Chapter 76: The Troubles of a Desk Mate

During the period when the flowers were still growing, Zhang Pu had some free time. He had to return to school during the day for classes; he felt uncomfortable about always asking for leave.

“Wow! A luxury car—”

When Zhang Pu was dropped off at the school gate by Liu Yingde and his subordinates from the Sorcerer Ghost Sect, he heard the voices of envy, jealousy, and resentment from the crowd at the entrance.

Zhang Pu got out of the car calmly, offering only a faint smile. Facing all sorts of gazes, his heart remained unruffled.

Soon, many people recognized him. Even though he often took leave and hadn’t come to school for quite some time, making him even more mysterious than the renowned campus belle Liu Qingyan, he had already gained fame from his dominance on the basketball court. At that time, everyone realized Zhang Pu was a hidden slam dunk master, but they never expected his family to be so wealthy. Now, they couldn’t understand why he usually dressed so modestly and never flaunted it.

Liu Yingde, who naturally loved to show off and enjoyed being revered by people from all around, was not an exception. Nowadays, it was common for priests and monks to drive luxury cars, so someone like him would certainly not miss the chance.

Sitting in the car, Liu Yingde’s true identity as a member of the Sorcerer Ghost Sect was unknown to the students; none of them knew he wasn’t actually Zhang Pu’s relative.

After Zhang Pu got out, he told Liu Yingde and his subordinates to drive away, and they didn’t get out of the car.

Zhang Pu waved to the students who cast glances his way, appearing almost like a humble master.

He intended to disappear into the crowd, but suddenly someone called his name.

Someone ran up alongside him; who else could it be but his close desk mate, Zheng Xiaoming?

“Your family is really rich!” Zheng Xiaoming exclaimed with genuine admiration.

Zhang Pu didn’t bother to explain, replying flatly, “Your family isn’t bad either.”

“Ah, it’s nothing compared to yours.” Zheng Xiaoming sighed.

“But I think the wealthiest in our class is Huang Xiaobiao!” Zheng Xiaoming continued with another sigh, “And he has the best grades, too.”

“Better than yours?” Zhang Pu retorted.

In truth, Zhang Pu didn’t care much about who excelled academically; he was at school for his own personal reasons, just passing this period of time. His question wasn’t meant to tease Zheng Xiaoming—it was because he knew Zheng Xiaoming was a top student. Zhang Pu had been absent-minded here, always assuming Zheng Xiaoming was the best in the class, perhaps even famous in the whole year, but it turned out someone’s grades surpassed his. Clearly, Zhang Pu had taken too many leaves lately and needed to reflect.

Zheng Xiaoming simply responded to Zhang Pu’s retort with a long sigh. From this, Zhang Pu could tell Zheng Xiaoming wasn’t just being modest; he truly couldn’t outperform Huang Xiaobiao.

Actually, Zhang Pu wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with Huang Xiaobiao’s academic achievements; he had simply been so busy lately that he hadn’t paid attention to the fact that Huang Xiaobiao had overtaken Zheng Xiaoming, leaving the latter frustrated.

Now, Zheng Xiaoming was more than just an ordinary desk mate to Zhang Pu; he had become something of a subordinate, and Zhang Pu was willing to treat him as such.

What about Zheng Xiaoming? Zhang Pu could see that he was deeply troubled by being surpassed academically. Zheng Xiaoming didn’t just want to be the top student in the class; he aspired to be the best in the entire year.

As for Class 10 of the third year of senior high, truthfully, their overall grades only ranked in the middle of the ten classes in the year, not among the top. But Zheng Xiaoming’s diligence, studiousness, and determination made Zhang Pu believe that with effort, he could not only be first in the class but certainly among the top three in the year.

As for Zhang Pu himself, he didn’t want to be so high-profile. Now that he had entered the Foundation Establishment stage, he could begin cultivating many small immortal techniques. As for academic exams, it was trivial—using a bit of magic, surpassing even the best students was easy, and if he wanted to attend the nation’s top university in the capital, he had the means.

But Zhang Pu’s goal wasn’t that famous university in the capital. After the college entrance exams, he intended to go to another university, one that held a certain secret he sought after his rebirth.

This modern high school didn’t have it; he just happened to be reborn and landed at this juncture. He wanted to make up for some regrets from his previous life in the Qingwu region.

He wanted to see if, in this lifetime, he could help change the fate of certain people for the better, to prevent some unfortunate events that shouldn’t happen, and try to turn the tide.

Of course, to make everyone happy and better, Zhang Pu believed that even if he succeeded in the tribulation and reached the Great Ascension stage, possessing power to destroy worlds with a single punch, it would still be impossible to eradicate the evil in human nature. Perhaps even the ruler of the universe wouldn’t have such ability.

Having returned to the Qingwu region during this rebirth, he encountered some of the same villains as before. No matter what, he was determined to force them to change for the better, and if they persisted in their ways, he would show no mercy!

At this moment, Zhang Pu suddenly patted Zheng Xiaoming’s shoulder and said, “Don’t lose heart. Watch your brother win back your honor!”

Hearing Zhang Pu utter such bold words, Zheng Xiaoming looked at him in astonishment: Come on! Your grades aren’t even as good as mine, and you’re always taking leave. Shamelessly claiming you’ll beat Huang Xiaobiao for me—this is not the way to comfort someone.

Of course, Zheng Xiaoming didn’t actually say these words aloud. He understood that Zhang Pu truly regarded him as a brother, but after witnessing Zhang Pu’s terrifying abilities, Zheng Xiaoming no longer dared to compare himself to him. No matter how strong his competitive spirit, even if he didn’t want to admit defeat to Huang Xiaobiao, in front of Zhang Pu he felt utterly compelled to bow his head.

Outwardly they were brothers, but in his heart, it was as if something had been broken; he knew he would always be Zhang Pu’s subordinate.

It wasn’t just because of that time when Zhang Pu dramatically rescued his cousin Ke Zhiyuan, his skill astonishing everyone. For some reason, Zhang Pu increasingly gave him the feeling of a heavenly emperor descending to the mortal world.

Zheng Xiaoming tried hard to rid himself of this feeling, constantly telling himself: Zhang Pu is just an ordinary person like me, just a bit better at fighting, nothing more... But he couldn’t do it!

He couldn’t bring himself to believe that Zhang Pu could win back his honor for him. Because in his heart, Zhang Pu was already a heavenly emperor, though he never admitted it outwardly.

He just didn’t know.