Zhang Yu didn’t wait for Le Mulan to respond before firing off similar messages to Xiong Wenwu and Yu Xinghan.
The contents were more or less the same—asking them to get in touch with someone at their respective schools with enough sway to pay for him and Bai Zhenzhen sitting out the upcoming competition.
…
Meanwhile, over at Purple Cloud High.
Le Jingchen glanced at the message from his sister and chuckled. “So he’s come to negotiate the price himself?”
“Looks like Zhou Chechen can’t keep him in check anymore.”
He paused, then instead of reaching out to Zhang Yu right away, he messaged Le Mulan: “What do you think of Zhang Yu?”
Le Mulan blinked at the message. “In what way?”
Le Jingchen: How’s his strength post-athletics tournament?
Le Jingchen: If he enters the upcoming Dao Heart Test, does he have a shot at placing?Le Jingchen: You’ve been using him as a sparring partner a lot lately. Should have a sense of where he’s at, right?
Le Mulan thought back to the countless training sessions she’d had with Zhang Yu.
That powerful frame, the defined musculature, the crisp execution of techniques… It always made her feel like her money was well spent.
But she knew that wasn’t what her brother meant.
This was about the Dao Heart Test.
“Speaking of Dao Heart…”
Her mind flashed to those moments after each training session, when Zhang Yu would crouch on the floor and silently stare at the spilled solution on the ground.
She thought to herself, “If it were any other high schooler, they’d have guzzled those leftover drops by now.”
So she replied: Zhang Yu is someone who can resist even expensive temptations.
Le Jingchen: Got a specific example?
Le Mulan: He managed not to lick the sweat I dripped on the floor…
Le Jingchen snapped back: What the hell are you doing?!
Le Jingchen: You’ve been taking all sorts of experimental compounds from the lab. What if Zhang Yu collects your sweat and sells it to some pharmaceutical firm for analysis?
Le Mulan: My bad. Next time I’ll make sure he cleans it all up in front of me.
Le Jingchen: That’s more like it.
Le Mulan: Anyway, what I’m saying is—Zhang Yu’s willpower is no joke. Even if Bai Zhenzhen’s a little weaker, she’s not far behind.
Le Mulan: If they take part in the Dao Heart competition, odds are they’ll place. If we can pay them to sit it out, it’s a good deal.
She put her phone away, suddenly remembering how during the martial arts tournament, she’d offered Zhang Yu 400,000 yuan to drop out—and he’d turned her down.
She thought to herself, “In the end, you really have changed, haven’t you?”
…
Inside the protected zone of Red Tower High.
A massive spirit beast lay sprawled on the ground, its skull split open by what looked like the strike of another beast.
A shirtless, burly man was crouched beside it, tearing into its bloody flesh with his bare teeth.
With blood smeared all over his face, he glanced toward Xiong Wenwu and asked, “What do you want?”
Xiong Wenwu explained Zhang Yu’s proposal.
The man grunted. “Zhang Yu… rings a bell. You fought him once, right? What do you think—can he place in the Dao Heart competition?”
Xiong Wenwu thought back to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. What came to mind first were their recent transactions with his incubation chamber rental service, and Bai Zhenzhen buying Demon Beast Meat for dietary cultivation from An’an, who’d then turned around and subsidized the cost out of her own pocket.
Xiong Wenwu had actually considered this question beforehand.
“Selling off their competition slots? These two must really be strapped for cash.”
“But given their situation, skipping the tournament for a payout might be the better call.”
He also wondered—maybe Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were broke because they’d spent so much money with him.
Especially since, according to An’an, they’d been training longer and longer at the chamber lately.
“If they had more money, they’d probably do even more business with me.”
Though a thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, only a moment passed in the real world.
Then Xiong Wenwu replied respectfully, “I haven’t interacted with them much, but you can tell just by seeing them in action—they’ve got steel wills and iron hearts.”
“Anyone who can claw their way out of poverty like that can’t possibly be soft.”
“From the way they handled themselves in both the martial arts and athletics tournaments, their Dao Hearts are definitely solid.”
“If they join the Dao Heart Test, they’re very likely to place.”
“If we can spend 700,000 or 800,000 to keep them out, it’d be well worth it.”
…
At White Dragon High.
Yu Xinghan knocked on the door. “Senior, why aren’t you replying to my messages?”
A voice snapped from inside, “Quit bothering me!”
“I’m so done with this crappy Student Council!”
“As high schoolers, our main focus should be studying, grades, and competitions!”
“Why the hell do I have to deal with this endless petty garbage too? How am I supposed to focus?!”
