White Dragon High School, located in Songyang City, is recognized as one of the “Big Three” prestigious high schools, a title it shares with Ziyun High School. The school boasts a long history and strong financial backing. Its dominant status in Songyang City is evident in various metrics, including the annual number of competition winners, students admitted to the top ten universities, and even the number of student suicides. In fact, for many White Dragon High School students, the “Big Three” concept is irrelevant; there’s only one prestigious school in Songyang City, and that’s White Dragon High School.

At this moment, in the White Dragon High School cafeteria, Zhang Pianpian was eating while flipping through her spellbook, studying newly purchased talisman textbooks.

Just then, a petite girl sat down opposite her and said mysteriously, “Pian Bao, I heard an interesting piece of news. Want to know? Treat me to a meal, and I’ll tell you.”

Zhang Pianpian said without looking up, “Not interested.”

The girl chuckled and said, “Your brother made quite a splash at the Central Tower last time, but unfortunately, he wasn’t accepted by the Golden Core ultimately. Don’t you want to know his latest news?”

Zhang Pianpian frowned slightly and said, “It’s worth at most a 9-yuan ‘poor man’s meal.’ Any more expensive, and I’m not listening.”

“That’s enough, that’s enough,” the girl chuckled. “It’s rare for you, Pian Bao, to treat me to a meal. No one in class would believe it if I told them.”

Seeing Zhang Pianpian’s impatient expression, the girl continued, “My friend from Songyang High School told me the news. Your brother ranked third in his grade on the recent monthly exam, with a total score of 620 points.”

Zhang Pianpian said in surprise, “620 points? Are you sure this information is true?”

“Absolutely true,” the girl said. “That score would be enough to get into the top fifteen in our own freshman year here. Impressive! Didn’t you say your brother had no talent? He seems pretty good now.”

A hint of doubt flashed in Zhang Pianpian’s eyes. “My judgment is never wrong. He doesn’t have the talent to cultivate the immortal path. It seems something has happened to him recently.”

The girl asked, “Now the Songyang High School Student Council will probably be keeping an eye on him. Aren’t you going to help him?”

Zhang Pianpian lowered her gaze and said indifferently, “It’s up to him to make his own choice. If he’s willing to sign a contract with the Student Council, at least his high school life will be easier.”

The girl pouted and said, “Isn’t that too strict? How many students can withstand the Student Council’s pressure?”

Zhang Pianpian said coldly, “If he can’t endure it, he’ll take the path of not enduring. Otherwise, my help would only harm him. Ultimately, his true mettle will be revealed by the choices he makes.”

Songyang High School.

Zhang Yu could clearly feel that the entire school’s atmosphere had changed. During class breaks, less familiar classmates began to greet him.

“Zhang Yu, your physical strength improved so quickly. Is it really from natural body tempering?”

“Zhang Yu, can I borrow your martial arts theory exam paper to look at?”

In the hallway, students from other classes, whom he didn’t know, pointed at him.

“Look, that’s Zhang Yu, the one Teacher Lei talked about.”

“Ugh, those monsters in the elite class really don’t give others a chance to live.”

During the martial arts class, Teacher Lei Jun repeatedly played the video of him defeating He Dayou. He also had Zhang Yu explain his combat strategy at the time, which made He Dayou’s qi and blood surge, his heart beat more powerfully, and he felt younger and more vibrant.

In the cafeteria, students began to specifically detour around Zhang Yu, seemingly trying to secretly peek at what dishes he was eating. Some students with whom he had no particular acquaintance wanted to sit at his table for meals.

At dinner time, Zhang Yu simply called Zhao Tianxing over, bringing him and Bai Zhenzhen to eat together. After all, Zhao Tianxing alone could occupy two seats, so the three of them perfectly filled the entire dining table. As for Zhou Tianyi, that kid had disappeared today right after class, not even showing up to have dinner with them.

Zhao Tianxing had also eaten with them several times recently and had gradually become much more familiar with both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. Zhang Yu even noticed that Bai Zhenzhen seemed much more relaxed in front of Zhao Tianxing than she was in front of Zhou Tianyi.

At this moment, Zhao Tianxing complained, “How much longer will the cafeteria’s electronic screen display the monthly exam results? It’s inconvenient to check food prices now.”

Zhang Yu took a bite of his food and sighed, “Little Zhao, this is where your perspective is too narrow. The school displays monthly exam results to encourage everyone to study hard. I think it’s perfectly fine to display them for a few more days.”

Bai Zhenzhen, who was sitting next to him, also nodded slightly. “After all, exams are our duty as students. How can the importance of displaying scores compare to mere food prices?”

Zhao Tianxing looked at the two people in front of him, especially Zhang Yu, with a hint of speechlessness. Then he suddenly realized that Zhang Yu was no longer the student whose monthly exam ranking was similar to his; they were no longer in the same campus echelon. Those actions—deeply hurting other students, relentlessly pressuring them, and inciting intense internal competition—were now, for Zhang Yu, a blatant display of his achievements.

‘Just a few days ago, Zhang Yu was still vehemently criticizing these inhumane school practices with me,’ he thought. ‘But now he’s become like this.’ He mused to himself, ‘Can a person really change so quickly once their scores improve?’

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu and smiled, “Yu Zi, you seem to be in a very good mood.”

