As a ground-shaking rumble echoed, walls abruptly rose within the arena, dividing the vast space into numerous small chambers.

In the Sung Yang High School’s resting area, Zhang Yu watched the transformation with astonishment. “Purple Cloud High School’s stadium can actually morph! Compared to this, our school’s stadium is practically a sandbox!”

Most of the Sung Yang students nearby grimaced at his words. However, considering Zhang Yu’s recently displayed physical strength of rank 5, level 4.95, no one dared to openly contradict him. Even He Dayou, the headmaster’s son, pretended not to hear this Sung Yang detractor.

After all, Sung Yang High prioritized academics, and a physical prowess as high as Zhang Yu’s was revered above all else—a mere glance from him could send any underachiever’s soul scattering.

Wang Hai, standing beside him, changed the subject. “Beyond physical strength, the sports competition will test agility, speed, and power.”

“Agility accounts for 75 points, speed also for 75, and power for 150. Every stage is crucial. Those who excel in only one area won’t achieve a high ranking because the sports competition assesses a student’s comprehensive physical attributes.”

“Listen closely; the rules are about to be explained.”

A short animated video began playing on the giant screen, demonstrating the assessment process for the upcoming stage.

Each competitor was shown standing alone in a small room within the arena.

A glowing halo with a 3-meter radius illuminated the ground beneath their feet.

Of course, for larger individuals, the halo’s size would be proportionally increased.

Then, in the video, high-speed steel pellets began spraying from all four walls of the room, targeting the competitor.

Simultaneously, the halo beneath the competitor’s feet would continuously shrink, making it increasingly difficult to evade the steel pellets.

The round would end either when a competitor was struck by a steel pellet or stepped outside the halo.

The results of this stage were based on how long each competitor could endure within the shrinking halo, with the longest survival time earning the top rank.

Competitors who didn’t make it into the top twenty would be immediately eliminated, unable to proceed to the next stage.

Wang Hai explained, “Understood? It’s similar to the agility training I usually put you through, just on a more challenging level.”

Zhang Yu stroked his chin. “So, larger individuals are at a disadvantage in this stage. They’ll inevitably have to evade more pellets simultaneously.”

Wang Hai responded, “A larger physique has its advantages, allowing them to shine in the power competition later. But it also brings disadvantages, like being more easily hit in the agility competition, and facing a disadvantage in the speed competition.”

“The sports competition, after all, assesses the overall qualities of the physical body. Even with some emphasis on particular attributes, it won’t allow students with severe imbalances to achieve high rankings… Power, speed, agility – none can be neglected.”

The video then delved into specific details, such as the prohibition of using spiritual force during the competition. Competitors were required to wear force-detection patches to monitor any force fluctuations.

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, knowing that he’d have to temporarily suppress the passive qi circulation of the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Art.

Naturally, as a sports competition focused on physical prowess, spiritual roots were also forbidden.

Therefore, from the moment they boarded the bus that day, Bai Zhenzhen had concealed her inner spiritual root, with no intention of letting its power come into play.

With the detailed rules explained, Bai Zhenzhen chimed in, “Ten minutes until the official start. Let’s go, Yu-zi, let’s use the restroom together, don’t want to be caught short during the competition.”

The two headed to the restroom, witnessing the various high school teams preparing for the competition along the way—primarily through the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

They watched as students from ordinary high schools injected unlabeled, unpackaged syringes into their acne-covered arms.

They saw students from White Dragon High School, boasting powerful bodies, swallowing vials of brand-name performance-enhancing drugs in front of the cameras.

They observed the black behemoths from Red Pagoda High School inject one syringe after another into their veins.

They witnessed Le Mulan and Lian Tianji from Purple Cloud High School inject themselves intracranially after internal injections, enhancing their overall abilities.

After observing all of this… well, Zhang Yu wasn’t as surprised as before, and he wouldn’t ask questions like, “Isn’t the sports competition supposed to test only the physical body? Why isn’t drug use prohibited?”

Now, if someone were to ask him that, he’d confidently explain, “Testing the various abilities of the physical body, of course, includes the body’s drug resistance. That’s how things are in Kunxu.”

Arriving at the restroom entrance, the two headed to their respective restrooms.

Although Zhang Yu had experienced many restrooms in his life, including those at Sung Yang High School, Red Pagoda High School, White Dragon High School…

He was still shocked.

“This damned place even has a sideboard? And the sideboard has a box of chopsticks and a box of spoons?”

Since there was a sideboard, Zhang Yu wasn’t that surprised to see a dining table nearby.

However, when he saw the warning sign on the table, ‘Urination on the Table is Strictly Prohibited’, he was speechless once again.

“Damn it… are the students at Purple Cloud High School this uncivilized?”

But after reading the notice on the wall, he realized that he misunderstood.

Due to the high number of student suicides, the school’s profits had declined last quarter, so they implemented a “Care for Underachievers” policy.

Not only did they install dining tables and sideboards in the restrooms to ensure that underachievers could eat safely and comfortably, but they also prohibited bullying in the restrooms.

“So that’s why; it’s to care for the underachievers… but it feels even more depressing.”

