"Then… can I pay a little money to get this poor guy to let me… touch him? Just a bit?"

But the mere thought of touching him brought the scenes from the arena flashing back through Le Mulan's mind. The memory made her nauseous, and the Heart Technique she’d just stopped practicing seemed to naturally resume itself, trying to pull her out of this torment.

If she had merely disliked Zhang Yu before, enough to still hold a conversation with him, then after what happened on the stage, she now felt an intense physical revulsion at the idea of any contact.

“No, I have to change my mindset. I must overcome this weakness.”

“How can a rich person be afraid of a poor person?”

With that thought, Le Mulan steeled herself and forced the Heart Technique to stop again.

“But I can’t start off too aggressively. It has to be light, just a little.”

“Maybe I can observe their training sessions? No, that’s still too close... too disgusting. I need something even lighter.”

“Or maybe I can give up on physical contact for now and just buy some of Zhang Yu’s clothes to try?”

The thought of clothes soaked with his skin flakes, grease, scent, sweat, and who knows what other filth nearly made her gag.

“No, still too disgusting. Lighter than that…”

After agonizing over it, Le Mulan finally decided to just download Zhang Yu’s friend-circle photos and start by looking at pictures of the poor every day.

“If I can look at his photos without getting grossed out, maybe then I can level up and try touching his clothes.”

…

On the way home, Zhang Yu looked at the 5,000 yuan that had just arrived in his account and bought himself a new weighted training suit. His last one had been destroyed during the Martial Arts Combat Tournament.

That purchase cut 2,000 from his balance, bringing his savings down to just under 13,000.

When the weighted suit arrived, Zhang Yu changed into it immediately and rushed back to the unfinished building to train.

Late that night, the 24-hour cooldown period finally ended, and he was able to switch the Feathered Tome’s specialization to Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.

This technique had only one move, but that move demanded the coordination of every muscle and tendon in the body. Every strand had to stretch or contract in unison, requiring extreme bodily control.

But for Zhang Yu...

“Difficult?”

“The harder the better. Otherwise how would I stand out from the rest in terms of talent?”

Standing with his feet shoulder-width apart and arms relaxed at his sides, Zhang Yu followed the instructions from the digital manual and began activating every muscle and tendon.

On the first try, of course, it was impossible. His body felt chaotic—he would miss a leg muscle here or a tendon in his hand there.

If this had been the original Zhang Yu, learning Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy solo would’ve meant training each muscle group and tendon individually, subduing them one by one before integrating everything—a process that could take months.

But now, just one rough attempt left Zhang Yu feeling a surge of electricity running through his body. A flood of memories and sensations poured into his mind, all centered on how to control every muscle and tendon.

Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy mastered!

At that moment, he felt an unprecedented control over his muscles and tendons.

Inside the abandoned building, Zhang Yu activated the technique again. With a resounding internal boom, every muscle and tendon stretched simultaneously.

His whole body visibly expanded several inches, like a balloon pumped with air. That “air” was the strength of his fully activated muscle network.

"Too easy. Again!"

Zhang Yu grinned, triggering another full-body exertion. As his muscles pulsed and flexed, his blood surged hotter, and white mist began rising from him into the cold night air.

He knew this was the hallmark of Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy: using muscle to stir blood, blood to stir bone marrow, and the chain reaction to enhance muscle, bones, and explosive power.

In a flash, after ten consecutive exertions, he leveled the technique up to Level 2.

But the strain hit him just as fast. He felt like he’d just gone ten rounds with Song Hailong.

“Body-refining techniques are way more demanding than combat ones.”

“Each practice session of Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy is like setting off every cell in my body at full power. The energy drain is massive.”

Zhang Yu sat down, simultaneously training his Heart Technique to reinforce his Dao Heart while trying to recover his stamina.

Half an hour later, feeling rejuvenated, he stood back up and resumed practicing Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.

The night passed in a blur. Though he had to rest after every dozen or so reps, Zhang Yu managed to push the technique all the way to Level 6 (43/60).

At that moment, his body trembled. Blood and Qi surged through him like roaring waves.

He let out a long breath, and his entire body felt utterly drained.

“So tired.”

“So hungry!”

…

Songyang High.

Cafeteria.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were devouring their synthetic food in huge bites.

As for their former disdain for the stuff? All they could say now was: “Tastes amazing.”

After all, today’s synthetic food wasn’t like the horrible stuff from before—it was cheap, convenient, nutritious, and for two students now focused on Body Refining, it was perfect.

