Zhuang Xun quickly pretended to be curious and asked, “Dafu, how do you know all this?”
“Oh, I heard it from others,” An Dafu said. “The Principal was also there at the time, and he even asked the examiner for that person's name. A lot of people are saying the Principal might want to take him as a disciple.”
In the darkness, Zhuang Xun's expression suddenly turned serious.
When he controlled Bai Yujing to make such a grand display, it was precisely to attract the attention of the higher-ups.
Now that it was actually happening, he felt a bit nervous instead.
If it's really as they say, and the Principal wants to take me as a disciple, could he be secretly observing my character right now?
Fortunately, I haven't done anything out of line while controlling Bai Yujing over the past few days, nor have I let my two clones meet.
I must be more cautious from now on.
...
Early the next morning.
Because they had to report to the Seventh Courtyard before Chen hour, the four roommates woke up very early.
However, while Zhuang Xun was radiant and full of energy, the other three looked utterly exhausted, barely able to keep their eyes open even after washing up.
Last night, Zhang Tie and An Dafu had chatted until very late before finally sleeping, so they barely got any rest.
Li Zigeng had gone to bed early, but he was woken up several times by their chatter and didn't sleep well either.
As for Zhuang Xun, he had the foresight to anticipate this, so he had slipped his soul into Bai Yujing's body to sleep. Completely unaffected by the noise, he slept exceptionally well.
Perhaps due to his Skeletal Structure, his sleep quality in Bai Yujing's body was incredibly high; sleeping for just half an hour was equivalent to sleeping for four hours in Yan Pingsheng's body.
After having breakfast in the dining hall, the four of them arrived at the lecture hall of the Seventh Courtyard, found four empty seats in a row near the back, and sat down.
The roommates continued chatting. Zhuang Xun chimed in occasionally while scanning the room for empty seats.
They had arrived somewhat late, and the lecture hall was already mostly filled.
Zhuang Xun was looking for a seat for Bai Yujing to avoid the awkwardness of controlling him later only to find no empty seats left, which would force him to stand there foolishly.
The lecture hall was noisy and chaotic. Since there was no one in charge yet, almost everyone was chatting with their roommates or acquaintances.
But suddenly, the lecture hall fell silent, as if everyone's throat had been gripped at once.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to a cold, aloof youth who looked like an immortal descended to earth. They watched blankly as he walked down the aisle, took a seat, rested his chin on his hand, and stared out the window with eyes as calm as a deep well...
Only then did they suddenly snap out of it.
“Who... is that?”
“It's Bai Yujing! Oh my god! He's actually in the same courtyard as me!”
“Dafu, Dafu.” Zhang Tie nudged An Dafu as he stared at Bai Yujing's back, asking dumbfoundedly, “Is that the 'reincarnated immortal' you guys were talking about last night?”
How did I become a reincarnated immortal now? Zhuang Xun glanced at Zhang Tie.
“That's him! Look! Look! See, I wasn't lying! You were even doubting me last night.” An Dafu stiffened his neck, his tone filled with excitement.
“Do all the young masters from the city... look like this?” Li Zigeng's eyes widened as he muttered in shock.
Zhang Tie asked, “So what's his name?”
Stop snooping around about me. (He felt a secret surge of satisfaction.)
Zhuang Xun said, “Bai Yujing. I heard it from others; that seems to be his name.”
Similar discussions about Bai Yujing broke out all over the lecture hall, growing louder and louder, only subsiding when Huang Wei walked in.
“Silence!” Instructor Huang barked. His voice alone completely drowned out the chatter of all the disciples in the lecture hall.
He swept his gaze across the disciples and said with great vigor, “My name is Huang Wei. For the next year, I will be the one guiding your cultivation. I won't say too much, just a few words.”
“Do not think that just because you passed the entrance exam, you can slack off and idle your days away here!”
“You only have one year in this martial academy. Anyone who fails to temper their strength to Nine Stones by the end of the year will be expelled from the academy! Understood?!”
“Understood!” The disciples sat up straight.
Having enrolled in the Wanxing Martial Academy, they all had some level of understanding of its rules. Thus, although they complained in their hearts, no one dared to raise any objections openly.
“Good. Follow me.” Instructor Huang nodded and led the disciples out of the lecture hall to the martial arts field of the Seventh Courtyard.
“Most of you have previously used crude methods like lifting stones or carrying weights to temper your bodies. Not only does this harm your body, but it is also highly inefficient.”
“Today, I shall teach you the exclusive body-tempering technique of our Wanxing Martial Academy. Observe closely and learn well!”
“The Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique is divided into nine forms, and each form consists of nine movements. It can precisely train every single inch of your flesh and skin...”
Instructor Huang explained as he demonstrated.
After quickly performing all nine forms of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique once, he demonstrated the first form again, meticulously breaking down and explaining every subtle movement and force-exertion technique.
Unlike the other disciples who were watching with wide, intent eyes, Zhuang Xun was only watching on the surface while completely immersed in his own world.
This was because he had already completely mastered it after Huang Wei's very first demonstration.
With Bai Yujing's 100 points of Comprehension, his brain's precision was comparable to a supercomputer from his past life.
Photographic memory and perfect recall were merely the basics; his memory playback even came with a series of functions like zooming in, zooming out, fast-forwarding, slowing down, and analyzing.
Even though Huang Wei's initial demonstration was very fast, all eighty-one movements of the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique—consisting of nine forms with nine movements each—were perfectly memorized by Zhuang Xun.
Paired with Bai Yujing's body of 100 points of Skeletal Structure, he was absolutely confident in replicating Huang Wei's Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique perfectly, without any disconnect between his mind and his body.
How magical. Just a few simple forms can actually coordinate so many muscles in the body to exert force together... Trapezius, even you have to get involved? Zhuang Xun pondered silently, savoring the details.
He was tempted to try it out right now, but he ultimately suppressed the urge.
After all, everyone was currently listening to the lecture. It would look too foolish if he suddenly started practicing his punches. In his past life, people would have laughed at him as a total clown.
Only when Huang Wei instructed the disciples to practice on their own did Zhuang Xun finally begin to move.
Over the past two years, Zhuang Xun had specially trained his ability to multitask. He was already capable of controlling two clones simultaneously, though it consumed a significant amount of mental energy. However, performing the exact same actions allowed the clones to synchronize their movements, reducing the mental toll to that of controlling a single clone.
Nevertheless, he remained cautious and did not dare to let their movements synchronize completely, lest anyone notice anything unusual.
But later, Zhuang Xun realized he had overthought things.
Even if the two clones performed the movements in perfect synchronization, Bai Yujing executed the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique with fluid grace, every movement filled with aesthetic beauty. Meanwhile, Yan Pingsheng's limbs were stiff, like a puppet in a play, his movements rigid and awkward. They looked entirely different.
This was the disparity brought about by the difference in their Skeletal Structures—much like a top-tier supercar and a tractor from his past life. Even with the same driver at the wheel, the difference was unavoidable.
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