No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

White Dragon High has the strongest physiques?

Red Tower High is definitely impressive too.

Even Purple Cloud High wouldn’t be out of the question.

What the hell is Songyang High?

Songyang High, Zhang Yu, 4.95?

As Zhang Yu’s score blazed onto the leaderboard, countless spectators were stunned.

None more so than the students of the Three Great Academies, who felt the shock most keenly.

Because they had undergone the latest body-refining enhancements themselves, they understood better than anyone just how vast the gap was between before and after the transformation.

Chu Qiuhe stared at the 4.95 flashing on the screen, his rhino-like ears twitching furiously. That score made his knees itch with the urge to kneel—it was terrifying. And it was the kind of result that a student from Songyang High had no business achieving.

“How did he pull this off? Could it be that Purple Cloud or Red Tower helped him? But he doesn’t show any signs of having used their new tech.”“Don’t tell me…”

Chu Qiuhe instinctively glanced toward Yu Xinghan.

Of all the top contenders from the Three Great Academies, Yu Xinghan alone displayed no traces of cutting-edge tech integration.

“Could Zhang Yu have used White Dragon High’s body-refining technique? And already reached a level of body control comparable to Yu Xinghan?”

“Is that even possible?”

Chu Qiuhe shook his head, dismissing the thought. Neither Xianyun Group nor Oasis Group had shown any intention of helping him. And Zhang Yu didn’t have the qualifications to rival Yu Xinghan anyway.

Which meant, after eliminating all the impossibilities, Chu Qiuhe was left with one conclusion: “Has Songyang High developed its own breakthrough in body-refining?”

…

Elsewhere.

In Purple Cloud High’s rest area, Lian Tianji stared at the screen, a mix of awe and disbelief.

“He wasn’t lying? His physical strength really is 4.95?”

If that guy had joined Purple Cloud High, he’d have another powerhouse strong enough to use him as a chair.

“How the hell did he manage this? And which company’s backing him?”

“Don’t tell me… Songyang High also mastered a new body-refining technique?”

Lian Tianji suddenly turned toward Le Mulan. “The glorious number one has been tracking Zhang Yu for a while now—did she already spot something special about him? No wonder she’s top of the grade. Her intel and instincts are sharper than mine.”

…

At that same moment.

Inside Songyang High’s rest area.

He Dayou had just finished his own physical test when he leapt to his feet, staring at Zhang Yu’s score in disbelief.

“4.95?!”

That score wasn’t just high—it was absurd. He Dayou suspected it might even be the highest among all participants.

He glanced over at Zhang Yu, eyes full of envy and suspicion.

“Did Zhang Pianpian secretly funnel White Dragon’s tech to him?”

“Even if not, she must’ve thrown a mountain of cash at him.”

“What’s the real relationship between Zhang Yu and Zhang Pianpian? No way it’s just a mother investing in her son… no, it’s like a daughter throwing down stacks to pay off her dad’s debts!”

Wang Hai, also in Songyang High’s rest area, was dumbstruck.

“What the hell just happened?”

Moments later, his phone started blowing up with call after call.

He was forced to explain repeatedly to the school leadership on the other end.

“No, really—I have no idea what new tech this is.”

“Zhang Yu barely trained with me.”

“I don’t know how the hell he hit 4.95.”

…

In the audience stands.

Lan Ling was shocked and furious as she glared at the score. “How the hell did that broke-ass Zhang Yu get this far? Did he go under White Dragon’s knife?”

Zhou Chechen frowned. “I haven’t heard anything like that. But…”

He thought about when Oasis Group entered Songyang City, recalled Zhang Pianpian’s investments in Zhang Yu, and then looked at the unbelievable rise in Zhang Yu’s physical strength…

Zhou Chechen’s expression darkened.

“Could Zhang Pianpian have known in advance about Oasis Group’s collaboration and the upcoming tech breakthroughs at the Three Great Academies? Did she make early moves on Songyang High?”

“But to what end?”

He couldn’t make sense of her motive just yet—but it didn’t stop him from looking at Zhang Yu on the field with growing disgust.

Zhou Chechen took a deep breath.

“Whatever her plan is, it’s already mid-April. In less than two months, Zhang Pianpian will have to take her university entrance exams…”

…

At the very back of the audience section.

Le Jingchen had just been introducing Purple Cloud High’s super-metabolism surgery when Zhang Yu’s 4.95 score appeared, and for a moment, he froze mid-sentence.

But web influencer Gangshan recovered quickly and spoke up. “This student from Songyang High must have used some new body-refining tech too, right?”

Le Jingchen nodded emphatically. “Definitely. No one hits 4.95 in their first year of high school just by popping pills and getting injections. It’s impossible.”

