Chapter 51
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Chapter 51: Surging Undercurrents
Zhang Yu stared at the vest, shorts, wristbands, ankle weights, and the two large canisters beside them.
These were the weighted suit and Demon Beast Meat Powder he had purchased.
The weighted suit was a durable body refining tool, inexpensive and usable whenever he wished. It allowed him to train secretly without being noticed by his classmates and even had the added benefit of looking impressive when he took it off during a fight, making it a classic piece of equipment on the Immortal Path that no cultivator should miss.
The weighted suit Zhang Yu had bought weighed a total of 150 kilograms, allowing him to train his physical body even during his daily activities.
The Demon Beast Meat Powder, on the other hand, was a nutritional supplement. It was designed to better replenish the daily wear and tear on his flesh and blood and provide the nutrients needed for growth, helping him grow taller, faster, and stronger.
The two items together cost him over 4,000 yuan, reducing his savings to just over 59,000 yuan.
Zhang Yu sighed. “I’m still too poor. I can only afford this poor man’s gear.”
While browsing the online shopping site, what he had really wanted was an External Spirit Root called the Gluttony Spirit Root.
That thing, once implanted, would supposedly stimulate the body’s metabolism and physical enhancement at a frantic pace, absorbing every available nutrient to nourish the flesh and blood. According to the advertisements, it could make you stronger even if all you ate was shit every day.
Unfortunately, it was far too expensive. A single one costs 40 million yuan.
Spending 40 million to experience the feeling of growing stronger even from eating shit was beyond Zhang Yu’s current means.
“Ah, I’ll just have to try the school’s Muscle-Enhancing Spirit Root during the next free rental period.”
As Zhang Yu put on the weighted suit piece by piece, he felt his body growing heavier. Simple movements like bending over, walking, and raising his arms now met with layers of resistance, making every action significantly more difficult.
“Hnngh…”
Before he could take more than a few steps, an angry shout came from downstairs. “Are you trying to tear the building down in the middle of the night?”
Realizing the guy was barking because the noise came from his weighted suit, Zhang Yu headed for the abandoned building while still wearing it.
The entire walk felt as if he were shackled in heavy chains. Zhang Yu could feel various discomforts radiating from every part of his body.
However, when he activated the Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art, his thoughts on the prospect of improving his physical strength day and night temporarily suppressed the discomfort. Instead, a sense of satisfaction arose from the feeling that his body was constantly being honed.
“So the Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art works for this too.”
Zhang Yu’s next goal was to maintain the Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art as consistently as possible. He would have to constantly endure the discomfort of the weighted suit while using the Mental Cultivation Technique to elevate his Dao Heart Level.
“I’ll train my Dao Heart and my physical body 24 hours a day.”
If he could achieve this, he would significantly boost the efficiency of his Dao Heart’s level while simultaneously strengthening his physique.
Zhang Yu could not help but smile wryly, realizing he had voluntarily placed such a massive burden on himself without any external pressure.
He sighed inwardly, thinking, I have no choice. Those filthy rich kids from the top three famous schools are each more outrageous than the last.
If i want to survive, get into one of the Top Ten Universities, join a Great Sect… I have no choice but to grind like this…
Returning to the abandoned building, Zhang Yu, still clad in his weighted suit, sat cross-legged on the ground. He focused on maintaining the mental state of the Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art, constantly visualizing the image of the old bull tilling the barren land in his mind while allowing his body to rest.
Theoretically, a cultivator could maintain their Mental Cultivation Technique indefinitely as long as they persisted.
It was like listening to a novel while playing a game, a clear demonstration of multitasking.
However, mental weakness, fatigue, and various external stimuli could all disrupt the technique’s maintenance.
If he needed to engage in complex mental tasks like solving problems on an exam or strategizing in combat, maintaining the technique would become even more challenging.
So, although his Dao Heart Class teacher had said that a Mental Cultivation Technique could theoretically be maintained at all times and that powerful cultivators could sustain it as long as their minds remained clear, Zhang Yu himself had never managed it before.
But ever since Zhang Yu had recently advanced the Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art to Level 10 and his Dao Heart Level to 2, he found it increasingly easier to maintain the technique.
If maintaining the Mental Cultivation Technique had once felt like constantly solving complex math problems in his head, it now felt like simply counting from 1 to 1,000. It was much simpler.
I should be able to perform more complex exercises while maintaining the Mental Cultivation Technique now, Zhang Yu thought.
