The mont Zhang Yu completed another round of the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique, a flood of mories flashed through his mind—each one a glimpse of him cultivating the nine sets of martial techniques, feeling their intent, and studying their essence.
The next instant, nine distinct Martial Intents surged into his consciousness.
The killing intent to break ten thousand troops, the will to fight undaunted even through nine deaths, the courage to press ever forward… Each one seed as if it had been refined a thousand tis in his Sea of Consciousness before finally coalescing into a single humanoid figure.
This was the Martial Intent forged in his Sea of Consciousness upon reaching Level 1 of the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique.
The figure vaguely resembled Zhang Yu in silhouette, though its face was a blank blur. It radiated a fierce, heaven-defying aura.
“Celestial Martial Intent…”
As Zhang Yu willed it, the Celestial Martial Intent in his Sea of Consciousness stirred and, guided by his thoughts, began to perform the nine martial techniques from the heart-forging thod.
With its activation, a powerful aura surged out from Zhang Yu’s body—sothing he had never felt before.
In that mont, Zhang Yu felt as though he had beco a war god ready to defy the heavens and crush everything in his path with sheer force.
Blood vessels bulged in his eyes. His qi and blood surged faster, and his mana began accelerating.
He could feel his body shifting, bit by bit, into a state increasingly optimized for combat.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a breath, he paused the technique and muttered to himself, “This Celestial Martial Intent is way too intense… It probably demands a mindset to match—so kind of battle maniac’s outlook?”
“That Xinghuo Zhenren… a washed-up old geezer expelled from a major sect, and he ca up with sothing like this?”
“Shit… don’t tell he got kicked out for punching his boss?”
To Zhang Yu, this whole thing felt like discovering that a greasy, middle-aged man fired from his corporate job was secretly a hardcore brawler.
“Logically, it doesn’t make sense.”
After all, fighting in Kunxu wasn’t free. Kill a bystander? Pay compensation. Blow up a building? That’s even more damages. The more destructive you were, the more you paid.
Go fight in so unclaid wilderness instead? Zhang Yu couldn’t think of any land near Songyang City that hadn’t been bought up by companies.
If a cultivator wanted to fight frequently, they’d have to pay to keep the enforcers away if they were winning. If they were losing, they’d have to pay even more to call for help. Injured? Treatnt costs money. Not injured? Better buy insurance just in case. And if you had insurance, your artifacts and Law Husks better be insured too…
“The stronger you are, the more you pay. The more you pay, the poorer you get. The poorer you get, the less you can afford to fight.”
“So the stronger you are, the less you can actually fight.”
“Maybe Xinghuo Zhenren was expelled because he was just that addicted to fighting.”
Zhang Yu sighed. “The Immortal Path isn’t just about slaughter and strength.”
But now wasn’t the ti to overthink. He resud cultivating the technique, aiming to push the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique to Level 2.
To do that, both his physical body and the Martial Intent had to synchronize and perform the nine sets of techniques together.
If it was only the Martial Intent operating within the Sea of Consciousness, then only the technique’s passive effects would activate.
But with the Intent in action again, Zhang Yu sensed its impact even more deeply.
You could only operate one Heart Technique at a ti.
So at this mont, Zhang Yu was no longer benefiting from the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart thod—only the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique was active.
Ordinarily, without the Desolate Ox thod, Zhang Yu’s pain tolerance would’ve dropped drastically.
But in this state, driven by the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique, he felt like nothing could break his spirit. Fearless. Unyielding.
Strong enemy? Miserable suffering? Screw it—just punch it all to hell!
Even the grueling demands of cultivation were dulled by his soaring fighting spirit. He didn’t need the Desolate Ox thod to stay motivated anymore.
“Damn, this is hype as hell.”
Sensing the quickened surge of qi and blood through his whole body, Zhang Yu realized that this Martial Intent not only enhanced combat—it also accelerated his cultivation.
Two hours flew by. Covered in heat haze and with blood pounding through his limbs, Zhang Yu had practiced the technique ten full tis.
Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique: Level 1 (0/10) → Level 2 (0/20)
In a flash, Zhang Yu felt as if his mind had passed through countless days and nights. With each repetition, he sank deeper into the technique’s Intent.
anwhile, the Martial Intent figure in his Sea of Consciousness grew even more defined—its face now showing faint traces of Zhang Yu’s own features.
As dawn broke, Zhang Yu, pausing now and then, finally pushed the technique to Level 3 (12/30).
Then his phone rang. It was Wang Hai.
He was told that due to his situation with the Student Council, he’d been excluded from the school’s competitive sports team.
