Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Loan Elite
Early the next morning, when the sun had completely risen, it was painful to look at.
Yang Shen stopped his Body Forging fist technique.
The "Rising Sun Plan" was still being followed to the letter. A night of Cultivation and Body Forging had yielded immense gains.
The Qi and Blood Value from one Peiyuan Pill and the last two days of Cultivation had been completely digested, solidifying within Yang Shen’s Martial Arts Realm.
The young man glanced at the Di Di Boy on his wrist.
Qi and Blood Value: 103.5...
His Martial Arts Realm was now likely at the Great Perfection of Skin Refining, or "early-stage Bone Training."
The *Sixth Set of Initial Body Forging Technique* was incredible. A single fist technique that could cater to the needs of Skin Refining, Bone Training, and Marrow Refining.
All he had to do was make it a harmonious part of himself and keep practicing. Of course, Source Supplement was also essential.
Just a moment ago, Yang Shen had faintly sensed that the "source," or Spiritual Power, within his body was no longer flowing merely to his skin and muscles, but was beginning to move toward his bones.
This "advanced knowledge" was in the textbooks. Yang Shen had been reading about it since middle school, but he’d never had a chance to put it into practice.
He did the math. Only four days had passed since Liu Yuankui last checked his Qi and Blood Value, which was 75.3. An increase of roughly 25 points in that time was a result that teetered on the very edge between ’barely plausible’ and ’are you fucking kidding me?’
Whether he even had enough money for Source Supplement was a secondary issue; the truly strange part was his ability to digest and solidify that much Qi and Blood Value.
If he had to explain it, the only way was to attribute it to his own hard work, his Fist Intent, Xu Bamboo’s generous feeding, the lavish High Source dinner at Chen Beiwang’s house... and his own genius.
Yes, Yang Shen was a genius. Or rather, he had to be a genius.
He wasn’t trying to fish for compliments, but only the word "genius" made any sense of the situation.
And he had to be a genius who also grinded like hell.
’I might need to establish a new persona for myself,’ Yang Shen thought.
He had no intention of hiding his strength. Martial Arts training wasn’t like taking a liberal arts exam. Sandbagging on a test to control your score might be thrilling, but it didn’t work for Martial Arts.
Hiding his progress would only mean not getting the proper guidance in gym class, using equipment below his level during Body Forging, and being held to mismatched standards.
Hiding your weakness only makes you weaker.
Even though he had improved, he was still just a beginner in Bone Training, not even as good as Zhao Mengmeng. It might draw some unwanted attention in the short term, but over time, people would only focus on his achievements.
Every year, there were stories of seniors making a final push and underdogs staging a comeback. There was also news of young geniuses who became famous overnight.
’So why can’t I be one of them?’
The dignified and honorable nature of his Rising Sun Fist Intent wouldn’t allow him to be timid anyway.
So, the first thing Yang Shen did after arriving at school that day was go to the PE department office.
PE was the most important subject in high school, accounting for over 70% of the college entrance exam score. Naturally, its office was the largest and most luxurious.
Compared to the liberal arts department—a slum-like environment where even the water cooler was stained piss-yellow—this place was bright and spotless.
The school’s dozens of PE teachers mostly worked here, along with some administrative staff. Early in the morning, the office was already bustling with people, a picture of frenzied activity.
As soon as he walked in, the female teacher who had refereed his practical combat assessment recognized him. "Yang Shen, right? Are you here to...?"
Yang Shen replied, "I’m looking for Teacher Liu."
The teacher pointed him in the right direction and smiled. "Your score for the practical combat assessment is out. Do you know what you got?"
Yang Shen shook his head. The teacher didn’t keep him in suspense. "101 points. It was a joint assessment by three teachers from the department. Congratulations. After spending so much money, it’s clear you get what you pay for."
Yang Shen: ???
The teacher gave him a knowing look, as if to say *we’ve all been there*. "As long as it works, don’t be afraid to take out loans. It’s a worthy investment. All that matters is that your score goes up."
Just as Yang Shen was about to say something, Liu Yuankui’s booming voice called out from nearby.
"Yang Shen? Come over here."
Yang Shen gave the teacher a nod and walked further into the office.
Liu Yuankui’s desk was the largest, practically occupying its own section, a testament to his status as a "Nanliang Master" teacher.
The man, a master of Horizontal Cultivation of Innate, was nearly as tall sitting down as Yang Shen was standing. His voice had a natural reverb that made one’s eardrums vibrate in sympathy.
Yang Shen mentally dragged Chen Beiwang out for another round of scorn.
’Now *that’s* what a real adult looks like!’
"Yang Shen, why weren’t you at the morning academic reading? Did you need something from me?"
Yang Shen stood ramrod straight. "Teacher Liu, I wanted to inform you that my Martial Arts Realm has officially entered the Bone Training stage. I’d like to ask you to adjust my training requirements accordingly in future lessons."
