Watching Wang Hai's retreating back, Zhang Yu sighed: "What a responsible teacher."
Bai Zhenzhen sidled up beside him, suspicious: "What on earth happened just now? Laughing, shaking hands, all that talk."
"Wang Hai suddenly realized you're his long-lost son, so he gave you money?"
Zhang Yu shook his head: "Any number of reasons... but trace them back, it comes down to how I did on this month's exam."
"Zhenzhen, the better my grades grow and the stronger my skills get, the more good friends there'll be for me in this world, right?"
At Zhang Yu's smug expression, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: *How much did Yu actually score this time? Could he have beaten me? That shouldn't be possible...*
That evening Zhang Yu returned to the suburb and, as usual, ground away at the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method. His next goal was to push it to Level 10.
By the next morning, he'd raised the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method to Level 8 (37/160).
His mana, having been passively breathed in and actively drawn out all day, ticked up again from 11.8 to 11.9.
And thanks to Wang Hai's funding, after deducting his expenses over the past few days, Zhang Yu's savings had jumped to over seventy-two thousand yuan.
The moment he laid eyes on that sum, a hundred ways to spend it flashed through his mind.
But in the end he held back, deciding to first see what contract the school would offer after this month's exam, and only then plan how to use the money.
---
At four in the morning at Songyang High School.
Inside the teachers' office.
After another routine night of staying up, Su Haifeng received this month's score sheet.
So that students could learn about themselves and adjust their studying as fast as possible, the teachers had worked overtime, tallying scores and rankings for every test-taker on the very night of the exam.
Congratulations, congratulations.
Su Haifeng cast his eyes down the rankings and scores.
First place, Bai Zhenzhen, total 651.
Su Haifeng nodded slightly, thinking: *Bai Zhenzhen's still unshakeably first. Shame about that 60 in Dao Arts — otherwise her total would be even higher.*
Second place, Qian Shen, total 626.
Su Haifeng thought: *Qian Shen keeps advancing steadily, and that 80 in Dao Arts does a lot of the pulling.*
Third place, Zhang Yu, total 620.
Su Haifeng froze for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and looked again more carefully.
Third place, Zhang Yu, total 620.
"How is that possible?"
Su Haifeng sat up straight and hurriedly scanned Zhang Yu's scores subject by subject.
General Knowledge 48, Dao Heart 135, Mana 142, PE 145, Martial Arts 90, Dao Arts 60.
"This..."
Su Haifeng was staggered. And this was with a 60 in Dao Arts.
If Dao Arts had been even seven points higher, wouldn't he have reached 627 and leapfrogged Qian Shen to become second in the year?
In other words, Zhang Yu had surged from tenth in the grade all the way to third.
No... by Su Haifeng's estimate, three weeks ago the kid should have already slumped to twentieth, and since then, aside from Mana, his scores should have been sliding steadily, his total sinking toward thirtieth place.
"How could there be such a massive improvement?"
"Won the lottery?"
The more Su Haifeng looked at each of Zhang Yu's scores, the more unsettled he grew — especially that 142 in Mana, and a full 145 in PE?
He couldn't help but call Wang Hai, wanting to ask if Zhang Yu's scores had been entered wrong.
At four in the morning, Songyang's cultivators were at their most alert.
Wang Hai picked up quickly: "What's the matter, Teacher Su?"
Su Haifeng asked: "I see Zhang Yu's PE score here as 145? Is something wrong there..."
Wang Hai's attitude toward Zhang Yu today was quite good, but that didn't mean he'd actually become a good-tempered man.
He was still the ace teacher who hated anyone challenging the authority of his lectures.
Hearing Su Haifeng's doubt, he gave a cold snort and cut him off directly: "Teacher Su, are you doubting our PE level, or doubting our professional integrity?"
As Songyang High's ace PE teacher and star salesman, Wang Hai had no fear of Su Haifeng whatsoever.
"If you have a problem with the score, go apply for a review."
"But I can tell you right now — Zhang Yu's score is absolutely fine. It's 145."
"Because his physical strength has reached Level 1.25, already near the top of the year, and his body's structural proportions are absolutely excellent."
"With the foundation he's laid, his physical strength is only going to climb. He's bound to be a leader among this batch of students. Competing in physical contests someday isn't out of the question."
Physical contests, like mana contests, pit participants against material far beyond the high-school curriculum.
Place well enough, and beyond the prize money, you gain an edge in university interviews and even bonus points on the college entrance exam.
And as the school that had produced the city's top physical graduate, Songyang High enjoyed a certain advantage in these contests.
