No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

The moment those words were spoken, the surrounding students all jumped in shock, thinking Bai Zhenzhen had succeeded.

But then Li Xuelian sighed and looked at Bai Zhenzhen, saying, “To master the forms of all nine Martial Techniques in such a short time on your own—your talent is truly one in ten thousand.”

“It’s just a shame… you’re still a bit short of my father’s standard.”

The students let out mixed reactions—some breathed a sigh of relief, while others were quietly astonished.

Zhao Tianxing thought to himself, “She didn’t make the cut? Just how monstrous is the disciple Xinghuo Zhenren is looking for?”

Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen herself let out a sigh of relief.

She hadn’t expected her demonstration to trigger a change in the Celestial Martial Diagram. For a moment, she thought she had succeeded and nearly blurted out a rejection to Xinghuo Zhenren’s offer.

“Good thing I held back,” she thought. “I did feel like something was missing.”

After her demonstration, others tried going up to perform the nine Martial Techniques, but none of them triggered any reaction in the diagram again.

Even Lian Tianji, who’d always brimmed with confidence, hesitated to step forward. He seemed to be analyzing why Bai Zhenzhen had failed—what they were all still missing.For a while, the entire venue fell silent. No one stepped forward again.

Just as Li Xuelian was about to call it quits, Zhang Yu walked up with his phone in hand.

“Hm?” Li Xuelian raised an eyebrow with interest. “He’s seen so many people fail, yet he still has the nerve to try? Must be confident.”

But the next moment, her brow furrowed.

Zhang Yu had started playing a video—clearly a recording of Bai Zhenzhen’s demonstration—and was mimicking the moves straight from the footage.

She immediately realized he must have filmed her entire performance.

And as Zhang Yu copied the movements one by one, imitating each form exactly, her expression darkened even more.

It was obvious that aside from the one fist technique he had practiced himself, he was unfamiliar with the other eight styles. Despite his efforts to copy Bai Zhenzhen’s actions, the disparity in their understanding of the techniques was painfully clear.

From afar, Zhao Tianxing watched Zhang Yu, still dressed in his security guard uniform, mimicking Bai Zhenzhen’s moves awkwardly in front of the crowd. His scalp tingled, and he felt secondhand embarrassment strong enough to curl his toes.

Just watching it was unbearable. The contempt and mockery in the crowd’s gaze toward Zhang Yu were practically visible. Zhao Tianxing couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be in Zhang Yu’s shoes.

“Stop, Zhang Yu! Please stop!” Zhao Tianxing mentally screamed. “This is humiliating! They’re laughing at you!”

But Zhang Yu couldn’t hear him—and wouldn’t have cared anyway.

He continued, focused and serious, going through all nine Martial Techniques just as they had appeared in the video.

And when he finished the final move, an avalanche of sensations and insights crashed into his mind. It was as though he had practiced them tens of thousands of times. Suddenly, his understanding of the Celestial Martial Diagram shifted.

The nine Martial Techniques vanished from his mind, replaced by nine distinct martial intentions—each vague but profound.

At that moment, Zhang Yu realized the truth: the diagram wasn’t about mastering movements. It was about comprehending intention.

To truly practice these Martial Techniques, a cultivator had to grasp the intent behind each motion.

The killing intent to shatter armies. The will to fight on despite near death. The courage to charge forward without hesitation...

The nine techniques cultivated Martial Intent to temper the Dao Heart.

“This isn’t a combat or body-tempering art,” Zhang Yu thought. “It’s a martial Heart Technique designed to forge one’s Dao Heart through Martial Intent!”

Martial Intent—the term used by the Ten Great Academies to unify all forms of martial will: sword intent, fist intent, blade intent, and so on.

Its core purpose was to strengthen the mind and will, thereby raising the level of the Dao Heart.

A Gold Core Cultivator like Xinghuo Zhenren could even imbue their Martial Intent into paintings, influencing others’ mental states.

And now, Zhang Yu’s entire aura shifted.

Killing intent. Willpower. Ferocity. Valor...

Each surged from within him, gathering toward a critical point—as if, in the next moment, his Martial Intent would condense into form.

At the same time, the man depicted in the Celestial Martial Diagram became increasingly vivid, colors filling his figure until he looked like a living person, locking eyes with Zhang Yu.

The students gasped. This was by far the strongest reaction the diagram had shown all day.

Lian Tianji, Qian Shen, Bai Zhenzhen... all stared at Zhang Yu, all sensing his transformation, all sharing the same disbelief.

“He’s actually going to succeed?”

But in the next instant, the change was abruptly cut off. The Martial Intent that had nearly solidified scattered completely.

