No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

On the tournament field.

Bai Zhenzhen’s figure flickered like a ghostly shadow, darting rapidly around the circular arena, weaving through the storm of high-speed steel pellets flying at her from all directions.

After two months of grueling training, her body had been reforged time and again by the Thunderquake True Body and aided by the Zhen Spirit Root, pushing her muscle reaction and explosive speed to new limits.

At this moment, her nervous system transmitted commands without pause, coordinating every muscle to tighten and spring in perfect synchronicity, allowing her to dodge the steel pellets mid-movement with razor-thin precision.

She moved so fast that afterimages trailed behind her, and she consistently evaded the projectiles at the last possible second.

”These are way slower than Yuzi’s attacks.”

Compared to Zhang Yu going full force during their sparring sessions, these steel pellets felt sluggish. Bai Zhenzhen even had the bandwidth to casually comment while dodging.

Meanwhile, nearly all the students from the Three Great Academies were handling the steel-pellet barrage just as easily as Bai Zhenzhen, forming a sharp contrast with the steady stream of eliminated students from other schools.

…

In the stands.Gangshan nodded and said, “You’re right, Jingchen. These two from Songyang High really have caught up to the level of the Three Great Academies.”

Le Jingchen smiled. “That’s the impact of breakthroughs in body-refining techniques. Even students who were previously nowhere near elite level can now compete, thanks to surgical enhancements.”

Gangshan added, “Still, they’re not quite on the same level as Le Mulan. She’s much more composed.”

Le Jingchen nodded. “That’s the advantage of the Super-Metabolism Surgery—it massively increases drug resistance, letting her safely overdose on all kinds of enhancers.”

“Drugs can boost everything—strength, speed, reflexes, balance, flexibility, focus, digestion. Every physiological function can be augmented.”

“In other words, Super-Metabolism Surgery provides the most well-rounded, weakness-free enhancement possible.”

“In this round, it’s not just about speed and reflexes—it’s also about sustained concentration. That’s something most body-refining techniques struggle to improve.”

“But for Le Mulan, who had the surgery? Just jab a needle into her brain. One dose not enough? Take two. And suddenly she has the sharpest focus on the entire field.”

Le Jingchen continued, “If anyone’s interested in the Super-Metabolism body-refining tech, I recommend checking out Purple Cloud Pharmaceuticals’ official site…”

After his pitch for Purple Cloud, Gangshan chimed in, “That surgery sounds expensive though?”

Le Jingchen nodded. “Purple Cloud aims to use Immortal Dao technology for the public good. Even though the costs are high, they’ve brought the price under a million now.”

Gangshan said, “Still pricey, but coincidentally, the ‘Dare to Borrow’ platform has partnered with me to offer a deal.”

“If you borrow from me through the platform, you’ll get six periods of zero service fees.”

“If you’re really a bro—come borrow from me…”

Le Jingchen quietly watched the blatant ad plug, inwardly musing, “Gangshan may be a body-refining influencer, but he doesn’t sell drugs or techniques. He sticks to lending ads—the safest route. Among body-refining streamers, his fan fatality rate is probably the lowest. He’s a rare clean-streamer.”

“I wonder how much they paid him to push this tech today.”

…

Meanwhile, just after Gangshan and Le Jingchen finished their respective ad spots, all the regular high school students had been eliminated from the match.

As the dodge zone continued to shrink, even elite high school students began to fall one by one.

He Dayou struggled to evade the high-speed projectiles flying in from all sides. As the arena tightened, sweat streamed down his forehead from the mental strain.

Suddenly, his leg hesitated. His muscle control couldn’t quite keep up with his brain.

Then came the sharp crack of impact—He Dayou hit the floor with a bitter expression.

The transplanted muscle tissue had never been fully under his control. After prolonged, intense use, it finally failed.

He glanced at the timer—58 seconds.

With a sigh, he returned to Songyang High’s rest area.

Zhao Tianxing looked at him with envy, thinking, “He lasted 58 seconds? I’d probably manage 30 at best…”

But He Dayou didn’t feel proud in the slightest.

He stared longingly at the livestream screen.

“Not a single one of the Three Great Academies’ students has been eliminated yet?”

“This new body-refining tech… if only I could get those modifications too.”

…

Le Jingchen commented, “Most of the elite high school students are out. The ring has shrunk by half. Now it’s time for the Three Great Academies to start falling.”

Gangshan asked, “Who do you think will win this round?”

Le Jingchen said confidently, “The students from Red Tower High are all huge. That’s a disadvantage here. They’ll probably be the first among the top schools to get hit.”

“Songyang’s two have smaller frames. They can last a bit longer—probably fall after Red Tower and alongside the bulk of Purple Cloud and White Dragon students.”

“As for the winner… it’ll be between Le Mulan and Yu Xinghan.”

“I’m confident in my sister and Purple Cloud’s tech, but Yu Xinghan is a Gold Core Disciple. His funding dwarfs every other competitor’s, and his stats top the board. Mulan might not beat him…”

Even as he praised Yu Xinghan, Le Jingchen subtly kept bringing up the fact that he was a Gold Core Disciple—implying that if he won, it was due to his status, and if he lost, it would be a triumph of Purple Cloud’s technology.

