No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Wanfa University.

Outside the pharmacology lab.

Le Jingchen, who had been exhausted for several days, slowly stepped out, planning to attend a few classes to unwind.

Glancing at the unread messages piling up in his EyeNet, he suddenly noticed a flood of activity in the Songyang hometown group.

His gaze swept across the latest message.

Wanfa Civil Engineering Department, Year 29, Military License holder Zhang Yu’s health masseur, Yu Xinghan: “Well said.”

Seeing this, Le Jingchen’s eyes widened slightly. He tapped on Yu Xinghan’s profile picture and immediately saw a newly uploaded photo—Yu Xinghan massaging Zhang Yu.

He scrolled up through the chat logs, growing more and more surprised, until he couldn’t help but message his sister, Le Mulan.

…

Inside the luxury dormitory.Yu Xinghan was furiously replying to messages. Ever since he’d posted that photo of himself massaging Zhang Yu, the Military License holder, old clients had been flooding in to consult him about all sorts of issues.

After more than two years at university, dabbling across various fields like civil engineering, video production, massage, and dual cultivation, Yu Xinghan had gradually realized something important.

“Back in the day, nobody at Wanfa University cared about dual cultivation. Everyone was too busy with their own studies.”

“But as time passed, and students ran out of ways to push themselves further… more and more of them turned to dual cultivation, hoping for that one extra path to advancement.”

Yu Xinghan thought to himself, “The major corporations and subsidiaries of the Pleasure and Harmony Sect can’t easily penetrate this place, so dual cultivation… still has massive untapped market potential at Wanfa University.”

“This is the new racetrack born from the changing times.”

With that in mind, Yu Xinghan opened the Zhang Yu fan group he ran.

Casually, he dropped the photo of Zhang Yu receiving his license and being massaged.

“No wonder he’s a Nascent Soul disciple’s dual cultivation partner. So… when’s the next session?”

“Is Zhang Yu doing a raffle?”

“Let me get a taste of that Feather Juice 【Lust x3】”

“I’m in!”

“A single drop goes for at least 30 spirit coins now…”

Watching the fan group chat fly by at breakneck speed, Yu Xinghan seemed to see a swarm of twisted, mutated beings drooling as they crawled across the floor, desperate to be fed.

“Sigh… Such a shame Zhang Yu insists on only meeting people with innate Specialized Mana, and even then, only to exchange some mana.”

Yu Xinghan glanced across the dorm at Zhang Yu and Le Mulan and muttered inwardly, “Damn… turning down easy money to give out free services in the dorm? That’s just sinful!”

Just then, Le Mulan could be heard saying, “Don’t lick randomly.”

Le Mulan: “Mmm… put it in.”

Zhang Yu: “My blood and qi are strong lately. The impact might be a bit much. Be ready.”

Le Mulan’s fingertip slid into Zhang Yu’s mouth, delivering a dose of medicinal power from within her body.

Moments later, Zhang Yu extended his finger in return, forcing out streaks of blood that he fed into Le Mulan’s mouth.

She opened up and swallowed, a rich liquid rushing down her throat. The potent scent surged through her nose, nearly making her cough.

“Zhang Yu’s blood is so thick… the medicinal power in it is incredibly strong.”

Le Mulan’s tongue slowly twirled, analyzing the composition and variations of the medicine.

“His physique is becoming monstrous.”

“But why? His body was already at the level 20 limit, wasn’t it?”

“And yet he keeps growing stronger…”

Just then, a message from Le Jingchen popped up in her EyeNet.

After asking about Zhang Yu’s situation, he commented: “He’s always taken good care of you two. He’s truly kind.”

Le Jingchen: “Seems he’s sentimental. In that case, it’s definitely worth building a stronger bond with him.”

Not long after replying to her brother, another message arrived—this time from her mentor.

Yin Jiurao: “Does Zhang Yu still have product left?”

…

In her office.

Yin Jiurao licked her lips, still savoring something.

“Sigh, too bad—it’s temporarily out of stock.”

“Otherwise I could compare samples from before and after his latest power-up…”

She glanced at the thesis on her desk and decided to include Zhang Yu’s Military License results as supporting data.

Then she followed up with Le Mulan: “If you don’t have the premium material, any kind will do. Just let me know if you get anything.”

Yin Jiurao: “If you can provide it, I’ll even list you as a co-author on this thesis.”

…

Zhang Yu had just wrapped up his latest collaboration session with Le Mulan and was watching her type away on her EyeNet when his own EyeNet flashed—Bai Zhenzhen’s icon popped up.

“Ah-Zhen.” Zhang Yu smiled and accepted the communication request.

As her projection appeared before him, he asked, “Did you see the photo I sent you?”

Bai Zhenzhen nodded repeatedly, grinning ear to ear. “Yuzi, now that you’ve got the Military License, you can complete the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes and master your department’s Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might, right?”

“That brings you one step closer to the Top Ten League.”

