No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

In the illusion.

Ten handsome men with various temperaments, differing in size and each with exceptional skills appeared before Zhang Yu.

A single glance was enough to see that each of them was the finest among men, each possessing remarkable talents.

However, as Zhang Yu felt the deep, meaningful gazes from these men and watched them step closer, he couldn’t help but feel that this situation was far more terrifying and hopeless than facing ten Song Hailongs on the arena.

“Get lost!”

“Don’t come any closer!”

At this moment, Zhang Yu’s heart was filled with intense fear and furious rage.

He never expected that someone in Kunxu would resort to such methods to humiliate him and force him to abandon the Foundation Establishment exam.

“Damn, I want to give up too!”

“At worst, I’ll just take the exam next year…”But as this thought surged in his mind, Zhang Yu felt the coldness returning, and he knew that this ritual wouldn’t allow him to give up.

…

In the office.

Huang Zichou furrowed his brow and said, “Neither women nor men? Does he want to…”

Beside him, Deng Bingding spoke indifferently, “It’s normal not to be interested in men or women. Some people prefer money, power, and influence more…”

“But anyone with intelligence will have a price, their own weakness, their own vulnerability.”

“Generally, it’s easy to find those weaknesses in poor people.”

As he spoke, Deng Bingding casually pointed, “Huang Zichou, you’re in charge of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, the two poor people. If you can eliminate them, do it quickly. We don’t want to waste the budget.”

Huang Zichou was slightly stunned, quickly responding, “Ah, no….”

In his view, these two poor folks clearly wouldn’t perform well, and being responsible for their Dao Heart tests would be a waste of time.

But Deng Bingding didn’t give Huang Zichou a chance to argue. With a wave of his hand, he silenced him, “Everyone’s working overtime with tight deadlines and heavy tasks. Any complaints can be voiced later.”

Deng Bingding gave another order, “Remember, keep an eye on the illusion. Don’t let it increase prices blindly.”

“The key is to find their weaknesses and spend the money where it matters. Otherwise, if you just throw money around, the valuation will be artificially high.”

“If any of you gets criticized during the Foundation Establishment exam review, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

All the gods present knew that the process of the Foundation Establishment exam would undergo a review. If they gave students unfair evaluations, there would be consequences.

Meanwhile, Huang Zichou muttered to himself, “Sigh, so I’m stuck with the worst task in this project? Could it be that Deng Bingding is deliberately setting me up?”

Though it seemed like Deng Bingding had casually assigned him this task, Huang Zichou knew that someone of his rank wouldn’t just make a random decision.

“It’s impossible. I even added an extra 2000 yuan to the good feelings charm I gave her.”

“We had agreed to use 3000 yuan charms for everyone, and I added 2000 extra…”

He couldn’t help but glance at his three colleagues, but they were all intently focused on their work, showing no interest in talking.

Feeling a bit frustrated, Huang Zichou turned his attention back to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, cursing his luck.

“Why are these two poor folks even bothering with the exam?”

“Just eliminate them quickly so I can get to testing the better students…”

Just as Huang Zichou was hoping to finish the tests for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, students started dropping out of the Dao Heart tests, one after another.

Deng Bingding scanned with his divine power, recording the value each student accepted when they chose to drop out.

400 million, dropout.

600 million, dropout.

320 million, dropout.

Seeing these large numbers in the billions, Deng Bingding couldn’t help but sigh, “After all, this is an illusion. In the real world, no one would pay so much just to have someone drop out.”

“The illusion makes them subconsciously ignore many things that are wrong, just so they can test their limits.”

The numbers Deng Bingding recorded varied widely, as each person’s background, strength, and wealth differed. The temptations they faced were also different. The time they spent in the illusion wasn’t necessarily tied to their higher valuation.

Wealth had a significant impact, which Deng Bingding found to be normal since wealth was one of the most important sources of potential and determination in the Immortal Dao.

The first-year students performed slightly worse than second-year students, not because their Dao Heart, magic power, or physique were weaker, but due to the difference in opportunities they had in the Foundation Establishment exam.

The next moment, as Deng Bingding’s gaze moved, he saw the illusion of Yu Xinghan.

…

In the illusion.

“This is Immortal Cloud High School in Xiandu City. How do you find the environment?”

“To establish this school, the group specially relocated an entire spiritual vein, just to ensure the best learning environment for our students.”

“Here’s the application form.”

“As long as you agree, you can come study here.”

Yu Xinghan deeply inhaled the air in Xianyun High, feeling that this was the best air he had ever breathed in his life.

But upon hearing the speaker, he gritted his teeth and chose to refuse.

“What about citizenship in Xiandu City? Don’t you want to live here?”

“What about the formal job at Oasis Group? This is something everyone dreams of and spends a lifetime trying to attain.”

Yu Xinghan rejected offer after offer, not because he wasn’t tempted, but because his rich experience with money told him that the offer wasn’t their final price. He could still ask for more.

Finally, the other party said something that truly shook his heart.

“We can pay to buy you out from Xinghuo Zhenren.”

Hearing this, Yu Xinghan’s face visibly changed.

“We can pay to transfer your contract from Xinghuo Zhenren to Oasis Group.”

“The new contract will offer better terms and greater freedom.”

“This is the highest price we can offer. If you don’t accept, there’s no further discussion.”

Yu Xinghan wasn’t sure if this was really their highest price, but he knew this was the first lifeline thrown to him in the vast, pitch-black sea.

If he let go, he might never have such an opportunity again.

So he reached out without hesitation and seized the chance.

Yu Xinghan: “I… my breach fee is very high.”

“Everything in this world has a price, and the breach fee doesn’t have an upper limit.”

The other party smiled and replied, “You’re only at the Qi Refining stage. In Xinghuo Zhenren’s eyes, how much could you really be worth?”

