When the Grand Sparring Partner in the dream—once a terrifying tormentor in Wang Baole's eyes—could no longer twist his fingers, kick him below the belt, or wrench his joints, and even ended up being countered… Wang Baole trembled with excitement.
"Who can stop me from becoming Class Monitor now? No one!!"
He burst out of the dream realm, stood at the entrance of his cave dwelling, hands on hips, laughing wildly at the sky.
His chest swelled with exhilaration and anticipation. Ever since learning what kind of authority the Class Monitor possessed, every bit of effort he had made for the past half-year had been for one goal: claiming that title.
Just imagining himself wielding the right to supervise every student in the Armament Department… imagining himself becoming someone important—if not walking sideways through the academy, then at least someone nobody would dare provoke—made him even more thrilled.
In the past, these fantasies brought excitement but also pressure, fueling his determination to work harder. But now… now he could finally see it, feel it—becoming Class Monitor was within arm's reach.
His heartbeat thundered with excitement.
His stomach also rumbled from hunger.
"All this time, trying to become Class Monitor, I practically starved myself. But now that my grappling art is mastered, skipping a meal won't make me any thinner."
Unable to resist, he sprinted straight for the academy cafeteria and ordered a meal meant for three people, devouring it with blissful satisfaction.
An hour later, waddling back while gnawing on a chicken leg, his belly was round and tight. Tossing the bone aside, he patted his stomach, pulled out a bottle of Ice Spirit Water, chugged it down, and returned to his cave dwelling. He let out a massive burp, stuffed a few more bags of snacks into his mouth, wiped his lips, and inhaled deeply.
"Ethereal Dao College, Armament Department… it's time to change the Class Monitor!"
Imagining himself standing atop the rankings, Wang Baole grew more fired up.
"Class Monitor—here I come!"
He raised his right hand. In that instant, the devouring seed within his body erupted. His entire being felt like a black hole.
After months of grappling practice, his control over the devouring ability wasn't perfect, but it was close. Spirit power surged wildly as the seed expanded through every meridian.
Space rippled. It felt as if the entire cave had become a vacuum, drawing in the outside world's spiritual energy—flooding into him in a roaring torrent, gathering at his palms.
A brilliant crystalline glow burst to life in his hand.
The difference between mid-grade and high-grade spirit stones lay in purity—84% to 85%. A bottleneck for most cultivators… and one that had once caused Wang Baole much grief.
But now, with his devouring seed vastly stronger, his meridians tempered by the grappling art, and his entire body flowing smoothly with power…
The moment he began refining—
He leapt past the middle–high-grade barrier and formed a spirit stone with 86% purity.
His body didn't gain any spiritual fat either—if anything, it grew slightly stronger from the refinement process. The discovery made him ecstatic.
"So what if I put on a little weight? Worst case, I'll just go burn it off. My priority is becoming Class Monitor!"
To him, losing weight was an everyday chore. Becoming Class Monitor was destiny. So he threw his entire focus into spirit stone refinement.
Days passed. When he refined a stone with 89% purity, he made up his mind.
"Seclusion. I'm going into seclusion!"
The desire to become Class Monitor consumed him completely. For confirmation, he even made a trip to the Spirit Stone Hall—checking again that Jiang Lin, the current Class Monitor, produced spirit stones with 91% purity.
Confident, he bought a mountain of food and shut himself inside, beginning a mad sprint toward the title.
Days blurred. Refining spirit stone after spirit stone, Wang Baole entered a trance-like state.
One week later—
His purity broke past 89% and reached… 90%.
If word got out, the entire academy would explode.
After 85%, every increase in purity was harder than climbing the heavens. Jiang Lin, considered a genius, had taken over two years to go from 70% to 90%, and another year to reach 91%.
And Wang Baole? He had gone from 50% to 90%… in just over half a year.
A spirit stone refined to 90% purity was considered master-level craftsmanship. In the entire academy, only two people had ever achieved it:
One at 90%.One at 91%.
Breaking 90% was like leaping across a canyon. Breaking 91% was leaping across a mountain.
