Chapter 30: Chapter 30: A Peaceful Campus
"Did you hear? Yesterday a guy from our school... had an episode!"
"I heard! Took out three people! So brutal!"
"They were all normal people eating a cheap meal late at night, completely defenseless... If the chef hadn’t stalled him for a bit, it probably would’ve been even worse."
Today, Nanliang High School was exceptionally lively.
Yes, lively, not fearful. It was even more bustling than usual.
High school students are too close to puberty and too far from maturity.
They meant no harm; they were just habitual gossips. This kind of explosive, bloody news happening so close to them was the most exciting thing.
In Class 6 of the third year, a few boys in the back row were gathered together. Huang Gang was in the middle of the group, spitting as he spoke, as if he’d been there slurping noodles himself.
"The chef was the only one in the shop with any Martial Cultivation, but he was too soft-hearted. The kitchen was full of knives, but he didn’t dare use a single one. He just let that kid beat him until he was severely injured."
"That’s so useless! He had knives and didn’t use them! What was the chef’s cultivation level?"
"They say he was at Bone Training, but he’s in his forties and lost his nerve. In the end, that psycho crippled him and killed three others."
"Tsk, tsk... Going soft at a time like that. If it were me, I would’ve just started hacking. At the very least, I’d have thrown a pot of hot oil on him."
"Easy for you to say. You talk a big game, you think this is a video game?"
Yang Shen sat at his desk, his expression hard to read.
Wei Zhen Homestyle Cooking... He had sat at the entrance for four hours yesterday.
The incident happened less than 15 minutes after he left.
’If I had turned back, could I have stopped it? Or held back that underclassman?’
’Martial Arts Psychosis... This time it happened right next to me!’
"Yang Shen... I can’t solve this theory problem. It’s about the microcirculation of Qi and Blood in the body... Can you help me take a look?"
Yang Shen looked up, his gaze traveling over a pair of hills before realizing it was Zhao Mengmeng.
The girl was holding a test paper, looking a bit shy.
Yang Shen took the paper and glanced at it, but his mind was elsewhere.
His scores in liberal arts and martial arts theory had always been good, but these sections were worth very few points—only 260 combined—so it didn’t affect his reputation as an "underachiever."
In the past, he only ever explained problems to Xu Bamboo, and only Xu Bamboo would ask him. Zhuzi’s academic scores were also excellent, much of which was thanks to Yang Shen.
This was also why their seating arrangement as deskmates was never changed.
But today, Yang Shen’s mind wasn’t calm. He read the problem twice, but the information flowed in and out like hot pot water, refusing to stick in his brain.
Zhao Mengmeng must have been waiting too long, as she leaned closer and closer. The fair lobe of the ear peeking out from her short hair dangled before his eyes, its fine hairs clearly visible.
Just then, a slender, fair hand reached over and took the test paper. Xu Bamboo smiled. "Let me see. Is it that hard?"
With the paper off his hands, Yang Shen went back to spacing out.
A few minutes later, Zhao Mengmeng got her answer. She thanked Xu Bamboo and left, but pursed her lips the moment she turned around.
Xu Bamboo glanced at her deskmate. "What are you thinking about? You look like you’ve lost your soul."
Yang Shen shook his head. "Nothing, I just didn’t sleep well."
Xu Bamboo twirled her pen, her tone pointed. "Oh... Have you noticed that Zhao Mengmeng’s attitude toward you is really nice? She speaks so softly."
Yang Shen said, "Doesn’t she always sound soft? Her tone, I mean..."
Xu Bamboo fumbled her pen, and it went flying. She said with a blush, "That’s because you didn’t know her well before. She’s never like that with boys."
Despite being cute and having decent grades, Zhao Mengmeng had always had the personality of a "little spitfire" towards boys, especially underachievers.
At least 10 underachievers in the class had been beaten up by her. The only reason she never touched Yang Shen was out of respect for Xu Bamboo.
Yang Shen said uncertainly, "Maybe she’s finally submitted after I beat her?"
Xu Bamboo didn’t say any more, but an inexplicable frustration welled up inside her.
It was as if someone else had just discovered her personal treasure.
Although Yang Shen was on the shorter side, had poor grades, and never attended any social gatherings because he had no money...
His unique upbringing had actually given him a more "mature" mindset. Not to mention, the simple fact that he held a part-time job was something many of his peers couldn’t do.
Perhaps a few people looked down on him for working, but in the eyes of most students with a normal mindset...
It was also a kind of "strength."
Yang Shen was mature and emotionally stable... his features were also masculine and handsome. It was just that these good qualities were usually overshadowed by the overarching label of "underachiever."
No one was interested in looking past a person’s "grades" to see their "character."