“What a shame,” a line of text floated across the diagram. “Heaven-gifted talent, but missed by a single step.”

Zhang Yu didn’t look surprised at all.

On his Feathered Tome, a new technique had appeared: Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique, level 0 (1/1, 8.3/8 Mana, 0.85/0.8 Physical Strength, 1/3 Dao Heart Level).

It was the result of his deep contemplation of the diagram, careful observation of the other students, and repeated study of Bai Zhenzhen’s video.

Unlike the techniques Zhang Yu had learned before, this one had strict requirements in Mana, physical strength, and Dao Heart level.

“You need to practice all the punches, palms, kicks—every move,” he muttered. “But you also need 8 Mana, 0.8 Physical Strength, and a level 3 Dao Heart.”

“I’ve met all the requirements… except that last one.”

His own Dao Heart was only level 1.

So of course, he had gotten stuck at the final step.

“This technique’s true purpose,” Zhang Yu thought, “is to forge Martial Intent through combat forms and use that intent to temper one’s Dao Heart. But a level 3 Dao Heart? That’s way beyond what a high school freshman can achieve three months into the semester.”

Li Xuelian watched Zhang Yu’s failed attempt, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

She hadn’t expected any of the students here to succeed—not really.

She recalled the report just delivered from the security company.

“A high school freshman from Songyang High named Zhang Yu.”

“To have reached this point... he really is a heaven-gifted talent.”

Thinking back on his performance, she marveled, “Incredible. I almost underestimated him.”

“His moves looked clumsy. Every punch and kick was awkward… but he still grasped the intent within.”

“He focused on intention, not form. He saw through the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique’s core secret.”

“Excellent. My father’s school just gained another outstanding disciple.”

Truth be told, after checking the participant records, she hadn’t expected any of them to succeed.

Anyone with the talent to master the techniques on the spot would’ve been from a powerful background, or already in their second or third year and long since recruited. They weren’t likely to show up to apply for Xinghuo Zhenren’s tutelage.

Finding someone who could comprehend the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique on-site was already a miracle.

But that didn’t mean no one was worthy.

If even one freshman could withstand the impact of Martial Intent, perform all the techniques, and perceive the hidden insight—then even without success, they’d be a once-in-a-generation genius.

Such a person would almost certainly master the method a year later.

Better to lock in that contract early, before they rose too high.

And she was sure her father would agree.

In fact, the fact that Zhang Yu failed now could be used to her advantage when negotiating his terms—keep the price low.

With that thought, she smiled warmly at Zhang Yu.

“Student Zhang, though you haven’t mastered the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique yet, you’ve already grasped its essence. Given time, success is inevitable.”

“I’ll speak to my father soon. Let’s see if he’s willing to take you on as a disciple.”

Another wave of gasps rippled through the crowd.

Lian Tianji quickly pulled out his phone and took a stealthy picture of Zhang Yu. He had to find out where this monster in a security uniform had come from.

Qian Shen stared in disbelief. “No way! A guy who scored 550 is being recruited by a Gold Core Cultivator? This has to be a test from the Celestial Martial Diagram!”

Bai Zhenzhen muttered, “Yuzi… is cheating, right?”

To see her debt-ridden buddy, who had always been a step behind, suddenly soar past her—Bai Zhenzhen felt an unexpected dissonance.

Yuzi, she thought, it’s not that I don’t want you to do well. If you ranked top ten, even top five, I’d cheer for you.

But why’d you have to crush the whole field—including me?

Still, seeing everyone flock to Zhang Yu, her thoughts shifted again: “Once he signs under that Gold Core Cultivator, he’s bound to get investments. I need to leech off him. Borrow some money, at least.”

But then she frowned. “Then again, that cultivator lost half his cultivation and got optimized by a major sect. No resources, no connections… If Zhang Yu really joins, he might just end up being a lifelong workhorse.”

“Forget it. We’re bros. I’ll give him a heads-up. Don’t let the words ‘Gold Core’ blind you. He should reject the offer.”

Zhao Tianxing, meanwhile, was stunned into silence. Then, recalling what he had just said to Zhang Yu earlier, his face turned red with embarrassment.

“That was so humiliating.”

“He’s a real genius. When I gave him that advice, he must’ve thought I was an idiot.”

As Bai Zhenzhen made her way toward Zhang Yu, the crowd swarmed in.

Some wanted his contact. Some wanted to ask about the diagram. Others just wanted a selfie.

Meanwhile, off to the side, Li Xuelian was already on the phone with her father.

“Dad, I found a promising seedling here in Songyang City…”