High School Student with Immortal Race System

Four people gathered on the Yang Family’s Celestial Platform today.

Yang Shen and Xu Bamboo started with sparring practice as a warm-up.

Meanwhile, Huang Gang and Zhao Mengmeng watched from the side.

To be honest, just watching was quite beneficial for them.

While Xu Bamboo’s entire set of techniques was far beyond their reach, most of Yang Shen’s moves were derived from the "Sixth Set," which was truly enlightening for them.

Of course, the strength of the two also left them dumbfounded.

Now more experienced, Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen were clear about each other’s strength and no longer held back. Every clash carried immense power, and muffled thuds echoed endlessly. As they exerted their force, the black waterproof layer of the Celestial Platform rippled like a viscous liquid.

But this second clash left Yang Shen quite surprised as well.

He gained an unfailing 8 to 9 points of Qi and Blood Value every day, which he immediately consolidated into his Martial Arts Realm. In five days, he had grown to a value of 287, just a single step away from entering the Marrow Refining stage.

At this rate, he was practically a new person every couple of days. Combined with little "hacks" like his Fist Intent and the Buddha Sound Body Refining Technique, his combat ability was off the charts.

’How are we still evenly matched?’

’Is Zhuzi using hacks too?’

In the middle of the fight, Yang Shen found a moment to ask, "Zhuzi, what’s your Qi and Blood Value now?"

Xu Bamboo grinned cheekily. "520!"

Yang Shen was stunned. ’No way she isn’t using some kind of hack. She was only at 460 during the Training Camp, and now she’s at 520...’

’Is she already at the Mid-stage of Marrow Refining?’

’Even if her hack isn’t as big as mine, it’s still a hack.’

Halfway through the fight, Yang Shen suddenly said, "Zhuzi, let me show you a new move."

Xu Bamboo stood gracefully at the edge of the Celestial Platform. "Show me."

Yang Shen finished his warm-up. The source energy inside his body was fully mobilized, flowing in a harmonious and powerful cycle.

Although his Advanced Fist Intent, the "Rising Sun Wheel," still required a wind-up, Yang Shen was becoming more and more proficient with it.

A moment later, Yang Shen threw a sudden punch into the air, and the space in front of him began to distort with scorching heat.

Xu Bamboo caught sight of this, a look of surprise on her face.

Yang Shen said, "This is my Advanced Fist Intent. From what I’ve figured out, after mobilizing the ’source energy’ in my body with Fist Intent, I gain the ability to affect the outside world. Director Liang has a unique ’steelification’ effect, too."

The temperature of his "Flame Fist" still wasn’t high enough to create an open flame out of thin air, but it was growing increasingly hotter.

In truth, there was no need to use such a technique in a friendly spar. It would be too easy to lose control. Inflicting sterilizing wounds was for enemies; he couldn’t bear to use it on Zhuzi.

Yang Shen was, to some extent, just showing off.

Xu Bamboo pointed at Yang Shen, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitating.

"What’s wrong? Pretty amazing, right? Fist Intent really is incredible."

"It’s not that, Shenzi... Your school uniform is on fire."

Yang Shen: "..."

"HOLY SHIT!!"

...

In the end, Yang Shen couldn’t save his school uniform.

Fortunately, his "Flame Fist" only affected his upper body at the moment, or things would have been truly awkward.

The two sleeves of his uniform were scorched black. It just goes to show that polyester has been the sovereign material of school uniforms since time immemorial.

What a joke.

Yang Shen had no choice but to take off his shirt, leaving him bare-chested. He felt a pang of regret for his uniform and a sense of helplessness.

The school sold those crappy uniforms for 250 a set!

Xu Bamboo looked at Yang Shen’s chiseled muscles, her gaze a little evasive. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from peeking, as if her eyes were drawn by magnets.

One moment attracting, the next repelling.

Huang Gang stepped forward and sized him up. "How tall are you now, Yang Shen?"

"Measured this morning. 178."

"Holy shit, you’re growing that fast?"

He used to be a little bit taller than Yang Shen, but now he’d been surpassed!

Seriously! What the hell was the deal with this Fist Intent?

Was it some kind of miracle elixir? It improved his performance, raised his realm, strengthened his combat skills, made him taller... it even made him handsomer.

A cure-all?

Yang Shen already had masculine features, but since he started practicing the Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique, his skin tone had become even and healthy, and his face looked more vibrant. Even he felt the change was significant.

One could only say that Cultivation was the best form of cosmetic enhancement.

If the player sucks, don’t blame the character model.

Afterward, Yang Shen and Xu Bamboo each spent some time coaching Huang Gang and Zhao Mengmeng.

The former had reached the late stage of Skin Refining after the Training Camp, while the latter was still floundering in the early stage of Bone Training, a ways off from the Mid-stage.

