Inside the training grounds.

The students of First Year Demonstration Class were engaged in one-on-one combat training.

Martial Arts Instructor Lei Jun roared at the crowd, “Dao techniques cost money, martial arts cost lives! If you want to spend less money, you have to risk more!”

“Every bit of extra hard work you put in now, will save you money on tutoring classes!”

“In two months, you’ll officially be Second Year students. Think about whether your current level is worthy of being in Second Year!”

While urging everyone to cultivate diligently, Lei Jun looked at the Purpleskins, Beastmen, and Blackskins in the class and sighed inwardly, “This year’s high school entrance interviews will likely give significant bonus points for those willing to undergo new body refinement surgeries after enrollment.”

“In another five or ten years, it might become a standard requirement for admission, like sterilization.”

Lei Jun could already imagine the situation: “What? You think you can cultivate as an immortal with that human form? Go get the modification surgery first!”

But Lei Jun was also somewhat relieved, “Luckily I’m not a physical education teacher; this doesn’t concern me much.”

With the advancement of new body refinement technology, Lei Jun knew that the physical education teachers were holding meetings almost daily, constantly researching new teaching plans.

“So it’s still better to be a martial arts teacher; the teaching tasks are the easiest.”

“But that’s only true for martial arts teachers in the First Year.”

Lei Jun knew that the martial arts teachers in the Third Year faced immense pressure.

After all, they were dealing with Third Year students who had already entered the late stage of Qi Refinement and were at the most score-obsessed age, requiring genuine combat experience.

“Someone like me, who has only mastered basic combat experience such as sneak attacks, insults, and provocations, can only fight in the arena.”

But just being good at fighting wasn’t enough to become a Third Year teacher.

Lei Jun knew that was a pipe dream.

“A Third Year teacher needs to spend several years researching insurance contracts, injury assessments, medical compensation, organ valuation, and so on. How else can they be competent? They won’t even understand how students are being beaten to death or injured during class!”

But with high risk comes high reward. Lei Jun sometimes envied the Third Year martial arts teachers’ income as insurance and medical intermediaries.

Just then, a series of footsteps came from outside. Lei Jun’s brow furrowed as he saw a row of Second Year students approaching, especially when he saw Lan Ling leading the way.

At the same time, the First Year students who were practicing stopped and bowed to the Second Year students in greeting.

“Greetings, seniors!”

Lan Ling nodded slightly at the First Year students’ respectful actions. “Carry on with your training.”

Then, he walked towards Lei Jun and smiled slightly. “Teacher, today we’ve arranged a combat exchange between the Second and First Years. Did you receive the message?”

Lei Jun checked and found that the arrangement had indeed been made just now, and he felt even more displeased.

Because he remembered the scene of Lan Ling guiding Bai Zhenzhen a few months ago.

But he knew that he was powerless to do anything about it.

Lei Jun sighed inwardly, “So, it’s finally here.”

Lei Jun knew that the Student Council of Songyang High School, and even the sixteen influential clans of Songyang City, would not idly watch Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, two paupers, repeatedly snatching competition rankings.

Because for the wealthy people of Songyang City, every competition ranking was an important achievement for interviews with the top universities. How could they give it to paupers who were destined not to get into the top universities?

Even with his peak Qi Refinement cultivation, Lei Jun didn’t dare to go against this tide. He could only say reluctantly, “Don’t injure anyone.”

Lan Ling said, “Don’t worry, Teacher. I’ve told all the students that they must be careful when conducting combat training with the juniors and that they must not injure them.”

“Oh, by the way…” Lan Ling glanced around and didn’t see Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. He casually said, “Are all the students here? If they’re not here, call them over.”

In a corner of the training room, Zhao Tianxing, whose body was purple like a humanoid eggplant, secretly took out his phone and started sending messages to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen: “The ‘door panel man’ is looking for trouble with you. Don’t come over!”

But just as he finished sending the message, a hand gently patted Zhao Tianxing’s back, scaring him so much that he almost dropped his phone.

“Junior, let senior give you some pointers.”

Zhao Tianxing turned around and saw a senior who was much wider than him smiling at him.

Lan Ling said indifferently, “Zhou Ke, remember, don’t injure your junior.”

“Don’t worry,” Zhou Ke said as he pulled Zhao Tianxing out, “I guarantee that not even a strand of hair will be injured.”

In the school’s small forest.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were hiding here, cultivating silently.

As Zhang Yu circulated the Scarlet Marrow Primordial Qi, accompanied by the violent movements of his muscles, organs, and bones, he was now steaming all over, as if he had turned into a radiator, constantly emitting heat to the surroundings.

Since returning from Xiandu, Zhang Yu had been charging forward on the path of immortality by burning money, and his strength had naturally improved by leaps and bounds.

To this day, his mana had reached 69.4, and his physical strength had reached level 6.81, increasingly approaching the average level of White Dragons when they first entered Third Year.

Only the progress of his Dao Heart had been slower during this time, only advancing to level 5 (37).

“Yu Xinghan, that guy, promised to introduce me to channels for cultivating Dao Heart in the spiritual realm after this year’s college entrance exam. Why hasn’t it happened yet?”

In addition to the progress of Dao Heart, mana, and physical body, another gain for Zhang Yu was that he had advanced the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm to level 10 in his combat training with Yu Xinghan.

