No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

From behind Ping Han’s armor, streaks of crimson Martial Qi erupted in jets. With a burst of acceleration, he tore through the air and appeared right in front of Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu’s entire body flared with Formless Cloud Qi, instantly wrapping him in dense fog.

Bang!

He blocked the first blow, only to feel a terrifying force explode from Ping Han’s fist, hurling him violently across the battlefield.

“Back during the Military License Exam, I only wore that loadout to boost my construction score.”

Even before this, Ping Han had the advantage of his Law Husk, making him formidable. Now, with the Law Husk enhancing his armor and the armor reinforcing both his Law Husk and body in turn, his strength skyrocketed. He shot forward like a meteor, pummeling Zhang Yu again and again.

“In the end, the examiners said I didn’t rack up enough kills.”

With a ripping sound, Zhang Yu’s feet carved trenches a hundred meters long through the earth. As he looked up, Ping Han’s next punch was already crashing down on him.

“Fine! Since we’re measuring combat strength now, I’ll switch into real battle gear. What do you have left to fight me with?”

Amid deafening booms, Ping Han transformed into a streak of black lightning, shredding through the air as he launched relentless attacks on Zhang Yu.“I’ve had the courage and grit to go bankrupt again and again. I’ve had the vision to master the coin markets, the unbreakable Dao Heart forged through countless setbacks, and now I ride the fortune of Nectar Coin’s surge!”

“You have none of my experience, none of my guts to play the market, none of my insight into Nectar Coin’s rise. What are you even competing with me for?”

Boosted by the Sky Abyss Battleplate, Martial Qi spewed from every pore of his armor, allowing him to breathe with elemental force and supercharge his speed in all directions.

Meanwhile, the Battleplate’s Martial Qi shifted through nine colors, each representing a different damage type—high heat, low temp, electromagnetic, cutting, shockwave, and more.

His spinal, leg, and arm Law Husks simultaneously drove Level 20 martial techniques, unleashing Ping Han’s full combat potential without restraint.

Boom!

In another fierce clash of Qi, Zhang Yu’s Formless Cloud Qi collapsed all at once, revealing the figure beneath the mist—a figure encased in golden armor.

“Zhang Yu! I’ve got more money than you! I make more money than you! I’ve got more potential on the Immortal Path than you!”

“Whether it’s construction or combat, I can casually switch tactics and still be ahead of you every time!”

With a thunderous roar, Ping Han shouted, “Why won’t you surrender already?!”

Above the arena, audience projection messages floated in the air, echoing the chants of countless onlookers.

Surrender! Surrender! Surrender! Kneel! Surrender!

As if carrying the weight of all those voices, Ping Han slammed his fist down on the golden-armored figure, shattering it into pieces.

…

In the Spiritual Realm around the arena, Ye Xingli descended a projection to personally witness the match between Zhang Yu and Ping Han.

She was curious about Zhang Yu—especially given how highly her master, True Lord Qiyun, valued him.

“Ping Han’s current strength isn’t low. He’s probably at the peak right below the military tier.”

Ye Xingli mused, “Zhang Yu only recently got his Military License—he probably hasn’t even mastered a military-tier technique yet.”

“This fight puts them on the same level. It’ll show us Zhang Yu’s foundations.”

As she pondered, another projection appeared beside her.

“Xingli? You’re here too?”

Recognizing the voice, she turned and smiled. “Senior Yan Qianji.”

The projection before her was a humanoid machine with a metallic sheen—the undisputed number one of the Artifact Refinement Department, master of multiple military-tier disciplines, and personal disciple of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Yan Qianji.

In the Spiritual Realm, he always appeared as a mechanical figure.

Watching the battle, Yan Qianji muttered, “Hmm?”

Seeing Zhang Yu withstand Ping Han’s attacks again and again, he remarked, “Definitely premium-grade material.”

Then he asked with interest, “With a body like that, Zhang Yu’s either going for a custom Law Husk… or he’s planning to sell his body. Which is it?”

Ye Xingli recalled Zhang Yu practicing artifact refinement but said nothing. She replied casually, “Not sure, honestly.”

Yan Qianji stroked his chin. “If he’s got any parts he’s not using, let me know. I’ll pay top price.”

Ye Xingli nodded, then asked, “Aren’t you busy with the update project for the Solar-Glory God?”

She knew the Solar-Glory God was a military-grade Law Husk of the Artifact Refinement Department, constantly updated with new Immortal Dao tech to maintain its top-tier classification in the Ten Major Sects’ archives.

But every framework has limits eventually. The department was always developing newer, stronger Law Husks.

