No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Zhang Yu was idly toying with the Goldfilament Jade Disk in his hands.

This artifact was about the size of an average person’s chest, resembling a flat, circular piece of jade with a palm-sized hollow in the center.

The surface of the jade disk was densely etched with golden patterns—complex mana circuits that covered it entirely.

As Zhang Yu infused his mana, the Goldfilament Jade Disk began to levitate.

Simultaneously, his ocular implant displayed a stream of stats for the artifact: mana capacity, output, runtime, and more.

“Activate Follow Mode.”

As Zhang Yu gave the command, faint glimmers of light rippled across the artifact—it had locked onto him as its target.

The jade disk drifted behind him, hovering quietly like a halo, following every movement he made.

Besides Follow Mode, the Goldfilament Jade Disk also supported attack, defense, and free-action modes. Each mode came with basic intelligence that allowed the artifact to respond according to pre-set commands.

“But no matter what, it’s never as precise as manual control.”With a single thought, Zhang Yu made the jade disk erupt in radiance, lighting up the entire dorm room like a miniature sun.

Still, he only unleashed a brief flare—nothing more.

“Wouldn’t want to break something in here. Better to test the rest of its functions at the worksite.”

With that in mind, Zhang Yu fed both Frost Abyss Mana and Solar Flame Mana into the disk.

He knew very well: depending on the type of specialized mana infused, the artifact’s capabilities would vary dramatically.

“With this Goldfilament Jade Disk, I can boost my worksite efficiency even more.”

As the thought crossed his mind, Zhang Yu instinctively checked his bank balance: 36.15 spirit coins.

Over the past few months, he’d been receiving 5 coins monthly from Zhang Pianpian’s repayments, 10 coins a month from Wen Wuya’s premium sponsorship, and steady income from hard labor at the construction site. His earnings had climbed significantly.

And yet, his savings barely budged—because artifact refinement was just that expensive.

As his refinement skills advanced, the costs for simulation lab time and real-world materials only grew steeper.

Thankfully, his core attributes had nearly reached the Foundation Establishment limit, sparing him the expense of further cultivation. That alone shaved off a major monthly burden.

“If I didn’t have this construction gig supplementing my income, I wouldn’t have made nearly this much progress in artifact refinement.”

Just as Zhang Yu continued admiring the jade disk, a message arrived from True Lord Magneto.

True Lord Magneto: Nice job on refining the Goldfilament Jade Disk.

True Lord Magneto: Got a suggestion for you.

True Lord Magneto: Let Xingli take some commissions on your behalf. I already spoke to her about it.

Zhang Yu’s interest was piqued.

Zhang Yu: You mean artifact refinement commissions?

True Lord Magneto: You’ve got a good handle on Azure Sand, Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill, and the Goldfilament Jade Disk, right?

True Lord Magneto: I know you don’t have the capital to stock up on materials.

True Lord Magneto: So just take custom orders—earn some labor fees.

Zhang Yu had no reason to refuse. Even just earning manual fees would beat construction work by a long shot in terms of efficiency.

Of course, he knew the commission volume wouldn’t be huge. Most people still preferred buying artifacts from major companies or platforms.

But even two or three orders a month would go a long way in subsidizing his cultivation.

He couldn’t help feeling grateful toward True Lord Magneto—his teacher clearly understood what he needed most right now.

At that moment, True Lord Magneto sent over a new gift: a technique named Appraisal Technique.

Zhang Yu instantly recognized the name. It was one he’d known about for a long time, but had never bought—because it cost a hefty 50 spirit coins for usage rights, with an additional 1 coin per month for updates.

Its high price came from its ability to identify a vast array of artifacts and Law Husks, which required coverage of a wide swath of intellectual property.

The monthly renewal existed because Appraisal Technique was always being updated with newly discovered or developed artifacts from Kunxu.

As one of its co-creators, True Lord Magneto had a limited number of license slots each year.

True Lord Magneto: Since you’ve chosen the path of artifact refinement, you’ll need basic appraisal skills.

True Lord Magneto: Treat this Appraisal Technique as my gift for passing your sophomore-level artifact refinement exam.

True Lord Magneto: And the Goldfilament Jade Disk? Think of that as a congratulatory gift from Director Gao.

Zhang Yu muttered inwardly, “Does Director Gao even know he’s congratulating me?”

Zhang Yu: Thank you, teacher.

He immediately downloaded Appraisal Technique into his ocular implant.

