Chapter 82

Inside the restaurant.

Lei Jun stood up and said, "I'll say a few words."

"I never expected that this martial arts tournament would achieve such great results."

"To be honest, given Songyang's conditions, I would have been perfectly satisfied if we had just scraped into tenth place."

"But in the end, Zhang Yu took first place and Bai Zhenzhen took fourth—this just shows that my teaching skills are pretty good..."

Seeing Lei Jun's elated expression, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, "Turns out Old Lei can brag quite a bit too."

Old Lei smiled at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, then continued, "Of course, the contributions of you two, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, are also indispensable."

"In all my years teaching at Songyang, I've never seen martial talent like yours. I also have to thank you both for this achievement."

As he spoke, he pointed at Zhang Yu, who was seizing the moment to cultivate the Desolate Ox Soul-Calming Heart Sutra: "Look at Zhang Yu—every spare second he finds, he uses to cultivate. This kind of diligence and self-discipline is something I rarely see after so many years."

Zhang Yu shook his head inwardly with resignation. If this ritual didn't keep nagging at him, who would want to squeeze in cultivation while eating or even walking?

Old Lei continued, "Finally, I hope you two keep up the good work and get into a university you're satisfied with in the future."

After finishing those words, Old Lei downed a cup of milk tea, and the atmosphere at the table grew even livelier.

Because Lei Jun was present, Zhao Tianxing seemed a bit restrained. He raised his cup to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen and said, "Yu, Zhen, congratulations on your great results in this tournament."

Qian Shen pointed at a dish and said, "This is the restaurant's specialty. Try it quickly."

As the dishes arrived, none of those present were ordinary people. Chopsticks flew like shadows, and they devoured each course like a whirlwind.

Just then, Zhang Yu's phone vibrated.

He pulled it out and saw it was a message from Zhang Pianpian.

Zhang Pianpian: Little bro, congrats on getting first in the martial arts tournament. You're one step closer to your goal.

Zhang Pianpian: And remember to pay back the forty thousand you borrowed soon.

Looking at Zhang Pianpian's last message, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly, "My dear sister is pretty tight on money herself."

Just then, Qian Shen asked curiously, "What did Le Mulan mean on the stage when she mentioned you making money? What was that all about?"

So Zhang Yu briefly explained the situation about Le Mulan and that forty thousand.

Lei Jun, hearing about this for the first time, stared wide-eyed at Zhang Yu and asked, "So you chose to win the martial arts tournament and take her down on the stage?"

Zhang Yu said proudly, "How could a martial artist bend the knee for a mere forty thousand?"

Lei Jun pointed at Zhang Yu, grieved, and said, "Foolish! So foolish!"

He thought to himself that Zhang Yu wasn't even aiming for the Top Ten universities.

So he sighed aloud, "How could winning first in the martial arts tournament compare to forty thousand?"

"Money is strength, money is potential, money is the future. Sure, you'd have to sacrifice first place in one tournament, but with your talent, forty thousand would help you place in even more tournaments down the line."

Zhao Tianxing, sitting nearby, couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Ah, forty thousand... this martial arts championship is way too expensive."

Seeing the regretful expressions on Lei Jun and Zhao Tianxing's faces, as if they themselves had lost tens of thousands, Zhang Yu felt speechless, yet also thought... sigh, this is Kunxu, that's just how it is.

And deep down, Zhang Yu also knew that in some ways they weren't wrong. After all, whether in sports competitions or talisman competitions, money would be very useful to him—extremely useful.

Just then, Zhang Yu's phone vibrated again. He opened it and saw it was a message from the martial arts tournament organizers.

First, the fifty-thousand-yuan prize money was already being processed.

Second, he needed to select an expert-level cultivation technique from the championship reward.

Zhang Yu immediately focused and looked over the list of techniques they provided.

As he looked through it, he pondered in his mind about the techniques he had already learned.

"For Dao heart, I have the Tianwu Heart-Refining Art; for energy, the Zhoutian Breathing Method; for combat, besides the Wuji Cloud Hands and the Immortal Seal Technique, I've now learned the Dragon-Back Rolling Mountain Hands."

"Dao heart, energy, combat... I already have expert-level techniques for all of them. What I need most right now—and what will be most needed for the physical competition in two months—is ultimately a body-tempering martial art."

Although techniques like the Tianwu Heart-Refining Art and Zhoutian Breathing Method would gradually become less effective as Zhang Yu's stats increased,

for now, they were still sufficient for his needs.

On the other hand, the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering, which focus on physical training, were far too crude in comparison.

So he picked out all the body-tempering martial arts from the list of techniques offered as competition rewards. There were three in total: Dragon-Elephant Power, Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi, and Sinew-Shifting Meridian Exchange.

But after looking them over, Zhang Yu couldn't quite grasp any of them, so he simply turned to Lei Jun beside him.

Lei Jun listened and nodded slightly. "What you need most right now is indeed a body-tempering technique."

And as a veteran teacher of many years, although Lei Jun didn't teach physical education, he had a fair understanding of body-tempering techniques.

At that moment, he glanced at the three body-tempering techniques Zhang Yu had picked out and already had a rough idea in mind. He said, "This Dragon-Elephant Power, as the name suggests, is a strength-type technique best at enhancing physique. However, it has very high requirements for medicinal injections—it's hard to make progress without getting a dozen or so needles a day. The result... well, it's something along the lines of Song Hailong's direction."

