High School Student with Immortal Race System

At seven in the morning, Yang Shen arrived at school earlier than usual.

The campus wasn’t completely empty, but it was still relatively deserted.

The group of eight disciples was already waiting at the entrance, every one of them full of energy.

From a distance, Yuan Rui clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute. "Good morning, Master Yang."

The remaining seven, a beat slower, all saluted in greeting as well.

This slight delay wasn’t due to a lack of enthusiasm.

It was rehearsed! The visual effect was even more striking than a perfectly synchronized greeting, a two-part harmony showcasing their devotion to their benevolent master!

Yang Shen nodded and led them to a corner of the athletic field. The Martial High School’s field was always in use, and many people glanced in their direction.

They wondered why these big shots on campus had gathered together.

Yang Shen opened his school bag and took out four large, brownish-black bottles. "Here, the goodies I mentioned yesterday. Half a bottle for each of you. Let’s try a different flavor."

Yuan Rui’s face turned green. He gritted his teeth and pulled a supplement from his own backpack.

"Master Yang, this is the ’Life Zero’ I brought..."

Cao Wei took hers out as well. "This is my ’Initial Realm Passage Essence Liquid’..."

Tian Zihan said, "Master Yang, this is my ’Huayuan Treasure’."

Eight different kinds of Supplements made for a dazzling array. The total Source content was about the same as in Yang Shen’s four bottles, but the only thing they had in common was that they were all more expensive than his.

But it didn’t matter. It all evened out in the end, as Yang Shen made up for the price difference with his tutoring fees.

Yang Shen glanced around, decided to drink something familiar, and brought the "Initial Realm Passage" to his lips for a sip. "Alright, time is tight. You all drink up and get to class."

The eight of them hesitated but still divided the mysterious black liquid among themselves.

Then, one by one, their faces turned even darker than the concoction.

Most of them couldn’t finish it at all, vowing not to touch it again after just a few sips.

Even Cao Wei, whose Life Chart came with a "self-torturing tendency," couldn’t handle it.

’She’d rather have Master torture her for three days and three nights...’

Only Tian Zihan was different. The guy literally pinched his thigh as he drank it all, and he even rinsed out the dregs from the bottles the others couldn’t finish, not wasting a single drop.

The top of his thigh was pinched purple!

His family truly had no savings left. The money from selling their house was almost gone. If the Gaokao had been postponed by even half a month, his family would have run out of food.

He treasured every single supplement as if it were his own child!

The end result was that he’d traded one of his Supplements but ended up downing all the leftovers from the others!

Though it almost killed him, it was a blessing in disguise for Tian Zihan. He’d struck gold!

It became his own painful pre-workout boost for the final Gaokao sprint!

’I can never repay Master Yang’s kindness, never!’

Once the potions were gone, Yang Shen didn’t care whose stomach they’d ended up in and started the morning lesson right away.

He gave them targeted guidance based on their weak points from the last monthly exam.

He even conducted practical combat drills with a few of them.

Among the eight disciples, their speed of Strengthening Qi and Blood Value had increased thanks to their improved mastery of the "Sixth Set."

Yuan Rui and Cao Wei, in particular, had a chance to break through to Mid-stage Marrow Refining before the Gaokao.

This was already an exceptionally high achievement for Nanliang High School. Not counting Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen, you might not even see one top student like this in an entire grade.

Whether they could actually do it depended on whether their "Caihua" could keep up. However, neither of them was short on money; Source Supplement wasn’t the bottleneck in their Cultivation.

Of course, even if they did break through, they would barely reach a Qi and Blood Value of 500—just scraping by right before the Gaokao.

It was a world apart from Xu Bamboo, who was already over 640, or Yang Shen, who was planning to break through to Late-stage Marrow Refining.

The P.E. teachers had also been teaching the "Sixth Set" for many years. Even if they weren’t renowned masters, they should have been more experienced. So why was Yang Shen’s guidance more effective? How could he help this year’s top students improve even further?

The answer lay in "Qi Sensitivity."

Besides his own mastery of the "Sixth Set" far surpassing that of an ordinary P.E. teacher, when Yang Shen placed his hand on a disciple’s body, he could vaguely sense the flow of "Source" within them.

It was nowhere near as clear as sensing it in himself, but it was enough to make targeted adjustments.

For comparison, a Martial Artist had to reach the True Gang Realm to have any sense of Source, or Spiritual Qi, and they had to reach the Jade Viscera Realm to clearly inspect the condition of another’s body.

But on the Cultivation Side, one could achieve this at the second layer of Qi Cultivation.

Of course, he would never say this out loud. He just converted it into colloquial terms like "Exert Force" or "power application."

Yang Shen placed his hand on Cao Wei’s slender wrist. "Your force exertion is still off. Keep adjusting."

