A moment later, Zhang Yu, walking out of the Xianyuan Group office building, looked pale, his body hunched, and appeared weak.

However, just a few kilometers after he left the skyscraper and got on the subway, his complexion gradually began to return to normal. As he circulated the Sky River Qi Absorption Method, the spiritual energy within him immediately flowed like streams rushing forward, instantly permeating the flesh and blood throughout his entire body. The spiritual energy that had originally spiraled out of control and dissipated also returned to its proper course with the surging forward spiritual energy, integrating into the complex spiritual energy circulation within his body, and naturally continued to circulate ceaselessly within Zhang Yu.

Sky River Qi Absorption Method Level 1 (0/20)

Looking at the Daoist spell that appeared on the Feather Scroll, a faint smile curled at the corners of Zhang Yu’s lips.

“It can indeed be mastered.”

“If I hadn’t mastered this Sky River Qi Absorption Method, this out-of-control spiritual energy would probably have taken one or two weeks to dissipate.”

The reason Zhang Yu dared to take on the trial cultivation work was due to the confidence he gained from the Feather Scroll. However, while at Xianyuan Group, he did not reveal his ability to master the Sky River Qi Absorption Method.

“Although this cultivation method is just a breathing technique for beginners, once mastered, it can operate continuously 24 hours a day, day and night.”

“Even without actively circulating the energy, it still has 30% of the breathing efficiency of active circulation. Once mastered… even if you do nothing all day, it’s equivalent to others having practiced breathing for over seven hours.”

“And this is just its effect at Level 1.”

“If this cultivation method were truly developed successfully, it would likely immediately become one of the best-selling breathing techniques on the market.”

Zhang Yu knew that, apart from the various cultivation methods taught in schools, the cultivation methods of other large corporations and sects were all copyrighted, all requiring payment to acquire, and contained immense profits. Precisely because this Sky River Qi Absorption Method was so powerful—a development project Zhang Yu believed was highly valued by Xianyuan Group—he was unwilling to reveal that he had mastered it, to avoid complications. Especially since the cultivation difficulty of this method was so high, in Zhang Yu’s opinion, if a high school freshman didn’t have the auxiliary equipment for guidance, they wouldn’t even be able to complete a single full circulation again, let alone mastering the skill. This made him even more reluctant to reveal that he had mastered the Sky River Qi Absorption Method.

And in order to master the Sky River Qi Absorption Method, Zhang Yu also switched the Feather Scroll’s specialization from the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Forms to this breathing technique. Although as a result, the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Forms couldn’t be rapidly improved for now, the Sky River Qi Absorption Method was put on the fast track.

“Level 3 of the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Forms is temporarily sufficient.”

“For the time being, I’ll focus on improving this Sky River Qi Absorption Method.”

Besides the gains from the Sky River Qi Absorption Method from this trial cultivation, the biggest gain was the payment from Xianyuan Group. Ten thousand yuan plus an additional three thousand, totaling 13,000 yuan in compensation. At this moment, Zhang Yu’s savings suddenly increased to thirteen thousand seven hundred yuan. Unfortunately, as Zhang Yu took out ten thousand yuan to repay loans across multiple platforms, his savings instantly dropped back to three thousand seven hundred yuan. Fortunately, after repaying this ten thousand, the frequency of debt collection calls significantly decreased, and they likely wouldn’t escalate their methods in the short term.

Then, the countdown that sounded in his mind quickly interrupted Zhang Yu’s musings, making him concentrate again and resume circulating the Sky River Qi Absorption Method.

In the blink of an eye, a night passed.

At the entrance of Songyang High School, Zhang Yu was walking while observing the changes on the Feather Scroll.

Sky River Qi Absorption Method Level 1 (0/20) → Sky River Qi Absorption Method Level 1 (11/20)

And his spiritual energy, thanks to his previous diligent practice and the effort put into the Sky River Qi Absorption Method this time, also improved.

Spiritual Energy 7.7 → 7.8

“It’s indeed running passively. Yesterday, I only circulated it 5 times before going to sleep, counting as 5 circulations.”

“But after I woke up this morning, it had increased to 8 circulations, and on the way to school, after my active circulation, it reached the 11th circulation.”