So it's a meat shield tank. Zhang Yu recalled the image of Song Hailong, a little giant over two and a half meters tall, and nodded slightly to show he understood.

Lei Jun continued, "Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi is a more balanced body-tempering technique. Its special feature lies in its emphasis on internal refinement, focusing on muscle and bone strength and explosive power. It's best practiced with the aid of medicine and dietary supplements for better results."

Zhang Yu made a judgment in his mind: half tank, half damage dealer.

"This last one, Sinew-Shifting Meridian Exchange, is definitely not suitable for you. This body-tempering technique focuses more on the body's flexibility and deforming capabilities, meant to be used in conjunction with other special techniques."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's options were now narrowed down to only two techniques: Dragon-Elephant Power and Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi.

But each had its own strengths and weaknesses, and for a moment he couldn't make a decision.

Lei Jun reminded him again from the side, "I suggest you choose Dragon-Elephant Power. On one hand, this technique is relatively simpler; on the other, it fits the style of body tempering at Songyang. You can ask Wang Hai to give you some pointers later."

"That Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi emphasizes internal refinement and is extremely difficult. Without guidance from a master, not only is it hard to master, but you're also prone to injury. Because it's so hard and injury-prone, if you get hurt practicing this martial art, even insurance won't cover it."

Suddenly, Zhang Yu's eyes flickered as he asked, "Teacher, how many moves does each of these two techniques have?"

!

Lei Jun thought for a moment and said, "I don't remember exactly for Dragon-Elephant Power—maybe a few dozen moves. But every move and stance is plain and unadorned, progressing step by step, not hard to learn."

"As for Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi, I remember it. This technique has only one stance—a standing stance. But don't underestimate it; this one stance requires the entire body to coordinate in perfect harmony, making it extremely difficult and more likely to cause injury. It's still not suitable for you now..."

Zhang Yu's eyes suddenly lit up; he already knew which one to choose.

So Zhang Yu immediately replied to the organizers with his chosen technique, and soon the electronic manual and usage rights for Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi were sent over.

Not long after, when Zhang Yu and his group had eaten their fill, they saw that it was almost half past six. Too lazy to go home and freshen up, they simply headed straight to school.

…

At the same time.

Inside Songyang High School in the early morning.

Zhou Chechen looked at Lan Ling in front of him and frowned, "What did you say?"

Lan Ling could only repeat what he had just said: "Zhang Yu won first place in the martial arts competition."

"Zhang Yu? First place in the martial arts competition?" Zhou Chechen said incredulously, "Didn't White Dragon, Purple Cloud, and Red Tower all participate?"

Lan Ling could only take out his phone: "He first defeated Song Hailong from White Dragon High, then beat Le Mulian from Purple Cloud High, and that's how he took first place."

Zhou Chechen took the phone and watched Zhang Yu's combat video. After a moment, he looked up with a surprised expression and said, "The weak defeating the strong... no, although statistically he was weak, when considering his martial skills and actual combat performance, at the moment of victory, he was indeed stronger."

"Unexpected, truly unexpected that Songyang would produce such a character."

"Zhang Pianpian must have invested a lot of money in this Zhang Yu to get him this far."

At the thought, a shadow of gloom passed over Zhou Chechen's face, because Zhang Yu should have been signed by him, but now he had been taken under Zhang Pianpian's wing.

It was like a project he had had his eye on but that had been snatched away from him, and now its value was doubling.

For a wealthy man like Zhou Chechen, earning less was losing money, let alone missing out on such a potential star.

He could only tell himself secretly that there were still six months left. In another six months, he would take back both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, and at that time, he would make sure to recoup all the money he had lost from these two.

Just then, Lan Ling beside him reminded him again, "What about Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's applications to join the sports competition team?"

Zhou Chechen snorted coldly, "Rejected."

Lan Ling said, "Wang Hai really wants the two of them to join; he's already mentioned it several times."

"And Zhang Pianpian's patrol team... without a proper reason, won't it be hard to justify?"

Thinking about the possibility of Zhang Pianpian causing a scene at Songyang High again and even embarrassing him, a hint of nervousness flashed in Zhou Chechen's eyes.

Then Zhou Chechen said calmly, "In the sports competition, each school can send five people."

"So tell Zhang Yu and the others this... In one month, if Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen can place in the top five of the first-year high school sports, then let them participate in the competition. If their own stats aren't good enough, they can only blame themselves for being inferior, and it won't be our concern."

Lan Ling's eyes flickered; he naturally knew that with Zhang Yu's and Bai Zhenzhen's sports results, maintaining a top-five position in their grade would be no problem.

Unless they selected another batch of first-year high school students and put them through a special training program to comprehensively suppress Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen in physical strength.

Zhou Chechen made an estimate and said, "In one month, judging by Zhang Yu's and Bai Zhenzhen's rate of progress, their physical strength will only improve to between level 1.8 and level 2.1."

Zhou Chechen picked up the student files on the table and said flatly, "School has been in session for half a year now, and the first-year high school students have built a solid foundation. Let's start a little early this year—recruit these five people into the special training program and have them participate in the sports competition."

"In one month, use the special training program to skyrocket their physical strength to above level 3.0, pushing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen out of the sports competition. Then even Zhang Pianpian will have nothing to say."

He looked at the student files in his hand. Besides the five first-year high school students—Qian Shen, He Dayou, Zhao Tianxing, and others—there were also over a dozen second-year high school students, each paired with a first-year student like matching pairs.