Chapter 40: Choices and Cultivation Methods

White Dragon High School.

As one of the top three elite schools in Songyang City alongside Purple Cloud High, White Dragon High boasted a long history and deep pockets. Whether in terms of students winning competitions, getting into the Ten Great Academies, or having full-on breakdowns, it held a dominant position in the city.

In fact, for many students at White Dragon High, the so-called “top three elite schools” was a joke. As far as they were concerned, Songyang City only had one elite school—White Dragon.

Right now, in the school cafeteria of White Dragon High—

Zhang Pianpian was flipping through her talisman book while eating lunch, reading a newly purchased textbook on sigils.

Just then, a petite girl plopped down across from her and said mysteriously, “Pianbao, I heard something juicy. Wanna know? Buy me lunch and I’ll tell you.”

Without looking up, Zhang Pianpian replied, “Not interested.”

The girl chuckled. “Your little brother made quite the splash at the Central Tower last time, but he still didn’t get recruited by a Gold Core Cultivator. Don’t you want to know what he’s up to now?”

Zhang Pianpian furrowed her brow slightly. “At most, that’s worth a 9 yuan Poverty Combo. Any pricier and I’m not listening.”

“That’s plenty!” the girl grinned. “Pianbao, you treating me? No one in class will believe it.”

Seeing Zhang Pianpian’s impatient look, the girl quickly added, “The news came from a friend at Songyang High.”

“Your brother placed third in the latest monthly exam. Total score: 620.”

Zhang Pianpian blinked in surprise. “620? Are you sure that info’s legit?”

“Guaranteed,” the girl said. “That score would put him in the top fifteen in our school’s freshman year. Pretty impressive.”

“Didn’t you say your brother wasn’t talented? Seems like he’s doing pretty well.”

Zhang Pianpian’s eyes flashed with a hint of doubt. “I trust my judgment. He doesn’t have the talent for the Immortal Path. Something must’ve changed recently.”

The girl asked, “The Student Council at Songyang High is probably gonna target him now. Aren’t you going to help?”

Zhang Pianpian lowered her gaze and said calmly, “Let’s see what choice he makes.”

“If he’s willing to sign with the Student Council, at least things’ll be easier for him in high school.”

“You’re testing him?” The girl pouted. “Isn’t that too harsh? How many students can really resist the pressure from the Student Council?”

“If he can’t handle it, then he should walk the path of someone who can’t,” Zhang Pianpian said coldly. “If I help him, it might just end up hurting him more.”

“Who he really is… depends entirely on the choices he makes.”

…

Songyang High.

Zhang Yu could clearly feel that the school’s atmosphere had shifted.

During breaks, unfamiliar classmates started greeting him.

“Zhang Yu, your physical strength’s improved so fast—was it really just Natural Body Forging?”

“Zhang Yu, can I borrow your martial theory exam paper?”

In the hallways, students from other classes pointed him out.

“Look, that’s the Zhang Yu Mr. Lei mentioned.”

“Ugh, those monsters from the Demo Class just make life impossible.”

In Martial Arts class, Mr. Lei Jun kept replaying the video of him defeating He Dayou.

He even asked Zhang Yu to explain his tactical thinking during the fight—He Dayou’s qi and blood surged so violently just listening that his heart was pounding harder than ever, looking practically younger by the minute.

In the cafeteria, students began detouring past Zhang Yu, sneaking glances at what he was eating.

Some who barely knew him tried to sit at his table.

During dinner, Zhang Yu went ahead and called over Zhao Tianxing to eat with him and Bai Zhenzhen.

After all, Zhao Tianxing took up two seats by himself, so the three of them filled the whole table perfectly.

As for Zhou Tianyi—no idea what that guy was doing today. He left school the moment class ended and didn’t even show up for dinner.

Zhao Tianxing had eaten with them a few times now and was gradually getting more familiar with both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Zhang Yu even noticed that Bai Zhenzhen seemed a lot more relaxed around Zhao Tianxing than she ever was around Zhou Tianyi.

At the moment, Zhao Tianxing was grumbling, “How long is the cafeteria’s display screen gonna keep showing the exam rankings? I can’t even see the food prices anymore.”

Zhang Yu took a bite and sighed, “Little Zhao, your perspective is too narrow. The school displays scores to motivate us to study harder. I think they should leave it up a few more days.”

Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly. “Exams are our primary duty as students. Score visibility is far more important than food prices.”

Zhao Tianxing looked speechlessly at the two of them, especially Zhang Yu.

Then it suddenly hit him—Zhang Yu was no longer just another student with a similar rank. They weren’t even in the same academic class anymore.

What used to feel like oppressive and cruel school policies were now, to Zhang Yu, a blatant form of showing off.

“Just a few days ago, Zhang Yu was right there with me, railing against how inhumane all this was.”

