No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Wen Wuya’s arrival through a Spiritual Realm Projection was anything but subtle—his appearance immediately caught the attention of many at the gathering.

Those unfamiliar with Wen Wuya looked on in curiosity.

Those who did recognize him as a Nascent Soul Disciple from Heavenly Sword Sect University were visibly stunned.

Ma Xuan’s eyes flicked toward Wen Wuya, and he whispered to Su Yanyang beside him, “That’s one of the two Nascent Soul disciples from the Flying Sword Tournament, right?”

Su Yanyang nodded, glancing between Wen Wuya and Mo Shangjin. He muttered, “Mo Shangjin really is something else. Even managed to rope in Wen Wuya for this party.”

But the moment Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu started exchanging glances, Su Yanyang’s face showed surprise. He thought to himself, “Wait...are they communicating?”

Ma Xuan messaged again: “Wen Wuya...looks like he’s here for Zhang Yu?”

Su Yanyang gave a subtle nod. “Must be something going on.”

On the other side, Xiao Yunji was equally shocked. “What could Wen Wuya be talking to Zhang Yu about?”

She stood up. If Zhang Yu could talk to Wen Wuya, then surely she could too.Ping Han, who had just left in disappointment, was also drawn back. His eyes flashed with interest. He was already thinking of roping Wen Wuya into his cryptocurrency scheme.

Gongshu Jin, meanwhile, was in the middle of a massage, but barely blinked at the sight of Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya together.

After all, he’d already witnessed Wen Wuya approach Zhang Yu directly at the end of the Flying Sword Tournament.

Watching the confused and curious expressions of the senior students around him—many of whom ranked higher or had pricier Law Husks—Gongshu Jin suddenly felt a flash of pride.

Because he alone knew that Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya were friends.

“Technically, I’m friends with Zhang Yu, who’s friends with Wen Wuya. If I could get Zhang Yu to introduce me, maybe I’d have a Nascent Soul disciple in my contact list too.”

The thought gave Gongshu Jin a strange sense of superiority, like he was the one standing next to Wen Wuya right now.

Elsewhere, Yu Xinghan had already snapped dozens of photos of Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya together.

He looked regretfully at the pixelated mess on his screen. “Damn rich kids—spending money on Evil-Warding Sigils just to keep us broke students from getting a clean photo.”

Then, under everyone’s gaze, a sudden shift occurred in the scene.

“…How bold of you!”

Wen Wuya crushed the eavesdropping data embedded in Feng Tingting’s EyeNet Husk, then started striding toward her.

With every step, talismanic code flashed around him—Immobilization Sigils, Reporting Sigils, and Freezing Sigils fired off in succession, freezing Feng Tingting on the spot.

Just then, two figures stepped forward to shield her.

Mo Shangjin gave Wen Wuya a faint smile. “Wen, this is hardly worth summoning a Righteous God over, don’t you think?”

Ye Xingli added coolly, “Wen Wuya, this is Wanfa Sect University, not Heavenly Sword Sect. You don’t get to throw your weight around here.”

Wen Wuya paused on Mo Shangjin, a stream of data appearing in his view—ranking lists, competition results, and more.

Then he looked at Ye Xingli, and similar statistics surfaced, including the identity of her master.

Wen Wuya said, “Ye Xingli… I know you. Disciple of True Lord Magneto, top five in the last Law Husk Design Competition.”

Privately, Wen Wuya thought, “True Lord Magneto... Master said that man is extremely secretive. Most at Wanfa probably don’t even know. If Wanfa produces a fourth Nascent Soul cultivator in the next twenty years, it’ll be him.”

Still, Wen Wuya was only a projection—limited to Sigil Arts. Compared to Ye Xingli, his presence was already a head shorter.

He stared at her for a long moment. “Where’s Yan Qianji? As the disciple of Myriad Transformation True Lord, doesn’t he call the shots for the Artifact Refinement Department?”

“Does he know you’re shielding students engaged in illegal behavior?”

Ye Xingli met his gaze unflinchingly. “Minor matters like these don’t concern Senior Yan. And whether it’s illegal or not isn’t for you to say. The Righteous Gods will investigate.”

Their eyes locked, and for a moment it felt like an invisible clash of intent was underway.

To the watching students, the two seemed to be dueling in some invisible arena.

A string of barely visible glyphs danced before Ye Xingli’s eyes—only she could see them.

Wen Wuya: I’ve saved the eavesdropping record.

Ye Xingli: Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?

Wen Wuya scanned the captured file—its contents were completely erased.

His gaze toward Ye Xingli grew more intrigued. “No divine power fluctuation... was the deletion done through her Law Husk? Has Ye Xingli already reached this level in Law Husk manipulation?”

At that moment, he got a message from Bai Zhenzhen.

Bai Zhenzhen: Wen Wuya, where are you?

Wen Wuya: Handling a small matter.

Bai Zhenzhen: Voice call. I need to talk.

Wen Wuya: Okay.

Wen Wuya: Give me a sec.

Wen Wuya: Be right there.

He gave Ye Xingli and Feng Tingting a final glance and snorted, projecting, I have other business today. When my true body meets you, we’ll have a proper exchange.

