Chapter 105: Can I touch you?

As Qiao Shen and Zhao Tianxing looked at the setup of Songyang High School's lounge area, they exchanged glances. They had both been to Bailong High School and witnessed the previous martial arts competition, where they were deeply impressed by the facilities provided for Songyang High School's lounge area.

Now, seeing such well-equipped lounges at a sports competition, Zhao Tianxing wondered if they had taken a wrong turn. Qiao Shen couldn't help but think to himself, "Wait... is Songyang High School, with its average scores, really assigned a lounge area with these kinds of facilities?" Even Wang Hai had to admit that in all his years of leading teams to sports competitions, this was the biggest event and the best treatment Songyang High School had ever received.

Refiner Tianji, standing nearby, seemed to sense their surprise and explained with a smile, "All the on-site equipment for this event is jointly sponsored by Ziyun Pharmaceuticals and Oasis Group. The conditions are indeed excellent." He pointed towards the east side of the venue and said, "Over there, Oasis Group and Hongta Ranch are providing a free buffet for all athletes, as well as Ziyun students and other staff who are helping out. Would you like to try some?"

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who had just sat down, immediately stood up. "We'll go get acquainted with the competition environment," they said. So, the two followed Refiner Tianji across the venue to the buffet area on the east side.

From a distance, they could see numerous Ziyun High School students, purple all over, eating while holding their plates. The reason they were holding their plates was that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen noticed these Ziyun students began eating as soon as they filled their plates with food. By the time they reached the exit of the buffet area, they would have finished all their food and placed their trays on the utensil recycling table.

Bai Zhenzhen's eyes lit up, and she said, "I get it! These students walking and eating must be the struggling students from your Ziyun High School, right? Because their grades are too poor, they're not allowed to sit down and eat. They walk and eat their food from the moment they enter the cafeteria to get their meal until they leave and return their utensils."

Refiner Tianji chuckled. "You're thinking too harshly of Ziyun High School. We don't have such high demands for our struggling students. These are just ordinary students who aren't allowed to sit down."

Bai Zhenzhen exclaimed, "Oh? Then what about the struggling students?"

Refiner Tianji calmly replied, "The bottom 50 students eat in the restrooms. They can eat for as long as they want, no restrictions whatsoever."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Ziyun High School students are indeed... quite something." But then Zhang Yu reconsidered: While making the bottom 50 students eat in the restrooms was somewhat inhuman, on the other hand... didn't it at least mean Ziyun High School had plenty of restrooms? Zhang Yu mused, "In that regard, at least they're doing better than Bailong High School."

Just then, accompanied by a rumbling sound, like thousands of horses galloping, a large group of black monsters wearing Hongta High School uniforms entered the buffet area. Zhang Yu's eyes widened in shock. "What the hell... are these students? Students from Hongta High School?"

Zhang Yu had seen students from Hongta High School who were demon-descended Songyang people before. While they looked somewhat different from humans, their appearances, like brown bears or tigers, were still considered normal. But these creatures before him... were entirely covered in a glossy, smooth black, with only their eyes glowing crimson.

He thought in shock, "My sister said that Hongta High School's technological breakthrough allowed their monster students to awaken the bloodline power of a black creature, which they successfully extracted and injected into human students... Did they awaken a black human bloodline? Gaining powerful athletic abilities, so they turned into black bears, black tigers, and... black students?"

Refiner Tianji, seeing Zhang Yu's astonished expression, kindly explained, "Hongta High School successfully activated the Black Dragon bloodline in their demon-descended students, leading to a complete transformation of their physiques. If you look closely at their skin, the black is the texture reflected by dragon scales."

Zhang Yu moved closer and then, from that mass of black light, faintly discerned a layer of fine black scales, subtly shimmering with a kaleidoscopic black. At the same time, he noticed more subtle black details that were hard to distinguish from a distance. For instance, Xiong Wenwu had two small horns on his forehead, sharp and slender five-fingered claws far longer than before, a small tail on his backside, and long whiskers at the corners of his mouth... Furthermore, a heart-pounding aura of pressure continuously emanated from their bodies, as if predators had set their sights on the food before them.

Refiner Tianji continued, "It's said that among these demon-descended students from Hongta, the more Black Dragon bloodline they awaken, the more Black Dragon physical traits they manifest, inheriting more of the Black Dragon's characteristics, and their physical strength increases more terrifyingly." At this point, a hint of excitement surfaced in Refiner Tianji's voice. "In terms of physical strength, these guys have a unique advantage. I'm truly looking forward to competing against them."

Bai Zhenzhen urged from the side, "Are you done talking? If we don't eat now, there'll be nothing left." Indeed, within the buffet area, the Hongta High School students were devouring all sorts of food like a whirlwind, often swallowing an entire plate with a single open-and-close of their large mouths. Zhang Yu quickly pulled Bai Zhenzhen in, grabbed a plate of food, and shoveled it into his mouth. Bai Zhenzhen grabbed a handful of chicken drumsticks, and after biting off most of them in a few mouthfuls, tears welled up in her eyes.

