No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Basic Heart-Forging Method, Basic Breathing Technique, Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, Martial Qi Guide…

Zhang Yu’s eyes swept across a whole shelf of Foundation Establishment-level beginner techniques. As he read each introduction, the corresponding Chain Diagram for the set would appear in his mind’s eye.

“University Saint Body! I knew it was here!”

The sight of those four words ignited Zhang Yu’s excitement.

He looked up at the remaining rows of Foundation Establishment techniques, his eyes now blazing with fierce determination.

“Compared to the first floor of Kunxu, the selection of Foundation Establishment techniques here on the second floor is insanely rich.”

“Plus, with my exchange discount…”

Zhang Yu checked the prices. “Beginner techniques are already cheap.”

“And with my 80% off discount on these, they’re practically free.”

“Like this Basic Breathing Technique—originally 0.01 spirit coins, now it’s just 0.002.”

But Zhang Yu didn’t rush to spend blindly. Instead, he first identified all the techniques required to build the University Saint Body, then sorted them by price, planning to buy only the ten cheapest ones.

“After all, I haven’t earned anything yet on this second floor. Gotta save wherever I can.”

After bookmarking the ten cheapest techniques, Zhang Yu purchased a copy of the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms.

In the next instant, the digital version of the technique hovered before him. With a flick of his hand, the projection flipped through pages, zooming in and out to display detailed instructions.

Even a string of human-shaped projections appeared, modeling each move of the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms like training mannequins.

Zhang Yu thought, “Just the way this Law Husk Eyes interfaces with the Spiritual Realm network makes the teaching quality way better than on the first floor.”

“Not that it matters to a genius like me.”

While Zhang Yu practiced the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, Fu Ji watched him slash at the air with a bored expression.

She glanced around at the dull, gray classroom walls and thought, “Without access to the Spiritual Realm, I’m basically blind here.”

“Good thing I’ve already evolved into a Level-2 Evil God. I need Zhang Yu to schedule a ritual soon so I can go online too.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu had already begun practicing the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms in earnest.

Now that he was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, with his physical strength continuing to rise, Zhang Yu could feel his body and mana becoming increasingly intertwined.

According to Xinghuo Zhenren, Foundation-level body refining wasn’t like Qi Refinement-level techniques, where you could brute-force it with sheer muscle.

Instead, it required a synergy between mana and muscle to break through previous limits.

Zhang Yu had already sensed this while practicing the Foundation version of the Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation.

Now, as he worked through the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, he could feel that each move had to be paired with specific mana circulation routes to achieve the intended body-tempering effects.

Just as he was training, the classroom’s surveillance camera pivoted slightly and locked onto his position.

Immortal Jiao Lei was watching through the feed. “The Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms?”

“Why’s he wasting exchange credits on such a basic technique?”

“And… why is he practicing it so poorly?”

To Immortal Jiao Lei, Zhang Yu’s form was a mess—sloppy, unfocused, every move off-kilter. It was as if something behind him was rushing him along, and he was only after speed.

“What good is speed? Practicing a hundred rushed sets can’t beat doing it right once.”

Shaking his head, Immortal Jiao Lei’s voice came through the camera feed: “Zhang Yu, don’t practice here anymore.”

“Classroom management says you’re hogging the room. Others need to use it. Go find somewhere else to train.”

Zhang Yu immediately stopped and exited the classroom, musing, “Where else can I train?”

After a quick search, his Law Husk Eyes displayed a list of practice locations—most were either packed or expensive. Then, a spark of inspiration hit him. “Why not try the dorm floor?”

…

125th Floor, Dormitory Area.

Zhang Yu stood outside his dorm room, cycling through the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms one move at a time.

But his movements were often off-form, half-hearted. He was focused solely on speed, rushing through each move.

Still, that made his training near-silent, barely drawing any attention.

Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms, Level 1 (3/20)

His rushed practice boosted the technique’s proficiency rapidly. After only a few repetitions, it was leveling up.

“The only downside is that this half-assed body refining doesn’t really do anything for my physique…”

Zhang Yu didn’t mind. If he wanted real gains, he still had the expert-grade Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation at Level 20.

Compared to that, the body-refining effects of the Body-Refining Thirty-Six Forms were negligible.

“If only I had practiced like this back when I lived in that crappy rental—quiet enough, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten yelled at.”