While browsing through it, he noticed that Appraisal Technique belonged to a Chain Diagram suite named Artifact Refinement Prodigy.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Unlike actual manufacturing techniques, this Appraisal Technique can trigger a Chain Diagram.”

He understood that along the path of artifact refinement, techniques weren’t the only means of progress—plenty of supplementary techniques enhanced refinement capabilities.

Like this one, and others he’d heard of: Five Thunder Emergency Refinement Technique, Mortal World Armament Technique, Dragonvein Treasurecasting Sutra...

But all of these belonged to the category of Dao Techniques.

And Dao Techniques came with a notorious reputation: they were expensive. Not only were their licenses pricey—the cost of cultivation was also astronomical.

Until now, Zhang Yu had stuck to core mind techniques, breathing techniques, and martial techniques. This was the first time he had the right to cultivate a Dao Technique.

And the biggest reason why? Their cost.

“Cultivating Dao Techniques often requires rare materials—types of thunderfire, worldly auras like Mortal Qi or Celestial Steel Qi, or specialized environments like dragon veins or yin caverns.”

“Some drain spiritual essence rapidly, forcing you to purchase types of specialized mana you don’t even have access to.”

“And if it’s refinement-related, they often require auxiliary artifacts during cultivation…”

That was why Zhang Yu had avoided Dao Techniques despite his pursuit of artifact refinement. The manufacturing methods alone were already straining his budget to the breaking point.

His original plan was to wait until he reached a self-sustaining level of proficiency—then start learning refinement techniques.

“Which probably explains why the Artifact Refinement Department’s first three years don’t require any Dao Techniques in the curriculum.”

“Trying to learn both paths at once would be a massive financial burden. Most students probably couldn’t handle it.”

So when Zhang Yu looked at the Appraisal Technique in front of him, his excitement only grew. With usage rights gifted by True Lord Magneto, he had dodged a massive expense.

True Lord Magneto: You still planning to keep our relationship under wraps? Still not switching departments?

Zhang Yu: I’m sorry, True Lord. Director Gao has treated me well—I don’t want to betray him.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “After this semester’s finals, I’ll have mastered three of the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes.”

“And the upcoming Civil Engineering Competition awards two more slots to the top seven.”

“If I grab one of those, I’ll have four out of seven under my belt.”

“Once I earn my military certification, and pass the department’s remaining three civil-engineering tests... if I snag the last three slots—”

He could already see the military-grade martial technique Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might beckoning him.

True Lord Magneto: I can keep guiding your refinement training and even grant you an unofficial Artifact Refinement degree.

True Lord Magneto: But if you don’t officially join the department, you’ll never gain access to its true masterworks.

True Lord Magneto: Like our two military-grade Dao Techniques: Heaven and Earth Cataclysm Formless Mind-Weapon and Void Artifact Codex.

True Lord Magneto: Or our military-grade Law Husks and artifacts: Solar Sovereign, Vacuum Cataclysm Diagram, Grand Solar Saint-Law Sword Array... You won’t get to touch any of them.

True Lord Magneto: Your senior sister, Ye Xingli, is already training in the Void Artifact Codex, and she’s about to complete the Vacuum Cataclysm Diagram.

Fu Ji quipped, “The Artifact Refinement Department really is stronger than Civil Engineering—they’ve got so many military-grade techniques.”

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred. “This old man’s trying to tempt me, huh?”

He couldn’t deny it—listening to True Lord Magneto, he couldn’t help but feel a little tempted.

Still, even if he eventually wanted those military-grade tools, he first planned to finish learning Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might in Civil Engineering.

After all, he was already halfway there.

Fu Ji chuckled, “At first, True Lord Magneto just gave you the chance to be a disciple.”

“But after last year’s Civil Engineering Competition, she saw your raw talent and made you a secret disciple.”

“And now that she’s seen your refinement potential, she probably believes you can master military-grade techniques—so she wants to make the relationship official.”

Zhang Yu gave a small nod. It was true—through their many interactions, he had clearly felt the shift in True Lord Magneto’s attitude.

Fu Ji continued, “She’s definitely tempting you right now. Even if you do plan to switch, it won’t happen overnight.”

“You can take this time to master Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might first. No need to rush and upset Director Gao.”

“True Lord Magneto surely knows that too. She’s just offering temptation now to strengthen your resolve for when the time comes.”

Zhang Yu: I’ll need to think it over.

True Lord Magneto: No rush. Take your time.