That was why he was attempting this new training. He wanted to practice sustaining the Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art under more varied and challenging conditions.
After resting for a while, Zhang Yu stood up in his weighted suit and began pacing back and forth, all while maintaining the technique.
He felt as if he had thrown away half his brain and half his muscle, forcing him to relearn every movement from scratch.
The following evening, he returned to the abandoned building. Zhang Yu tried maintaining the Mental Cultivation Technique while performing some simple warm-up exercises.
On the third day, as Zhang Yu grew increasingly accustomed to the routine, he began practicing Limitless Cloud Hands while wearing the weighted suit and maintaining his Mental Cultivation Technique.
The Level 6 Limitless Cloud Hands felt as if he had practiced them thousands of times in his mind. Each movement flowed naturally, requiring no conscious thought.
At that moment, he maintained the visualization for his Mental Cultivation Technique in his mind while his physical body, under the pressure of the weighted suit, continued to practice the moves of Limitless Cloud Hands.
The magic power within him surged with a fierce momentum, repeatedly vibrating and transforming into wisps of Formless Cloud Gang Qi that erupted from his body.
However, because he had to divide his attention to maintain the Mental Cultivation Technique, and due to the strain of the weighted suit and the consumption of magic power, Zhang Yu’s efficiency in practicing Limitless Cloud Hands was significantly slower.
After three consecutive days, he finally managed to advance Limitless Cloud Hands to Level 10.
To hear him tell it, he had ‘only’ advanced it to Level 10.
Clearly, Zhang Yu felt this speed was still a bit slow.
“Sigh, the Feather Book is still not potent enough. It’s limiting my potential and the effectiveness of my self-discipline.”
In the abandoned building, Zhang Yu’s magic power surged from his dantian. Silently, it completed seven consecutive oscillations before dispersing through his limbs and bones, erupting from every pore of his body.
In that instant, a white, cloud-like mist enveloped Zhang Yu, lending him the ethereal bearing of an Immortal.
“This is the effect of Limitless Cloud Hands reaching Level 10. The Formless Cloud Gang Qi is no longer confined to my hands but surges from every part of my body, truly integrating offense and defense.”
However, this also drastically increased his Magic Power consumption. Zhang Yu felt he could only maintain it for a few minutes, so he quickly stopped.
After these days of arduous cultivation, all of Zhang Yu’s abilities had once again improved.
His Magic Power, through the constant day and night practice of his Breathing Technique, had risen to 16.9.
Wearing the weighted suit constantly, combined with his training in Limitless Cloud Hands, had pushed his Physical Strength to Level 1.28.
His Dao Heart, constantly honed by the Level 10 Desolate Bull Soul-Pacifying Mind Art, continued to improve the fastest and had now reached Level 2 with 65 % progress.
***
That day, not long after Zhang Yu arrived in the classroom, he saw a middle-aged woman with a weary face standing at a desk and packing up some belongings.
As Zhang Yu was wondering what had happened, he heard Zhou Tianyi say from beside him, “Liang Qin dropped out. That’s his mom packing his things.”
“What?” Zhang Yu asked, surprised. “Why?”
Zhou Tianyi sighed and explained, “Apparently, he racked up over 100,000 in gambling debts. When his parents found out, they came straight here to process his withdrawal from the school.”
“Rumor has it that they caused a scene in the teacher’s office yesterday. Liang Qin kept kneeling and kowtowing, but his parents still insisted on withdrawing him.”
Zhou Tianyi shook his head and sighed again. “His parents did the right thing. Once you get hooked on gambling, you’re doomed to be a mortal for life. You’ll never achieve anything on the immortal path.”
“Forget a first-year student like him. Even a true Immortal would fall from grace. He’d lose his entire cultivation, go bankrupt, and be forced to live as a mortal again.”
Zhang Yu fell silent. Liang Qin’s situation with debt was quite similar to that of the original Zhang Yu. He could not help but think that if he had not transmigrated, the person who was here before him might have suffered the same fate.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen dragged Zhang Yu out of the classroom. “We finally heard back from those stingy bastards,” she said. “Sign this electronic agreement they sent over.”
Shortly after Zhang Yu signed the agreement, a transfer notification chimed on his phone.
Seeing the 20,000 yuan that had arrived, both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were visibly energized.
Bai Zhenzhen remarked, “For those cheapskates to actually send 20,000 yuan all at once, they must really value you.”
“Transfer 8,000 to my card. I have a use for it.”
