The Male Examinee Prep Room.
As examinee after examinee warmed up, the stench of sweat, feet, and stale oil wafted through the cramped space. Zhang Yu endured it while carefully smearing the Diamond Ghee he'd bought over every part of his body, making his muscle lines stand out.
Thinking how one jar cost over a hundred yuan and one exam consumed it all, he spread it on all the more carefully. "This damn school sells its exam supplies at such a rip-off." But he didn't dare not buy it — the Ghee had no body-forging effect, yet made every muscle line visible for the judges to grade. Without it, a sleepy judge might give him a low score. And given his understanding of Kunxu, Zhang Yu strongly suspected the school split the Ghee revenue with the judges anyway.
"Old Zhao, help me do my back." "On it." Zhao Tianxing dipped his hand into the Ghee and smeared it across Zhang Yu's back, taking in his physique. *Zhang Yu's physical strength level doesn't seem low at all.* Though Zhang Yu walked the balanced path of strength, speed, and agility — a different road from Zhao Tianxing's raw power — Zhao Tianxing, a core student who often classed under Wang Hai, had seen plenty of ace body-forgers. *Seems even a notch above mine? But how? He doesn't even have an instructor anymore.*
Before long, the ten of them, glistening with oil and studded with probing patches, stepped onto the exam floor. The five PE teachers swept their eyes across them; Wang Hai's gaze lingered a beat on both Zhao Tianxing and Zhang Yu. "Begin."
Ha! Hah! Rooar! With fierce yells, the examinees erupted with the full might of their bodies, muscles swelling, unleashing the violence in their flesh. The platform groaned, some parts barely withstanding the abuse of these body-forging beasts. Force data fed instantly to the judges' screens.
Wang Hai looked first at Zhang Yu's data: "Right arm erupting with 443 kilograms of force, left arm with 422... All that progress in a few weeks? What Beast Drug did he take? Is his structure about to fall apart?" His eyes sharpened, and he looked up at Zhang Yu.
At the same time, the ten students felt five icy stares slide over them. From below, they looked like ten surging body-forging beasts; but to the students, the five judges below were like five terrifying predators picking through a butcher's stall, deciding which slab of meat to eat.
Zhao Tianxing felt like a lamb awaiting slaughter and could only strain every fiber, erupting with all he had. But Zhang Yu felt something entirely different: five scorching stares pinned him, goosebumps crawling up his skin.
One teacher below was already singing praises: "Beautiful bones! Barbarian back, demon-chested, devilish arms — who'd have thought a first-year had tuned his body structure this well?" Another, nearly drooling: "Look at those legs — the joints shaped through a thousand refinements. Solid foundation. Bound to shoot straight up. Why don't I ever get students this good?" A third clapped Wang Hai's shoulder: "Teacher Wang, this one's your key protégé too? Exquisitely tuned. This year's bonus is secure."
Wang Hai, who'd just been weighing whether to hand Zhang Yu a maliciously low score, gave an awkward smile at the clap on his shoulder. But a flicker of barely-suppressed appreciation leaked through. *Even though drug sales are my main line, still...* As a PE teacher, he simply couldn't grade a body this pristine — this flesh was a work of art. And the comments had already sealed off any path to tampering.
After scoring Zhang Yu truthfully, cold resolve flashed in his eyes: "Such a huge improvement in so little time, especially the structure tuning. Zhang Yu more than likely really became a Golden Core Disciple. Since that's the case, I'll just have to use my final resort."
---
Dinner time. In the cafeteria. Because he'd been grinding the Level 8 Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method, Zhang Yu's appetite had shrunk; a few mouthfuls and his tray was nearly done.
But a huge shadow fell over him. Wang Hai, looming like a mountain, thudded down across the table. Then he smiled at Bai Zhenzhen: "Bai Zhenzhen, would you mind letting me have a word with Zhang Yu alone?" She looked at Zhang Yu, got his nod, and moved a dozen meters away, watching with open curiosity.
Zhang Yu eyed Wang Hai with no small wariness. But Wang Hai simply said: "Let's exchange contacts. We never have before." With eighty percent confidence that the kid was a Golden Core Disciple, Wang Hai had decided to employ his final resort — gift-giving — to patch things up.
But what to give became a new problem. Wang Hai had the wisdom of gift-giving in spades. His first instinct was body-forging drugs — as a dealer, handing out samples, test products, contraband was practically muscle memory. But he wrote that off: "Zhang Yu's said himself he does Natural Body Forging. Gift him forging drugs and I'd be slapping him in the face."
He moved to body-forging techniques — tutoring people's kids had long been his go-to for currying favor. But he nixed that too: "The few techniques I hold the rights to spread — what are they worth to Zhang Yu now? He's a Golden Core Disciple. Would he ever be short of a high-school PE teacher's techniques? Think as I might, in the end I'll have to gift..."
Having added Zhang Yu on his contacts, Wang Hai went on: "Zhang Yu, you did great today. Teacher was thinking he had nothing much worth handing over, so I'll just transfer you some money. A small token. Don't mind if it's little."
Zhang Yu picked up his buzzing phone to find a transfer from Wang Hai, his heart stirring: *Sending money to smooth things over? Thinking a bit of cash writes off the way he isolated me?* He'd looked down on this kind of money transaction his whole past life, and as he tapped into the message he tried to put on a contemptuous face — only to find he couldn't.
You have received a transfer of 66,666.66 yuan from Wang Hai.
A dozen meters away, Bai Zhenzhen watched his expression: *What on earth is going on? Yu's barely holding back the corners of his mouth.*
Meanwhile Wang Hai said in all sincerity: "Seeing your improvement today, this teacher is very pleased. I wronged you before — my PE teaching was second-rate. Teacher apologizes." He started to rise and bow, but Zhang Yu urged: "Teacher, you were only looking out for me. How could I let you apologize?"
Inside, Zhang Yu felt sick at his own worldliness. *Dammit, Zhang Yu, what have you become? Bought off just like that?* But it wasn't really the money. Old Wang was a man of seventy or eighty, a proud, face-loving ace — and he'd apologized. You had to give him credit for sincerity.
Seeing Zhang Yu smile, Wang Hai sighed in relief, though the thought of that sixty-six thousand stung. His income wasn't low, but his spending outpaced the average by a mile; sixty-six thousand was no small sum to him either. But this wasn't the time to nurse it — the boy before him was Starfire's newly taken disciple. Years of experience said: if you're going to hand over money, hand it over all the way the first time.
Gripping Zhang Yu's hands, he said earnestly: "From now on, my PE class is your PE class. Do whatever you want — even skip, it doesn't matter. Skip whenever you please. Absolute freedom."
What's the greatest mark of respect a teacher can show a student? Wang Hai, who'd taught at Songyang for years, gave his answer: skippable classes at will. That was his respect for a Golden Core Disciple.
"Ah?" Surprise crossed Zhang Yu's face, then gave way to delight. For a self-disciplined student, the freedom to arrange his own class time was a fine thing. Seeing his surprise, Wang Hai said with pointed meaning: "Heh, after all, it's not like you still need my guidance."
After a bit more pleasantries, Wang Hai said his goodbyes and took his leave.