Chapter 2 : School

The ticking sound of the clock continued to ring, and Zhang Yu in the classroom was working on the test paper in front of him with a serious look on his face.

　　But the test papers seemed endless. No matter how he tried to do it or how he filled them in, there was never the moment of completion.

　　The seat where he was sitting was getting farther and farther away from his classmates, and he could no longer see the figure in front of him, as if he was being swallowed up bit by bit by the darkness behind him.

　　Cold sweat broke out on my head, panic surged in my heart, and my hands, which had been writing continuously, began to become weak and I began to lose strength.

　　It was not until he fell into the bottomless darkness along with countless books and test papers that Zhang Yu suddenly woke up from his bed.

　　"Did you dream?"

　　"It seems like they are all Zhang Yu's past memories."　

　He rubbed his head, feeling countless broken memories of his original body rising and falling in his mind, changing constantly.

　　Although Zhang Yu has now mastered this body, his original memories have not yet been completely integrated, and many details require concentration to recall.

　　Especially the memories related to yesterday's strange ceremony. Whenever Zhang Yu thought about it, he felt dizzy and could not remember what happened at all.

　　At this moment, he looked at his mobile phone and found that it was only five o'clock in the morning. He wanted to lie down and continue to sleep, but found that he couldn't fall asleep in this body.　　

It's like getting up at five o'clock every day to go to school has become an instinct of this body.

　　"Why do I feel guilty about continuing to lie down?"

　Zhang Yu sat up, thinking that this might be the influence of his original body's memories.　　

Touching his somewhat deflated stomach, Zhang Yu simply stood up and thought to himself, "Forget it, I'd better go to school. At least I can have a full meal."　

　He remembered that Songyang High School should provide three meals a day, and this month's food expenses had already been charged to the card.

　　Now he is in debt of 700,000 yuan and has only 50 yuan on him, so he has no money to eat out.　

　So Zhang Yu left the stuffy apartment, walked through the sewage-filled alley, and followed a group of people to squeeze onto the bus.

　　Squeezed in a carriage filled with the mixed smell of sweat and food, with the air-conditioning on as if it weren't on, Zhang Yu felt like a deformed takeaway being jolted towards the city center.

　　After spending an hour and a half and changing two cars, Zhang Yu, sweating all over, finally squeezed off the bus.　

　Wiping the sweat off his head, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Why do I have to go to school as a day student?"

　　"Oh, now I remember, it's because I can't afford the accommodation fee."

　Unlike where Zhang Yu lived, the place where he got off the bus was in the city. All he could see were tall buildings and clean, wide roads. Even the air was much fresher.　　Most of the men and women walking on the street were well-dressed and looked like urban elites.

　　After walking and stopping along the way, he finally arrived at the school gate. Zhang Yu saw the big words "Songyang Senior Xiandao Middle School" on the gate from a distance.

　　There was actually a string of transcripts on the electronic screen at the school gate, listing the top ten students in the three grades of high school last month.

　　From this we can actually see that Songyang High School is a school that attaches great importance to students' academic performance.

　　If Zhang Yu were to recall and summarize at this moment, it would be that in Songyang High School, grades are respected and it is a world where everyone only cares about grades.　

　Studying and taking exams here are as natural as breathing, and almost everyone has extreme discrimination against scores.

　　Something like, your score is so low, no wonder you have to queue so long in the cafeteria, your score is so low, you are not qualified to eat at the same table with us in the cafeteria, something like, the top students have to severely insult the poor students' teeth...all of these are positive energy on campus.

　　"This is a world where grades are everything. It's hell for poor students."

　　Zhang Yu Zhang Yu looked at the electronic screen and saw 'Zhang Yu, who ranked 10th in the total score of the first-year high school student' and sighed in his heart: "Fortunately, I have the higher score."

　"Although my ranking may seem a bit undeserving at the moment, at least it hasn't been exposed yet. So I should still be able to live a decent life in school, right?"

　　The cafeteria of Songyang High School provides breakfast, so Zhang Yu came here following his memory.　

