Chapter 188: Layers of Shackles

In the Demonstration Class classroom.

Su Haifeng stood at the lectern. As the grade director of Songyang High, the kind of man whose mere presence would compel even a dog passing by to read a few pages, his appearance alone made the students sit up straighter and sharpen their focus.

And the content of Su Haifeng’s speech today sent ripples through the students’ minds—some were even at a loss for what to think.

“…Recently, some students have grown lax in their discipline, especially when it comes to unexcused absences, which have occurred with increasing frequency. This not only severely impacts your own academic progress, but also undermines the entire class and even the school’s learning environment.”

“The school has zero tolerance for this kind of behavior. We will be enforcing stricter checks going forward. Anyone found skipping class without reason will be dealt with accordingly.”

“Don’t take these punishments lightly. A single disciplinary action will leave a permanent mark on your student file. Accumulate three, and you’ll be expelled.”

“Some of you might think, ‘So what if I get expelled? I’ll just go to another school.’ But let me give you a warning: once you’re expelled, your name goes on the education system’s blacklist.”

“Once blacklisted, you can’t take the Foundation Establishment exam. No high school or university will accept you.”

“In other words, your Immortal Path ends right there…”

Qian Shen raised his hand and asked, “Do we have to attend every single general education class too?”

“Of course,” Su Haifeng replied matter-of-factly. “Any absence is counted as skipping class, including general education.”

From his seat, Zhang Yu could feel Su Haifeng’s gaze constantly sweeping over him. It was hard not to feel like this entire speech was directed straight at him.

And Su Haifeng, watching Zhang Yu, was thinking to himself, “The Inspectorate Department has finally shifted their attention elsewhere. Now’s the time to seize the opportunity and capture the Evil God behind Zhang Yu—to enhance my master’s status.”

As far as Su Haifeng was concerned, Zhang Yu was just a high schooler, even if he was considered a top student… But in his eyes, Zhang Yu posed no real threat. He could suppress him anytime he wanted.

“The real issue is the Evil God behind him.”

“We absolutely cannot reveal our intentions. If the Evil God senses something is off, it may abandon Zhang Yu and flee.”

“We have to let Zhou Chechen slowly squeeze him—corner him—until he’s forced to seek help from the Evil God himself…”

With that in mind, Su Haifeng simply let his gaze pass over Zhang Yu without saying anything further.

As for how the new school rules might affect students’ grades? That didn’t concern Su Haifeng in the slightest—nor did it concern the elders of the Zhou Family backing him.

After all, to people like them, even the most promising students of a prestigious high school were just yearly crops—some domesticated, some wild. Some would provide value through hard work, others through the value of their organs.

And as long as their plan succeeded—boosting the Evil God’s level to welcome the next era—what did it matter if a few students had to suffer?

…

During math class, all students obediently stayed in their seats.

Even the math teacher seemed slightly surprised to see every student present and seated properly. But after a few minutes of teaching, he was visibly energized, almost triumphant.

Meanwhile, in the hallway outside, other teachers patrolled back and forth, inspecting the classroom through the windows at all times.

Under Su Haifeng’s piercing gaze—eyes practically sparking with electric light—no student dared step even a toe out of line.

“What a pain…”

“Sitting here obediently through math class… what a complete waste of time.”

Zhang Yu grumbled inwardly, “Thankfully, I can still cultivate my Heart Technique and practice Active Breathing during this.”

He glanced over at Bai Zhenzhen, who was holding a power bank in her hands. He could tell she was also squeezing in some Breathing Technique training while recharging.

“Still,” Zhang Yu thought, “with the relationships I’ve built with most teachers, I should be able to negotiate some breathing room for the other classes…”

…

At the training hall.

The martial arts teacher, Lei Jun, had called Zhang Yu aside.

“Teacher, can I still find a place to train alone during martial arts class?” Zhang Yu asked.

Lei Jun sighed, clearly helpless. “No can do, Zhang Yu. Things are extremely strict right now. If you skip class, not only will you get punished, but I’ll get penalized too—my performance rating, my salary…”

Zhang Yu frowned slightly at that. Many of his Techniques weren’t suitable for practice in front of classmates or teachers.

“But there’s an upside. To help top students improve, the school has created a special support plan just for people like you.”

“For example, during martial arts class, the school wants me to personally teach you various basic Techniques—for free—so you can solidify your foundation.”

Lei Jun felt a bit guilty saying this.

With years of experience as a high school martial arts teacher, he knew all too well that students shouldn’t be practicing too many basic Techniques.

The idea of training in multiple basic Techniques to “solidify fundamentals” was something ancient sects used to do when they had ten or twenty years of cultivation time—it was long obsolete.

In today’s cutthroat high school environment, there were countless ways faster and more effective than old-school basics. Training too many basic Techniques was just a waste of time.

“Zhou Chechen is having Zhang Yu spend every martial arts class grinding basic Techniques. It’s just draining his time, squandering his years…”

Still, Lei Jun didn’t stop it.

He thought to himself, “Zhou Chechen even got the principal and board involved.”

“That means he’s probably pulling the full weight of the Zhou Family behind this.”

“In the face of a giant like one of the Sixteen Clans of Songyang, what am I but a lowly salaryman? What’s Zhang Yu but a student? What power do we have to resist?”

As for transferring to another school? Lei Jun knew Songyang High wouldn’t let go that easily. Academic records, compensation… that alone would be a huge ordeal. They could easily doctor the numbers and demand sky-high penalties—what other school would want to take him in?

