No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Inside the cafeteria of Songyang High.

Zhang Yu scooped up a mouthful of pure white synthetic food and swallowed it, feeling the gritty texture scrape past his mouth like sand. As it slid down his throat, it left behind a raw stench of fat and protein.

This was unseasoned, unprocessed synthetic food—its texture resembled vomit, and the taste was like some grotesque hybrid of insect and rotting meat.

But no matter how awful it tasted, this was still, for Zhang Yu, the cheapest and most cost-effective source of fat, protein, vitamins... in short, all the nutrients essential for both survival and cultivation.

“Sigh. Broke again.”

Ever since the entire city had started tracking and surveilling him, Zhang Yu had lost access to jobs in the Dark Tutoring Gang, and his income had plummeted.

Even with the seed-selling hustle and Bai Zhenzhen’s delivery side gig making up for it a little, once you subtracted medicine and food—the two biggest expenses—there was hardly anything left.

Add in the monthly loan interest of 45,000, and saving money became close to impossible.

“Gotta save where I can.”

Take school meals, for example. To avoid the daily cost of flavor additives, Zhang Yu chose to “enjoy” the original taste of the ingredients.As for leasing Spirit Roots, leasing time in the Spiritual Realm, buying Techniques, and purchasing cultivation tools—he had cut all of those to the bone.

“Good thing that after entering the second phase of the High School Saint Body, my digestion and absorption have improved so much I barely need to eat to meet my body’s needs.”

Thanks to all this penny-pinching, Zhang Yu had finally managed to stash away 33,000 yuan in his bank account.

But as for that 33K…

“Not gonna spend a single cent unless I have to.”

After all, the second round of the Foundation Establishment exam was right around the corner. Besides travel costs, who knew what kind of extra fees the exam would squeeze out of him?

“If it comes down to it, I’ll borrow from Zhao Tianxing and Qian Shen.”

As Zhang Yu stoically endured the taste of his meal, Zhao Tianxing glanced at him with a conflicted look, as if holding something back.

Zhao Tianxing thought to himself, “Yuzi didn’t beat Bai Zhenzhen in either the September or October exams. Seems like both his mana and physical strength have regressed. He must be feeling awful.”

Slipping grades—this was, in Zhao Tianxing’s eyes, the scariest thing about high school.

And worse yet, if your best friend pulled ahead while you were falling behind… that’s how friendships died.

He’d seen it too many times: one guy scores better than the other, and suddenly it’s laxatives in lunchboxes, bubble tea slipped into energy drinks, or spamming funny videos just before a test…

Zhao Tianxing had witnessed plenty of friendships torn apart over academics.

On top of that, he noticed Bai Zhenzhen wasn’t interacting with Zhang Yu much anymore—barely any talk between classes.

“Not even eating dinner together lately,” Zhao thought. “Don’t tell me they’ve really drifted apart?”

“But if I ask directly, won’t that just make things worse? Won’t he think I’m rubbing it in?”

As he hesitated, Qian Shen suddenly spoke up.

“Zhang Yu, what’s with your grades lately? You’ve been slipping.”

Zhang Yu sighed and replied casually, “No money, obviously.”

Zhao Tianxing jumped in too. “You and Bai Zhenzhen okay? I noticed you guys aren’t talking much.”

“It’s fine. What could be wrong?”

Truth was, both of them had been crushed by pressure lately, pouring every second into cultivation. They barely had time to talk at school—only managed a few words after getting home.

“Plus Ah-Zhen’s doing delivery runs. She usually grabs dinner from the cafeteria and eats it on the road.”

Just then, Zhang Yu’s phone buzzed.

It was a transfer from Bai Zhenzhen: 200 yuan.

Bai Zhenzhen: Son, this is tomorrow morning’s meal money. Just earned it from my last delivery.

Zhang Yu: Thanks, Mom.

Bai Zhenzhen: But if your seed-selling income keeps dropping, Mom can’t afford to raise you anymore.

Bai Zhenzhen: You’re so young, how come your output is already this bad? Can we find some way to improve your quality and make more money?

Zhang Yu didn’t keep reading. Instead, he thought to himself: after the Foundation Establishment exam, I really do need to figure out a better income source.

After dinner, he completed four hours of tutoring under Teacher Zhou’s supervision and returned to his apartment just outside Purple Cloud High.

As Zhang Yu entered the apartment, Si Zhouyu stretched from her perch not far behind.

Her shift had just started—she was on monitoring duty now.

