Zhang Jingjing

The fist wind was fierce, nearly condensing into true qi.

--Beep beep beep, beep beep beep...

The alarm on his phone rang, somewhat out of place.

"Hah..." Jiang Ran let out a long breath and slowly withdrew his fist.

The Vajra Fist, the Liu Household's ancestral martial art—when mastered, it could manifest external qi and shatter rock with a single punch.

With the help of the Superior Spirit Root, Jiang Ran swiftly grasped the essence of the Vajra Fist.

In barely over an hour, he had pushed this fist art to an extremely profound realm, only one step away from mastery.

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Unfortunately, the Superior Spirit Root trial card had expired.

"You're right on time."

Outside the door, the rental company's female manager had been waiting for quite some time.

The Water Spirit Root flew out and returned to the wooden box, its radiance drawing inward.

"The spirit root is intact. Your deposit will be returned through the original payment method."

"Student Jiang Ran, we look forward to your next visit!"

For some reason, watching the spirit root leave his body filled Jiang Ran with an inexplicable sense of loss.

Once the Superior Spirit Root had been stripped away, he became an utterly ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Root cultivator again.

The gap between a Low-Grade Spirit Root and a Superior Spirit Root was simply too vast.

No cultivator who had experienced a Superior Spirit Root would willingly settle for possessing only a Low-Grade Spirit Root for the rest of his life.

Give me a little more time... A fire blazed in Jiang Ran's heart.

I'll definitely transplant a Superior Spirit Root... No, an Earth Spirit Root would do too!

News that Jiang Ran had successfully broken through to Qi Refinement Level Two caused a tremendous uproar in Class Three.

"Have you heard? Jiang Ran broke through to Qi Refinement Level Two."

"That's unbelievable... I remember he was a poor student."

"You sit close to him. When he gets here, make sure to learn a thing or two from him."

Over more than two years of high school, there were not many students who could reliably stay at the bottom of the rankings. Jiang Ran had been one of them.

But now, the former poor student had awakened. His grades kept improving, and his cultivation was charging ahead at full gallop.

Qi Refinement Level Two? There were only three people in Class Three.

One was the class monitor, Cheng Qian. The other two were the class representatives for PE and Ancient Language.

As the PE representative and Class Three's perennial second-place student, Xiao Yichen was practically going mad now.

Class Three's students kept talking around him, and most of it was praise for Jiang Ran.

The rise of the weak and the comeback of a failing student had always been things most people were delighted to see.

What the hell? I was obviously the first one to break through to Qi Refinement Level Two. Xiao Yichen felt utterly stifled inside.

So what if he broke through to Qi Refinement Level Two? I have a Mid-Grade Spirit Root. In the end, he still can't compare to me!

The Xiao Household had once been a major Lineage, owning several large hotel chains in Pingjiang.

As a child, Xiao Yichen had been clothed in silk and fed on delicacies, with access to nothing but top-tier resources.

If nothing had gone wrong, Xiao Yichen would have undergone Spirit Root Transplant Surgery at the age of fourteen. At minimum, he would have received a Superior Spirit Root; if luck favored him, he might even have obtained an Earth Spirit Root.

But later, everything changed. After losing a business competition, the Xiao Household's various industries suffered blow after blow.

When the old head of the Xiao Household breathed his last, the entire Lineage fell into decline.

The companies went bankrupt, the assets were liquidated, and the planned Earth Spirit Root naturally vanished into thin air as well.

Xiao Yichen had always been proud. Born with a Mid-Grade Spirit Root, he believed himself superior to others.

Jiang Ran's appearance had shattered his understanding time and again.

Why? Why could a poor student make a comeback? Why could an ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Root break through to Qi Refinement Level Two just like him?

Jiang Ran walked into the classroom as if nothing had happened and returned to his seat.

The discussion was only natural. It was all within his expectations.

Since he had decided to reveal his talent, he had long prepared himself to face the controversy.

Jiang Ran did not want to become some so-called "genius."