After chatting for a bit, Bai Zhenzhen leaned her projection against him and whispered, “Yuzi, I missed you.”

She thought to herself, “If only we could meet again… and I could lend him my Divine Spirit Root. That’d really speed up his cultivation.”

Zhang Yu said, “I’ll be taking part in the civil engineering intercollegiate tournament next. They’ve changed the rules—it’s one match every so often, and we’ll be competing at different universities.”

“I should be heading to Heavenly Sword University at some point. We’ll see each other then.”

At that, Bai Zhenzhen beamed. “Really? That’s great!”

“When that time comes… let’s see each other every day.”

She had originally meant to say “see each other every day and go wild cultivating with the Divine Spirit Root,” but considering the communication might be monitored, she changed her wording.

Zhang Yu could feel the intent in her gaze and thought, “Ah-Zhen, I’m looking forward to swapping Spirit Roots with you then.”

“Hehe… you’re going to be so surprised.”

“Two Divine Spirit Roots exchanging mana—who knows how much stronger we’ll get?”

Zhang Yu said aloud, “Yeah, we’ll meet every day.”

Bai Zhenzhen saw the knowing look in his eyes and couldn’t help but smile.

“Then it’s a promise. I’ll wait for you at Heavenly Sword University.”

As their conversation continued, messages began pouring into Zhang Yu’s EyeNet.

Wen Wuya: “Zhenzhen, are you done yet?”

Wen Wuya: “How much longer?”

Wen Wuya: “Teacher’s coming! Hurry up!”

Wen Wuya: “At least reply! [Urgent]”

Bai Zhenzhen: “Okay.”

…

At Heavenly Sword University.

A few students looked over at Bai Zhenzhen, who was smiling as she hugged empty air.

They wore looks of mild astonishment. One said, “Oh? So Zhenzhen can smile? I thought she had her facial nerves removed.”

Another added, “She has a friend from the First Layer. I hear she only smiles when talking to that person.”

Hearing that it was a First Layer friend, everyone nodded knowingly.

A First Layer friend, to them, was no different from a household pet or a mount. Of course you’d smile when you saw one. It was understandable.

Wen Wuya stood nearby, listening to their chatter with a cold smirk.

“Idiots. Can’t even tell the difference between a First Layer friend and a pet.”

He glanced at Bai Zhenzhen’s reply and thought, “Even while chatting with Zhang Yu, she still remembers to reply to me. I must be doing something right. At this rate… I’ll soon win my bet with the Seven Sentiments Lord.”

Then he looked at Zhang Yu’s name and mused, “So he got the Military License?”

Even though it was for military civil engineering, to a Nascent Soul disciple like Wen Wuya, holding any Military License marked a fundamental difference in status. His view of Zhang Yu shifted accordingly.

After a moment’s thought, he opened his contact list and edited Zhang Yu’s name from “Bai Zhenzhen’s First Layer Friend (Civil Engineering)” to “Bai Zhenzhen’s Friend (Military License Holder) (Civil Engineering).”

Just then, a sword-light flashed down from the sky, and a figure appeared before the crowd.

“I’m your special training instructor—Jin Que Mingxiao.”

“If you want to join the university team and compete in next year’s Top Ten League, you need three things.”

“Money.”

“Money.”

“And more money!”

“For my special training, the first test is simple—show me your account balance.”

“Lowest balance? Eliminated on the spot.”

“You have five minutes to prepare. Test starts in five.”

…

After the call with Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu arrived at the artifact refinement lab and resumed work for the day.

“Today’s project… Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill.”

He was using his monthly 30 spirit coin reimbursement to order from Ye Xingli, essentially placing artifact orders for himself.

“One Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill is still nowhere near enough.”

After completing the Military License exam, Zhang Yu had a clearer view of his cultivation system.

“If I had more Taiyi Liquid Gold Pills, my work efficiency would improve significantly.”

“With the intercollegiate tournament ahead, I need to boost my strength while I can.”

Having maxed out all his Foundation Establishment attributes, Zhang Yu knew his next power-ups—aside from the Dao Seed Codex and Chain Diagram from the Feathered Tome—would come from the usual avenues: artifacts, law husks, and techniques.

Of those, military-grade artifacts offered the biggest gains.

But even outside the military tier, more abundant and personally tailored artifacts would be extremely helpful to him.

Especially since he was learning artifact refinement himself, improving his strength through artifacts was a natural fit.

“I wonder how Director Gao’s arrangements are going. When can I challenge the rest of the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes?”

At that moment, a message arrived from Director Gao.

Director Gao: “Ping Han joined Ji Yuanshu’s team.”

Director Gao: “He wants a duel with you next round.”

Zhang Yu: “What would you like me to do?”

Director Gao: “Crush him.”

Director Gao: “I want you to wake him up.”

Director Gao: “Strike a blow against this corrupt Civil Engineering obsession with foreign currency speculation.”

Director Gao: “Make a statement. Show everyone you deserve the rest of the Seven Absolutes. Prove you’re essential to the intercollegiate team.”