He remembered hearing that back during a competition, White Dragon High’s coach had invited Zhang Yu. Zhou Chechen personally shut it down. Zhang Yu stopped competing after that, and now no school would dare take on such a costly transfer.

Having worked and cultivated in Songyang City for years, Lei Jun knew exactly how powerful the Zhou Family was. Not something a student or ordinary teacher could challenge.

“If I go against them, I’ll be ‘optimized’—replaced. I’ll end up a middle-aged man scouring the streets for jobs, and because of my age, I’ll never land a full-time position again. I’ll be delivering food and packages for a living…”

“Under 360-degree surveillance, every second of my work, my meals, my bathroom breaks will be monitored. I’ll wear a FaceMod smile while getting trampled by customers, security guards, vendors, and station managers. Unless I pull over 200 hours of overtime a month, I won’t even pay off the loans…”

“If I’m lucky, I’ll keep my cultivation going while working myself to death. If I’m not, maybe I get injured while delivering, can’t work enough hours, and I’ll be forced to sell my blood and flesh bit by bit…”

“Watching myself turn back into a mortal old man… as mortals insult and abuse me… until I rot in a sewer…”

Just imagining it filled Lei Jun with terror.

“No… I’ve cultivated for years. I can’t end up like that.”

On the other hand, if he followed Zhou Chechen’s orders, not only would he avoid being replaced—Zhou Chechen would help pay off his student debt.

Lei Jun sighed deeply and avoided looking Zhang Yu in the eyes.

As a teacher, he admired Zhang Yu’s talent and grades. But as a man of Kunxu, he knew that money in hand was the only thing that truly mattered.

“Sorry, Zhang Yu. But it’s not like you’ll get into the Ten Great Academies anyway. Whether your grades are top or just good—what does it change? Might as well help me out.”

Still, Lei Jun decided to offer Zhang Yu a tiny bit of choice.

“As long as it’s a basic Technique that our school is licensed to teach,” Lei Jun said, “you can choose freely. Whatever you pick, I’ll teach it, and the school will grant you usage rights.”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. “What other basic Techniques does our high school offer?”

Lei Jun, clearly familiar with the list, replied, “Besides the ones you already learned, there’s High School Basic Blade Technique, High School Basic Footwork, High School Basic Digestion Technique, High School Basic Pill Consumption Technique…”

As Lei Jun rattled off Technique after Technique, Zhang Yu pulled out his phone and jotted them down, then logged onto a shopping site to read each Technique’s description.

“Hmm, this High School Basic Footwork could fill the link slot in the High School Sacred Body diagram.”

“And this Basic Digestion Technique, and Basic Pill Consumption Technique…”

“Not bad. Songyang High really is a top-tier school. The collection of basic Techniques is extremely comprehensive—enough to assemble a full High School Sacred Body set.”

His spirits lifted, Zhang Yu looked up. “Then I’ll start with the High School Basic Digestion Technique.”

Lei Jun watched the fire in Zhang Yu’s eyes and sighed inwardly, but said nothing. He began personally coaching him on the chosen Technique.

This Basic Digestion Technique used a series of simple movements and mana circulations to stimulate the digestive tract and improve absorption.

After two full martial arts classes, Lei Jun could hear a low thunder-like rumble coming from Zhang Yu’s body as his Technique took effect.

“He already got it? That fast?” Lei Jun thought. “What a waste of talent… now it’ll all be spent grinding basic Techniques…”

Zhang Yu, however, was quite pleased. His Feathered Tome now showed the Basic Digestion Technique had reached Level 3 (5/30).

Even though he had reached Level 3, Zhang Yu kept pretending to struggle as if he’d just barely gotten the hang of it. That way, he could keep grinding Technique XP while flying under the radar.

…

After martial arts class, the Demonstration Class students headed to the gym for PE.

But this time, another PE teacher had joined Wang Hai.

To everyone’s surprise, Wang Hai announced, “Class, from now on, your PE classes in Grade 11 will be taught by Ms. Lin Hui here. She’s incredibly skilled, so learn well.”

The new teacher—standing 2.5 meters tall and 2 meters wide, making it hard to even guess their gender—smiled and said, “Hello students. The school takes your PE seriously.”

“To boost your performance, we’ll be giving out free Dragon Elephant Enhancer shots every class.”

Cheers erupted from the students. Even Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen brightened.

Who would’ve thought Songyang High would actually do something beneficial?

Wang Hai watched silently as Lin Hui distributed the Dragon Elephant Enhancer and the students eagerly lined up to inject it.

In his mind, he recalled Zhou Chechen’s earlier instructions.

“Should we add addictive agents to Zhang Yu’s injection?”

Originally, Zhou Chechen had asked Wang Hai to do it personally, offering rewards tempting enough to shake even him.

Add to that the fact that Zhang Yu had been confirmed as not a Gold Core Disciple, and his sponsor Zhang Pianpian had vanished without a trace, and the Zhou Family had begun taking action…

Everything seemed to scream that Wang Hai should accept.

But in the end, he chose neither to agree nor to interfere.

Because he couldn’t read the situation.

He couldn’t understand how Zhang Yu was improving so fast. He didn’t know whether Zhang Yu had backers or not. And he couldn’t grasp Zhou Chechen’s true motive—was it revenge, or something else?

As Songyang High’s top PE coach for decades, Wang Hai lived by one rule:

If he didn’t understand something, no matter how profitable, he wouldn’t touch it.