You dare to cultivate without money?!-Chapter 41 - 30 Palming Power Contest and Dao Heart Exam
41: Chapter 30 Palming Power Contest and Dao Heart Exam
41 -30 Palming Power Contest and Dao Heart Exam
The Little Heavenly Star Palm is a martial art that doesn’t have any specific moves, but rather a technique that purely manipulates mana to transform into cold palm power.
At this moment, He Dayou unleashed the palm power of the Little Heavenly Star Palm with confidence that he could heavily injure Zhang Yu with its cold force, freezing his internal organs.
He believed that given Zhang Yu’s financial situation, he certainly couldn’t afford to go to the hospital and would have to endure it.
“You poor man, at least this will keep you from coming to school for a week.”
Boom!
As their palms collided fiercely, their mana clashed as well, as if there was an explosion inside their bodies.
Although He Dayou’s Little Heavenly Star Palm was powerful, it was only recently mastered.
Zhang Yu’s martial arts, while just ordinary freehand techniques, had been practiced to the third level, capable of unleashing decent palm power.
As the palm power clashed and mana surged, He Dayou found his advantage wasn’t as great as he imagined; his Little Heavenly Star Palm could only slowly push back Zhang Yu’s power, gradually penetrating his body.
What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yu was like a tumbler; each time the cold force invaded, he managed to push it back, maintaining an unbeaten stance despite the disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the mana within Zhang Yu continued to circulate, constantly restoring his power, allowing him to withstand He Dayou’s Little Heavenly Star Palm repeatedly.
An assistant teacher watching was startled by this scene: “Competing in mana?”
Seeing their serious faces, the assistant teacher was afraid something might go wrong, jeopardizing his performance review, especially since one of them was the son of a board member.
He hurriedly reminded them, “If either of you can’t hold on, immediately concede, and the other must withdraw their power.”
“Don’t ruin your future over a monthly exam by getting seriously injured.”
Neither spoke; He Dayou glared at Zhang Yu, madly channeling his mana into waves of Little Heavenly Star Palm power toward his opponent.
Zhang Yu remained calm and focused, proactively using the Circulation Qi Gathering Method, restoring his mana while resisting He Dayou’s palm power.
In no time, both their foreheads were covered in sweat, and steam rose from their bodies like two huge furnaces.
Yet Zhang Yu looked increasingly relaxed.
On the contrary, He Dayou’s face grew pale, showing signs of exhaustion.
Unable to control his emotions any longer, he looked at Zhang Yu in a mixture of shock and anger.
The assistant coach checked the time; their mana competition had lasted over a minute.
Seeing He Dayou’s condition, he had to remind them again, “If you can’t sustain it, concede immediately.”
“It’s just a monthly exam.”
He Dayou struggled several times to speak, looking at Zhang Yu who seemed increasingly at ease, and finally forced out a few words: “I…”
“I concede.”
As they slowly withdrew their mana, He Dayou abruptly sat down on the ground.
He was pallid as paper, with almost no mana in his dantian.
Unwillingly, he looked at Zhang Yu and asked, “How much mana do you have left?”
Seeing his half-alive, weakened state, Zhang Yu modestly said, “Only about ten or twenty percent.”
He Dayou snorted coldly, knowing it was more than that from his appearance.
He stood up slowly, took a deep look at Zhang Yu, “You’re good.”
“Let’s spar next time.”
He Dayou turned and left after speaking.
On his way out, he reflected on today’s battle and had to admit something to himself.
“Zhang Yu…
is strong.”
“But…
unfortunately, being a poor person, he’s destined to become our dog.”
“I hope you can withstand until I defeat you properly next time, so I won’t have any regrets.”
On the other side, watching He Dayou’s faltering figure as he left, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Spar next time?”
“Classmate, you’d better not think about it…
This was the closest your strength will ever get to mine, your most beautiful memory, next time I’m afraid you won’t even have the chance to say ‘forgive me, Zhang Yu, for not being able to make you go all out’.
Zhang Yu walked out of the exam hall, and as he exited, he saw Bai Zhenzhen leaning against the wall.
“Yo, Azhen, that was quick.”
“Yes, resolved it in a few moves.” Bai Zhenzhen looked at him curiously, “Who did you draw?”
Zhang Yu: “He Dayou.”
“Damn!” Bai Zhenzhen stamped her foot angrily, “He just got to show off in the Daoism exam, and now he’s humiliated you badly, today must have been heaven for him.”
“But don’t worry, next practical class I’ll challenge him and humiliate him for you.”
Zhang Yu speechlessly looked at Bai Zhenzhen, “I won.”
Feeling Bai Zhenzhen’s astonished gaze, Zhang Yu simply made a move.
He threw a punch, which Bai Zhenzhen immediately blocked with her palm.
