Chapter 38: Level 10 Zhoutian Qi Gathering Method

Turning his head to look at Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen was surprised, "Are you sure?"

"Yu, don't make such a hasty decision."

"To aim for the Ten Great Academies is to go against countless people in Songyang City."

"You're not just saying this to show off, are you?"

Zhang Yu retorted angrily, "Are you kidding me? I'm being serious here!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's earnest expression, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly smiled, "Alright, let's just say you're aiming for the Ten Great Academies too."

"They gave you a month to consider, right?"

"The deadline they gave me is also a month."

"For the next two weeks, try to improve yourself. I'll take you to meet some people at the Dharma Competition."

"Dharma Competition?" Zhang Yu's heart stirred. He remembered that the Dharma Competition he signed up for was starting this month, just two weeks away.

"Meeting people at the Dharma Competition? Who are we meeting?"

Bai Zhenzhen said mysteriously, "Maybe someone who can help us."

Riddler, begone!

Zhang Yu pressed, "Who exactly are we meeting?"

Bai Zhenzhen replied, "I'm not sure yet. You'll find out when the time comes anyway."

Zhang Yu was helpless and could only devote all his energy to self-improvement in the time that followed.

Whatever the case, the only thing he could control now was his own strength.

...

In martial arts class.

"Techniques are useless."

"Martial arts are far more important."

"When you meet your opponent head-on, a mastery of martial arts is your most reliable weapon."

"At that point, there are only two outcomes: either you beat your opponent to death, or you lie down and get beaten to death..."

Listening to the martial arts teacher Lei Jun's speech, He Dayou rolled his eyes, clearly disagreeing with the statement.

Just then, Lei Jun announced, "Alright, everyone, form groups for combat practice."

"He Dayou, you're with Zhang Yu."

"Huh?" He Dayou was stunned. He subconsciously looked at Lei Jun and pointed at himself.

Lei Jun snorted coldly and said, "What are you looking at? You lost so miserably in the monthly exam and your grades are so bad. Did you reflect on yourself properly?

"I'm giving you another chance now, to learn from Zhang Yu. You don't want to?"

With the banner of poor performance in the monthly martial arts combat exam hanging over his head, even a son of a school board member like He Dayou couldn't refute it.

After all, in the politically correct atmosphere where even breathing is wrong for failing students, He Dayou couldn't go against it in class.

Damn it, old martial arts geezer, bullying a technique prodigy, are you?

He silently walked over to Zhang Yu, thinking to himself, "But I might not necessarily lose to Zhang Yu now."

Three consecutive losses to Zhang Yu. Although He Dayou didn't plan to dwell on it, it didn't mean he wouldn't self-reflect and examine himself.

He watched the recordings of those three battles repeatedly, and even showed them to his personal combat instructor at home.

The analysis was: Zhang Yu's freehand fighting had reached level 3. Once a flaw was spotted, it was easy to suffer a heavy blow.

But Zhang Yu's weakness was also obvious. It could be seen from the third combat that Zhang Yu severely lacked combat experience.

Therefore, He Dayou also tried to practice some countermeasures.

For example, on the arena at this moment, he no longer took the initiative to attack, but focused on defense, waiting for the opponent to become impatient, and then looking for an opportunity to attack his opponent's unguarded spots with the Small Sky Star Palm...

With a plan, He Dayou believed that even if he lost, he definitely wouldn't lose badly, and might even have a chance to win.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Blocking Zhang Yu's attacks in succession, He Dayou felt fine at first.

But soon he felt that the opponent's fists were getting heavier and heavier, making his hands ache, and the mana in his body was surging slightly.

Boom!

Zhang Yu directly broke open his blocking hands with another punch, and then He Dayou was kicked away.

He fell to the ground with a bang, feeling the mana in his body surging repeatedly. For a moment, he couldn't even get up.

"Zhang Yu's freehand fighting is stronger than last time?"

"Could it be that he..."

He Dayou looked at Zhang Yu in disbelief.

On the other side, Lei Jun flashed and appeared next to Zhang Yu, exclaiming, "Your freehand fighting is level 4?"

Zhang Yu, whose freehand fighting was already at level 5, smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, I just broke through yesterday."

