No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

After a long while, Ma Xuan finally replied to Cong Na: No need to switch.

Ma Xuan: We're the main force anyway. Whether Ji Yuanshu is slightly stronger or weaker in this position doesn't make much difference.

Ma Xuan: And Zhang Yu hasn’t trained with us in a while. Rebuilding team synergy would be a hassle.

Ma Xuan: Let’s just go with Ji Yuanshu.

Though Ma Xuan offered a string of reasons, he knew deep down none of them were the real cause.

Staring at the ranking chart, Ma Xuan murmured to himself, “The old director doesn’t have much longer…”

He knew that within the Civil Engineering Department, Director Lin led the peace faction, while Director Gao stood at the helm of the war faction.

As for the actual official director of the department—the leader of Ma Xuan’s own faction—he had been financially underwater for over a decade, unable to afford the cost of longevity elixirs. His days were clearly numbered.

“The Finance Department can provide the old director with a loan.”

Ma Xuan thought, “For that loan, the old director—who had always avoided picking sides—has now chosen to back the peace faction.”

Ma Xuan understood well: in the big picture, the department’s political alignment mattered far more than any individual student’s grades or rank.

Just then, Cong Na messaged back: If that’s the case, Zhang Yu might quit the team.

Ma Xuan: Then so be it.

…

Inside a 100-square-meter unit on the 450th floor.

Ji Yuanshu stared at the message Ma Xuan had sent to the competition team. His internal organs began to tremble uncontrollably.

He tried to suppress it, but couldn’t. In the end, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura weakened at a shocking rate.

At that moment, with the rankings now public, he was no longer seen as the top student.

The confidence others had in him continued to wane, and the fate-boosting luck he’d once suppressed in his mind began to scatter.

Even the fortune he had gathered from others’ belief in him—as a sixth-year student—was dissolving fast.

Feeling the changes in his internal luck, Ji Yuanshu mused, “These people, I toss out a few flowery words and they expect more from me than I can deliver.”

“But fail once, and they can’t wait to stomp me into the dirt. Their evaluation of my ability just plummets.”

He let out a cold laugh. Whether it was luck or public opinion, it always swung between extremes—either ridiculously overestimated or brutally underestimated. Objectivity didn’t exist.

But as he felt the backlash from the departing luck, a bitter smile crept across his face.

Back when he flaunted his strength and manipulated public sentiment to gather luck, that same luck had enhanced his mana flow, purified his Dao Heart, revitalized his body, even boosted his memory and thought speed.

Now, with the backlash, all those benefits vanished. His mana became sluggish, his body slow, his mind dull. It felt like his whole being had crashed to rock bottom.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Ji Yuanshu attempted to circulate his cultivation techniques—only to find that techniques he once wielded effortlessly now misfired and faltered.

Techniques that used to perform at level 15 or 18 now barely hit level 10—or even dropped to level 8.

His strength had clearly regressed in a significant way.

“At least a month or two before I fully recover.”

“It’ll throw off my coursework and delay my core stat improvements…”

His EyeNet kept pinging him with notifications, but Ji Yuanshu didn’t even want to look.

He knew they were just snide remarks, sarcastic memes, or other people flaunting their own success.

But he couldn’t ignore Director Lin’s messages.

Director Lin: Put the Finance Department plans on hold for now.

Director Lin: Focus on Civil Engineering.

Director Lin: You must keep Zhang Yu down. Don’t let him take first again. Keep him from earning the Seven Absolutes.

Director Lin: And in a few years, when he takes the Military License Exam—make sure you block him there too.

Reading those words, Ji Yuanshu’s heart sank. His worst fears had come true.

“They’re not letting me switch to the Finance Department?”

Even before high school, Ji Yuanshu had a clear plan for his future: get into Wanfa University, master the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes, then transfer to the Finance Department…

That had always been his life goal. He had paid for it with countless sleepless nights and mounting sacrifices.

But now, all of that had been completely upended.

“Stay in Civil Engineering?”

“Master, don’t you know what staying in Civil Engineering really means?”

“You were the one who told me not to wallow in the Civil Engineering mud pit…”

Rereading Director Lin’s messages over and over, Ji Yuanshu could feel the deep disappointment behind every word.

And more than that—he could read between the lines.

“You want me to stay in Civil Engineering… just to block Zhang Yu? To sabotage him?”

Ji Yuanshu gave a bitter laugh. He understood—he had just been downgraded from a long-term investment to a short-term pawn.

And for the first time, he truly wished someone would die.

“Zhang Yu…”

But Ji Yuanshu knew—killing Zhang Yu wouldn’t solve anything. Only by defeating him openly, taking first place with undeniable strength, could he hope to win back his master’s approval.

“Beating Zhang Yu is only the first step.”

“I need to graduate as the top student in the entire department. Then get into Finance as a grad student. That’s how I’ll get back on track.”

