5 Minutes 31 Seconds

Zhou Leng did not head with Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao to the skewer shop they used to visit until after he had seen Xu Qingjin to the entrance of her residential complex. They ate skewers and chatted as they went.

By the end of it, Hu Yi finally could not hold it in any longer and spoke about what had happened to him.

Before the college entrance examinations, a minor mishap had struck his family, and the money intended to buy him pills had been used to pay off debts.

He had not tested well, so he simply tore up his admission letter and planned to become a long-term worker at Pioneer Corporation.

But Jiang Yan, the deputy team leader, had repeatedly obstructed him. Unable to bear it any longer, he cursed Jiang Yan out and then quit.

He was now working as a waiter at a nightclub, taking odd jobs for the time being while slowly looking for other work.

Once he had finished, Zhou Leng and Feng Wenhao looked at each other, at a loss for what to say.

Feng Wenhao sighed. "Neither Zhou Leng nor I have much social experience, so we don't know how to help you. But I still suggest finding a stable job."

To their surprise, Hu Yi smiled. "Actually, I've figured it out lately. I've also laid everything bare with my parents. I'm lying flat now."

"This..." Zhou Leng and Feng Wenhao exchanged glances.

Hu Yi said, "In any case, I suddenly understood. We're all beasts of burden anyway, so I might as well retire the moment I graduate. I'll take a few odd jobs, and as long as I don't starve to death, that's enough. If I really can't survive, I'll go to Demon City and use my life to fill the trenches. That's still better than my parents working their fingers to the bone all their lives and ending up with nothing."

The two of them tried to persuade him for a long while, but Hu Yi kept smiling.

At last, Hu Yi mocked himself. "Not only am I lying flat, I'm going to become an onlooker who lives for the fun of it. How comfortable is it to lie flat and watch the spectacle? I know you mean well, but there's really no need to persuade me. Retiring fifty years early means enjoying life fifty years early. I'm already planning to buy a fishing rod."

Zhou Leng sighed. "Fine, we won't persuade you anymore. But I suggest you learn some basic skills, at least enough to ensure you can survive. Get a driver's license or something. I don't have much money, but if you're short on cash for the license exam, come straight to me."

"Alright!"

Zhou Leng looked at Hu Yi. "If anything happens in the future, as long as there's something we can help with, just speak up. Don't feel embarrassed."

Feng Wenhao said, "I can't compare with Zhou Leng, but advancing to the Blood-Circulating Stage or even the Body-Refining Stage should be no problem. Zhou Leng will advance to the Blood-Circulating Stage in a few days, too. He'll count as a minor expert in his own right then. We might not be able to handle major matters, but small matters will absolutely be no problem."

"Alright!" Hu Yi said with a smile.

After they had laid everything out in the open, Hu Yi instead seemed more at ease.

By late at night, Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao were drunk beyond recognition. Zhou Leng remained sober, paid the bill, and sent them both home.

Reeking of alcohol, Zhou Leng walked back beneath the Frost Giant Tree.

Big Yellow sniffed him, then barked loudly at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng pounced on Big Yellow, rubbing its head as he said, "You really are destined to worry your whole life."

Big Yellow drooped its face and glared at Zhou Leng indignantly.

When Zhou Leng woke up, he checked the time.

01:37.

Leaning against the Frost Giant Tree, Zhou Leng sat lazily and habitually opened his Demonic Wristwatch.

There was no signal.

Big Yellow lay belly-up, sleeping soundly, its pink-white stomach exposed.

Zhou Leng took his backpack and counted his pills.

He had finished all his Qi-Nourishing Pills and Marching Pills.

The military training over the past few days had been too intense. In addition, he had practiced the first move of the Standing Elephant Chapter twice and consumed quite a few Great Supplement Pills.

Because his high ranking had kept earning him rewards, he still had thirty-two left, worth thirty-two thousand yuan.

Zhou Leng calculated carefully.

"Every time I practice the Ten Inverse Beast Fist, I have to take a Great Supplement Pill. Otherwise, my body will suffer lasting damage."

"For ordinary school training, the meat in the cafeteria is enough to replenish me. But for occasional high-intensity training, I need to take at least one a day."

"I heard the instructor say that Meat Medicinal Diets are best not interrupted. Their value is second only to the first three Origin-Replenishing Pills."

