Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The BGM That Can’t Be Turned Off
In one of the school’s offices, only a few executives from the Vajra Sect, Director Liang, and Yang Shen were left, along with Xu Bamboo, who was too worried to stay behind and had insisted on coming.
The Vajra Sect had brought along a host of equipment to gather firsthand data on the Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique—devices that were state-of-the-art, at least for portable gear. However, after a more thorough examination, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and admit the truth.
It seemed Yang Shen had simply listened to music for half an hour...
His body, vitality, nerves, Martial Arts Realm, and internal source parameters showed no fluctuations whatsoever!
Shi Yuehai was completely exasperated.
’Could his musical talent truly be that peerless?’ he wondered. ’But with that technique, even an elephant wearing headphones should be having convulsions!’
Shi Yuehai wearily pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yang... your situation is highly unusual. We’ve never had a sample like this..."
"If you’re willing, we’d like to set up a long-term follow-up observation with you..."
Director Liang, holding his thermos, chimed in at the perfect moment. "Theoretically, this is Yang’s personal decision. However, as he is an outstanding student of our school, Nanliang High School must also be involved for safety and health reasons."
In other words: this was all business.
Shi Yuehai said through gritted teeth, "The Vajra Sect is willing to sponsor your school with ten sets of the latest Body Forging auxiliary equipment, with a total value of no less than 2 million... Additionally, for Yang, we will provide a complimentary set of Vajra Sect Supplements, free of charge, until he finishes his college entrance exams."
Director Liang smiled. "Well, that will depend on Yang’s own decision."
Yang Shen glanced at Xu Bamboo. He was still in a daze; taking off the helmet had only left him more confused than before.
Xu Bamboo gave him a discreet shake of her head. Yang Shen thought for a moment, then said with a frown, "I don’t think that will be necessary. With the college entrance exams just around the corner, I don’t have the energy for other distractions."
’Long-term observation would surely involve collecting a lot of physical data. My secret about Cultivation could be exposed. It’s not worth the risk.’
’Of course, if Shi Yuehai had swapped what was for the school with what was for the student, Yang Shen might have agreed.’
’Two million was no small sum...’
However, in Shi Yuehai’s eyes, while Yang Shen was somewhat special, he wasn’t worth that price.
The two-million-yuan donation was more about building a good relationship with Nanliang High School.
While gathering data for the Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique was a genuine goal, so was expanding the influence of the Vajra Sect’s legacy brand among the younger generation.
Hearing Yang Shen’s refusal, Shi Yuehai frowned for a moment before finally sighing. "In that case, let’s just forget it. I won’t force you."
’I’ll just treat it as an anomalous case, report it, and be done with it.’
’Every Cultivation Technique has one or two oddballs who can’t practice it due to their constitution. That’s perfectly normal.’
Yang Shen felt that, aside from Xu Bamboo, no one in this room was up to any good. Remembering something, he asked warily:
"By the way, Cultivation Techniques are copyrighted, right? I listened to the whole thing. You’re not going to charge me for it later, are you? This stuff must be expensive... How much is it?"
Shi Yuehai reverted to his gold-collar-elite persona, inspecting his fingernails as he said coolly, "Monks do not speak of money. We speak of affinity."
"So... how much ’affinity’?"
"One hundred and eight thousand units of affinity."
Yang Shen was speechless.
’So affinity and yuan are a one-to-one conversion, is that it?’
Shi Yuehai began to direct his staff to pack up. "That’s the tentative price: 108,000 a year. The buyout fee hasn’t been determined yet."
"But don’t worry. The Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique hasn’t received market approval yet. You were participating in a product trial. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t learn it; even if you did, there would be no copyright issues."
Yang Shen said, "I feel... it would be safer to get that in writing..."
’He didn’t want to receive a bill for millions ten years down the line.’
Shi Yuehai had lost all desire for small talk. He waved his hand dismissively. "Fine. Liu, draft an explanatory memo and give it to Yang later."
’Besides, he didn’t need to handle such trivial matters himself.’
’If anyone was going to get tired, it would be his subordinates.’
Once everything was packed, Shi Yuehai prepared to leave, but Director Liang stopped him with a raised hand. "Manager Shi, please come to my office. Let’s discuss the two-million-yuan Body Forging equipment sponsorship in more detail."
Shi Yuehai’s eyes widened. "Huh?"
’But the deal fell through, didn’t it? Why are we still talking about two million?’
Director Liang pushed up his glasses and said mildly, "Let’s not mix things up. Monks don’t tell lies, and you never said... that the donation was conditional on experimenting on our student."
"Or do you think that we at Nanliang High School would use our students as bargaining chips?"
