Trial Authority

After cleaning up the dishes, Li Ye returned to his room. He didn't go to sleep right away but continued practicing his breathing exercises.

As a third-year high school student focused on martial arts, Li Ye's breakfast, regardless of its richness, was always substantial.

He had meat sandwiches and bread bought from outside, eggs, tofu, milk, a plate of fruit, and a large bowl of fried rice.

Under normal circumstances, Li Ye would be full, and he was now too, but he definitely needed to go out and get something else.

He was full, but his Blood Essence hadn't increased much.

High-quality ingredients were expensive, but daily meals weren't that costly.

Li Ye still had money. He received three hundred yuan in pocket money each week, and he didn't usually have much to spend it on, so he had saved some money.

At six-thirty in the morning, Li Ye rode his electric scooter out of his house. He passed through a street and first arrived at a beef noodle shop.

The noodle shop wasn't large, situated next to an intersection, but it was crowded.

The owner always hand-pulled the noodles. Each bowl cost ten yuan, and there were plenty of customers.

"Boss, ten bowls of noodles."

Li Ye walked into the shop and called out to the owner behind the counter, "Add fried eggs and sausage, medium spicy."

The owner, busy pulling noodles, looked up at him. He didn't seem surprised.

People his age could eat a lot even without practicing martial arts, let alone this much. It was clear he was a student practicing martial arts.

In just a few minutes, the first bowl of noodles was served. The soup, sprinkled with chopped scallions, had a few thinly sliced pieces of beef, and a fried egg was placed on top of the noodles.

Li Ye picked up his chopsticks and ate, like a whale swallowing water. He finished a fried egg in two bites, then scooped up the noodles mixed with beef, and in a few mouthfuls, he cleaned the bowl. He then picked up the bowl and drank all the soup.

His Blood Essence pulsed, showing a slight increase. If he were to quantify it, Li Ye estimated it to be 0.002.

As soon as he finished one bowl, another was served. Li Ye didn't pause, switching to a new bowl and continuing to eat.

In less than half an hour, he had finished all ten bowls of noodles.

80.023.

Li Ye took out his phone, scanned to pay a hundred yuan, and rode his electric scooter to the next stop.

This time, he bought a hundred steamed buns. He ate them as he rode, finishing just as he arrived at school.

80.045.

The increase in Blood Essence wasn't much different, but the hundred steamed buns had cost him one hundred and fifty yuan.

He would experiment again after school to find the most cost-effective method.

At seven-fifteen, Li Ye arrived at the classroom.

"Brother Ye."

"Good morning, Brother Ye."

Li Ye was quite popular in the preparatory class. Besides his good academic performance and an 'Excellent' rating in his martial arts assessment, he was also good at dealing with people.

Living a second life and interacting with a group of kids, he naturally didn't have many conflicts.

As soon as Li Ye sat down, Deng Hao, the chubby kid next to him, called out, "Brother Ye, did you have a demon at your place last night?"

Li Ye looked over, and Deng Hao grinned, "I saw it on my phone. Someone took a video last night, and when I looked, it was at your place, Brother Ye."

"I saw it too,"

Jia Dong, sitting in front of Deng Hao, turned around and said, "Brother Ye, what kind of demon was that?"

Li Ye replied, "A Five Plagues Ghost. Nothing to worry about. Just pay attention to environmental hygiene, and don't let your seasonings or chopsticks get moldy."

"We're not idiots, how could we not tell?" Deng Hao and Jia Dong laughed.

After chatting for a bit, Deng Hao suddenly said, "Summer vacation is almost here. My family found a master for me. I heard he's very experienced. Do you guys want to try too?"

Jia Dong shook his head, "I'll pass. My family isn't as rich as yours. The expenses for martial arts hall are already a struggle."

His preparatory class score last time was 'Good,' giving him the confidence to coast for another year.

"Brother Ye?"

"No money," Li Ye answered even more directly. "I even quit Thunderclap Martial Hall."

"Ah?"

This statement surprised them both. They hadn't heard about this.

Deng Hao quickly asked, "Brother Ye, you're not really switching to liberal arts, are you?"

"No, I just don't think it's necessary anymore. I'm confident I can enter Dragon Gate during the summer vacation," Li Ye said with a smile.

Before the authority arrived, he would switch to liberal arts? After the authority arrived, he would still switch to liberal arts?

Wouldn't that make the authority's arrival pointless?

"Brother Ye is awesome, so confident."

Deng Hao gave a thumbs-up and turned to Jia Dong, saying, "I'll most likely break through in martial arts this summer too. Ah Dong, don't fall behind. Practicing martial arts, practicing martial arts, you can't end up with nothing."