Hearing Wang Hai rate Zhang Yu so highly, Su Haifeng grew even more astonished. Forgetting the harsh tone, he pressed: "Hasn't he been skipping PE class for the past three weeks? How did his score jump so much?"
At this, Wang Hai's old face flushed red. He paused, then explained: "Zhang Yu isn't like ordinary students. He has his own development path and knows how he wants to cultivate."
*After all,* Wang Hai thought, *he's a Golden Core Disciple. What right have I to lecture him?* So he went on: "It was precisely because I recognized this that I left the PE class to his free rein."
"Let alone teaching himself the class — from now on, even if he skips, that's fine."
"That's what teaching according to a student's ability means."
Ending the call with Wang Hai, Su Haifeng still found it hard to believe. Wang Hai was talking about Zhang Yu? That poor wretch?
Frowning for a while, Su Haifeng dialed another number.
"Hello? The monthly exam scores are out. Zhang Yu's third in the year, with a score of..."
After reporting the score, Su Haifeng sighed and said awkwardly: "I have to say, my judgment of Zhang Yu was completely wrong."
"With a showing like his, it'd be normal for the school to hand him a Grade B, or even a Grade A contract."
"Then it's no longer my department. I expect someone from the Student Council will come talk to him in a couple of days."
A male voice came from the other end: "Understood."
"Try to stall the Student Council for me as long as you can. I'll try other means."
Su Haifeng said: "You know how the Student Council is — I can't stall them. Whatever you're going to do, do it fast."
---
Half past six in the morning.
The gate of Songyang High was already crowded and bustling with students coming to school.
No sooner had Zhang Yu stepped inside the gate than he saw the month's exam results refreshed on the huge screen by the entrance.
Student privacy? Psychological burden? Naturally, none of that existed at Songyang High.
Not only did they plaster the scores across the big screen at the front gate, they printed the class's fresh monthly scores on every classroom door, and even the cafeteria's electronic screens kept cycling through the rankings.
Zhang Yu couldn't so much as use the bathroom without the broadcast recapping the exam — now praising those with high totals and big improvements, now insulting those who'd slipped badly or scored low.
The genius of Songyang High was its no-blind-spots, no-privacy, maximum-pressure approach.
"...And today, classmates, we'd also like to specially congratulate Zhang Yu of the freshman Elite Class."
"Zhang Yu has leapt from tenth in the grade all the way to third, with a total of 620 and a jump of a full seventy points — a leap-of-faith improvement..."
Zhang Yu finished washing his hands in the restroom, listening to the broadcast, and nodded to himself: *Publishing scores schoolwide does have its positive side.*
And when Zhang Yu walked back into the classroom, he found himself surrounded — people kept glancing his way, their eyes holding all manner of emotions.
Qian Shen looked at Zhang Yu, then at Bai Zhenzhen. The two scores — 620 and 651 — floated before his eyes, casting every other student nearby into shadow.
*Sure enough, besides that Bai Zhenzhen, this Zhang Yu will be my rival through all three years of high school.*
Qian Shen felt he could already see the three of them clashing fiercely, competing tooth and nail, until at last they all made it into a top-notch university.
He was fired up!
He couldn't wait to pull out his registry book and bury his head back in his talismans.
*Talismans are my strongest subject, yet this time I only got 80. Still need to practice!*
On the other side, He Dayou stared morosely at his own scores.
"Total 603."
"Martial Arts 50..."
A 50 in Martial Arts was so glaring it made his blood surge, and he wanted nothing more than to punch the desk to smithereens.
Plainly, it was his consecutive losses to Zhang Yu, compounded by two humiliating quick defeats, that had dragged his score this low.
This made the hostility in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Yu unmistakable.
But he suppressed the impulse soon enough.
*Every poor wretch is a precious resource for the school. How could I lay a hand on him?*
*Don't get angry. Zhang Yu's probably on the Student Council's radar by now, right?*
*He and I are on different tracks. I can't let him throw off my focus. This Martial Arts 50 is proof enough of that.*
He Dayou ran his heart method, slowly calming his emotions.
He'd realized it too: he and Zhang Yu were never competing on the same road, and he shouldn't let the other influence his state — like this Martial Arts 50.
*Raising my power and my assets is ultimately the right path.*
*This 90 in Dao Arts, while already my strong subject, still has room to grow.*
With that, He Dayou took out his registry book, stopped caring about everything around him, and threw himself into his studies.
On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen tilted her head at Zhang Yu, thinking: *Has Yu been lying low all this time, playing dumb for four months, only to make a big splash now?*
*No, that can't be right. He doesn't have that kind of ability.*
*Unless Yu, like me, has been cheating all along?*