Shortly after Zhang Yu finished contacting Zhang Pianpian, several digital contracts arrived in his inbox.

These contracts outlined the promotional requirements for Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle, as well as details about commercial shoots and spokesperson obligations.

The compensation, specifically, was…

“Spokesperson fee: 600,000 a year, paid in three installments…”

Zhang Yu stared at the amount, his heart surging with excitement. This was the most money he’d seen since arriving in Kunxu.

But then he remembered—he should’ve earned more. It was that damn Le Jingchen, tagging him and Ziyun with the “peerless prodigy” label, tanking his commercial value. The thought made Zhang Yu seethe with anger all over again.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen’s face was also flushed with excitement at her 400,000 fee.

“Haha! Sure, I didn’t rank as high as Zhang Yu this time, but at least I don’t carry the peerless prodigy label. Unlike Yuzi, I didn’t attract a flood of clout-hungry talent-chasers.”

Of course, the contracts also came with their restrictions.

For example, they weren’t allowed to deny using Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle—or dissuade others from using it.

They also had to stick to the official explanation for lacking surface-level symptoms: partly due to their own high level of control, and partly because of the Xianyun Group’s superior technology, which allowed them to adapt quickly and avoid visible signs.

Both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were also required to state that their athletic achievements were primarily thanks to the Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle.

Other restrictions included: no criticizing the product, no using new body-refining techniques from Purple Cloud Pharmaceuticals or Red Tower Pasture… and so on, and so on.

But after seeing the payout, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen both shrugged it all off as minor details.

Not long after they signed the contracts, a group of staff and a fitness influencer specializing in body-refining arrived in the lounge area of Songyang High School to interview Zhang Yu.

Thanks to Zhang Pianpian's heads-up, Zhang Yu was prepared. He quickly pulled Bai Zhenzhen in front of the camera with him…

“That's right, everything we’ve achieved today is thanks to the body modifications provided by Xianyun Group’s Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle…”

“I used to be a hopeless student who couldn’t even break into the top ten in my grade. But ever since getting the Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle, I’ve had a bigger appetite, my injections don’t hurt anymore, I focus better in class, and I bulk up faster too…”

“If you're afraid of falling behind, get the Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle. I truly believe that students who don’t upgrade will lose their competitiveness and get weeded out by the tides of high school.”

As the interview went on, a growing crowd of students and teachers from both regular and elite high schools gathered around.

Zhang Yu soon noticed that many in the audience, even onlookers, were heading toward the nearby Xianyun booth to inquire about the product.

Especially after the interview wrapped up, Zhang Yu saw student after student—faces filled with longing and hope—running toward the booth like lambs to the slaughter. It stirred something complex in him.

Right then, the Evil God disguised as prayer beads at his chest muttered, “What’s with the sigh? Feeling sorry for those poor bastards?”

“If they don’t spend their money here, they’ll spend it somewhere else. Someone’s gonna bleed them dry—might as well be us.”

Zhang Yu moved to a quiet corner and muttered under his breath, “I don’t pity them. The technique does work, after all.”

“Heh, does it really?” the Evil God chuckled darkly. “Qi Refinement has hard caps. Dao Heart maxes out at Level 10. Mana caps at 100. Physical strength? Same—Level 10.”

“You think these students you’re up against wouldn’t hit those limits on their own, given more time without the Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle?”

Zhang Yu paused, but the answer was already in his heart.

Everyone here was a lifelong academic overachiever. With enough time, pushing their cultivation to the Qi Refining cap wouldn’t be an issue.

The Evil God spoke in a low, ghostly voice. “Long ago, scoring above 650 on the college entrance exam and placing in a competition or two over three years of high school would’ve guaranteed you a spot in the Ten Great Academies.”

“Then the score requirements started creeping up. Students had to max out their numbers in just three short years—squeezing five or ten years of cultivation into a single sprint.”

“Then came the comp reform. The pressure to win competitions moved from senior year to sophomore year… then all the way to freshman year.”

“Now it’s come to this: using Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle to reach sophomore-year levels as a freshman.”

“This fancy tendon muscle tech? All it does is extract the power they could’ve trained up anyway—just faster.”

“But just like when they pushed performance-enhancing supplements, when everyone starts using them, the Immortal Dao deadweights are still deadweights.”

“They still won’t get into the Ten Great Academies, still won’t earn a Foundation License. Their endgame is still capped at Qi Refinement.”

“How is this different from the old days, before all the pills and tech?”

“Oh wait—it is different. Now these Immortal Dao failures have even more debt.”

