Chapter 23

For Li Yao, everything that happened that night was an incredible and wondrous journey.

He only remembered being beaten to a pulp by the smiling clown, fainting in disgrace, and then feeling as if he had been thrown into a steaming hot pool, floating and sinking in scorching lava.

It took him five hours to wake up, and Li Yao felt that he had never been so refreshed in his life!

The indescribable sense of satisfaction was beyond words—勉强要说的话，就像是他浑身上下的每一束肌肉、没一条血管，甚至每一颗细胞，都享受了一顿无比精美的大餐，又舒舒服服地泡了个澡，最后享受了三个钟头无微不至的全身按摩，简直是爽到九霄云外！

However, the bald, tattooed gym owner kept a stern face, glaring at him as if he owed the owner hundreds of thousands of dollars!

It wasn't until Li Yao slurped down two large bowls of corn porridge and swallowed four thick sausages, along with twelve meat buns, that the owner's expression improved slightly.

"Have you been in the military?" the owner asked abruptly.

Li Yao was taken aback and shook his head.

"The way you eat is very similar to some 'special forces' in the military. Real special forces who have survived on the battlefield of slaughter know that ingesting the maximum amount of energy in the shortest time is a very important skill that can greatly increase the chances of survival! Your eating style is definitely the result of specialized training, either you were in the military yourself, or you have an elder in your family who came from a very high-level secret unit!" the bald, tattooed man explained, his gaze suddenly becoming very friendly.

He didn't press Li Yao about his background but directly pulled out a brand new contract.

"The member from earlier was very satisfied with your performance and wants to sign a one-month sparring contract with you. Are you interested?"

...

And so, when Li Yao appeared at the entrance of Chixiao No. 2 High School the next morning, his account had an additional 110,000 yuan, a contract worth a fortune in his pocket, a surge of power in his veins, and his chest felt as if it were stuffed with crystal explosives, each heartbeat a thunderous explosion!

"97 days, 18 hours, 33 minutes, and 45 seconds until the college entrance exam!"

Standing under the countdown clock, Li Yao's eyes reflected the ticking numbers, which transformed into two fiery beams of madness. He clenched his fists, wanting to let out a roar, leap into the air, and kick the sign to pieces with a flying kick!

"Xiao Yao, where were you yesterday? You didn't even reply to my spirit crane message, what's going on?" his best friend Meng Jiang's voice came from behind.

Without turning around, Li Yao tossed the oil paper-wrapped package over his shoulder, landing it precisely in Meng Jiang's arms: "I suddenly had a fever and rested at home all day. Here, a pancake from the Fire Cloud Palm stall!"

Meng Jiang yelped from the heat, but when he opened the oil paper, his eyes lit up: "Wow, you must have hit the jackpot, you bought ten whole pancakes! How can you eat them all?"

"You eat five, and I'll throw away five!" Li Yao laughed, putting his arm around his friend's neck, and the two of them walked to the classroom, chatting and laughing.

"Hey, Xiao Yao, did you hear? Our school had a huge, explosive news last night!" Meng Jiang said with a mischievous grin.

"What news?" Li Yao asked, swallowing three steaming hot pancakes in quick succession, leaving Meng Jiang speechless.

Regaining his composure, Meng Jiang said, "It's said that last night, in our ordinary class, someone had a conflict with the school's top expert, Helian Lie, and used some means to make Helian Lie very embarrassed. When he got home, he was severely reprimanded by his elders and even grounded for a week, forbidden to cause trouble again!"

"Hmm?" Li Yao's pace slowed, his expression strange.

Meng Jiang, not noticing his friend's odd behavior, continued excitedly, "They say it was over Si Jiaxue. Hey, I wonder which 'hero' from our ordinary class had the guts to make Helian Lie, the school bully, eat humble pie. But this bold guy will probably have a very tragic end, and there will be a good show today!"

Li Yao asked curiously, "Didn't you say Helian Lie was grounded and didn't come to school? What show is there to see?"

Meng Jiang shook his head, "Xiao Yao, you usually don't pay attention to the school's secrets, so you don't know. Helian Lie's influence in the school is not simple! Not to mention his father, Helian Ba, who is one of the board members of Chixiao No. 2 High School and has great influence; Helian Lie himself is the 'Student Council President' and the organizer of several clubs, with a large number of powerful subordinates. So, whether it's playing dirty or clean, no one can match him!"

Pausing, Meng Jiang lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Do you remember last year, when a student in a parallel class offended Helian Lie? Not only was he beaten badly, but after being sent to the infirmary, he was 'accidentally' given the wrong treatment, lying in bed for half a month. When he finally recovered, he was expelled from school on some pretext. Tsk tsk tsk, truly a living hell!"

Li Yao's pupils suddenly contracted, "Helian Lie has that much power?"

Meng Jiang nodded, looking mournful, and sighed, "You only found out now? Otherwise, even if he were a great fighter, there would be no reason for everyone to be so afraid of him. In short, whoever provoked him last night should quickly apply to drop out of school to avoid a beating! Hey, Xiao Yao, why do you look so pale?"

"Am I?" Li Yao chewed casually, burping.

"Yes, who made you eat six pancakes in one go? You're a real glutton, aren't you? Now you're stuffed!" Meng Jiang slapped him on the back, "Strange, did you put something under your back? Your back muscles feel as hard as a rock!" ...

Ten minutes later, at Gym No. 9.

Chixiao No. 2 High School has nine gyms, and Gym No. 9 is the oldest, with the most outdated equipment and the worst environment, serving as the main training ground for ordinary class students.

In the spacious gym, various training devices were set up, and over a hundred ordinary class students, all dressed in elastic training suits, were undergoing arduous training. Shouts, striking sounds, and the clanging of metal plates and barbells mixed together, echoing under the dilapidated ceiling.

Li Yao slipped into an exam pod, preparing to test his spirit root development.

He felt that his spirit root development must have undergone a complete transformation!