At ten in the morning, Chen Chu was awakened by a phone call.
"Ah Chu, I just received a transfer message of 340,000 yuan, with the note 'For Chen Chu.' What's going on?" On the other end, Zhang Xiaolan sounded a bit panicked.
Li Hao had quickly transferred the money from selling the mutated bull, but she didn't know what Chen Chu had done to warrant such a large sum of money in a single transaction.
Surprised, Chen Chu comforted his mother. "Mom, don't worry. I hunted a mutated beast with my classmates yesterday, I got the money through clean and legal means."
"Hunting mutated beasts?"
Zhang Xiaolan was stunned and astonished. "Aren't you participating in the trial in Kyrola? How did you end up killing mutated beasts? You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"I didn't get hurt. We happened to encounter a beast yesterday while on a mission, so I killed it."
"I’m glad you weren't hurt." Zhang Xiaolan let out a sigh of relief. Now that she knew that the money came from a legitimate source, Zhang Xiaolan's mood improved instantly. "Ah Chu, let me hold onto this money for now. You can use it for a house or a wedding after you graduate."
"Uh... you're thinking too far ahead," Chen Chu said, somewhat helplessly. Marriage was too distant a matter for him.
However, he had heard a certain woman say this before, telling him to save his salary properly to buy a house and get married. Chen Chu's heart fluttered slightly thinking of this.
His voice softened. "Mom, you don't need to save the money. You can find someone to renovate the house. Patch up the exterior where the tiles are falling off, fix the cracks and peels in the living room. Replace the washing machine, since it broke twice last month, and some other old appliances, too..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Xiaolan interrupted him, "Renovations and such don't matter. Things are fine as they are now. You've worked hard to earn this money; it shouldn't be wasted."
Chen Chu advised, "Mom, you don't need to save the money. I'm already at the Second Heavenly Realm, and I'll break through to the Third in less than two months. By the time I participate in the mutated beast trials in the second year, killing a mutated beast will earn me hundreds of thousands. This is nothing.
“Ah Hu’s also been eating more and more lately; we can afford to get better food for him now. And when I become stronger in the future, I'll get him mutated beast meat every day to lay a solid foundation for his cultivation. He'll be way ahead of his classmates by the time he reaches high school."
Chen Chu had once wondered why Xia Youhui and the others had such a strong initial physique. It turned out to be because they had started eating mutated beast meat very early on, albeit only the kind with relatively mild energy.
If ordinary people tried to eat powerful mutated beast meat, they would suffer indigestion at best and potentially die. On top of that, non-cultivators had poor absorption of such energy. It would take a lot of mutated beast meat, eaten over a long time, to slowly improve their physique, which was why it was so expensive.
With Chen Chu's description of such a bright future, Zhang Xiaolan finally agreed to his request to renovate the house.
Back in the office, even a blind person would be able to see the smile on Zhang Xiaolan's face.
Sitting across from her, Sister Wang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Xiaolan, did something good happen? You seem so happy."
Zhang Xiaolan replied, "I received a text message about a transaction over 300,000 yuan."
"Xiaolan, where did the money come from?" Several colleagues around her exclaimed in surprise.
Zhang Xiaolan chuckled. "I was startled too, because the transfer memo had my son's name on it, so I called him. It’s money he and his classmates earned from killing a mutated beast, and Ah Chu said he would break through to the Third Heavenly Realm in the next couple months."
Sitting across from her, Sister Wang was shocked. "He'll break through to the Third Heavenly Realm in two months! Xiaolan, I remember your son has only been in high school for about two months already, right!?"
A few years ago, her son had also cultivated in high school. While his talent had been so poor that he had failed to finish Foundation Building, she had still learned a bit about the cultivation realms.
She knew that many geniuses at Nantian Martial Arts High School had only been able to break through to the Third Heavenly Realm in their second year of high school.
With no concept of cultivation speed, Zhang Xiaolan nodded blankly. "Yes, just over two months."
After a bit of hesitation, another colleague spoke up. "I remember last week, Xiaolan, you mentioned something about your son going to Kyrola for trials. My husband works in education and heard that Nantian Martial Arts High School sent freshmen to the trial in Kyrola, but only a small number of geniuses were eligible to sign up."
"Well, Ah Chu broke through to the Second Heavenly Realm a while ago. He also participated in the freshman ranking competition and got forty-ninth."
Other colleagues exclaimed in surprise, "Xiaolan, I didn't expect your son to be a genius."
"Yeah, and he's ranked forty-ninth in his year? That’s amazing."
Many colleagues congratulated Zhang Xiaolan, their tones filled with envy.
Hearing the commotion outside, the office manager had frowned and walked out, but after standing and listening for a while, he returned to his office with a smile on his face.
Chen Chu didn't know about these conversations. After being awakened by the phone call, he simply sat up, while Xia Youhui was still fast asleep on the other bed.
He pondered for a moment, then opened the trial group chat, clicking on Pang Long’s icon and sending a direct message.
Chen Chu: Mr. Pang, do you have time now?
Pang Long's reply came quickly, with a message sent in just a few seconds.
Pang Long: Chen Chu, is there something you wish to talk about?
Chen Chu: When I followed you up the mountain last night, I noticed that the weapons you had seemed a bit different from ours.
And I seem to remember that you didn't have any weapons on you when you got off the car...?
Pang Long: I know what you want to ask.
In the face of Chen Chu's inquiry, Pang Long’s reply was straightforward.
Pang Long: As cultivators, we have weapons, but they are usually kept inside the Sumeru Tool.
That’s a kind of equipment for storage space. You’ll be eligible to exchange for it after breaking through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm.
In addition, our weapons are categorized as transcendent equipment, different from the ordinary alloy weapons freshmen receive. They allow us to unleash greater combat power.
"Transcendent equipment!" Chen Chu was somewhat surprised at the idea that others could also use attribute enhancement, but Pang Long didn't know about his thoughts.
Pang Long: Transcendent equipment is also a type of weapon that is only available after breaking through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm. This is information you don’t need for now.
However, if you feel that ordinary alloy weapons are too weak, you can try to temper your armor or weapons with true power after breaking through to the Third Heavenly Realm.
Although weapons tempered solely with true power are not as strong as transcendent weapons, they are sturdier and sharper than ordinary ones. I'll send you a document on tempering arts later.
But normally, I don't recommend doing this, as it will slow down your cultivation progress. I wouldn't have told you if you hadn't asked me.
Rather than consume true power to temper weapons at the Third Heavenly Realm, it's more effective to break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm early and refine transcendent weapons. The former practice was phased out twenty years ago.
After asking a few more questions about cultivation, Chen Chu put down his phone with a faint smile on his face.
Pang Long's words just now had solved some of his concerns about strengthening his armor. While it had strong defense, it also made it easier for his secrets to be exposed; anyone would be suspicious if his was the only armor to not get damaged in battle.
Fortunately, he had cleverly found an excuse for the color change from when he had strengthened it earlier, even if it slightly deviated from the serious atmosphere of the trial. And now he finally had a better excuse to cover it up, coinciding with his imminent breakthrough to the Third Heavenly Realm.
Chen Chu got up and tidied up a bit. Putting on a black-bottomed red-trimmed uniform given by the military, he got ready to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, and then to exchange for Life Crystals for his breakthrough.
With the evil cultists and main rebel force in Leisteru City wiped out in the battle last night, Chen Chu and the others had earned two days of rest. Afterword, the mission would be adjusted accordingly for the diminished threat, and they would no longer have to go out on patrol every day.