Then he turned sharply to Zhang Yu and messaged: What kind of sterilization does Bai Zhenzhen like?

Zhang Yu: Ah-Zhen likes... the extreme kind.

Wen Wuya: Like... gender transformation?

Wen Wuya: Or sword-body fusion?

Zhang Yu thought, “Bro… that’s way too extreme, isn’t it?”

Wen Wuya: Whatever, they’re all easy. I’ll try everything.

After a brief exchange of glances with Zhang Yu, Wen Wuya’s projection shimmered and vanished.

But the moment he sent the call request, Bai Zhenzhen rejected it.

Bai Zhenzhen: Why are you so late? I’ve started sword training. Just message me.

Wen Wuya sighed. Should’ve canceled the projection earlier.

Back at the party, Zhang Yu watched the messages between Wen Wuya and Bai Zhenzhen and thought, “This guy’s a handful. Only Ah-Zhen can suppress him.”

Su Yanyang, who had watched the whole thing, was awestruck. “He’s just a projection, and yet has that much presence. No wonder he’s a Nascent Soul disciple.”

“His clash with Ye Xingli probably continued in the Spiritual Realm. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left so decisively.”

“In the end, it’s clear—projection or not, he still lost ground to Ye Xingli.”

Ma Xuan messaged: Senior, I feel like Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu are... pretty close?

Su Yanyang frowned at that, recalling their earlier glances. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Meanwhile, Ping Han was back at Zhang Yu’s side, trying to pull him into crypto again—this time with Wen Wuya onboard.

Students from the Civil Engineering Department looked at Mo Shangjin with newfound admiration, spreading the word about how he’d singlehandedly defused a conflict between a Nascent Soul disciple and the Artifact Refinement Department.

Speculation about Zhang Yu’s mysterious connection with Wen Wuya began circulating through student chat groups, quickly becoming one of Wanfa University’s juiciest bits of gossip.

Mo Shangjin smiled at Ye Xingli beside him. “Junior Ye, good thing you were here today. Otherwise, that Nascent Soul disciple might not have backed off just for me.”

Feng Tingting chimed in, “Senior Sister, did you really force him back in the Spiritual Realm just now?”

Ye Xingli frowned. “He’s a Nascent Soul disciple, with deep pockets. Even if he can only use Sigils, stirring things up would’ve been troublesome. Especially since I sensed a fighting spirit in his mind just before he left… I doubt I was the reason he backed down.”

Feng Tingting’s heart skipped.

She recalled the exchange between Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya—the glances, the private chats—and thought, “Could it be... Zhang Yu persuaded him to leave?”

“If that’s true, then Zhang Yu’s status in Wen Wuya’s eyes is even higher than I assumed.”

Seeing Feng Tingting’s expression shift, Ye Xingli asked, “What’s wrong?”

As Feng Tingting hesitated, and Mo Shangjin looked on curiously, Ye Xingli started a group chat and messaged: Tingting, what do you know?

Feng Tingting: Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu might be in a dual cultivation relationship. Could it be Zhang Yu who made him leave?

Reading this, Ye Xingli’s heart lurched. Seriously?

She turned to look at Zhang Yu, her mind racing. What’s he got going for him? What kind of benefits does dual cultivation with him offer? Enough to attract a Nascent Soul disciple?

Then she remembered Director Gao’s plan to transfer Zhang Yu to the Artifact Refinement Department, and her curiosity deepened. Could there be a connection?

Mo Shangjin’s thoughts raced too. So that’s it. There were rumors that Director Gao had ties to Heavenly Sword Sect… maybe Zhang Yu is the link between them?

At that moment, both Ye Xingli and Mo Shangjin looked at Zhang Yu with entirely different eyes.

…

As the party ended, Zhang Yu returned to his usual hectic schedule.

Before long, it was already the end of December.

Zhang Yu’s Dao Heart reached Level 16 (65.5%), Mana reached 891.3, with a quality rating of 181%, and his Body Strength climbed to 16.95.

With these improvements, his Martial Qi Conductivity hit 68%, and the max transmission distance reached 69 meters.

His martial techniques advanced too—he pushed the second move of the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes, Desolate Earth Mountain-Moving Force, to Level 20.

The seventh technique of his Martial Saint Body also reached Level 20, letting him begin training in the eighth.

But what made him happiest was the progress from the Greenlotus Sword Embryo.

After repeated tests and adjustments, Zhang Yu discovered that as the Divine Spirit Root reshaped his body, he could retain about 1% of the effects of techniques like University Saint Body, Earth-Wood Saint Body, and Mana Pulse Flowing Stream—even without wearing the Chain Diagram suit.

Just 1%, but Zhang Yu hadn’t forgotten that the Greenlotus Sword Embryo’s Adaptive Enhancement was a long-term, cumulative process.

“In just one month, it’s grown to 1% already…” That thought filled Zhang Yu with hope for future growth.

As for using it the way Bai Zhenzhen did in combat—Zhang Yu didn’t dare try that just yet.

With the new year rolling in, Director Gao’s next construction site assignment for him also arrived.