https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-140-Saying-Goodbye-to-Zhang-Pianpian-Registration-Begins/13686608/
Chapter 139: College Entrance Exam Ends, Pianpian Departs (Repaying Monthly Ticket Loan #8)
Xiong Wenwu knew that the Protected Zone was, relatively speaking, a closed-off place.
And within it, the Breeding Base was even more isolated—closed off to the point of being self-contained.
The demonic descendants who worked here were born here, raised here, and died here…
Unlike An An, who had just started high school, and Xiong Wenwu himself, who had already moved on to the next stage of life, their fates were utterly different.
An An had never passed the diversion exam at age six, so she had been left behind in the Breeding Base to work.
Though this meant she’d spent her entire life within the facility—working, growing, contributing—she had also become, over twenty years of service and relentless company training, a top-tier Hongta employee.
For eight years straight, she’d been named the Protected Zone’s Annual Best Employee.
Her award poster declared:
My favorite thing in life is working for the company!
The worst month is February—only 28 days of work!
The thing I care least about? Salary. I’m willing to be the first to take a pay cut for the company!
My creed: No money chasing, no daddy’s privilege—just relentless effort!
“I’ve been the Protected Zone’s Best Employee for eight years in a row!”
An An stared at Xiong Wenwu like he was a rebellious son.
She pointed at the eight framed trophies behind her, her voice rising in fury:
“You want me to exploit loopholes for the company? To help you sneak in for Spirit Vein cultivation?”
She lunged forward, claws slashing hard against Xiong Wenwu’s chest.
Xiong Wenwu didn’t fight back. He only pleaded:
“Sister! The Breeding Base is getting shut down! They’re going to sell you off to the Luzhou Group!”
An An replied calmly:
“If the company decides to sell me, there’s a reason. I’ll follow their orders.”
Xiong Wenwu sighed.
“The Luzhou Group treats demonic descendants far worse than Hongta Pasture. They’ll use you for experiments.”
An An scoffed.
“My manager promised me I’d still be assigned to the Breeding Base after the transfer. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
Xiong Wenwu exhaled, knowing full well that in An An’s eyes, his word carried less weight than the company’s manager.
With a sudden, thunderous crack, Xiong Wenwu dropped to his knees, his massive frame collapsing to the ground.
“Sister… please help me.”
Seeing this, An An’s rage melted instantly. She stammered, flustered:
“What… what are you doing?! Did you fail the Monthly Exam? Or can’t you pay your loan?”
Xiong Wenwu spoke in a low, solemn tone:
"I'm going to be removed."
An An: “What?! You… you’ve been scoring well in the last few Monthly Exams! How could—”
Xiong Wenwu said:
“My competition results have been terrible. If I keep doing this poorly, Father Lord will demote me to a lower class.”
He gestured toward Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
“Ask them. They beat me in the competition. They’re the ones who got me demoted.”
Seeing Xiong Wenwu’s silent signal, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen exchanged a glance—then nodded without hesitation, confirming the truth.
Xiong Wenwu turned back to the stunned An An and continued:
“They said, if I get them Spirit Vein cultivation time, they’ll not only let me back in the next competition, but they’ll also tutor me for free and boost my grades.”
“Sister… I’m begging you. I don’t want to be kicked out by Father Lord. I want to do better in the competition. Please help me.”
“If you don’t believe me, here’s the news coverage and footage from the competition—take a look.”
An An first checked the competition data online, then watched the videos—seeing Xiong Wenwu bloodied and battered in the Martial Arts Competition, his muscles torn apart in the Sports Competition, yet still losing to Zhang Yu.
The little panda An An turned to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, clasping her paws together in prayer:
“How much do you want? I’ll pay for him. He worked so hard just to get into high school. He has a chance to go to university…”
Zhang Yu chuckled:
“One hour, ten thousand yuan.”
An An’s face paled.
As someone who’d never even finished high school and had never cultivated, her monthly salary was only two thousand yuan.
Bai Zhenzhen added:
“If you can’t afford it, just let us use the Spirit Vein. We’ll spend one hour there, then come out and tutor him for one hour.”
Xiong Wenwu begged:
“Sister! I want tutoring! I want to keep going to high school, to take the college entrance exam! I don’t want to end up working in a factory! Please… help me!”
An An bit her lip, eyes fixed on the kneeling Xiong Wenwu.
After a long silence, she finally sighed:
“Fine.”
At that moment, An An felt her company loyalty, her very soul as a company person, shatter.
She looked at her own award posters on the wall and felt shame—deep, crushing shame.
…
The next day, under Xiong Wenwu and An An’s guidance, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered the Breeding Base through the supply transport tunnel and arrived in a room within the Hatching Room.
As soon as Zhang Yu stepped inside, a wave of impossibly fresh air washed over him—clean, pure, invigorating. It washed through his body from head to toe, even washing his soul clean, leaving him with a euphoric, dreamlike sensation.
“This is the air from the Spirit Vein? Even better than inside the Protected Zone.”