Now, as his grades improved... it was as if the dirt had been dug away from around a bamboo shoot.
Only then did many people discover, oh, it’s so big underneath?
Yang Shen turned to look at the strangely acting Xu Bamboo. "What’s up with Zhao Mengmeng? Do you care that much?"
Xu Bamboo said, "Hmph, I just don’t want you to bully Meng Meng!"
As she spoke, she took out a bottle of Initial Realm Passage Essence Liquid, stuck a straw in it, and shoved it into Yang Shen’s mouth.
Yang Shen sipped on the Initial Realm Passage, his thoughts returning to his recent training.
Originally, his "Qi and Blood Value increase rate" and "digestion speed" had reached a balance. But after acquiring the Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique, the speed at which he consolidated his realm had increased significantly.
But his intake of "Source" hadn’t increased.
After learning that Yang Shen had entered the Bone Training realm, Zhuzi’s support had doubled. Yang Shen felt embarrassed, but if he stopped taking Xu Bamboo’s Essence Liquid, he wouldn’t be able to explain the source of his Qi and Blood Value. He could only quietly keep the debt in his heart.
He could gain 5 points from his daily Cultivation, and 2 points from the four bottles of Xu Bamboo’s brand of Essence Liquid... for a total of 7 points.
As for scrounging meals off Chen Beiwang, it was too infrequent and unreliable to be counted.
And to advance from the Bone Training realm to the Marrow Refining realm, the minimum Qi and Blood Value requirement was 300.
If he set his sights on a Martial Arts College, he could basically slack off now. But he wanted to go a step further, to get into a university, especially a good one.
’I’m not aiming for the same goal as Xu Bamboo—the Jianghuai Sports Academy—but I should at least aim for a first-tier university, right?’
’The Bone Training realm is obviously not enough for that.’
’Let me take stock of my resources. The money I earn from tutoring has to go to my family. I still have nine Peiyuan Pills left, but those don’t expire, so I should save them for when I’m breaking through a bottleneck.’
’I could take them a week before the college entrance exams and it would still be in time.’
’The last thing left is the Vajra Sect Supplement Gift Package I got yesterday. It’s a two-person portion.’
He decided to use this as his main source of supplements for the near future.
Yang Shen rummaged through his school bag for a moment and found the Vajra Pill of Great Strength. This was the Vajra Sect’s mainstream product; not the highest grade, but their bestseller.
He popped one into his mouth and watched his Di Di Boy for a moment. It only registered a 0.2 point increase in his Qi and Blood Value.
’Much worse than Xu Bamboo’s Essence Liquid... but at least there’s a lot of it.’
Seeing Yang Shen taking pills at school, Xu Bamboo immediately asked, "Is your Qi and Blood Value low? Should I bring some more tomorrow?"
Yang Shen shook his head. "I got so much stuff from the Vajra Sect yesterday, and you gave me your share too. I have to eat it eventually... Every box is engraved with ’Not For Resale,’ so I can’t exchange it for money either."
Or rather, exchanging it for money would be at a huge discount. It’s more worthwhile to just consume it.
Xu Bamboo thought for a moment and said, "I heard... that besides being a Source Supplement, the Vajra Pill of Great Strength seems to have some other function."
"What function?"
"Uh... I’m not sure. I think I heard that girls can’t take it, and middle-aged and elderly men eat it like candy."
Yang Shen tilted his head and thought for a moment...
’Then it’s probably for treating frequent and urgent urination.’
’By the way, this pill tastes fucking awful!’
————
After a short morning of academic classes, Liu Yuankui announced that afternoon that they would be having a pop quiz on "Subject Four."
In other words, a test on the mastery and application of the Sixth Set of Initial Realm Body Refining Fist.
This was the part Yang Shen was curious about. He felt he shouldn’t be weak now that he had grasped the Rising Sun Fist Intent, but there was no concrete scoring system. Similar to actual combat, this was a subject based on the teacher’s subjective evaluation.
The next monthly exam was getting closer, and the various pop quizzes were about to become more frequent.
Following the main group to the athletic field, Yang Shen, as expected, was paired with Zhao Mengmeng again.
Xu Bamboo was in a group by herself some distance away, looking over in their direction from time to time.
But just as it was about to be Yang Shen’s turn, a few figures who shouldn’t have been at the school walked toward them.
Police officers...
Following behind them were Director Liang and a few teachers he didn’t recognize.
"Hello, are you student Yang Shen?"
All the students froze, like meerkats sensing danger, craning their necks to look over.
But no one dared to come closer...
No matter how arrogant they were when joking around, seeing those uniforms on campus still made them instinctively nervous.
"That’s me... May I ask..."
The police officer smiled. "Let’s find a place to talk."
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