Two hours later, Le Mulan limped out of the training hall, her arms and legs covered in bruises of various colors. Yet there was a gleam of excitement on her face.

"My adaptability is pretty fast. At this rate, I’ll overcome my psychological aversion to the poor in no time."

"That way, even if I switch Heart Techniques later on, my performance won’t suffer..."

Meanwhile, back in the training hall, Zhang Yu lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath like someone who’d just been pulled out of a pool.

The air around him—and his whole body—was saturated with the strong scent of medicinal fluid.

"What the hell is with this woman... how much medicine does she take every day? Does she eat it like food?"

But after a short rest, Zhang Yu felt a surge of dragonlike vigor coursing through his body.

Even though he’d been brawling with Le Mulan for two intense hours, not only did he not feel drained—he actually felt more energized. His Mana was circulating faster, livelier.

"Is this the effect of the leftover medicine on Le Mulan?"

Zhang Yu swore to the heavens: as a devout Natural Body Forging cultivator, he had not, at any point during their scuffle, licked even a single drop of that medicinal fluid.

"Lick? Hell no. I was holding my breath half the time. And it still got to me?"

The old Zhang Yu’s internal organs had been damaged by improper medication, so the current Zhang Yu had always been careful with his dosages—never taking anything unless absolutely necessary.

It was all to avoid the side effects of overmedication.

And yet now, feeling his own body’s reaction, Zhang Yu thought, “Could skin contact alone be enough?”

“And why does it feel better than the medicine I usually use?”

“It doesn’t even have that usual oppressive backlash...”

Just as Zhang Yu was walking out of the training hall, Fu Ji suddenly spoke.

“Leaving already?”

Zhang Yu paused. “Is there a problem?”

Fu Ji asked, “You’re not going to collect the medicine?”

Zhang Yu blinked. “What medicine?”

Fu Ji gestured. “Isn’t it all over the floor?”

Zhang Yu glanced at the steamy puddles on the ground and scowled. “Why would I collect that?!”

Fu Ji replied, “Like she said herself, Le Mulan only uses the top-tier stuff. These rich folks, even their sweat is worth more than the meds you take.”

“Though, to be fair, there’s a lot of your sweat mixed in now. The purity’s definitely lower.”

“But if you sold it as a supplement, you could probably make a few thousand...”

Zhang Yu turned on his heel and left. “Hell knows what’s in her medicine. What it does, what side effects it has. And I don’t even have a license to sell medicine—what if I get caught?”

Fu Ji sighed inwardly. She’d been about to suggest that even if he didn’t sell it, he could bring it home and give it to Bai Zhenzhen to drink... but thought better of it.

“This Zhang Yu still has too much of that broke-boy pride,” Fu Ji thought. “You’re already scraping the bottom. At this point, if it saves money or makes money, what wouldn’t you do? Using every scrap of resource to climb upward—that’s the true Kunxu mindset.”

Zhang Yu glanced down at his torn pants. Walking home like this didn’t seem like a great idea.

So he messaged Le Mulan: “You tore my pants.”

Money transfer: 200.

Payment received.

Zhang Yu added, “I meant, could you send me a new pair?”

A little over ten minutes later, Lian Tianji showed up with a pair of pants in hand.

“Were you just doing combat training with the sacred Number One?” he asked curiously.

Zhang Yu nodded. “Yeah… tore my pants.”

He took the pants and thanked Lian Tianji.

Looking at Zhang Yu’s tattered clothes, Lian Tianji could imagine how intense the battle must’ve been.

He thought to himself, “Man, I’d love to spar with the sacred Number One too. Instead of just delivering pants after the fight.”

“Too bad I’m too weak. I only get close to her when I’m being used as a stool.”

Watching Zhang Yu’s receding back, Lian Tianji mused, “Only a top student like Zhang Yu can spar with the sacred Number One—can stand and fight beside her. The rest of us can only crawl to get close...”

…

As Zhang Yu walked out of the training hall, he kept monitoring his condition.

“Is the medicine still working? Better observe for another day.”

“If there aren’t any side effects, maybe it’s because the quality of Le Mulan’s medicine is so high—less backlash.”

“Or maybe my body is getting stronger, my organs more resilient, purging past toxins…”

“Or maybe it’s both?”

After thinking it over, Zhang Yu decided to keep sparring with Le Mulan.

After all, 12,000 yuan per hour—24,000 for two hours—was hard to turn down. If he had to soak in some medicine for that kind of money, well, he’d put up with it as long as it wasn’t fatal.

Later, when he returned to the underpass, Bai Zhenzhen still hadn’t come back from the hospital. Zhang Yu figured he might as well start cultivating a new Technique.

