Chapter 52: Undercurrents

Chapter 52: Undercurrents

Zhang Yu looked at the vest, shorts, wristbands, ankle bands, and the two large jars in front of him.

These were the Weighted Garments and the monster meat powder he had purchased.

Weighted Garments were durable and affordable physique cultivation equipment. They were easy to use and allowed him to train secretly without his classmates noticing, while also providing a flashy effect when removed during combat. They were classic gear on the path of Xian Dao and a must-try.

The Weighted Garments Zhang Yu bought this time weighed a total of 150 kilograms, allowing him to train his physical strength during daily activities.

The monster meat powder, on the other hand, was a nutritional supplement that could better replenish the nutrients he needed for daily flesh cultivation, promoting faster and stronger growth.

The two items cost him over 4000 yuan, reducing his savings to just over 59,000 yuan.

"Ah, still too poor. I can only afford these cheap pieces of equipment."

When shopping online, Zhang Yu had actually wanted an External Spirit Root called the Gluttony Spirit Root the most.

It was said that once inserted into the body, it would stimulate metabolism and physical strength daily, absorbing all available nutrients to fuel flesh cultivation. According to the advertisement, it could make one stronger even by eating dirt.

Unfortunately, it was too expensive, costing a staggering 40 million yuan.

Spending 40 million yuan to experience the feeling of getting stronger by eating dirt was beyond what Zhang Yu could afford at the moment.

"Ah, I'll try the school's Muscle-Building Spirit Root during the next free rental period."

Putting on the Weighted Garments piece by piece, Zhang Yu felt his body becoming heavier. Simple actions like bending down, walking, and raising his hands became much more difficult due to the added resistance.

"Phew..."

Before he could take a few more steps, a shout came from downstairs: "Are you tearing down the building at night?"

Realizing that the noise from wearing the Weighted Garments was too loud, Zhang Yu headed to the Half-Constructed Tower in them.

The journey felt like carrying multiple heavy chains. Zhang Yu felt discomfort from various parts of his body. However, after activating the Heart of the Wild Ox, and thinking about his goal of continuously improving his Physical Strength Level, the discomfort was temporarily suppressed, and he felt a sense of satisfaction from the constant training.

"Indeed, the Heart of the Wild Ox works on this too."

Zhang Yu's next goal was to maintain the Heart of the Wild Ox as much as possible, resisting the discomfort from the Weighted Garments while continuously improving his Dao Heart level through the cultivation technique.

"Twenty-four hours a day, both training the Dao Heart and the physical body."

If he could achieve this, he would be able to further improve the efficiency of his Dao Heart level and simultaneously train his Physical Strength Level.

Thinking about how he had voluntarily added such a heavy burden to himself without any external pressure, Zhang Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He sighed, "There's no choice. Those rich people from the top three universities are all outrageous."

"To survive, to get into one of the Ten Great Sects' top universities, and to join a major sect... I have to push myself to the limit."

Arriving at the Half-Constructed Tower again, Zhang Yu sat cross-legged on the ground, maintaining the Heart of the Wild Ox technique in his mind while visualizing the old ox plowing the field diagram, allowing his body to rest.

Theoretically, as long as a cultivator could persist, the cultivation technique could be maintained continuously.

It was like multitasking, similar to listening to a novel while playing a game.

However, mental fatigue and external stimuli could disrupt the maintenance of the technique. If one had to think about complex tasks, such as solving exam questions or strategizing during combat, it would be even harder to maintain the technique.

Although his Dao Heart teacher had said that theoretically, a cultivation technique could be maintained constantly, and powerful cultivators could do so as long as their consciousness remained clear, the original Zhang Yu had never achieved this.

However, since Zhang Yu had recently upgraded the Heart of the Wild Ox to level 10 and his Dao Heart level to 2, he found it increasingly easier to maintain the technique.

If maintaining the technique was like solving math problems in the past, now it felt like counting from 1 to 1000, much simpler.

"I should be able to perform more complex exercises while maintaining the technique now."

So, Zhang Yu began his current attempt, practicing maintaining the Heart of the Wild Ox in more situations.