On the other side, outside the women’s restroom…

Bai Zhenzhen was curiously observing not only the women’s and men’s restrooms but also… the other doors.

One of them was labeled “Le Mulan Exclusive.”

“A restroom for the top-ranked student?”

Bai Zhenzhen wanted to try entering, but she realized that the door didn’t even have a handle; it seemed to require identity recognition to open automatically.

A trace of envy flashed in Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes. “Sung Yang High School is lacking; it should learn from Purple Cloud more. Building a restroom for the top three students would be so good.”

A moment later, the two returned to the arena.

Before officially entering, Bai Zhenzhen consumed a nootropic to enhance her focus during the competition.

Zhang Yu also took a stimulant to increase his speed.

Even though he followed the path of natural physical refinement, he wouldn’t force himself to go without performance enhancements if they could improve his performance by a few points.

Then, the two of them drank several vials of nerve-replenishing fluid to prevent drowsiness during the late-night competition.

Soon, all the competitors entered the arena together. After attaching the force-detection patches to their bodies, they were assigned to individual small rooms.

As the halo on the ground suddenly lit up, Zhang Yu tensed up.

The next moment, with a series of whooshing sounds, steel pellets began shooting from the surrounding walls at high speed.

“Fortunately… they’re much slower than Ah Zhen’s spirit-piercing sword qi.”

With the stimulant taking effect, Zhang Yu’s muscles were completely activated, and his reactions were incredibly swift. Watching the steel pellets flying towards him, he constantly shifted his body to evade them.

“With the circle on the ground this big, I don’t need to use Full Concentration yet.”

Full Concentration was the level 10 effect of the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art, allowing Zhang Yu to focus to an unprecedented degree, even giving him the illusion that time was slowing down when he observed the world.

However, Full Concentration had a drawback: it couldn’t be maintained for long.

When Zhang Yu initially mastered it, he could only maintain it for one minute.

Now, with the improvement of his Dao Heart and the increasing strength of his martial will, he had extended the time to one and a half minutes.

“But since I can still handle it in my normal state, I’ll wait until the circle shrinks a little more and evading becomes more difficult before using Full Concentration…”

In the audience stands…

As an online influencer, Gang Shan watched the competition and began to comment, “As the circle shrinks, the difficulty will increase dramatically. It tests not only the body’s reaction and speed but also the brain’s ability to maintain focus…”

Just then, competitors started to be eliminated.

A high-speed steel pellet struck the leg of an ordinary high school student with a loud thud, causing him to stagger.

And as the student paused, more pellets shot towards him.

His mind was already in chaos, and his physical and mental reactions couldn’t keep up with the incoming steel pellets.

“Is the competition that much harder than our school’s usual training?”

The next moment, as the steel pellets bombarded him, the student collapsed to the ground, spitting blood.

After retiring, he looked with a mixture of envy and jealousy at the students who were still competing on the screen.

“Are those guys from the key high schools and the top three high schools monsters? They can still evade until now?”

Similar scenes were occurring in various corners of the arena as numerous ordinary high school competitors were not only eliminated but also injured.

Gang Shan showed the audience the eliminated ordinary high school competitors and then turned his attention to the Purple Cloud High School competitors who were calmly evading the pellets.

Lian Tianji in the circle kept an eye on all directions, constantly making small movements to dodge the incoming steel pellets.

Le Mulan nearby seemed even more relaxed, walking leisurely within the circle, letting the afterimages of the high-speed steel pellets pass by her as if they were dancing around her.

Gang Shan exclaimed, “The difference between the two sides is too great. Almost all the ordinary high school students have been eliminated, while the top three high schools are far from their limits.”

Le Jingchen, watching the eliminated ordinary students, felt a sense of foolishness.

“Spending a few thousand or tens of thousands each month to imitate cultivation?”

Le Jingchen couldn’t understand why these poor people were trying so hard to cultivate. In his opinion, whether these poor people cultivated or not, their lives wouldn’t change much. Forcing themselves to cultivate was just asking for trouble.

However, Le Jingchen wouldn’t reveal these thoughts. Otherwise, where would Purple Cloud Pharmaceuticals get so much money? Where would his family get so many resources?

So, at the moment in the live stream, Le Jingchen said, “Actually, the gap isn’t that big. I believe that ordinary high schools also have students with extraordinary talent. The reason they show such a big difference compared to the top three high school students is often just because they lack information.”

Before the competition, the top three high schools had been keeping their advancements in body refining a secret, probing each other’s progress.

Now that the competition had started, Le Jingchen knew that they didn’t need to keep it a secret anymore.

He continued, “For example, Purple Cloud High School’s Super Metabolism Surgery, or White Dragon High School’s weaker Artificial Demon Muscle Surgery. If ordinary high school students knew about these technologies, had these surgeries, they might have a chance to compete with Le Mulan, Song Hailong, and the others.”

As he spoke, Le Jingchen pointed towards Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen and said, “Gang Shan, look, these two students from Sung Yang High School have caught up to the level of the top three high schools after receiving the new body refining technology.”

Since he realized that Sung Yang High School wanted to make a name for themselves in this sports competition, Le Jingchen didn’t mind using them to promote the new body refining technology.