No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

In an instant, the very air around Zhou Chechen’s palm seemed to freeze. A frigid wind howled toward Zhang Yu, stripping away the heat from his flesh with terrifying speed.

Standing nearby, Lei Jun watched silently, thinking to himself, “Bold provocation.”

Unlike usual, Lei Jun didn’t comment out loud for the crowd’s benefit—he was deliberately withholding analysis, not wanting to alert Zhou Chechen.

“If Zhou Chechen could fight on his own terms, his Frost Heaven Freezing Field would be incredibly difficult to deal with. He could wear his opponent down just by keeping his distance.”

“But Zhang Yu’s words have forced him into a direct confrontation.”

“And that ten-move wager? It boxed Zhou Chechen in. As the vice president of the Student Council, there’s no way he could accept such a large number in front of everyone. He’ll definitely go lower.”

“That changes things—Zhou Chechen, who excels at drawn-out battles, is now compelled to go all out within just three moves.”

“Didn’t expect Zhang Yu to have this much real combat experience.”

“The only question is… can Zhang Yu really survive three moves from Zhou Chechen?”

…A wave of terrifying cold energy struck Zhang Yu like a dragon’s roar.

Zhou Chechen said flatly, “The first move—get familiar with my Frost Heaven Freezing Field.”

As he spoke, Zhou Chechen advanced step by step toward Zhang Yu.

With each step, the fluctuations of his mana grew more intense. The rising cold surged outward, frosting the ground, ceiling, and walls.

Even the first-year students like Zhao Tianxing, standing far away, felt chilled to the bone. They exhaled white breaths and backed away, their faces pale as they stared at Zhou Chechen in fear.

“The second move.”

Zhou Chechen casually pinched his fingers, and the icy mist that had spread through the room suddenly responded like a subject to a king’s command, forming into a massive frost-covered hand that crashed down toward Zhang Yu.

Crackling noises followed as frost quickly coated Zhang Yu’s entire body. His skin visibly lost color as if all warmth was being drained away.

Zhou Chechen said coldly, “Zhang Yu, I know you’re tough—you can take a beating.”

“But with my Frost Heaven Freezing Field rapidly lowering your body temperature, your blood vessels will freeze up, oxygen will be cut off, and every cell in your body will start to break down…”

Inside Zhang Yu’s body, his mana exploded into motion. The power of the Great Sun Qi Sea Technique surged like molten magma, flooding his body with searing heat.

The Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy followed suit, heating his muscles and flesh in great rolling waves.

The Subdermal Qi formed by his Formless Cloud Qi worked in tandem with the Indestructible Seal Method, resisting the invading cold and blocking it outside his body.

Still, Zhang Yu sensed that Zhou Chechen’s attack carried more than just the Frost Heaven Freezing Field. It was also laced with the power of the Frost Abyss Technique, subtly disrupting his mind.

He could hear the wails of the dying in his ears—waves of bitter resentment attacking his Sea of Consciousness and shaking his Dao Heart.

Though the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique continued to grind down the negative emotions, Zhang Yu felt like a weary soldier, slaughtering endlessly on a battlefield. With every wave, fatigue crept in, and those resentments tangled around him like silk threads, slowing his thoughts and moves.

His inner techniques no longer flowed smoothly, and he felt a growing resistance in his martial power and mana.

“This isn’t working… the Celestial Martial Heart-Forging Technique isn’t suited to counter the Frost Abyss Technique…”

The moment he realized this, Zhang Yu instinctively switched to the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique.

It was a reflex born from having trained both techniques to level 10.

As soon as he made the switch, the invading resentments clung to the phantom ox in his mind but failed to disrupt his mental state.

That ox had long been accustomed to crawling through fields of corpses. Its heart remained utterly unmoved.

…

Zhou Chechen looked down at Zhang Yu, who was covered in frost and seemingly frozen in place. He walked up slowly and said, “Junior, it’s over.”

“Right now, your whole body should be stiff and numb.”

“But don’t worry—it’s not serious. You won’t even need to go to the medical ward. You’ll just be unable to train or study properly for the next couple of days.”

“Consider it a minor punishment for disrespecting your senior.”

He reached out, intending to push Zhang Yu down with a finger—only for a wave of heat to blast into his face.

The frost on Zhang Yu melted rapidly. Aside from a few skin injuries, he was completely unscathed—bright-eyed and full of energy.

Zhang Yu said calmly, “Senior, that was the second move. There’s still one more.”

Zhou Chechen narrowed his eyes and replied seriously, “Then allow me to give you a final lesson.”

He opened his fingers wide. The cold mist converged into his palm, his mana transforming into pure frost-infused palm force.

“Kneel!”

Zhou Chechen struck with all his might, slamming his palm into Zhang Yu’s shoulder.

A roar of wind echoed through the room as an icy storm burst from the impact point. The temperature in the training hall plummeted like a falling blade.

The two of them stood face-to-face, their gazes clashing like sparks.