Feeling the frailty in his body, Ji Yuanshu murmured, “But to get there… I need something stronger to back me.”

With that thought firm in his heart, a strange dialogue box appeared in his EyeNet.

Ji Yuanshu: I accept your offer.

Ji Yuanshu: Tell me how to begin the ritual.

…

On the construction site at the 667th floor.

In Zhang Yu’s mind, the twin-headed White Ox let out a thundering roar, pushing his Limitless Heart: Inner Incarnate Body to level 11.

Feeling his thoughts speed up once more, Zhang Yu multitasked effortlessly—checking EyeNet messages while continuing to channel Martial Qi and work on the site.

At the same time, his heart technique operated continuously at a spirit-flesh unified state, steadily growing stronger.

In the blink of an eye, the night passed.

When Zhang Yu returned to the new dorm, he found that no one else was back yet.

He took his portion from the latest PillShare order and began eating. Not long after, Yu Xinghan walked in with a smile.

“I’ve officially taken a master!” he announced.

Like Zhang Yu, Yu Xinghan had earned the right to designate a personal mentor after passing the Foundation Establishment exam.

His chosen instructor, much like True Lord Magneto, had set a condition: he had to place in the top five of his class for the year.

Without that, even a named mentor wouldn’t teach him anything.

So after the final grades came out yesterday, Yu Xinghan had gone to see the professor—and succeeded.

Zhang Yu asked curiously, “Who’s your mentor?”

Yu Xinghan replied, “A professor of construction site health management.”

“What?” Zhang Yu was stunned.

Construction site health management? That was an actual field? Was there even a future in that?

Yu Xinghan clearly anticipated the reaction and began explaining, “He’s a new professor.”

“But that doesn’t mean he’s weak.”

“You have to understand, with Immortal Dao becoming more advanced, every field of study is becoming increasingly complex and specialized. Many subfields are incredibly obscure, and breakthroughs are harder than ever.”

“For him to form a Gold Core and become a professor in this era? His talent surpasses most of the Gold Core cultivators from decades or even centuries ago.”

“Hehe, and I genuinely find his field fascinating.”

As Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu chatted, Li Xiao’s voice called from outside. He had come to walk to their first sophomore class together.

Yu Xinghan opened the door—and paused. He stared at Li Xiao’s hands. “You changed your Law Husk?”

Li Xiao grinned. “Yep. Finally saved enough spirit coins to buy a pair of Vajra Forge hands.”

“Wait…” Yu Xinghan frowned. “How could you afford Vajra Forge? Are they knockoffs?”

Li Xiao replied, “Why would I buy fakes? They’re the real deal. Genuine Vajra Forge.”

Seeing the artifact specs, Yu Xinghan snapped, “You vain bastard.”

“Why the hell would you buy Vajra Forge? You think you can maintain those? What was it, zero down payment, 30-year financing? You do realize people will assume they’re fake anyway…”

Staring at the brand-name artifact, Yu Xinghan felt his good mood evaporate.

But then, scanning the details again, he suddenly smiled. “Oh, ninth-hand.”

He patted his chest, relieved. “Damn, scared the hell out of me. I thought your credit score had gone up or something.”

Grinning, he clapped Li Xiao on the shoulder. “Ninth-hand’s perfect. Great bang for your buck. Performs just fine.”

“We’re university students. Frugality is the way to go. Spend when you must, save when you can.”

While Yu Xinghan and Li Xiao kept chatting, Zhang Pianpian also returned to the dorm.

Zhang Yu glanced at his sister’s head and saw that she had reached rank 44 in the Foundation Establishment rankings for the Talisman Department.

“Big Sis is improving again.”

“But this probably still isn’t her true strength, right? I remember she’s intentionally holding back her score.”

Zhang Yu could easily imagine her slowly rising through the ranks with steady, carefully managed improvements.

Then he looked at her chest—specifically, the Dao Seed talisman: the Supreme Purity Sigil.

Last night, his savings had finally passed 56 spirit coins—enough to activate the Supreme Purity Sigil.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Time to talk to my sister.”

He sent a message: “Senior sister, are you strapped for cash?”

Zhang Pianpian: “Why are you suddenly asking that?”

Zhang Yu: “You’ve been ranked in the top 50 of your department, but your living space and your gear are all super basic.”

Zhang Yu: “Have you been scrimping and saving to spend big on something else?”

Zhang Pianpian wasn’t surprised—this wasn’t a hard deduction. She replied casually, “What, you want to lend me money?”

Zhang Yu: “I’ve got 56 spirit coins right now. How much do you need?”

Zhang Pianpian blinked, surprised Zhang Yu had saved that much without spending it.

For a college student, that was an astronomical sum—enough to turn friends into enemies or make fathers disown sons.

She looked at Zhang Yu and messaged back: “You don’t need it? You’re willing to lend it to me?”