Zhang Yu was secretly delighted as he realized this; compared to the thirteen thousand yuan, this Sky River Qi Absorption Method was the biggest gain from yesterday. He was now determined to first raise the level of this Sky River Qi Absorption Method. Including the Feather Scroll’s specialization, he naturally decided to keep it set on the Sky River Qi Absorption Method.

Unfortunately, this morning there were two consecutive physical education classes again. Walking on the way to the training ground, Zhang Yu felt a slight regret.

“Sigh, I have to practice the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Forms again.”

“My current specialization is the Sky River Qi Absorption Method; it’s clearly best suited for cultivating this breathing technique.”

As soon as Zhang Yu entered the training ground, he saw small giants, their muscles bulging like marble, injecting themselves needle by needle. Then, accompanied by bursts of cracking and popping sounds, various beast-like roars, and the clanging of equipment, the students of the demonstration class were already training with great enthusiasm.

Just then, a student looked at Wang Hai in surprise, saying, “No… that’s impossible. My cousin sold this to me…”

Wang Hai shook his head, crushed the syringe in his hand into powder with a ‘snap’, and sprinkled it into the trash can. “Look, what changes have you seen in your weight these past two weeks? Neither your muscles nor your organs show any signs of growth. Your physical strength only increased by 0.03 in two weeks, looking like a failed natural body refiner. It’s clear you bought fake medicine.” Having said this, he no longer looked at the dejected student in front of him, but instead raised his voice and said, “How many times have I told you all? When buying medicine, you must go through legitimate channels. The safest supply is definitely from the school teachers.”

“If you try to save money and buy fake or expired medicine,” he continued, “that’s being penny-wise and pound-foolish, and you’re wasting your own time.”

After lecturing the students, Wang Hai’s gaze swept over Zhang Yu, who was refining his body in the corner. Looking at Zhang Yu, Wang Hai’s mind flashed with the physical strength data from Zhang Yu’s test today: “0.85 level? In three days, an increase of 0.02 in physical strength?”

“Zhang Yu wasn’t this fast even when he was injecting himself with medicine every day before, was he?”

Based on Wang Hai’s many years of coaching experience, such rapid physical strength growth meant Zhang Yu absolutely could not be completely natural, not taking medicine or injections, as he claimed; he must have secretly injected himself with medicine before class. “Not only is it not natural body refinement,” he mused, “the medicine he’s injecting must also be very strong to achieve this effect, and the damage to his body is probably significant.” As for Zhang Yu being able to reach the third level of the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Forms and undergoing devilish training under extreme conditions by himself, that never even crossed Wang Hai’s mind.

But regardless, at this moment, Zhang Yu was increasingly challenging Wang Hai’s classroom authority in his eyes. Especially since it posed a question: Where did Zhang Yu buy the medicine? Would other students see the good effects on Zhang Yu and also look for this source to buy medicine? If so, wouldn’t it affect his sales performance? The moment he thought of the cutthroat competition in the body-refining medicine market, Wang Hai’s warning nerves in his head instantly tensed up.

“A second-year? Or third-year teacher?”

“Or did an after-school tutor outside of school guide him?”

“Are they trying to sell products on my turf?”

As for Zhang Yu himself, in Wang Hai’s eyes, he was just a pawn; what he most wanted to figure out now was the person behind Zhang Yu. However, the influence in the class still needed to be eliminated.

So, a moment later, Wang Hai gave a few instructions to the student named Zhao Tianxing. Then Zhao Tianxing came over to Zhang Yu and said, “Zhang Yu, Teacher Wang asked me to ask you if you’re sure you won’t be buying any more medicine?”

After seeing Zhang Yu nod, Zhao Tianxing scratched his head and said with an embarrassed expression, “Well… Teacher asked me to tell you that, so as not to affect other students’ training, he wants you to go to the small room on the side to practice alone. Is that okay with you?”