…

In the office.

Deng Bingding observed the rapid collapse of Yu Xinghan’s resolve and thought to himself, “Heh, once you probe for the true weakness in their heart, the constant bombardment will cause them to collapse like a mountain.”

“According to the data, Xinghuo Zhenren has likely invested around 80 million in Yu Xinghan.”

“Considering Xinghuo Zhenren’s situation, it will take a price ten times higher to transfer the contract, plus other conditions. So the final valuation is 1.3 billion, huh? For Xinghuo Zhenren, it makes sense to flip a Qi Refining disciple for that much and find another disciple to train.”

Of course, Deng Bingding knew this was just an estimate based on available data. In reality, prices might differ, but this was a reasonable assessment for the purposes of the test.

Deng Bingding mused, “I didn’t expect this student from Songyang to hold on so well.”

“However, in the end, his vulnerability is clear.”

“His success depends on the Golden Core, but his downfall will also depend on the Golden Core. Xinghuo Zhenren made him, but they can also destroy him.”

“Especially as Xinghuo Zhenren invests more in him, the more shackled he becomes.”

“This is his biggest weakness in his Dao Heart. It will become a significant obstacle on his path to immortality.”

After casually recording Yu Xinghan’s and several other students’ situations, Deng Bingding curiously turned to observe the other two students from Songyang.

“Have those two poor folks given in yet?”

Deng Bingding was a bit surprised and glanced in their direction.

…

In the illusion.

Bai Zhenzhen faced temptations similar to Zhang Yu’s.

However, due to her sterilization surgery, the illusion didn’t offer her the same gender-related temptations. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel·fire·net

Living in the most central and luxurious house, enjoying the best cultivation conditions, Bai Zhenzhen felt herself weakening.

The illusion and the external manipulation from Huang Zichou both clearly sensed her wavering.

As a result, the price started to stabilize, and even indicated that Bai Zhenzhen’s demands were too high and negotiations should be terminated.

After some back-and-forth, Bai Zhenzhen made her final request.

“I want the same terms offered to me to also be given to Zhang Yu.”

Since preparing for the Foundation Establishment exam, Bai Zhenzhen had always had a deep fear, one that she often deliberately ignored and dared not think about.

That was… if Zhang Yu failed the Foundation Establishment exam, if he failed both times and didn’t make it into the top ten… what would she do?

Once, an opportunity to join the prestigious Ten Thousand Laws University was placed before Zhang Yu by Zhang Pianpian.

If Zhang Yu chose to stay with her but failed to enter the top ten…

If that happened, would Zhang Yu regret it?

“What should I do then, facing Yuzi?”

She could only tell herself that it wouldn’t happen. With his performance and her True Spirit Root, he would definitely pass the Foundation Establishment exam.

However, after witnessing the performance of Night Lingxiao, Yun Jing, and others during the exam, Bai Zhenzhen once again doubted whether they could pass the Foundation Establishment exam.

Now, by sacrificing her own exam opportunity, she could secure massive resources for herself and Zhang Yu, significantly increasing the chances of passing the exam.

This seemed like the most rational and beneficial decision.

“I can give up the Foundation Establishment exam, but the conditions you promised me should also be offered to Zhang Yu… and he shouldn’t have to drop out of the Foundation Establishment exam.”

…

In the office.

Huang Zichou frowned at the strange request that appeared in the illusion.

“Friends, you say?”

It wasn’t unheard of for such requests to occur in the illusion, but it was extremely rare in Huang Zichou’s experience.

Most people, in the illusion, only cared about satisfying their own desires. Very few thought of others.

If Huang Zichou saw such a person in reality, he would call them a fool.

But watching Bai Zhenzhen in the illusion, Huang Zichou silently thought to himself, “Sometimes, fools have their own rewards.”

Beside him, Deng Bingding glanced at the final result and recorded it down: “Bai Zhenzhen, final valuation 6 billion multiplied by 2.”

“12 billion. I didn’t expect students from Songyang to reach this level. She’s already higher than many first-year students from Xiandu.”

“Considering her identity, it’s remarkable that she held out this long.”

“If she can catch up with the students from Xiandu next year in other areas, she could become an excellent Foundation Establishment candidate.”

Next, as Deng Bingding continued to observe, more students completed the Dao Heart test, leaving only three students.

Among them, Night Lingxiao and Yun Jing didn’t surprise her, but Zhang Yu’s persistence still puzzled her.

Just then, Yun Jing also finished the Dao Heart test.

…

In the illusion.

Yun Jing looked at the contract before him with a hint of regret in his eyes.

Although the Yun family appeared prosperous, they had been on the decline in recent years.

Particularly after the reform of body refining techniques, the Yun family had failed to keep up due to poor investments and internal struggles.

Their assets were still immense, but their liquid funds had become increasingly strained.

Signing this contract would provide the Yun family with the cash flow they needed to revive.

The cost, however, was that Yun Jing would have to give up his high school Foundation Establishment qualification.

“But that’s alright. Even without the high school Foundation Establishment qualification, I can still make it into the top ten.”

“And as long as the Yun family rises again, future generations of the Yun family will have more opportunities to gain the Foundation Establishment qualification.”

…

In the office.

“As long as someone is human, they have a price, a weakness, a soft spot.”

Deng Bingding’s words echoed in her mind.

“This Yun Jing has received the family’s education from a young age, and his loyalty and gratitude toward his family are unmatched.”

“Humph. Such feelings are good for the family, but they’re an obstacle on the Immortal Dao.”

“He’s not selfish enough. How can someone who’s not self-centered climb the heights of the Immortal Dao?”

Deng Bingding shook her head and recorded Yun Jing’s valuation: “Yun Jing, valuation 5 billion.”