Tang San nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly! Meditation, pills, and practical training—we'll tackle it from every angle! I refuse to believe we'll still lose a month from now!"
"Right! Starting tomorrow, we'll go to class every day and train every day! We'll show those people who look down on us who the real geniuses are!" Oscar, too, had dropped his usual goofy grin, his expression turning serious.
Four hands piled heavily on top of one another.
A flame called "revenge" blazed in their hearts.
They could already picture themselves a month later, standing on the arena before a rapt crowd, their feet planted on the corpses of those four women as the whole stadium cheered.
A new week began.
A curious sight appeared at Spirit Academy.
Tang San, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun—once hailed as "F4" and notorious for skipping class, chasing girls, and getting into fights—had, against all odds, become perfect-attendance model students.
Monday, nine in the morning. In the classroom for the first-year, first-class theory lesson.
Teacher Yu Xiaogang stood at the podium, lecturing at full tilt on Ten Core Competitiveness of Martial Souls.
At the front, the four members of F4 sat upright, each with a brand-new notebook. Heads bowed, they scribbled furiously. Their earnestness made more than a few students in the back wonder if they'd walked into the wrong classroom.
Yu Xiaogang had also noticed these "prodigal sons turned over a new leaf." Deeply pleased, he even raised his voice as he taught.
By contrast, the four seats in the middle of the classroom sat conspicuously empty.
Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Bai Chenxiang—the four former top students—were all absent.
They hadn't just skipped Yu Xiaogang's theory class. They hadn't shown up for Zhao Wuji's practical training that afternoon, either.
This was downright absurd.
The students weren't the only ones baffled. Even teachers Yu Xiaogang and Zhao Wuji were completely at a loss.
The former slackers of F4 had become diligent students who loved studying and trained hard.
Meanwhile, the former honor students of the Slacker Goddess Group had turned into a pack of truanting slackers.
What in the world had happened?
At that moment, in the little shop called the Happy Claw Machine on the pedestrian street west of the school gate—
"Brother Chuan, ahh~~ Open wide." Xiao Wu pinched a peeled grape between her fingers and offered it to Qin Chuan with a giggle. The hem of her pink gauze skirt spread across the floor like a blooming lotus.
A little embarrassed, Qin Chuan opened his mouth and ate the grape. Its sweet-and-sour juice burst across his tongue. It tasted wonderful.
"Brother Chuan, is this pressure okay?"
Ning Rongrong stood behind Qin Chuan, her delicate hands gently kneading his shoulders. She wore her usual blue miniskirt and white stockings, and a faint, sweet fragrance clung to her.
"Mmm, that's good. Rongrong, you're so skilled at this. You'd be wasting your talent if you didn't open a massage parlor." Qin Chuan contentedly narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, you're so mean, Brother Chuan. I only give massages to you." Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed faintly, and she put even more care into her kneading.
Nearby, Zhu Zhuqing was meticulously wiping the floor with a clean rag.
Today she wore a tight black sports bra and matching yoga pants, perfectly showing off her striking, voluptuous figure. Sweat slid down her smooth forehead and dripped onto the floor, only for her to wipe it away at once.
The most obedient of the four, Bai Chenxiang, was washing the curtains they'd taken down yesterday in a large basin by the shop entrance. Her two low ponytails swayed with every movement as she scrubbed.
Looking at this harmonious, lovely scene, Qin Chuan felt a rush of emotion.
What good deeds had he done in his past life? He'd transmigrated to this world, opened a tiny little shop, and somehow ended up with four stunning beauties waiting on him in a different way every day.
They brought him breakfast, cleaned up, massaged him, and rubbed his legs...
Life was practically better than an emperor's.
He had no idea that the four "pure and kind" girls in his eyes were each busy plotting their own little schemes.
[Ding, received food from player Xiao Wu, in a happy mood, membership experience +1.]
[Ding, received a massage from player Ning Rongrong, in a happy mood, membership experience +1.]
[Ding, player Zhu Zhuqing voluntarily cleaned the shop, membership experience +2.]
[Ding, player Bai Chenxiang voluntarily washed the clothes, membership experience +2.]
As the system notifications rang incessantly in their minds, the four girls worked with even greater enthusiasm.
They'd now figured out the rules completely. Anything that made Shopkeeper Qin Chuan happy, comfortable, or helped him out earned them membership experience!
The points they gained each time weren't much, but they added up!
Xiao Wu in particular had somehow shot from Ordinary Member to Silver Member in a single day. That gave the other three a tremendous jolt.
Competition! They had to compete like mad!
Whoever won Qin Chuan's favor first would get more chances to grab prizes and pull far ahead on the road to becoming stronger!
Time flew by amid this strange atmosphere.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
That week, the four members of F4 had trained as if their lives depended on it.
They got up before dawn each day and ran twenty laps around the academy.
After morning theory class, they spent the afternoon at the training grounds, pushing one another through high-intensity sparring.
Dai Mubai activated White Tiger Vajra Transformation several times almost every day.
Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame had burned several patches of the training-ground floor black.
Oscar's Restoration Sausage had become a consumable they went through as if it cost nothing.
They didn't rest at night, either. As soon as they returned to the dorms, they sat cross-legged and meditated, circulating their Soul Power until late into the night.
The rare Immortal Herbs and spirit medicines sent by Dai Mubai's family were practically being eaten like ordinary food.
This punishing, high-intensity cultivation paid off.
In just one week, with all kinds of resources poured into them, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar each advanced an entire level in Soul Power!
Tang San hadn't leveled up, but his Soul Power had reached the middle stage of level seventy-two, and he wielded Titan Hammer with even greater ease.
"Hahaha! This feels incredible!" At the training grounds, Dai Mubai released his Martial Soul Avatar and gasped for breath, his face alight with excitement. "I feel like my Soul Power is at least thirty percent purer than before!"
"Me too! My Phoenix Flame feels hotter!" Ma Hongjun wiped his sweat, just as thrilled.
"At this rate, by the time the arena competition comes, every one of us will be a whole level stronger!" Oscar leaned against the wall. Though he was tired as a dog, his eyes shone with hope.
Tang San stood in the center of the grounds, watching his three brothers' progress. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Keep it up," he said gravely. "A month from now, we'll make the whole academy tremble before us!"
On the other side, Xiao Wu and the others had enjoyed an incomparably comfortable week.
They slept until they woke naturally each day, then went to the Claw Machine Shop to "clock in."
They chatted with Qin Chuan, gave him massages, cleaned up, and then played the claw machines.
What a carefree life!