Chapter 10

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Chapter 10: Fierce Competition and Level 3 Body Strengthening

Zhang Yu sat down in a random spot, watching the crowd of people waiting for work in the square. A wave of exhaustion washed over him.

“This place is too hard to get by in. Is there even a single place that isn’t cutthroat?”

He had barely sat down to rest when a dreadful chill surged through his heart.

Please adhere to the Ritual’s Covenant. Strive to fulfill your wish. Do not intentionally slack off or delay. 10.

“Damn it.”

Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, but under the compulsion of the Ritual’s power, he had no choice but to get to work.

Considering his body had not fully recovered and the upcoming work might require physical exertion, Zhang Yu chose not to practice the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening. Instead, he opted to refine his Magic Power using the Basic Breathing Method.

With each breath he took, wisps of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth quickly flowed toward him, gradually gathering in his Dantian Qi Sea. Bit by bit, he refined them into a part of his Magic Power.

Time slowly passed as Zhang Yu practiced his breathing technique, and an hour went by.

In that hour, three separate groups had come to recruit workers. One was hiring temporary security personnel, another was a construction site in urgent need of cultivators for heavy labor, and a third was a courier company hiring cultivators to sort packages.

Zhang Yu gradually came to understand that most temporary jobs hiring Qi Refining Stage cultivators involved physical labor.

After all, Qi Refining Stage cultivators had not achieved a qualitative leap in intelligence or knowledge compared to mortals. Their physical prowess, however, was another matter, with each one capable of doing the work of a hundred. They excelled in jobs at construction sites, factories, and in security, their productivity far surpassing that of ordinary mortals.

As a result, many places that urgently needed extra manpower would come here to recruit cultivators.

While cultivators demanded far higher wages than ordinary people, it still proved to be cost-effective.

After all, if one cultivator could do the work of thirty ordinary people, they often only needed to be paid ten times the wage.

The people waiting in the square were all super-powered workhorses capable of enduring 007 schedules.

[Note: “007” is Chinese slang for a grueling work schedule, referencing working from 00:00 to 00:00, 7 days a week.]

Compared to them, Zhang Yu, who still slept four or five hours a day, was no more than an ordinary first-year student who could still get some sleep.

After glancing at the crowd that scrambled for every job, Zhang Yu remained in his meditative state, not joining the fray.

He knew that as a first-year student, he could not compete with the high school graduates.

He was waiting, waiting for the job Old Wang had mentioned, one specifically for currently enrolled high school students.

Several other high school students were waiting just like Zhang Yu. Some read books, others practiced their breathing techniques, and some practiced their martial arts. None of them joined the scramble for work, simply waiting quietly.

Another hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Faint popping sounds echoed through the air.

Feeling his body was sufficiently rested, Zhang Yu began practicing the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.

Those nearby glanced at him briefly before paying him no mind. Far too many people cultivated while waiting for work, and a basic technique like the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening was not enough to attract anyone’s attention.

Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 2 (18/20)

Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 2 (19/20)

After completing two rounds of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, Zhang Yu felt his muscles begin to ache, yet his spirit soared. He was just one more round away from reaching Level 3.

This was something that even Bai Zhenzhen, the top student in the entire class, had not achieved.

And he, Zhang Yu, had done it in just two days.

As Zhang Yu began his third round of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, a temporary job opportunity for high school students finally arrived.

A small sedan pulled up to the square. The driver rolled down the window and shouted, “Any first or second-year students here? We’re hiring two martial arts sparring partners!”

A martial arts sparring partner was someone hired to train with a practitioner during their combat practice, following a specific set of instructions to simulate combat scenarios.

At the driver’s words, the high school students who had been waiting quietly in the square sprang into action. Their movements left afterimages in the air, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder as they surged toward the sedan.

“I’m a second-year!”

“My Physical Strength is Level 2.15!”

The Second-Year students were far ahead of the First-Years in Physical Strength. When Zhang Yu charged forward, he found the space in front of the driver almost entirely occupied by burly figures, leaving him no room to squeeze in.

So many people were scrambling to get beaten up, Zhang Yu thought. Don’t these high schoolers have any self-respect?

The driver scanned the crowd of students with raised hands and asked, “Any from Key High School?”

More than half the hands dropped immediately.

Zhang Yu quickly raised his hand. “I’m from Songyang High School!”

The driver asked again, “Anyone with Combat Martial Arts at Level 3 or above?”

Looking at the three who were left, the driver asked, “Three hundred an hour. Deal or no deal?”

A student with a buzz cut grumbled, “Three hundred is too little, isn’t it?”

But another student beside him said eagerly, “Three hundred? I’ll do it!”

As the car sped away with the second student inside, the buzz-cut student cursed, “Three hundred an hour. Who the hell comes up with that?”

“You think you can hire a sparring partner for just three hundred? If you can’t afford it, why bother hiring one?”

Someone else cursed along with them, “He took a deal for three hundred? What a scab! Wait till that kid gets injured. He’ll realize three hundred isn’t even enough for his medical bills.”

With the employer gone, the surrounding students dispersed after a flurry of curses and returned to their own cultivation and studies.

