No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Early January.

A certain battlefield at a university.

This was once a node of a large battlefield formation. Not long ago, it was completely destroyed during a skirmish—the formation node and the fortress above it reduced to rubble.

At this moment, several Lower Academy students were waiting at the scene. They had been notified that a team from Wanfa University had taken on the task of repairing this site, and their job was to assist.

Just as they were starting to wonder if the Wanfa University team was running late, the ground beneath them suddenly trembled. In the distance, the earth exploded upward—massive slabs of rock shot skyward and hovered in midair, seemingly defying gravity.

At the same time, debris and ruins buried underground also erupted into the air, as if grasped and reassembled by invisible hands.

One of the students marveled, “Is this the Ten Major Sects’ construction crew? That efficiency is insane.”

Another chimed in, “Might be one of their professors leading the team. That would explain this kind of earth-shattering power.”

In the next moment, magical artifacts were launched from a Baibao Box and descended rapidly onto the construction site.

The Azure Cloud Sand-Pouch unleashed a flood of azure sand that poured into a squad of Formless Golems, which then bustled about like diligent workers.The Ground-Stabilizing Seal emitted a stabilizing aura to reinforce the temporary structures.

The Groundfiend Bottle devoured mud and sand, mixing on-site concrete.

The Goldfilament Jade Disk fired blazing rays to weld, smelt, and heat materials…

High above, Zhang Yu stood midair, shifting hand seals with both palms. With a thunderous surge, Earthfiend Gravity burst forth, hurling materials to and fro across the site. Entire structures were reshaped like building blocks.

Even so, the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might wasn’t omnipotent.

While Zhang Yu could reshape the terrain and overturn buildings with a single strike, he couldn’t conjure up templates, concrete, or steel out of thin air. Nor could he personally handle every intricate detail of the site.

Hence, Zhao Tianxing and the others were operating their artifacts to support him in this fortress reconstruction project.

To get the job done, Zhang Yu had once again expanded his soul cultivator team.

The Ying clan had sent more Elders, and Zhao Tianxing’s side brought in Hu Yuntao and Che Yufei.

Whether alive or as soul cultivators, the Elders of the Ying clan were all seasoned veterans of construction. Under their guidance, both Zhao Tianxing and Mo Tianyi from the vocational college, and even newcomers like Hu Yuntao and Che Yufei, were making rapid progress.

Che Yufei, in particular, stood out. A senior at Wanfa University, his Dao Heart had already reached level 20. With a vastly larger soul-realm computing capacity, he possessed far more potential than the vocational students.

Before long, whether it was Zhao Tianxing or Hu Yuntao, all began to look to Che Yufei as their leader.

While working, Che Yufei said gratefully, “Senior, thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

Zhang Yu replied, “I just need soul cultivators I can trust.”

“You can rest assured,” Che Yufei said. “We signed a contract. No matter what I see while working for you, I won’t speak a word of it.”

“Honestly, I never thought you’d master the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might so soon.”

“It was a lucky break,” Zhang Yu said. “My success isn’t just due to my own effort—it’s also thanks to Kunxu’s era of opportunity and the chances Wanfa University gave me.”

After chatting for a bit and confirming that Che Yufei was working well, Zhang Yu turned to Hu Yuntao.

“You adapting to the site okay, Xiao Hu?”

“Zhang… Boss Zhang…”

“No need to call me that. Just use my name.”

“Boss Zhang, I’m from the security department at Demon-Beast University. Never worked construction before.”

“But I’ll give it my all. I won’t let you down.”

“No rush,” Zhang Yu said. “You’ll learn the ropes soon enough.”

After a bit more small talk, Zhang Yu asked, “What about Xiong Wenwu? How’s he doing?”

“He’s not bad. Found a seventh-tier master to work for—rides as a mount, but at least he’s living well now.”

With everything running smoothly, Zhang Yu suddenly had a strange feeling.

“Why do I feel like a boss inspecting new hires?”

Fu Ji chuckled. “You don’t think you are?”

“In Kunxu, the stronger you are, the higher your pay. And now that you’ve mastered the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might, you’re no longer just a grunt.”

