Le Mulan spoke with interest. “What kind of potion do you want? For body refining? Or to boost your mana? I can drink more next time before I come.”

Zhang Yu shot her a strange look. “Why?”

Le Mulan thought to herself, “I just want to see if you can resist drinking my sweat.”

She remembered how he had once turned down forty grand during the Martial Arts Tournament.

If she said that out loud, Zhang Yu would probably reject her on the spot.

So she decided to increase the potion’s value in secret, just to see if Zhang Yu would eventually… drink it.

That thought flashed through her mind before she added, “Your service isn’t bad. It’s just a small effort on my part. I don’t mind helping.”

Zhang Yu considered it and said, “Lately, I’ve been focused on body refining.”

Le Mulan nodded. “Got it. Before I come next time, I’ll inject ten Bone-Flesh Enhancers.”

“That’s usually a refining potion reserved for late-stage Qi Refinement. But with my Super-Metabolism, it’s just right for me—and even better when metabolized. You can use it, too.”

“Bone-Flesh Enhancers increase bone density, improve muscle fiber recovery, and boost your absorption of mana and nutrients.”

“Each shot costs ten thousand.”

“Oral intake works better than topical application.”

Seeing Zhang Yu freeze for a moment, Le Mulan smiled slightly, suddenly looking forward to their next training session even more.

She wanted to see whether or not he would actually drink the potion.

She opened the door. Seeing Bai Zhenzhen waiting outside, she nodded and turned to leave.

As soon as Bai Zhenzhen entered the room, her gaze landed on the wet patches on the floor.

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes as he watched her lick her lips. “Ah-Zhen, you can’t lick that!”

Bai Zhenzhen looked regretful. “Isn’t that a waste, Yuzi? I can tell from the scent—it’s high-end stuff. Just one lick’s probably worth a few dozen bucks.”

“You’ve made some money now and already lost your sense of frugality. We’re still broke.”

Zhang Yu tried to reason with her. “We can’t do everything for money.”

Bai Zhenzhen replied nonchalantly, “Money can buy anything. So what can’t you do for money?”

Zhang Yu was speechless—because in Kunxu, that really was the case.

He switched tactics. “Ah-Zhen, your bottom line drops little by little. Today you lick rich people’s sweat to save a few bucks. Tomorrow, are you going to become their dog?”

“Remember during the Law Tournament? You told me not to gamble. It’s the same thing—one step back leads to another.”

Then he held out his arm, still glistening with fragrant potion. “If you really want to try it, wipe some off the floor… or from me.”

“Fine,” Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “You’ve got a point. I’ll just wipe yours.”

She ran her fingers over his arm, then rubbed the potion onto herself.

Zhang Yu pointed to a nearby bag. It held medicines Le Mulan had brought with her earlier.

Without further delay, Zhang Yu swallowed a Hunyuan Pill in one gulp, feeling its 24,000 yuan worth of medicinal power seep into his body.

“I need to make the most of this and refine my body while the effects last,” he said. “Ah-Zhen, let me borrow the Zhen Spirit Root.”

“Okay.”

Bai Zhenzhen nodded and pressed herself against Zhang Yu’s back.

While soaking up the lingering scent from his skin and rubbing more potion onto herself, she sent the Spirit Root into his body.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu dove into cultivating Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.

First, the potion transferred from Le Mulan’s body melted into him, helping him restore stamina and energy, enhancing his workout.

Then, the Hunyuan Pill dispersed throughout his limbs, amplifying the strength of his flesh and bones as the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy circulated.

Next, the Great Sun Qi Sea kicked in, accelerating his metabolism, absorption rate, and overall bodily transformation.

When Zhang Yu further suppressed his mental activity using the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique, his metabolic rate climbed even higher.

Finally, the Zhen Spirit Root continuously drew in spiritual essence, assisting the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy and nurturing every inch of his flesh, muscles, and nerves.

Layer upon layer of enhancement pushed his body strength to new heights.

At that moment, Zhang Yu wasn’t thinking about anything at all—just running through the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy again and again, feeling his body grow stronger with each breath.

…

At Purple Cloud High.

Several students glanced at the faint bruise on Le Mulan’s wrist, admiration gleaming in their eyes.

“The sacred top student must’ve gone through another combat training session.”

Another student muttered enviously, “Being her sparring partner… and leaving a mark on her? That’s the kind of dream I don’t even dare to dream.”

Not far off, Lian Tianji scoffed at them.

