Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Chapter 17 Spiritual Cultivator

The next morning, Xiang Ning arrived in class early to sweep the floors. As a part-time student, that was his duty. He cleaned alone, though he suddenly heard someone call his name. Xiang Ning looked around and was surprised to see Wang Zhe. “You’re early today?” 

“Heh, I’m an excellent student. Helpful, too.” Wang Zhe took the broom from his hands. “Go, go sit down.” 

Xiang Ning grinned and sat aside. He was almost done, anyway, Wang Zhe only had to quickly sweep the last remaining section. 

“I’ve spoken to my parents about it, let’s meet in school before we leave, alright?” Wang Zhe grinned, referring to training at the dojo with Xiang Ning. He had witnessed Xiang Ning’s capabilities yesterday, as well as the speed at which he could learn a skill. 

Wang Zhe wanted to learn from him, too, though at this point, he wasn’t aware that Xiang Ning was already a martial artist. 

“Hehe, did you know I’m in Physical Tempering stage eight now? I’ll aim to achieve martial artist this month. What do you think?” 

“That’s not bad at all,” agreed Xiang Ning. He had to admit that being in a rich family had its perks. How fortunate it was that Wang Zhe could aim for being a martial artist right from the beginning of the semester! If he recalled correctly, Fatty Wang was only in stage six three days ago. 

Being a martial artist used to be Xiang Ning’s three-year plan. That wasn’t because he had low self-esteem. It was because he didn’t have any resources, talent, or a good support system for it. With his circumstances, he left lower secondary with a mere Physical Tempering stage four, so naturally it was a realistic plan. 

In this era, achieving stage seven or eight in lower secondary was common, and being a martial artist wasn’t entirely unheard of. The first and second classes had a few martial artists who even achieved beyond tier one, one-star. 

“Hahaha, remember our deal, alright? I’ll wait for you by the school gates tomorrow morning and we’ll head to the dojo together.” 

Xiang Ning nodded. 

Students gradually trickled into the classroom. Wang Zhe finished sweeping and left the broom in the corner. 

“Good morning, Xiang Ning, Wang Zhe.” Many students greeted them with a friendly smile, to which Wang Zhe returned with a chuckle. 

Xiang Ning nodded in return. The difference in treatment since yesterday was stark. His performance meant that he was now worthy of their respect. 

Of course, Zhang Cheng would never greet Xiang Ning, and when he saw that Xiang Ning’s status in the class had been elevated, he even contributed a few Fury Points. 

Only the section on scientific technology attracted Xiang Ning throughout the entirety of the morning’s Culture class. Today, Ma Shujing taught about spiritual cultivators. 

“People who mainly cultivate Mental Power are known as spiritual cultivators. They strengthen themselves through scientific inventions, which is an alternate cultivation path to becoming a martial artist. However, prices for those weapons and equipment can be exorbitant.” She tapped on the rostrum and an infographic on a spiritual cultivator’s equipment appeared. 

She tapped on the main section. “The equipment in the torso area is generally categorized as Spiritual Armor. It’s made up of four sections, with one set of tier one armor costing five hundred thousand to three million dollars. tier two armor costs two to five million dollars. Weaponry is divided into two main kinds. 

“Cold weapons are the same as what martial artists use. I’ll focus on the second kind today: hot weaponry.” Ma Shujing proceeded to lecture them on hot weaponry. 

This was why before tier seven, spiritual cultivators were more powerful than martial artists. Furthermore, they had better defenses as well. One full set of Silver Moon Mk. 3 Armor would bring a tier one spiritual cultivator up to the level of a tier two martial artist.

Naturally, the Silver Moon Mk. 3 was priced at three million dollars, and when sold with hot weaponry, the total cost could reach more than four million dollars. Not even the average rich person could afford one. 

During recess, the student sitting in front of Xiang Ning suddenly turned around with a smile. “Xiang Ning, come join me for lunch at the cafeteria?”

He could barely react before Wang Zhe cut in and grabbed Xiang Ning’s shoulder. “Let’s go! They’ve got a new menu at the cafeteria today, we should try it!” 