Originally, Zhang Yu didn't plan to reveal his improved freehand fighting, and was deliberately suppressing its power to fight He Dayou.

But after all, he lacked combat experience. When He Dayou switched to full defense, Zhang Yu accidentally lost control of the power of his freehand fighting after a series of onslaughts, pushing the movement of blood, flesh, and mana to level 4.

Lei Jun laughed and said, "It seems you have quite the talent in martial arts."

"How about it? Do you want to participate in Songyang City's martial arts combat competition next month?"

Zhang Yu's eyes lit up, "Is there a prize?"

Lei Jun said, "Of course. The city's champion gets 50,000 and the right to use expert-level martial arts."

Zhang Yu thought, "The Dharma Competition I signed up for earlier had a prize, and this martial arts combat competition also has a prize..."

He suddenly thought that if he could get more competition rankings and prizes, then even without the student union's funding, he should have enough money to cover his daily expenses and even accelerate his cultivation.

Seeing Zhang Yu's tempted expression, Lei Jun continued, "I told you long ago that martial arts are very useful. As long as you fight well in combat, you won't have to worry about not making money."

"Then I'll sign you up. I'll take you and Bai Zhenzhen together when the time comes."

After Lei Jun left, Zhang Yu looked at He Dayou, who was still lying on the ground, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, what could be wrong with me?" He Dayou quickly stood up, took a deep look at Zhang Yu, and suddenly said, "I heard the student union called you in yesterday?"

Seeing Zhang Yu nod, He Dayou slowly smoothed out the anger in his heart.

"No need to be angry with him. It's all school property, it doesn't affect my college entrance exam."

He rubbed his chest and comforted himself, "It doesn't matter much if you are stronger or weaker in combat in the first year of high school. When I lay a solid foundation and start cultivating expert-level techniques, I'll soon be able to crush Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and the others."

On the other side of the training ground, Bai Zhenzhen said impatiently, "Have you finished watching? Continue."Qian Shen's gaze shifted away from Zhang Yu, settling on Bai Zhenzhen, and he felt a palpable pressure washing over him. If he were facing a 550-point demi-human, he was confident he could crush them with overwhelming force.

But against a 651-point prodigy, Qian Shen felt as though his every move was being anticipated. The moment he engaged with Bai Zhenzhen, he felt restricted, his combat prowess drastically diminished.

"My score is so much lower than hers, how could I possibly be her opponent? Old Huang really screwed up; he should have matched me with Zhang Yu, who's only 6 points lower than me."

Zhang Yu glanced at He Dayou, Qian Shen, and the other affluent students, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind: what would these seemingly amiable rich kids become when they learned about his and Bai Zhenzhen's ambition to attend the top ten universities?

Would they also join forces to target him and Azhen?

Seeing Qian Shen utterly suppressed by Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu mused, "Speaking of which, Qian Shen's extreme focus on scores, as if poor people have no way to get into the top ten universities...could it be an act?"

Zhang Yu didn't think so. Qian Zi's "purity" didn't seem fake at all.

Could it be some "let the young master focus on his studies, shield him from the filth of society" kind of scenario?

Zhang Yu shook his head, unable to be certain.

……

In the Daoist arts class.

The instructor looked at He Dayou with undisguised praise. "This Health Talisman is exceptionally well-written. It's clear that your understanding of the Great God of Health and Vitality's incantations is already deeply ingrained."

He Dayou replied with a humble demeanor, "Teacher, you flatter me. I still have much to learn."

The instructor waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Excessive humility is just pride in disguise."

"To reach this level in the first year of high school, He Dayou, I don't think you need to attend the regular first-year courses at all."

"It doesn't matter if you skip this class from now on, I'll mark you as having perfect attendance."

He Dayou basked in the envious gazes of his classmates, offering another round of humble deflections and rejections.

The instructor suddenly turned his attention, saying, "Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, you two need to work harder as well."

"Having such lopsided strengths is not beneficial."

"If you have time, come to me for tutoring. I'll give you both a 20% discount..."

Both Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu could only lower their heads and endure the scolding, but they felt no real emotion. The cost-effectiveness of tutoring in talisman creation was simply too low; they preferred to spend their money on more worthwhile pursuits.

……

Inside the Quiet Room.