The 300,000 yuan prize had already arrived in his account, and he’d been itching to spend it. He immediately dropped 120,000 on licensing the Great Sun Qi Sea Technique.

After that expense—and adding in today’s earnings from sparring with Le Mulan—he still had over 210,000 left.

He skimmed the digital manual and thought, “Just as advertised—not a very difficult Technique.”

“The key is steady practice. In that case…”

Feathered Tome: Zhang Yu! Let me see your limits!

With a quick shift of specialization, Zhang Yu began cultivating the Great Sun Qi Sea Technique.

Though it was an expert-grade mid-stage Qi Refinement Technique, Zhang Yu’s stats were already high—higher than many sophomore students at Songyang High. He met the requirements with ease.

He halted his continuous Zhou Tian Qi-Gathering Technique, recalling all circulating Mana back to his Dantian.

Then, drawing out a wisp of Mana, he gradually refined it into a golden, glimmering thread of Great Sun Mana.

He began weaving this Great Sun Mana through his meridians, establishing a new circulation pattern.

Refining the energy while shaping the new circulation—Zhang Yu found it surprisingly smooth. His mastery from cultivating so many level-10 Techniques made this feel almost effortless.

What surprised him more, though, was how—stimulated by residual medicinal power—his Mana flowed even faster than usual.

As he continued cultivating, Zhang Yu felt mentally sharper too—like he could skip his usual Neural Filler tonight.

“Is this Le Mulan’s sweat again?”

“Not just restoring stamina, boosting Mana, but also enhancing focus and eliminating sleep?”

Zhang Yu recalled what Fu Ji had said.

“This woman... is her sweat really better and more valuable than the medicine I bought for the tournament?”

“Damn rich people…”

In that moment, Zhang Yu found himself unexpectedly empathizing with those desperate folk who snuck into White Dragon High’s sewers to steal wastewater.

He’d just had the fleeting thought of maybe... collecting some of Le Mulan’s sweat next time he visited Purple Cloud High.

“Stop, Zhang Yu!”

“Don’t let Kunxu change you!”

“That’s not who you are!”

Zhang Yu shook his head, forcing himself to refocus on the Great Sun Qi Sea.

Nine minutes later, as the first cycle of the Technique completed, a flood of insights poured into Zhang Yu’s mind—little cues about the nuances of its circulation.

He also noticed his body temperature rising—hotter and hotter by the second.

In the darkness, specks of light drifted toward him.

Moonlight from the sky. Neon lights from afar. The twinkling lights of a thousand homes across the river… All these Light essence were being drawn into Zhang Yu, making him glow faintly in the night.

Fu Ji watched from the shadows, thinking, “He really did it.”

“Cultivating the first layer of the Great Sun Qi Sea normally takes a full month of exposure to light, just to get used to the energy. But he did it in mere moments.”

“This kid’s potential... just as I suspected. As long as he trains, he grows fast—he can even bypass some of the Technique’s usual bottlenecks.”

Even as she thought this, Zhang Yu pressed on with his cultivation, spreading Great Sun Mana throughout his body, drawing more light into himself until he practically radiated.

By the time Bai Zhenzhen returned to the underpass, Zhang Yu had pushed the Great Sun Qi Sea to Level 1 (4/10).

He was glowing faintly from head to toe, and when he opened his eyes and mouth, Bai Zhenzhen could see light spilling from both.

“Is this the Great Sun Qi Sea you mentioned?” she asked, wide-eyed. “You’re glowing like a Christmas tree. Isn’t that a bit conspicuous?”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. “Yeah, it’s a bit flashy. But I’m planning to rent a place soon—should be fine if I train indoors.”

Bai Zhenzhen laughed. “So you’re telling me you’ll save on the electric bill?”

Zhang Yu shook his head. “Probably not. The essence of this Technique is absorbing light to refine Mana, not emitting it.”

“If I train in a room, I’ll probably need high-wattage bulbs shining directly on me for maximum efficiency.”

Bai Zhenzhen clicked her tongue. “So this Technique’s a real power hog, huh?”

Zhang Yu continued, “But it gets better over time. As the Great Sun Qi Sea levels up, it gets better at absorbing light. Eventually, I won’t glow at all while cultivating—just the opposite, it’ll get darker.”

“By then, I’ll just stand outside at night and soak up the lights from skyscrapers.”

As she listened to Zhang Yu’s explanation, Bai Zhenzhen marveled aloud. But as she stepped closer, a sweet fragrance wafted toward her.

She blinked in surprise. “Yuzi, what’s that smell on you? It’s... really nice.”