Historically, the fastest students to become Class Monitor took two years—and that was in other departments. In the Armament Department? New students had never done it.
But Wang Baole was charging toward that record like a runaway beast.
He put all his energy into refining. Not a thought was spared for his weight. Meanwhile, his body quietly accumulated more and more spiritual fat…
More days passed. By the time he reached a size comparable to when he first underwent weight loss training the moment he entered school—
His spirit stone purity hit 91%.
Victory was close enough to touch.
Ignoring his weight entirely, breathing heavily, encouraging himself, he refined again.
One week passed.
His purity reached… 92%.
But Wang Baole kept going.
What if Jiang Lin also improved soon? What if he overtook Wang Baole at the last second? That would be unacceptable.
So Wang Baole gritted his teeth and pushed for his limit.
His body swelled frighteningly—far beyond his previous size—until, at last…
His purity soared again—
From 92%…
To 93%.
The spirit stone in his hand radiated not just crystalline shine, but seven shifting colors—like a precious gemstone.
"It's real… It's actually the legendary—Seven-Color Spirit Stone!!"
He had heard about it only once from a teacher. Later, after researching it, he learned it was considered the highest possible level in spirit stone refinement.
"I'm definitely the Class Monitor now!"
Overcome with joy, he surged upward—ready to go straight to the Spirit Stone Hall and begin the official test. Once recorded by the ranking stele, he would be crowned Class Monitor.
But the moment he tried to stand—
He froze.
"Huh…? Why does the cave… feel smaller…?"
Heart tightening, he looked down at his stomach. Then at the cave walls. Then back at himself.
A long, dreadful silence followed.
Then—
"NOOOOO—!"
A miserable scream echoed through his cave dwelling.
His body now filled almost the entire room. The cave wasn't small—but compared to him, it suddenly felt tiny.
He looked like a massive bear wedged into a tiny den. Anyone who saw him would gasp in shock.
He couldn't even stand.
And when he looked at the door… tears almost formed.
Even if he crawled, he wouldn't fit through.
"Dear heavens… If I can't get out… how am I supposed to lose weight?!"
He screamed internally. He was this close to reaching the peak of his life—becoming Class Monitor—yet he was literally stuck.
Without leaving the cave, he couldn't go to the lava chamber to burn fat. Without losing weight, he couldn't even exit the room.
A perfect nightmare loop.
After agonizing for a long time and realizing nothing worked, Wang Baole swallowed his pride and activated his transmission ring—calling for help.
When Liu Daobin arrived and saw him…
He inhaled sharply.
"Sweet heavens—Wang Baole, how did you even DO this?!"
Wang Baole nearly cried from shame.
Liu Daobin tried countless methods. None worked. He called others. Soon, Xiaoya (the Little White Rabbit), Du Min, and even Chen Ziheng arrived.
"Incredible…"Chen Ziheng stared in disbelief.
Du Min lifted a brow, voice dripping with disdain."You fat idiot. How much did you EAT?"
The Little White Rabbit was anxious and worried.
Wang Baole stared at them with desperate hope."Fellow villagers… please… save me…"
But none of them had a solution.
Finally, Xiaoya remembered someone—a senior named Xie Haiyang.
He was known across the academy as a "problem solver." From the Dean to first-year students, there was nothing he couldn't arrange. Xiaoya had met him once during a pill transaction.
Soon, a young man walked down the path toward the cave.
Medium height. Short hair. Gelled so hard it reflected sunlight. From afar, he shone like a walking lighthouse.
When he reached the cave entrance and saw Wang Baole stuffed inside—his sharp, cunning eyes lit up.
"Classmate," he said smoothly, "my humble name is Xie Haiyang. Since you invited me, relax. I love doing business with Armament students."
He flashed a confident smile.
"As long as you have money, there is nothing I, Xie Haiyang, cannot obtain. You want a magic artifact personally refined by the Dean? I can get it. You want the exact snuff bottle made from Blacksteel Silver Sand that your department head uses? I can get that too. As for your problem today—trivial. If you can't get out… I'll just tear down your cave dwelling. Simple."
He spoke like a seasoned merchant whose business was the heavens themselves.