Chapter 7
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Chapter 7: The Gap Between People
On the bus.
After obtaining the Feather Book, Zhang Yu had envisioned his future life would be him declaring, “Feather Book! Let me see your limits!”
Who would have thought it would instantly become the Ritual declaring, “Zhang Yu! Let me see your limits!”
But now that things had come to this, the only path Zhang Yu could see to break free from the Ritual’s power was to become stronger.
So for now, he had no choice but to cultivate diligently.
With each breath, strands of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth flowed into his body, gathering in his Dantian Qi Sea. There, they were refined bit by bit into Magic Power, solidifying his foundation on the Path to Immortality.
Recalling his practice of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening the previous night, Zhang Yu decided to try the same method to rapidly level up his Basic Breathing Method.
With a thought, the Feather Book unfolded. Zhang Yu focused his attention on the words “Basic Breathing Method Level 1” on the page and immediately began to drag them.
But just as he dragged “Basic Breathing Method Level 1” toward his character portrait, a sudden realization surged from the Feather Book.
You can only focus on improving one skill at a time.
After switching skills, you must wait one day before you can switch again.
Zhang Yu mentally named this function of the Feather Book “Specialization.”
In that instant, he understood that a specialized skill could improve rapidly through practice, but he could only specialize in one skill at a time. Switching skills would require a one-day cooldown before he could switch again.
“In other words, if I switch my Specialization from the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening to the Basic Breathing Method now, the Basic Breathing Method will improve rapidly through practice. However, the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening will revert to its normal training efficiency.”
“Unless I switch back after a day…”
Recalling what had happened in physical education class, Zhang Yu decided not to switch for now and to continue focusing on improving the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.
Time flew by, and Zhang Yu maintained his practice of the Basic Breathing Method right up until the moment he stepped off the bus.
***
In the school cafeteria.
Bai Zhenzhen carried her tray over and sat down across Zhang Yu who was sitting there like a walking corpse. She glanced at him curiously and asked lightly, “Did you pull an all-nighter… with yourself?”
Zhang Yu swallowed his meat bun in one gulp and grumbled, “I was working my butt off training until late at night.”
Bai Zhenzhen’s face remained expressionless, but her words were completely unrestrained. “Sigh, you’re the only one in the whole school who hasn’t had the sterilization surgery. I told you ages ago not to be cheap about that 20,000 yuan. Look at how much time, energy, and protein you’ve wasted!!”
Zhang Yu swallowed another egg in one bite, a confident smile spreading across his face. “Bai Zhenzhen, let me tell you something. My current self-discipline and potential are so great that they even shock me. It won’t be long before I snatch that top spot in our class from you.”
Hearing this, Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. Her delicate lips delivering merciless words. “Yu Zi, it’s fine to say such overconfident things in front of me. If anyone else heard you, I’m afraid they’d laugh so hard they’d pee themselves.”
“You’re competing for the overall top scorer in the class, not to be the top ‘self-trainer’. Your advantage of not being sterilized won’t help you.”
[T/L – The term 导管 (catheter/conduit) which I translated as self-trainer is crude slang for masturbation (implying “clearing the pipes”).]
Zhang Yu shook his head speechlessly, thinking to himself, This girl, A-Zhen. She acts so cold and aloof in public, but in private, she’ll really say anything, won’t she?
Speaking of being the only student in school who had not undergone sterilization surgery, Zhang Yu was no longer surprised by it. He had gradually grown accustomed to the madness of this broken world and this broken school.
Still, the fact that he was not sterilized remained a small secret of his. Among all his classmates, he had only confided in Bai Zhenzhen.
But as he thought about it now, a question suddenly surfaced in his mind. “Why was I allowed to enroll without having the surgery?”
Just then, Zhou Tianyi also sat down with his tray, looking at Zhang Yu with similar curiosity. “You look exhausted. Did you pull an all-nighter studying?”
Zhang Yu shook his head and said, “I just practiced the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening for a while and had a small insight.”
