Chapter 17: Scores and Secrets

"I'm starving."

Qian Shen rubbed his stomach. He had absolutely no interest in the various paintings on display at the art exhibition; he only wanted to find a place to feast.

After all, he had rushed here immediately after finishing a supplemental body-refining session. Ravenous, he felt as though he could devour an entire cow.

"I'll go see if there's anything good to eat."

After greeting the classmates who had come with him, Qian Shen began searching through the exhibition hall.

The students who had accompanied him were not surprised by this.

Studying the immortal path daily and bitterly tempering their physical bodies meant that the nutrition they required and the portions they consumed were naturally far beyond that of ordinary people.

For a top student like Qian Shen, who practiced bitter cultivation day and night, his daily intake was even greater. If he ate only five meals a day, his tutor would worry that he had a poor appetite.

Just then, Qian Shen's eyes suddenly lit up, his gaze locking onto the buffet table.

He strode forward, grabbed a plate of large shrimp, and swallowed them in a few bites. However, after eating for a moment, he frowned. "Why is this food so lacking in nutrition?"

As a top student in the first year of Songyang High School and consistently ranked second in his grade, Qian Shen's success was due to his talent and hard work, but most importantly, his family was wealthy.

To enhance his cultivation efficiency, especially the effects of body refining, the food he ate was typically rich in various elements of the immortal path.

To a meritocrat like him, whether food tasted good or not was secondary; what mattered most was whether it could improve his cultivation efficiency.

He could certainly afford the seafood provided at the art exhibition buffet, but he had no interest in spending money just to satisfy his palate; instead, he felt it was a waste of his time and appetite.

Seafood, feasts... if it couldn't improve his grades, it was nothing but trash.

Thus, while scanning the other dishes on the table, Qian Shen called over a waiter, intending to ask if there was any other food that could serve as medicinal nourishment.

"Everything edible is right here. Just help yourself."

Hearing the waiter's somewhat cold voice, Qian Shen couldn't help but frown, only to look up and see a familiar face.

Qian Shen looked at the waiter's uniform and said in surprise, "You work here?"

"Mm," Bai Zhenzhen said expressionlessly. "Is there anything else?"

Qian Shen frowned and said, "Are you that desperate for money?"

"Then hurry up and sign with the Student Council. Otherwise, continuing to waste your time on this meaningless job will only drag down your path to immortality."

"By the time I surpass you, it won't even be interesting."

Qian Shen's tone was full of lamentation. After all, he had always regarded Bai Zhenzhen—the only girl in his grade capable of surpassing his total score—as his rival.

In his mind, Bai Zhenzhen should feel the same way.

Over the next three years of high school, the entire grade, if not the entire school, would be a battlefield where these two geniuses would contend with one another while maintaining a mutual respect.

They were supposed to break through their limits through successive competitions and eventually enter top-tier universities together after three years.

But facing Qian Shen's lament, Bai Zhenzhen merely said indifferently, "Are you trying to tell me how to live my life?"

Before Qian Shen could answer, Bai Zhenzhen continued, "A guy with a total score of just over 600 is trying to tell me, a 650, how to do things?"

Facing Bai Zhenzhen's blatant academic discrimination, Qian Shen, a staunch supporter of meritocracy, instantly lost his momentum. That 50-point gap felt like a mountain crashing down upon him.

*If your score is higher, you are right.*

At this moment, in Qian Shen's eyes, the numbers "650" seemed to glow brilliantly above Bai Zhenzhen's head, emitting a powerful pressure that left him unable to utter a single rebuttal.

Bai Zhenzhen frowned. "Wait, why are you looking above my head when you're talking to me?"

Qian Shen gave a cold snort, turned around, and left.

"Just you wait, Bai Zhenzhen. If you keep wasting time like this, I will definitely surpass you before long."

Unexpectedly, after taking just a few steps, he nearly collided with two security guards.

It was Zhang Yu, who had come to check on the situation, and Zhao Tianxing, whom he had dragged along.

Seeing that Bai Zhenzhen and Qian Shen seemed to be in a conflict, Zhang Yu, acting as a security guard, had rushed over.

Looking at the two, although they were wearing security uniforms, they were still his classmates, and he recognized them instantly: "550 and 580?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu was momentarily stunned. A moment later, he realized that "550" was his total score from last month's monthly exam, and "580" seemed to be Zhao Tianxing's score.

*Good grief, he only has eyes for scores; he can't even remember his classmates' names? Another study freak.*

In truth, it wasn't just that Qian Shen couldn't remember names; in fact, for any student below 550, he couldn't remember their names or their scores.

To him, anyone below 550 was essentially an NPC. Was there any need to remember them?

To Qian Shen, the "550" before him was already considered a sub-human.

Based on his observations lately, there was a high probability that the other person would score below 550 in the next monthly exam, meaning there would be no need to even bother remembering him starting next month.

Looking at the security uniforms worn by Zhang Yu and Zhao Tianxing, Qian Shen shook his head. "Why are you two working here too?"

Facing "550" and "580," the momentum Qian Shen had just lost to "650" instantly surged back. He said proudly, "Why aren't you two seizing the time to study and cultivate more? Why are you wasting time here?"

Zhang Yu: "Aren't you here too?"