Better than good. Zhang Yu felt absolutely thrilled right now. He had never found the scenery at Songyang High School so beautiful, nor the students and teachers so kind. For someone who had to endure arduous cultivation every single day, this was truly the most beautiful scenery, a rare comfort, and Heaven’s reward for his diligence and self-discipline.

Zhang Yu modestly waved his hand. “Oh, these are all just useless empty titles. I don’t know why everyone suddenly likes to come to me. Ah Zhen, you’ve been ranked first in the grade for so long, yet why haven’t this many people come to seek you out?”

Bai Zhenzhen pouted, her face full of disdain. “Because my first place makes them see no hope of catching up. All they feel is the absolute gap in talent. Your sudden progress, however, makes them feel there’s a possibility of imitation. So, one by one, they all want to be your good friend and pry into the secret of your academic improvement.”

Bai Zhenzhen swallowed her chicken leg in one bite, mercilessly revealing the cruel reality. “In a high school campus, scores are king. A select exercise book, a paid talisman technique, or even practical experience gained from a tutoring class — any of these is enough to make countless high school students flock to them, let alone the secret behind your 70-point improvement in one month. Even top ten academic achievers in the grade can’t help but be tempted. These students who come to you aren’t truly here to be your friends. They just want to acquire the secret to your significant score increase, ideally transferring your 70-point improvement to themselves.”

Zhao Tianxing, sitting nearby, squirmed in his seat, causing the two chairs beneath him to creak under the strain. He thought to himself, “I was actually tenth this time, and I did intentionally try to get close to Zhang Yu before. Is Bai Zhenzhen perhaps talking about me? Although I genuinely wanted to learn some good study habits from both of them, and then perhaps subtly ask Zhang Yu about the secret to his rapid score improvement…” At this thought, he squirmed even more, feeling the atmosphere at the dinner table grow awkward. He temporarily suppressed his original intention to ask Zhang Yu about his secret to rapid improvement.

Even after parting ways with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, watching one take the bus and the other the subway, Zhao Tianxing was still thinking about it. “Was Bai Zhenzhen really talking about me?”

On the bus.

Just after boarding the crowded bus, Zhang Yu felt his phone vibrate. He took it out and saw a message from Bai Zhenzhen.

“Over the next few days, the Student Council might approach you to discuss a contract.”

“No matter the terms, don’t agree to anything yet.”

“Wait until I’ve finished talking with them, then we can discuss it together.”

Reading Bai Zhenzhen’s message, Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up as he thought, “So, high-level contracts are negotiated with the Student Council?”

Zhang Yu had never known much about the Songyang High School Student Council. In his mind, what could a high school student council possibly do? But from the implications of Bai Zhenzhen’s words, the Student Council was clearly not simple; it even had the power to negotiate contracts with students.

“I wonder what the terms of the contract offered to me will be. From Ah Zhen’s tone, does she want to advance and retreat with me? To raise the price together?”

After pondering for a few seconds without grasping the main point, and hearing the countdown ring in his mind, Zhang Yu had to temporarily set aside these wild thoughts and began reviewing the textbooks stored on his phone.

However, after reading the textbooks for a while, whether it was due to the feedback from the monthly exam results or the impending contract, Zhang Yu felt a bit restless on the bus today and couldn’t concentrate on his reading. He simply put down his phone and pondered his current path of cultivation. Regarding his thoughts on this matter, the ritual power did not exert any coercion. After all, contemplating his future path and planning his cultivation… all aligned with his desire to study hard, cultivate diligently, get into university, work hard, earn money, and eventually buy all the antiques in his shopping cart.

“Next, I’ll first raise the Primordial Qi Gathering Technique to Level 10. The next goal is the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art, but this martial arts cultivation method requires a Level 3 Dao Heart. So, I’ll have to practice the Basic Heart Refining Method first, raising it to Level 10 while also improving my Dao Heart to Level 3, and then I can practice the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art… After that, the only things I’ll have to practice are Basic Breathwork, San Shou, and Basic High School Swordsmanship.”

After confirming his future plans, Zhang Yu also thought about his current savings of over seventy thousand, and the potential income he might gain after signing a contract. He couldn’t help but have an idea.

“Should I buy some more powerful, more effective cultivation methods?”

Previously, Zhang Yu had no such plans because he lacked funds. But after receiving sixty-six thousand from Wang Hai today, Zhang Yu couldn’t stop thinking about how to spend the money. Things like spiritual roots, talismans, combat experience… many things he previously dared not even imagine, he now vaguely had some ideas about. He just needed to wait for the contract negotiations to conclude and see how much money he’d have before making concrete arrangements. And as he thought about his future cultivation studies, the idea of purchasing more cultivation methods involuntarily arose in his mind.

“Even if I don’t buy, I can at least take a look and get an idea.”

His phone screen flashed. Zhang Yu opened a shopping website and entered his real-name account. After another facial recognition scan, Zhang Yu finally accessed the cultivation method purchasing website. However, with his current status, he could only view Qi Refining stage cultivation methods. As soon as he entered, he saw a recommendation bar that read: “Your friends are currently viewing: ‘Charming Maiden Great Art (Unisex Edition),’ ‘Great Dream Sutra (Cultivate while Sleeping),’ ‘Nine Heaven’s Rapid Success Eight Talisman Arts’…”