He inhaled deeply, feeling the Spirit Energy swirling inside him, being greedily absorbed by every cell of his flesh.
But when he activated the Great Sun Qi Sea cultivation method, he glanced at the surrounding lights and frowned—his expression tinged with disappointment.
Xiong Wenwu asked: “Anything wrong?”
Zhang Yu replied: “Are there any light sources here? We need more illumination for cultivation.”
“Light?” Xiong Wenwu pondered. “How about Hatching Lamps? They’re used to warm the dragon eggs.”
Reluctantly, An An led them to move over a dozen Hatching Lamps.
As the lights flickered on, Zhang Yu felt like dozens of tiny suns had appeared before him. The intense glow bathed the space, and the Spirit Energy in the air seemed to pulse in rhythm with the light, pouring into his body. His Great Sun Martial Energy surged violently, roaring through his meridians like a storm.
Fujie, the voice in Zhang Yu’s chest, analyzed:
These Hatching Lamps aren’t ordinary lights. They’re specifically designed to hatch dragon eggs. The light has been processed through some Immortal Dao Technology—apparently better at concentrating Spirit Energy.
With the Spirit Vein and the Hatching Lamps combined, Zhen Linggen began to absorb energy even faster, merging with the Great Sun Qi Sea’s cultivation.
His body trembled as his Martial Energy erupted like a volcano—roaring, surging, tearing through his veins.
Zhang Yu felt the Spirit Energy around him rushing toward him, as if he were submerged in a pool of pure energy.
His cultivation efficiency kept rising—rising—rising—until it hit a peak, unable to go any higher.
This is the Spirit Vein. With the Spirit Root and the 10th-level mid-stage Qi cultivation method fully activated—this is what true cultivation feels like. Compared to this, my previous practice was just sniffing car exhaust.
Yet he paused.
He remembered: for students at Key High Schools, Martial Energy was meant to grow gradually—over years, it would naturally reach the 100 limit.
But now, to reach senior year level by the end of first year, he and Bai Zhenzhen had to pay an enormous price—both in effort and in money.
At that moment, Bai Zhenzhen said:
“Yu-zi, hurry up and hand me the Spirit Root. I want to try too.”
As Zhen Linggen was withdrawn, Zhang Yu felt his cultivation speed drop by 30 to 40%. A wave of loss washed over him.
Looks like I’ll have to train apart from A Zhen from now on…
So Zhang Yu let Bai Zhenzhen stay behind to continue cultivating while he left.
On the way out, Zhang Yu asked Xiong Wenwu:
“The money you asked for… you’re using it to help An An, right?”
Xiong Wenwu paused, then said:
“I want to pay off her breeding debt. So she can leave this place. Then she won’t have to worry about being sold to the Luzhou Group.”
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s cultivation advanced rapidly.
Physical Strength Level and Martial Energy climbed steadily.
Dao Heart, though not exploding in growth, improved steadily as well.
Zhang Yu, however, still hadn’t heard from Yu Xinghan.
The man said he’d only be able to open a Ling Realm slot after the College Entrance Exam ended—once the senior students graduated and freed up space.
…
Time flew.
It was now early June.
Tomorrow was the College Entrance Exam.
And with it, the date of Zhang Pianpian’s departure grew ever closer.
As the exam neared, tension in Songyang High School grew unbearable.
Senior students now held supreme status—just one glance could send underclassmen fleeing.
Even the usually stern teachers now spoke gently to seniors, afraid of disrupting their final push.
During this time, despite the diminishing returns from repeated training—each session less effective than the last—Zhang Yu’s Physical Strength Level had climbed to 5.99, Martial Energy reached 60.2, and Dao Heart hit Level 5 (25%).
But with increasing food, medicine, and Protected Zone expenses, his savings dwindled fast.
Even with income from tutoring and sparring partner fees, his remaining balance had dropped to just over 120,000 yuan.
And from what he knew, Bai Zhenzhen’s income was even lower—her savings were nearly gone.
Zhang Yu often sighed inwardly:
The path to immortality truly is a bottomless pit of money.
But at least the money isn’t wasted. I’m getting closer and closer to the benchmark for Bailong High School seniors: Dao Heart Level 6, Martial Energy over 70 units, Physical Strength Level above 7.5.
With two months left, I’ll definitely make it.
Yet Zhang Yu also knew—coming after Zhang Pianpian’s departure, the trials ahead would only grow harder.
…
Three days later, just after the College Entrance Exam concluded,
Zhang Yu received a call from Zhang Pianpian.
“I’m about to leave.”
“After I go, staying in the city and at school will be the safest.”
“But you and I both know… that’s impossible.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly.
If they were to attempt the Foundation Establishment Exam, they couldn’t stay confined to school or the city.
Zhang Pianpian continued:
“Right now, the rich aren’t the main threat. The ones who hate you the most are Zhou Chichen and Lan Ling.”
“After I’m gone… be careful.”
…
Request for Monthly Tickets
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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