The voice of the manager, Wei Xin, echoed through the room.

"Zhang Yu, your time is almost up. Would you like to extend your session?"

Having once again achieved the lowest distraction rate this week, Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Add an hour, please."

With the upcoming Law Competition looming, Zhang Yu decided to moderately increase the pace of his magical power cultivation.

He took a deep breath, feeling the spiritual root within his Dantian resonate. Spiritual energy surged in from all directions, being refined into magical power bit by bit.

An hour later, watching Zhang Yu's departing figure, Wei Xin sighed, "As expected of a Golden Core disciple; the rate of improvement in his breath cultivation is so rapid."

"I just wonder when he'll finally upgrade to a Platinum membership."

……

After school.

On the school rooftop.

Amidst the sounds of rapid collisions,

Two figures clashed at high speeds, unleashing bursts of wind and thunder.

It was Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, engaged in practical sparring.

Compared to the practice drills in combat class, their private sparring sessions allowed them to unleash their full power, without worrying about revealing their trump cards, leading to a greater improvement in their combat experience.

With each exchange of blows, Zhang Yu's Scattered Hands technique displayed greater power, but his physical endurance was inferior to Bai Zhenzhen's.

While Bai Zhenzhen's Scattered Hands level was lower than Zhang Yu's, she also possessed a basic high school swordsmanship technique, occasionally weaving sword-like strikes into her attacks, leaving the inexperienced Zhang Yu scrambling to defend.

"Yu-zi, don't focus on my hands; you need to watch my waist, hips, and shoulders to anticipate my movements."

"Don't always rely on your familiarity with Scattered Hands to make judgments..."

……

Inside the stationery store near the school gate.

The owner pointed to the high school first-year rankings, saying, "Zhang Yu, third place in the first year, improved by 70 points in a month; he bought sedatives, painkillers, nerve fillers, muscle supplements from me..."

As he spoke, he held up a bag of medicine bottles, recommending them to the Songyang students before him: "The original Zhang Yu cultivation package, now at a 10% discount."

Zhang Yu, who had come to restock, stood at the entrance, once again witnessing the ugliness of the adult world as he watched the adult behind the counter, eagerly trying to make money.

After the group of students left, Zhang Yu walked up and said, "How about it? I told you before that I'm a popular figure at school, with great promotional power."

"Shouldn't I get a raise?"

The owner grumbled, "I haven't even recouped the cost of the nerve fillers I gave you."

He pointed towards the gift bag, "Look, only one set was sold today."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "You're selling generic products that aren't any cheaper than online; where else can't they buy them?"

The owner continued, "And there's the matter of the body refining pills; many students are saying that you refine your body naturally, without taking any medicine."

Zhang Yu quickly changed the subject, "It's because I'm not taking enough of your medicine at school. Give me two more bottles of nerve fillers, and I'll take them every day at school, which will improve the advertising effect."

……

Studying, attending classes, cultivation, breath regulation, combat practice…

For five days, Zhang Yu devoted all his energy to cultivation.

On this particular night, as he was practicing breath regulation on his bed, a smile couldn't help but creep onto his face.

After completing the final cycle of breath regulation, his Stellar Qi Gathering Method was finally raised to level 10.

In that instant, the circulation of magical power within Zhang Yu's body surged and swelled like a raging river, so turbulent that he seemed to hear a phantom roar in his ears.

After a long while, as the turbulence of the magical power circulation gradually subsided, Zhang Yu felt that passive breath regulation had become more potent and more agile.

"After reaching level 10, the passive Stellar Qi Gathering Method has achieved 100% of the efficiency of active breath regulation."

The smile on Zhang Yu's face widened. This meant that even if he no longer actively practiced breath regulation, it would be as if he were constantly circulating the Stellar Qi Gathering Method, and the magical power within his body would be continuously enhanced.After this period of arduous cultivation, the spiritual energy within his body had indeed grown significantly, reaching 13.3, making him the second strongest in the entire grade.

Thinking of this, a strange expression flickered across Zhang Yu's face, "My potential is astonishing, my self-discipline unparalleled. It's no wonder my progress is so rapid."

"But how does it feel like A-Zhen's progress has also been accelerating lately?"

"Could it be that she has also awakened...?"