“This Songyang High student must’ve undergone some form of bodily transformation.”

Le Jingchen noted Zhang Yu’s skin tone showed none of the discoloration, bruising, or bestial traits common with most surgeries, and muttered to himself, “Could Songyang High really have developed its own new tech?”

He held back from making a firm judgment—he’d wait and see how the other Songyang students performed.

Just then, Gangshan said in awe, “This new wave of body-refining tech is insane. Even students from Songyang High are reaching levels that far surpass past champions.”

Le Jingchen nodded, echoing the sentiment. “That’s how technological cultivation advances—improving society and pushing more people further along the Immortal Path.”

Gangshan asked, “But this 4.95 score… it’s crazy high for a freshman. Surely no one here has gone higher, right?”

Le Jingchen chuckled and shook his head. “It’s impressive, no doubt. But the top-tier prodigies from the Three Great Academies, with full integration of the latest tech, are still a cut above.”

No sooner had he said that than a terrifying dragon’s roar ripped through the arena. Many spectators went pale, hearts pounding with primal fear.

The leaderboard changed again.

Red Tower High, Hu Yuntao, 4.98

But before the crowd could even finish gasping, another deeper, mightier beast-roar crashed over the field—and the new score pushed Hu Yuntao down to second place.

White Dragon High, Song Hailong, 5.03

Gangshan gasped, “They’ve only been in school seven months—how the hell are freshmen hitting over 5.0?”

He gave a bitter laugh. “Times have really changed.”

As if in response, more and more students from the Three Great Academies finished their tests, and the leaderboard continued to shuffle.

Especially the top spot, which changed hands again.

Song Hailong’s 5.03 was quickly overtaken by Xiong Wenwu’s 5.05.

Then even that was topped by Yu Xinghan with a jaw-dropping 5.07.

From the moment Yu Xinghan seized first place, no one could shake him. The rest of the top ten began to stabilize as well.

But while most of the audience and officials were absorbed in marveling at the Three Great Academies’ powerhouses…

Le Jingchen’s eyes were locked on fifth and seventh place.

Fifth: Songyang High, Zhang Yu, 4.95

Seventh: Songyang High, Bai Zhenzhen, 4.92

Le Jingchen muttered to himself, “So Songyang High… really did master new body-refining tech?”

“Hmph… they threw the second-year competitions, made themselves look weak, and now they’re using today’s freshman round to make a big splash—trying to hype their new tech?”

“Are they aiming to challenge the Three Great Academies’ dominance?”

“Heh. Ambitious little rats. I underestimated you.”

Even though he knew the Three Academies’ top talents still had the power to crush all others, just the thought of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen squeezing into the top ten made Le Jingchen feel sick.

It was like watching a filthy peasant stroll into Purple Cloud High without disinfection. Like seeing a perfectly clean tabletop touched by dirty hands.

At that moment, Gangshan asked curiously, “Jingchen, that Le Mulan from Purple Cloud—isn’t she your sister? She didn’t do so hot. What’s your take?”

Sixth: Purple Cloud High, Le Mulan, 4.93

Le Jingchen smiled calmly. “Purple Cloud’s super-metabolism technique mainly enhances drug tolerance. It makes it easier and faster to boost physical strength, but there’s a trade-off.”

“That is—pure physical scores don’t reflect their actual combat performance.”

Gangshan asked, “You mean their real strength comes out after taking medicine?”

Le Jingchen nodded. “Exactly. Le Mulan may only test at 4.93, but because she can handle far more potent drugs on a daily basis, her real-world strength easily surpasses that. In actual combat, she performs on par with someone at 5.05.”

“Tests like this can’t measure that.”

“But once they hit the bottleneck of the Qi Refinement Realm—when both sides hit the 10.0 cap—those with super-metabolism surgery will definitely outperform others.”

He added confidently, “Just watch the upcoming matches. Le Mulan is absolutely top-three material.”

…

Meanwhile, Wang Hai’s phone was ringing off the hook.

Zhou Chechen was also fielding call after call.

Zhou Chechen: “No, Principal! I swear we haven’t made any breakthroughs.”

“Uncle, you know I haven’t even had surgery—how could I give it to some broke-ass freshman?”

“Auntie, please contact Purple Cloud Pharmaceuticals for me. I didn’t breach our contract. We’re not working with any other company…”

By the time he hung up, he was a mess of frustration and sweat.

He glared toward Songyang High’s rest area. “Zhang Yu… Bai Zhenzhen… just who the hell did Zhang Pianpian sell them to?”

As chaos erupted all around—from schools to companies to contestants—the controversy radiated outward from this arena like ripples in a pond.

And just like that, the physical tests concluded. The second match of the combat tournament was about to begin.