Zhang Yu could only go back to practicing the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.

At this rate, he felt he probably would not find work today.

About ten minutes later, another car arrived to recruit high school students, specifically requesting first-year students.

The job, however, involved testing a drug. It was reportedly a new medicine developed in a lab for beginners on the Path to Immortality.

Considering his own physical condition, Zhang Yu did not even bother applying. Instead, he continued his twentieth repetition of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.

A moment later, with a sharp crack, Zhang Yu threw the final punch of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, successfully advancing the martial art to Level 3.

Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 3 (0/30)

At that instant, countless memories of practice flooded Zhang Yu’s mind, making him feel as though he had performed the martial art thousands of times over.

These practice memories were not merely of recollection from the physical body but they also contained a faint recollection of Magic Power circulating on its own within his body.

“Reaching the third level of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening allows you to activate the circulation of Magic Power throughout your body while cultivating this Martial Art, accelerating physical repair and enhancement.”

If the first and second levels of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening were merely about repeatedly damaging the body during exercise and forcing the body to squeeze out Magic Power to participate in the training, then things were different now. Reaching the third level meant the movements themselves guided the Magic Power to flow throughout the body, constantly nourishing the flesh and tendons while exercising and greatly enhancing the training’s effect.

At this moment, as Zhang Yu began another round of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, streams of warmth flowed through his limbs and bones with each movement. This silently increased his Physical Strength and gradually transformed him from an ordinary person into a superhuman.

Under the nourishment of the warmth currents of magic power, his body, which had begun to ache and grow sore, seemed to relax considerably, allowing Zhang Yu to continue his training with greater ease.

Suddenly, Zhang Yu felt a wave of contraction and expansion pass through his entire body.

Physical Strength 0.84 → 0.85

Zhang Yu glanced at the changes in his Physical Strength recorded in the Feather Book, and a flicker of joy passed through his mind.

At that moment, even without the urging of Ritual Power, he felt invigorated and continued his training.

While Zhang Yu practiced the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, the recruitment for the drug trial continued nearby.

However, few First-Year students were willing to participate in such work. Although the recruiter wanted to hire five students, they only managed to find two after calling out for a long time and left.

As the night deepened, fewer recruiters arrived. Zhang Yu still had not found a job opportunity and could only continue practicing the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.

Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 3 (6/30)

By the time Zhang Yu had practiced the Thirty-Six Forms for the sixth time, he realized he could not wait any longer.

He returned to the Human Resources Company and found Old Wang still sitting behind his desk, as if he had not moved in hours.

Zhang Yu pulled out a pack of cigarettes he had bought and offered one to Old Wang. “Brother Wang, is there any work I can do?”

Old Wang glanced at the cigarette Zhang Yu offered and said casually, “Didn’t I tell you? They’ll call you when there’s work.”

Zhang Yu persisted, “I mean besides the jobs out there.”

“It’s not like every temporary job in Songyang City will drive all the way here to recruit people, is it? Are there any others?”

Pestered by Zhang Yu for a while, Old Wang said impatiently, “If you don’t believe me, look for yourself. It’s not that I’m stopping you, but do you think those other temporary jobs are so easy to get?”

Zhang Yu looked at a screenshot on Old Wang’s phone. It showed rows upon rows of various long-term job postings.

One was for long-term participation in drug trials after signing a contract.

Another was a role as a long-term test subject for cultivation art research.

There were also positions to delve into the Kunxu underground as an assistant for an exploration team.

Some jobs even involved assisting the police in their fight against criminals.

Zhang Yu scanned each posting. They were either too dangerous, or both dangerous and beyond his abilities.

“These long-term positions that can never fill their quotas are all traps, just as I thought.”

Suddenly, Zhang Yu pointed at one of the listings and asked, “Brother Wang, is there any danger involved in this cultivation art research?”

Old Wang replied casually, “You just act as a test subject, trying out the latest cultivation arts developed by big companies. During your training, they record any side effects you experience, any injuries you sustain, any disabilities you develop, and ultimately, how you die…”

Zhang Yu swallowed hard. His eyes then lit up as he looked at another temporary job. “What about this ‘Introductory Cultivation Trial’? 10,000 per session? Why are they only recruiting first-year high school students?”

Old Wang thought for a moment, then let out a sound of recollection. “Ah, that one. I think the Immortal Cloud Group developed a cultivation art that has already been tested. It has no major side effects, and it won’t kill you.”

“But the introductory process is incredibly difficult. If you fail to learn it, you will likely suffer internal injuries, so they are always looking for people to test it.”

“Because it’s a cultivation art they plan to sell to novice cultivators on the Path to Immortality, they are specifically looking for first-year students to test it…”

At this, he glanced at Zhang Yu, who was listening intently, and frowned. “You’re not thinking of doing this, are you? The last student who tried it lost control of their magic power and suffered internal injuries. He took two weeks off from school and still hasn’t recovered.”

“That 10,000 yuan is not easy money.”

Zhang Yu shrugged helplessly. “I have no choice. I desperately need the money, so I have to give it a try.”