Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Vajra Martial Arts Development Co., Ltd.
Yang Shen wasn’t disappointed by Zhao Mengmeng’s "barely passing" assessment. He just nodded.
’This is the level you’d expect from someone in the early stage of Bone Training... The Yanhua college entrance exams aren’t so lenient that they’d let a student who only gets passing grades in every subject into university...’
’This is just the beginning. I just need to cultivate for a while longer.’
Yang Shen took a sip of water and asked curiously, "What’s your Power score?"
Zhao Mengmeng replied, "I’m only a little stronger than you. My Qi and Blood Value is 145, but I focus on a speed-based route."
Subject One was her strong suit, while Subject Two was just average for her.
But she was still stronger than Yang Shen, who had just entered the Bone Training stage.
Zhao Mengmeng stood next to Yang Shen and subconsciously blocked the glaring sun for him. "Yang Shen, how much money have you spent recently?"
Yang Shen thought to himself, ’Can’t I hide my "loan-taking elite" aura anymore?’
"Not much."
Zhao Mengmeng rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him. "Then did you pick up some Extra-Curricular Cultivation Method? Or are you using a specific combination of Supplements? Can you teach me? My speed at digesting my Qi and Blood Value has always been a weak point..."
Zhao Mengmeng’s family wasn’t poor, but what held her back from improving her scores was her Qi and Blood digestion speed.
In fact, there were many "top student packages" on the market, such as the training methods of past titans and provincial Champion Scholars in athletics.
They usually included insights on in-class Cultivation Techniques, builds for Extra-Curricular Cultivation Methods, supplement combination regimens, and diet plans.
Some particularly brilliant prodigies could earn a lot of money just from their copyrighted "top student packages."
Unfortunately, for a girl like Zhao Mengmeng, with an average family background, average grades, and only two outstanding features, these things were a bit too out of reach.
She couldn’t learn them, nor could she afford them.
By the way, the two outstanding features were her height and her looks.
In Zhao Mengmeng’s eyes, whatever "trick" Yang Shen had was the only feasible option for her.
Yang Shen spread his hands. "Honestly, it’s mainly the ’Fist Intent.’ I really don’t have any special trick for that..."
"Sigh... okay. I’m not asking for much, really. There are still two months left. I’ll be happy if I can just get into a Tier 2 university... What about you? What’s your goal?"
Yang Shen glanced at the ground behind him, decided it was acceptably clean, and lay back.
"What university I get into will depend on my strength before the exams. My goal is to take care of my fam...ily."
He was about to say "clan," but then thought it sounded too pretentious.
Just as he was about to say more, a call with a built-in reverb echoed from the far side of the field.
"Yang Shen! Over here!"
From over two hundred meters away, Liu Yuankui’s voice was clear and resonant.
His vocal cords were probably tougher than a leather belt—the kind you could pull out and whip someone’s face red with.
Yang Shen got up and ran over, only realizing when he got closer that Xu Bamboo was there too.
Liu Yuankui said, "I just got a call from Director Liang. There’s a promotional presentation at the school this afternoon, and you two might need to attend."
Xu Bamboo asked curiously, "A promotional presentation? How come we haven’t heard about it?"
"It’s mainly for the second-years, so of course, the third-years weren’t notified. However, it seems the people over there are interested in the grade’s top student and the student who developed ’Fist Intent’ in high school. They want you to make an appearance."
"Don’t worry, you won’t be going for nothing. The ones holding the presentation are the ’Vajra Martial Arts Development Co., Ltd.’ You’ll get a souvenir gift for attending, probably some decent Supplements."
Xu Bamboo wasn’t interested at all, but when she heard there were free Supplements... ’Yang Shen could probably use them.’
So she tugged on Yang Shen’s sleeve and headed for the academic building. The event was in the large lecture hall.
The girl walked ahead, habitually kicking a small stone. "The Vajra Sect may not be on the same level as those mega-corporations, but it’s an old, established name. They’re very powerful."
Yang Shen recalled what he knew about the "Vajra Martial Arts Development Co., Ltd." "I bet they’re here to sell their supplementary Cultivation Techniques to the second-years, and maybe some Supplements too."
Xu Bamboo spread her hands. "What else? To promote teen wellness? Still, I preferred it when these ’old, established names’ used to call themselves ’sects.’"
"Me too. I loved watching *New Vajra Temple* when I was a kid."
The Martial Arts have been passed down for thousands of years, and for most of that time, these powers existed as "sects."
But in modern times, in order to keep up with social development—or rather, to make money more easily—they’ve all restructured into corporations.
If they had a touch of religious flavor like the "Vajra Sect," they were rolling in money. Rumor has it they’ve even gone public.
Yang Shen didn’t know much about the Vajra Sect’s products. After all, they were mid-to-high-end, and he could never have afforded them before.
He only remembered that the Vajra Sect held the copyrights to many Cultivation Techniques and supplement formulas, leaning toward Horizontal Martial Arts Training, as well as some other Secret Transmissions.
Before they even reached the lecture hall, they saw many pull-up banners in the hallway, all of them promotional materials for the Vajra Sect.
"The *Ninth Edition Bone Marrow Cleansing Scripture*! Expel toxins, feel light and refreshed! Spray ink from your soles, discharge filth from your skin!"
"Copperman Trauma Ointment, the Horizontal Trainee’s companion! A life-saving remedy! The more you’re hit, the stronger you get! The more you’re hit, the harder you get!"