“And now he’s like this,” Zhao thought to himself. “Does scoring high really change people this fast?”

Bai Zhenzhen smiled at Zhang Yu. “You seem to be in a good mood.”

More than good.

Zhang Yu felt amazing.

He’d never noticed how beautiful the scenery at Songyang High was, how kind the students and teachers were.

For someone like him, grinding away in bitter cultivation every day, this was a rare comfort—his reward from the heavens for being so diligent and disciplined.

Zhang Yu waved it off modestly. “Ah, just some worthless fame.”

“No idea why people keep looking for me.”

“Ah-Zhen, you were ranked first in the grade for ages. Why didn’t people swarm you like this?”

Bai Zhenzhen scoffed. “Because my number one made them feel hopeless. All they saw was a chasm of talent.”

“But your sudden rise makes them feel like you’re copyable.”

“So now they all want to cozy up to you and uncover the secret behind your score jump.”

She downed a chicken leg in one bite and ruthlessly exposed the cold truth.

“In high school, scores rule.”

“A curated workbook, a paywalled sigil trick, or some real combat experience from a tutoring session—any of those are enough to make students flock to you. So what do you think they’ll do when someone improves by 70 points in a month? Even the top-ten brainiacs can’t help but take interest.”

“These students aren’t coming to be your friends. They want the secret behind your score jump—preferably to move that 70-point gain to themselves.”

Zhao Tianxing shifted in his seat. The two chairs beneath him groaned under the strain.

He thought to himself, “I was ranked tenth this time, and yeah, I did approach Zhang Yu on purpose…”

“Is Bai Zhenzhen… calling me out?”

“Sure, I wanted to pick up some of their stellar study habits and maybe ask Zhang Yu how he made such a leap…”

The thought made him squirm even more, the atmosphere at the table growing awkward. He decided to shelve his plan to ask for study tips for now.

Even after parting ways and watching the other two—Zhang Yu heading for the bus, Bai Zhenzhen toward the subway—Zhao Tianxing was still dwelling on it.

“Was she really talking about me?”

…

On the bus.

Just as he boarded and got jostled by the crowd, Zhang Yu felt his phone buzz.

It was a message from Bai Zhenzhen.

“The Student Council might approach you in the next few days about a contract.”

“No matter what they offer, don’t agree right away.”

“Wait till I talk to them. Then we’ll decide together.”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up.

“So high-tier contracts are handled through the Student Council?”

He’d never paid much attention to Songyang High’s Student Council.

In his mind, what could a high school student council possibly do?

But judging from Bai Zhenzhen’s message, the Student Council clearly wasn’t some decorative body—they could even negotiate contracts.

“I wonder what kind of terms they’ll offer me…”

“Is Ah-Zhen planning to go in with me? Drive up the price together?”

He thought about it for a few seconds but couldn’t make sense of it. Just then, the countdown timer echoed in his mind again, so he shelved those thoughts and pulled out his study materials.

But whether it was because of the test results or the looming contract, Zhang Yu just couldn’t concentrate. His mind was restless, and the words wouldn’t stick.

He finally put his phone down and began thinking about his cultivation path.

The Ritual wasn’t pressuring him when it came to this kind of self-reflection.

After all, planning his cultivation aligned with his ultimate goal—study hard, cultivate hard, get into university, get a job, make money, and eventually buy every single antique in his shopping cart.

“First, I’ll push the Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique to level 10.”

“Then I’ll go for the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique—but that requires a Dao Heart of level 3. So I’ll need to train with the Basic Heart-Forging Method first. Level that to 10, raise my Dao Heart to 3, and then tackle the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique…”

“After that, the only things left for me to work on are Basic Breathing Technique, Scattered Hand, and the High School Basic Sword Technique.”

He mentally reviewed his roadmap, then thought about the 70,000 yuan in savings he now had, and the future income from that potential contract.

A thought suddenly popped into his head.

“Should I buy some better, more effective cultivation techniques?”

He never considered it before—he didn’t have the money.

But ever since Wang Hai handed over that 66,000, Zhang Yu hadn’t stopped thinking about how to spend it.

Spirit roots, sigils, real combat experience… things he used to only dream of were starting to seem within reach. He just needed to wait for the contract to be finalized before making a plan based on his budget.

Now that he was thinking about cultivation methods, he couldn’t help it—he wanted to shop around.

“Even if I don’t buy anything now, I should at least get a sense of the options.”

The screen lit up. Zhang Yu opened a shopping app and logged in with his real name.

After a quick facial scan, he was finally granted access to the site for purchasing Immortal Path techniques. Though with his current status, he could only view Qi Refinement-tier methods.

Right as he entered, a recommendation banner popped up:

“Your friends are currently viewing: Dual-Compatible Maiden Technique, Dream Sutra for Cultivating in Your Sleep, Nine Heavens Quick-Mastery Talisman Series…”