Chapter 32: Last-Minute Prep

3:00 a.m.

In the office of Songyang High.

Su Haifeng stared at the list on his computer screen while speaking into the phone. “Mm… No real change in his Dao Heart score.”

“His Mana has shot up recently, so I guess most of his time and money’s been sunk into Breathing. That’s how he squeezed into the top ten.”

“His Physical Strength hasn’t been measured in three weeks—he’s been too isolated—but it was already down to 19th place last time. Now that he’s focused on Mana, he’ll be lucky if it stays there.”

“His Martial Technique and Dao Techniques haven’t shown much improvement either. He might even drop into the thirties in those subjects.”

Looking over Zhang Yu’s recent records, Su Haifeng shook his head. “Overall, I don’t think he’s going to make any major leaps this time.”

“The school’s probably still going to offer him a Tier D Contract.”

“I understand. I’ll try to persuade him to sign.”

“No clue how he caught Li Xuelian’s eye, but the exam’s over now—he should be coming to terms with reality.”

He hung up and casually closed Zhang Yu’s profile, moving on to the next document.

To him, Zhang Yu was just one of countless items on his to-do list. There were far more important students and affairs at Songyang High that required his attention.

…

4:00 a.m.

Inside an abandoned building.

Today was the day of Songyang High’s monthly exam.

Though nine grueling days had brought Zhang Yu significant improvement, he was still using every second to practice the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, hoping to squeeze out just a bit more strength before the test began.

His current panel in the Feathered Tome now read:

Zhang Yu

Dao Heart: Level 1

Mana: 11.7

Physical Strength: Level 1.05

Thanks to a combination of Passive and occasional Active Breathing, his Mana had climbed from 10.5 to 11.7.

His Physical Strength had risen from 0.85 to 1.05, the result of intense and relentless training.

But the biggest leap had been in the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, now at Level 9 (89/90).

With one final punch, he pushed it to Level 10—reaching the maximum possible under the Qi Refining Realm.

And at that very moment, memories flooded his mind—every repetition, every grueling drill etched into muscle and bone. His understanding of the body deepened, more profound than ever.

After countless refinements, his body finally underwent a qualitative shift. It began adjusting itself in a more efficient, optimized way.

A deafening roar echoed in his mind.

As his heart pumped blood to every limb and pore, his entire body seemed to undergo a metamorphosis.

His flesh contracted and expanded in rhythmic pulses. His bones cracked and groaned as his frame subtly but noticeably bulked up.

His musculature realigned to better channel force. His bones grew sturdier, his posture more balanced and precise.

All these adjustments had been quietly building with each repetition of the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms—now completed in an instant.

Physical Strength: 1.05 → 1.25

This 0.2 level jump—a full 20% boost—came entirely from the structural optimization of his body.

But Zhang Yu could feel that this wasn’t just a one-time boost. The new structure would help him train faster and better in the long run.

Grinning, he whispered with excitement, “So pushing the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms to Level 10 lets me auto-optimize my physique?”

“Do all skills get a massive upgrade at Level 10?”

That was something the teachers never covered in class.

But then again, for high school freshmen, even mastering a basic Martial Technique like the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms was practically a pipe dream. No wonder no one mentioned it.

“Next up is the Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique. Let’s get that to Level 10 and see what it does.”

Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique: Level 8 (3/160)

Zhang Yu figured a week of effort would be enough to max it out.

Still, he didn’t switch the Feathered Tome’s specialization just yet—because he had other plans for today.

“Please abide by the terms of the Ritual. Pursue your wish diligently. Do not slack or delay. 10.”

Just as he was relishing his progress, that damned countdown voice returned.

Zhang Yu cursed, but there was no point. That thing had no thoughts, no emotions—it was like punching a pillow.

So he sat cross-legged, meditating to recover his stamina after another sleepless night.

Time to face the monthly exam.

…

Songyang High.

Students rushed around, anxious expressions on their faces.

Even the campus air felt tense and oppressive.

Zhang Yu looked up. The usual banner reading “Live to Learn, Learn Till Death” had been replaced with a suicide-prevention slogan: “One Act of Rebellion, the Whole Family Pays.”

Even the rooftop had been fenced off with barbed wire to stop desperate students from “acting out.”

Bai Zhenzhen muttered, “Looks like those heartless school officials finally did something about student safety. They know monthly exams push people to the edge, so they added some precautions.”