“See it now? These body-refining techniques exist for one purpose only: to help them compete in high school.”

“But no matter how hard they try, no matter how they fight, the number of Ten Great Academy slots won’t increase. The number of Foundation Licenses won’t rise. The Qi Refining cap won’t move.”

The Evil God let out a chilling laugh. “It’s all a game—played by the Ten Great Academies and corporations.”

“But what a game! They make the kids pay up willingly. Even we Evil Gods can’t match that hustle.”

As the Evil God snickered, Zhao Tianxing cautiously walked over, hoping to ask Zhang Yu about Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle.

He had declined Songyang High’s special cultivation program earlier—partly because it was brutal, and mostly because he feared wasting his family’s money for nothing.

But seeing Zhang Yu’s results had ignited a strong interest. He’d witnessed Zhang Yu’s rapid progress firsthand.

Zhao Tianxing hesitated before asking, “Yu, is Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle really that good? Can it help close the gap between us and the elite high schools?”

Zhang Yu nodded. “Yeah. It’s powerful. Without it, I wouldn’t have gotten first place.”

Zhao Tianxing’s eyes lit up. “So, do you think I should get it too?”

Thinking of the contract clauses, Zhang Yu nodded again. “Yeah, it’s a good choice.”

Zhao Tianxing grinned. “So you really think I should go through with the enhancement?”

Seeing Zhao Tianxing so excited, seemingly ready to commit, Zhang Yu half-joked, “Well, I’m also strong thanks to Natural Body Forging. That’s what gives me fine control over my physical growth.”

Zhao Tianxing took it as a joke and laughed along.

The Evil God disguised as prayer beads sneered. “Still trying to hint he shouldn’t spend the money? Give it up. Everyone’s switching to the new tech. If he doesn’t, he’s out of the race early.”

“And those Immortal Dao scrubs won’t listen to you anyway. You try to warn them, they’ll just think you’re holding them back.”

“Mess around and you’ll break your contract and lose your friends.”

“This is Kunxu. The way of the world. You think one person can change it?”

Off to the side, He Dayou strained his ears, listening in on their conversation. Hearing this much, he scoffed internally: “Natural Body Forging? Not a damn thing about him is natural.”

Then a thought struck him: “Wait… is he trying to discourage us from using Synthetic Demon Tendon Muscle? Afraid we’ll catch up to him?”

Worry crept in. “I already had the transplant done. Will it conflict with the tendon enhancements?”

Zhang Yu looked around, sensing the stirrings in his classmates’ hearts.

He felt a twinge of helplessness. It was as if he could already see each one of them, slowly turning into beastly, half-human creatures.

At this rate, Songyang High should just rename itself to Songyang Monster Zoo.

“No, give it a few years and the entire city of Songyang will turn into Zootopia.”

The Evil God muttered, “Kid, you still have time to worry about others?”

Zhang Yu stepped aside and said quietly, “You’ve been awfully chatty today.”

“Just taking a break, saving my strength,” the Evil God said with a sly grin. “Besides, with all these eyes watching, I’m just trying to avoid giving us away.”

“Kid, this arena’s full of blind fools. They’ve only seen a sliver of your true talent. If they knew the whole picture, they’d tear you apart and study every inch.”

“But even now, plenty of them already resent you. And your sister… she’ll be leaving for college on the second floor of Kunxu in two months, right? When that happens, a lot of them will come for you…”

Zhang Yu said coldly, “What are you trying to say?”

The Evil God coaxed, “Don’t you want to unleash your full potential? Don’t you want to become stronger, richer, so that even after your sister’s gone, you can protect yourself… support Bai Zhenzhen… maybe even reach the second layer of Kunxu together…”

Clearly, though the Evil God hadn’t spoken much lately, he’d been observing closely—learning more and more about Zhang Yu’s situation.

Zhang Yu didn’t respond aloud, but in his heart he muttered, “Of course I want to go further.”

He glanced at the Feathered Tome, wishing it would go ding ding ding and level him up by a hundred thousand in one shot so he could blow Kunxu sky-high with one punch.

“But what’s the cost?” Zhang Yu murmured. “Trying to trick me into hunting down your fellow Evil God again?”

The Evil God smiled. “Now, now. Trick is such an ugly word. I’m just reminding you—you always have a backup plan. If you hunt another Evil God for me, your potential will skyrocket! Explode! Go berserk!”

Though Zhang Yu said nothing, the Evil God knew: the seed had already been planted.

It was only a matter of time before he took that path.