The two of them disappeared from the classroom in a second, leaving the student wryly smiling to himself. 

Along the way, Wang Zhe pursed his lips in annoyance and proclaimed, “Hmph, those bastards are trying to get in your good books after yesterday.” 

Xiang Ning smiled without a word. He understood this behavior, which he had experienced since he arrived at this school. He didn’t care, nor did he blame them. 

Wang Zhe and Xiang Ning happily chatted until they arrived at the lower secondary area, where they spotted Xiang Xiaoyu sitting by the water fountain. 

“Hi Wang Zhe,” Xiang Xiaoyu cheerfully greeted as she hugged her brother’s arm.

Wang Zhe’s heart warmed. “Let’s go, they’ve got a new menu at the cafeteria today. I’ll buy you something delicious!” 

“Thank you!” Xiang Xiaoyu perked up when she heard they would be getting good food. 

Xiang Ning shook his head in exasperation, deciding to return the two thousand dollars to Wang Zhe later. He had earned almost three thousand dollars from mining in the caves over the past few days. 

After lunch, Xiang Ning’s cultivation improved a little once more. Fearsome beast meat really was different. Then he gave Wang Zhe the two thousand dollars he owed him, which Wang Zhe vehemently refused. Two thousand dollars was just the price of a few meals, to him, but to Xiang Ning, Fatty Wang knew it was at least a month’s spending. But in the end, he could no longer refuse Xiang Ning’s insistence and kept the money. 

Soon, it was time for the practical combat class. It was held within the virtual reality capsules again, though this time Mu Xiao told the class to practice on their own and call him if they needed help. 

Xiang Ning was free to do as he wished now. He greatly appreciated this time, because one hour was worth eight hundred dollars! That reminded him of his Fury Points. If he wanted to improve faster, he needed Fury Points, which only came from provoking anger in another person. 

After some thought, he picked the sparring option and was matched with an opponent in three seconds. 

His vision changed to the arena selection interface. There were many to choose from, including the forest, grasslands, desert, and the most popular, battle arena. Unlike the other complicated terrains, it offered the simple option of immediate face-to-face battle. 

Xiang Ning selected the battle arena, which was coincidentally the same as his opponent’s choice. Three seconds later, they appeared in the arena. Xiang Ning saw a figure standing opposite him holding a longsword. They both recognized each other. 

Xiang Ning saw his Fury Points increasing. 

Indeed, it was Zhang Cheng. 

Zhang Cheng’s expression darkened the moment he saw Xiang Ning, while Xiang Ning looked amused because his number of Fury Points kept increasing. 

Fury Points +22 

Fury Points +22 

…

Generous indeed. 

Zhang Cheng was infuriated when he saw the smiling Xiang Ning and yelled, “You bastard! Don’t you dare think you’ll beat me just because you beat Li Minghao!” 

“Oh? Is that so?” Xiang Ning chuckled, overjoyed at the increase in his Fury Points. Zhang Cheng exploded in rage, sprinting forward when the ten-second countdown ended. 

“Swift Slash!” Li Minghao had used this technique, too, but Zhang Cheng was more skillful in it. He appeared before Xiang Ning in a flash, his sword lunging forward at a terrifying angle. 

Xiang Ning’s mind raced. Ever since he broke through ten Mental Power, his perception had improved. At this point, even the Swift Slash was… not so swift. He gracefully dodged while Zhang Cheng chased him down. 

After a minute, the humiliated Zhang Cheng raged, “Face me like a man!” He felt like he had been tricked! 

Xiang Ning watched his Fury Points increase by fifty-five Points and grinned. “Come here then!” 

Fury Points +99 

It was unacceptable. Unacceptable! Zhang Cheng’s mind was a mess now, reducing him to hacking and slashing with mindless rage. 

Xiang Ning struck with a grin. “Mountain-Splitting Slash!” 

He brought his sword down with the force of an avalanche, forcing Zhang Cheng to the ground. Zhang Cheng didn’t move, and the video turned black and white. 

“Ahhh!! Xiang Ning, I’ll kill you!!” Zhang Cheng roared as tears flowed from his eyes. 

Fury Points +100