No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

In the office.

Tu Lishan frowned as he looked at Zhang Yu, whose hair had turned completely white. "You sure you're okay?"

"If you drop dead on the job and delay the schedule, you're the one who has to pay for it."

Zhang Yu's hair had turned white from sheer exhaustion and overexertion. Hearing Tu Lishan's warning, he responded calmly, "It's fine, Teacher Tu. I know my body."

"For someone like me in the First Layer, any opportunity is rare. If I don't grab it and push with everything I have, how else can I rise up?"

"I’ve got strong recovery. I believe I can handle it."

Tu Lishan saw the determination in Zhang Yu’s eyes and felt a subtle wave of emotion. He had seen plenty of students over the years with grit and drive, but Zhang Yu’s attitude... gave off the kind of resolve that treated life and death as irrelevant.

At that moment, he made a judgment in his heart: "This kid’s will to pursue the Dao is among the strongest I’ve ever seen."

"If this were a few hundred years ago… he’d probably already be dead."

"Only in today’s flourishing Immortal Path..."

"He’ll either go bankrupt and never reincarnate, or rise step by step—grad school, PhD, level after level upward."

"With a mindset like his, there are only two possible outcomes. There’s no third."

Tu Lishan understood all too well that the second path was a long shot. The first one—failure and ruin—was far more likely. Which meant the Civil Engineering Department’s investment in Zhang Yu was unlikely to pay off.

Just then, a message from Director Gao appeared in Tu Lishan’s EyeNet display.

Director Gao: “Don’t stop him. Just set a limit—maximum ten servings a day.”

Tu Lishan understood. These drugs didn’t generate cultivation progress out of thin air. They merely wrung out what was already there. More than ten doses a day meant nothing but reduced lifespan—no extra benefit, just a waste of spirit coins.

Tu Lishan: “But if Zhang Yu dies…”

Director Gao: “We are the Civil Engineering Department of Wanfa University. We’re not some budget college that only cares about breaking even.”

“If he’s so confident, why shouldn’t I give him a shot at going all in?”

“I’ve never been stingy about giving students a chance to risk their lives.”

Tu Lishan felt a rare respect: “The Director’s truly generous—willing to take a loss so the student can go all out.”

He turned to Zhang Yu. “As long as you know your limits.”

“Remember, the moment something feels off—stop immediately.”

…

And so, in the final half-month at the construction site, Zhang Yu threw himself into a frenzy of overtime, pill consumption, and cultivation.

He switched to the Earth-Wood Saint Body before and after taking pills, swapped to the University Saint Body when practicing Techniques, and during heavy labor chose whichever Chain Diagram suit fit best...

Especially under the enhancement of the Earth-Wood Saint Body—his body growing weaker only let him push harder. He devoured pills and ran Civil Engineering Techniques like mad, growing faster than ever.

Of course, he still spent time daily refining the Spiritsteel Alloy No. 20.

To the teachers and students watching, Zhang Yu looked like he was burning the candle from both ends—almost at the breaking point.

Che Yufei was shaken: “This guy… Every time I think he’s about to collapse, he keeps pushing. Every time I think he’ll die, he survives another day... But at this rate, one day he really won’t make it. Just how much debt is he in?”

Tu Lishan mused silently: “Such a solid Dao Heart… If he had money, his future would be limitless. Pity. Even if he survives this, he’s already lost too much lifespan. And in this state… I doubt he’ll score well on the finals.”

Gongshu Jin had caught wind of Zhang Yu’s condition too—he’d even seen him looking gaunt and pale several times.

He reflected: “Looks like I misjudged him? Is Zhang Yu just a regular poor First Layer cultivator?”

“But how could someone who beat Wang Yin be just a commoner? Maybe under pressure from Netherworld University, he got abandoned... and that’s why he’s broke now?”

Shaking his head, Gongshu Jin gave up trying to make sense of the politics. He was just an outsider. But watching Zhang Yu fight tooth and nail for scraps made him feel once again the powerlessness of poverty.

“Being poor... is terrifying. Putting your life on the line for so little—and still falling behind us.”

Gongshu Jin thought to himself, “Thank goodness I’m rich.”

Zhang Yu’s plight flickered briefly in his mind. Gongshu Jin’s real focus was on surpassing Ji Yuanshu in the finals.

…

Late February.

Without even realizing it, the final day of the engineering project had arrived—marking the end of Zhang Yu’s first semester at university.

Everyone packed up and boarded the flying vessel for the return trip.

"Adding in the three months at this field site, I’ve been on the Second Floor for eight months now."

Standing at the prow, Zhang Yu—now white-haired—looked down at the shrinking Law Husk Factory and reflected on what he’d gained over the past three months.

Not only had his Earth-Wood Saint Body reached its ultimate form, but thanks to the Bioluminescent Parasite’s feedback, the Spirit Root in his Dantian had achieved full 100% Spirit Root Fusion, enhancing his mana flow, efficiency, and sensitivity to spiritual fluctuations.

