Being forced to grow like a pig? But I'm immune to the consequences!

Chapter 43, "A Surprise with the Beast Meat," is available here. Click to unlock now.

After sitting down, the group chatted quite enthusiastically.

"Brother Fei, what's that closed window over there for?" Yan Liang asked curiously, pointing to a closed window at the very back of the cafeteria.

"You'll find out soon enough," Xu Fei said, keeping everyone in suspense.

A moment later, the closed window quietly opened. Xu Fei, Liu Zhi, Zhou Wei, and others stood up and walked towards the window. Several other trainees who appeared to come from well-off families also stood up at the same time.

They showed several specially made paper vouchers to the staff at the window.

Soon, each person was served a small bowl of steaming, white, creamy meat that looked like some kind of fish and emitted a strange, appetizing aroma.

Yan Liang stared expectantly, and as soon as Xu Fei and the others returned to their seats, he immediately asked, "Brother Fei, what... what is this?"

"Beast meat." Xu Fei picked up a piece, slowly put it into his mouth, and had an expression of enjoyment on his face.

"Beast meat?! Weren't they supposed to issue certificates every three days, and it's not supposed to start until tomorrow?" Yan Liang asked in surprise.

"This has nothing to do with the Martial Academy." Liu Zhi raised his chin smugly, deliberately raising his voice as if he wanted everyone around him to hear. "This was redeemed for us in advance by our family using points, so that we can eat it at the Martial Academy."

As expected, many students from the outer city cast envious or curious glances at them.

"Let me tell you, long-term consumption of this exotic beast meat can expand one's potential, allowing for a powerful breakthrough. The more you cultivate, the more obvious the effects become, and the probability of breaking through to the martial arts realm will be much higher than others!" Xu Fei added, feigning profundity.

"We've never stopped using this stuff since we first started practicing the Body Tempering Technique," Liu Zhi chimed in, his sense of superiority practically bursting through the sky.

Yan Liang looked around the canteen and realized that not all inner-city students could enjoy the meat of exotic beasts; many others ate ordinary food just like them. This made him even more convinced that Xu Fei and his group belonged to the upper class among the inner-city students.

Just then, another group of people entered the cafeteria. Their uniforms were slightly different from Wu Sheng's and the others, and their demeanor was more composed. As soon as they entered, they went straight to the window for serving the exotic beast meat, each of them took two portions of the meat, and then naturally walked into the private dining area with cushioned chairs.

A subdued murmur immediately filled the cafeteria.

"Brother Fei, who are those...?" Yan Liang asked curiously, pointing to the group of people again.

Seeing this, Liu Zhi's eyes flashed with disgust. He reached out and pressed down Yan Liang's finger, his tone somewhat reprimanding: "Don't point randomly! These people are either descendants of martial artists or collateral relatives of nobles. You must remember the most basic manners in front of them, understand?"

Yan Liang sheepishly withdrew his hand, feeling somewhat resentful but not daring to ask any further questions.

……

After the meal, everyone returned to the training ground to continue their practice.

Wu Sheng took a potential-enhancing drug given to him by Zhang Yong and entered into a deep practice of yoga.

After a long time, the potency of the medicine wore off.

[Wu Sheng]: Vitality 18/19 (13/23)

[Body Tempering Level 7: 213/640]

"There are still three potential-enhancing potions left from Instructor Zhang. At the current rate of two potions a day, that should last for three days. These three days are enough to push the body tempering progress forward by a significant margin."

"Breaking through to the seventh level of Body Tempering... is not far off."

He opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance in them, before plunging back into the relentless practice of his martial arts. Time slipped away silently amidst his sweat and focused concentration.

As night fell, the students returned to their dormitories one after another.

After a day of practice, Wu Sheng felt noticeably tired. He returned to his dormitory, lay down on his bed, and let his body relax.

Not long after, Yan Liang and the others returned one after another.

While packing his things, Zhao Dele mentioned the news he had heard: "I inquired around, and the martial arts academy's management is actually quite relaxed. They don't force us to stay cooped up in the academy all the time; we're allowed to go out, as long as we come back before midnight. Training time is mainly up to us to arrange. That assembly this morning was mainly to establish the rules for the first day. Those few who were late just got caught in the crossfire."

He turned around, looked at the others in the dormitory, and suggested, "How about it, guys? Want to go out for a walk? See the night view of the inner city? I heard it's even more lively at night than during the day."

Zhang Lin, Tu Nan, and Suo Guli all showed expressions of interest. The prosperity of the inner city held a natural attraction for these newcomers.

Yan Liang was also somewhat tempted, but a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

"Sure! I was just thinking of going out to take a look!" Zhang Lin, with his simple mind, was the first to respond.

"Count me in," Soguli said succinctly.

"I'll go too." Tu Nan nodded.

Yan Liang did not immediately respond. Zhao Dele did not ask him directly either, but simply glanced at him, waiting for his reply.

Yan Liang hesitated for a moment, then said, "I... wait a bit. I'll go ask my friends if they're going." With that, he turned and left the dormitory.

Zhao Dele watched his retreating figure, his eyes flickered slightly, and then he turned to Wu Sheng, but he did not invite him directly. Instead, he looked at Tu Nan and Zhang Lin first.

Tu Nan understood, looked at Wu Sheng who had been silent, and asked, "Brother Wu Sheng, would you like to go for a walk together?"

In the dormitory, only he and Zhang Lin were roughly aware of the feud between Wu Sheng and the Xu family. Because of this entanglement, they couldn't get too close to Wu Sheng, lest they get dragged into trouble for no reason. But Tu Nan felt that it was perfectly fine to just invite him to go for a walk together.

"I won't go. You guys have fun," Wu Sheng shook his head, politely declining.

Yan Liang's question was simply about Xu Fei and his group. Wu Sheng didn't want to go out, and even less did he want to be with his roommates in a situation where they might run into each other, which would only add to the awkwardness and put them in a difficult position.

More importantly, Wu Sheng harbored a degree of caution. His core was his trump card, but not something he could recklessly rely on right now. He hadn't even broken through to the seventh level of Body Tempering, and the realm of a Martial Artist was still a distant dream. Until he truly possessed the strength to protect himself, caution was always the best course of action.

Seeing this, Tu Nan didn't press the matter and nodded.

Time passed slowly, but Yan Liang still hadn't returned.

"Where did this guy go? Why isn't he back yet?" Soguli frowned, which made his already fierce face darken and made him look even more imposing.

Zhao Dele's brows furrowed slightly.

After a while, Yan Liang finally pushed the door open and came in.

"Let's wait a bit longer," he said with a feigned nonchalance. "My friends have some things to do. We'll go out together once they're done."

Upon hearing this, the men's expressions turned grim. Were they being told to wait idly?

Yan Liang seemed to sense that the atmosphere was not right, and quickly added, "They know the inner city well and know where the fun places are. With them leading the way, we can avoid taking detours."

These words softened the expressions on their faces slightly.

And so, the dormitory fell into a state of waiting again. The group chatted idly, but the conversation gradually dried up, and the atmosphere became dull.