Chapter 7: Life No. 1

Today was Sunday, and Chen Meng still had to go to the Hong Family Martial Arts School for training.

“Dad,” Chen Meng began, “I already enrolled in the tutoring class yesterday, and I have to attend today. I won’t be home for lunch.” He found himself becoming more adept at lying.

His father, Chen Jianghe, nodded with satisfaction, clearly pleased. His mother, Xu Xiu, felt the same; as she looked at Chen Meng, she was filled with the sense that her son was finally growing up. In the end, she even handed him a hundred yuan to cover his meal expenses.

Money, too? Chen Meng’s eyes lit up. In his eyes, this wasn’t just money—it was a knowledge point!

He went downstairs and headed straight for the martial arts school.

“Chen Meng, wait up!” Ma Yiqun called out, running over enthusiastically.

“What’s up? Are you going out too?” Chen Meng asked.

“No, I was just standing on the balcony and happened to see you. It reminded me of something.”

“What is it?”

“You owe me money!” Ma Yiqun stretched out his hand, looking at Chen Meng with a pitiful expression.

One glance told Chen Meng that Ma Yiqun must have run out of money. Otherwise, given their friendship, he wouldn’t have come to collect it.

“All right, here you go.” Chen Meng thought for a moment, then handed over the hundred yuan his mother had just given him.

At that moment, Chen Meng saw the data displayed before his eyes.

Knowledge Points: 0
Pages Read: High School Runes (206/862)

After repaying the debt, the money spent hadn’t converted into knowledge points. Chen Meng was speechless—was the system trying to turn him into an incorrigible debtor?

At the bus stop, Chen Meng topped up his transit card with a hundred yuan, and this time, he noticed a knowledge point had been added.

So phone payments worked too; it didn’t have to be cash.

Arriving at the martial arts school, Chen Meng saw Mo Xiaoyi practicing his punches and kicks. He couldn’t tell what ancient martial art style Mo Xiaoyi was training, but it looked powerful. Each move at times resembled a fierce tiger, sometimes a venomous serpent, and sometimes a mighty eagle...

Watching from the side, Chen Meng felt a tinge of envy; Mo Xiaoyi truly had some skills.

After finishing a set of moves, Mo Xiaoyi stopped, wiped his sweat with a towel, and said, “You’re here. Let’s begin today’s training.”

Chen Meng nodded, a little impatient to begin.

However, after just over an hour of training, he was already panting for breath.

“This is exhausting. If I keep burning energy like this, I’ll just collapse into bed tonight and won’t be able to study at all,” Chen Meng said.

“Training is supposed to be tiring. I wasn’t much better when I started. If we weren’t so poor, we could buy some stamina recovery potions—then we wouldn’t feel so worn out,” Mo Xiaoyi agreed wholeheartedly.

When he first started, he hadn’t fared any better than Chen Meng.

“There are stamina recovery potions?” Chen Meng perked up. “I only knew about the advancement potions you get in college. Are there others?”

“Of course. These are called support potions. Some of them are even more expensive than advancement potions. Once you’re in college, you’ll see that potions are by far the biggest expense on our cultivation path—a bottomless pit,” Mo Xiaoyi explained.

So aside from advancement potions, the rest were support potions?

Chen Meng pondered, then asked, “Senior, are there any stamina recovery potions suitable for me?”

Mo Xiaoyi thought for a moment. “There’s one suitable for ordinary martial arts practice. It’s called Life No.1 Oral Liquid. Strictly speaking, it’s not a divine body potion but more of a health supplement concocted by pharmacists.”

Since it couldn’t even be called a potion, it clearly wasn’t a true potion.

Chen Meng understood, but as long as it worked, that was enough. He was eager to spend money anyway—what else could he say? He had to go ahead and buy it. Even if he wasn’t a rich kid, he could still act with some extravagance.

“How much does this oral liquid cost?” Chen Meng asked directly. Since it wasn’t an actual potion, the price shouldn’t be outrageous. With his savings of twenty-nine thousand five hundred, he should be able to afford it.

“It’s about a thousand yuan per vial,” Mo Xiaoyi replied, giving Chen Meng a skeptical look. He didn’t seem like someone with money.

Chen Meng knew what he was thinking but didn’t bring it up. “If you have a supplier, I’ll take twenty-eight vials.”

Mo Xiaoyi was stunned, staring at Chen Meng in disbelief.

