No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Zhang Yu looked at Che Yufei before him and asked privately, “Senior, how did you end up on this team?”

Che Yufei smiled and replied, “Tu Lishan introduced me.”

Che Yufei added, “Shi Huaiyu is Tu Lishan’s disciple, you know that, right?”

Che Yufei: “I asked if you had a competition team before because I wanted to pull you in.”

Che Yufei: “This team’s not fully formed yet, but Tu Lishan will definitely bring in more people.”

Zhang Yu was slightly surprised and thought to himself, “So that’s why Tu Lishan introduced me—he was trying to recruit people for his own disciple.”

He then turned to Shi Yunxiang and asked. The other replied: “Old Che and I were both brought in by Tu Lishan.”

Shi Yunxiang: “Her original competition team broke up after she had a falling out with the captain.”

Zhang Yu: “What kind of falling out?”

Shi Yunxiang: “During training, the captain wrecked one of Shi Huaiyu’s kidneys.”

Shi Yunxiang: “When it came time to assess the damage, Shi Huaiyu demanded a full kidney replacement—or at least an upgraded Law Husk organ. But the captain thought a simple repair job was good enough.”

Shi Yunxiang: “She disagreed. Said a heavily-repaired kidney would always be a ticking time bomb. Insisted on a new one.”

Shi Yunxiang: “They couldn’t agree on the cost. It ended in a lawsuit, and Shi Huaiyu quit the team.”

Zhang Yu’s heart skipped a beat. “Good thing I didn’t actually injure Le Mulan yesterday,” he thought.

“As my strength grows, I really need to be more careful with every move.”

“I can’t be one of those cultivators who grow powerful but end up alone.”

Zhang Yu asked, “So what’s her kidney situation now?”

Shi Yunxiang: “She got a secondhand Ghost Kidney.”

Shi Yunxiang: “Functionally it’s fine, but you can occasionally see lingering thoughts from the previous owner.”

“Using a Ghost Kidney?” Zhang Yu mused. “Guess Tu Lishan’s disciple isn’t exactly rolling in spirit coins.”

Zhang Yu, Che Yufei, and Shi Yunxiang were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, and their EyeNet private chats moved fast. They finished exchanging messages in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Shi Huaiyu turned to Zhang Yu and said, “Junior, help spread the word. See if we can get a few more team members.”

Moments later, Zhang Yu posted a call for team members on his social feed, which immediately got a lot of traction.

Li Xiao: “Senior Brother, do you think I’m good enough?”

Closing out one irrelevant chat window after another, Zhang Yu’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Tian Yang: “Emergency recruitment? Do I get paid?”

This was the same senior who’d joined Zhang Yu on that trip to the underground crypt to accompany Director Wang.

Zhang Yu turned to Shi Huaiyu and said, “I found someone. A seventh-year senior. But he might want payment.”

Shi Huaiyu waved a hand. “I’ll handle it. Just send me his contact.”

At the same time, other students were still messaging Zhang Yu.

Gongshu Jin: “Can I join? Even as a sub is fine.”

Zhang Yu: “How much will you pay?”

Ying Xin: “Senior Brother, can I come?”

Zhang Yu glanced at his family’s urn and replied, “I’ll try to save you a sub spot, but you know the drill.”

Ying Xin: “I know! I’ll pay the sub fee!”

Li Xiao: transfers 0.0001 spirit coin

Zhang Yu: “Little Li, I’m not taking your money.”

Zhang Yu: “You’re different from the others. Focus on your studies for now.”

Each Civil Engineering competition team could have six official members and register three substitutes.

Since substitutes still earned participation points, many competitive teams sold those spots.

That was how Ma Xuan’s old team had done it—only back then, Zhang Yu didn’t get a cut.

Yu Xinghan: “How much for a sub spot?”

Zhang Yu: “Not decided yet. I’ll talk to the team and let you know.”

He shook his head in resignation. “Still short on core members, but subs are lining up around the block.”

Just then, a figure stepped onto the simulated worksite.

Seeing the newcomer, Zhang Yu and the others instantly activated their Foundation Establishment Fields to scan him.

Foundation Establishment Cultivator Xiao Qingxuan is within 10 meters. Alert: This user has accumulated over 10,000 spirit coins in debt and is unable to compensate for any damages he causes. Please maintain distance!

With the arrival of his Foundation Establishment Field, all four of them whipped their heads around.

A man nearly two meters tall, dark-skinned, and wearing a mishmash of off-brand Law Husk parts approached slowly.

Staring at the man and hearing about the 10,000-plus coin debt, Che Yufei felt like the guy was a black hole of debt, sucking everything around him—including light—into oblivion.

Che Yufei thought, “Over 10,000 in debt? Is this guy a terrorist? He’s ten-thousand negative

!?” Shi Yunxiang instantly leapt back and positioned himself in front of the group. “Why? Why is someone this deep in debt still alive and kicking?”

Zhang Yu backed up behind Shi Yunxiang. “Are we seeing a ghost? No—no ghost could owe this much and still be walking around…”

The man, unfazed by their tension, looked calmly at Shi Huaiyu and said, “Tu Lishan sent me. You still need people?”