As they ate and chatted, Zhang Yu suddenly noticed something. Ever since Zhou Tianyi had arrived, Bai Zhenzhen had become much quieter, seeming to revert to her usual persona as the cold and reserved top student.
After breakfast, the three of them walked along the sports field toward the academic building.
Zhang Yu would open his palm every so often, watching the Feather Book appear and disappear from his skin.
So it’s true? No one else can see the Feather Book?
Just then, a loud bang echoed from the direction of the academic building, followed by a flurry of shouts and commotion.
A crowd had already gathered in front of the academic building’s main entrance.
The people in the crowd buzzed with discussion.
Some who knew the person involved started sharing gossip.
“That’s Lu Chao from Third-Year Class 3. He used to be in the Demonstration Class, but his grades have been slipping. It looks like he’s about to be demoted again.”
“Lu Chao? He was in the top ten of his class during his second year.”
Some classist individuals launched into an indiscriminate attack.
“So what if his grades were good in his second year? The Poor will always be The Poor. How many of them do you see staying in the Demonstration Class by their third year? The Poor just aren’t suited for Cultivation.”
Someone with a severe bias for grades began their own commentary.
“Hmph, he couldn’t even handle a jump from the sixth floor. Just as expected of a failure. If a top student from the third-year Demonstration Class were to jump, I’d expect them to start from at least the tenth layer.”
Bai Zhenzhen, who was passing by, saw the scene and sighed, “Another third-year jumped off?”
Zhou Tianyi said, “This must be the third one this year. It seems this year’s third-year students are under immense pressure.”
Zhang Yu, however, suddenly asked, “Is he really that poor?”
Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him, her tone a mixture of warning and lament as she spoke softly, “He probably took out a lot of loans. Anyone who has to borrow money just to study is definitely not rich.”
“Students like him often start with decent grades after getting into Songyang High School.”
“But by their third year, they usually start falling behind their wealthier classmates. In the end, they typically only manage to get into second or third-tier universities.”
“As for the Ten Greats, I believe it’s been over a decade since a commoner from Songyang High School managed to get in.”
Zhang Yu was stunned. He knew the Ten Greats referred to the universities directly affiliated with the Ten Great Sects. They were the ten most prestigious universities and the dream schools for countless students.
What he did not know was that a commoner had not been admitted to the Ten Greats from Songyang High School in more than a decade.
He thought to himself, Could it be because of a lack of resources and money?
Zhang Yu recalled the rumors about the wealthy students. It was said that many things like top-tier tutors, secret study guides, advanced Cultivation Arts, and laboratory drugs circulated only within the circles of the rich and were never revealed to The Poor.
Staring at the splattered blood on the ground, Zhang Yu thought, If my potential hadn’t been awakened, I might have ended up following the same road in the future.
The incident sparked a brief buzz, but to students consumed by their daily studies and cultivation, it was merely something to talk about during their breaks.
Soon, no one paid it any mind. The students returned to their daily pursuit of the Path to Immortality, striving for their futures.
Although they had only recently come of age, everyone already understood a harsh truth.
Different scores determined entry into different universities.
Different universities determined their future sects.
Future sects determine their entire lives.
No matter how close or distant their relationships, classmates with different grades would eventually part ways.
***
In a flash, it was time for the three-period-long Physical Education class.
After once again refusing Teacher Wang Hai’s sales pitch, Zhang Yu could not shake the feeling that the way the teacher looked at him had subtly changed.
But he had no choice. Between his finances and his health, he could not possibly get any more injections.
So Zhang Yu pretended not to notice and continued his practice.
Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 2 (1/20)
Counting the practice session at the station, Zhang Yu now only needed to complete the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening another nineteen times to level up.
This gave him extra motivation during his workout. He pushed his muscles to their limits again and again, squeezing out every last drop of magic power.
Even when he wanted to slow down or take a break, the Ritual Power would quickly rouse him, urging him to keep pushing.
He repeatedly broke through his limits amid the tearing pain that wracked his body, facing one life-or-death threat after another. The experience was both painful and exhilarating.