The gun shoots the bird that sticks its head out. A poor student without backing or family status had no right to climb to the very top.

But for now, mere Qi Refinement Level Two was not even enough to make the top five hundred in the grade, so it would not attract too much attention.

"Is everyone here?" The homeroom teacher's voice came from the podium.

Their homeroom teacher, Sun Jun, was an elderly man with a full head of white hair. He was an old teacher rehired by No. 1 High School, with extremely extensive teaching experience.

Sun Jun's gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Jiang Ran at the back of the classroom.

After confirming the steady aura of Qi Refinement Level Two, he nodded slightly, his satisfaction plain to see.

"Everyone should already know that student Jiang Ran has broken through to Qi Refinement Level Two."

"Teacher Sun has told you many times: Qi Refinement Level Two is a threshold."

"If you want to get into one of the top hundred universities, Qi Refinement Level Two is a hard requirement!"

"I know that many of you have every chance of succeeding in a breakthrough, but time waits for no one..."

"There are only a few months left until the college entrance exams. I hope you'll throw every ounce of strength you have into one final charge, so you leave no regrets in life!"

"..."

A homeroom teacher truly was a homeroom teacher. Every word he spoke was deeply inspiring.

The students' fighting spirit was quickly ignited. If Jiang Ran could do it, then they could do it too.

They were all Low-Grade Spirit Roots. There was no reason anyone should be weaker than anyone else.

"Oh, right. Let me announce one last thing." Sun Jun adjusted his glasses.

"For the National High School Spell Competition, each class has five slots. Anyone who feels confident can come sign up."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed at Jiang Ran again.

"Jiang Ran, one of the slots is yours. You have to participate this time."

"Huh?" Jiang Ran froze, clearly not expecting it.

"A spell competition? Me..."

It was still Cafeteria No. 3.

Tao Dapeng dragged Jiang Ran along, desperate to inspect the restroom firsthand.

"Let go! What kind of sight is it for two grown men to be pulling and tugging like this?" Jiang Ran desperately guarded his pants.

"Oh, come on. Be good and let your dad take a look. It won't cost you a piece of flesh."

"It's not..." Jiang Ran was exasperated.

"Tao Dapeng, what the hell are you doing? It's not like we haven't gone to the bathhouse together!"

"That's true..." Tao Dapeng awkwardly let go and scratched the back of his head.

Then he looked at Jiang Ran with suspicion.

"Say, Jiang, you really haven't gotten castrated?"

"Castrate your sister! I'm harder than you!" Jiang Ran flung his hand away and headed straight outside.

"Hey... That can't be right. Then why has your cultivation improved so fast?"

"No, then you must've gotten a vasectomy!"

"Get lost!"

Bickering all the way, the two arrived at the private seating area on the east side of the cafeteria.

Tao Dapeng's suspicions were not entirely without reason.

High school was precisely the age when one's blood and vigor ran hot. As boys' qi and blood flowed downward, it affected all kinds of cultivation to varying degrees.

For the sake of their cultivation and better results on the college entrance exams, quite a few boys chose to undergo "castration" surgery.

Every summer, major hospitals launched promotions where buying one got one free. The surgeries sold extremely well.

Tao Dapeng was a hopelessly untalented failing student, so he had no need to get castrated.

"Jiang Ran, you can't do something stupid like those idiots."

"Cultivation may be precious, but sexual happiness costs more. Aren't you still planning to pursue Zhang Jingjing? If you cut it off, that won't work..."

Jiang Ran's cultivation had been improving far too quickly lately, making Tao Dapeng worry that his best friend had gone astray.

"Tao Dapeng! What nonsense are you talking about?!"

A woman's reproach suddenly came from the neighboring table.

The two girls' cheeks were faintly red.

Clearly, they had heard every word of Tao Dapeng's earnest advice.

"Chen Rong, Zhang Jingjing?" Tao Dapeng stared in astonishment.

"Why are you two here..."