Chapter 7: The Gap Between People

On the bus.

After obtaining the Feather Book, Zhang Yu had originally thought his future life would be: "Feather Book! Let me see where your limits are!"

Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, it would turn into... The Ritual: "Zhang Yu! Let me see where your limits are!"

But things had reached this point. The only way Zhang Yu could think of to lift the power of the ritual was to make himself stronger.

And so, for the moment, he could only strive to cultivate.

As Zhang Yu inhaled and exhaled, wisps of spiritual energy from heaven and earth surged into his body, gathering in his Dantian and sea of qi, where they were refined bit by bit into mana, solidifying the foundation of his immortal path.

However, thinking back to his practice of the "Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms" last night, Zhang Yu wanted to follow the same method to see if he could rapidly increase the level of his "Basic Breathing Technique" as well.

As his thoughts stirred, the Feather Book unfolded. Zhang Yu focused his attention on the "Basic Breathing Technique Level 1" on the page, immediately dragging it.

But just as he dragged "Basic Breathing Technique Level 1" toward his character portrait, a flash of realization surged from the Feather Book.

"You can only focus on improving one skill at a time."

"Once you switch, you must wait one day before you can switch again."

Zhang Yu named this function of the Feather Book "Specialization."

At this moment, he understood that a specialized skill could be improved rapidly, but he could only specialize in one skill at a time, and there was a one-day cooldown after switching.

"In other words, if I switch my specialization from the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms to the Basic Breathing Technique now, the Basic Breathing Technique will improve rapidly through practice, but the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms will return to its normal efficiency."

"Unless I switch back after a day..."

Thinking of the situation in gym class, Zhang Yu decided not to switch for the time being and continued to focus on improving the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms.

Time passed in a flash, and Zhang Yu maintained the Basic Breathing Technique until the moment before he got off the bus.

...

In the school cafeteria.

Bai Zhenzhen carried her tray over and sat down in front of Zhang Yu, who looked like a walking corpse. She glanced at him curiously and said indifferently, "Did you 'drain' yourself all night?"

Zhang Yu swallowed a large meat bun in one gulp and cursed, "I was working hard at my training until late at night."

Bai Zhenzhen remained expressionless, but her words were unsparing: "Sigh, you're the only one in the whole school who hasn't had a sterilization surgery. I told you long ago not to save that twenty thousand yuan. Look at how much time, energy, and protein you've wasted."

Zhang Yu swallowed a boiled egg and smiled confidently: "Bai Zhenzhen, let me tell you something. My self-discipline and potential right now are enough to shock even me. It won't be long before I snatch that top spot in the grade from you."

Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes quickly, her delicate mouth uttering merciless words: "Yu-zi, keep that kind of delusional talk to yourself. If outsiders heard you, I'm afraid they'd laugh until they wet themselves."

"What you should be competing for is the top total score in the grade, not the top 'drainer' in the grade. Your advantage of not being sterilized doesn't apply here."

Zhang Yu shook his head speechlessly, thinking to himself, "This girl, Ah Zhen, acts all cold and aloof, but she dares to say anything in private."

As for being the only student in the school who hadn't undergone sterilization, Zhang Yu was no longer that surprised; he had gradually grown accustomed to the madness of this broken world and this broken school.

However, the fact that he hadn't been sterilized remained a small secret of his; among his classmates, he had only told Bai Zhenzhen.

But thinking of this now, a doubt suddenly arose in his mind: "Why was I able to enroll without having the sterilization surgery?"

Just then, Zhou Tianyi also brought his tray over and looked at Zhang Yu curiously: "You look very tired. Did you stay up all night studying?"

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "I practiced the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms for a while and had a bit of an epiphany."

While eating and chatting, Zhang Yu made a sudden discovery: it seemed that after Zhou Tianyi arrived, Bai Zhenzhen spoke much less, as if she had turned back into that cold, taciturn top student.

After breakfast, the three of them walked toward the classroom along the playground.

From time to time, Zhang Yu opened his palm, watching the Feather Book appear and disappear from his hand.

"So, everyone really can't see the Feather Book?"

Just then, a loud *bang* came from the direction of the teaching building, followed by a chorus of shouting and screaming.

A crowd had already gathered in front of the main entrance of the teaching building.

People all around were whispering and gossiping.

Those who knew him were sharing the gossip.

"That's Lu Chao from Class 3, Grade 12. He used to be in the demonstration class. It seems his grades have been slipping; he was about to be demoted, right?"

"Lu Chao? He was in the top ten of the grade back in his junior year."

Those who discriminated against the poor began their broad-spectrum attacks.

"So what if his grades were good in his junior year? Poor is poor. Look at how many poor people are left in the demonstration classes by senior year. Poor people aren't suited for immortal cultivation."

Those with severe grade-based discrimination also offered their commentary.

"Hmph, jumping from the sixth floor and not dying? What a failure of a student. If a top student from the senior demonstration class jumped, I'd expect at least ten stories."

Bai Zhenzhen, passing by, looked at the scene and sighed: "Another senior?"

Zhou Tianyi said, "This is the third case this year, isn't it? It seems the pressure on this year's seniors is immense."

Zhang Yu suddenly asked, "Was he very poor?"

Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him, not knowing if it was a warning or a lament, and said indifferently, "He probably took out a lot of loans. Anyone who has to take out loans to study definitely isn't rich."

"When students like that enter Songyang High School, their grades are often quite good at first."

"But usually, by senior year, they gradually can't keep up with the rich kids in their class, and in the end, they can only get into second or third-rate universities."

"As for the Top Ten, it seems no commoner has been able to get into them from Songyang High School for over a decade."

