No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

As massive boulders exploded under Chan Rong’s relentless assault, clouds of dust surged skyward, veiling the arena in a thick fog like a shroud of mist.

Meanwhile, in the spectator stands of the Spiritual Realm—

Wangou Xuan of Immortal Soldier University gazed toward the dust-covered arena, his expression contemplative.

Floating beside him was a projected form resembling a longsword—a Spirit Realm projection of Yue Guanqiong, top student of the Civil Engineering Department at Heavenly Sword Sect University.

Yue Guanqiong spoke. “Is Mo Shangjin still not stepping in?”

“I figured that since Wanfa University was on the brink of elimination, they’d pool every coin they could to bring Mo Shangjin into the match.”

He gave a cold snort. “I was really hoping Mo Shangjin would lead Wanfa University all the way to the finals. I wanted to face him again.”

Just thinking about how Mo Shangjin had shattered his entire fleet of flying swords last year made Yue Guanqiong grind his teeth in fury.

Especially that flying sword he’d trained with for years in perfect unity between man and weapon… and the intelligent artifact spirit that had kept him company through countless nights…

He recalled how Mo Shangjin, right before his eyes, had manhandled that flying sword, ravaging it with brute force…And then had torn the sword’s spirit out with his bare hands, thrown it into the Civil Engineering Department’s artifact, where it was subjected to relentless abuse by soul cultivators at a worksite—stuffed full of garbage code…

Even now, the sword spirit rescued after the match had yet to recover. Whenever it entered the sword, it began vibrating at high frequency, convinced it was still a worksite compactor.

To Yue Guanqiong, whose Dao Heart was built on unity between man and sword, this had been nothing short of a spiritual catastrophe.

Whenever he recalled that gut-wrenching ordeal, killing intent surged unbidden in his heart.

“Mo Shangjin!”

A year of mad training, debt, and hard labor—everything had been for one purpose: to crush Mo Shangjin in their next encounter.

Now, he finally had the strength. All he lacked was another chance to face Wanfa University.

At that moment, Wangou Xuan said, “I thought the same before I came. If Mo Shangjin doesn’t appear in the final moments, there’s no point in watching this match.”

In Wangou Xuan’s view, Mo Shangjin may have claimed he was still recovering from serious injuries and couldn’t compete. But if Wanfa University was truly on the verge of being eliminated, he wouldn’t be surprised if they spent money to bring him back from the dead, paused the match, and swapped him in.

He mused to himself, With Mo Shangjin’s strength, he’d definitely defeat Chan Rong.

To Wangou Xuan, Mo Shangjin warranted the utmost vigilance.

After all, the memory of his own team being utterly annihilated and forced into medical debt by Mo Shangjin still stirred his emotions.

The lingering injuries from that match hadn’t fully healed—and each month, he still had to repay the loans taken out for that medical treatment.

Those monthly deduction notices were like scars Mo Shangjin had left on his soul, fanning the flames of hatred.

That was why he continued to follow Wanfa University’s matches—not just to respect Mo Shangjin’s power, but to seek another chance to fight them.

After a year of nonstop hustling, of making money! money! money!

Wangou Xuan now believed he could defeat Mo Shangjin and humiliate him in return.

Originally, he had come today to observe Mo Shangjin’s final appearance and gauge how his strength had changed. But instead, Zhang Yu’s performance had surprised him.

“So far, even though Mo Shangjin hasn’t appeared,” Wangou Xuan said, “Zhang Yu’s performance has been unexpectedly impressive.”

Yue Guanqiong nodded. “According to records, Zhang Yu’s only a third-year, yet he’s already mastered the entire set of Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes and trained the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might to a high level.”

“And he only acquired the last few Absolutes within the last two or three months, yet he’s already pushed the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might past level ten.”

“That kind of martial aptitude is extraordinarily rare.”

Recalling the earlier battle, Yue Guanqiong analyzed, “Aside from martial ability, his body cultivation is also remarkable. To go head-to-head with Chan Rong using just raw physical strength—he’s clearly invested heavily in body tempering.”

“But that also reveals his fatal weakness.”

Yue Guanqiong continued, “Mastering the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes and focusing on raw bodily strength suggests one thing: he’s not rich.”

“He’s poor. That’s why his power skews toward these paths—lacking in Law Husks and artifacts.”

“Without money, he can’t sustain a prolonged fight with Chan Rong, so he had to change tactics.”

“First, he struck the Vajra University construction site from afar to draw them out.”

“Then he used the dust clouds to mask his position.”

“But after Chan Rong activated the Great Sun Aspects, he became a massive beacon. That let Zhang Yu launch a hidden assault while remaining concealed.”

“However…” Yue Guanqiong’s tone shifted. “If he thinks that tactic alone can counter Chan Rong, he’s underestimating the power of wealth—and of Chan Rong’s Vajra Forge Law Husk.”

…

Chan Rong stood amid the swirling dust, eyes closed, letting his Vajra Forge Law Husk fully activate its sensory functions.

In an instant, the dust vanished from his awareness. The movements of spiritual essence in the air became crystal clear.