And since the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm reached level 10, Zhang Yu had felt subtle changes in the structure of his muscles and bones every day, precisely because his body was undergoing a transformation with daily eating and exercise.

Zhang Yu understood that this was the level 10 effect of the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm, also known as Dragon Tendons and Elephant Bones, allowing the body to gain a more immortal and powerful load-bearing capacity, able to withstand and transmit higher bursts of power.

“It’s worthy of being a 200,000 martial art. No wonder Yu Xinghan wants to practice this martial art.”

“If I had this level 10 Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm during the sports competition, maybe I could have supported 13,000 kilograms—no, maybe I could have supported 14,000 kilograms of the Sky Pillar.”

Just then, Bai Zhenzhen, who was next to him, suddenly said, “Yu Zi, did you see the message Lao Zhao sent us?”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu opened his phone, looked at Lao Zhao’s message, and asked Bai Zhenzhen, “A Zhen, what do you say?”

Bai Zhenzhen laughed. “If we don’t even dare to fight students like Lan Ling from Songyang High School, how can we compete with the overlords of Xiandu?”

As she spoke, Bai Zhenzhen had already charged towards the training room with a surge of electricity.

“Yu Zi, I’ll go first. If you’re late, you might not have a chance to take action.”

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen disappearing in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “A Zhen’s speed is getting faster and faster.”

He knew that it wasn’t just him who was progressing rapidly during this time; Bai Zhenzhen was also improving by leaps and bounds.

“Originally, A Zhen’s martial arts talent was already very impressive with the blessing of the True Spiritual Root.”

Zhang Yu still remembered Bai Zhenzhen’s performance in learning basic high school martial arts, comprehending the Heavenly Martial Tempering Heart Sutra, and understanding the external moves of the Limitless Cloud Hand, all of which she had succeeded in within a very short time.

And now…

“While the True Spiritual Root is accelerating my cultivation speed, I am also stimulating the evolution of the True Spiritual Root.”

Zhang Yu had cultivated too many techniques to level 10, far exceeding the level of high school students.

In the process of constantly adapting to Zhang Yu, the True Spiritual Root seemed to absorb more traces of techniques from the operation of the physical body and mana, and then bring them back into Bai Zhenzhen’s body.

This allowed Bai Zhenzhen, if she practiced the techniques that Zhang Yu had practiced, to be like water flowing into a channel, able to continuously improve by leaps and bounds.

Especially pure external skills like the Back Dragon Overturning Mountain Hand and the Dragon Elephant Mountain Shattering Palm, Bai Zhenzhen could easily pick them up.

However, Zhang Yu knew that Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t afford the rights to use these techniques, which he had purchased, in order to save money. She was secretly practicing them and didn’t plan to use them openly, only as a means to improve her strength.

Inside the training ground.

Zhao Tianxing, who looked like an eggplant, had just gotten up when he was kicked in the butt again by Zhou Ke, and he fell to the ground like a dog eating dung, causing the Second Year students to burst into laughter.

Zhao Tianxing struggled to get up again, but no matter how he dodged and counterattacked, Zhou Ke could always come to his behind like a ghost and kick him.

The opponent used little strength, only enough to knock Zhao Tianxing to the ground.

This represented a complete crush in strength, speed, and control.

Therefore, Zhao Tianxing was not injured.

He was not discouraged by the huge gap between him and his opponent.

After all, he was facing a senior from the year above, and Zhao Tianxing knew that any First Year freshman could only obediently lower his head in this situation.

“After all, it’s a year’s difference; it’s normal to be no match for senior.”

At this moment, most of his mind was no longer on the battle, but on thinking about his current embarrassing state.

“Luckily I had the super metabolism surgery, and my whole body is purple. Everyone probably can’t see that I’m blushing, right?”

“Purple is my best protective color now.”

Getting up again, Zhao Tianxing quickly tightened his loosening pants, fearing that they would fall down if he was beaten too much.

He knew that he must have become a laughing stock in the eyes of everyone present.

And the only thing Zhao Tianxing could think of doing was to try to pretend not to care, and when everyone laughed enough, they would naturally gradually stop laughing in the future.

This was his experience after being a clown time and time again.

As for resistance?

“We First Year students are definitely no match for the Second Year seniors.”

“And the leaders are from the Student Council…”

Thinking of the powerful clans behind Lan Ling and others, Zhao Tianxing secretly told himself not to cause trouble for his parents.

Just then, he heard a voice say, “Enough! What’s the point of this kind of combat training?”

Zhou Ke stopped and looked at Qian Shen, who had spoken, tilting his head and saying, “Junior, do you have an opinion on senior’s guidance?”

Zhao Tianxing, who was getting up, looked at Qian Shen with some emotion. “Lao Qian…”

But Qian Shen frowned. “The combat exam in the college entrance exam will have Yellow Turban Warriors simulating the examinees’ qualities for combat.”

“If you want to improve your score, you should fight opponents with similar data.”

“What you’re doing now is wasting everyone’s cultivation time and dragging down everyone’s score, isn’t it?”

“And Zhao Tianxing’s score, as well as the scores of most people here, are not high to begin with. Isn’t it even more delayed by what you’re doing?”