　As he walked along, he found that although there were many students queuing for meals in the cafeteria, they were all extremely quiet. Almost all of them lined up silently, took their meals quietly, and found a seat to eat quietly, just like gears stuck together, running each step precisely.

　　Some students also read books while eating, seizing every minute to study.　　Zhang Yu found a random seat and sat down. Just as he took a bite of the meat bun, he found someone sitting in the empty seat in front of him.

　　This is a girl with long black hair and a fair face.

　　The other person's name appeared in Zhang Yu's mind.　

 　"Bai Zhenzhen."

　　"To be precise, it's Bai Zhenzhen, who ranks first in the total score of the first grade. She is the woman at the top of the contempt chain of the first grade."

　　Looking at the girl sitting in front of him drinking porridge, Zhang Yu thought: "Is she my friend?"

　　"Because I'm in the top ten in my grade? Is this what they call the circle of top students?"

　　Bai Zhenzhen is the kind of person who looks like she is sulking unless she laughs. Even ordinary words from her mouth can sound distant and alienated.

　　Just like now, when she was sitting in front of Zhang Yu, as long as she didn't say a word, Zhang Yu would feel whether she had any opinion about him.

　　Just as Zhang Yu was concentrating on recalling the memories related to Bai Zhenzhen in his head, trying to confirm what the relationship between the two was.

　　Then the girl said, "Come to the garden after dinner. I'll wait for you there."

　　Looking at the other person's departing back, a thoughtful look flashed across Zhang Yu's eyes.

　　After a while, when he had eaten and drunk his fill, he left the cafeteria and came to the small garden behind the school.

　　This is a quiet place behind the dormitory building. At this moment, when most of the students have rushed to the teaching building, there is almost no one to be seen.　　Bai Zhenzhen was standing in front of a flower bed. When she heard Zhang Yu's footsteps, she turned around and walked quickly to him.

　　"father!"

　Kneeling on the ground with a thud, Bai Zhenzhen hugged Zhang Yu's thigh and said, "There were too many people in the cafeteria just now, I was embarrassed to say it."

　"Please lend me some money. My small loan is almost a month overdue! I'll kneel down for you..."

　　Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhang Yu cursed in his heart: "What a crappy school this is. The top student and the tenth student in the grade are both taking out loans to show off, right?"

　　At this moment, Zhang Yu also recalled that he and Bai Zhenzhen knew each other not because of the academic circle, but because the other party was his online friend and had sold him small loans.

　　Once again, I would like to introduce Zhang Yu's classmate Bai Zhenzhen. He and Zhang Yu are good brothers who share lending information on major platforms, and they have a solid friendship of borrowing money everywhere together.

　　Thinking of the other party's cold poker face in the cafeteria just now, he was constantly thinking about how to borrow money from him, Zhang Yu shook his head helplessly: "Let me go first, how can I lend you money?"

　　Bai Zhenzhen shook her head and said, "You are only in the tenth grade, how much money can you spend? The loan you applied for must be much less than mine, right?"

　　Then, she said stiffly and shyly, "As long as you help me pay off my debt, you can do whatever you want."

　　Zhang Yu's eyes lit up when he heard that. Looking at the originally cold Bai Zhenzhen who now had a rosy face, he felt that she had a different kind of charm.

　　He looked up and down at Bai Zhenzhen's body and asked, "Are you really okay with anything?"　

　Bai Zhenzhen bit her lip lightly and nodded: "Yeah."　

　Zhang Yu: "Can I mortgage you?"

　　Bai Zhenzhen let go of her hand, stared at Zhang Yu and said, "Yuzi, are you really out of money?"

　　Zhang Yu took out his mobile phone and showed the balance and overdue information.

　　Bai Zhenzhen stood up, patted her dusty trouser legs, and looked at Zhang Yu in disbelief, "You owe 700,000? Even after graduating from college, I'm afraid you'll have to work for a long time to pay it back."

　　"You're only in the first year of high school and you're already spending money like that?"　　Bai Zhenzhen shook her head repeatedly when she said this: "Zhang Yu, how did you spend this money?"　