A vein throbbed in Shi Yuehai’s temple. ’Bargaining chips? You have to pay for bargaining chips! In your case, doesn’t the chip pay *you* tuition?’
Director Liang steered Manager Shi toward the door, glancing back at Yang Shen over his shoulder with a meaningful look.
In other words: You’ll get a cut.
——————
The presentation—baffling for Yang Shen, astounding for everyone else—had taken up the better part of the day.
After returning to the classroom and half-heartedly sitting through the last period, followed by Xu Bamboo dragging him off for a check-up, Yang Shen finally started on his way home.
He’d heard from Xu Bamboo about the others’ intense reactions, whereas he had felt nothing at all...
’It must be because of my Cultivation...’
He still knew far too little about Cultivation. If he had questions about Martial Arts, he could just look them up online. For instance, he could even find subtle hints about the conflict between the two companies behind today’s Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique.
In the information age, everyone left half their ass hanging out on the internet.
But knowledge about Cultivation... if you didn’t know it, you *really* didn’t know it. You couldn’t find it no matter how desperate you were.
Yang Shen opened his system. At the moment, there was just a single, solitary main quest: reach a family reputation of 10...
After the presentation, his reputation had already reached 4 points.
"Family Reputation: 4"
(The news of your uncle’s tragic death is well-known among the local seafarer community, while you yourself have gained a minor reputation as a ’genius’ at school...)
Gaining two points today was an unexpected bonus, and it would likely continue to grow over time.
Ten points didn’t seem so far off now. All things considered, he really hadn’t lost out from this presentation.
On the way home from school, Yang Shen’s thoughts swirled. One moment, he was wondering when he might get another "side quest."
The next, he was contemplating whether to teach his two younger sisters Cultivation that night, and what to do about the brothers, Lei Lv and Lei Yi.
The two of them didn’t go to school. To avoid causing trouble, they never went out, just staying cooped up at home every day like a pair of guardian beasts. It was hard to get away from them.
Just then, two Nanliang High School students walked past, easily identifiable in their blue and white uniforms.
"That Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique today was so weird. Everyone who wore the helmet looked like they were having a seizure."
"How so?"
"I’m not sure, but the top student in my class went up and tapped out after just five minutes..."
The pair approached from behind and didn’t recognize Yang Shen, but hearing their conversation made his mind subconsciously recall the highly hypnotic music.
It was just too catchy. And unlike the others, he had listened intently for a full half-hour without getting distracted at all.
However, as the intensely rhythmic sound replayed in his mind, simulating itself in his auditory cortex...
Yang Shen suddenly felt his abs twitch violently.
"What the hell! What’s happening!"
But Yang Shen didn’t know that ever since he began his Cultivation, his Divine Soul had also been infinitesimally strengthened. This was what had allowed him to block the effects of the Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique in the classroom. His body had identified the music from the helmet as a type of "weak, external Divine Soul attack."
But now that he was no longer listening to it externally and was instead simulating it in his mind via the "earworm effect," that defense failed.
After all, he was just a novice, not some top-tier cultivator from a novel who’d get into a cross-realm Divine Sense duel over a disagreement with a Foundation Establishment junior sister.
His muscles and tendons were spasming in unison. Yang Shen immediately ducked into a nearby alley and pulled up his shirt.
He could clearly see his eight-pack abs rippling and contorting, as if they had a mind of their own!
’I’m screwed! I knew there was a problem with that technique!’
’There’s something wrong with that music! I have to stop thinking about it!’
But that’s how the human mind works; the more he tried not to think about it, the clearer the rhythm became.
Gradually, Yang Shen felt his Inner Viscera starting to stir as well.
It wasn’t exactly painful, but this uncontrollable change prompted him to make an instant decision.
’Go back to the school! Now! I have to get back to the school!’
’If I’m going to collapse, I’ll do it at school! Then the medical bills will be their problem! If this happens at home, it’ll be impossible to explain!’
Clutching his stomach, Yang Shen turned back, still trying to shut off the single-track loop playing in his head, but to no avail.
He’d only made it halfway back along the few-hundred-meter road before he could no longer continue. It wasn’t pain that stopped him, but the spasms wracking his body, which made it impossible to walk straight.
Yang Shen collapsed in a sitting position in front of a small restaurant. Clutching his forehead, he tried to endure it, probably looking like a customer waiting for a table.
He could feel the sensation spreading rapidly through his entire body...
And the BGM in his head just wouldn’t stop!
"Namo Ami~ ooh ooh yeah... Namo Ami~ ooh ooh yeah..."
’Fuck...’
’...this is catchy as hell!’
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