Short-Term Plans

Lu Yi's running time was far from ideal.

But he had, after all, completed all one hundred laps.

Mu Jin had watched the whole thing. He approved of the few students who had run over time but refused to give up, and neither scolded nor punished them.

But this only made some students who already resented Lu Yi think Mu Jin was favoring him.

Their looks grew even more hostile. They wished they could take his place.

They did not even know what privileges the Deputy Class Monitor had, but the thought of being managed by someone so physically weak made their fists tighten.

After hearing Wu Feng recount what had happened at noon, Ning Tian had been skeptical. She knew Wu Feng too well.

Wu Feng was straightforward, with every emotion written on her face. She could not tell a lie to save her life.

Yet when Ning Tian saw Lu Yi's poor performance in physical training, disappointment washed over her.

"Perhaps he only defeated a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster because his attribute or Soul Skill was a perfect counter?" Ning Tian figured luck must have played a major part. It was the most reasonable explanation she had.

According to the information she had received before class, Lu Yi's background was a complete blank. No one even knew where his letter of recommendation had come from.

In a case like this, either his background was extraordinarily powerful or he had none at all. She certainly leaned toward the latter.

"Forget it. He's just an ordinary classmate!"

Ning Tian took out her little notebook and crossed Lu Yi's name off the list she had copied earlier. Then she looked at another name—Zhou Sichen.

Mu Jin had all the students meditate where they were to recover their strength, and used the time to speak.

"I trust many of you have realized your own shortcomings and the gap between you and the outstanding students. Remember, students better than you are spread throughout the entire freshman class, and there are ten times as many of them as there are of you here..."

Lu Yi's body had long since reached its limit, but his mind was exceptionally clear.

He could tell Mu Jin was talking about him, and he sank into thought.

Three months was not much time to shore up his weakness and raise his physique above average.

In fact, it was impossible!

At least, it was impossible by natural means alone.

Huo Yuhao was five levels below him, yet in three months he would surge ahead and win the freshman assessment.

How much of that would be the result of his own hard work, and how much would come from opportunities that fell from the heavens?

Lu Yi could not say for sure, but he knew neither could be missing.

Huo Yuhao, though, was a child of fortune. This world would find a way to drop opportunities right into his lap. But who was Lu Yi?

Some stinking outsider!

If he did not take the initiative, opportunities would not come knocking.

Lu Yi began recalling what could improve his physique.

"A medicinal bath after physical training is one!"

It was something Lu Yi could just barely afford. The ingredients had fixed prices, and a single bath would cost about ten Gold Soul Coins. If he set aside money for food, he could take one every day for a month.

But medicinal baths mainly offered gentle nourishment. Their short-term effects were not particularly strong.

"The Mystic Water Pill is good stuff too!"

But Lu Yi remembered that each Mystic Water Pill was worth ten thousand Gold Soul Coins. There was no way he could afford one. Perhaps he could use Bei Bei's connections to ask Xu Sanshi for one, then repay the favor over time.

"Right, and Whale Rubber!"

Nobles had supposedly once used it like a little blue pill. Then someone discovered that eating Whale Rubber after heating it could greatly strengthen the body and raise the age limit of Soul Rings one could absorb. He needed to find a way to get some of that too.

"...So I hope you'll guard against arrogance and impatience. Whether you're cultivating Soul Power or tempering your bodies, don't slack off!"

By the time Mu Jin finished speaking, Lu Yi had made a short-term plan and sorted through the useful things he remembered.

What held him back most now was money.

Lu Yi had plenty of ideas for making money, but none could pay off quickly. Besides, his schedule was already full.

Of the twelve double-hours in each day, classes took up a third.

During his one-double-hour lunch break, he had to eat and practice new spells. After class, another double-hour went to reading magic books.

That left six double-hours. Besides eating, he needed to cultivate, and now physical training and medicinal baths had joined the schedule. In the end, only two double-hours remained for actual rest.

With a schedule like that, he could forget about those money-making projects.

Lu Yi could not help glancing at the Storage Bracelet Zhang Lexuan had given him. He planned to visit Shrek City over the weekend and see how much he could pawn it for.

He had no immediate need for a Storage Soul Tool with so much space, but he certainly would not sell it. He only needed to get through this period, then find a way to redeem it.

Mu Jin gave the students a little more time to recover. With half a double-hour left before class ended, he subjected them to an even more brutal barrage of push-ups and frog jumps.

When their legs gave out, they trained their arms. When their arms lost strength, they went back to their legs.

Lu Yi truly felt hollowed out. He was in even worse shape than Huo Yuhao had been at noon.

In the cafeteria, two of the four who usually ate together were missing.

After class, Huo Yuhao had come back, given himself a quick wash, and changed clothes before Tang Ya dragged him to the school gates to sell grilled fish.

Zhou Sichen had been invited by Ning Tian to talk as soon as class ended. The delighted look on his face had left Lu Yi with the distinct feeling that Ning Tian would have him dancing in the palm of her hand. All Lu Yi could do was wish him luck.

Wang Dong still looked glum, but seeing Lu Yi just as listless seemed to make her feel much better. She had even put the earlier incident of Huo Yuhao seeing her naked in the dorm behind her.

The two ate in silence, until a shout rang through the cafeteria.

"Two upperclassmen are fighting at the Soul Fighting Arena! Come watch!"

Students immediately responded.

"What? There's a fight to watch?"

Quite a few freshmen in white uniforms began shoveling down their food. As soon as they finished, they rushed out the door.

"Lu Yi, want to go take a look?" Wang Dong was clearly interested in seeing the upperclassmen fight.

Lu Yi shrugged. "Sure, if you want."

"Then hurry up!"

By the time Lu Yi and Wang Dong each paid a Silver Soul Coin to enter the Soul Fighting Arena, many spectators were already seated. Most were freshmen in white uniforms.

They had just reached the stands when Tang Ya called out from the audience, "Lu Yi, Wang Dong, over here!"

Huo Yuhao was sitting beside Tang Ya. Lu Yi and Wang Dong headed over and sat down next to them.

"Shrek really knows how to squeeze money out of its students!"

Lu Yi's helpless complaint drew an emphatic nod from Huo Yuhao. "I heard Senior Brother Bei had to pay ten Gold Soul Coins just to use the arena!"

Good grief!

Not only did the spectators have to pay admission, even the students fighting had to pay. They were making money from both sides!

Tang Ya clearly knew more about it, though, and explained, "The Academy isn't quite that greedy. The winner gets half the ticket revenue. Bei Bei has already made quite a bit that way."

"I see!"

Lu Yi nodded. At the entrance, Bei Bei and another handsome young man about his age stepped into the arena.

"So that's Xu Sanshi?"

Lu Yi had only just gotten a clear look at Xu Sanshi when Tang Ya spoke again.

"Yuhao, use Spiritual Detection to help Senior Brother Bei in a moment. Let him teach that Xu Sanshi a good lesson. Don't feel bad about it!"

"Okay, Sister Xiao Ya!"