"One Meat Medicinal Diet meal per day costs one thousand yuan, or thirty thousand a month. Until I save up enough for the third Origin-Replenishing Pill, I still can't afford to eat it every day."

As Zhou Leng thought this, he took out the Origin-Replenishing Pill Principal Lu had awarded him.

The second one.

Zhou Leng first got up for a light jog, then circulated his energy. After warming up, he swallowed the Origin-Replenishing Pill.

After taking this Origin-Replenishing Pill, he did not expel waste from his body as he had last time.

There was only a faint layer of oil over his skin, as though he had gone several days without bathing during a sweltering summer.

Zhou Leng checked the time. It was still early, so he circulated his energy and observed himself.

There was no obvious change in his true qi, but under the National Divine Ability, "Martial Path Perception," his body seemed more refined than before.

It was as though coarse gravel had transformed into fine sea sand.

The damage in his body had been repaired even further.

"As expected of an Origin-Replenishing Pill..."

Zhou Leng stood up, jogged lightly for a while, and then began running at full speed while circulating his energy.

His true qi depleted, he lowered his head to check the time.

5 minutes 31 seconds.

His final test on the school track before the Martial Examination had been 3 minutes 9 seconds.

For someone in the Qi-Nourishing Stage, maintaining an energy-circulating run for five minutes was a major hurdle, the basic standard for Qi-Nourishing Perfection.

Five minutes thirty seconds, meanwhile, was the limit of Qi-Nourishing Perfection.

Zhou Leng was clearly only at the tenth level of Great Accomplishment, still one small step away from Qi-Nourishing Perfection.

Feeling that his body was in excellent condition, Zhou Leng first practiced his punches, then cultivated. After wringing every last drop from his strength, he picked up the second Golden Page and studied the Divine Script representing the "Standing Elephant Chapter."

Only the image of the first move appeared in his mind.

Zhou Leng assessed his physical condition, slept first, and then practiced the Standing Elephant Chapter.

His body leaned forward, his back arched, and one arm rose while the other lowered, making him resemble an elephant.

The image of the Standing Elephant Chapter appeared before his eyes, and he circulated his true qi along the route shown in the image.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...

The nineteenth cycle.

Zhou Leng's body swayed, and with practiced ease, he placed a Great Supplement Pill in his mouth.

He lay on the ground, facing the sky.

Previously, he could only complete eighteen cycles of the first move of the Standing Elephant Chapter.

Now, he could complete nineteen.

On Monday morning, Class 01's martial arts hall was bustling with noise.

"Who do you think will take first place in the Practical Combat Tournament?"

"Definitely Xu Kang'an. They're both in the Blood-Circulating Stage, but the purple on everyone else's bodies is practically invisible. The purple outside his blood vessels is unbelievably clear."

"Could Zhou Leng have a chance?"

"For Zhou Leng to win, two conditions have to be met."

"Which two?"

"First, the opponents he meets at the beginning need to fight him quickly, so they don't drain his true qi."

"Second, he still needs to have true qi left by the time he reaches the finals."

"Yeah, Zhou Leng's amount of true qi is a weakness."

"So Zhou Leng should be able to make the top eight, then lose in the semifinals because he lacks true qi."

"Once he reaches the Blood-Circulating Stage, he can compete for first place in the monthly exam."

Zhou Leng ate five rounds of breakfast in the cafeteria, then strolled leisurely toward Class 01's martial arts hall and waited beneath a willow tree nearby.

He checked the message Instructor Deng Zhijue had sent him. He had arrived five minutes early.

Before long, Deng Zhijue, dressed in camouflage fatigues, approached.

"Hello, Instructor," Zhou Leng said.

Deng Zhijue nodded. "How did you rest?"

"Very well."

"I called you over this time to discuss scholarships and subsidies. Let's talk about the scholarship first..."

Deng Zhijue explained to Zhou Leng, point by point, the scholarship matters he had told Wang Boxiong about, then reminded him of several details.

Zhou Leng listened carefully and recorded some of it in his Demonic Wristwatch.

Deng Zhijue continued, "Besides that, there are also clerical subsidies. Have you done any research in areas such as pills, martial arts techniques, demonized items, knowledge of the Ten Realms, or Divine Script? Ideally, something where you can obtain a qualification certificate. In any case, choose what you're best at."