So aside from giving them more experience through sparring, teaching them the Sixth Set of Initial Body Forging Technique was the most effective way to boost their progress.

In comparison, Huang Gang’s comprehension was relatively poor, but his "Reappearance Ability" was strong. Even if he only half-understood, after a couple of tries, he could perform the moves more or less correctly.

Zhao Mengmeng, on the other hand... was the exact opposite. Her comprehension was excellent, and her foundational knowledge was solid. She understood everything as soon as it was explained, but the moment she tried to do it, she failed.

It seemed the Innate Thunder Saint Body didn’t necessarily equate to cultivation talent.

Yang Shen and Xu Bamboo also gained something from the process. Watching the two of them made them fully realize...

’So this is what bad students are like...’

Two hours later, the four of them sat on the edge of the Celestial Platform, watching the crimson afterglow of the sunset on the distant horizon slowly fade.

In its place, the dazzling neon lights of Jianghuai City began to appear.

It was too far to see clearly, but the feeling it evoked was one of deep longing.

Zhao Mengmeng kept pulling at her collar, trying to cool down, but there wasn’t enough slack in the fabric, so she rolled up her sleeves instead.

Huang Gang, keenly aware of his role in the group, volunteered to go buy drinks. Yang Shen offered to treat, but he used the money Huang Gang had given him.

"Sooner or later, I’m gonna go out and make my mark..." Huang Gang chugged half a bottle of coke and pointed ahead. "Jianghuai... I wonder what it’s really like."

Zhao Mengmeng asked in surprise, "You’ve never been?"

It wasn’t close, but it wasn’t that far either. Zhao Mengmeng went every couple of months for one reason or another, like accompanying her parents.

Huang Gang shook his head. "Never. I always felt like I didn’t have what it takes to go before. I was afraid people would look down on me."

Zhao Mengmeng was speechless. "It’s a city of nearly 30 million people. Who’s gonna know who you are? No one’s looking down on you. It’s all in your head."

"Doesn’t matter, I’ll go eventually anyway! I will absolutely not be a nobody for my whole life, just to end up lying in a hospital bed with a catheter, waiting to die. I’m going to become a legend in Jianghuai!"

"And if I can’t do it, I, Huang Gang, will lie down and eat shit!"

The other three shifted away from him, speechless. The guy had basically made eating shit his catchphrase.

As the conversation turned to this topic, Yang Shen subconsciously glanced at Xu Bamboo.

Although Jinshui District had its own "rich people"—for instance, the wealth of the district’s richest man was beyond what ordinary people like them could imagine—but he still felt that for someone from Xu Bamboo’s family background, especially considering the investment her family made in her education, attending Nanliang High School was still a bit strange.

’But... if Xu Bamboo and I both get into Jianghuai Sports Academy, and my family moves to Jianghuai City, then none of this will be a problem anymore.’

Thinking of this, Yang Shen secretly opened the system in his mind to check his quests.

The Spirit Plant business was starting to show some promise, so he wondered if the system had registered any changes.

"Side Quest: One Spirit Stone Stumps the Nascent Soul Cultivator."

But as he was reading, he paused when he got to Option 2.

"Option 2: If heaven offers a gift and you refuse it, you will suffer for it. 1,200 li to the southeast, there is an Exotic Treasure of considerable value. You may take it for your own use."

’Huh...?’

’Wasn’t it 3,600 li a few days ago...?’

’This thing can move?! And it’s not slow!’

Treasures of Heaven and Earth belong to the virtuous... Is virtue itself coming to find me?

Yang Shen frowned and opened his phone to check the map... 1,200 li, which was 600 kilometers, was still just a stretch of open sea.

To him, the only difference was between a closer part of the sea and a farther one—both were areas he couldn’t reach...

’Unless this thing can come ashore... For example, if it’s cargo on a ship...’

As he was lost in thought, Yang Shen suddenly received a text message.

The contact wasn’t saved, but after reading the content, his entire demeanor darkened.

A moment later, he said softly, "The morning after tomorrow... which is Sunday. Zhuzi, Huang Gang, let’s the three of us go somewhere."

Xu Bamboo asked, puzzled, "For a study group? Why in the morning?"

Yang Shen shook his head. "No... It’s Teacher Zhou Yao’s funeral."

His words dissipated into the night wind, and the air suddenly felt unbearably stuffy.

Only Yang Shen had left his number with Teacher Zhou Yao’s parents at the hospital entrance, so he was the only one to receive the invitation.

But he felt that Xu Bamboo and Huang Gang should go too.

Half a month had passed. He wondered if the old couple had managed to sort through their emotions.

The four of them sat on the edge of the rooftop in silence, especially the three who had attended the Training Camp.

After a long silence, Yang Shen let out a heavy breath. "We should wear... something formal."

——————