Qian Shen chuckled confidently. "I specifically cleared my tutoring schedule today to come here and comprehend the peerless martial arts within the *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map*."

Zhang Yu: "Mm, we are also here to comprehend the *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map*."

"And we get to earn 800 an hour while doing it."

"Earning money while comprehending divine arts—isn't that much more efficient?"

"Huh?" Qian Shen was momentarily stunned, looking at Zhang Yu with surprise. He thought to himself, *Does a 550-score person actually have a point?*

He looked at Zhang Yu and said, "550, I'll remember you."

"My name is Zhang Yu!" Zhang Yu couldn't help but look up at his own head. "Why do you keep staring at the top of my head?"

But Qian Shen quickly snapped out of it. "Wait, you two think you can comprehend the *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map*?"

Zhao Tianxing felt more and more eyes turning toward them, and Qian Shen's disdainful gaze made his cheeks flush slightly. He hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, no, I didn't mean I'm here to comprehend the map."

Qian Shen didn't bother with Zhao Tianxing's explanation. He merely shook his head and lamented, "The *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map* was personally drawn by a Golden Core expert. The peerless martial arts contained within are specifically designed to select true geniuses. Even I don't have absolute confidence in mastering them, let alone you two."

With that, Qian Shen lost interest in the "550" and "580" before him and turned to leave.

Watching Qian Shen's retreating back, Zhao Tianxing's expression grew even more bitter.

Not only had he been caught working as a security guard, but because of Zhang Yu's reckless words, the other guy mistakenly thought he was here to comprehend the *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map*.

Zhao Tianxing was filled with bitterness, seemingly already envisioning the mockery from their many classmates.

He thought to himself, *This is a massive embarrassment.*

Zhang Yu, on the other hand, didn't have as many thoughts as Zhao Tianxing. He looked at Bai Zhenzhen and asked, "You okay? Are things not great between you and Qian Shen?"

Bai Zhenzhen curled her lip and said casually, "What could be wrong? Most of the time, he's just humiliating himself."

Then, her gaze turned somewhat strange as she looked at Zhang Yu. "You plan to comprehend the *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map* too?"

Looking at the confidently nodding Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, *Yu-zi is getting more and more obsessed because of his massive debts. With his level... he actually wants to comprehend martial arts left by a Golden Core True Person?*

Beside them, Zhao Tianxing only wanted to leave as quickly as possible. He tugged at Zhang Yu's sleeve to leave, only to find that the other was busy making faces and winking at Bai Zhenzhen.

Then, he saw Bai Zhenzhen secretly slip a portion of seafood into Zhang Yu's arms.

Zhang Yu: "Old Zhao, want to try some?"

Zhao Tianxing said urgently, "The Captain said we aren't allowed to eat the buffet."

As he spoke, he hurriedly used his body to shield Zhang Yu, fearing someone would see.

Zhang Yu said easily, "Isn't it perfect that Ah Zhen is working here too? We're just taking advantage of the company's resources."

Just as Zhang Yu was tasting the large shrimp on his plate, a voice came from behind Zhao Tianxing.

"What are you guys doing?"

The voice gave Zhao Tianxing a fright. When he turned around and saw that the speaker was their classmate Zhou Tianyi, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Unknowingly, Zhao Tianxing seemed to have gradually adapted to wearing a security uniform in front of his classmates.

Zhang Yu looked at Zhou Tianyi in surprise. "Old Zhou, you're here too?"

Zhou Tianyi smiled. "Yeah, I came with Qian Shen and the others."

Zhang Yu: "Really? I didn't see you just now."

Zhou Tianyi said, "Haha, how did you get here?"

The two chatted briefly about their respective situations, while Zhao Tianxing urged Zhang Yu once more to continue his patrol.

Suddenly, Zhou Tianyi spoke with a mysterious expression. "There's some gossip about a Golden Core True Person. I wonder if you guys are interested in hearing it?"

Seeing the curiosity in Zhang Yu's eyes, Zhao Tianxing said, "The Captain is already nagging us in the group chat, asking where we are..."

Zhang Yu nodded. "Forget it, work comes first. I'll hear it from you next time."

Just as the two turned to leave, they heard Zhou Tianyi speak up.

"True Person Xinghuo was stripped of half his cultivation after resigning, which is why he plans to retreat to the first layer."

"Huh?"

Zhang Yu and Zhao Tianxing immediately turned back, waiting for Zhou Tianyi's next words.

Although Bai Zhenzhen didn't look over, she also pricked up her ears to listen.

Zhou Tianyi smiled and continued, "A Golden Core True Person can live for up to 400 years, but True Person Xinghuo was already 350 last year, so he was 'optimized' by the Myriad Law Sect."

"When he resigned, half of his cultivation was reclaimed. Unable to support the high cost of living above, he wants to retreat to the first layer of Kunxu to focus on nurturing his descendants and training disciples."

Zhang Yu was once again shocked by this bullshit world. "Wait... you even take away half their cultivation when they resign?"

Zhou Tianyi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "The sect nurtured him and provided the opportunities and resources for him to form his core. Isn't it normal to hand back half the cultivation upon leaving?"

While the three were listening to Zhou Tianyi's news about True Person Xinghuo, a sudden commotion broke out in the distant crowd.

A guest whispered, "Ms. Li is here. The *Heavenly Human Martial Arts Map* is about to be unveiled."