　Zhang Yu rubbed his head and said, "I forgot... Wait for me to think about it."

　　Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu in confusion: "You didn't invest the money in something, did you? Were you cheated?"

　As Zhang Yu recalled, he also became a little uncertain: "Probably... not?"

　　Bai Zhenzhen's expression suddenly became serious. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that there was something wrong with Zhang Yu's spending of more than 700,000 yuan: "Let me see your phone."

　　Zhang Yu understood that the other party was concerned about him. After all, investment, fraud, gambling, sudden death and obsession were the top five causes of death in Songyang City, with obsession ranking fifth.

　　At this moment, he also began to doubt his original self, and immediately took out his phone: "It just so happens that I also want to review how the money was spent, so let's take a look at the transaction flow together."　

　The two of them glanced at the phone screen and saw Zhang Yu's original expenses.　　As Zhang Yu saw this, many details of related memories kept pouring out of his mind.　　Danding Pharmacy - 28,000　

Danding Pharmacy - 25,000　

Time Waits For Me Quiet Room-12,000　

　Zhang Yu looked at it and said, "I bought this medicine at the school pharmacy, and then rented a quiet room to breathe..."

　　In addition to general courses such as Chinese, mathematics, physics, history, etc., the teaching content of Songyang High School also includes courses related to the Tao.　　The so-called immortal path is the path of cultivation for people to become immortals step by step. This is also the most important teaching content in the entire high school stage, with the highest score accounting for a large proportion, and it is also the key item for admission to prestigious universities.

　　Breathing is the most basic skill in the path of immortality. By gathering the spiritual energy in the atmosphere through breathing, the cultivator can accumulate magic power in his body.

　　Only with enough mana can one promote stronger combat power and climb to a higher realm. It can be said that mana is the foundation for the operation of all immortal techniques.

　　For example, if one wants to break through from the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the mana requirement is more than 60 points, while the upper limit of mana that can be mastered in the Qi Refining Stage is 100 points.　

　In the system that the ten major sects are working hard to build, everything is standardized and digitized as much as possible, even mana. For example, the mana tests in schools are currently all accurate to one decimal place.　

　Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly and continued to read.　

　Shuixiu Catering Service Co., Ltd.-53,200　　

Zhang Yu said: "This is a supplementary meal in the cafeteria, which costs a lot."

　　In the practice of immortal cultivation, the strength of the physical body is also crucial. Taking in large amounts of food rich in spiritual energy and immortal elements is also a part of a practitioner's daily life, which is called food supplement.　　

Longxiang Educational Services Co., Ltd. -150,000

　　Longxiang Education Service Co., Ltd.-300,000　

　Zhang Yu recalled and said, "Well... this is the tuition fee for the last class, and the cost of renting the spiritual roots."　

　Spiritual root is a special talent that only a very few geniuses possess. It can greatly increase the cultivation efficiency and combat effectiveness of cultivators.

　　As the most famous threshold to immortality, even Zhang Yu and his mother, who was in junior high school at the time, knew the various legends about spiritual roots. When Zhang Yu was taking tutoring classes and repaying his loan, he used the excuse of renting spiritual roots to ask his mother to send him money.　

　However, with the development of immortal technology, ordinary people like Zhang Yu who have no spiritual roots can now pay to rent spiritual roots to improve their cultivation efficiency.　

　I continued to flip through the pages. Apart from a brief explanation by Zhang Yu at the very beginning, the expense items that followed were almost all similar, and almost all of them were related to the practice of immortal cultivation.

　　After quickly looking through Zhang Yu's spending in recent months, Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu with eyes full of pity: "You kid really spent so much on your own immortal cultivation?"

　　"In the end, I owed more than 700,000 yuan to get to the tenth place?"

　　"It's only been three months since school started, right? What are you going to do next?"

　　As a person who has just traveled to another world for the first day, Zhang Yu is naturally confused about the road ahead. At this moment, he shrugged and said, "Let's just muddle along for now and figure out a solution slowly."

　Looking at the time, they saw that class was almost about to start, so they chatted as they walked towards the teaching building.　

