Chapter 59: The Strongest First Year

Zhou Chechen slammed his palm onto the desk, his eyes radiating palpable killing intent. He uttered each word slowly: "Zhang Pianpian, that woman utterly disregards my Songyang!"

Having been so intimidated by Zhang Pianpian today, he felt as though he could already see the gloating in the eyes of his juniors and classmates, and sensed his own authority severely undermined.

Zhou Chechen abruptly turned to the Student Union President, Chu Chengxuan, and asked, "President, are you just going to let that woman run wild in Songyang?"

Chu Chengxuan, engrossed in reviewing his textbook, casually replied, "Zhang Pianpian... her background is murky, her wealth mysterious, and she's crazy. Why provoke her? In about six months, she'll be entering university. At that point, the senior students will naturally deal with her."

Seeing Chu Chengxuan still absorbed in his studies, Zhou Chechen understood that Chu was preoccupied with college entrance exams, university applications, and interviews, with no desire to get involved in a conflict between him and the "crazy" Zhang Pianpian.

However, hearing Chu's words, a cold glint flashed in Zhou's eyes: "Six months, huh? Then I'll wait another six months before I deal with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen."

But at that moment, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were, in Zhou Chechen's eyes, merely dried bones in a tomb, protected by Zhang Pianpian. He would deal with them ruthlessly once the six months were up. What Zhou Chechen truly had his sights on now was Zhang Pianpian herself.

Along with the boundless hatred and humiliation in his heart, he thought: "University spans ten years. The difference between class years won't be as significant as it is in high school then. Zhang Pianpian, I sincerely, truly hope... you make it until I get into university and catch up to you."

***

Outside Songyang High School, inside a private room at a teahouse.

Zhang Pianpian scanned the room and said, "It's all clear. We can talk freely here for now. There are some things I need to tell you."

"Sis!" Zhang Yu excitedly grabbed Zhang Pianpian. "You're truly my sister! It's great to have you!"

Just then, a thud echoed. Zhang Pianpian turned to see Bai Zhenzhen already kneeling on the floor.

Bai Zhenzhen solemnly declared, "Having received such great kindness today, if you don't reject me, I truly wish to acknowledge you as my godmother. From now on, I will be at your command."

Zhang Yu interjected, "No... she's *my* sister."

Bai Zhenzhen replied, "It's fine, Yu-zi. I don't mind these formalities. From now on, I'll call her godmother, and you can call me Mom."

As Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu bickered, Zhang Pianpian calmly stated, "The bank balance displayed was fake."

"Huh?!!"

Watching them both turn their heads sharply, Zhang Pianpian's finger swiped again, casting another charm. But this time, the bank balance above her head only showed 250,000.

She calmly explained, "The pressure-inducing charm I cast earlier was a modified one. It can display a fake bank balance."

Zhang Yu was shocked internally: "Charms can be modified like this? And show fake account balances? Why have I never heard of this in my Daoist arts class? Aren't the Eight Heavenly Deities' teachings supposed to be used exactly as they were passed down?"

From "my sister is a rich person" to "my sister is pretending to be a rich person," Zhang Yu suddenly felt deflated.

Seeing their stunned expressions, Zhang Pianpian continued, "You must remember, to deal with the wealthy, you need to understand their characteristics. The wealthy rely on money, so they best understand its power. They are most easily swayed by money, and most easily deterred by it. This is called 'using money to control money.' The foundation of these methods is information. To obtain, modify, or intercept information... you need advanced charms. Charms are the most powerful tool you can learn in high school. Remember, charms are the most useful and potent! Nothing, no Daoist arts or martial arts, is as effective as charms..."

Zhang Yu watched Zhang Pianpian, who was now seriously extolling the virtues of charms, and could almost see the words "Charm Brag" appear above her head.

Even though the 2.5 billion inheritance had turned into 250,000, Bai Zhenzhen still enthusiastically embraced Zhang Pianpian and sweetly asked, "Mom, what should we do next?"

Zhang Yu, watching Bai Zhenzhen's sweet demeanor from the side, felt a chill down his spine, as if seeing a thousand-year-old zombie awaken.

***

Zhang Pianpian calmly said, "The college entrance exam is in six months. After it, I'll be heading to a university on the second layer of Kunxu. This means I can only protect you for the next six months. After six months, without my protection, the Songyang High School Student Union will definitely target you. And there's another point. You need to understand, the reason I can protect you now is because they think I'm also wealthy, like them. They believe I've signed you, and that you won't be aiming for the Top Ten universities. Once they know you're aiming for the Top Ten, they won't care about my protection, and the methods they use will be a hundred times more brutal than now. So..."

As she spoke, Zhang Pianpian looked directly into Bai Zhenzhen's eyes, as if trying to penetrate her every thought. "What are your plans? Wait to die? Or prepare to escape Songyang City? Or risk everything to get into the Top Ten?"