Liu Yuankui, who was fiddling with a thermos, froze, his eyes showing clear surprise.
"Bone Training? Your Qi and Blood Value is over 100?"
Yang Shen nodded and showed him his Di Di Boy.
Liu Yuankui frowned for a long time, clearly pondering how Yang Shen had improved so drastically.
’He vaguely recalled it being in the 70s or 80s just last week...’
"Are you sure you’ve fully absorbed and solidified that Qi and Blood Value?"
Yang Shen answered openly, "Digestion is much faster after grasping Fist Intent."
’This was the truth. Body Forging with Fist Intent was several times more efficient than normal practice. Plus, the Rising Sun Fist Intent was convenient; he could find a suitable time to practice every day without having to expend effort creating the right conditions.’
Liu Yuankui didn’t have Fist Intent himself—in fact, 99% of people didn’t—so he couldn’t be sure if this was true.
But he knew one thing for sure: Body Forging required a steady, step-by-step approach.
So he stared at Yang Shen and said meaningfully, "Yang Shen, are you dating someone?"
Yang Shen’s brain short-circuited for a second. "I thought... we were talking about my Qi and Blood Value?" he said, uncertain.
Liu Yuankui chuckled. "I often see Xu Bamboo giving you top-tier Supplements, but I didn’t realize she was giving you so much... Raising your Qi and Blood Value by more than twenty points in a week is a bit reckless."
"Even if the Supplements are free, you have to proceed gradually. The injection itself might just be a quick sting, but the digestion process has to be slowly cultivated. Otherwise, why doesn’t Xu Bamboo take them like that? Have you ever thought about that?"
Yang Shen was about to say more, but Liu Yuankui raised a hand to stop him, putting on the air of a benevolent elder.
"You don’t have to explain to me. I’m just a PE teacher; I don’t handle school discipline. You should, however, be careful around Director Liang. If he finds out, he’ll definitely want to have a talk with you. Xu Bamboo is our school’s top student, after all."
Yang Shen could only say, "Actually, the Director... he quite likes me."
Liu Yuankui latched onto the keyword, his smile growing even more benevolent. "Is that so? How much did you borrow, then? What’s the interest rate?"
Yang Shen was bewildered. "I thought... we were talking about me dating someone?"
Liu Yuankui waved a hand dismissively. "No need to be embarrassed. It’s all legal and above board. Lending a hand to students in need is a testament to Director Liang’s upstanding character as a teacher. Trust me, his rates are the lowest. You won’t find a better source."
Because any channels with lower rates than the Director’s didn’t tend to last very long.
"But let me remind you, loans are a temporary solution. The more you borrow, the more you’ll have to pay back. It can even become a hereditary debt. You need to spend it according to a plan, don’t blow it all at once."
Yang Shen’s face was wooden. A thousand unspoken thoughts coalesced into two words: "Duly noted."
All he could say was that ingrained assumptions were harder to unclog than a toilet. As soon as anyone heard about his rapid progress, they seemed to immediately view the problem through the lens of "money."
’I really am a genius, so why doesn’t anyone believe me?’
’Is there no place in this world for a hardworking genius? Is a poor bastard’s performance doomed to stagnate?’
Finally, Liu Yuankui pulled open a drawer, revealing neat rows of bottles and jars inside. He smiled.
"You’ve entered the Bone Training stage now. Besides Qi and Blood Value, you’ll need other Supplements. I know Xu Bamboo’s family doesn’t lack for them, but she’s already at Marrow Refining, so she wouldn’t have any stock of what you need."
"Here, take this box of ’Dragon Mother Bone-Strengthening Granules’ and try them out. Don’t be a stranger, the first box is on me. If they work for you, come back to me. I’ve got the lowest price on the market—I source them directly from the manufacturer."
Yang Shen: ...
Leaving the PE department office, clutching the box of Dragon Mother Bone-Strengthening Granules, Yang Shen still felt the whole situation was absurd.
The whole speech he had prepared went unused. Liu Yuankui didn’t seem to care in the slightest about the meteoric rise in his Qi and Blood Value.
’It seemed his own poverty had limited his perspective. An improvement like this was probably nothing worth mentioning to them!’
Liu Yuankui had told him about a senior from the previous year who sold his family’s house to prepare for the college entrance exam.
Talk about intense! That guy’s Qi and Blood Value had shot up by sixty in a single week!
In the end, though, his Qi and Blood had fallen out of sync with his realm. He pushed himself too hard. Half the money from the sale went to Supplements, and the other half went to hospital bills. He still hadn’t been discharged and was now a gold-star VIP in the rehabilitation ward.
’Well... at any rate, he had achieved his goal. Liu Yuankui said he would adjust Yang Shen’s training plan to match the Bone Training stage going forward.’
’And no one suspected he was practicing Cultivation...’
’This was fine, he supposed.’
’His ’genius’ persona hadn’t stuck, but it seemed he’d acquired a new ’elite borrower’ persona instead.’
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