Chapter 24
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 24: Spirit Root
Stepping out of Su Haifeng’s office, Zhang Yu walked back to his classroom.
Next week, he had to break into the top ten in the entire Class in magic power course to earn the right to represent Songyang High School in the Magic Power Competition.
The week after that, the Monthly Exam would begin. Only an outstanding performance on that exam would secure him a better contract with the school.
Zhang Yu was fully confident he could break into the top ten in magic power within a week. After all, his Cosmic Orbit Energy Gathering Method was already at level four. From here on, its level would only get higher, and his Magic Power would increase more and more rapidly.
However, the Monthly Exam covered not only Magic Power but also Physical Education, Dao Heart, Martial Arts, and Dao Arts. Realizing he had to improve dramatically in all four subjects in the next two weeks, Zhang Yu immediately felt the immense pressure.
As for the General knowledge exam?
Not only was General knowledge worth a mere 50 points, but nearly everyone in the Demonstration Class scored close to perfectly on it, making it impossible to gain any real advantage there.
In truth, Zhang Yu had no idea how well he could ultimately do on the Monthly Exam two weeks from now.
In any case, I just have to grind.
Zhang Yu felt completely fired up.
And who said a manual hack wasn’t a real hack?
[Note: “Manual hack” (手动挡挂) is a pun based on Chinese gaming slang. “挂” (guà) means a cheat or hack. “手动挡” (shǒu dòng dǎng) literally means “manual transmission” but here implies a “manual mode” hack, one that requires intense personal effort (grinding) to function, as opposed to an automatic, effortless cheat.]
Feather Book! For the next two weeks, show me where your limits lie!
As soon as he returned to the classroom, Zhang Yu began to channel spiritual energy, fully activating the Cosmic Orbit Energy Gathering Method.
In the blink of an eye, the first class was over.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
Just as Zhang Yu relaxed slightly and thought about resting, the chilling countdown reappeared, forcing him to keep pushing himself.
Fuck!
Stupid ritual… I’ll kill you one day!
In another corner of the classroom, Zhao Tianxing checked a message on his phone and breathed a sigh of relief.
Physical Education Teacher Wang Hai had previously sent him to investigate the source of Zhang Yu’s supplies. When Wang Hai asked for an update today, Zhao Tianxing told him about the art exhibition from the day before.
Wang Hai’s reply read, “Understood. You don’t need to follow Zhang Yu anymore for now. Just maintain a good relationship with him. Come to the training grounds after school tomorrow. I’ll give you a private body refinement session.”
Not having to keep probing for information from Zhang Yu was an immense relief for Zhao Tianxing.
And the reward of an extra body refinement session from Wang Hai made Zhao Tianxing secretly thrilled.
After all, as a top-tier instructor, the quality of Wang Hai’s private tutoring was self-evident. His classes were not only expensive but also notoriously difficult to book.
As for maintaining a relationship with Zhang Yu…
Zhao Tianxing glanced toward Zhang Yu’s seat and saw him cultivating.
“After what happened yesterday, I must look like a complete clown in his eyes.”
The thought that Zhang Yu might be mocking his clumsy performance from the previous night made Zhao Tianxing’s cheeks burn again.
But remembering the reward of Wang Hai’s private tutoring session, he steeled himself. He decided to approach Zhang Yu for a chat after class when he was free.
However, as the morning classes passed one by one, Zhao Tianxing could not find a single opportunity to exchange a few words with Zhang Yu.
Is he still cultivating?
He cultivates during class.
He cultivates after class, too.
He hasn’t even gone to the bathroom once… His kidneys must be impressive.
The sight of Zhang Yu’s relentless effort made Zhao Tianxing’s own heart clench.
He finally managed to wait until lunchtime. Zhao Tianxing had just gotten his food and was about to sit next to Zhang Yu when he saw the Zhang Yu devour his meal in two ghostly fast mouthfuls before sprinting out of the cafeteria like a phantom.
Bai Zhenzhen cursed inwardly when she saw him. Do you have to grind even during lunch? Can’t you let a person eat in peace?
Lunchtime was the only period at Songyang High School free from academic pressure, from the supervision of beasts like Su Haifeng, and from the meddling of perverts like Wang Hai.
It was a rare moment in the whole school day when the top students could relax, take a break, or even gossip.
It was Songyang High School’s own spiritual spa time.
Bai Zhenzhen was deeply displeased by Zhang Yu’s ‘study-demon’ attitude, where he even sacrificed his lunch break to cultivate.
Bro, if you’re going to grind this hard, how are we supposed to eat in peace?
What if you out-grind us and get ahead? So this is an academic arms race now, is it?
When Zhao Tianxing returned to the classroom and saw Zhang Yu already in the middle of his breathing exercises, he thought to himself that it was just as he expected.
For the rest of the afternoon, Zhao Tianxing could not find a single opportunity to speak with him. Whenever he turned to look, Zhang Yu was either listening diligently in class or absorbing spiritual energy through his breathing technique.
The more Zhao Tianxing watched, the more anxious he became.
He’s already apprenticed himself to a Golden Core master and he’s still working this hard? Is he trying to leave no path for us ordinary students to survive?
It was not until after school that Zhao Tianxing finally found an opportunity to catch up with Zhang Yu. He had assumed Zhang Yu would be looking for part-time job again.
But he only heard the other boy say, “look for a part-time job?”
“Ah, Zhao Tianxing, as high school students, we should prioritize our studies. How can we go out and work every day?”
“Don’t think you’re so great just because you earn 800 an hour. That’s just temporary work. You can’t find jobs like that every day.”
