As Zhang Yu contacted the three major high schools, inside the office at Songyang High School, Lan Ling said, filled with indignation, “…If we just let this go, the student council will lose all credibility. How will we manage anything in the future?”

Zhou Chechen remained silent, contemplating the day’s events and the actions of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. “What gives these two such audacity? Is it just sheer recklessness? Or is someone else backing them, besides Zhang Pianpian?” As he listened to Lan Ling, he thought about perhaps revoking some of their privileges, like competition qualifications, as a way to test them further.

Just as Zhou Chechen was thinking this, his phone vibrated slightly. He opened it to find a message from Le Jingchen. Lan Ling, seeing Zhou Chechen’s strange expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Frowning, Zhou Chechen replied, “Le Jingchen says he’s already handled the matter we asked him to take care of.”

Lan Ling asked, puzzled, “Handled?”

Zhou Chechen continued, “Zhang Yu personally spoke with him, took Le Jingchen’s money, and won’t be participating in the upcoming first-year Dao Heart competition.”

Lan Ling exclaimed in surprise, “What? He personally approached Le Jingchen? How did he get in touch with Le Jingchen?”

Just then, Zhou Chechen’s phone vibrated again, and his expression changed even more dramatically when he saw the new message. “My bank account has been frozen?” he said, incredulously. “For a tax audit?”

Zhou Chechen was utterly confident that his taxes were impeccable, so why the sudden audit? Connecting this to their recent confrontation with Zhang Yu, Le Jingchen’s private deal with Zhang Yu, and now his temporarily frozen bank account…

Lan Ling, standing nearby, suggested, “President, could there be an issue with one of the company’s procedures? We should just need to pay back taxes…”

“Pay back taxes? Pay *your* head in taxes!” Zhou Chechen said, his face darkening. “This is clearly a warning. I knew Zhang Yu wasn’t so simple behind the scenes.”

Lan Ling asked, “Could it be the tax bureau…”

Zhou Chechen analyzed, “Being so secretive, how could it be the tax bureau? And right after we made our move, they contacted Le Jingchen and froze my bank account… I’m afraid we’ve been targeted for a while.”

Lan Ling’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t this a threat? I’ll go find Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen right now…”

“Damn it, have you trained your brain into muscle with your body cultivation? What’s the rush?” Zhou Chechen snapped. “Zhang Yu is just a dog. What good would it do to pin him down? Besides, they’re in the shadows, and we’re exposed. The fact that they dare to warn us like this shows they aren’t afraid of us at all.

“The immediate priority is to find out who is truly behind Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. Once we know, we can decide whether to endure or retaliate. I’ll discuss this with my father and personally arrange for our family’s people to investigate. Until then, don’t rush. Act as if nothing has happened.”

At Songyang High School, Zhang Yu looked at the message on his phone and let out a slight sigh of relief. It was a message from the captain of the Songyang City Patrol Team, a contact left for him by Zhang Pianpian: “The charm has been sent out, and the account freeze was successful.”

Zhang Yu replied, “Thank you.”

The other person replied: “It’s a small matter. Feel free to stop by sometime.”

For the next few days, the student council, the second-year students, and even Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling, all remained silent, as if the incident at the training ground had never occurred. Zhang Yu also breathed a small sigh of relief, thinking he probably didn’t need to worry about them for now.

“What needs to be done next is simple,” he thought. “Continue cultivating with all my might, transforming all these temporary riches into true strength.” So, in the days that followed, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen continued their rapid advancement on the path of cultivation, spending the balance in their accounts at a pace unprecedented in their lives.

At the Protective Zone, inside the incubation room, Zhang Yu was absorbing spiritual energy. Streams of Great Sun spiritual power circulated within his body. The next moment, magma-like spiritual power suddenly broke through the tiny meridians in his body, and Zhang Yu dramatically shattered another bottleneck in his spiritual power cultivation. His spiritual power broke through to 70 units. Feeling the surging flow of spiritual power after the breakthrough, Zhang Yu revealed a satisfied smile.

In front of him, Xiong Wenwu was also practicing his breathing technique. Zhang Yu said, “Thank you for what you did the other day.”

Xiong Wenwu replied indifferently, “It was nothing. You’ve spent so much here, helping out a bit is no big deal. Besides, I was just being honest. If you and Bai Zhenzhen don’t participate, my brothers will have a much better chance of getting into the Top Ten.”

Zhang Yu then asked curiously, “Why haven’t I seen An An today? Where is she?”

Xiong Wenwu shook his head and sighed, “An An is comforting others. Because her salary was cut.”

Zhang Yu asked, puzzled, “Huh? She got a pay cut, so why is she comforting others?”

