When Jiang Liu and Li Dongze returned to the classroom from the Illusion Realm map, a crowd of classmates immediately surrounded them, firing questions from every direction.
"What was the second-round map like? Was it hard?"
"How'd it go? Did you two make it to the third round?"
"Any potential tough rivals? We can help you take them out tonight!"
As the only two people in the class to make it into the second round, Jiang Liu and Li Dongze felt the weight of everyone's expectations. If either of them won the King of Parkour title, Third Middle School's Senior Three, Class Three would become famous across the city. Their classmates would be proud too—and finally have something to brag about.
King of Parkour? Oh, he's my classmate. We pissed together for three years.
"Of course we made it!"
Li Dongze lifted his chin, looking smug. "My family's got plenty of money. How many people in the whole city are qualified to sit down and eat with my dad? This little event was nothing. I won it with a flick of my hand!"
He looked so full of himself, and no one had seen him exhausted and sprawled like a dead dog.
Jiang Liu was much more modest than Li Dongze. He smiled politely and replied, "It was a little tough, but I still managed to make it into the third round."
As soon as the two finished answering, the whole class broke into excited cheers and applause.
"Awesome, Brother Ze! Let's grab a drink tonight!"
"As expected of my Brother Ze! You're treating us to dinner, right?"
"Hold on, Brother Ze's got money. What's Jiang Liu got?"
"Luck, I guess."
Li Dongze had been getting a little carried away by all the praise, but when someone brought up Jiang Liu, his face immediately fell. He curled his lip and said sarcastically, "He's an absurdly lucky guy. One pull and he got a top-grade magic artifact; one shot and he got a Supreme Spiritual Root."
"He must own the Permanent Pool. He pulls magic artifacts as easily as if he were stocking shelves. Even money can't compete with that."
The classmates fell silent.
Only then did they remember seeing Jiang Liu covered in glittering magic artifacts during the first round, with a pair of wings strapped to his back.
At the time, they'd thought he'd borrowed money to show off. Who would've guessed...
"Damn it, the thing I hate most in this life is lucky bastards!"
"One shot for a Supreme Spiritual Root? Holy crap, you even have a Supreme Spiritual Root?"
"Damn you, Jiang Liu! You're the worst!"
When they learned where Jiang Liu's magic artifacts had come from, the class erupted in furious complaints. They made no effort to hide their envy and resentment.
They were afraid their buddies would have a hard time—but even more afraid they'd be driving a Land Rover.
Jiang Liu's face darkened as he listened. Keep cursing, and I'll put on all my magic artifacts and blind you every day!
Just then, the Head Teacher walked in from outside. He frowned at the noisy classroom and shouted, "Quiet!"
"Jiang Liu, come with me. The Principal wants to see you!"
"Get lost, all of you! Don't you have any cultivation to do?"
Jiang Liu grumbled as he shoved through the ring of classmates and followed the Head Teacher out of the classroom. "What does the Principal want with me, Teach?"
"How should I know?"
The Head Teacher led Jiang Liu to the principal's office, then shoved him inside and urged him, "Be nice to him."
Jiang Liu stumbled into the office, and a wave of scorching heat hit him in the face. Besides the Principal, there was a fiercely burning fireball. It was even more intense than before; the figure inside was almost impossible to make out.
He glanced at Su Weiyang in confusion, then greeted the Principal. "Hello, Principal. What did you want to see me about?"
The sixty-year-old Principal stood at the edge of the room, his face red from the heat. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he forced a smile. "Jiang, congratulations on making it to the third round of the event. I called you here because I'd like you to help Su Weiyang."
"Help her?"
Jiang Liu blinked, puzzled. "How?"
With a fireball this big standing right there, he didn't even dare go near her. Flames born of a Pure Yang Body and a Supreme Fire Spiritual Root were more than even the Thousand Hammer Golden Body could withstand.
"Ahem. You have a Supreme Water Spiritual Root, don't you?"
The Principal cleared his throat. "Water overcomes fire. I'd like to see if your water spiritual energy can suppress her flames."
"You can see for yourself—she's almost impossible to make out. It's already having a huge impact on her daily life. You're both the pride of Third Middle School, so there's no harm in helping each other."
Use my water spiritual energy to suppress her flames?
Jiang Liu paused, then looked Su Weiyang up and down. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'll give it a try, but I can't promise it'll work."
He didn't mind helping. They were classmates, after all, and lending a hand wouldn't take much effort.
Besides, she had a naturally occurring Pure Yang Body and a naturally occurring Supreme Spiritual Root. When the time came to establish a sect, a genius like her would be the first choice for an elder.
No need to say anything else—first, he'd get her to owe him one.
"Su Weiyang, sit down cross-legged first," Jiang Liu said.
"Thank you. Sorry for the trouble, Jiang Liu."
After thanking him, Su Weiyang obediently sat down on the floor. She understood her situation better than anyone. If even a Supreme Water Spiritual Root couldn't help, there probably wasn't any solution in the short term.
Jiang Liu sat down a meter away from Su Weiyang. Feeling the flames scorching his face, he let the water spiritual energy in his body slowly surge and rubbed his hands together. With a grave expression, he said, "Try to keep it under control. I'm about to use my power."
"Um..."
Su Weiyang looked at Jiang Liu, who was sitting right in front of her, then at his hands, which shimmered with a watery sheen. As if she'd thought of something, she hesitated before asking, "Could you do it from behind instead?"
A meter apart, sitting face-to-face, hands, using his power...
Even though she was engulfed in flames, she was still a young woman.
"No need."
Jiang Liu answered casually, then reached out with one hand.
"Wait!"
Su Weiyang's eyes widened. She was just about to move back, but suddenly froze.
The water-shimmering hand wasn't reaching for her chest. Instead, it was covering her head.
"What is it?"
Jiang Liu wrapped his hand in water spiritual energy and stopped just outside the flames, puzzled.
"Sorry, it's nothing."
Su Weiyang looked a little embarrassed. She lightly brushed back her hair and, keeping her expression composed, said, "Go ahead."
Jiang Liu nodded. Water spiritual energy surged as he shaped his hand into a claw and plunged it into the flames. His eagle claw clamped directly onto Su Weiyang's crown.
Hiss!
That's hot!
Still, it didn't feel as bad as the hammer from the Thousand Hammer Golden Body.
He gripped Su Weiyang's head with one hand, ignoring the burning flames. The water spiritual energy in his body flowed out through his palm, dispelling the heat as it slowly seeped into her body.
The spiritual energy of a Supreme Water Spiritual Root was exceptionally potent. The moment it surged out, the flames surrounding Su Weiyang subsided a little, gradually revealing an utterly ordinary figure.
But in less than two seconds, as if sensing an outside invader, Su Weiyang's Pure Yang Body and Supreme Fire Spiritual Root began to fight back. The flames surged once again, clashing with Jiang Liu's water spiritual energy from a distance.
So stubborn?
Jiang Liu frowned slightly and unconsciously tightened his grip. Su Weiyang's mouth twitched, and she silently clenched her teeth.
That's a head, not a basketball!
"Um... forget it. It's fine."
PS: I changed the alchemy section earlier. People were giving me hell, so I revised it: low-level pills become ineffective when used by people at higher cultivation levels. For example, a Foundation Establishment cultivator or a Golden Core cultivator who takes the lowest-grade Qi Refining Pills can only get +1, +1, +1. Something like that.
Before you continue