Zhang Yu glanced at his balance of 8,300 yuan which gave him the confidence to temporarily stop working and focus on cultivation.
So he returned home, took a nerve filler, and continued his Breathing Technique until the next morning.
Aside from taking bathroom breaks and switching his Feather Book’s specialization back to the Cosmic Orbit Energy Gathering Method, Zhang Yu devoted all his time to his breathing exercises.
In this way, four days passed in a flash.
After these four days of arduous cultivation, Zhang Yu’s Cosmic Orbit Energy Gathering Method reached level 6 with an experience of 45 out of 120.
His Magic Power, thanks to these few days of diligent training, had also surged from 8.3 to 9.4. He was now only two spots away from the top ten in his grade.
***
Outside the first-year hallway that day.
Su Haifeng sauntered to the back door of the classroom and his gaze swept over the students who were in the middle of self-study.
As the homeroom teacher of the Demonstration Class, he had no classes scheduled but had deliberately come to patrol around. His purpose was clear; he planned to use his icy stare, merciless mockery, and the authority of his position as Dean to ruthlessly boost the students’ mental state.
But Su Haifeng discovered that the students in the classroom today were grinding even harder than usual.
Fewer people were going to the bathroom.
More were diligently practicing their Breathing Technique, and even fewer were dozing off while doing so.
The students who used to zone out and daydream while pretending to stare at their books just to avoid being caught by him were gone.
The class’s overall distraction rate had also significantly decreased.
In fact, Su Haifeng had subtly sensed this trend starting two days ago.
After observing closely, he realized the source of this shift was a student named Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu’s frenzied practice of his Breathing Technique, his unbroken streak of 0 % distraction rate, and his rapid surge in Magic Power over the past few days had first spurred on Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen, Zhao Tianxing, and the others.
The sudden burst of competitiveness from Bai Zhenzhen and the others further spurred on their classmates.
Those scoring 550 were studying furiously, those at 600 were pushing themselves even harder, and even those at 650 were still grinding away. How could anyone possibly relax?
Su Haifeng even reviewed the report on the Demonstration Class students’ average meal times and found they had decreased by over 20%.
He glanced at Zhang Yu, who was still absorbed in practicing the Breathing Technique, and thought, Could it be because I hurt his pride earlier?
Perhaps I should use that tactic more often in the future.
Without realizing it, he had already formulated the topic for his next research paper. It would be An Exploration of the Use of Insulting Students in High School Education System.
Satisfied with the intense study atmosphere in the classroom, Su Haifeng nodded and left.
Shortly after Su Haifeng departed, the afternoon bell rang to signal the end of the school day. Zhang Yu immediately stood up and headed for the school’s meditation chamber.
Last week, he had achieved the lowest distraction rate in the entire grade, earning him a 500-yuan bonus, a public commendation, and one hour of free access to a Heavenly Spirit Root.
Today was the day the school had allocated that hour. He plans to redeem that hour with the Heavenly Spirit Root.
Because both Spirit Root rentals and the meditation chambers for the Breathing Technique were scheduled by the school, Zhang Yu would forfeit his reward if he missed his appointment. Without a moment’s delay, he rushed to the Spirit Root rental office.
Zhao Tianxing seized the opportunity to follow Zhang Yu and asked, “Are you going to rent a Heavenly Spirit Root?”
Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Zhao Tianxing continued, “You don’t seem to rent Heavenly Spirit Roots from the school very often, do you?”
“Would you like me to tell you about the different Heavenly Spirit Root models we have here?”
Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered slightly. The original Zhang Yu had always rented Spirit Roots from educational institutions that offered discounts because of their lower prices. He was not very familiar with the school’s Heavenly Spirit Root models.
After all, with the passage of time, and especially after the Ten Great Sects’ thorough research and refinement, Spirit Roots were no longer classified as crudely as they had been in ancient times.
First, in terms of level, the Ten Great Sects had divided Spirit Roots into five levels.
The lowest level was the Human Spirit Root, followed by the more advanced Earth Spirit Root, and the even more higher level Heavenly Spirit Root. These three were available for purchase to anyone with enough money.
Above those were the military-grade Divine Spirit Roots and the Immortal Spirit Roots, which were specially supplied by the Ten Great Sects.
Divine Spirit Roots were restricted to use by the military and certain special government departments.
Immortal Spirit Roots were even more exclusive and could only be used by those who had been accepted as disciples of the Ten Great Sects.
In terms of classification, the ancient system of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth Spirit Roots had long been obsolete in Kunxu.
As Spirit Root design and manufacturing became increasingly advanced and prosperous, Spirit Roots were gradually categorized by their different functions, such as for learning type, combat type, cultivation type and so on.
Zhao Tianxing said, “The most popular Spirit Roots in our high school are definitely the learning-type and cultivation-type.”
“For example, the Parasitic Spirit Root…”
Zhang Yu exclaimed in alarm, “Chicken Spirit Root?”
[Note: In Mandarin, ‘Parasitic’ (jì) and ‘Chicken’ (jī) are near-homophones, leading to Zhang Yu’s comical misunderstanding.]
“Not ‘chicken’,” Zhao Tianxing clarified . “The Parasitic Spirit Root. It can temporarily reside within a person, transferring the magic power that person refines through their own Spirit Root to the user. It’s a favorite among the wealthy.”
“The Muscle-Enhancing Spirit Root is another popular choice. During the practice of the Breathing Technique, it refines spiritual energy into a type of growth essence that directly infuses the muscles to accelerate their development. It provides 24/7 muscle enhancement and significantly boosts the effectiveness of body refinement.”
