Chapter 87

In the cafeteria.

Zhang Yu looked at Qian Shen and Zhao Tianxing with confusion, curious why the two looked like they had failed an exam.

"What’s wrong with you two?"

Hearing Zhang Yu’s curious question, neither Qian Shen nor Zhao Tianxing could answer, because they had both signed a non-disclosure agreement and could not reveal any information about the special training plan.

Zhao Tianxing shook his head wryly and said, "It’s nothing, just... the pressure from the competition team is a bit heavy."

At the same time, a hint of pity flickered in his gaze as he looked at Zhang Yu.

Zhao Tianxing thought to himself, "He Dayou and the others already started the transplant surgery yesterday. Their physical strength is going to skyrocket from now on, right?"

"Although Yuzi and Azhen have powerful talents, they can’t surpass the school’s immortal path technology."

"So on the immortal path... after all, money is the most important, isn’t it?"

In that day’s physical education class.

He Dayou, physical strength level 1.56

Li Xianglu, physical strength level 1.55

Wang Wenjie, physical strength level 1.53

Overnight, after the transplant surgery, He Dayou and the other two each made significant improvements.

Watching the three easily handle various equipment and seeing the test data for physical strength, the surrounding students couldn’t help but show envy in their eyes.

"The sports competition really lives up to being Songyang’s flagship program. He Dayou and the others are improving so fast."

"They’re this strong after just one day? Teacher Wang Hai really knows his stuff."

But He Dayou wasn’t interested in what these classmates were saying. He turned to look for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, only to find that they didn’t seem to have come to PE class at all. There was no trace of Zhang Yu even in the small room nearby.

"Hmph, no matter. There will be plenty of opportunities later." He Dayou seemed to already see himself over the next month, with his physical strength surging daily, eventually trampling both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen underfoot.

"From now on, I’ll improve faster and faster, until my physical strength approaches that of a second-year student."

"My scores will eventually surpass yours."

Where did Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen go?

Both of them had already submitted requests to Wang Hai to skip physical education class.

Zhang Yu’s thought was: My Crimson Marrow Primal Qi is going to improve rapidly next. I should practice it in secret, so as not to leave any trace for others to see.

Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: My spiritual root has too many functions. Since I already have the reputation of having a rented spiritual root, I don’t need to worry about drawing attention. I might as well practice alone to avoid being seen by too many eyes and having my abnormality discovered.

So, on the school rooftop.

Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen in front of him and smiled, "Azhen, what a coincidence, you’re skipping PE too?"

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu and also smiled, "Yuzi, what a coincidence, you’re here on the rooftop to train too?"

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Azhen probably has it open. She doesn’t want others to notice, so she came alone to the rooftop to train."

Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, "Yuzi probably has it closed. He wants to secretly train, hide his strength, and show off big time after a month, so he came to the rooftop?"

Zhang Yu laughed. "Then let’s train together on the rooftop."

Bai Zhenzhen also laughed. "Mm, train together, train together."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Azhen can still be trusted. This time, I’ll let her see my talent and make her completely admire me."

Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, "After all, mother and son don’t keep secrets. After putting up with it for over ten years, I can finally show someone my astonishing potential. Hahaha, I can already see Yuzi’s jealous and envious face."

So the two smiled at each other, each walked to a side and stood still, then began cultivating separately.

So on the rooftop, Zhang Yu began to diligently train his Crimson Marrow Primal Qi.

He stood still on the spot, and as his body trembled again and again, it gradually emitted a rumbling sound, like waves repeatedly crashing against a reef.

Bai Zhenzhen turned her head, looking at Zhang Yu, whose face and hands were gradually turning red from the surging Qi and blood, and was startled in her heart.

Then she thought enviously, "Is this that so-called Red Marrow Primordial Qi? Has Yuzi already mastered it? Has he started tempering his body with this technique?"

Bai Zhenzhen suddenly felt that the spiritual root in her belly wasn't so fragrant anymore.

She felt like she was in the mood of being woken up in the middle of the night by a classmate's breathing exercises.

In the morning, she saw the leftover medicine packaging that her classmate had secretly eaten.

In PE class, she saw a few more needle holes than usual on her classmate's arm.

Bai Zhenzhen quickly released the restraints on her spiritual root and prepared to start body refinement.

"How can Wang'er showing off compare to a pair showing off?"

"Keep surpassing him, surpass him! My physical strength next month must remain above Yuzi's!"

Having said that, she released the restraints on the spiritual root within her body and began body refinement.

Meanwhile, after practicing more than a dozen times, Zhang Yu felt a wave of weakness in his body, so he decided to sit down and rest for a while, taking out a prepared energy drink to take a few sips.

"No wonder it's the energy drink I got from White Dragon High School—free stuff always tastes the best."

Just then, sensing something unusual in the spiritual energy of the air, he turned his head to look in Bai Zhenzhen's direction.

He saw that Bai Zhenzhen was also practicing a body refinement technique. Zhang Yu couldn't tell what technique it was, but he could faintly sense wisps of spiritual energy flowing toward Bai Zhenzhen's physical body, seemingly nourishing all her flesh and blood.

