Zhang Yu felt a sudden chill in his lower back—then something burrowed into his dantian and Qi Sea, where it began to “take root and sprout.”

It wasn’t the first time Zhang Yu had rented a Spirit Root. The moment he sensed the change within his dantian, he immediately guessed what it was.

“Why do I suddenly have a Spirit Root in my dantian?”

The next thing he felt was that Spirit Root rapidly spreading after it “took root and sprouted,” weaving through every inch of his flesh and bone like a nervous system—until it felt completely, eerily like a part of his body.

And as his Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique continued to passively breathe in and out, the Spirit Root now running through him also pulsed with his every inhale and exhale—quickly drawing in spiritual energy from the air all around.

“Hss—!”

Like rain after a long drought, spiritual energy surged into his body. Zhang Yu could feel every fiber of his being yearning hungrily for it.

After all, for someone like him—cultivating without a Spirit Root—his body was constantly in a state of spiritual deficiency.

Now that spiritual energy was flooding in from head to toe, Zhang Yu felt a surge of overwhelming comfort. His Level 10 Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique roared to life, stirring the surrounding spiritual currents into a frenzy.

And this sudden change didn’t escape Bai Zhenzhen’s notice.

Especially since she could vaguely sense her own Spirit Root now residing inside Zhang Yu’s body.

“My Spirit Root ran off into Yuzi’s stomach?”

Bai Zhenzhen felt a flicker of surprise. “What the hell? I was planning to lend it to Yuzi after he got down on his knees and begged me like ‘Mom, please!’ But now it just ran off on its own?”

Annoyed, she reached toward Zhang Yu’s stomach and started pawing around, trying to pull her Spirit Root back out.

Feeling her hand groping around his lower abdomen, a ticklish sensation spread through him. Zhang Yu quickly said, “Ah-Zhen, what are you doing?! Quit touching me! We’re gonna crash! We can’t afford to kill anyone!”

He abruptly slowed his Sports Car Legs and came to a stop by the side of the road, setting Bai Zhenzhen down.

Still empty-handed, she grumbled, “Did my Spirit Root really run into your stomach?”

Zhang Yu instinctively touched his abdomen. “This thing’s yours?”

He thought, “Didn’t the Evil God say this was Ah-Zhen’s original Spirit Root—not one she rented? But how could it end up inside me?”

The Evil God Plushie disguised as prayer beads was also shocked. “Her Spirit Root can transfer bodies?”

Bai Zhenzhen, unaware of Zhang Yu’s thoughts, assumed he still didn’t know the truth about her Spirit Root.

But now that it had jumped into his body, she figured there was no point hiding anymore.

She nodded directly and bit out, “I’ve been nurturing that Spirit Root for over a decade. Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Zhang Yu wanted to say it felt amazing—but seeing how pissed she looked, he held his tongue.

Instead, he curiously asked, “Why did your Spirit Root come to me?”

“I’ve had a Spirit Root in my belly since I was a kid,” Bai Zhenzhen sighed. “It’s different from ordinary Spirit Roots—it seems to grow along with me.”

“And starting these past couple years, it’s been able to adapt and evolve based on what I’m thinking.”

“Like, when you said you wanted to borrow a Spirit Root, I started wondering if it was possible.”

“And then today, this stupid thing just ran into your stomach on its own!”

Zhang Yu’s jaw dropped. “Wait, there are Spirit Roots this crazy?”

Bai Zhenzhen, still ticked off, reached out again and groped his stomach.

Then she gave him a scornful look and clicked her tongue. “What a hassle with no root of your own. Just a few pokes and you’re already reacting? Want me to give you a minute to take care of that?”

Zhang Yu nearly exploded. You think I don’t know how crazy my blood and Qi have been lately?! This felt like your best friend barging into your room and catching you with a tissue in one hand and the other deep in your pants.

And in that moment, Zhang Yu suddenly got why Songyang High had a sterilization policy.

If they didn’t enforce it, with all these hormonally supercharged and status-obsessed teenagers constantly rubbing up against each other… there’s no way the test scores wouldn’t tank.

Under Bai Zhenzhen’s judgmental gaze, Zhang Yu stumbled back. “Don’t rush it! Think—how exactly did the Spirit Root get inside me earlier?”

After some discussion and experimentation, Bai Zhenzhen had Zhang Yu carry her on his back again.

As she clung to him from behind and focused on mentally calling her Spirit Root back, she suddenly felt a warmth in her belly—her beloved Spirit Root had returned.