After more than two class periods, Zhang Yu finally collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted and unwilling to move a muscle.
Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 2 (17/20)
I’ve reached my limit, He thought.
The Ritual Power did not push him further, clearly recognizing he had reached his physical limit.
But Zhang Yu was not disheartened in the slightest. In just two days, he had almost leveled up a basic martial arts technique from Level 1 to Level 3. This was an achievement the old Zhang Yu would not have even dared to dream of.
“If I hadn’t pushed myself last night, I probably could have completed three Physical Education classes without collapsing.”
“But with this idiotic ritual forcing me to use every single second for exercise, I’m afraid that in the future, training extra at night will just leave me too exhausted to train during Physical Education class. This will probably become the new normal.”
Zhang Yu felt like he was back in his previous life, where people would cram for classes and study late into the night, only to fall asleep in class during the day. This was clearly not a healthy routine.
“It’s all this stupid ritual’s fault. It can’t even tell the difference between time and place.”
Just then, as Zhang Yu lay sprawled on the ground, he felt his body enveloped in shadow, as if a mountain had blocked out the sun above him.
Wang Hai looked down at Zhang Yu on the ground and said coldly, “What are you doing during Physical Education class?”
Zhang Yu quickly replied, “Teacher, I practiced extra last night and am a bit worn out now.”
Sensing Wang Hai’s displeasure, Zhang Yu added, “I had a breakthrough with my Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening last night. It’s already at Level 2.”
He offered this explanation because he knew that in this results-oriented school, most teachers would not make things difficult for high-achieving students. He figured if Wang Hai knew he had made significant progress, he would not be given a hard time.
This was something Zhang Yu had been pondering ever since he subtly noticed Wang Hai’s changing attitude toward him.
But Zhang Yu was mistaken.
There are many kinds of teachers in this world.
For example, most core subject teachers at Songyang High School favored high-achieving students. They preferred students who were easy to teach and gave them a sense of accomplishment, and they were more tolerant when their top students made mistakes.
Other teachers poured more energy into struggling students, focusing on improving their grades because it was easier to see progress with them.
There were also many teachers of minor subjects who did not care how well their students learned. They simply showed up for class on time and left on time. Any extra second spent on work was a loss in their eyes.
But there was another type of teacher, one who cared more about obedience and challenges to their authority than about student performance.
In these teachers’ classrooms, they were the absolute authorities and tolerated no defiance. Even using a learning method they had not taught could earn a student ridicule and public humiliation as an example of what not to do.
And it was clear that Wang Hai, who loved selling potions and administering corporal punishment, was this type of teacher.
The Physical Education classes at Songyang High School were his personal kingdom, and the students were his channels for offloading potions.
Zhang Yu’s constant refusal to buy potions had already earned his displeasure.
Seeing Zhang Yu lying down and “slacking off” had only intensified his dissatisfaction. He wanted to use this as an opportunity to discipline him and make him a cautionary tale. He would ensure the other students were ashamed of anyone who skipped on enhancers and would not dare to follow Zhang Yu’s path of natural body refining.
But the lecture he was about to give stuck in his throat when Zhang Yu said, “My Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening had a breakthrough last night.”
To Wang Hai, this was a direct challenge to his authority in Physical Education class.
“So what if you reached Level 2 in the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening?” Wang Hai gestured at Bai Zhenzhen. “Look at her. Has she stopped taking enhancers since reaching Level 2? Has she been slacking off in class?”
Zhang Yu sighed. “Teacher, that’s not what I meant…”
Wang Hai glared coldly. “Zhang Yu, I’ve seen plenty of students like you. You think you’re special because you have a little talent, so you ignore your teacher’s guidance and disregard the school’s curriculum.”
“You need to understand that the only reason you broke through is because you have been diligently attending class and taking enhancers for the past three months. It was my guidance that laid the solid foundation for you.”
“As for your self-study or tutoring outside of class, those are just dessert at best.”
“Only the classes here at school are the main course.”
“I will be reporting your issues to your homeroom teacher. You had better watch yourself.”