To her surprise, Yan Qianji said, “This match isn’t just about Zhang Yu and Ping Han—or the Civil Engineering Department.”

“The Finance Department’s been hyping it up.”

“The Finance Department?” Ye Xingli blinked. “They’re using it to pump Nectar Coin?”

Yan Qianji scoffed. “Those vampire freaks from Finance—what wouldn’t they do for a few more spirit coins?”

“To them, teaming up with outside factions or selling out the school’s interests is nothing. If they even hesitate, it means their Dao Heart’s cracked.”

He understood that, beyond the money, this was also an extension of the school’s internal power struggles.

Yan Qianji thought to himself, “Zhang Yu may be in Civil Engineering, but he was handpicked by True Lord Qiyun during the Military License Exam. If Ping Han beats him now… whose face does that slap?”

Even if Zhang Yu lost, the Military License would never be reassigned to Ping Han. That would shake the authority of both the school and the Heavenly Court itself.

But among the school’s top brass—especially the three Nascent Soul principals—even a single impression could shift the balance of countless decisions.

As Yan Qianji spoke, a golden projection flared across the Spiritual Realm.

An aged voice followed. “Brother Qianji, you misunderstand our Finance Department. We’d never sell out the school for mere spirit coins.”

“This surge in Nectar Coin? We’re rallying Wanfa University students to raid money from Pleasure and Harmony University!”

Ye Xingli turned and saw a projection of a figure in gold robes, with skin so wrinkled it seemed to crumble under its own age.

“Jiutian Liu,” she muttered. “Another Nascent Soul disciple.”

She knew Jiutian Liu didn’t actually look that old in the real world. His appearance in the Spiritual Realm was deliberate.

After all, extreme aging was a mark of wealth—living that long cost more than most could ever afford. To look that old was a luxury only the rich could buy.

Jiutian Liu smiled at the battlefield. “I never expected Zhang Yu to discourage others from investing in Nectar Coin. If he loses now… student FOMO will spike even harder.”

Yan Qianji replied coolly, “Zhang Yu might not lose.”

Jiutian Liu looked at the golden figure in the arena, shattered by Ping Han’s final blow, and said calmly, “Oh?”

“Brother Qianji… care to place a wager?”

“I don’t gamble,” Yan Qianji said coldly.

…

As Ping Han’s final punch crashed down, the golden figure disintegrated.

Though the armor formed by the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill remained intact, the humanoid within collapsed like a burst balloon, unable to support the armor anymore.

Martial Qi dispersed from the wreckage as the golden suit slowly fell to the ground.

What Ping Han had destroyed wasn’t Zhang Yu—but a Formless Golem clad in gold.

The next moment, two more golden figures burst from the earth, flanking Ping Han from two different directions with fierce attacks.

Zhang Yu now possessed three Taiyi Liquid Gold Pills. He used one to bait Ping Han’s fire, then struck with the other two in tandem.

“Which one’s real?”

“Which one’s fake?”

Ping Han scanned both gold-armored figures with his Soulseeker Eyes, then smirked.

“Doesn’t matter.”

He raised a palm. Martial Qi surged from the armor’s emitter, condensing into a blade shaped like a scythe.

It shimmered through nine colors, then coalesced into a deep green.

“Zhang Yu, your ability to parry Martial Qi and turn force against itself—yeah, it’s impressive.”

“But you’ve got a fatal weakness. You’re built to withstand blunt force… not sharp cuts.”

“If you won’t surrender, then just lose already.”

Twenty-Level Nine-Heavens Verdant Scythe: activated!

This scythe technique was developed by a martial artist after years of stock market boom-and-bust cycles. It embodied insights from the financial battlefield—where blades cut silently, and people died without blood.

From the moment Ping Han saw it, he knew it was perfect for him—so natural it felt like instinct.

Now, pushed simultaneously by his body, Law Husk, and armor, the scythe slashed down from above like a divine executioner’s blade.

The condensed Martial Qi brimmed with piercing power, designed to slice through defenses and sever internal mana at the root.

With a single blow, the green scythe split the battlefield dust in two, cleaving both gold-armored figures in half and shattering the Martial Qi within.

As the last of the golems fell, the ground under Ping Han’s feet began to tremble violently.

In that brief window, as the golden golems tangled with him, Zhang Yu had finally completed the first stage of forging the Formless Spirit General.

Boom!

Zhang Yu erupted from underground, riding atop the towering ten-meter-tall Formless Spirit General.

With a furious roar, the Spirit General opened its mouth, unleashing a blazing beam of light straight at Ping Han’s head.