Xiong Wenwu slowly explained, “Because she’s the Protective Zone’s best employee, she was asked to take the lead in accepting a pay cut, which means others will also be seeing their salaries reduced gradually. The manager told her to prepare the other employees mentally, to understand the company’s difficulties, and to share its hardships.”

Zhang Yu could only offer comfort, “Companies… they’re all like that.”

Xiong Wenwu said angrily, “She’s clearly the most dedicated employee in the entire Protective Zone, with the strongest company spirit. So why does she earn the least? Eat the worst? And when company performance declines, she’s asked to take the lead in accepting a pay cut? How is that any different from the top student in class having their benefits cut?”

Zhang Yu fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to say to comfort him.

Xiong Wenwu continued, “All of this shows… there’s a problem with the company. It’s failing to reward truly excellent employees.” Xiong Wenwu could feel that something was definitely wrong with the company. Not only were various bases and factories being acquired, but there was also some confusion in the upper management. “But it’s coming soon…” Xiong Wenwu muttered to himself. “I’m close to gathering enough money to help An An pay off her breeding debt. Then she’ll be able to leave this place.”

At White Dragon High School, Song Hailong was battling Bai Zhenzhen. But facing Bai Zhenzhen’s phantom-like movement technique, he found it increasingly difficult to land a hit. Song Hailong could only respond to constant change with stillness, like a reef withstanding Bai Zhenzhen’s relentless barrage, tirelessly searching for an opening. But Bai Zhenzhen was like a flash of lightning, always darting into his blind spots, forcing him to constantly adjust his stance and try to track her movements.

Just then, Bai Zhenzhen’s figure flickered, and she retreated to stop over ten meters away. Song Hailong frowned, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Zhenzhen glanced at the White Dragon people outside the door and said, “I say, you guys have been watching us train for a while, haven’t you?”

Chu Qiuri and others immediately knelt, indicating they would certainly continue watching from their knees.

Bai Zhenzhen said, “That’s not what I meant. I mean watching our training… it costs money.”

Song Hailong was about to say to forget it, but he heard Zhang Yu, not far away, chime in, “Exactly, can people really watch us train at this level for free? It’s time to charge admission.”

Yu Xinghan nodded and said, “Then let’s collect tickets.”

A moment later, the training room was packed with many people. A large group of White Dragon people stood around the perimeter, straining their necks to watch the four people sparring. As for the kneeling spots closer to the front, offering a clearer view, those required additional payment.

Before leaving White Dragon High School that day, Yu Xinghan told Zhang Yu, “We have a lead on the Spirit World matter. I’ll arrange it for you in a few days.”

It was late July. Less than half a month remained until the first round of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Exam. Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen continued to advance fearlessly on the path of immortality, with money rapidly diminishing and vast quantities of resources being consumed. Their progress was unprecedented. Zhang Yu’s spiritual power broke through to 81.5, and his physical strength reached 7.52. These two foundational aspects had now completely surpassed the average level of White Dragon people just entering their third year of high school. Only his Dao Heart’s progress remained quite gradual, currently reaching Level 5 (85). Zhang Yu’s bank balance also dropped to just over 200,000.

That evening, in the apartment, as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen diligently continued their cultivation, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly said, “Yuzi, do you feel like my belly has gotten bigger?”

Zhang Yu looked up and replied, “It seems a little bit?”

Bai Zhenzhen patted her lower abdomen. “I feel like it’s sticking out a bit. Can’t you tell?”

Zhang Yu looked closely, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw several greenish patterns appear on Bai Zhenzhen’s lower abdomen. Bai Zhenzhen also exclaimed in surprise, “Why did my spiritual root shrink?”

In Bai Zhenzhen’s perception, the True Spiritual Root, which had been firmly rooted in her Dantian Qihai, had just been absorbing spiritual energy and nourishing her flesh. The next moment, it gradually contracted, transforming into a greenish seed in her perception.

After Bai Zhenzhen told Zhang Yu about this change, Fuki said, “It has evolved.” Fuki explained, “I’ve always said that Bai Zhenzhen’s spiritual root is an evolving type. However… in past years, before Bai Zhenzhen embarked on the path of cultivation, this spiritual root was in its nascent stage, changing only slightly with her choices. But ever since she truly embarked on the path of immortality after entering high school, her spiritual root has been frequently stimulated, undergoing greater changes than all the previous years combined. Especially after you two began exchanging its use, each of your Level 10 cultivation techniques gave the spiritual root an even stronger stimulus, leading to its evolution today.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu also shared his conjecture about the spiritual root’s evolution with Bai Zhenzhen. Then Zhang Yu said, “Try to sense what the evolved True Spiritual Root can do. Does it have any new abilities?”

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhenzhen immediately focused all her attention on the True Spiritual Root. As her mind became fully absorbed, an ethereal sensation gradually spread throughout her entire body.