　"How come you, who owes more than 700,000 yuan, look more relaxed than me, who owes more than 200,000 yuan?"　

　Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu's calm expression and reminded him, "You won't have any money to continue studying!"　

　"Do you know what the consequences are of not having money to study? Do you know how dangerous our current situation is?"

　　Zhang Yu: "What are the consequences?"　

　Bai Zhenzhen said, "The monthly exam is only three weeks away. In three weeks, you will have no money to rent spiritual roots, no money to buy elixirs, no money to attend cram schools, and even no money to buy daily supplements... while others are making progress every minute. By then, it will be normal for your grade ranking to drop by dozens of places, and you will be kicked out of the demonstration class directly!"

　　Combined with what Bai Zhenzhen said, many related memories came to Zhang Yu's mind.　　There are a total of ten classes in the first year of high school, from Class 1 to Class 10, and the classes are divided according to the results of the monthly examinations.　

　According to Zhang Yu's ranking, he was naturally assigned to the class with the best treatment, also known as the demonstration class.

　　In addition to the regular general education exams, the most important factor in the monthly exams is the results of one's cultivation.　

　After all, general education only accounts for 50 points, while the remaining immortal subjects add up to a full 650 points.

　　Especially since everyone is a freshman in high school and they all started practicing Taoism formally after school started, so the difference in their cultivation levels is actually limited.

　　Although he seems to be ranked tenth, if he fails to maintain his previous speed of improvement in the next few weeks, he will easily be left behind by dozens of places.　　Bai Zhenzhen continued, "If you continue to have no money, your ranking will get worse and worse, and your salary will get lower and lower. In this vicious cycle, you will be kicked from Class 1 to Class 10 step by step!"

　　She said solemnly, "Without money and grades, you will become combustible garbage in the eyes of teachers, a joke among students in demonstration classes, and an object for those extras in ordinary classes to realize their cheap self-superiority!"

　　Bai Zhenzhen held her head in her arms: "Under such circumstances, let alone cultivation resources, it is difficult to maintain a stable Dao heart, and my grades will only get worse and worse. Eventually, I will fall below the elimination line, and can only be kicked out of Songyang High School with injuries and debts."

　　As if she saw the sad future in her mind, Bai Zhenzhen looked up at the sky and lamented, "Do you want to live at the bottom of the school's contempt chain, be insulted repeatedly! And eventually become a social scum who drops out of high school?"

　　Zhang Yu twitched his lips when he heard this: "Then what do you think we should do?"　　

Bai Zhenzhen was silent for a moment, then turned around and said, "Brother, to be honest... you owed 700,000 yuan to get to the tenth place, you may not really be suitable for the immortal path."

　　"I don't know how you got into Songyang, but my advice is... drop out of school and go work, otherwise I'm afraid you'll get deeper and deeper into trouble."

　Zhang Yu did not respond, but he sighed in his heart: "The only good thing about this broken world is that I can cultivate immortality, but after only one day here, I'm told that I don't have the talent to cultivate immortality?"　

　Shortly after returning to the classroom, Zhang Yu picked up his vibrating phone and found that Bai Zhenzhen had transferred 500 yuan to him and sent him a message.

　　Bai Zhenzhen: Let's pay the water and electricity bills first.

　　Zhang Yu was slightly stunned, and suddenly smelled his clothes. He immediately realized that Bai Zhenzhen smelled the odor of his body from not taking a shower for a few days.　　Although he himself has gotten used to this smell, it should be quite obvious to others.

　　Thinking about the fact that the other party gave him money despite his poor financial situation, Zhang Yu sighed in his heart, typed a long text on his mobile phone and then deleted it all, and finally replied: Thank you.

　　After replying to the phone call, Zhang Yu looked at the palm of his hand and found that the symbol on it was half filled with black.

　　On the way to school and into the classroom, Zhang Yu had already discovered that the symbol on his palm was only visible to him.　

　At this moment, he calculated the time and estimated that the symbol would be completely filled with black tonight, but he didn't know what would happen after it was filled.