Chapter 43: Level-10 Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique

Bai Zhenzhen turned to Zhang Yu, surprised. “Are you serious?”

“Yuzi, don’t be so hasty with your decisions.”

“If you’re aiming for one of the Ten Great Academies, that means you’ll be going up against everyone in Songyang City.”

“You’re not just saying this to show off, are you?”

Zhang Yu snapped, “The hell—I’m being serious here, and you think I’m joking?”

Seeing how earnest Zhang Yu looked, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly smiled. “Fine, let’s say you really are aiming for one of the Ten Great Academies.”

“They gave you a month to think about it, didn’t they?”

“They gave me the same deadline. Just one month.”

“For the next two weeks, focus on improving yourself. I’ll introduce you to some people at the Law Tournament.”

“The Law Tournament?” Zhang Yu perked up. He remembered that the tournament he signed up for was happening this month—just two weeks away.

“You’re introducing me to people at the Law Tournament? Who?”

Bai Zhenzhen said mysteriously, “People who might be able to help us.”

Riddles again? Give me a break.

Zhang Yu pressed, “Who exactly?”

“I’m not entirely sure either. You’ll find out when the time comes,” Bai Zhenzhen replied.

Zhang Yu had no choice but to put all his focus back into improving himself.

Whatever the case, right now, the only thing he could truly rely on was his own strength.

…

In Martial Arts class.

“Dao Techniques are useless.”

“Martial Arts are what truly matter.”

“When you’re on a narrow path and meet your enemy head-on, the only thing you can count on is your martial skill.”

“In that moment, there are only two outcomes: you kill your opponent, or you get killed…”

Listening to Instructor Lei Jun’s monologue, He Dayou rolled his eyes silently. Clearly, he didn’t agree with a word of it.

At that moment, Lei Jun announced, “Alright, time for live combat drills. Pair up.”

“He Dayou, you’re with Zhang Yu.”

“Huh?” He Dayou blinked in confusion, instinctively pointing at himself.

Lei Jun snorted. “What are you looking at? You got crushed in the monthly exam. With grades like that, did you even reflect on what went wrong?”

“I’m giving you another chance. Learn something from Zhang Yu—unless you’re not interested?”

With the stigma of poor combat performance from the monthly exam hanging over him, even a school board member’s son like He Dayou couldn’t argue.

After all, in a school culture where underachievers could do no right, even breathing wrong, He Dayou had to fall in line during class.

Damn that martial arts fossil—picking on Dao Technique students, huh?

He silently walked over to Zhang Yu, thinking, “But maybe I really do have a chance to beat him this time.”

Though he’d lost to Zhang Yu three times, He Dayou hadn’t just let it go—he’d been analyzing those fights.

He watched the recordings over and over, even showed them to his family’s private combat tutor.

The analysis was clear: Zhang Yu’s Scattered Hand had reached Level 3. If he spotted an opening, he could deal serious damage.

But Zhang Yu’s weakness was just as clear. By the third fight, it was obvious—he lacked real combat experience.

So He Dayou had come up with some counter-strategies.

For instance, today in the ring, instead of going on the offensive, he focused fully on defense. He waited for Zhang Yu to get impatient, hoping to strike back with the Lesser Starfall Palm when an opening appeared...

With a solid game plan, He Dayou believed that even if he lost, it wouldn’t be a blowout. He might even win.

Pow!

Pow!

Pow!

He managed to block several of Zhang Yu’s blows at first and felt okay.

But soon, he noticed Zhang Yu’s punches getting heavier. His arms started to ache from blocking, and his mana began to churn.

Boom!

Zhang Yu’s punch blew open his guard, and the next instant, He Dayou took a kick that sent him flying.

With a thud, he hit the ground. Mana surged wildly inside him, and he couldn’t even get up for a moment.

“Zhang Yu’s Scattered Hand is stronger than last time?”

“Did he…”

He Dayou looked at Zhang Yu in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Lei Jun appeared beside Zhang Yu in a flash and exclaimed, “Your Scattered Hand is Level 4 now?”