"Dharma Muscle-Enhancing Liquid, with a Source Content over 0.01%! The nation’s leading seller! The perfect aid for practicing the *Yijinjing*!"
Yang Shen looked at the gaudy ads and shook his head inwardly. ’This Vajra Temple is a bit behind the times... Their promotional materials have such a... tacky, unsophisticated vibe.’
Xu Bamboo said, "You don’t get it, do you? The Vajra Temple’s main customers are middle-aged and elderly people. They’re the ones who go for this ’blossoming flowers and riches’ style. I don’t know why they’ve come to a school this time. Maybe they have a new product."
Yang Shen stood before the largest advertising banner, tilting his head back. "Then it must be this one..."
*Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique*
On the banner, a bald monk was wearing headphones, his chiseled muscles looking like they were cast from bronze, gleaming with a golden light.
Yang Shen said uncertainly, "Listening to music... can forge your body? Is that even scientific?"
’That’s even more ridiculous than Cultivation...’
Xu Bamboo was also puzzled. "Martial Arts favors movement, not stillness... It feels a bit far-fetched... Besides, even if it really had such an amazing effect, it wouldn’t be something high school students could get involved with..."
The doors to the lecture hall opened, revealing a packed scene inside. Countless underclassmen were listening to the talk, though, of course, with such obviously commercial content, most of them were drowsy.
Director Liang had clearly been notified and led Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen inside. He said calmly along the way, "We originally didn’t plan to disturb the third-year students, but the Vajra Temple’s marketing manager is very interested in you two."
Yang Shen, who had a pretty good understanding of Director Liang’s Life Chart, automatically "translated the Chinese into Chinese" in his head:
’The school sold them out.’
"In a little while, you’ll participate in a ’product experience session.’ Afterward, you’ll receive a gift set and a large package of Supplements."
’Translation: You’ll get a cut of the price they sold us for.’
Xu Bamboo secretly poked Yang Shen in the waist, her meaning clear: ’It’s all yours!’
The two were led directly to the front row. Xu Bamboo’s appearance drew the gazes of many underclassmen—everyone knew the school’s number one student. In comparison, Yang Shen’s face was much less familiar.
But they were brought here to be poster children, and the host on stage even gave them a special introduction:
"The first prodigy in the history of Nanliang High School to develop ’Fist Intent’ while still a student! Yaaang~~ Shen!"
As the drawn-out announcement was made, countless shocked gazes fell upon him. The room instantly filled with a hubbub of noise as many underclassmen began discussing what "Fist Intent" was and how powerful it was.
It was the first time Yang Shen had been praised in public, and his face felt a little stiff.
’It really is true that "many hands make a flowery sedan chair easy to carry."’ He had tried so hard to brand himself with the "prodigy" persona, but the world only believed he was ruthless enough to take out huge loans.
’Now, after just a brief introduction at this presentation, it seems like this persona might actually stick?!’
’After this, I’ll be a minor celebrity at school.’
’I wonder if my "Family Prestige" will increase...’
’The main quest requires 10 prestige points. A mosquito’s leg is still meat, no matter how small.’
Perhaps knowing that an unprepared speech from a student was bound to be an abstract disaster, they had no further interactions with the two after they took their conspicuous seats, and they certainly weren’t asked to speak.
Clearly, Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen’s "labels" were more valuable than their "substance."
The content of the presentation was also quite boring. It was nothing more than recommending their own products... just like a live-streamed sales pitch, they went through them one by one.
The terrifying prices made many students shrink back...
A fingernail-sized vial of "Vajra Divine Oil" cost 2,500!
The supplementary Cultivation Technique for improving Qi and Blood conversion efficiency, the *Yijinjing*, cost 88,000 for the copyright fee, and that was only for the first three levels.
This was far beyond what the vast majority of students could afford. At that price, it would be better to just buy Supplements and diligently practice the *Sixth Set of Initial Realm Body Refining Fist*.
Only a true rich kid, with a "wanting it all" mentality, would even try it...
Yang Shen glanced at Xu Bamboo. She was probably the only one there who could afford it, but she didn’t even blink, clearly uninterested in the Vajra Sect’s products.
Besides, a topical medicine like "Vajra Divine Oil" had to be applied all over the body during P.E. class. It was one thing for boys, but it would be rather inconvenient for girls...
After an hour of drowsy listening, the host finally got to the main point.
"Next, the Vajra Martial Arts Development Co., Ltd. will invite 20 lucky students to experience our latest achievement right here on stage: the Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique."
"This Cultivation Technique uses high-tech audio brainwave technology to deeply stimulate the cerebral cortex, achieving an unprecedented ’seated Cultivation’ effect! This is a huge breakthrough in Cyan Blue Star’s Martial Arts technology..."
As expected, Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen couldn’t escape being part of the main event. They were here to be the poster children.
No lottery needed; they were "lucky" on the spot.
As they walked onto the stage with eighteen underclassmen, the Vajra Sect was already wheeling out some equipment.
Yang Shen had expected the headphones from the poster, but instead, it was a massive, fully-enclosed helmet.
Its surface was covered in distinct electronic and mechanical patterns, and numerous cables, like whips, connected it to complex machinery.
A fully-enclosed helmet... gave Yang Shen a very bad feeling.
He subconsciously glanced at the others and saw that everyone, including Xu Bamboo, was hesitating.
Just then, Director Liang suddenly spoke up.
"Don’t worry. The school has comprehensive on-campus medical insurance, and the Vajra Sect also has insurance for users of experimental products. You can all rest assured."
Yang Shen: ???
’What does he mean, "experimental"?’
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