Cao Wei: ’I’m not washing my hands today!’

He patted Cao Wei on the back again. "The Spinal Dragon needs to be straight but not stiff. Relax a little."

Cao Wei: ’I’m not showering either!’

An hour later, the morning lesson ended. The disciples respectfully took their leave, and Yang Shen returned to the classroom.

Because it had run a bit long, it was almost time for class to start when he got back. The Chinese teacher was already standing at the podium.

Yang Shen glanced at the empty seat next to him, his expression showing no change.

Xu Bamboo wasn’t here today.

He had sent her a text last night as soon as she left the hospital. Xu Bamboo hadn’t replied, which meant her phone had most likely been confiscated.

Zhuzi must have had a premonition, which was why she’d left her small wallet with him.

It wasn’t until after Chinese class ended that Yang Shen went to find their homeroom teacher to ask if she had any news.

"Xu Bamboo... Her mother requested leave for her. Well, it’s not really taking leave. It’s quite common for students to stop coming to school for the final Gaokao sprint. They have their own arrangements. You didn’t know?"

The homeroom teacher was a little puzzled. Given how inseparable Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen were every day, she thought he would have known before she did.

Yang Shen nodded and said no more.

But after turning to leave, he suddenly remembered something.

"Teacher... we’re about to graduate, and there’s a question I’ve wanted to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Why were Xu Bamboo and I never assigned different seats? I mean, back when my grades were really bad."

The homeroom teacher was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"That’s because..."

***

Back in the classroom during the break, Huang Gang immediately came over. "Yang Shen, Xu Bamboo didn’t come?"

Yang Shen nodded. "She’ll probably be studying on her own until the Gaokao. She’ll just show up at the test center on the day."

Huang Gang thought about it and figured that made sense.

For us broke folk, school is important. For the rich ones... they’re just here for the experience.

"Then... what about our study group?"

Yang Shen had already made a decision. "It’s canceled for now. From now on, you and Zhao Mengmeng come to school at 8 AM every day and join Yuan Rui and the others for the morning lesson. The frequency will be even higher."

Huang Gang looked a little nervous. "I... I’m afraid I won’t fit in with that group of top-ten students..."

Yang Shen blinked. "I think you’re mistaken. They’re not going to ’hang out’ with you at all..."

Huang Gang: ...

After relaying the same message to Zhao Mengmeng, the rest of the day passed without incident. He attended all his classes as usual and held an evening lesson for his eight disciples.

After school, Yang Shen hailed a taxi at an intersection and headed for the address on the card.

But his mind was replaying the homeroom teacher’s words.

...

"That’s because Xu Bamboo requested it herself."

"Xu Bamboo requested it?"

"Yes. It was during the first semester of our second year, I believe. Xu Bamboo’s academic advantage had become more and more obvious. Of course, you couldn’t say your grades were bad back then, since the final sprint hadn’t started yet."

"But I did talk to her about ’changing seats’."

The homeroom teacher covered her mouth and chuckled. "She was extremely unwilling at the time. She came up with a whole bunch of reasons, saying you were good at liberal arts and she could learn from you, that her height would block other students if she moved to the front, and she even promised to work harder... In short, she was terribly nervous."

Since they were about to graduate and were just a step away from adulthood, the homeroom teacher spoke much more freely.

"Honestly, teenage years are all about that one little thing, so I just asked her directly if it was because she liked you."

"Naturally, she couldn’t possibly admit it. But I remember her answer very clearly... She said she was exhausted every day, wanted to give up every day, felt like she was going crazy every day..."

"If it weren’t for you... she might not have been able to keep going at all..."

"She didn’t want to lose her good deskmate."

The homeroom teacher patted Yang Shen’s arm, a fond, knowing smile on her face.

"Back then, Xu Bamboo said she would help you raise your Martial Arts score. She just needed a little time. Once her own grades improved, her family would loosen their restrictions on her, and she’d have the energy—and extra Supplements—to help you."

"You were a part of her motivation to work so hard."

"Now you’re about to graduate, and you’ve become first in the grade. Looking back, it seems like everything was arranged for the best."

...

The taxi hummed along. The driver glanced at the pensive Yang Shen in the rearview mirror.

"Hey, kid. What a coincidence, you’re in my cab again today!"

Yang Shen looked up and realized it was the same driver who had taken him to the hospital last night.

"That is... quite a coincidence."

The driver vividly remembered yesterday’s big fare; he’d knocked off work early and treated himself to a beer.

"What about that young lady from last night? You two aren’t together today?"

Yang Shen rested his cheek on one hand and rolled down the window halfway.

The wind tousled his hair, and the clamor of the city filled his ears.

After a moment, he said:

"I’m on my way to get her back."