Zhang Yu, whose Scattered Hand was actually Level 5, gave an awkward smile. “Yeah, I just broke through yesterday.”

He hadn’t planned on revealing his progress. He’d been holding back in the fight with He Dayou.

But ultimately, lack of experience showed. Once He Dayou switched to full defense, Zhang Yu lost control during his barrage and accidentally let his technique surge to Level 4.

Lei Jun just laughed. “Looks like you’ve got talent for martial arts.”

“So? Want to sign up for next month’s Songyang City Martial Arts Combat Tournament?”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. “Is there prize money?”

“Of course,” Lei Jun said. “First place in the city gets fifty thousand, plus rights to use an expert-grade Martial Technique.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The Law Tournament had prize money too. So does this Martial Arts Tournament…”

A realization hit him. If he could place in enough competitions and rack up the prize money, he might not need the Student Council’s financial support after all. He could even afford to accelerate his cultivation.

Seeing Zhang Yu’s interest, Lei Jun added, “I’ve always said martial arts are valuable. If you fight well, there’s money to be made.”

“Alright, I’ll sign you up. I’ll take you and Bai Zhenzhen together.”

After Lei Jun left, Zhang Yu looked at He Dayou, who was still lying on the ground. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. What could be wrong?” He Dayou got up quickly and gave Zhang Yu a long, hard look. “I heard the Student Council called you in yesterday?”

Zhang Yu nodded.

Seeing this, He Dayou forced down his anger.

“No point getting mad. We’re all school assets. Doesn’t affect the college entrance exam anyway.”

As he rubbed his chest, he consoled himself, “Strength in freshman year doesn’t mean much. Once I’ve laid my foundation and started training with expert-grade techniques, I’ll crush Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.”

On the other side of the training hall, Bai Zhenzhen said impatiently, “You done watching? Let’s keep going.”

Qian Shen’s gaze drifted back from Zhang Yu’s direction to face Bai Zhenzhen, only to feel an oppressive pressure radiating from her.

If he were up against a 550-point hybrid-type student, he was confident he could tear them apart.

But this was a 651-point prodigy. Every move he made felt like it was being read ahead of time. From the moment they started fighting, his strength seemed to plummet.

“With this big a score gap, how could I possibly beat her? Damn Old Huang—he should’ve had me fight Zhang Yu instead. His score’s six points lower…”

Zhang Yu glanced at He Dayou, Qian Shen, and the other rich kids. A strange thought crept into his mind—these seemingly friendly students, what would they become once they found out he and Bai Zhenzhen aimed for one of the Ten Great Academies?

Would they join forces to go after him and Ah-Zhen?

Watching Qian Shen being thoroughly suppressed by Bai Zhenzhen at the moment, Zhang Yu silently mused, “The way Qian Shen is so obsessed with scores… Is it possible he doesn’t even know poor students don’t stand a chance of getting into the Ten Great Academies? Could he be faking it?”

Zhang Yu didn’t think so. Qian Shen’s single-mindedness didn’t seem like an act.

It couldn’t be one of those “Let the young master focus on studying, don’t let him see the filth of the world” scenarios, could it?

Zhang Yu shook his head, unsure of anything anymore.

…

In Dao Techniques class.

The instructor looked at He Dayou with admiration. “This Physical Examination Sigil is excellent. Looks like you’ve truly internalized the talismans of the Divine Overseer of Roads and Transit.”

He Dayou replied humbly, “You flatter me, Teacher. I still have a lot to improve.”

The instructor waved his hand. “Too much humility turns into arrogance.”

“To be at this level as a first-year—He Dayou, I’d say you don’t even need to bother with the rest of the year’s curriculum.”

“You can skip this class from now on—I’ll still mark you present.”

Bathed in the envious stares of his classmates, He Dayou offered another round of modest refusals.

Then the instructor turned abruptly. “Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, you two better shape up.”

“Your lopsided development isn’t doing you any favors.”

“Come to me for extra lessons when you have time. I’ll give you a 20% discount…”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen could only bow their heads and take the scolding. Internally, though, neither of them was fazed. The cost-effectiveness of talisman tutoring was just too low. They’d rather spend their money elsewhere.