And sure enough, the rest of the match played out exactly as he predicted.

The students from Red Tower High were eliminated amid angry beast-like roars.

Next, students from Purple Cloud and White Dragon High started dropping.

Bang!

Chu Qiuhe felt a steel pellet slam into his arm. With a cold snort, he stopped dodging altogether and let the pellets pummel him with sharp, cracking sounds as he calmly walked off the field.

“Ducking and weaving is such a pain. Taking it head-on suits me better.”

As he left, he watched the screen, curious about who was still competing.

On the other side, Lian Tianji lasted a few seconds longer before also getting hit.

As he exited under the admiring gazes of students from regular and elite schools alike, Lian Tianji kept his eyes locked on the screen, checking the final contenders.

A hint of regret crossed his face. “Still couldn’t beat Shen Sheng Yi or Zhang Yu, huh?”

As students from the Three Great Academies fell one after another, Gangshan was shocked to see Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu still standing.

Only four remained: Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, Le Mulan, and Yu Xinghan.

“They made the top four?”

Le Jingchen was surprised too—but upon reflection, it made sense.

“Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s physical stats are ranked fifth and seventh in the entire field. With their small frames, reaching the top four is reasonable.”

“I underestimated them because they’re from Songyang High. But clearly, they’ve undergone new forms of body-refining as well.”

“Maybe they have a shot at finishing in the top five overall.”

With a silent nod to himself, Le Jingchen returned his attention to the arena.

By now, the circle had shrunk to the size of a single person. Zhang Yu had activated Full Focus Mode and was inching around with utmost care, dodging each pellet with surgical precision.

Bai Zhenzhen twisted her body into improbable shapes, relying on her blazing speed, reflexes, and flexibility to compensate for her lack of focus. But the real challenge wasn’t just dodging—it was maintaining a 360-degree awareness in an ever-tightening space.

Bai Zhenzhen gritted her teeth. “At this rate, I won’t be able to keep up with all directions…”

As the circle shrank further, both began to falter—until they were hit and eliminated.

4th Place: Bai Zhenzhen, Songyang High – 2 minutes 13 seconds

3rd Place: Zhang Yu, Songyang High – 2 minutes 18 seconds

As they stepped off the field, greeted by awe-struck peers, both turned their eyes to the screen to watch the battle for first.

Bai Zhenzhen muttered, frustrated, “Those two… can they see the pellets coming from behind?”

Meanwhile, Le Mulan was no longer her usual picture of poise.

With the help of a tenfold Focus Enhancer, her senses were on hyperdrive, picking up even subtle air currents to track incoming shots.

Her brain, supercharged by a tenfold Cognitive Enhancer, blazed through calculations, plotting the most optimal dodge path.

Blood surged through her body like a raging river, delivering the drugs to every muscle, triggering explosive motion that left blurs in her wake.

Even so, with the circle now too tight to turn around, she could only rely on hearing to detect rearward projectiles. It was getting harder by the second.

Bang!

A pellet struck her back. The moment it hit, her body relaxed and she exited the arena.

2nd Place: Le Mulan, Purple Cloud High – 2 minutes 25 seconds

She, too, looked at the screen—and was stunned to see Yu Xinghan still dodging in that tiny space.

“How is he doing that?”

Yu Xinghan moved through a slowed-down world, his “third eye” seemingly aware of the crowd’s shock.

“Is this supposed to be difficult?”

With his Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique maxed at level 10, his Full Focus Mode made the world appear in slow motion.

His third eye gave him a full 360-degree field of view.

And his top-tier physical stats—enhanced to monstrous extremes—unleashed terrifying agility.

…

In the stands, Le Jingchen watched Yu Xinghan’s movements and thought, “This guy… can see behind himself? If it’s not mana-based, then it must be some kind of physical augmentation.”

“But White Dragon High doesn’t have that tech. Could it be Xinghuo Zhenren’s handiwork? Or… was he born this way?”

He couldn’t be sure, but he said nothing.

After all, this was a physical competition. Any natural or technical body advantage was fair game.

And then—gasps echoed through the stadium.

…

Back on the field.

As the circle became too small for even standing, Yu Xinghan suddenly crouched, then tapped one finger to the ground.

He sat cross-legged, balancing entirely on a single finger.

From that point, the rest of his body flowed like a silver tree in a storm, bending and shifting in impossible ways to dodge the pellets.

In just a few seconds, he displayed overwhelming dominance—strength, speed, balance, flexibility, reflexes. Every aspect of the human body operating at godlike levels.

Finally, as the circle shrank beyond even that fingertip, he pushed off lightly and soared into the air, evading the last volley.

As the steel pellets ceased firing, he landed—untouched.

1st Place: Yu Xinghan, White Dragon High – 2 minutes 33 seconds

Yu Xinghan smiled at the crowd and said calmly:

“Starting next month, Xianyun Group will be offering Elephant-Demon muscle tissue enhancements in Songyang City. We welcome your attention.”