"Is this the effect of a spiritual root? Something like a muscle-enhancing spiritual root that strengthens the body?" Zhang Yu thought enviously, "Having a spiritual root must be great—I have to borrow Azhen's to play with later."

Then Zhang Yu noticed another anomaly.

With his experience of having multiple martial arts skills at level 10, he was able to spot subtle differences in others' technique variations.

And now, looking at Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu felt that each repetition of her body refinement technique had obvious adjustments, making it feel more comfortable and smoother, as if Bai Zhenzhen was naturally and continuously adapting to this body refinement technique.

"Does Azhen make adjustments and improvements every time she practices martial arts?"

It sounded ordinary, but upon deeper thought, Zhang Yu sensed the power behind it.

Zhang Yu was startled: "Isn't this just like my Feather Script—can techniques also advance quickly?"

"She wasn't this impressive when she practiced before, was she?"

"She really has been secretly cheating!"

Thinking that the other party had been secretly working hard and cheating in places he couldn't see, Zhang Yu got up after resting for a while and continued to push himself in cultivating the Red Marrow Primordial Qi.

!

So in the time that followed, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen each worked hard at body refinement, mainly keeping each other company.

When the class bell rang, Zhang Yu had already raised the Red Marrow Primordial Qi to level 7 (15/70). He felt every muscle and sinew in his body move, causing his internal organs to shift along with them. As he repeated the technique over and over, his organs were tempered, emitting a series of strange internal sounds.

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen was steaming all over, with sweat constantly dripping from her flushed face. She felt all her muscles and sinews growing and strengthening under the catalysis of her spiritual root.

As the bell rang, the two exchanged smiles.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Impressive, Azhen."

Bai Zhenzhen also smiled and said, "Not bad yourself, Yuzi."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "I'm not going to bathe today when I get home—just start training straightaway! I have to raise the Red Marrow Primordial Qi to level 10."

Bai Zhenzhen silently resolved, "I'm not going to take a dump today—damn it, body! Push through until dawn in one go!"

So in the following days, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen seized every moment together, sneaking from one deserted corner of the campus to another, leaving behind patches of hard-earned sweat as they mercilessly pushed their flesh and blood to the limit.

In PE class, He Dayou felt excited about his daily increase in physical strength, but was repeatedly slightly disappointed because he didn't see Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

But he endured it all.

He kept telling himself, "Isn't this the outcome I expected?"

"A talented poor person is only impressive at the start; in the end, they'll always lose to the rich."

"After the transplant, as the newly implanted muscles and tendons continuously merge with my body, my physical strength has been growing rapidly every day."

"The later Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen come to witness my power, the more they will feel a hopeless gap."

With a glimmer of anticipation, He Dayou continued to practice seriously in PE class.

In the same physical education class, Zhao Tianxing, not far away, secretly observed He Dayou, his gaze always mixed with a trace of envy and hesitation.

"Qian Shen has already withdrawn, saying he won't join the competition team. Lan Ling picked another classmate to come in."

"But... should I withdraw too?"

"I don't like this method of raising scores, but He Dayou and the others are really improving their physical strength so quickly. At this rate... I'll never be able to catch up with them."

But thinking that his parents were already planning to sell their house to help him get into the competition team and raise his score, Zhao Tianxing hesitated once again.

In the small grove before school let out that day.

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged, white vapor constantly rising from his entire body in the cold wind—this was his cultivation of the Crimson Marrow Chaos Qi, which he had already pushed to level ten.

At this moment, all his muscles, internal organs, and bone marrow were being mobilized together, tempered through repeated exertion of force.

Besides that, this was the effect of reaching level ten in the Crimson Marrow Chaos Qi.

Zhang Yu's physical structure had become more rational and perfected. Every muscle and sinew across his body fit together seamlessly, like precisely constructed components perfectly assembled into one.

This structural adjustment after level ten instantly skyrocketed his physical strength. Adding in his hard training over these past few days, his physical strength had risen to level 1.67.

Additionally, his digestive ability and metabolic rate had also increased.

Zhang Yu felt that he was constantly hungry now, and it was a hunger that came from every single piece of flesh in his body.

"My daily food expenses have already risen to over six hundred. This body-tempering really burns money."

Even so, Zhang Yu could sense that his body was still unsatisfied.

"Probably need to start taking pills, right?"

The Crimson Marrow Chaos Qi could be used for body-tempering in conjunction with medicinal pills, but the required pill was called the Chaos Pill, which Zhang Yu had checked online—thirty thousand each.

"Damn it... This Purple Cloud Pharmaceutical Company is robbing me!"

With food costs skyrocketing and the need for pills, Zhang Yu felt he was running out of money more and more.

Although he had given Song Hailong another tutoring session yesterday and another five thousand had come in, Zhang Yu still felt the less than sixteen thousand left in his account wasn't enough.

Luckily, another opportunity to make money had come today.

As the school bell rang, Bai Zhenzhen, who had been training nearby, finished her workout and looked at Zhang Yu. "Let's go, Yu. Time to film the commercial."