…

Inside the Meditation Chamber.

Wei Xin’s voice rang out.

“Zhang Yu, your time’s almost up. Want to extend your session?”

Having once again earned the week’s lowest Distraction Rate, Zhang Yu hesitated, then said, “One more hour.”

With the Law Tournament drawing closer, Zhang Yu decided to speed up his mana cultivation.

He took a deep breath. His Qi Sea Spirit Root shivered in his dantian, drawing in waves of spiritual energy from all directions, refining it strand by strand into mana.

An hour later, watching Zhang Yu’s departing figure, Wei Xin sighed. “As expected of a Gold Core Cultivator. His improvement in Mana Circulation Efficiency is unreal.”

“If only he’d buy a Platinum Membership someday…”

…

After school.

On the school rooftop.

Amid the sounds of fists and feet clashing, two figures collided repeatedly, stirring up bursts of wind and thunder.

It was Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen engaged in private sparring practice.

Unlike the controlled pair exercises in combat class, their private bouts were full-force, with no need to hide their trump cards. The experience gain was far greater.

Their fists and feet exchanged blows in rapid succession. Zhang Yu’s Scattered Hand packed more power, but his body was slightly weaker than Bai Zhenzhen’s.

While Bai Zhenzhen’s Scattered Hand technique wasn’t as refined as Zhang Yu’s, she also wielded the High School Basic Sword Technique. Her occasional sword-finger thrusts threw Zhang Yu—still lacking in experience—into disarray.

“Yuzi, stop watching my hands. Predict my moves from my hips and shoulders.”

“Don’t rely so much on your familiarity with Scattered Hand…”

…

In the stationery store near the school gate.

The owner pointed to the latest first-year rankings. “Zhang Yu, ranked third, gained 70 points this month. It’s all thanks to the Calming Elixir, Pain Controller, Filler, and Muscle Enhancer he bought from me…”

He pulled out a bag of medicine bottles and pitched to the Songyang students, “Zhang Yu’s original cultivation bundle, now 10% off!”

Zhang Yu, standing at the doorway waiting to restock, watched the man shamelessly pitching products. He once again felt the ugliness of the adult world.

Once the students left, Zhang Yu approached and said, “Told you I was a campus celebrity. My endorsements sell. Isn’t it time to raise my cut?”

The store owner scowled. “I haven’t even recouped the cost of that batch of Neural Fillers I gave you.”

He pointed at the gift bags. “Look. Only one set sold today.”

Zhang Yu muttered to himself, “You’re selling generic stuff, not even cheaper than online. Why wouldn’t people shop elsewhere?”

The owner added, “And about those body-refining pills—lots of students think you’re doing Natural Body Forging, not using injections.”

Zhang Yu quickly changed the subject. “Maybe I haven’t been seen taking enough of your pills at school. Give me two more bottles of Neural Filler. If I start popping them daily, the promotional effect will skyrocket.”

…

Studying, classes, cultivation, breathing practice, sparring…

Zhang Yu threw himself fully into his cultivation for five days straight.

One night, while practicing breathing on his bed, he couldn’t help but smile.

After completing his final breathing cycle, his Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique finally leveled up to 10.

In that instant, his mana surged through his body like mighty rivers, flooding every channel. It was as if he could hear phantom howls echoing in his ears.

Eventually, the turbulent circulation calmed, and Zhang Yu could feel that his passive breathing had grown more powerful and agile.

“At level 10, the Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique makes passive breathing as effective as active breathing.”

The smile on Zhang Yu’s face widened. That meant even if he didn’t actively engage in breathing practice anymore, his body would continuously refine spiritual energy and boost his mana on its own.

Thanks to this period of rigorous training, his mana had also increased significantly—now at 13.3, the second-highest in his year.

That thought brought a wry grin to his face. “It’s not weird. I’m immensely talented, wildly disciplined… this progress is only natural.”

“But Ah-Zhen’s growth lately feels almost too fast too.”

“Could it be… she’s unlocked something too?”