Yu Xinghan said, “But isn’t this stuff your responsibility?”
The other person barked, “Only because the last president dumped all the garbage on me.”
“But now the old guard’s all graduated—I’m top dog at school!”
“I’m done with this Student Council. Not staying a day longer.”
“From now till college interviews, I’m focusing on one thing—my cultivation.”
“Take it up with Song Hailong from the Song family. He’s the new vice president.”
So Yu Xinghan brought Song Hailong in and explained the situation.
Yu Xinghan: “That’s the story, Little Song.”
Song Hailong replied calmly, “It’s not just the Dao Heart Test. Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen will probably keep doing this for every future competition.”
“They’re not like us. No shot at the Ten Great Academies. Doesn’t matter how many medals they win or how stellar their resumes look—might as well cash out.”
As the golden boy of the Song family, Song Hailong had heard plenty of rich folks grumbling about Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen hogging the spotlight.
He said quietly, “It’s just a shame I won’t get the chance to beat them in a competition again.”
Yu Xinghan: “Save the monologue. Just tell me—how much are you planning to offer?”
“You know how strong those two are. If they compete, they’ll definitely place.”
“I think 1 million to keep them both out is a steal.”
Song Hailong gave Yu Xinghan a strange look, sensing he was way too enthusiastic about this.
Yu Xinghan cleared his throat. “I’m just looking out for White Dragon High’s success. Of the three elite schools, we’ve got the strongest lineup. If Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen back out, our students are the most likely to place.”
Song Hailong frowned. This was his first time dealing with such a matter as the new VP: “Isn’t 1 million a bit much?”
Yu Xinghan quickly countered, “Too much? If they drop out, your ranking in the competition’s guaranteed to go up by one or two places. You’re telling me that’s not worth a million?”
“And it’s not even our money—it’s the school board’s.”
He patted Song Hailong’s shoulder, voice subtly forceful: “We’ve fought against Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen for so long. Who knows them better than us?”
“As top first-year, this is my professional opinion. Think it over.”
Watching Yu Xinghan walk off with a smug little smile, Song Hailong thought, “With Zhang Yu out of the picture, Yu Xinghan will probably snag first place. No wonder he’s so invested.”
Then again, college admissions were on the line. It made sense.
Once Song Hailong nodded in agreement, Yu Xinghan finally allowed himself a satisfied smirk and strode away.
Turning a corner, he pulled out his phone and messaged Zhang Yu: 1 million—deal.
Zhang Yu: [Thumbs up] Don’t worry, you’ll be taken care of.
…
At Songyang High.
Fu Ji read Yu Xinghan’s message and laughed. “Told you that kid would take a cut, didn’t I? I’ve been around Kunxu for a long time—you think I can’t spot a kickback when I see one?”
Zhang Yu checked the other replies. “Purple Cloud’s offering 600,000 after tax. Red Tower’s doing 700,000. White Dragon’s paying 1 million flat. No wonder they’re the top three—generous enough to pay the taxes for me.”
“That’s 2.3 million total. After I give Yu Xinghan his 100k cut, we’re left with 2.2 million.”
“Split between me and Ah-Zhen, that’s 1.1 million each.”
Seeing that number, Zhang Yu finally relaxed a little.
He’d been burning money non-stop for cultivation lately. His bank balance had dipped to just over 300,000.
Now with an extra 1.1 million, he could breathe easy for a while.
“At least until the first round of the Foundation Establishment exam next month.”
Then he sighed. “Too bad we won’t be able to sell our spots in the Dao Techniques competition.”
“And the next big tournament isn’t until next year.”
He and Bai Zhenzhen had wanted to sell off every competition left in high school, but the top three schools wouldn’t buy them all.
Partly due to the high price and long process, but also because people doubted Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen would still be this competitive next year.
Zhang Yu opened his contacts list.
Bai Zhenzhen asked, “Yuzi, you’re going to use the sigil your foster mother left?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling lost out this time. No way they’re letting this slide.”
Bai Zhenzhen agreed, “When it comes to actual strength, we’re still a bit behind those two.”
“If they start coming at us with nonstop duels, it’s gonna be hard to focus on studying.”
Zhang Yu said, “That’s why I was thinking—maybe it’s time to bluff a little.”
He recalled Zhou Chechen’s earlier comments. “He seemed suspicious that we had someone backing us. Pretty cautious, too.”
“If we spook him a little more, maybe we can buy ourselves some time.”
Then Zhang Yu opened the image of a Freezing Sigil on his phone.
The Freezing Sigil—one of the charms left behind by Zhang Pianpian—could freeze another person’s bank account. The higher their Faith Level, the shorter the freeze.