Zhou Chechen’s senior-year muscles erupted with full strength. The force he exerted was like a sky pillar, trying to crush Zhang Yu inch by inch.

His freezing aura blanketed Zhang Yu’s body, attempting to drain his lifeblood and destroy his ability to fight.

Zhou Chechen planned to force Zhang Yu to his knees—to humiliate him as a warning and reassert the Student Council’s dominance. Maybe even find out who was backing this mongrel now.

But to his surprise, a surge of resistance burst out from within Zhang Yu, far stronger than expected. Like a compressed spring, he rebounded with even greater force under pressure.

The heat pouring from Zhang Yu’s body rendered the cold useless in the short term.

Fu Ji chuckled, “Told you—this guy’s burst power is crap. If he had kept his distance and worn you down with mana, it’d be trouble. But now he’s right in front of you? Easy.”

At that moment, Zhang Yu said, “Senior, three moves are up.”

“Now, why don’t you try taking one of mine?”

Zhou Chechen’s expression changed. He immediately raised his hands to block. Google seaʀᴄh novel-fire.net

He’d seen Zhang Yu’s close-quarters skills. No way was he letting himself get caught off guard.

But the moment Zhang Yu’s hands touched him, they barely applied any force—

Then boom! A thunderous impact exploded against Zhou Chechen’s abdomen.

Zhang Yu had taken advantage of the moment Zhou Chechen’s attention wavered, rebounding his palm force and channeling all his strength into a sudden knee strike to the gut.

Lei Jun slammed the table and exclaimed, “Brilliant! What a sneak attack!”

Zhou Chechen’s stomach clenched as if a giant hand had grabbed and crushed it.

He felt his guts twist violently, and for a moment—

He clamped his mouth shut and swallowed the nausea.

“Senior, let me help you stand.”

Zhang Yu gently tugged Zhou Chechen’s arm, disrupting his balance—and with that shift in weight, Zhou Chechen couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Bleagh—!” He vomited on the spot.

Fu Ji burst out laughing, “Told you! These filthy rich kids eat ten meals a day. Don’t bother injuring them—just make ’em puke in public!”

Zhou Chechen managed to suppress the rest, then shoved Zhang Yu’s hand away, glaring furiously.

“You—”

Zhang Yu backed off with both hands raised. “Sorry, Senior. If I’d known one move would make you throw up, I wouldn’t have fought back.”

Lei Jun chimed in, “You all saw it. Zhou Chechen wanted to beat Zhang Yu to his knees—to humiliate him and shatter his Dao Heart.”

“But Zhang Yu held on, and then made him puke in front of everyone. Completely lost face.”

“They danced on the knife’s edge between medical bills and mental trauma.”

“One misstep and you either lose money—or your dignity.”

Lei Jun’s voice echoed like thunder across the training hall. Zhou Chechen’s brow furrowed, his inner technique faltering.

Boom! Another wave of frost erupted as the Frost Heaven Freezing Field expanded again, dropping the room’s temperature even further.

That was its strength—the longer it persisted, the colder the environment got, and the more powerful it became.

Zhou Chechen had only used three moves. He hadn’t gone all out yet.

But just then, a hand landed gently on his shoulder.

“Zhou,” Lei Jun said with a smile, “three moves are up.”

“If you keep going, the rest of these students are going to get frostbite.”

“Surely you don’t want to lose both face and money, right?”

Zhou Chechen’s eyes narrowed. He looked at Lei Jun, then at the other students—many of them already turning purple with cold.

He took a deep breath. It was over.

Anything more would only make things worse—and might cost him extra.

He shot Zhang Yu a final, piercing glance, then turned and left without a word.

Lan Ling followed him, shouting at the crowd, “Put your phones away! No photos!”

He quickly caught up to Zhou Chechen, fuming. “We should just strip Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen of all their competition rights and perks!”

Zhao Tianxing, startled, put his phone away. But moments later, he couldn’t help taking it out again to watch Zhou Chechen throw up.

“He actually embarrassed Zhou Chechen?” he thought. “Yu, you’re incredible!”

He could already imagine how this would blow up in the school chat groups—how Zhang Yu, a first-year, took three hits from the Student Council’s vice president and made him vomit with one strike.

But at that moment, announcements popped up across several chat groups: all students were prohibited from sharing anything about the fight, especially photos or videos…

As the second-years withdrew, the remaining first-years looked at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen with starry-eyed admiration. This was the first time they’d seen a first-year stand toe-to-toe with a second-year top student.

Zhang Yu ignored the crowd.

He pulled out his phone and messaged Le Mulan.

“Do you have a contact for the Purple Cloud Student Council leader?”

Le Mulan asked, “What are you planning?”

Zhang Yu recalled what Zhou Chechen had said outside the training hall.

“Tell your Purple Cloud leader,” Zhang Yu said, “if they pay up, Bai Zhenzhen and I will skip the competitions.”

“Go straight through us—it’ll be cheaper than going through Songyang High.”