No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Zhang Yu examined the new tier of Mana Pulse Flowing Stream, his gaze sharpening as he immediately began testing it out.

With a deep breath, mana surged within him and transformed into waves of Formless Cloud Qi, rising from his dantian.

In the next instant, torrents of qi condensed into three Formless Golems, who materialized behind him.

As the trio of qi avatars unleashed fists and kicks, each performing a different martial technique Zhang Yu had mastered, his mana reserves began to rapidly drain.

But more importantly, Zhang Yu noticed something new—under the effect of this upgraded tier, his mana expenditure was clearly far lower than before.

“In the process of circulating mana, there’s always going to be some energy loss,” he thought. “And once the Protective Qi Barrier is projected externally, the loss multiplies.”

“But this new layer of Mana Pulse Flowing Stream reduces that waste, which means my mana lasts longer.”

“And paired with the original passive regeneration effect…”

As he pondered, another two Formless Golems appeared with a single thought, engaging in full-force movement.

After several trials, Zhang Yu confirmed that with this enhanced efficiency, he could now sustain five Formless Golems at full strength—or two Deepfrost Golems instead.

“This practically doubles my work efficiency.”

Feeling the effects of the second tier of Mana Pulse Flowing Stream, Zhang Yu marveled. Though it merely reduced mana loss, it felt like a threshold had been crossed—a qualitative shift in his productivity.

“I wonder what the final layer will unlock.”

He did the math—he should be able to complete the final tier of Mana Pulse Flowing Stream by August, right before finals. The thought made him all the more eager.

Besides that, he was also hoping to upgrade his Three-Eyed Divine Sight, complete his Spirit-Flesh Fusion, and unlock his Secondary Heart Technique—all before the semester ended.

“This finals,” he vowed, “I will defeat Ji Yuanshu and take first place in the class.”

“If I can stay top of the class for all three years, I’ll earn access to the first three Techniques of the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes.”

He’d been eyeing Ma Xuan’s Triple Unity Combination for ages, and finally let out a satisfied sigh. “Good thing all I need to do is keep my class rank.”

“This university’s ranking system… really is worth something.”

…

A few days later, just as Zhang Yu was planning to show off his progress at the next competition team training, a message popped up from Ma Xuan, the team captain.

Ma Xuan: Zhang Yu, I need to talk to you about next semester’s competition plans.

Ma Xuan: You’ve got real talent, and your strength has been improving fast. I’ve always thought of you as our secret weapon.

Ma Xuan: Cong Na also speaks highly of you. Says she really enjoys teaming up with you.

Reading this, Zhang Yu felt a pang of unease. “This much praise upfront? Nothing good’s coming.”

Ma Xuan: But there’s a student with a higher rank joining us next semester.

Ma Xuan: So we’ve decided as a team to have you serve as a substitute for now.

Zhang Yu blinked, then muttered, “This obsession with rankings in university is out of control.”

“Do rankings really represent my full value?”

Fu Ji chimed in, “You sure didn’t say that when you passed Gongshu Jin in the rankings last time. You can’t praise the system when you're on top and curse it when you're not.”

Zhang Yu clicked his tongue. He knew the truth: in university, rankings were law. The higher your rank, the more say you had. Like it or not, it was the system everyone used to measure student worth at Wanfa Sect University City.

And for now, he didn’t have the strength to defy it.

In fact, he was still a beneficiary of it.

But being a substitute…

If he didn’t even make it into a match, then no matter how well the team did, his contribution to his Comprehensive Score would be minimal.

“Sigh, such a pain.”

Just then, the new team member was added to the group chat.

“Ji Yuanshu?”

Seeing it was the very person ranked just above him, Zhang Yu frowned. “Only one spot higher…”

“He switched to the Finance Department to boost his Comprehensive Score for the competitions, didn’t he?”

Ma Xuan: Welcome to the team, Ji!

Cong Na: Welcome, welcome! [Fireworks emoji][Fireworks emoji][Fireworks emoji]

Bu Ziran: Ji, long time no see!

Yang Yan: Haha, glad you joined us, Yuanshu. Now we’ll dominate next semester!

Watching everyone welcome Ji Yuanshu so warmly, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but recall how much colder his own entry had been.

The longer he stared at their cheerful banter, the more he felt like an outsider.

A few days later, the team held another training session—this time without even notifying Zhang Yu.

“These guys…” he thought darkly. “Looks like they’ve written me off completely.”

“Guess I really don’t belong with these rich kids.”

“Should I switch teams?”

“Or stick around to sponge some Comprehensive Score points?”

But then he frowned. “Wait—if I stay, I’ll get fewer points than Ji Yuanshu no matter what.”

“That means I’ll be starting the next semester with a lower score than him.”

“Could he have done this on purpose? Pushed me out just to edge ahead in the rankings?”

Zhang Yu wasn’t sure. He definitely wasn’t going to ask Ji Yuanshu.