Shi Huaiyu’s eyes lit up. “Don’t be nervous, guys. Senior Xiao may owe a lot, but he’s not dangerous.”

Che Yufei cursed inwardly. “Ten thousand spirit coins in debt isn’t dangerous?”

Shi Huaiyu added, “He’s a registered company owner.”

Che Yufei and Shi Yunxiang both had the same realization. “Ah, that explains it.”

Che Yufei asked, “You’re a ninth-year? Ranked 40th in the department? How’d you end up a company owner?”

Xiao Qingxuan didn’t answer, but Shi Huaiyu explained, “He fell into an ancient tomb at a wild construction site and got possessed by an ancient cultivator.”

“To regain control of his body, he maneuvered things so the ancient cultivator became the company’s legal owner—and took on all the debt. The cultivator ran off after that.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu and the others stared at Xiao Qingxuan with deeply complicated expressions.

Shi Huaiyu made it sound simple, but they all knew the story must be filled with twists and battles of will—especially since the guy was still managing to attend school like nothing happened.

Fu Ji commented, “There’s no telling how deep this guy’s backstory goes.”

Shi Huaiyu beamed. “With Senior Xiao, Junior Zhang, and Tian Yang, we’ve got our team.”

On the other end, after learning the team lineup, Tian Yang agreed they had a shot at a top-ten finish and dropped his demand for payment.

The three sub slots were sold to Yu Xinghan, Gongshu Jin, and Ying Xin, thanks to Zhang Yu’s connections.

The six core members each got 0.2 spirit coins from the sub slot money.

“We’ve got a full team, sold the sub slots—everything’s finally on track.”

Shi Huaiyu touched her Ghost Kidney, eyes blazing with resolve. “Those bastards… just wait.”

Once Tian Yang arrived, Shi Huaiyu addressed the team.

“It’s early September. The competition’s in early December—three months from now.”

“We’ll train once a week.”

“You all know the rules, right?”

Zhang Yu nodded. The Civil Engineering Competition was a head-to-head combat-style contest.

When Team A and Team B faced off, Team A had to carry out construction while under Team B’s attack, within a set time.

Then roles switched—Team B built while Team A attacked.

In the end, judges compared the quality and completeness of both constructions.

Zhang Yu thought, “It’s basically a simulated battlefield.”

“This format tests not only construction skill, but also combat ability.”

After reviewing the rules, Shi Huaiyu began assigning team roles.

Just then, the usually silent Xiao Qingxuan suddenly spoke.

“This guy…”

He pointed at Zhang Yu. “He’s only a second-year? Probably was a first-year just days ago? You’re seriously putting a fresh second-year in the lineup?”

“Kick him out. We can definitely find someone stronger.”

Shi Huaiyu said, “Senior Xiao, Junior Zhang is ranked first in his class and is Director Gao’s personal disciple…”

Xiao Qingxuan replied coolly, “So he’s rich? If that’s the case, I’ve got no problem.”

Zhang Yu knew he couldn’t stay silent anymore.

He stood up and said to Xiao Qingxuan, “Actually… I’m not rich. I’m here because of my strength.”

“My rank and scores are limited by year-based caps, so they don’t reflect my true potential.”

“And I’m improving rapidly. In three months, I’ll be even stronger.”

Xiao Qingxuan replied calmly, “Talk is cheap. In the Civil Engineering Department, you prove yourself with action.”

“Let me test you.”

As he spoke, Xiao Qingxuan thrust his palm forward. A savage, dragon-shaped burst of Martial Qi surged out, stirring up a storm of dust as it roared toward Zhang Yu.

Each claw, tooth, and whisker of the qi-dragon was vivid and lifelike—even the scales shimmered. It looked just like a real dragon.

Zhang Yu realized: the qi transmission rate had surpassed 95%. The Martial Qi moved like flesh and blood, with impeccable control and destructive power.

Boom!

A Formless Golem manifested before Zhang Yu and launched a punch at the qi-dragon.

But it was instantly torn apart, unable to even slow the oncoming force.

More Formless Golems appeared, each one charging in with fearless resolve—only to be crushed one by one.

Zhang Yu let out a low roar, his muscles swelling, Martial Qi surging. His techniques activated in sequence, driving his power to its peak.

Then he threw a punch skyward.

With a thunderous boom, Xiao Qingxuan’s expression shifted.

His strike had first hit something soft, like cotton, being absorbed and redirected.

Then, layer by layer, it broke through—but finally met something harder than steel.

The dragon-shaped qi was completely pierced by Zhang Yu’s body and crashed into the ground behind him.

Zhang Yu stood unharmed, not a hair out of place.

Xiao Qingxuan hadn’t gone all-out, but seeing Zhang Yu shrug off his attack like that still surprised him.

“What a durable body.”

He nodded and said, “I acknowledge your strength. You’ll make a fine defender.”

Just then, a Formless Golem appeared beside Xiao Qingxuan.

Zhang Yu chuckled and said, “Senior, why don’t you take one from me too?”

The next moment, with the roar of a dragon, the Formless Golem surged forward, carrying a power Xiao Qingxuan knew all too well—aimed squarely at him.