person underfoot, and stand at the pinnacle of all high schools in Songyang.

"One punch, a billion dollars—this is the supreme realm that generations of martial artists pursue!"

But reality soon slapped him hard.

The monthly exam scores made him feel powerless to catch up.

The fierce competition beyond the curriculum in the contests made him feel as if he and those wealthy top students were not even in the same dimension—like a mayfly gazing at the blue sky, a gap that could only be called despair.

It was then that he understood: the Fist Sect, the Sword Sect, the Qi Sect... none of them were as good as the Money Sect; in reality, a billion dollars could break all methods.

He also learned a truth: only with money are your fists strong; the bigger your bank account balance, the more powerful your fists.

But today, his student, with a frail body, overcame many strong opponents, compensating for physical weakness and the gap in medical insurance and wealth with unparalleled talent and skill, crushing these elite school prodigies.

She achieved what he once wanted to do but later no longer even dared to think about.

He thought to himself, "Ah, defeating money with one's own fists... this is the realm we martial artists pursue. Though it's just on the first-year high school arena stage, it's something I can remember for a lifetime."

Meanwhile, the emergency doctor nearby said indifferently, "Sigh, nothing serious—just lost too much blood, causing Qi deficiency. A blood transfusion will fix it."

"I'll prescribe some medicine to replenish stamina, mana, and energy..."

Lei Jun pulled several boxes of medicine from his pocket: "No need to prescribe; I'll use mine. Are these okay?" He thought to himself that this way, the next insurance premium might increase less.

The emergency doctor curled his lips, thinking it was really hard to squeeze any more money out of these three poor wretches.

A moment later, the referee also came over, first asking about Zhang Yu's condition, then asking Bai Zhenzhen whether she would compete against Song Hailong for third place in the arena battle.

Bai Zhenzhen naturally chose to refuse; Song Hailong's muscle-monster, super-tank playstyle was far too countering for her.

So, shortly after, the top four of the martial arts competition were finally determined, in descending order: Zhang Yu, Yue Mulan, Song Hailong, and Bai Zhenzhen.

On the other side, after receiving treatment, Yue Mulan had also recovered her ability to move.

So, after resting for a short while, Zhang Yu walked up to the award podium together with Yue Mulan and Song Hailong to receive their medals for champion, runner-up, and third place respectively.

However, aside from Zhang Yu, who was all smiles, Yue Mulan and Song Hailong both wore grim expressions, as if constipated.

Shouts from the audience kept rising up... along with jeers.

Some people from Hongta said with jealousy, "This Zhang Yu's talent is so high—he can learn martial arts just by watching others practice. Then when he watches others practice, he should pay up, or else he's a martial arts thief!"

Some people from Ziyun wailed, "This Zhang Yu actually rides on top of Sacred First! I wouldn't even dare dream of that! Damn, this is worse than killing me!"

Some people from Bailong sighed, "The winner stands, the loser kneels. Never thought Songyang High School would have a top student worth kneeling to."

"Worth kneeling to" was already the highest praise for top-scoring students at Bailong High School.

In front of the award podium, Lei Jun smiled broadly as he took out his phone to take photos.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen took a few photos, then started recording a video, already thinking about how to use the martial arts competition's reputation to land advertisements.

While taking pictures, she said to the three on the podium, "Smile, everyone—making a bitter face is really ugly. Zhang Yu, I'm not talking about you; dial it down, don't look too cocky."

Lei Jun said from the side, "After the competition, I'll treat you all to a meal. Go ask Qian Shen and the others if they want to come, and discuss what you'd like to eat."

In the rest area of Ziyun High School.

Yue Mulan was slowly walking back, holding the second-place medal.

The school uniform, originally dirtied with blood in the fight against Zhang Yu, had already been changed.

And the complex emotions of ferocity, anger, and reluctance after the battle had also disappeared; her face was calm, as if nothing had happened.

However, after returning to the rest area, Yue Mulan saw Lian Tianji kneeling on the ground and slightly frowned: "Get up. I withdraw the punishment of being a stool."