Compared to Bai Zhenzhen, monitoring Zhang Yu was a walk in the park. He didn’t zip around delivering food; he mostly stayed at school or at home. His life was a monotonous loop.

Even Si Zhouyu was getting worn out by the sheer dullness of it.

“But after all this buildup… there should be something soon, right?”

When it came to Zhang Yu’s situation, she considered herself better informed than most teachers or students at Songyang High.

After all, they had access to everything—from classroom surveillance to spending records, exam results, and training metrics.

And based on all that, she saw only one trend: Zhang Yu’s performance, both financial and academic, was tanking. His mental state had to be in shambles.

“For a rising star, watching yourself fall apart piece by piece is brutal. It wrecks your Dao Heart.”

She’d seen it all before at Jinzhou Vocational College.

So many kids thought they were geniuses… until they made it to the second floor and realized how many monsters were already ahead.

The so-called geniuses of the first floor were just the entry ticket.

Si Zhouyu shook her head and refocused. “And now Bai Zhenzhen’s on the rise, earning money even during tutoring hours.”

“He’s bound to start breaking down.”

“So come on, Zhang Yu. Make your move. Let me see what’s really behind you.”

Perched on a nearby rooftop, Si Zhouyu kept her eyes on the apartment entrance while browsing her phone.

“Sigh… I’ve nearly run out of good audiobooks during this stakeout.”

“Guess I’ll just pick something random.”

She braced herself for another long night.

…

While Si Zhouyu watched from outside…

Inside the apartment, Zhang Yu stripped off his clothes and began to rehearse the Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm, a Technique worth 200,000.

After months of intermittent simulation using his Zhen Spirit Root, the expert-grade Technique had finally evolved into its level 10 effect.

Originally, the level 10 form—Dragon Muscle Elephant Bone—enhanced Zhang Yu’s body structure through repeated training, giving him a more Immortal-grade physique with greater power output capacity.

But after being refined through the Zhen Spirit Root, this effect had been upgraded. Now it also improved mana circulation, letting his meridians carry and transmit even more power.

Zhang Yu unleashed a palm strike. His body strength, now at 9.89, exploded in force, shattering the air with sheer pressure. Wind whipped through the room, accompanied by thunderous sonic booms.

Feeling the power rushing through him, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but smile faintly.

To outsiders, his test scores might’ve stagnated or even dropped. But Zhang Yu knew exactly how much he had improved lately.

Fu Ji, watching silently, was shocked: “This guy… he’s progressed this far under such brutal conditions? Just what kind of potential was unlocked in him?”

Zhang Yu knew it wasn’t just the seed-selling, Bai Zhenzhen’s support, the Zhen Spirit Root, or even the feedback from the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique under pressure…

The real turning point was completing all ten high school basic Techniques, which had awakened the full form of the High School Saint Body in the Chain Diagram.

Basic – High School Saint Body (6/6): Enhanced drug absorption, metabolism up to peak Qi Refinement

Advanced – High School Saint Body (8/8): Enhanced food digestion, metabolism up to peak Qi Refinement

Ultimate – High School Saint Body (10/10): Double efficiency and effectiveness for all Qi Refinement Techniques

Looking at the Chain Diagram’s completed node, Zhang Yu thought, “Now I get more effect out of every pill, every bite, and with no side effects.”

“And this last line… every session of cultivation is worth three times the progress.”

“Drug-proof, food-proof, study-proof. No wonder they call it the High School Saint Body.”

With this buff, his physical strength soared to 9.89, and his mana reached 97.56 units.

Only his Dao Heart lagged behind—still, it had climbed to level 7 (18.4%).

“If it weren’t for the soft cap at the peak of Qi Refinement, I would’ve maxed out both stats already.”

At that moment, his phone buzzed again—this time it was Su Haifeng.

Su Haifeng: Still asking for leave? With your situation, you think you deserve to skip school?

Zhang Yu muttered inwardly, “So, no approval, huh? That means if I want to take the Foundation Establishment exam…”

He scrolled to Yun Ni’s contact in his phone.

Zhang Pianpian had told him—if he ever ran into trouble, he could ask Yun Ni for help.

A few seconds later, he sent a message.

Zhang Yu: Captain Yun, I need a favor. I want to go to Xiandu, but the school won’t approve my leave. Could you dispatch me and Bai Zhenzhen on official business under the Patrol Division?

Zhang Yu: Don’t worry, we won’t cause any trouble. We just need to get something done.

The reply came faster than he expected.

Yun Ni: Approved. Don’t need to explain. Don’t need to report back either.