Within that swirling spiritual essence, Chan Rong soon located Zhang Yu.

He thrust a finger forward—dozens of firefly-like lights flared to life in the dust.

Booming explosions followed. Shockwaves blasted outward.

But all he hit were formless golems, sculpted from shaped Martial Qi.

He thought to himself, Hmph. Using humanoid Qi constructs to fool me?

At that moment, gravitational pulses of Earthfiend Gravity swept across the sky. The Comet Bomb barrage followed—but failed to strike true.

Because now, it was as if ten suns had risen into the heavens.

With the successive activation of the Great Sun Aspects, ball after blazing ball of fire became new light sources, turning the sky incandescent. The brightness made it difficult for Zhang Yu to locate his target.

…

Watching the two sides use light and dust to conceal themselves while attacking, Yue Guanqiong exclaimed, “Chan Rong still can’t find Zhang Yu?”

“His Vajra Forge Law Husk is the latest model. It should be able to detect even minute changes in spiritual essence. Why can’t it pick him up?”

Wangou Xuan replied, “Because beneath the arena lies a simulated spirit vein.”

“Zhang Yu likely slipped into the spirit vein itself. That’s why Chan Rong lost track of him.”

As the two discussed, the swirling dust over the arena suddenly compressed, as if a massive, invisible vortex had descended, devouring everything.

Yue Guanqiong gritted his teeth. “Ten Planetary Forms—Locking Star Prison.”

“So that’s what Zhang Yu was doing—stalling for time to charge this move. A wide-area Earthfiend Gravity trap meant to lock Chan Rong in place.”

He remembered how Mo Shangjin had once used this same Locking Star Prison to capture his entire fleet of flying swords.

As the swirling dust and light sources were sucked into the gravitational trap, Chan Rong’s body seemed frozen in midair.

Then, with a loud crack, his body began to distort and warp under the pressure of crushing gravity.

But Wangou Xuan’s eyes lit up. “That’s a Vajra Forge substitute puppet.”

At that moment, an advertisement began playing over the arena.

“Your substitute puppet—eternally loyal, never betraying.”

“Your bodyguard for life.”

Wangou Xuan said, “Ever since Zhang Yu vanished, Chan Rong never planned to deal with him. He was looking for a chance to shift the battlefield and end the match outright.”

He suddenly turned toward the other end of the arena. “He’s here!”

Yue Guanqiong’s eyes narrowed. “So that’s it. By moving the battlefield to Wanfa University’s construction site, Chan Rong could unleash his area-of-effect destruction. That would end the match.”

“Zhang Yu lacks a high-grade Law Husk. He couldn’t detect Chan Rong’s movement in time.”

“In fact, the dust he created helped conceal Chan Rong instead.”

…

A faint glimmer of flame flashed.

The next moment, dazzling white radiance bloomed over Wanfa University’s worksite.

Chan Rong hovered midair, wreathed in blazing light.

With a single pointed finger, he prepared to incinerate the site below.

Flames erupted spontaneously across the ground. Stone, dirt, and materials caught fire one after another, spewing pale smoke.

But then, Chan Rong’s expression shifted.

Aside from a few operating artifacts, there wasn’t a single Wanfa University student on site.

…

Wangou Xuan said, “It’s a decoy. They built a fake worksite. The real students are likely underground.”

“Of course… to resist the blazing suns of the Great Sun Aspects, hiding underground is the best tactic.”

He added with admiration, “So that’s what they did. Zhang Yu’s team must’ve realized mid-battle that direct combat with Chan Rong wouldn’t work.”

“So they pivoted—some students stalled Chan Rong while others worked quickly to set up an array and gain the upper hand.”

“Chan Rong thought they were just trying to block him.”

“So when Zhang Yu gave him the ‘opportunity’ to move forward, Chan Rong took the bait and went straight to their site—putting it in his attack zone.”

“But with Wanfa’s students hidden below ground, the Great Sun Aspects’ damage is drastically reduced.”

“Of course, given time, Chan Rong could still destroy everything… but time is exactly what he doesn’t have.”

Wangou Xuan turned toward the Vajra University construction site.

“Because at this very moment, Zhang Yu has likely gone there.”

Yue Guanqiong concluded, “A base-swap tactic—trading offense and defense.”

“And when facing the Great Sun Aspects, Wanfa’s students underground will last far longer than Vajra University’s students facing the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might.”

“They leveraged that advantage—tapping into the power of the Mountain-Moving Might and the limitations of the Great Sun Aspects.”

“After all, against the Mountain-Moving Might, hiding underground only makes it worse. The Earthfiend Gravity stirs the land, making destruction even more devastating…”

As they finished their exchange in the Spirit Realm, Chan Rong—without hesitation—transformed into a blazing comet and shot toward Vajra University’s worksite.

A moment later, a tidal wave of fire exploded above the site.

Watching this, Wangou Xuan sighed.

“The battlefield has shifted to Vajra’s side. Chan Rong has lost.”

“Unless he can take down Zhang Yu before his teammates fall apart…”