With his daily doses of ferocious elixirs, spirit stone absorption, and the high-quality mana digested from the Vajra Forge Relic, his mana had advanced significantly.

Currently, his mana reached 546.8, with a mana quality of 157%.

His Dao Heart had grown more slowly due to the expensive network access at the site and lack of Spiritual Realm services, reaching Level 13 (70.8%).

His physical body, boosted by various Body-Refining Techniques and relentless medicinal bombardment, had climbed to 14.39 in strength.

These base stats alone marked a massive leap in power. His savings had also grown to 22 spirit coins over the three-month stint.

But none of that was the biggest win.

Now, all 206 of Zhang Yu’s bones had been infused with Spiritsteel Alloy No. 20—granting him a skeleton that, at the Foundation Establishment Realm, was practically unbreakable.

Back inside the flying vessel’s cabin, Zhang Yu knew the buffet days were over.

"Even if I got another opportunity like this, there’s no point eating like that again."

He could feel it. The medicine had lost its punch. The longer it went on, the less effect it had.

His body felt like a piece of sugarcane that had been juiced dry.

He thought, "Next time I take pills, they’ll have to be the kind that replenish nutrients and vitality—something to restore my foundation."

He activated the Martial Saint Embryo to enhance his self-healing and began regenerating his wounds using body activation.

"Even the boost from the Martial Saint Embryo... feels weaker now."

While healing, Zhang Yu planned ahead: "Once I get back, my next cultivation goal should be completing the Mana Pulse Flowing Stream chain diagram set."

The past few months on-site hadn’t allowed for focused breathing practice. He had barely managed to complete Earth-Wood Saint Body and hadn’t even touched Mana Pulse Flowing Stream.

"Besides that, there’s upgrading Yu Xinghan’s Dao Seed, furthering Le Mulan’s Frost Abyss Technique, and my sister’s Taqing Talismans..."

His mind flashed with images of his future cultivation plans, but then he snapped back: "First things first—final exams."

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power in his body and the unbreakable steel bones within.

"I wonder how far I can go now."

…

In the dorm on the 125th floor of Wanfa University City.

Zhang Yu looked around at the empty room. Everyone else was still out and about.

He messaged the group chat to say he’d arrived safely, then returned all the rented items—the Vajra Forge Relic, the Bioluminescent Parasite—on the way back.

He checked the final exam schedule.

Unlike high school, finals at Wanfa University were self-registered. Students just had to complete them within the designated time and location.

Most of the Foundation Establishment class had already taken their finals. Only Gongshu Jin and Zhang Yu were left, due to the field assignment.

Zhang Yu glanced at the class rankings and saw that without final exam points, he’d slipped to 28th place.

“Foundation Class Rank 28. That’s embarrassing. Better register now.”

His EyeNet pulled up the registration interface, and he booked a testing room for a week later.

For the next seven days, Zhang Yu devoted himself to studying, cultivating, healing his body, and replenishing nutrients and vitality.

Soon, the week passed. Fully recovered and in peak condition, Zhang Yu strode confidently to the examination site.

…

But Zhang Yu and Gongshu Jin weren’t the only ones watching the finals unfold.

Many students in the Foundation Establishment class were watching Gongshu Jin’s scores closely.

Ying Xin refreshed the class leaderboard and thought, “I wonder how much Gongshu Jin has improved? Can he challenge Ji Yuanshu?”

Elsewhere, Tu Lishan, as a teacher, was monitoring Gongshu Jin’s exams via the Spiritual Realm Network.

First were the professional subject exams. Gongshu Jin aced them with skills he had honed at the field site—nearly perfect scores.

Then came the Dao Heart exam.

Though at a remote site, his daily spending had allowed him to train his Dao Heart consistently via Spiritual Realm services.

Suddenly, Tu Lishan noticed Zhang Yu’s name pop up in the exam logs.

Using his teacher permissions, he checked in curiously.

“Oh? His professional subjects are also near-perfect? Looks like his hard work paid off.”

“Dao Heart’s still weaker. No surprise—he barely used the Spiritual Realm. Can’t compare to Gongshu Jin.”

“Mana isn’t far behind Gongshu Jin either?” Tu Lishan nodded. “Looks like he squeezed out quite a bit of potential.”

“Next is the Body-Refining exam, huh? They’re in the same test room?”

Recalling how frail Zhang Yu had looked when he left the worksite, Tu Lishan sighed.

“Even if he survived and unlocked more potential, the damage to his body is severe. Forget the lost lifespan—just recovering from his current weakness will take a fortune.”

“Zhang Yu’s constitution is unusual, sure, but not as great as he claims. If he thinks that alone can beat someone like Gongshu Jin—he’s still far off.”

As the Body-Refining exam approached, Tu Lishan thought to himself:

“This will probably be where the gap is largest.”