But the seed of doubt had already been planted. The urge to switch teams grew stronger.

“Whatever. Focus on building strength and preparing for finals.”

“There’s still plenty of time to register. After finals, if my ranking improves, maybe I’ll have more leverage.”

With that thought, Zhang Yu doubled down on his training, driven by a silent fury.

…

By late July, there was just over a month until finals.

That day in the dorm, the team finally received payment from their last raid in the Black Agricultural Underworld.

Seeing the numbers in their bank accounts, everyone’s eyes gleamed with renewed hope.

Yu Xinghan, flushed and beaming, thought, “Time to upgrade my Law Husk!”

“But do I go for a massage-type hand unit to boost earning speed—or a cultivation-enhancing one to boost training efficiency?”

He immediately began reviewing the long list of Law Husk models he’d painstakingly compiled during his broke days, each one carefully compared and shortlisted.

On the other side of the room, Le Mulan checked her account and thought, “Combined with my savings, this should cover the Super-Metabolism Surgery.”

Ever since reaching the second level, she’d found out—thanks to her brother—that the companies up there already offered advanced versions of the surgery.

Zhang Yu also glanced at the figures floating in his EyeNet feed.

Even though he’d earned a little side income selling mana these past two months, most of it had gone into pills, spirit stones, dao techniques, and artifacts. His savings had slowly drained away.

But with today’s deposit, his account hit a whopping 42.9 spirit coins.

His heart surged. It was the most he’d ever had.

And now the real problem was: what to spend it on?

“That Supreme Purity Sigil my sister keeps pushing still costs fifty.”

“From 42.9 to 50—it doesn’t sound like much, but with my current income, even if I live like a monk and slow down my cultivation pace, it’ll take me two or three months to save the rest.”

“And I don’t even know what the Supreme Purity Sigil does.”

“On the other hand, if I throw it all into Spirit-Flesh Fusion, I could unlock my Secondary Heart Technique right away.”

He’d been trying to break through on his own for a while now. While he’d made some minor progress, he saw no signs of success in the short term.

So he was ready to give up on self-study and just buy his way forward.

On one side: two or three months of saving for a mystery reward.

On the other: a clear, reliable path to power—Spirit-Flesh Fusion and a new Heart Technique.

Especially with finals just a month away, this decision could determine whether or not he ranked first.

“I’ll go with Spirit-Flesh Fusion, and aim for the Secondary Heart Technique.”

After some thought, the chill of ritual magic seemed to beckon him to act quickly.

Donning his Spiritual Realm Mask, Zhang Yu entered the Spiritual Realm—and soon found himself at the gates of Heartforge Pavilion.

…

A pure white chamber, devoid of all furnishings.

A line of glowing text appeared before him: “Greetings. I am Server Spirit 3001001 from Heartforge Pavilion. How may I assist you today?”

Zhang Yu said, “Spirit-Flesh Fusion. The 30 spirit coin guaranteed package.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the white room expanded rapidly into a courtyard with mountains, rivers, pavilions, and terraces.

Below the original message appeared a woman in palace garb, smiling warmly. “Hello, Mr. Zhang Yu. Please, have some tea.”

He accepted the cup, glancing around the room that had just transformed from barren to lavish.

“Talk about instant change,” he thought. “Definitely based on customer tier.”

“But… I kinda like it. Damn this consumerism…”

Zhang Yu asked, “Tell me how you actually help someone achieve Spirit-Flesh Fusion.”

The woman replied, “Heartforge Pavilion has collected a vast trove of breakthrough experiences. Based on your individual profile, we can match you to the most compatible path and simulate the breakthrough environment they encountered.”

“Once you purchase the package, you’ll be able to undergo one simulation per day.”

“Our data shows that the longest recorded time to breakthrough was 29 days.”

Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying that even someone with the worst aptitude has succeeded within 29 simulations?”

The woman smiled. “You could interpret it that way.”

Once Zhang Yu confirmed his purchase, a flurry of contracts, pricing tiers, discount plans, and package options appeared in front of him.

“No memberships. No extra services. No bundles. I just want the 30-coin Spirit-Flesh Fusion…”

But then he saw the installment plan and hesitated.

“How many installments?”

“Twelve months. 3.3 spirit coins per month. Starting next month.”

Zhang Yu did the math. “So I’ll be paying 9.6 coins in interest over a year?”

“Can I make back 9.6 coins with the liquidity I gain from this?”

Just as he was weighing the costs, the palace-dressed woman added, “If you choose the installment plan, you get a free Heart Technique Compatibility Test to determine your optimal Secondary Heart Technique.”

Zhang Yu clapped his hands. “Deal.”

He knew that after achieving Spirit-Flesh Fusion, selecting the right Heart Technique would be essential.

After signing the contract, Zhang Yu underwent a psychological and willpower assessment.

Based on his techniques, mental profile, and Dao Heart level, a personalized simulation environment was swiftly generated.