Lian Tianji looked up in surprise, his gaze toward Yue Mulan seemingly carrying a hint of confusion—this was the first time he had seen Yue Mulan retract her own words.

Yue Mulan said indifferently, "I've already lost. What right do I have to punish you?"

"If you're my stool, then since I've also lost, should I become your stool? Or become Zhang Yu's stool?"

As she spoke, she turned her head slightly toward Zhang Yu's direction, her tone complicated: "Your failure this time isn't exactly wrong. This Zhang Yu is truly formidable."

"Although I still don't understand why he doesn't want to earn more money, he did make me realize my own weaknesses."

Le Mulan was already planning future training for close-quarters combat in her mind.

During the initial post-match review, Le Mulan thought that she had been too confident and too careless; a momentary lapse made her believe a simple dodge would still let her easily take down her opponent, but she never expected that such a tiny flaw would be seized upon by her opponent.

But when she later reviewed the entire battle, she suddenly understood that her opponent had come prepared; not only had he noticed her tiny flaw, but he also had enough ideas and ability to tear open those flaws.

In addition to this, she naturally thought about the problem of her aversion to Zhang Yu's blood.

"Having some appropriate contact with poor people…"

When Le Mulan thought of this, she couldn't help frowning again, feeling an uncontrollable discomfort, a kind of mental anguish.

"It goes against my heart technique; changing my thinking is indeed not simple."

Suddenly she remembered that she had already added Zhang Yu as a friend. Le Mulan thought to herself, "Maybe I'll start by looking at a poor person's Moments feed…"

Lian Tianji smiled and climbed to his feet: "This failure will make us stronger. Next time we encounter Zhang Yu in a competition, we'll definitely beat him."

"Next competition?" Le Mulan said. "You mean the physical competition, right? Even if we beat him in that, there's no sense of accomplishment."

Lian Tianji was momentarily stunned, then immediately nodded in agreement, and said helplessly, "That's true. His current physical strength is already far behind us; by the time the physical competition comes in two months, he'll probably be even further behind."

"Unless he can join Songyang's competition team and accept Songyang's so-called special training plan…"

…

In the rest area of Bailong High School.

Facing the surrounding classmates, Chu Qiuhe, who had regained consciousness, sighed: "It was only after I woke up and carefully reviewed the match that I realized how terrifying Zhang Yu is. Among all the high school freshmen in Songyang City, I'm afraid there isn't a single one who can surpass him in practical combat technique."

A Bailong student said unconvincedly, "That's too exaggerated. I think Brother Hailong just sweated too much and slipped off the platform. If he sprayed some antiperspirant before going up, it'd be fine." Chu Qiuhe pointed at him and said, "What's your score? What's your ranking? Kneel first before speaking to me."

After the other person knelt down, Chu Qiuhe said slowly, "The terror of Zhang Yu—if you haven't truly fought him, you simply cannot fully feel it…"

Just then, with Song Hailong's return, everyone immediately fell silent.

Song Hailong casually tossed the third-place medal into his bag and paid it no further attention.

Song Hailong understood that a third-place finish in a martial arts competition was an honor to others, but to him it was a disgrace.

Just then, his phone rang. On the other end came a mature male voice: "I've already watched your match. The two people ranked ahead of you are not stronger than you."

"You lost to someone weaker than yourself."

"Father is very disappointed in you…"

Hearing these words, Song Hailong was filled with panic: "Brother, I was careless…"

"Don't make excuses," the other said coldly. "You know Father hates it most when people make excuses for failure."

Song Hailong took a deep breath and said softly, "I'm sorry."

!.

The two-and-a-half-meter-tall little giant, now listening to the reprimand on the phone, looked as uneasy and flustered as an elementary school student.

After a moment, he hung up the phone, and Song Hailong turned his gaze angrily toward the direction where Zhang Yu was.

Since he lost this time, he would find a way to get back using other methods—the methods unique to the wealthy.

Quickly arriving at Songyang High School's rest area, Song Hailong's oppressive figure immediately cast a shadow over Zhang Yu.