“But back then, I really needed the gains. Slacking off wasn’t an option.”

Looking around, Zhang Yu noted, “So far, no one’s complained about me practicing out here on the dorm floor…”

So he pushed through, quickly leveling the technique up to Level 8.

Around that time, Yu Xinghan, Le Mulan, and Zhang Pianpian returned to the dorm one after another.

They saw Zhang Yu practicing outside the door, greeted him casually, and went in.

Inside, Zhang Pianpian immediately began breathing in spiritual essence, making the most of every second to refine her mana.

As she practiced, the room’s spiritual essence began to grow denser.

Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan both noticed the increasing energy levels and looked surprised.

Le Mulan exclaimed, “The spiritual essence in here—it’s nearly as dense as a spirit vein!”

“Is every dorm on this floor like this?”

Yu Xinghan asked curiously, “Is the second floor really that rich in spiritual essence?”

Zhang Pianpian explained, “You probably saw it on the way in—those vast lands outside the university belong to private entities.”

“Unlike the first floor, where space has to be used for dense urban development, these private lands are all devoted to herb cultivation and spirit vein upkeep, which raises the essence density.”

Yu Xinghan replied, “So, because there’s so much essence, they can afford to give it out this generously?”

Zhang Pianpian smiled faintly. “Maybe. But more likely, the university and the companies want everyone to be able to refine more mana.”

Then she stopped talking and went back to meditating.

Le Mulan also sat cross-legged and started refining mana, clearly feeling the pressure.

The first day’s class meeting had left her deeply stressed.

Back in high school, she’d been among the elite. But on day one of university, she’d already fallen behind—and it made her anxious.

Meanwhile, Yu Xinghan fiddled with his newly installed Law Husk Eyes, looking at the newly colorful world around him.

He muttered, “Should’ve bought a nicer pair downstairs… These upstairs models are so expensive…”

Then his stomach growled, and he took out his remaining synthetic food.

After calculating how long his supply would last, he sighed again.

He looked around, hoping to unwind, but when he saw Zhang Pianpian and Le Mulan both refining mana, he sighed again.

“Sigh… Just like Old Deng said, university’s way tougher than high school.”

Outside, Zhang Yu was still practicing when Bai Zhenzhen’s avatar began flashing before his eyes.

He thought, “It’s 2 a.m.? Time to check in with Ah-Zhen?”

The scenery hadn’t changed a bit around him, and Zhang Yu noted, “In this university city, it’s impossible to tell day from night.”

With a thought, his vision shimmered, and Bai Zhenzhen’s energetic face appeared before him.

She said, “Yuzi, you settled in okay?”

Zhang Yu nodded. “Had our first class meeting already. Ran into a Sixth-Floor Lord and a Fourth-Floor Lord…”

Bai Zhenzhen said, “I’ve seen a few Tenth-Floor Lords in my class too. But they’re pretty chill. They even made me class rep…”

When Zhang Yu heard she was casually chatting with Tenth-Floor Lords, he couldn’t help but feel envious.

Then he asked, “How big is your place? I’m rooming with Big Sis, Yu Xinghan, and Le Mulan in a five-square-meter dorm.”

Bai Zhenzhen was shocked. “What? Wanfa University is that cramped? I thought my fifty-square-meter dorm was tiny, but you guys are packed into five?”

They continued chatting, sharing every amusing detail of their first day as if they hadn’t spoken in years.

When Bai Zhenzhen heard about Gongsu Jin flaunting his wealth, her eyebrows shot up.

“Gongsu Jin, huh? He didn’t bully you, did he?”

“Yuzi, remember this—if anyone bullies you, just say you’re under the protection of my mom, the Seven Sentiments Lord! If they don’t believe you, tell them to add me. I’ll scold them live.”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up.

“Right! Sure, I’m just a First-Floor guy—but my best bro is the disciple of a True Sovereign. That means I’ve got connections to a Nascent Soul Patriarch!”

Suddenly, the sky felt wide open. Zhang Yu brimmed with confidence.

“Damn, with a background this hardcore, I’ve been way too low-key.”

“Next time some Fourth-Floor Lord or Sixth-Floor Lord tries to start something, I’ll just get Ah-Zhen to add them and tear them a new one!”

“No wait, I should make a group chat. I want front-row seats to watch her flame them live!”

Just thinking about it made Zhang Yu puff out his chest.