“What a bunch of spineless weaklings,” he thought. “What’s there to not dare?”

…

The next day.

No Le Mulan today.

Inside the apartment, Bai Zhenzhen took out a row of syringes, infused each with mana, then launched into a flurry of afterimages as she plunged them one by one into Zhang Yu’s body.

This was the Nine Dragons Acupuncture Technique she’d learned from the tournament team.

To earn his Foundation License and further strengthen his body, Zhang Yu had finally decided to use injections.

His organs were tougher now, and much of the built-up toxicity had already been purged by cultivating Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.

So he figured it was worth trying injections—and would stop if things went wrong.

The medicines were sourced through Le Mulan’s contacts—at a 20% discount, totaling 10,500 yuan, cheaper than what the tournament team offered.

After all, Bai Zhenzhen had done the math: even with tournament team benefits, the best discount they gave was 10%, and sometimes only 2%. Nowhere near as good as Le Mulan’s.

Zhang Yu also remembered a benefit the tournament team had: if you placed first in the body refining competition, you’d get a 20,000 yuan subsidy to buy refining Techniques.

But for now, he wasn’t planning to switch Techniques—he’d save that subsidy for later.

With each needle timed and placed precisely, Bai Zhenzhen channeled mana vibrations to drive the medicine deep into his muscles and bones.

Once the entire Nine Dragons Acupuncture Technique was complete, Zhang Yu felt the 10,500 yuan's worth of medicine surge into his tissues, wildly nourishing his body.

The surge in qi and blood made him hyper-aware of his body’s sensations—able to detect every nuance, every detail.

Just as Bai Zhenzhen finished the acupuncture, she hugged him from behind, ready to transfer the Spirit Root again.

But as soon as she did, Zhang Yu suddenly bent forward, confusing her.

The moment she touched him, he felt a peculiar sensation.

Was it because Ah-Zhen was wearing less today?

Then he realized…

“No, it’s me—I’m the one not wearing a shirt.”

To make the injections easier, Zhang Yu had gone bare-chested.

And Bai Zhenzhen, wearing only a thin T-shirt, was pressed tightly against him.

That thin fabric couldn’t mask her strength—or the shape of her body against his.

Her stomach, her waist, her long arms… every pressure point, every curve, he could feel it all.

Especially when he bent forward, the friction made his heart itch with distraction.

That’s when he realized—it was the Nine Dragons Acupuncture Technique making him so sensitive.

“Damn, no wonder Songyang High enforces root-severance. How can you train like this?”

In that moment, Zhang Yu became a firm believer in Songyang High’s root-severance policy.

Of course, he personally didn’t need it—his iron will and strict discipline would carry him through.

Like now, when he could declare with righteous conviction: “Ah-Zhen, once you transfer the Spirit Root, get off. You’re disrupting my training.”

As Bai Zhenzhen sent the Spirit Root into his body, she asked curiously, “Why are you bent over?”

Suddenly, she got it—and shot Zhang Yu a look of pure contempt. “See? I told you to cut it off. You insisted on keeping it. If you don’t pass the Foundation License exam, it’ll be that damn root’s fault.”

Zhang Yu waved her off. “Don’t worry. I’ve got supreme willpower. A little distraction isn’t enough to make me waste money suppressing it.”

He then activated the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique again, feeling like a crippled ox charging through mud.

Moments later, he exhaled deeply, body surging with medicine-fueled energy, and began running Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy at full force.

…

And so, when Le Mulan was around, Zhang Yu used her potion. When she wasn’t, Bai Zhenzhen would perform the Nine Dragons Acupuncture Technique.

Rotating between the two, Zhang Yu felt his physical strength surge every day.

Bai Zhenzhen, too, gained plenty—second-hand potion, discounted medicine.

Especially with the rotating use of the Zhen Spirit Root, each time it returned to her body, she’d feel a rush of heat.

That was the Spirit Root gradually adapting to Zhang Yu and beginning to draw in the essence of the sun and moon, allowing Bai Zhenzhen to absorb spiritual essence from the light.

Their tiny rented apartment now sported more and more floodlights they’d bought—so that the Great Sun Qi Sea and Zhen Spirit Root could absorb even more spiritual energy at night.

Time flew, and May arrived.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were starting to realize that if they wanted to hit their August goals, their progress in mana and Dao Heart still wasn’t fast enough.

So today, they traveled together to a protected zone 90 kilometers from downtown Songyang City.

They were meeting with Xiong Wenwu to discuss something crucial:

The spirit vein.