And as it did, a torrent of spiritual energy surged into her body, flooding her limbs and meridians.

“Hss—!”

She gasped, startled. “Why does it feel like this thing’s absorbing spiritual energy even faster than before? And it’s poking into places I normally don’t channel mana to?”

But soon, the Spirit Root seemed to finish adapting to her body again and settled back into its usual rhythm.

A curious thought bloomed in Bai Zhenzhen’s mind. “Could it be… when it entered Yuzi, it adapted to his body and changed shape? And now that it’s back, it’s reverting to mine because it didn’t stay long enough?”

Intrigued, she wondered, “What if it stayed longer? What if it adapted even more to Yuzi’s body… what would happen?”

Meanwhile, with the Spirit Root gone from his dantian, Zhang Yu could feel the spiritual fullness fading. A sense of loss rose within him.

That’s when Bai Zhenzhen said, “Yuzi, I’m gonna try passing my Spirit Root to you again—get ready.”

A moment later, he felt it return—once more taking root and sprouting in his dantian.

Spiritual energy rushed into his body, making him feel invigorated.

“This… this is what real cultivation feels like.”

As good as it felt, Zhang Yu knew this Spirit Root was crucial for Bai Zhenzhen’s future—her ticket to the Ten Great Academies.

So he clenched his jaw and said, “Alright, Ah-Zhen. Better take it back before something goes wrong from all this back-and-forth.”

But Bai Zhenzhen replied, “It’s fine. Let’s leave it with you for a few hours. I want to test something.”

“Huh?” Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. “Then… wanna borrow the Talisman Book for a bit?”

“Hand it over!” Bai Zhenzhen reached into his chest and yanked it out. “My Spirit Root’s worth at least a few billion. This Talisman Book is mine now—consider it collateral.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “Now hurry to school, or Su Haifeng’s gonna go feral.”

So Zhang Yu ran to school with Bai Zhenzhen on his back.

She leaned against him, flipping through the Talisman Book while casually describing the features of the Spirit Root.

Zhang Yu suddenly said, “You keep saying ‘the Spirit Root’—isn’t it confusing? Shouldn’t it have a name?”

Bai Zhenzhen blinked. Ever since childhood, she’d always kept it a secret. After entering high school, she never even mentioned the Spirit Root to anyone.

So in her mind, she always just called it “Spirit Root.” After all, she knew which one she meant.

Now, hearing Zhang Yu’s question, she nodded. “Hmm… what should we call it?”

Zhang Yu said, “It’s yours, so how about… Zhenzhen Spirit Root?”

“So lame,” Bai Zhenzhen pouted. “Let’s just call it Zhen Spirit Root. And once we’re back, I’ll tell everyone I lent you a rental Spirit Root.”

She grinned. “Hehe, that’ll help reinforce the idea that mine’s just a lease.”

And so, on the rest of the way to school, Bai Zhenzhen continued explaining the Zhen Spirit Root’s incredible functions:

Stealth, self-concealment, accelerated martial arts cultivation, combat flaw detection, enhanced mana refining, and her current favorite—body-refining assistance.

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up brighter and brighter, itching to dive into a hardcore training session.

The entire time, the Evil God Plushie disguised as prayer beads watched and listened.

Her judgment?

Idiots.

“Idiots! Idiots! Zhang Yu, you moron! This is a heaven-defying Spirit Root—you should’ve killed her and stolen it by now! I’ve got a hundred ways to hide the body—no one would ever find out.”

“With this Spirit Root, forget the Ten Great Academies—you could aim for grad school. No—PhD-level cultivation!”

“If you don’t act now, what if she backstabs you later? You think someone like her will let you hold onto a secret like this forever?”

But seeing the trust between Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, the Evil God Plushie knew they wouldn’t listen. Speaking out would just make Zhang Yu hate her more.

“Damn it… this is the curse of being poor. Always trusting friends, emotions, ‘loyalty’—all useless crap that just gets in the way of making money!”

“Money! Only money matters!”

Back at school, Zhang Yu skipped everything except the general education classes like Chinese and math—he’d already mastered the entire high school curriculum.

He even ditched his mana and combat classes.

His mana instructor Ms. Yan and combat teacher Lei Jun were both old acquaintances who knew his current level in mana control and martial arts. High school content really couldn’t help him anymore, so they let him off the hook.

With PE already off his schedule too, Zhang Yu now had most of the school day free for focused cultivation.