No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Zhang Yu noticed Le Mulan’s arrival and didn’t bother arguing with Yu Xinghan any longer. He quickly pulled Le Mulan inside and began unpacking the newly delivered bundle, laying everything out in front of her.

“Le Mulan, perfect timing. Can you help me check if these tonics are authentic? I want to make sure they’re legit.”

“I’ll top you up with some mana while I’m at it.”

“Hey... uh... you-know-who... mind closing the door and waiting outside?”

Xuange glanced at the “Second in the Foundation Establishment Class” label floating above Zhang Yu’s head and smiled. “Got it.”

He shut the dorm door behind him and waited outside, feeling that their relationship was clearly improving.

Once, it had been “Why are you still here?”

Now, it had become “Close the door and wait outside.”

He wondered when it would finally turn into “Come lend me a hand.”

The thought made Xuange’s lips curl into a smile as he stood outside, feeling that his goal was getting closer and closer.

“Step by step, I’m making my way into this dorm.”

“Gotta move fast.”

Xuange knew full well: though they were still in the Qi Refining Class now, next semester they’d officially transfer into the Foundation Establishment Class.

By then, Le Mulan’s innate Ice-Type Mana would surely catch the eye of the other Foundation students—maybe even line them up begging for dual cultivation.

“And then they’ll discover Le Mulan’s dorm... discover this place...”

Xuange swore to himself, “Before the class transfer next semester, I’m moving into this dorm! That’s the start of my Five-Partner College Life! The express lane to immortal ascension!”

…

Inside the dorm.

Zhang Yu placed one palm on the center of Le Mulan’s back, carefully channeling his high-quality mana into her.

Gazing at her Dao Seed, he mentally calculated:

“To unlock and copy Le Mulan’s Frost Abyss Technique, I need her mana quality at over 150%.”

“She’s sitting around 105% right now. If she keeps cultivating while I feed her mana daily, we should hit the target by the end of this semester.”

Meanwhile, Le Mulan had already unwrapped the package and meticulously inspected the tonics Zhang Yu had bought online. She nodded slightly.

“No issues. They’re all authentic.”

“This prescription looks pretty well-suited to your constitution. It’ll help strengthen your core, rebuild your physical foundation, and patch up any gaps.”

Zhang Yu nodded appreciatively. Having a roommate who studied pharmacology really was a blessing—it saved him a ton of trouble when it came to picking and using medicine. The world of supplements, especially tonics and health enhancers, was a treacherous swamp.

At the same time, a thought flickered across Le Mulan’s mind:

“Taking these... might also improve the quality of his feather juice, right?”

If the feather juice’s quality improved, she believed both she and Zhang Yu would earn even more.

Especially now that Zhang Yu had clinched second place in the Foundation Establishment Class again—it had caught the company’s attention once more.

To avoid drawing suspicion, she messaged Zhang Yu privately via EyeNet.

Zhang Yu glanced at his EyeNet and saw a message from Le Mulan.

Le Mulan: When are you free next?

Zhang Yu: In a couple days. Gonna take more meds first.

Le Mulan: Let’s do it somewhere else next time. It’d be bad if Yu Xinghan found out.

Zhang Yu: I’ll find a quiet spot. I’ll take you there.

Le Mulan: You really want my mana quality to go up, huh?

She had clearly noticed how Zhang Yu always seized every opportunity to infuse her with mana.

Zhang Yu: Yes.

Reading his straightforward reply, Le Mulan’s gaze turned contemplative.

“Is he disappointed in my current mana quality?”

“Fine. I’ll invest more money into this, then.”

While Zhang Yu and Le Mulan quietly plotted, Yu Xinghan—sitting nearby with his eyes closed in meditation—snorted inwardly.

With the Three-Eyed Divine Sight active, he had caught the subtle glance Le Mulan threw.

“These two... are they really messaging each other right in front of me?”

“Seriously? We live in the same dorm, and you’re still playing sneaky?”

“Just wait till my video blows up… I’ll make sure to shock the hell out of you both.”

…

While Zhang Yu juggled classes, construction shifts, and dorm life…

Director Gao was reading a report sent from a breeding professor at Demon-Beast University.

Looking over Zhang Yu’s blood test results, Director Gao muttered, “Shame. His physique isn’t heritable—can’t be bred?”

“Sigh. Just another genius. Can’t turn it into mass-producible tech.”

Kunxu’s long history had no shortage of prodigies. Strange constitutions had emerged across different eras.