For the past month, she and Zhang Yu had been eating synthetic food almost every day. It was fine at first, but later, she found the mush increasingly unappetizing, and her body's craving for real food had been suppressed to its limit. Now, truly eating a chicken drumstick and feeling the real chicken juices burst in her mouth, Bai Zhenzhen had only one thought: "Pre-made roasted chicken drumsticks are truly delicious!" After taking another sip of the beast protein milk from Hongta Ranch, the expression on Bai Zhenzhen's face became even more contented.

Refiner Tianji walked over and sat down in front of the two ravenously eating individuals, saying with a smile, "No need to rush. This buffet is provided by Oasis Group and Hongta Ranch together. Even if there were ten times more people, they could definitely keep up with the supply."

After chatting casually with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen for a few more moments, Refiner Tianji finally asked a question that had long piqued his curiosity. "Zhang Yu, what level has your physical strength reached in the past two months?" Refiner Tianji looked at Zhang Yu, who was continuously stuffing steak into his mouth, and his mind seemed to recall the scene from two months ago when he was defeated by Zhang Yu in the martial arts arena. He thought to himself, "Although I really want to defeat you, if there's too great a gap in physical strength between us, then such a victory would be meaningless." The thought that he might never again be able to defeat Zhang Yu in that state brought a hint of regret to Refiner Tianji's heart.

Zhang Yu casually replied, "Level 4.95."

Refiner Tianji paused slightly, then chuckled, "I'm not kidding with you. I'm asking what your physical strength level is."

Zhang Yu gave Refiner Tianji a strange look. "Level 4.95, who's kidding with you?" he said, then shoved a few more lamb chops into his mouth.

Refiner Tianji frowned, and disbelief was his first thought: "After undergoing this super-metabolic modification by Ziyun Pharmaceuticals, I've been injecting nearly a dozen kilograms of medication daily. I've constantly endured the pain of my flesh tearing and internal organs rupturing, and have been rushed to the emergency room for resuscitation multiple times. Yet, I've only managed to raise my physical strength to Level 4.56. How could Zhang Yu possibly be Level 4.95? Is he deliberately lying, not wanting to reveal his physical strength? But what's the point of that? Everyone's physical strength will be detected once the competition begins. Unless he's not lying? But how could that be?" For a moment, Refiner Tianji felt that Zhang Yu shouldn't be lying, yet it seemed highly improbable that he wasn't.

As he pondered this, a slender, cold, and graceful figure quietly entered the cafeteria, drawing everyone's attention. While her beauty was part of what drew attention, the main reason was that all the Ziyun students present stood up simultaneously and bowed to Le Mulan. Le Mulan had her long hair tied into a ponytail, secured with a purple silk ribbon. Her purple tracksuit revealed her fair arms and slender legs, exuding a rare athletic vibe. What most caught Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's eyes, of course, was the purple mark on Le Mulan's glabella. That mark was far more complex than Refiner Tianji's simple dot; it resembled a purple vertical pupil, imprinted on Le Mulan's glabella.

The proud top-ranked student in her grade nodded and, with an expressionless, cold face, said, "Go back to what you were doing." Hearing her response, the bowing Ziyun students all returned to their previous activities. Then, Le Mulan walked directly to the table where Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Refiner Tianji were eating and stopped.

Zhang Yu looked at Le Mulan, who was breathing somewhat heavily, and shrugged. "You want to eat with us? There's no space for you, though."

Le Mulan calmly replied, "It's fine." She glanced at Refiner Tianji, who was taking up two seats due to his size, and calmly stated, "I need a stool." Immediately, several Ziyun students rushed over. The first girl to reach her directly lay down on the ground, prostrating herself like a stool before Le Mulan.

"Holy crap!" Zhang Yu thought to himself. "These Ziyun people... they seem even more fanatical than they were two months ago." The reason for Zhang Yu's curiosity was actually quite simple: After Ziyun's technological breakthrough, a large number of top-performing first-year students underwent super-metabolic surgery, causing their physical strength to skyrocket... and then Le Mulan defeated them all over again. The first-year Ziyun students despairingly realized that even after gaining the super-metabolic surgery, the gap between the wealthiest student in the entire first year, Le Mulan, and themselves hadn't narrowed; instead, it had widened. The role of wealth in cultivation and academic scores had once again expanded. This growing disparity, within the environment of Ziyun High School, led to an even more exaggerated worship of wealth and academic achievement.

Zhang Yu felt Le Mulan occasionally glance at him after she arrived, staring at him so intensely that he started to feel uncomfortable while eating. He thought to himself, "Is this woman still thinking of getting revenge on me?" Just then, Le Mulan's cool, clear voice rang out: "May I touch you?" Sensing the silence at the table, Le Mulan added, "I can pay."

Qidian is hosting a 'Battle of the Gods' competition. Could everyone please help by clicking on a nomination for me, so I can stay in the competitor's area to watch the matches up close and also snag a free buffet from Oasis Group? (ω) Thanks a bunch!