Inside the restaurant.
Lei Jun stood up and said, “I’ll keep this short.”
“I never expected us to do this well in the Martial Arts Competition.”
“Honestly, with our conditions here at Songyang, I would’ve been satisfied just scraping into the top ten.”
“But Zhang Yu ca first, and Bai Zhenzhen ca fourth—that shows my teaching isn’t half bad…”
Seeing Lei Jun in such high spirits, Bai Zhenzhen muttered inwardly, “So Old Lei’s pretty good at bragging too.”
Lei Jun smiled as he looked at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. “Of course, you two played a huge part in this. Your martial arts talent is the best I’ve seen in all my years teaching at Songyang. I really have to thank you both for this result.”
Then he pointed at Zhang Yu, who was using every spare mont to cultivate the Wild Ox Soul-Calming Heart Technique. “Just look at Zhang Yu. Any free ti he gets, he squeezes in so training. That kind of diligence and discipline is rare even for .”
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. If that ceremony weren’t constantly screaming in his ears, who’d want to train during als and walks?
Lei Jun continued, “Lastly, I hope you both keep pushing forward and get into a university you're proud of.”
With that, he downed a cup of milk tea, and the atmosphere at the table turned even livelier.
Because Lei Jun was present, Zhao Tianxing looked a bit stiff. He raised his glass toward Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen and said, “Yuzi, A-Zhen, congrats on the great results.”
Qian Shen pointed at a dish. “This one’s their specialty. You guys have to try it.”
And as more dishes were brought out, none of the people present were ordinary. Chopsticks flew like shadows, and in a whirlwind of activity, dish after dish was demolished.
Just then, Zhang Yu’s phone buzzed.
He took it out and saw a ssage from Zhang Pianpian.
Zhang Pianpian: Congrats on getting first in the martial arts competition, little brother. One step closer to your goal.
Zhang Pianpian: And don’t forget to pay back that forty thousand you borrowed.
Looking at that last ssage, Zhang Yu sighed. “Even my sister’s strapped for cash…”
At that mont, Qian Shen asked curiously, “What did Lemu Lan an in the arena when she asked if you cared about money or not?”
So Zhang Yu briefly explained the situation with Lemu Lan and the 400,000 offer.
It was the first ti Lei Jun had heard about it. His eyes went wide. “So you chose to go for first place instead? You fought her in the arena?”
Zhang Yu answered proudly, “How could a martial artist bow to a re 400,000?”
Lei Jun pointed at him in frustration. “Foolish! Utterly foolish!”
In his mind, Lei Jun thought: Zhang Yu isn’t even aiming for the Top Ten Universities.
He sighed. “How could a martial arts championship be worth more than 400,000?”
“Money is strength. It’s potential. It’s the future. Sure, you’d sacrifice one championship title, but with your talent, 400,000 could help you win more competitions down the line.”
Zhao Tianxing also muttered with a sigh, “Four hundred grand… this championship is way too expensive.”
Seeing Lei Jun and Zhao Tianxing act like they’d just lost a fortune, Zhang Yu was speechless—but also thought… well, this is Kunxu, after all. Makes sense.
And deep down, he knew they weren’t entirely wrong. Whether it was for physical competitions or talisman tournants, money was sothing he absolutely needed—desperately.
Just then, Zhang Yu’s phone buzzed again. This ti, it was a ssage from the Martial Arts Competition committee.
First, the 50,000 prize money was being processed.
Second, he needed to choose the expert-tier cultivation technique awarded for winning.
Zhang Yu imdiately focused on the list they sent over.
As he browsed, he also reflected on what he’d already learned.
“For Dao Heart, I’ve got the Heavenly Martial Mind Tempering thod; for mana, the Great Circulation Breathing Technique; and for combat, besides the Infinite Cloud Hands and Indestructible Seal Technique, I recently picked up the Back-Dragon Mountain-Flipping Strike.”
“Dao Heart, mana, actual combat… I’ve already got expert-tier techniques in all of them. What I really need now, especially for the physical tournant in two months, is a body cultivation technique.”
Although the effectiveness of his existing techniques would eventually diminish as his stats rose, for now, they were more than adequate.
What wasn’t adequate, however, was the basic Body-Strengthening Thirty-Six Forms. That was far too simplistic.
So Zhang Yu filtered the list down to body cultivation techniques. Three options remained: Dragon Elephant Might, Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy, and Tendon-Altering and Vessel-Shifting.
After reading through them, Zhang Yu couldn’t decide, so he turned to Lei Jun for advice.
Lei Jun nodded slightly. “Yes, a body cultivation technique is what you need most right now.”