They exchanged blows continuously, their arms transformed into streaks in the air, producing heavy, muffled sounds like hammers colliding.
Boom!
After several exchanges, they sharply separated.
Bai Zhenzhen: “Your freehand reached level 3?”
Zhang Yu: “Your freehand reached level 3?”
Bai Zhenzhen exclaimed in shock, “Weren’t you just level 1 before?
How did you suddenly jump to level 3?
Have you been secretly practicing to create a big moment against someone like He Dayou?
You’ve been reading too many novels, haven’t you?”
Zhang Yu was equally puzzled, “Azhen, did you just reveal your own thoughts?
Weren’t you saying your freehand was level 2 before?
You’re quite something, willing to go to great lengths just to show off.”
Bai Zhenzhen blushed, explaining, “I’m not doing it to show off.”
“Higher freehand levels don’t earn extra points.”
“Instead, keeping a secret during practicals gives more of a surprise advantage, earning higher scores.”
“Haven’t you heard the teacher say?
Information warfare is part of practical battle too.”
Zhang Yu thought of today’s battle with He Dayou.
The sudden cold palm technique the opponent used almost hit him by surprise.
Hearing Bai Zhenzhen’s words now, Zhang Yu agreed, thinking, “Indeed, I should hold back a bit, not reveal all my cards.”
Once Zhou Tianyi finished the exam, the three went to the cafeteria for dinner, then each either went home or attended makeup classes.
Tomorrow would be the Dao Heart, mana, and physical strength exams.
After returning home, Zhang Yu went back to the unfinished building.
The 24-hour cooldown for the Yu Shu specialization switch hadn’t ended.
Since he was still specialized in freehand, Zhang Yu decided to continue practicing it, aiming to improve its level.
“Haha, though I exposed my level 3 freehand to Azhen, if I train it to level 5 or 6 by today, I’ll have new cards again.”
Thinking of Bai Zhenzhen’s shocked look next time, Zhang Yu felt even more motivated.
So Zhang Yu earnestly practiced freehand, resting through deep breathing when tired, and got back up to continue practicing whenever his physical strength was replenished, and in the blink of an eye, the night passed.
The next morning, when sunlight gently streamed through the empty windows of the unfinished building and touched Zhang Yu, seated cross-legged, he slowly opened his eyes.
After a night of intense training, his freehand reached level 5 (3/50), with a deeper understanding of this basic martial art.
His mana also rose from 11.7 to 11.8.
Zhang Yu was gratified: “With the passive breathing effect of the Circulation Qi Gathering Method, even if I only breathed deeply during rests these days, my mana has still grown considerably each day.”
Feeling the constant growth of mana within him, Zhang Yu felt much better.
This made him look forward to when the specialization cooldown finished, raising the Circulation Qi Gathering Method to level 10.
…
Crammed on the bus heading to school.
Songyang still had a gloomy vibe today.
Many students visibly had unpleasant expressions, clearly affected by poor exam luck yesterday.
After breakfast, Zhang Yu made his way to the exam hall for today’s first test: the Dao Heart exam.
White walls, beds aligned neatly in rows, the hall resembled a hospital room.
Only, instead of oxygen machines, a mask-like apparatus was connected to each bed.
As Zhang Yu sat on his designated bed, he heard a countdown in his mind.
He curled his lips, and began deep breathing too.
During Zhang Yu’s breathing, examinees continually entered until all the beds were silently occupied.
With the sound of a bell ringing, the students’ expressions became solemn, knowing the test was about to begin.
Meanwhile, a piece of easygoing music played over the intercom.
When the music ended, a female voice announced over the intercom.
“This is Songyang City’s unified monthly Dao Heart exam for high schools, lasting 60 minutes.”
Hearing the broadcast, Zhang Yu wasn’t surprised.
After all, he had memories of past monthly exams.
Unlike yesterday’s general knowledge, martial arts, and Daoism exams.
Each monthly Dao Heart exam was a unified exam for Songyang City high schools.
This was inseparable from the special nature of Dao Heart and its exam itself.
Meanwhile, the female voice continued over the broadcast.
“Please note, during the entire exam, wear the Spirit Realm Mask properly on your face.”
“This is the time for equipment inspection and wearing.”
All students present immediately picked up the mask from the bed for inspection.
Zhang Yu did the same, first ensuring the wires on the mask were plugged into the outlet, then turned on the power to check for any damage…
After confirming everything was fine, Zhang Yu put the mask on his face.
He felt it transform and perfectly envelop his face, like an extra skin layer.
But with his eyes covered, Zhang Yu only saw darkness.
A moment later, the female voice on the broadcast spoke again.
“Equipment inspection and wearing is now over.”
“The Dao Heart exam has officially started.”
The darkness in front of Zhang Yu suddenly trembled, as particles of light appeared, he found himself in another world the next moment.