But across the table from them, Qian Shen and Zhao Tianxing looked glum. Their meals sat mostly untouched.

Because after school yesterday, they’d attended a special training session for the sports competition team. After signing all kinds of confidentiality contracts, they finally learned the truth behind the so-called Special Nurturing Program.

Just remembering the details made Zhao Tianxing feel suffocated.

The Special Nurturing Program involved older students—upperclassmen—donating their muscle fibers. These were then transplanted into younger students using Songyang High’s advanced Immortal-Path technology, where they would fuse with the recipient’s original muscle fibers.

With the aid of Immortal-Path methods, not only would this fusion instantly boost one’s physical strength, the newly transplanted fibers could also continue to be trained and refined, leading to continuous improvement.

In other words… muscle fibers from second-year students would be fused into Zhao Tianxing and his peers, giving them part of a physique that had already benefited from an extra year of cultivation.

To put it bluntly: First-years could buy meat from second-year poor kids. Second-years could buy from third-year poor kids.

This was the so-called Special Nurturing Program—something Zhao Tianxing found unimaginably cruel and barbaric.

Especially when he saw the price list yesterday. That had truly shaken him.

Rows of names from the second-year class were laid out like a restaurant menu—each name paired with prices and ratings for specific muscle groups: trapezius, deltoid, supraspinatus, biceps…

What stunned him even more was seeing Shuang Youpeng, the former top student in their grade, listed among the names.

The whole thing made Zhao Tianxing feel like his mind was falling apart.

He remembered clearly the conversation he and Qian Shen had with Lan Ling.

Lan Ling, the second-year top athlete and a member of the sports competition team, was also one of the enforcers of this Special Nurturing Program.

By comparison, Wang Hai was only in charge of daily training for the team and had no real authority in the program. His “Ace PE Teacher” title came solely from the team’s past successes.

…

Zhao Tianxing had asked, “If we’re buying their flesh, what happens to them?”

Lan Ling had replied flatly, “Don’t worry. We’ll leave them the roots. With proper food and exercise, they’ll grow back.”

Zhao Tianxing’s breath had quickened. “So they just grow meat, cut it, grow meat, cut it… like livestock?”

Lan Ling smiled. “Humans are worth way more than cows or sheep. At these prices, they’re making a decent profit.”

“That’s not the point,” Qian Shen had blurted out. “You’re basically paying for muscle strength. Isn’t that the same as buying points in PE class?”

Lan Ling had nodded, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Qian Shen protested, “How can you buy points with money?!”

Lan Ling said coolly, “Why not? Of course you can buy points.”

“Where do you think your cultivation comes from? The injections, the techniques, the knowledge… where do you think it all comes from?”

“From money.”

“And why do you think you’re here, standing in this program, while Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen—who have better scores—aren’t?”

“It’s because your families could afford the sponsorship fees.”

“Money buys better grades. Money buys points.”

“Sponsorship fees?” Zhao Tianxing blinked. He suddenly recalled how his parents had recently been talking about selling the house—and in that moment, he understood.

Qian Shen still looked shaken, unwilling to accept what he was hearing.

On the side, He Dayou offered some comfort: “Come on, Qian Shen. That’s just how the world works. Money’s what matters most. If you’re worried about people knowing you bought muscle, relax—everyone signed nondisclosure agreements under the eyes of the Divine Officials. No one will leak it.”

As the son of a School Board Chairman, He Dayou had known about this long ago. He now turned to Lan Ling with a grin. “Senior, I’ve made my selection. After I sign the contract, can we start the transplant surgery today?”

To officially begin the Special Nurturing Program—transplanting muscle fibers—one had to first sign a contract, which of course included granting the school and Student Council full authority over your future university and major choices.

But He Dayou wasn’t worried.

As the son of a School Board Chairman, he had no such restrictions on what schools or majors he could apply to.

Still…

He couldn’t help glancing at Zhao Tianxing beside him. He knew Tianxing wanted to join the competition team and take part in the Special Nurturing Program. But that would mean giving up the right to choose his university.

Because his family wasn’t quite rich enough. They’d barely managed to pay the sponsorship fee.

He Dayou silently scoffed, “Small-time family. Still miles away from Songyang City’s real upper crust.”

Beside him, Lan Ling nodded in response to his question. “Each day, a small part of the transplant will take place. You’ll feel your body getting stronger every single moment.”