Chapter 27: Final Exam Sprint

3:00 AM.

Inside the office of Songyang High School.

Su Haifeng stared at the list on his computer screen while speaking into the phone, "Hmm... there hasn't been much change in his Dao Heart score."

"His mana increased rapidly a while ago. It looks like most of his time and money were spent on breathing exercises, which is how he broke into the top 10."

"Although his physical strength hasn't been tested for three weeks due to his isolation, it had already dropped to 19th place. Now that he's focused on mana, I'll be thankful if he can just maintain that 19th spot."

"His martial arts and Daoist arts haven't shown any significant progress either. After dropping to 30th in this monthly exam, it's possible they will too."

Looking at Zhang Yu's recent performance records, Su Haifeng shook his head. "In short, I'm not optimistic about him making any major improvements in this monthly exam."

"The school will likely still give him a Grade D contract."

"I understand. I'll try my best to persuade him to sign it."

"I don't know how he earned Li Xuelian's appreciation, but he's taken the exams; he should realize his own situation by now."

Hanging up the phone, Su Haifeng casually closed Zhang Yu's records and moved on to the next file.

To him, Zhang Yu was merely one small matter among many. There were more pressing matters and more important students in Songyang High School that required his attention.

...

4:00 AM.

Inside the abandoned building.

Today was the day of the Songyang High School monthly exam.

Although Zhang Yu's strength had improved significantly after nine days of torment, he was still making the most of his time practicing the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, striving to boost his strength one last time before the exam officially began.

The panel on his Feather Book Prologue had changed to

Zhang Yu

Dao Heart: Level 1 Mana: 11.7 Physical Strength: Level 1.05

His mana, bolstered by his passive breathing interspersed with irregular active breathing, had risen from 10.5 to 11.7.

His physical strength, through his frantic tempering, had climbed from Level 0.85 to Level 1.05.

Of course, the greatest improvement over these nine days was the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, which had now reached Level 9 (89/90).

As Zhang Yu threw his final punch, the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening finally surged to Level 10, reaching the limit achievable within the Qi Refining realm.

The moment he reached Level 10, it felt as if countless memories flowed through his mind—images of himself practicing the forms over and over and over again, representing a deeper, more profound understanding of his own physical body.

After countless rounds of meticulous refinement, his flesh and blood finally underwent a qualitative change, beginning to adjust in a more rational manner.

A roaring sound seemed to echo in his mind!

As his heart pumped waves of blood and qi to his limbs and bones, Zhang Yu felt as if his entire being was undergoing a metamorphosis.

His muscles contracted and expanded, and his joints emitted a series of crisp cracks. His entire physical silhouette seemed to expand slightly.

His muscle distribution became more optimized for power, his skeletal structure became sturdier and more stable, and his entire body seemed to become more balanced and coordinated.

This structural optimization, which should have been completed bit by bit during the process of reaching Level 10, was instead achieved in an instant.

Physical Strength: Level 1.05 → Level 1.25

With the adjustment and optimization of his physical structure, Zhang Yu's physical strength jumped by 0.2 levels in one go—a massive 20% increase.

More importantly, Zhang Yu could feel that this boost from structural optimization was not just a simple increase in strength, but something with long-term benefits. This more balanced and coordinated physical structure would allow him to walk the path of body tempering better and faster in the future.

Zhang Yu smiled slightly, feeling a surge of excitement. "Reaching Level 10 in the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening actually allows for an active optimization of my physical structure."

"Does every skill provide such a massive boost when it reaches Level 10?"

This was information his teachers had never mentioned in class.

But Zhang Yu could figure it out. Level 10... even for a basic martial art like the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, it was far too distant for first-year students. It was normal that the teachers hadn't mentioned it.

"Next, I'll raise the Celestial Qi Gathering Method to Level 10 and see what happens."

Celestial Qi Gathering Method: Level 8 (3/160)

Zhang Yu estimated that it would take him at most a week to bring this breathing technique up to Level 10.

However, despite these thoughts, he did not immediately switch his Feather Book specialization to the Celestial Qi Gathering Method, because he had other plans for today.

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, work hard to fulfill your wishes, and do not intentionally slack off or procrastinate. 10."

Just as Zhang Yu was feeling invigorated and reflecting on his progress, that damn countdown rang out once again.

Zhang Yu cursed a few times, but remembering that this thing possessed neither will nor intelligence, he realized that cursing it was as futile as punching a bag of cotton.

So, he sat cross-legged. While practicing his breathing, he took the opportunity to rest his exhausted body after a long night.

Preparing... to face the monthly exam.

...

Songyang High School.

The students hurrying to class had traces of anxiety on their faces.

The campus seemed to be draped in a somber, lethal atmosphere today.

Zhang Yu looked up and saw that the original banner, "Live to Die, Learn to Die," had been replaced by an anti-suicide slogan: "One Person's Recklessness, The Whole Family's Debt."

Even the perimeter of the rooftop had been enclosed with barbed wire to increase the difficulty for students attempting to act out.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen remarked, "It looks like those beastly school administrators finally care about the students. Knowing that monthly exams can trigger emotional breakdowns, they actually took some preventive measures."

However, upon arriving at the cafeteria for breakfast and seeing notices that some food prices had increased, Bai Zhenzhen couldn't help but explode in rage.

"Another price hike? How many times has this been since the start of the semester?"

"A bunch of vermin who can't even run a cafeteria—how do they expect to run a school?"