But once they arrived at the cafeteria and saw another price hike notice, Bai Zhenzhen exploded.

“Another price increase?! How many times has it been since school started?”

“These damn parasites can’t even manage a cafeteria—how can they run a school?”

Zhang Yu tried to calm her. “Sigh. Being heartless is their default setting. Don’t let it ruin your test day.”

But moments later, he was the one blowing up at the new rule from the cafeteria staff.

“What do you mean I can only get one 5-yuan set meal per day?! Yesterday I got ten! Why can’t students just eat their fill?!”

“Easy now, Yuzi.” Bai Zhenzhen patted his shoulder. “Don’t draw attention. A teacher’s looking our way. I’ll grab you another poor-kid special.”

With their meals in hand, Zhang Yu checked his balance.

Despite another 500-yuan award for perfect Distraction Rate, his expenses—protein-heavy meals for training, repeated Neural Filler use, transport costs, and more—had dragged his balance down to 6,000.

And the new month was about to begin.

That meant another round of loan payments. Rent. Utilities…

And food. Since starting high-intensity training, Zhang Yu’s appetite had ballooned. Eating ten pounds a day wasn’t unusual. Hundreds of yuan a day. Over ten thousand a month.

The deeper he went into cultivation, the more he burned through cash.

“Let’s hope I score well on this exam and land a better contract.”

“Otherwise, it’s back to side gigs again.”

At that moment, Zhou Tianyi sat down with his tray and gave them a helpless shrug. “You guys know why the prices are up?”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen immediately looked over, eager for answers.

“The city’s raising import tariffs on food to promote Oasis Corporation’s synthetic meals. Expect food prices to keep rising—unless it’s synthetic.”

“Word is the principal’s thinking of switching the cafeteria to all-synthetic meals soon.”

The original Zhang Yu had eaten plenty of synthetic food before his cultivation days. It was cheaper, sure—but disgusting.

Deep-fried bugs, plant protein, recycled water and oil. Stuff not even pigs would eat.

“No more prefab dishes?”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen let out a long groan and cursed out both Oasis Corporation and the city government for their inhumanity.

After breakfast, the trio didn’t return to class. They headed to their designated exam rooms.

The morning covered General Education and Martial Theory—both written tests. The former was worth 50 points, the latter 20.

The afternoon was Dao Techniques (100 points) and Martial Combat (80 points).

Those two parts added up to a full 100-point Martial score when combined.

The original Zhang Yu had studied the written sections to perfection.

After finishing the morning tests, he skipped the answer-checking frenzy and wolfed down lunch before heading to the garden to train.

Scattered Hand: Level 1 (0/10)

He switched the Feathered Tome’s specialization to Scattered Hand—this was why he hadn’t switched to Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique earlier.

After pushing the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms to Level 10 yesterday, there was no way to make meaningful progress on Qi-Gathering in such a short time.

But with just a bit of focused training, he could probably push Scattered Hand from Level 1 to at least Level 2.

That could make a real difference in the Martial Combat exam this afternoon.

Motivated by the thought, Zhang Yu trained even harder.

With every strike, his Level 1.25 body roared to life—bones cracking, tendons snapping. Each move thundered with raw power.

Mana coursed through him with each technique, reinforcing his limbs, amplifying his blows.

Scattered Hand had only 15 moves—punches, palms, kicks, and throws—each tailored to different real-world scenarios, each with its own Mana Circulation Route.

Zhang Yu cycled through them over and over.

Compared to the punishing Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, this was a breeze.

His upgraded body, Level 8 Qi-Gathering Technique, and the full-body optimization from the Thirty-Six Forms made his progress lightning-fast. In just over 50 minutes, he reached:

Scattered Hand: Level 1 (0/10) → Level 2 (0/20)

In that instant, the 15 moves burned into his memory—second nature.

But he didn’t stop.

Though fatigue set in, he pressed on. “Two and a half hours until the afternoon test.”

“Let’s see if I can push this to Level 3.”

And so he drilled the 15 techniques again and again, sweat pouring down his face.

His limbs ached, his movements started to falter.

But the thought of soul-devouring debt and sky-high expenses kept him going.

More than two hours later, sweat splattered the ground like rain.

His body steamed with heat from three hours of nonstop training.

But Zhang Yu just smiled.

He’d done it—pushed the technique to Level 3.