“A deliberate show of power?” Zhang Yu frowned. “If I keep rejecting their contracts, are they going to keep upping the pressure?”
Soon after, the Student Council reached out again—this ti to renegotiate the contract.
…
Songyang High.
Noon.
Student Council Office.
With a cold snort, the temperature in the room dropped suddenly. Even the burly Lan Ling couldn’t help but shiver.
The next mont, the temperature normalized again—as if nothing had happened.
But Lan Ling knew better. It wasn’t an illusion. Zhou Chechen’s mood had just soured.
Just minutes ago, both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had rejected the Student Council’s contracts again, claiming the Three Great Academies had offered better terms.
Lan Ling set down his dumbbells and looked over at Vice President Zhou Chechen on the couch. “President, what’s the plan?”
Zhou Chechen muttered, “Haven’t I already given them enough face?”
“I offered the best terms I could, didn’t I?”
“I just don’t get it—why refuse sothing that benefits both them and the school? It’s a win-win!”
Lan Ling replied, “Maybe placing fourth in the mana competition gave Zhang Yu so wild ambitions—and now Bai Zhenzhen wants to raise her price too.”
Zhou Chechen sighed. “They think we won’t block them from leaving, so the Three Great Academies will definitely sign them? Raise their price? As if they’re worth that much?”
“Poor folks are always like this. Be too harsh and they resent you. Give them a bit of respect and they get cocky, start dreaming beyond their ans, and ruin everything.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Do whatever you need to do.”
“But within seven days, I want their signatures on those contracts.”
…
In the classroom of the Grade One Honors Class.
Zhang Yu maintained the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart thod while continuing his studies.
Ever since he’d learned the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique, he had begun alternating between the two Heart Techniques.
When practicing martial moves, he kept the Celestial Martial Technique active.
During downti—like resting or attending class—he switched to the Desolate Ox thod.
This switching, however, had brought a kind of ideological conflict that affected the efficiency of both.
“One wants to fight, fight, fight. Blow everything up. The other wants to endure, suffer, and build strength in silence.”
“Back and forth like this… sigh.”
Scratching his head, he couldn’t help but compare this ideological clash to the contract dilemma in front of him.
“You can switch ntalities, but reality doesn’t give you the option to fight, fight, fight…”
Just then, his phone buzzed.
A ssage from Ms. Yan, his Mana class teacher.
“Zhang Yu, did you piss off the Student Council? I refunded your tutoring fees. You’re temporarily banned from mana competitions too.”
“Better find a way to make peace with them.”
Reading the ssage, Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened. Another move by the Student Council.
Then Bai Zhenzhen’s voice sounded beside him. “Old Yan kicked out. You too?”
Zhang Yu nodded.
“Those Student Council bastards,” Bai Zhenzhen growled. “They’re going to keep hamring us.”
“You holding up okay?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “I’m holding. But how long can we keep this up?”
Bai Zhenzhen replied, “Until we’re strong enough. Until we find a way to get into a top-tier university without their help.”
“In the anti, the pressure will only grow.”
“These rich bastards are all the sa. The second you threaten their profits—or even just reduce them slightly—they drop the fake smiles and go straight for your throat.”
Cradling her head with a pained expression, she muttered, “They’ll isolate us, strip us of our opportunities, and co at us from every angle.”
“During combat class, they’ll have teachers or upperclassn beat us up. During Dao Heart lessons, they’ll tornt us in the Spiritual Realm. They’ll bribe teachers to give us low marks, erase our benefits…”
“Their lackeys will start pulling all kinds of dirty tricks. Glue on chairs, cold water in the stalls, stealing howork—every petty, disgusting tactic you can imagine.”
“They’ll use everything they’ve got.”
Her eyes seed to glimpse a nightmare version of the rest of high school.
“We’ll beco pariahs—loathed by everyone, mocked and humiliated by the wealthy, shunned to the point that no one even wants to sit with us at lunch.”
She raked her fingers through her hair. “Damn it all.”
“This won’t get better. It’ll only get worse—until we graduate, or we kneel and sign those sellout contracts.”
Zhang Yu rolled his eyes. “How do you know all this?”
Bai Zhenzhen: “A senior told … before she killed herself.”
She turned to Zhang Yu. “If you really can’t take it, you should sign while your price is still high.”
Zhang Yu scoffed. “Not signing.”
“I’m aiming for the Ten Great Academies. Over my dead body will I sign.”
Seeing his determined expression, Bai Zhenzhen smiled. “Then we’ll endure together.”
“But don’t worry—I don’t plan on sitting around waiting to be crushed.”
“I’m close to finding the leader of the Alliance of the Resentful Poor. I’m going to get their secret—how to reach college without ever signing.”
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