After being instructed by Wang Hai, Zhao Tianxing understood that Wang Hai wanted to further isolate Zhang Yu. He looked at Zhang Yu with a hint of pity in his eyes, but his actions showed no hesitation. As a “good student” and “obedient student” in Wang Hai’s eyes, Zhao Tianxing had, precisely because he fully accepted Wang Hai’s guidance, bought all the medicines recommended by him, and combined with his own efforts, gradually broken through to Level 1.00 in physical strength, becoming one of the top ten students in physical strength in the class. Therefore, regarding physical education teacher Wang Hai, he had always been obedient to his every word.

However, worried that Zhang Yu might be upset, he spoke very politely, and after speaking, added, “Why don’t you still buy some medicine? Teacher Wang’s medicine is especially good quality; natural body refining really won’t work…”

But to Zhao Tianxing’s surprise, Zhang Yu didn’t hesitate at all and immediately agreed to go practice outside. Watching the other person’s retreating back, Zhao Tianxing scratched his head and thought to himself, “Sigh, Zhang Yu is a bit stubborn. Wouldn’t it be better to apologize to the teacher, admit his mistake, and continue attending classes properly? He just ruined his own future with such an impulsive decision.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu arrived in the small room, chuckled, and sat down, immediately beginning to practice the Sky River Qi Absorption Method. Wisps of spiritual energy flowed into his Dantian Qi Sea and were refined into spiritual power by Zhang Yu, bit by bit.

Sky River Qi Absorption Method Level 1 (11/20) → Sky River Qi Absorption Method Level 1 (16/20)

In the blink of an eye, five circulations were completed, and two physical education classes had also passed. But during the subsequent Chinese and math classes, Zhang Yu in the classroom was still diligently circulating the Sky River Qi Absorption Method. Prolonged breathing of spiritual energy and refining spiritual power was naturally a very boring task. His lower back and shoulders would ache, his skin would itch, and his mind would feel even more monotonous. Even the former Zhang Yu, after breathing for one to two hours, would often feel the urge to relax, stand up and walk around, or scratch an itch, or scratch his head.

But at this moment, Zhang Yu, under the compulsion of the ritual power and encouraged by the changing numbers on the Feather Scroll, endured and continued his cultivation, finally practicing the Sky River Qi Absorption Method to the 20th circulation in one go.

Sky River Qi Absorption Method Level 2 (0/40)

Countless experiences of circulating the Sky River Qi Absorption Method bloomed in Zhang Yu’s mind, and he could feel the spiritual energy circulation within his body becoming more complex, more refined, and more vigorous. When Zhang Yu stopped, the Sky River Qi Absorption Method was still continuously operating, but its speed was a bit faster than before.

“At Level 1 of the Sky River Qi Absorption Method, passive breathing was only 30% the speed of active breathing.”

“But after reaching Level 2, the speed of passive breathing increased to 35% of active breathing.”

“As for actively circulating the Sky River Qi Absorption Method,” he thought, “the efficiency of breathing also increased significantly; it’s much stronger than my original Level 1 basic breathing technique.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, feeling somewhat satisfied, as these were long-term, continuous improvements, day and night. So, after lunch, he redoubled his efforts, continuing to improve the Sky River Qi Absorption Method. In fact, during the following period, he spent almost all his available time on the Sky River Qi Absorption Method.

High school immortal cultivation was both tedious and arduous. Especially since Zhang Yu had no time to relax under the compulsion of the ritual power, only by watching the numbers after the Sky River Qi Absorption Method gradually increase and imagining the long-term benefits brought by the passive effects of this cultivation method could his mind feel a little more comfortable. As the saying goes, if you can’t resist, you might as well enjoy it.

So, during physical education class, he practiced the Sky River Qi Absorption Method. During Chinese class, he practiced the Sky River Qi Absorption Method. During lunch break, he was still practicing the Sky River Qi Absorption Method. In the evenings, while waiting for work in the square, he was still practicing the Sky River Qi Absorption Method, but unfortunately, he hadn’t found any work in those three days. Not to mention when he went home to sleep, the Sky River Qi Absorption Method was still operating on its own.

Just three short days passed, and the Sky River Qi Absorption Method was raised to Level 4 (5/80). His spiritual energy also advanced rapidly with Zhang Yu’s diligent efforts, increasing from 7.8 to 8.3. At this moment, the passive breathing speed of the Sky River Qi Absorption Method had reached 45% of the active breathing speed.