"What's wrong with not passing? Are we going to commit crimes with martial arts? You know I got into a fight last semester, right? The other guy learned Flowing Body Palm, and I lost eight thousand for one move of Old Ape Seals the Mountain!"

Jia Dong rolled his eyes and continued, "We'll fight for another year next year, and if that doesn't work, I'll repeat and switch to liberal arts."

Of the entire preparatory class, including Li Ye's Class 1, it's estimated that 70% will switch to liberal arts after the summer. Those who remain will train for another year in their third year of high school, and if they still can't make it, they'll have to give up.

The Divine Land does not offer repeat years for high school students studying martial arts. While there's a saying in liberal arts that you can fight for another year if you fail, there's no such provision for the preparatory year.

As for the martial track, those who enter it are already established in the Way of Martial Arts and don't need to repeat.

Seven twenty, class begins.

The preparatory class curriculum is half liberal arts and half martial arts. Although not as detailed as the liberal arts courses, it ensures a solid foundation and dedicates half the time to student training.

During class, as usual, they head to the sports field for an hour of guidance exercises before returning for lessons. The morning is spent on Chinese and mathematics, which brings the time to ten o'clock. Then, it's time for laps and climbing.

It's not timed running for records, just simple laps, followed by quick ascents and descents at specific locations, and then more laps. This regimen not only pushes their physical limits but also strengthens their breathing and endurance.

What the school teaches is an expansion of the guidance exercises, not particularly powerful in itself.

Eleven forty, morning classes end. At this point, Li Ye's Blood Essence reaches 80.055.

The influence of the Authority allows him not only to increase his Blood Essence but also to continue cultivating, no longer being in the stagnant phase he was in before.

Not only does eating increase his Blood Essence, but he can also use this infinite consumption for cultivation, achieving twice the results with half the effort.

Preparatory students do not go home for lunch. This is the only perk for them, as there's a dedicated cafeteria for their midday meal.

The ingredients are slightly better than everyday home cooking.

Deng Hao is the first to arrive at the cafeteria. By the time Li Ye gets there, he's already secured a table.

Seeing Li Ye, he waves and calls out, "Brother Ye, we have Ironclad Boar today."

Besides being better than regular meals, the cafeteria's dishes sometimes include some high-quality options.

For example, Ironclad Boar, a type of demonic beast that mutates from wild boars. They inhabit mountains and have hides as hard as iron, with other habits similar to wild boars.

Ningjiang City is bordered by the Yangtze River to the south and mountains to the north. Ironclad Boars often descend from the mountains to raid farmland, but their harm is not significant. Since they are part of the ecosystem and considered a delicacy, they are only culled periodically.

Although the meat is tough and dry, like chewing jerky, it strengthens the body, replenishes deficiencies, solidifies the core, and can even cure hemorrhoids. The effects are immediate.

"Martial track students are really amazing. I heard you need bullets to penetrate an Ironclad Boar," Jia Dong says with envy.

Demonic beasts like these are training opportunities for martial track students. It seems some students from their school are involved in this operation.

With a table secured, others naturally go to get their food.

The stir-fried mixed ingredients consist mostly of pork offal with some other meats.

The pork bone soup is served with pork bones that still have meat on them.

The roasted Ironclad Boar meat is coated in a special sauce. This stuff tastes good even with shoe soles, so the toughness of the meat doesn't matter.

Add a large bowl of rice, and a full meal tray is piled high, like a small mound.

Preparatory students have hearty appetites, and the portions are larger than they can typically eat. If it's not enough, they can get another serving, but usually, they can't finish it.

"This meat is so tough, it's like eating shoe leather."

Deng Hao boldly tears off a piece of meat with his hand, chews it for a long time before swallowing, "Not as good as what my family buys."

"Alright, we know you're rich. Eat up, we still have training this afternoon."

Jia Dong eats slowly, finally swallowing a piece of meat and taking a sip of soup. He looks up at Li Ye, "You're so quiet when you eat, Brother Ye. Brother Ye?"

The two look over and their movements freeze. Their chopsticks, holding food, stop mid-air as they stare blankly at Li Ye, who is devouring his meal like a whirlwind.

Li Ye picks up a piece of the tough Ironclad Boar meat with his chopsticks, bites down, and swallows it without seeming to chew.

He mixes the stir-fry with his rice, and it's less like eating and more like slurping. Half of his food disappears instantly.

Then, with a few more bites of meat, he "slurps" down the remaining rice. He picks up his bowl and drinks the soup clean, even the hard bones in his mouth make a crunching sound, clearly being chewed and swallowed.

"Why are you looking at me? Eat,"

Li Ye picks up his tray and walks towards the cafeteria window. "I'm going to get another serving."

80.1!

This meal increased his Blood Essence more than eating ten bowls of noodles and a hundred steamed buns, plus his morning training!