Though he didn’t teach PE, Lei Jun had years of experience and was no stranger to body cultivation thods.
He glanced over the three techniques and quickly ford an opinion.
“This Dragon Elephant Might, as the na suggests, is strength-oriented. It boosts physical power the most, but requires heavy use of injectable boosters. If you’re not getting jabbed a dozen tis a day, don’t expect progress. The result? Think soone like Song Hailong.”
A tanky at shield, in other words. Zhang Yu recalled the 2.5-ter-tall giant and nodded in understanding.
“Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy is more balanced. It emphasizes internal refinent—focusing on muscle-tendon synergy and explosive force. Works best with dicine and food-based supplents.”
Zhang Yu took note. This one was half-tank, half-offense.
“As for Tendon-Altering and Vessel-Shifting, definitely not for you. That one’s all about flexibility and bodily transformation. It’s ant to complent other specialized techniques.”
That narrowed things down to Dragon Elephant Might and Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.
But with both having pros and cons, Zhang Yu was still torn.
Lei Jun added, “I’d recomnd Dragon Elephant Might. It’s simpler and fits Songyang’s training style. You could even ask Wang Hai to guide you.”
“That Crimson Marrow technique? Too high-difficulty. Without a proper teacher, you’ll get injured before you master anything. It’s so injury-prone, even insurance won’t cover it.”
Zhang Yu suddenly asked, “Teacher, how many moves does each technique have?”
Lei Jun thought for a mont. “Dragon Elephant Might? Dozens, I think. Straightforward, step-by-step. Not hard to learn.”
“Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy? Just one stance. But don’t let that fool you—mastering that single stance takes total-body coordination. It’s extrely difficult and injury-prone. You’re not ready for it yet.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. He had made his decision.
He imdiately responded to the organizers and selected Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.
Soon after, the digital manual and usage rights were delivered to his account.
Not long after, once everyone had eaten their fill, they checked the ti—it was already past 6:30. No one felt like going ho to wash up, so they just headed straight to school.
…
anwhile.
At Songyang High the next morning.
Zhou Chechen frowned at Lan Ling. “What did you just say?”
Lan Ling had no choice but to repeat himself. “Zhang Yu won first place in the Martial Arts Competition.”
“Zhang Yu? First place?” Zhou Chechen was stunned. “Did White Dragon, Purple Cloud, and Hongta not compete?”
Lan Ling pulled out his phone. “He beat Song Hailong from White Dragon High first, then defeated Lemu Lan from Purple Cloud High. That’s how he took first.”
Zhou Chechen watched the footage. After a mont, he looked up, surprised. “He won as the underdog… No, on paper he was weaker, but counting his technique and execution, in that mont, he was stronger.”
“Unbelievable. I never thought Songyang would produce soone like this.”
“Zhang Pianpian must’ve invested a lot in him to get him this far.”
A dark look flashed across Zhou Chechen’s face. After all, Zhang Yu was supposed to have been signed under him—now he was under Zhang Pianpian.
It was like watching a promising investnt he’d scouted get snatched away, only to skyrocket in value.
For soone like Zhou Chechen, lost profit was a loss. Especially missing out on soone this valuable.
He quietly told himself: there’s still half a year. In that ti, he’d steal Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen back. And he’d make them pay back every cent he missed out on.
Just then, Lan Ling spoke again. “What about Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s request to join the athletics competition team?”
Zhou Chechen snorted coldly. “Reject it.”
Lan Ling hesitated. “Wang Hai’s been pushing for their inclusion. And Zhang Pianpian’s inspection team… if we have no good reason, won’t that be a problem?”
The idea of Zhang Pianpian causing another scene and embarrassing him made Zhou Chechen uneasy.
He said calmly, “Each school gets to send five people to the athletic tournant.”
“Just tell Zhang Yu and the others: if, a month from now, they’re still ranked in the top five of the first-years, they can go. If not, that’s their own fault.”
Lan Ling’s eyes lit up. He knew that with their current stats, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen could easily stay top five—unless soone stacked the deck.
Zhou Chechen did the math. “In a month, based on their progress, they’ll be around 1.8 to 2.1 in body strength.”
He picked up the student files. “It’s been half a year since the sester began. The first-years are ready. Let’s recruit five into the Special Developnt Program early and have them enter the athletic tournant.”
“A month from now, their stats will shoot past 3.0, pushing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen out. Even Zhang Pianpian won’t be able to say anything.”
He glanced over the student records. In addition to Qian Shen, He Dayou, and Zhao Tianxing, he noted a dozen second-years—each one paired with a first-year candidate like chess pieces on a board.
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