Bai Zhenzhen met Zhang Pianpian's gaze unflinchingly, her expression also turning serious: "I want to get into one of the top ten universities."

Zhang Pianpian then looked at Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu said, "Sis, stop teasing us. Ah Zhen and I both have wills of steel; we're determined to get into one of the top ten universities. Just tell us what to do."

Zhang Pianpian nodded slightly and continued, "Your strength is too weak." Seeing their indignant expressions, Zhang Pianpian calmly stated, "To get into the Top Ten as 'paupers,' your current strength is far from enough. Not to mention finding a way to break through the blockade set up by the wealthy. First, become the strongest first-year students in Songyang City. Once you both secure the top two places in all remaining first-year competitions and become Songyang's strongest first-year students, I'll tell you what to do next."

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were both startled by her words. "All remaining first-year competitions? Does that mean we have to surpass all first-year students, including those from the three prestigious schools, in Dao Heart, physical strength, martial arts, and Daoist arts? Especially the Daoist arts competition... that thing is practically a bane for the poor."

Fortunately, the Daoist arts competition is in the final stage of the first year. The closest one is the martial arts competition, where they both have a slight advantage.

Next, Zhang Pianpian had Bai Zhenzhen sign an intern contract for the Songyang City Patrol Team. Once her identity as a patrol team member was fully confirmed, she allowed both of them to leave first.

Bai Zhenzhen, however, remained rooted to the spot, rubbing her hands together nervously, her face full of embarrassment. "Um... that... what's that thing..."

Zhang Pianpian asked, puzzled, "What?"

Bai Zhenzhen's bent index finger gestured towards Zhang Yu, who was playing with a talisman scroll nearby, and she smiled sweetly: "That talisman scroll... do interns get one?"

Zhang Pianpian shook her head. "The Patrol Department isn't luxurious enough to equip interns with talisman scrolls. Oh, and don't reveal my relationship with Zhang Yu to anyone. Also, Mom and Dad have already been sent to a safe village by me, so you don't need to worry about them."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu paused slightly and nodded.

***

Finally, after telling Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu to hurry back and focus on studying and cultivation, Zhang Pianpian watched their retreating figures from afar, then made a phone call.

A female voice answered the phone: "Hello? Pianbao? Is something wrong?"

Zhang Pianpian: "Lend me some money."

The other person asked curiously, "Aren't you trying to save up to buy the Heavenly Spirit Root? Are you asking me for a loan because you're about to reach the amount?"

Zhang Pianpian explained, "I ran into something today and spent some money on divine communication. I can't pay this period's loan interest."

The other person became even more curious: "Oh? What sort of matter required you to communicate with the divine?"

Zhang Pianpian calmly said, "I helped that fellow. I originally just thought he had a good disposition and wouldn't live an ordinary life, but I didn't intend to go this far. However..."

Zhang Pianpian's gaze swept over Zhang Yu's head.Songyang City Patrol Team Outsourced Employee (Expand Details)Songyang City Patrol Team Outsourced EmployeeAsceticSports SpecialistExtremely Impoverished Resident of Songyang CityDebt SlaveCard Slave???

And when Zhang Pianpian focused her attention on "???", she only received one feedback: Unknown potential, indefinable.

Zhang Pianpian then shifted her gaze to Bai Zhenzhen.Songyang City Patrol Team Intern (Expand Details)Songyang City Patrol Team InternSword MasterFist MasterPalm MasterBlade MasterSpear MasterMedicine MasterScore DominatorDebt SlaveCard SlaveDaoist Arts Useless Theory AdherentSongyang CriticShe is very poor...

As Zhang Pianpian's fingertips swiped repeatedly, after two consecutive charms, another phrase appeared above "Songyang City Patrol Team Intern" on Bai Zhenzhen's head.Unknown New Type of Spiritual Root: Hidden Evolved Type, no relevant data available yet.

As Zhang Pianpian's fingers swiped, flashes of light shimmered across the talisman scroll floating by her hand. When the charms were completed, both the "???" above Zhang Yu's head and the "Unknown New Type of Spiritual Root" above Bai Zhenzhen's head vanished, completely hidden.

Meanwhile, Zhang Pianpian continued on the phone: "They are both more exceptional than I anticipated. Perhaps... they can keep up with me."

On the other end of the line, the woman expressed surprise: "Oh? I've never heard you speak so highly of anyone before. I'm increasingly looking forward to meeting them."

***

Since some readers are a bit impatient, I'm providing an extra chapter today, making it nearly 10,000 words across three chapters. However, tomorrow's two updates will have fewer words. Please bear with me, as I don't write very fast, and I'm genuinely worried about the story collapsing if I update too much. My biggest goal right now is to maintain quality and stabilize the plot. My apologies, apologies, apologies.

Lastly, I'd like to ask for your monthly votes at the beginning of the month.