Zhang Yu was slightly startled. He knew the "Top Ten" referred to the universities directly affiliated with the ten great sects. They were the top ten universities, the dream schools of countless students.

But he didn't know that no commoner student from Songyang High School had been admitted to the Top Ten in over a decade.

He thought to himself, "Is it because of a lack of resources, not enough money?"

Zhang Yu recalled some legends about those wealthy students. It was said that many ace tutors, study guides, high-end cultivation techniques, and laboratory drugs... were only circulated within the circles of the rich and were never revealed to the poor.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "If my potential hadn't been triggered, I might have ended up on this path too."

Although the incident sparked a wave of discussion, for students busy with study and cultivation every day, it was just fodder for conversation during breaks.

Soon, no one cared anymore, and the students continued to throw themselves into their day-to-day immortal cultivation studies, fighting for their future lives.

Although they had only just reached adulthood, everyone already knew a cruel fact.

Different scores lead to different universities.

Different universities determine the future sect.

Different sects determine one's entire life.

Regardless of whether their relationships were close or distant, classmates would eventually go their separate ways if their grades differed.

...

Time flew by to the three-period gym class.

After refusing the sales pitch from the gym teacher, Wang Hai, once again, Zhang Yu didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt the way the man looked at him had changed.

But he really had no choice. Whether it was a matter of money or health, he couldn't afford to get injected with those drugs again.

So, Zhang Yu could only pretend not to notice and continued his practice.

Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms Level 2 (1/20)

Counting the time he practiced before the bus station, Zhang Yu only needed to practice the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms 19 more times to level up.

This gave him extra motivation during the following training, as he drove his muscles and bones over and over again, squeezing out every last bit of mana.

Even when he wanted to slow down or take a break, the power of the ritual would remind him, forcing him to pull himself together and continue practicing.

Accompanied by the tearing pain throughout his body, breaking through his limits time and time again, and facing the threat of death repeatedly, it could be described as both painful and joyful.

After two class periods, Zhang Yu finally collapsed onto the ground, not wanting to move a muscle.

Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms Level 2 (17/20)

"Reached the limit."

The power of the ritual didn't continue to force him, clearly agreeing that he had reached his limit.

But Zhang Yu felt no frustration at all. To raise a basic martial art from Level 1 to Level 3 in two days was something the old Zhang Yu wouldn't have dared to imagine.

"If I hadn't practiced extra last night, I probably could have finished all three gym periods, right?"

"But with this damn ritual forcing me to seize every minute and second to train, I'm afraid that in the future, practicing at night will just make me so tired during gym class that I can only rest instead of training... that will become the norm."

Zhang Yu felt it was like his previous life, where some people would cram and study frantically at night, only to sleep through class during the day—clearly not a healthy routine.

"It's all this idiot ritual's fault; it can't tell time or place at all."

Just then, the lying-down Zhang Yu suddenly felt his body covered by a shadow, as if a mountain were blocking the light above him.

Wang Hai looked down at Zhang Yu on the ground and said coldly, "It's gym class. What are you doing?"

Zhang Yu quickly said, "Teacher, I practiced extra last night, and now I'm a bit too exhausted to train."

Sensing Wang Hai's unfriendly expression, Zhang Yu added, "My Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms broke through last night; it's already reached Level 2."

The reason he offered this explanation was that Zhang Yu knew that in this grade-obsessed school, most teachers wouldn't make things difficult for students with good grades.

He felt that if Wang Hai knew he had made significant progress, he shouldn't give him a hard time.

This was something Zhang Yu had started to consider after vaguely sensing the change in Wang Hai's attitude toward him.

But Zhang Yu was wrong.

There are many kinds of teachers in this world.

For example, most of the main subject teachers at Songyang High School liked students with good grades—students who were easy to teach and gave them a sense of accomplishment—and were more tolerant of mistakes made by high-achieving students.

There were also teachers who poured more energy into struggling students, focusing on improving their grades because they were easier to improve.

There were also many elective teachers who didn't care how the students learned; they just showed up on time and left on time, and they considered any extra second spent on work a loss.

But there was another type of teacher: compared to a student's grades, these teachers sometimes cared more about whether the student was obedient and whether they challenged their authority.

In such a teacher's classroom, they were the absolute authority, accepting no defiance from any student. Even if you used a method they hadn't taught, you would be mocked, ridiculed, and singled out as an example to be belittled.

And clearly, Wang Hai, who loved selling drugs and punishing students, was this type of teacher.

Songyang High School's gym class was his little kingdom, and the students were his channels for dumping his potions.

Zhang Yu had never bought his drugs, which had already caused his dissatisfaction.

Seeing Zhang Yu lying down and "slacking off," he became even more dissatisfied. He wanted to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson, set an example, and make the students feel ashamed of this person who didn't get injections, so they wouldn't follow Zhang Yu's example of natural body tempering.

But his lecture was cut short by Zhang Yu's words: "My Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms broke through last night."

To Wang Hai, this was a provocation to his authority in the gym class.

"Is Level 2 of the Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms something to be proud of?"

Wang Hai pointed at Bai Zhenzhen and said, "Look at her. Did she stop getting injections after reaching Level 2? Did she slack off in class?"

Zhang Yu said helplessly, "Teacher, that's not what I meant..."

Wang Hai said coldly, "Zhang Yu, I've seen plenty of students like you. You rely on a bit of talent to ignore the teacher's guidance and disregard the school's curriculum."

"You need to understand that the reason you were able to break through is because you've been diligently attending class and getting injections for the past three months. It was my guidance that laid the solid foundation for you."

"As for your self-study or tutoring outside, that can at most be considered dessert."

"Only the classes in school are the most important main course."

"I will report your issue to your homeroom teacher. You'd better watch yourself."

(End of chapter)