Chapter 2: School

The ticking of the clock echoed through the quiet classroom. Zhang Yu sat at his desk, staring intently at the endless exam paper before him.

No matter how much he wrote or how many blanks he filled in, the test never seemed to end.

As he continued, he noticed that the distance between him and his classmates grew wider and wider. Their figures blurred, swallowed piece by piece by the creeping darkness behind him.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Panic surged in his chest. His hand, which had been tirelessly writing, grew weak, his grip faltering.

Then, as if dragged down by the weight of countless books and papers, he plunged into the abyss.

With a sharp gasp, Zhang Yu bolted upright in bed.

"A dream?"

Fragments of memory flickered through his mind—pieces of the past, remnants of the body's original owner.

Although he had fully taken over this body, the memories of its previous owner had yet to fully merge with his own. Many details remained hazy, requiring effort to recall.

Especially the memories of that bizarre ritual from the previous night. Whenever he tried to remember, dizziness struck, and the details slipped away like mist.

Glancing at his phone, he saw that it was only five in the morning. He wanted to lie back down and sleep, but his body refused.

It was as if waking up at this hour had been ingrained into its very instincts.

"Why do I feel guilty just lying here?"

Sitting up, Zhang Yu sighed. This must be the influence of the original owner's habits.

Feeling the emptiness in his stomach, he decided, Forget it, I might as well head to school. At least I can get a free meal.

He recalled that Songyang High School provided three meals a day, and his meal card had already been recharged for the month.

Given that he was now burdened with a staggering debt of 700,000 yuan and had only about 50 yuan to his name, eating out wasn't an option.

Leaving his cramped, sweltering apartment, he walked through the narrow alleys filled with stagnant water, eventually squeezing onto a packed bus alongside a group of commuters.

The air was thick with sweat and the mixed scent of breakfast. Even with the air conditioning on, it felt as if it wasn't working. Zhang Yu felt like a squashed takeout box, being jostled and bumped along the route toward the city center.

An hour and a half ,after changing two buses and a lot of sweating, he finally stepped off the bus.

Wiping his forehead, Zhang Yu suddenly thought, Wait, why am I even commuting?

Oh, right. Because I couldn't afford the dorms.

Unlike the rundown neighborhood he lived in, the city center was lined with towering buildings, clean, spacious roads, and fresh air. The pedestrians here were sharply dressed, exuding an air of urban professionalism.

After weaving through the city streets, he finally arrived at the school gates. From a distance, he could already see the large characters spelling out "Songyang Advanced Immortal Dao High School."

A digital screen near the entrance displayed a leaderboard—showing the top ten students from each grade based on last month's exam results.

It was clear from this alone that Songyang High placed immense emphasis on academic performance.

If Zhang Yu had to sum up the school in a single phrase, it would be: A world ruled by grades.

Here, studying and exams were as natural as breathing. Status and privilege were determined entirely by scores, and academic discrimination was the norm.

"Your grades are that low? No wonder you have to wait in line at the cafeteria."

"With those scores, you're not even qualified to sit at our table."

"A true top student should mercilessly humiliate slackers!"

All of these sentiments were considered the pinnacle of positive campus values.

"This place is a nightmare for underachievers," Zhang Yu muttered.

His eyes drifted to the leaderboard, spotting his own name—10th place in the first-year rankings.

Good. At least I'm on the right side of the divide.

"Though... that ranking might be a bit of an illusion," he admitted. "But as long as no one exposes me, I can still live a decent life here, right?"

Since the cafeteria provided breakfast, Zhang Yu followed his memories and headed inside.

The cafeteria was crowded, yet eerily silent. Students lined up with mechanical precision, collecting their meals and finding seats without a word. It was as if they were synchronized gears in a vast, well-oiled machine.

Some students even read textbooks while eating, maximizing every second for studying.

Finding a random seat, Zhang Yu had just taken a bite of his meat bun when someone sat down across from him.

A girl with long black hair and fair skin.

Zhang Yu's mind immediately supplied her name: Bai Zhenzhen.

Or more precisely—Bai Zhenzhen, the top-ranked student in the first year. The queen at the pinnacle of the academic hierarchy.

He glanced at her, watching as she silently sipped her porridge.

Are we... friends?

Is it because I'm in the top ten? Is this what they call the academic elite circle?

Bai Zhenzhen had one of those faces that always seemed cold and distant. Even the most ordinary words, when spoken by her, carried an unapproachable air.

At this moment, she simply sat across from him without speaking, yet Zhang Yu couldn't shake the feeling that she had something against him.

Just as he was digging through his memories, trying to recall their exact relationship, she finally spoke.

"Meet me in the garden after breakfast. I'll be waiting."

Without another word, she stood up and left.

Zhang Yu watched her retreating figure, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

After finishing his meal, he made his way to the small garden behind the dormitory buildings. Since most students had already headed to class, the area was practically deserted.

Bai Zhenzhen stood by a flowerbed. As soon as she heard his footsteps, she turned around and briskly walked up to him.

Then—

"Father!"

With a loud thud, she dropped to her knees, clutching Zhang Yu's leg.

"I couldn't say this in the cafeteria, too many people were around," she said solemnly.

"Please, lend me some money. My short-term loan is almost a month overdue! I'll even kneel for you!"

Zhang Yu stared at her, his mind going blank.

"What kind of messed-up school is this? The top student and the tenth-ranked student are both drowning in debt just to keep up appearances?"

And then, like a missing puzzle piece snapping into place, the memories returned.

His connection to Bai Zhenzhen had nothing to do with an elite academic circle.

She was his upline.

The person who first introduced him to student loans.

Yes, let him formally reintroduce her—his classmate Bai Zhenzhen, a fellow debt-ridden scholar, his loyal companion in borrowing from every available loan platform.

And now, like a true brother-in-debt, she had come to him for help.

Zhang Yu sighed, shaking his head.

"Let go. I don't have any money."

Bai Zhenzhen didn't budge. "Come on, you're only ranked tenth. You can't have spent that much! Your total loan must be way smaller than mine, right?"

Then, with a stiff yet clearly reluctant expression, she added, "If you help me pay it off... you can do whatever you want."

Zhang Yu's eyes lit up. He gave Bai Zhenzhen a slow, appraising look.

"Anything?"

Bai Zhenzhen bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Mm."

Zhang Yu smirked. "Then can I use you as collateral?"

Bai Zhenzhen immediately let go, glaring at him. "Yuzi, are you seriously broke?"

Wordlessly, Zhang Yu pulled out his phone and showed her his balance.

She stared at the screen, then at him.

"Seventy. Thousand. In debt?"

For a moment, she was speechless. Then, she sighed.

"Bro... you might not be cut out for this whole 'cultivation' thing."

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