Some had been thoroughly studied and integrated into Immortal Dao technology.

Others remained unsolved mysteries—even the top ten elite academies with all their resources had yet to crack them.

Compared to that, a genius who couldn’t be replicated? To Director Gao, that wasn’t nearly as valuable as technologies that could mass-produce genius.

As for uncovering the secrets of Zhang Yu’s physique…

“Even tossing in a few thousand spirit coins probably wouldn’t yield results.”

Director Gao understood that the human body—the very foundation of Immortal Dao—still held too many unsolved mysteries.

Without massive funding and sect backing, no one could guarantee progress in such research.

And as Vice Director of the Civil Engineering Department, not a physique specialist himself, Gao had even less interest in getting involved.

At that moment, Tu Lishan’s avatar lit up in Gao’s EyeNet.

Tu Lishan: “Director, I asked around. Ji Yuanshu really did take the Finance Department’s professional exams—and scored full marks across the board.”

Gao scoffed, “He barely passed our Civil Engineering exams. I knew he wasn’t serious about them.”

“While technically dual-enrolled, he clearly poured most of his focus into Finance.”

Looking at the 27-point gap between Ji Yuanshu in first place and Zhang Yu in second, Director Gao realized this wasn’t their true difference—Ji’s lousy scores in Civil Engineering had artificially narrowed the margin.

Tu Lishan silently sighed.

“I thought even if Gongshu Jin lost to Ji Yuanshu, the gap wouldn’t be huge. Guess I was wrong.”

“Looks like those people really pumped resources into Ji.”

Director Gao’s tone turned cold.

“The Peace Faction wants to push their disciples into Finance. Bottom line—they’re chasing profit.”

“Just lying on a construction site earning passive income isn’t enough—they want higher returns.”

Tu Lishan said nothing, but he understood what Gao meant.

Within the Civil Engineering Department, factions had emerged.

Gao and his followers believed university warfare would intensify and that they should pivot toward militarized infrastructure—get ahead of future demand.

But another faction, led by a rival director, believed the conflict would stay controlled. They preferred to invest in commercial real estate and expand pharmaceutical production for the elites.

Tu Lishan had sensed the growing rift—the rivalry had spread from professors to upperclassmen… and now even into freshman ranks.

“After all, the factions are backed by different corporations. Their turf wars involve law husks, artifacts, medicine, finance…”

“And every year’s revenue, project quality, talent pipeline… all affect corporate stock prices.”

“Even students’ grades and rankings now impact market confidence.”

According to what Tu knew, the Peace Faction director had already teamed up with someone from Finance—planning to invest heavily in that department.

Ji Yuanshu, as their star disciple, had promised to transfer formally to Finance in the future, making his case particularly meaningful.

Tu Lishan thought, “Director Gao won’t want those two factions joining forces.”

“But the Finance Department…”

To Tu Lishan, Finance wasn’t just one of Wanfa University’s three top majors—it was the crown jewel.

“Finance focuses on Human Dao Fortune—grasping destiny through economic flow, wielding Dao through momentum.”

“Wealth, resources, social ties… all fuel their mastery over human destiny.”

In his eyes, Finance cultivators were terrifyingly sharp. They never made losing bets. They always emerged on top of every boom and bust.

Whether investing thousands of spirit coins to revive an entire industry, or issuing a single sanction that brought a university to its knees—it all stemmed from their uncanny grasp of fate.

“Could they truly believe university warfare won’t escalate? That Wanfa won’t enter the fray?”

Just then, Director Gao asked, “Do you think Gongshu Jin or Zhang Yu can surpass Ji Yuanshu in the next two years?”

Tu Lishan thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “It’ll be tough…”

“It will. But that’s why we have to try.” Director Gao said calmly, “Have Zhang Yu come see me tomorrow. I want to discuss his future.”

Tu Lishan nodded. He knew the factional struggle had already erupted across every level. The rivalry among Gongshu Jin, Zhang Yu, and Ji Yuanshu was just the tip of the iceberg. Even if the odds were low, they weren’t going to back down.

…

The next day, after class, Zhang Yu followed Tu Lishan to the Civil Engineering Department’s teaching building—where he met Director Gao.

Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across the four characters embroidered on Gao’s robe: “Build the World.” He couldn’t help but look a little longer at the man’s hands and neck.

It was rumored Director Gao had over three hundred law husks implanted in his body. But up close, Zhang Yu couldn’t tell at all.

Director Gao looked at him and got straight to the point.

“What are your plans for the future?”