Twenty-eight vials—that was twenty-eight thousand yuan. He didn’t have that kind of money himself.

A true tycoon!

Mo Xiaoyi’s gaze changed. Perhaps he’d misjudged Chen Meng—maybe he was a wealthy heir hidden among ordinary people.

“Leave it to me,” Mo Xiaoyi said, deciding it was best to stick close to this benefactor.

Chen Meng didn’t hesitate; he transferred twenty-nine thousand yuan to Mo Xiaoyi. He wasn’t worried about Mo Xiaoyi running off; after all, you can’t take the monastery and leave the monk behind.

Besides, as long as the money was spent and knowledge points earned, the rest was just a bonus.

“Junior, why did you transfer an extra thousand?” Mo Xiaoyi asked.

“That’s for your trouble,” Chen Meng replied with a smile. And that extra thousand had also been counted by the system as knowledge points—this sort of expense evidently qualified as a consumption.

Very good!

Two hundred and ninety knowledge points gained!

“Junior, would next Saturday be all right to get the goods to you?” Mo Xiaoyi considered; these weren’t common items, otherwise Chen Meng would have heard of them, and acquiring them would naturally take time.

Chen Meng nodded. He’d be training next week anyway, and with the stamina recovery potion, training wouldn’t be as exhausting.

Their relationship became even closer. Sensing the time was right, Chen Meng asked about something that had piqued his curiosity: “Senior, yesterday you mentioned that next semester you’ll receive a first-tier Divine Body advancement potion, and advance to first-tier Divine Body? I’m really interested—could you tell me more about it?”

In high school, although they’d been preparing for Divine Body advancement, the school kept these matters under wraps and never discussed them.

There was also very little information online.

“Alright, I’ll explain. You only have three months until the college entrance exam and will soon be in university, so it’s not really breaking any rules to tell you now.” Mo Xiaoyi had just earned a thousand from Chen Meng, and was still in a good mood.

Chen Meng was slightly excited, waiting eagerly to listen.

“First, about the advancement potions. There are five types of first-tier Divine Body advancement potions, each with a different focus. Taking any one of them allows an ordinary person to advance to a first-tier Divine Body. As for me, I’m most interested in two: the Azure Potion, which focuses on speed, and the Crimson Potion, which emphasizes strength. Whether I’m assigned one of these depends on the school’s arrangements and their potion reserves,” Mo Xiaoyi explained, a hint of longing in his eyes.

The Azure and Crimson Potions were obviously in high demand.

“After taking the potion, you need to digest it fully before you can take the next tier’s advancement potion. The digestion period varies from person to person—some finish in a few months, others may take years.”

He continued, “Now, let me tell you about the extraordinary abilities of a first-tier Divine Body. After fully digesting the advancement potion, your speed can reach up to 25 meters per second, punching power can hit 1,000 kilograms, reaction time can be as fast as 0.1 seconds. Even if you’re shot by an ordinary handgun, unless it’s a vital area, you won’t die. Perception improves greatly as well—you can basically locate people by sound. For ordinary people, a first-tier Divine Body is already a superhuman.”

Hearing this, Chen Meng couldn’t help but gasp. Was a first-tier Divine Body really that powerful?

“It’s tempting, isn’t it? I was thrilled when I first heard about this in college. If I’d known in my first year of high school, I probably would have risked everything to obtain an advancement potion. The country doesn’t tell us about this earlier, probably for this reason.”

Chen Meng understood. After all, the optimal time to use the Divine Body advancement potion was after turning eighteen. Taking it earlier would be draining one’s life and potential.

The authorities must worry that teenagers, lacking self-control, would harm themselves in the pursuit.

“At present, there’s still a shortage of Divine Body potions. More than sixty percent of our population remain ordinary people; only the most outstanding are eligible for the advancement potions. Other countries are reportedly worse off. There’s no helping it—cultivation resources for a Divine Body are immense, and our nation can’t support everyone’s advancement. Still, with each generation’s research and development, the threshold is much lower than it used to be.”

“Junior, remember: only if you’re exceptional will you be qualified to become strong. In fact, every strong person is incredibly knowledgeable.”

Chen Meng was struck by this; he’d just heard those words from someone else.

Who was it? Oh right, that was Senior Yan Ruoxi from Jiangzhou University.

That evening, when Chen Meng returned home, he checked his current status.