No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Oasis Tower, 1111th floor.

This highest point of Songyang City’s newest landmark now stood as the tallest place in the entire city.

And at this very moment, as Zhang Yu stood at the summit of the city, he looked out to see the grand hall crowded with employees of the Oasis Group.

A thunderous bang echoed from the sky.

Fireworks composed of divine lightning exploded in all directions. Amidst the crackling bolts of electricity, two blazing words formed in the night sky: “Ten Billion.”

Inside the hall, the host shouted, “To celebrate our Food Loan program surpassing ten billion in volume, all food and potions are free today! Everyone’s bonus this month will be doubled!”

“Let’s thank Director Wang!”

The crowd erupted in cheers. Director Wang waved casually with a smile. “Keep up the good work, everyone. Let’s aim for one hundred billion next! A trillion! Ten trillion!”

“One day, this very hall will produce a hundred billionaires!”

Amid the screams and shouts, the excitement in the air only intensified.Someone shouted, “Director Wang, red envelopes!”

Wang Yin laughed heartily. With a thought, a storm of Red Envelope Sigils materialized out of thin air, raining down over the crowd like a downpour. Roars of excitement followed as the atmosphere reached its peak.

Bai Zhenzhen cheered and darted forward to snatch at the red envelopes.

Wang Yin walked over to Zhang Yu and asked curiously, “What’s the matter? Not grabbing any red envelopes?”

Zhang Yu forced a smile. “I’ll let the regular employees have their fun.”

Wang Yin chuckled. “That’s the way to go. You’ll only get richer from here. Once you’re wealthy, you’ve got to learn not to compete with the people below you over pocket change.”

He then glanced at Zhang Yu’s skin. “Come with me. I’ve got something good to show you.”

Without waiting, he led Zhang Yu into another room.

Inside stood a young man roughly Zhang Yu’s size. Upon seeing them, he immediately bowed.

Zhang Yu was still wondering what this was about when Wang Yin said, “Take the skin off. Let Zhang Yu try it on.”

To Zhang Yu’s horror, the young man peeled his skin off as if removing a coat, revealing a raw, bloody frame underneath.

Wang Yin clapped Zhang Yu on the back and grinned. “I told you before to switch to real skin, but you kept refusing. So I went ahead and bought you this training skin myself.”

Seeing the shock on Zhang Yu’s face, Wang Yin explained proudly, “High-end training skins are all human-sourced. To keep them active, they’re nourished daily with blood essence and refined through secret techniques. They’re worn by live frames who exercise and cultivate daily to preserve their quality.”

“These handcrafted skins are leagues above the mass-produced stuff you’re wearing.”

“And this one’s special—I chose it just for you. It comes from a horizontal refining expert. Wear it, and it’ll boost your Protective Qi Barrier and help you break past your current limits.”

“You probably don’t know this, but our Netherworld University has a divine technique called the Bloodshift Method. It’s famous for skinning and tanning. I’m not good at the technique myself, but I’ve got a sharp eye…”

“Come on now, get changed. Throw away that fake skin of yours. Don’t embarrass me by wearing that thing again.”

Looking at the so-called “live frame” before him, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t it hurt?”

The young man paused, then gave a faint smile through his bloody face. “We block out the pain receptors before entering this trade.”

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ve been in this business for over twenty years. I take excellent care of skins—there won’t be a single flaw.”

As the man prepared to drape the skin over him, Zhang Yu cursed internally, “Insane. This whole damn Kunxu is insane.”

Noticing Zhang Yu’s hesitation, Wang Yin frowned. “You don’t like this skin?”

The skinner panicked. “Mr. Zhang, if this one doesn’t suit you, we have other types. Want me to bring them in?”

Wang Yin picked up the skin, turning it this way and that, occasionally draping it back on the frame to examine it. “This one’s quality is excellent. No issues.”