Zhang Yu did not ask why. After transferring the money, he asked with some concern, “What have you been up to lately? These day you disappear the moment school let us out.”
Bai Zhenzhen smiled faintly. “What else? I’m trying to find a way to get into one of the Ten Greats.”
“Since those cheapskates are so invested in us, we have to make them help ease some of the pressure.”
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and added as a reminder, “After next week’s Monthly Exam, Zhou Chechen will probably come back to pressure us into signing the contract again.”
“If we reject the Student Council again this time, they’ll definitely turn up the heat.”
“They will especially do everything they can to force you to sign since you placed fourth in the Magic Power Competition. Can you hold out?”
Zhang Yu was not confident either, but seeing Bai Zhenzhen’s concerned gaze, he laughed heartily and said, “Of course I can handle it. Just make sure you don’t give up halfway.”
Thinking of the pressure from the ritual, Zhang Yu knew he was trapped. He would either be killed by the ritual or have to get into the Ten Greats, leaving him with no other choice.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, that incredibly familiar chill resurfaced in his body. Zhang Yu knew it was urging him to return to his studies and cultivation at once.
“Sigh, enough talk. My own strength is what matters most. I’m going back to cultivating now.”
Bai Zhenzhen held his shoulder and reminded him, “Remember, when you refuse them, you can blame it on Purple Cloud High School or Bailong High School. Say they’re trying to recruit you and keep negotiating with the Student Council to buy more time.”
“You have to remember, you absolutely cannot let them suspect you’re trying to get into the Ten Greats.”
Watching Zhang Yu’s hurried departure, Bai Zhenzhen seemed to sense his urgency.
Yu Zi has been working harder and harder lately. He must be feeling very anxious. But it’s okay. I’m close to finding that guy…
As expected of me. Even though Yu Zi was a tiny bit better than me in the Magic Power Competition, when it comes to getting into the Ten Greats, he still needs me to have his back.
***
In the quiet room.
Having rented the Muscle-Enhancing Spirit Root, Zhang Yu felt that with each cycle of his breathing technique, as it was absorbed into the Spirit Root, the root would feed back a trace of even more vibrant energy.
This was the growth energy provided by the Muscle-Enhancing Spirit Root.
As his flesh and blood absorbed this growth energy, he felt his every cell begin to writhe and squirm spontaneously, accelerating its consumption of all nutrients.
With the continuous effect of the Muscle-Enhancing Spirit Root and the constant infusion of growth energy, this state would persist for 6 to 12 hours, significantly enhancing the results of Zhang Yu’s physical strength training.
Wei Xin’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Student Zhang, do you want to extend your session?”
Zhang Yu exhaled slowly, pondered for a moment, and replied, “Add one more hour.”
***
In the training ground.
Martial Path Teacher Lei Jun was tutoring Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen in preparation for next month’s Martial Arts Competition.
Amidst thunderous booms and crackling explosions, two figures clashed repeatedly, like giant beasts locked in a fierce struggle.
Zhang Yu unleashed his Limitless Cloud Hands, blasting out a surge of martial gang qi.
In response, Bai Zhenzhen formed a sword with her fingers and flicked out a flurry of sword shadows, striking the weakest and most critical points of the incoming Gang Qi. She shattered the blast in an instant.
From the side, Lei Jun shouted, “Zhang Yu, the Limitless Cloud Hands are all about adaptability! You need to guide the situation to your advantage. Stop trying to overwhelm everyone with brute force!”
Zhang Yu did not want to rely on brute force alone either. The truth was, Bai Zhenzhen’s combat experience far surpassed his. If he had not instinctively relied on his martial gang qi to press her head-on, he would have been completely dominated by her.
How is A-Zhen so good at fighting?
Even though Zhang Yu had not used his full strength, he had still unleashed the first level of the Limitless Cloud Hands. Yet Bai Zhenzhen had completely suppressed him using just a few basic martial arts techniques, making Zhang Yu strongly suspect she was cheating.
Is she using X-ray vision? Aim assist? Or maybe input reading? How can she always hit my weak points? How can she always see through my moves?
Days passed in a constant cycle of learning, cultivation, and tutoring.
In the blink of an eye, another week went by.
The big day of Songyang High School’s monthly exam had arrived once more.
Classmates, teachers, the Student Council, and countless others both familiar and unfamiliar to Zhang Yu all gradually turned their attention toward him and Bai Zhenzhen.