Zhang Yu tried to soothe her, "Sigh, acting inhuman is normal for them. Keep a level head; don't let it affect today's exam."

But a moment later, hearing the new regulations from the cafeteria lady, Zhang Yu shouted in anger, "Why is it that one 5-yuan mealset only allows one serving per person per day? I could get ten servings yesterday! Students just want to eat their fill, why is even that not allowed!"

"Alright, alright, Yu-zi," Bai Zhenzhen said, patting Zhang Yu on the shoulder to comfort him. "Don't be impulsive. A teacher is looking this way. I'll just help you buy an extra 'pauper's set'."

Carrying his food to a seat, Zhang Yu checked his savings balance.

Although he had once again received the 500-yuan reward for a 0% distraction rate, his savings had dropped to 6,000 due to the heavy food consumption required for daily body tempering, the continuous use and purchase of nerve fillers, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses.

And a new month was about to begin, which meant new loans to repay, new rent, and new utility bills...

Then there was the food. Since starting high-intensity body tempering, Zhang Yu felt his appetite growing larger and larger. It was normal for him to eat ten pounds of food a day; his daily food expenses would reach hundreds of yuan, meaning he would spend tens of thousands a month.

Zhang Yu increasingly felt that cultivation was indeed a pursuit that became more expensive the further one went.

"I hope I get a good score on the monthly exam and secure a good contract."

"Otherwise, I'll have to go work part-time again."

Just then, Zhou Tianyi sat down beside them with his meal, shaking his head helplessly. "Do you guys know why the cafeteria raised prices?"

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen both snapped their heads up, staring at Zhou Tianyi, waiting for him to continue.

"To promote the synthetic food from Oasis Company, the municipal government has increased tariffs on imported ingredients from other cities. In the future, it's likely that the price of all food in Songyang City, except for synthetic food, will continue to rise."

"I heard the principal is also considering replacing the cafeteria's pre-made meals with synthetic food in the future."

The original Zhang Yu had actually eaten quite a bit of synthetic food before he started cultivating, as it was much cheaper.

Fried insects and plant proteins mixed with recycled water and oil—the taste could only be described as something even pigs wouldn't eat.

"We won't even be able to eat pre-made meals anymore?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen let out another round of lamentations, cursing both Oasis Company and the municipal government for being inhuman.

After breakfast, because it was the day of the monthly exam, the three of them did not return to their classrooms as usual, but instead headed to their respective examination halls.

The morning consisted of the General Education exam and the Martial Arts theory exam, both of which were written tests. The former was out of 50 points, and the latter was out of 20 points.

The afternoon consisted of the Daoist Arts exam, worth 100 points, and the Martial Arts practical exam, worth 80 points.

The 80 points from the practical exam plus the 20 points from the morning's theory exam made up the total 100 points for the Martial Arts subject.

Since the morning was all written tests, the original Zhang Yu had long since mastered these subjects.

After the exam, instead of busy checking answers with other students like they did, Zhang Yu ate a quick lunch and rushed to the small garden to begin his training.

Dispersed Combat: Level 1 (0/10)

Zhang Yu switched his Feather Book specialization to Dispersed Combat. This was also why he hadn't switched to the Celestial Qi Gathering Method earlier.

After pushing the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening to Level 10 yesterday, no matter how much he practiced the Celestial Qi Gathering Method, he wouldn't see much improvement in the remaining time.

But if he used his daytime rest period to improve his Level 1 Dispersed Combat, Zhang Yu estimated he could at least raise it to Level 2.

This would undoubtedly provide a significant boost for the afternoon's Martial Arts practical exam.

With this in mind, Zhang Yu practiced even more earnestly.

As he threw his strikes, driven by his Level 1.25 physical strength, his bones and muscles sang with every movement. Every punch and palm strike carried the sound of wind and thunder.

Simultaneously, wisps of mana were channeled to different parts of his body with every move, enhancing the power of each strike.

Dispersed Combat was a basic practical martial art. Although it only consisted of 15 moves, it included punches, palms, kicks, and takedowns, allowing it to handle various combat situations. Each move also had a corresponding mana circulation route.

Zhang Yu was now repeatedly practicing these 15 moves.

As a practical martial art, the training intensity for Dispersed Combat was much lower than that of the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.

Combined with his current Level 1.25 physical strength, the mana circulation of his Level 8 Celestial Qi Gathering Method, and the physical optimization from his Level 10 Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening, his speed in practicing the moves was incredibly rapid. In just over fifty minutes, he had raised Dispersed Combat to Level 2.

Dispersed Combat Level 1 (0/10) → Dispersed Combat Level 2 (0/20)

In an instant, Zhang Yu felt the 15 moves of Dispersed Combat flashing through his mind, becoming ingrained in his memory.

But Zhang Yu did not stop. Although he felt some fatigue, he decided to continue practicing the art.

"The afternoon exam starts in two and a half hours."

"Let's see if I can push Dispersed Combat to Level 3 before the exam."

Zhang Yu practiced the 15 moves of Dispersed Combat repeatedly, drenched in sweat.

His body grew increasingly fatigued, his limbs began to feel heavy and sore, and his movements started to slightly lose their form.

But whenever Zhang Yu thought of his mountain of debt and his ever-increasing expenses, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

More than two hours later, a large bead of sweat fell to the ground with a *thud*.

At this moment, Zhang Yu's body was steaming, his muscles having heated up intensely due to over three hours of high-intensity exercise.

However, a smile appeared on Zhang Yu's face. He had finally successfully pushed this martial art to Level 3.