Under Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's wary gazes, Song Hailong said coldly, "How much?"

"If I hire you for practical combat sparring, what's the price?"

As a person of absolute wealth, after being defeated by an opponent, of course he would spend money to ruthlessly hire that opponent as a sparring partner, training until he could thoroughly crush the opponent!

Whoever you lose to, spend money to learn all their skills from them!

Hearing what Song Hailong said, both Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu's eyes suddenly lit up, feeling that Song Hailong had become even more impressive.

Zhang Yu coughed and said, "I'm very expensive and very busy. I need to check my schedule to see if I have time."

Bai Zhenzhen, standing beside him, nodded repeatedly: "Come, come, come! I'm Zhang Yu's agent. You can discuss money with me!"

"Also, I was a top-four finisher in the martial arts competition, and I'm Zhang Yu's practical combat coach. The final battle between him and Le Mulan was coached by me. Do you want to hire me too?"

So after adding Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu as friends, Song Hailong looked at the two and said, "Settle on the specific price and then let me know."

But one thing…

Looking at Zhang Yu's frail body, Song Hailong said disapprovingly, "You'd better find a way to improve your physical strength."

"Because I'll only get stronger and faster, I'm not going to wait for you."

"If your stats are too low, I can easily overwhelm you with pure strength, then there's no point in having you as a sparring partner."

Watching the other's retreating back, Zhang Yu knew he was right.

Whether it was to earn money as a sparring partner, or for the physical competition two months later, or even for future college entrance exams, he needed to step up and improve his physical strength.

"To catch up with Song Hailong, Le Mulan, and the others."

A moment later, Zhao Tianxing, Qian Shen, and He Dayou also came down from the spectator stands together to visit Zhang Yu.

Zhao Tianxing said excitedly, "So cool, Yu! I took pictures of you on the stage. Take a look…"

Qian Shen said with emotion, "The competition is indeed severely beyond the syllabus. It's already a test from another dimension. The perfect score of 100 in martial combat can no longer fully express your achievements in martial arts."

Bai Zhenzhen asked, "Old Lei is treating us to a meal later. Are you guys going? Any preferences?"

Zhao said, "What to eat? I'm fine with anything, but preferably something healthy like boiled chicken."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded and noted on her phone, "Mm, Zhao Tianxing - anything."

He Dayou said flatly, "I don't eat poor people's food. If the place isn't expensive enough, I'm not going."

Bai Zhenzhen nodded, noted: "He Dayou not going."

Qian Shen said, "I know a good restaurant. I'll treat for the drinks."

Bai Zhenzhen noted: "Qian Shen treating."

……

Inside a restaurant in the city.

As soon as Zhang Yu walked in, he said, "Do you have king crab? Give me ten."

Lei Jun, following behind, darkened his face. "Damn, trying to bankrupt me?"

Qian Shen said from the side, "This place doesn't have seafood, and seafood isn't nutritious at all. Not suitable for high school students."

"This place specializes in authentic pre-made dishes, with no extra seasoning. You eat the original flavor of the pre-made dishes."

"The dishes are also very nutritious. Each plate has over ten thousand calories of clean energy. I often come here to eat after training."

Lei Jun secretly nodded. Qian Shen was sensible, understanding the teacher's hardship.

Qian Shen said to the staff, "Do you have pre-made dishes with beast meat? Today's guests are all top students from Songyang High. Do you have any nourishing dishes?"

Lei Jun sighed. Qian Shen was also clueless. He wasn't a Dao arts teacher; didn't he know martial arts teachers had limited income?

Not letting the students order recklessly anymore, Lei Jun directly said, "I only brought 6000. If it's any more, we'll have to wash dishes together."

A moment later, the group sat together and raised their beast protein milk: "Cheers!"

After all, they were healthy high school students and a teacher, so of course they would drink healthy and nutritious beast protein milk.

Besides, after this meal, it would almost be time for school, so naturally they couldn't drink anything that would affect their class performance.