Watching Wang Yin manipulate both the live frame and the human skin like clothing and a mannequin, Zhang Yu suddenly felt a bone-deep chill. Though the man was selecting a gift for him, Zhang Yu realized Wang Yin’s gaze held something far more terrifying than enmity.

“He doesn’t look at people. He looks at assets. Pets. Livestock…”

Just then, two others entered the room—Sheng Jie and Tan Shishan, both of whom had also recently acquired their Foundation Licenses.

But now, they exuded an overwhelming pressure with every breath, the Spiritual Energy around them quivering visibly.

Wang Yin glanced at them. “Oh? You’ve established your Foundation?”

Sheng Jie bowed. “Our families scraped together enough to help us establish early. We figured it would give us an advantage when we enter university.”

Though Zhang Yu’s income had surged, he still needed another six months to afford a Heavenly Spirit Root.

In contrast, Sheng Jie and Tan Shishan, both already at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, could rely on their families to support their Foundation Establishment as soon as they secured their licenses.

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly… The gap in wealth meant that even though he’d outperformed them in the Qi Refining Realm, he’d fall behind in Foundation Establishment.

And unless he earned Director Wang’s continued support, graduating with his Foundation complete would remain out of reach.

Ignoring the other two, Wang Yin turned to Zhang Yu with a smile. “I’ve checked it—it’s fine. Try it on.”

Under the skinner’s delighted gaze and the jealous stares of Sheng Jie and Tan Shishan, Zhang Yu silently donned the training skin.

Wang Yin laughed. “I knew it! This one suits you perfectly.”

“From now on, wear this to meetings. Got it?”

Inside Zhang Yu’s mind, the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique’s visualized Sacrificial Ox abruptly froze.

No matter how his Heart Technique flowed, the Sacrificial Ox wouldn’t move.

“What a trash technique,” Zhang Yu thought bitterly.

“Do I have to suffer, bleed, constantly face danger just to get you to work?”

“I need to buy a Heavenly Spirit Root. I need to establish my Foundation.”

“I don’t want to stay broke in Kunxu forever! I won’t lose to rich kids just because I’m poor!”

“And this training skin—it’s just equipment in Kunxu. Nothing to fuss over…”

…

Another month passed in the blink of an eye.

It was now May.

At Songyang High School…

Zhang Yu stared at the 29 million in his bank account, thinking, “Almost there. I’ll be able to buy the Heavenly Spirit Root and establish my Foundation soon.”

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of a fight.

Frowning, he turned to see Zhou Chechen being swarmed by over a dozen students.

“You think you’re still student council president? Your Zhou family’s done. Can’t even talk in the school board anymore…”

“Zhou Chechen, you’re not richer than us anymore.”

“Hand over your homework!”

“Heh, I wanna try the kind of medicine a student council president uses!”

Zhang Yu hadn’t intended to get involved, but as the commotion got louder and more absurd, he finally snapped. “Get lost. Don’t cause trouble near me.”

At the sound of Zhang Yu’s low growl, the students scattered in panic.

Zhou Chechen quietly got up, looked in Zhang Yu’s direction, and gave a slight nod. “Thanks,” he said softly, then turned and left.

Zhang Yu knew Zhou family had declined after failing to secure a partnership with Oasis Group.

Zhou Chechen’s days in Songyang High were only going to get harder.

“But… what’s it got to do with me?”

He went to the cafeteria, only to see that the price of Synthetic Food had gone up again. Even Qian Shen at his table seemed to be eating less than before.

That evening, another meeting at Oasis Tower.

Zhang Yu looked at the next proposed service and clenched his teeth. “Flesh collateral?”

With the Food Loan a hit, Oasis Group now planned to launch a flesh-collateral program—letting users repay debt with their own flesh.

Zhang Yu knew this was an old Kunxu practice, but seeing company staff coldly discussing how to harvest, evaluate, monetize, and store flesh still made him feel like he was watching living people being butchered and served on silver platters…

…

June came, dragging with it both stress and ease.

With the college entrance exam season concluding, only three months remained until Zhang Yu entered his senior year.