After resting for a while, Zhang Yu stood up, wearing the Weighted Garments, and started walking around while maintaining the technique.

He felt like he had lost half his brain and half his muscles, relearning basic movements.

The next evening, he returned to the Half-Constructed Tower and tried to maintain the technique while doing some simple warm-up exercises.

On the third day, as Zhang Yu became more accustomed, he started practicing the Formless Cloud Hands while maintaining the technique and wearing the Weighted Garments.

The sixth-level Formless Cloud Hands were deeply ingrained in his mind, each movement coming naturally without much thought.

While maintaining the Heart of the Wild Ox in his mind, his physical body continued practicing the Formless Cloud Hands under the pressure of the Weighted Garments.

His spiritual power surged within him, oscillating repeatedly and transforming into Formless Cloud Qi, which flowed out in waves.

However, due to the need to focus on maintaining the technique and the combined effects of the Weighted Garments and spiritual power consumption, Zhang Yu's efficiency in practicing the Formless Cloud Hands slowed down significantly.

It took him three days to finally push the Formless Cloud Hands to level 10.

"Only" level 10, Zhang Yu was clearly unsatisfied with the speed.

"Ah, the Technique Codex isn't powerful enough, limiting my potential and discipline."

In the Half-Constructed Tower, Zhang Yu's spiritual power rose from his dantian, completing seven silent oscillations before dispersing into his limbs and emanating from his entire body.

In an instant, white cloud-like vapor enveloped him, giving him an ethereal and transcendent appearance.

"This is the effect of the Formless Cloud Hands reaching level 10. The Formless Cloud Qi is no longer limited to the hands but flows out from all parts of the body, truly integrating offense and defense."

However, the increased spiritual power consumption was severe, and Zhang Yu could only maintain it for a few minutes before stopping.

After these days of intense cultivation, Zhang Yu's various abilities had improved.

His spiritual power, cultivated through continuous spiritual respiration, reached 16.9.

The constant use of Weighted Garments and the practice of the Formless Cloud Hands had raised his Physical Strength Level to 1.28.

The Dao Heart, constantly honed by the nearly non-stop training of the Heart of the Wild Ox at level 10, continued to advance at the fastest rate, reaching level 2 (65%).

...

On this day, Zhang Yu had just arrived at the classroom when he saw a middle-aged woman with a weathered face tidying up at a desk.

Just as Zhang Yu was feeling puzzled, Zhou Tianyi said beside him, "Liang Qin has dropped out. His mom is here to collect his things."

"Really?" Zhang Yu asked, somewhat surprised. "Why?"

Zhou Tianyi sighed, "He apparently owed over 100,000 from gambling. His parents found out and came to handle his withdrawal."

"I heard they caused a scene at the teacher's office yesterday. Liang Qin kept kneeling and begging, but his parents insisted on his withdrawal."

Zhou Tianyi shook his head and sighed, "His parents are right. Once you get addicted to gambling, you're stuck being a mundane for life, with no chance of achieving anything on the path to immortality."

"Even if you were to Ascend to Immortality, you'd fall back down, losing all your cultivation and ending up broke, starting over as a mundane."

Zhang Yu fell silent. Liang Qin's situation with Spiritual Loans was somewhat similar to his past self. He thought to himself that if he hadn't transmigrated, the original Zhang Yu might have ended up the same way.

Just then, Bai Zhenzhen dragged Zhang Yu out of the classroom and said, "Those cheapskates finally have some news. They sent over an electronic agreement for you to sign."

Shortly after Zhang Yu signed the agreement, a transfer notification sounded on his phone.

Seeing the 20,000 yuan that had been transferred, both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen perked up.

Bai Zhenzhen said, "Those tightwads actually sent over 20,000 at once. It seems they really value you."

"Transfer 8,000 to my account. I have a use for it."

Zhang Yu didn't ask why and transferred the 8,000. He then reminded her, "What have you been up to lately? You disappear right after school every day."

Bai Zhenzhen smiled slightly, "I'm just trying to find a way to get into the Ten Great Sects."