“With this Technique, you can take on large-scale projects solo, hire laborers to handle the grunt work, and earn a profit off them.”

Zhang Yu felt a strange unease at her words.

He shook his head and continued working while refining his technique.

According to the Seven Absolutes Codex, the usage of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might could be distilled into the Ten Planetary Forms—ten methods of manipulating Earthfiend Gravity, each suited to different tasks and environments. Their potency would only grow as the user’s realm and Technique level increased.

Now, as Zhang Yu pointed a finger, a flickering distortion radiated from his fingertip. The surrounding air shimmered visibly, like an expanding vortex of transparent force.

In the next instant, this invisible vortex shot forth. It swallowed the dust blanketing the site, compressing it into a ball of compacted debris.

One of the Ten Planetary Forms—Stardust Bind.

Earthfiend Gravity gathered into a dense cluster and was launched outward, forming flexible gravitational cores of varying size and range.

Zhang Yu followed with another palm strike.

Another of the Ten Planetary Forms—Chaotic Star Drag.

Under the wild, chaotic fluctuations of Earthfiend Gravity, the floating rock layers shook violently and were torn to pieces.

Working while refining his Technique, Zhang Yu lost track of time until several hours had passed.

The Elders of the Ying clan came to report the project’s progress.

One of them, Ying Xin’s grandfather, said, “Those two soul cultivators you brought—never mind the vocational students—but the one from Wanfa and the one from Demon-Beast University have real potential.”

“Resources and lifespan are limited for soul cultivators. Time is of the essence.”

“The sooner they work on outstanding projects and gain experience, the farther their futures will go.”

“That’s why it’s best to train soul cultivators right after death—strike while the soul is still fresh.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Ying Xin’s grandfather had both living descendants and deceased ancestors—he was the current backbone of the Ying clan.

Not only had he died at just the right time to retain up-to-date technical knowledge, but he also had a wealth of experience as a soul cultivator.

Zhang Yu had entrusted him with overseeing the team’s management.

After discussing project details, the old man added, “Boss Zhang, I think it’s time for you to form a company.”

“A company?” Zhang Yu laughed. “I’m just a college student. What company?”

But the Elder said seriously, “You’re no ordinary student—you possess military-grade strength.”

“As long as you keep taking on projects, you can easily support a team.”

“And you’ll need a team to help you earn more money.”

“Besides, individual income is taxed more heavily than corporate income.”

“As I understand it, anyone in the universities with military-tier power either joins a major firm or forms their own small company.”

He grinned. “If you do start one, Ying Xin can handle the accounting. She studied that stuff to improve herself.”

Zhang Yu pondered. A company… Maybe it was too soon.

…

The next day, once the day’s work was complete, Zhang Yu received his pay: over 3 spirit coins in total.

Seeing how much he’d made in just one day sent a thrill through him.

But then came the payouts.

He began reviewing the work reports provided by Ying Xin’s grandfather, tallying each soul cultivator’s contribution and calculating their wages.

One by one, he sent payments to the Ying clan Elders, Zhao Tianxing, Che Yufei, and the rest.

He did the math, distributed the funds, and watched his own earnings slowly dwindle.

The words of Fu Ji and the Elder echoed in his mind.

Am I already distributing project profits?

Does that make me… a small-time boss?

Fu Ji said, “You really should start a company.”

“With a company, you can hire more people, manage them better, and profit more efficiently.”

“As your cultivation increases, your projects will grow larger and affect wider areas. You’ll need more people to handle the auxiliary work.”

“For a powerful cultivator, subordinates aren’t primarily for battle—they’re for making money. The stronger you are, the more profit you can extract from others.”

She grinned. “In Kunxu, true power means starting a company and ruthlessly squeezing your workers.”

“If you don’t, you’ll earn less and pay more tax. How can you compete with other cultivators at your level?”

Zhang Yu nodded. “Maybe. I’ll look into it when I get back.”

After paying out just over 0.3 spirit coins in wages, Zhang Yu was hit with over 1 spirit coin in taxes.

I need to start a company.

These damn Heavenly Court taxes are daylight robbery once your income rises!