His account now held over 33 million.

Yet he still returned to the underground tutoring world to give a few more lessons, hoping to earn just a little extra.

At least the atmosphere there felt lighter than the one at Oasis Group.

But with Oasis joining forces with other companies, groups like Xianyun Group and Deep Sea Education Group were cracking down on pirated lessons. Some even began abandoning their old alliances like tossing out chamber pots.

Meanwhile, employee wages and benefits kept falling, and tutoring enrollments declined as a result.

Many older students, having lost their income, simply ran out of longevity and passed away.

Now, every time Zhang Yu entered the classroom, another familiar face was gone. His income from dark tutoring had plummeted.

…

July.

The weather in Songyang was heating up.

And as the temperature rose, Zhang Yu’s balance finally crossed 38 million.

At that moment, scandals about Oasis Group began surfacing online.

During a company banquet that day, Zhang Yu asked while dining with Director Wang, “About the food made with flesh collateral…”

Wang Yin replied casually, “Oh, that story?”

He smiled at the curious looks from Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. “Just clickbait news. There’s no way the company adds human meat to Synthetic Food.”

Zhang Yu exhaled in relief. “So Kunxu’s not that crazy after all…”

Wang Yin added, “Synthetic Food’s so cheap—adding human meat would bankrupt us.”

“It’s only when selling to upstairs that we use user-furnished flesh.”

Zhang Yu froze. “Selling to… upstairs?”

Wang Yin smiled. “You didn’t think we’re doing all this just to earn scraps from the first floor, did you? That money’s barely usable up there.”

He continued, “Once you get into Netherworld University, you’ll understand. The upper floors trade Immortal Dao technology and products for raw resources from below.”

“The human body is a treasure trove—blood, flesh, skin, bone, marrow, brain, even resentment and souls, all have their uses.”

“And if someone’s undergone body modification surgeries and cultivates hard, they’re even more valuable.”

Zhang Yu grimaced. “So they pay to enhance themselves, cultivate harder, and make themselves more valuable… to be sold?”

Wang Yin replied, “They get better grades, better university chances. Even if they fail and have to sell meat or soul, they’ll fetch a better price. It’s a win for them.”

“And Netherworld University, Skyfiend University, Bone University—we all have high demand. Without materials, how can we compete with the other top ten?”

“Upstairs, the cost of humans is much higher. They ban mortal breeding, enforce human protection acts, regulate resentment emissions…”

He sighed. “In that sense, the first floor is just cheaper. We’re just meeting demand.”

Zhang Yu clenched his teeth. “So we’re selling first-floor people’s flesh to the upper levels?”

Bai Zhenzhen looked stunned, seemingly unaware of such truths.

Wang Yin glanced at their uneasy expressions and said, “You both come from first-floor mortal families. Your thinking is a bit outdated—I get that.”

“But remember, it’s they who sell their flesh. We just buy it. Fair trade. I pay good money.”

“If they don’t sell to me, they’ll sell to someone else.”

“This is normal on the path to immortality.”

He sighed, as if speaking to rebellious pets. “And in a year, you’ll both be off to the second floor for university. First floor won’t matter to you anymore. Focus on Foundation Establishment.”

“You’re both talented. You could reach the fifth floor. Maybe even the sixth. Don’t waste that.”

Seeing Zhang Yu’s silence and Bai Zhenzhen’s dazed look, Wang Yin frowned slightly, disappointed.

Like scolding a disobedient dog, he shook his head and sighed. “Who’s paying you? Me, or someone else?”

“Shouldn’t you listen to the one who pays you?”

“If you’re still confused, take a few days off. Think it through.”

“You’re both smart. I’m sure you’ll understand.”

Zhang Yu opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But then he thought of his and Bai Zhenzhen’s respective tens of millions in savings.

Thought of their upcoming Heavenly Spirit Roots, Foundation Establishment, and the Ten Major Sects…

And suddenly, his battle-hardened body… couldn’t muster any strength at all.