"Since these tightwads value us so much, we should use them to ease our pressure."

She then seemed to remember something and added, "After next week's Monthly Exam, Zhou Chechen will likely come to persuade us to sign the contract again."

"If we reject the Student Council again, they'll definitely apply more pressure."

"Especially since you placed fourth in the Magic Aptitude Competition. They'll do everything to force you to sign. Can you handle it?"

Zhang Yu wasn't sure, but seeing Bai Zhenzhen's concerned gaze, he laughed and said, "Of course I can handle it. Just don't give up halfway."

Zhang Yu thought about the Contractual Ritual's pressure, knowing that he either had to be killed by it or get into the Ten Great Sects. There was no other choice.

As he was thinking this, the familiar chill within him resurfaced. Zhang Yu knew it was urging him to return to his cultivation practice.

"Ah, no more talk. Strength is the most important thing. I'm going back to my cultivation."

Bai Zhenzhen placed a hand on his shoulder and advised, "When you refuse, you can push it onto Ziyun High School and Bailong High School, saying they are recruiting you. Use this to buy more time and negotiate with the Student Council."

"Remember, you mustn't let them know you want to get into the Ten Great Sects."

Watching Zhang Yu hurry away, Bai Zhenzhen felt his urgency.

"Yu has been working harder lately."

"He must be anxious too."

"But no worries, I'm close to finding that guy..."

"Truly, I'm amazing. Even though Yu outperformed me in the Magic Aptitude Competition, getting into the Ten Great Sects still depends on me."

...

Inside the Cultivation Chamber.

With the Muscle-Building Spiritual Root rented, Zhang Yu felt a surge of Spiritual Essence with each Spiritual Respiration. As the Spiritual Essence was absorbed by the Spiritual Root, it returned a more vibrant and active form of Spiritual Essence.

This was the growth Spiritual Essence provided by the Muscle-Building Spiritual Root.

As the growth Spiritual Essence was naturally absorbed by his Flesh Cultivation, he felt his entire body's Flesh Cultivation moving on its own, rapidly consuming all available nutrients.

With the continuous effect of the Muscle-Building Spiritual Root and the constant influx of growth Spiritual Essence, this state would last 6 to 12 hours, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of Zhang Yu's Physical Strength Level training.

Wei Xin's voice came over the intercom, "Zhang, do you want to extend your time?"

Zhang Yu slowly exhaled, thought for a moment, and said, "Extend for one more hour."

...

At the Training Ground.

Martial Arts teacher Lei Jun was giving Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen extra lessons in preparation for next month's Martial Arts Championship.

Amidst the thunderous crashes and snapping sounds, two figures clashed, moving like behemoths locked in combat.

Zhang Yu's Nothingness Cloud Hands unleashed a powerful surge of Martial Arts Vitality Qi.

Bai Zhenzhen, fingers extended like a sword, created a flurry of sword shadows that struck at the weakest and most critical points of the Vitality Qi, instantly dispersing the attack.

Lei Jun shouted from the side, "Zhang Yu, the key to Nothingness Cloud Hands is adaptability. Go with the flow, don't always rely on brute force."

Zhang Yu didn't want to rely solely on strength, but Bai Zhenzhen's combat experience far surpassed his. If he didn't instinctively use Martial Arts Vitality Qi to overpower her, he would be constantly on the defensive.

"How can Bai Zhenzhen be so good at fighting?"

Even though Zhang Yu wasn't using his full strength, he was already at level 1 of Nothingness Cloud Hands, yet Bai Zhenzhen, using only a few basic Martial Arts, completely dominated him. Zhang Yu strongly suspected that Bai Zhenzhen had some sort of advantage.

Does she have X-ray vision or mind-reading powers? How does she always hit my weak spots and see through my moves?

...

Days passed as Zhang Yu continued his studies, cultivation, and extra lessons.

Before he knew it, another week had gone by.

The big day for the Songyang High School Monthly Exam arrived.

Students, teachers, the Student Council, and various others, known or unknown to Zhang Yu, began to focus their attention on him and Bai Zhenzhen.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end