No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Zhang Yu knew that ever since Fu Ji had recovered some of her Evil God powers—returning to Level 1, the level of a Lesser Evil God—she’d become particularly sensitive to changes in network signals.

After all, the entire Kunxu Network was built on Divine Power Networks, and Evil Gods, being entities capable of stealing divine power, were naturally hyper-aware of its fluctuations.

“Signal acting up?”

When Fu Ji raised the issue, Zhang Yu immediately suspected it had something to do with gang conflict.

Ever since becoming a Star Lecturer for the Dark Studies Gang, Zhang Yu had mostly focused on teaching. But he’d also picked up no small amount of insider knowledge about the ongoing turf wars.

Especially with Bai Zhenzhen fighting on the frontlines—returning some nights battered and bloodied after life-and-death clashes with Golden Tutoring Gang elites—she’d shared plenty of gang war insights over the past two months.

“When gangs fight, to avoid drawing attention from the City Enforcers or Righteous Gods, they usually pick remote areas with minimal infrastructure and, ideally, no surveillance.”

Zhang Yu looked at the quiet suburban road he was currently on. It ticked all the boxes—deserted, unmonitored.

“The next step would be using signal jammers to block network access.”

“But those only work in places the Righteous Gods don’t care about. Even then, they can only last a few minutes before triggering a Divine Department sweep...”His thoughts raced lightning-fast. Zhang Yu came to a conclusion: “Looks like Black Crow’s warning was dead-on. The Golden Tutoring Gang’s targeting me—trying to hurt the Dark Studies Gang by taking out a Star Lecturer…”

Even as that thought crystallized, four massive figures emerged—one set in front, one behind—silently boxing him in.

In early December’s chill, white breath billowed from their mouths, hanging in the streetlamp glow before fading.

As the four began to stride toward him, powerful waves of Martial Intent surged forth with the circulation of their Techniques, crashing down on Zhang Yu like a tide.

Their pace quickened. As they moved, the bones in their bodies crackled like war drums, the sound echoing beneath the night sky.

From the gusts of breath, the oppressive aura, and the cracking of bones alone, Zhang Yu could tell: these four had hardened their bodies through brutal combat. All of them were Qi Refinement Realm experts who had long since graduated—battle-tested veterans.

Six months ago—or even two—Zhang Yu would’ve had only one option when surrounded by four peak Qi Refinement cultivators like this: run.

But now? His mana, body, and Techniques had all reached the threshold of the Qi Refinement Realm. He’d mastered over a dozen Techniques, many of them top-tier.

And now, his Martial Saint Embryo was complete.

Sensing the encroaching enemies, Zhang Yu thought, “Perfect. Let’s see what this Martial Saint Embryo can really do.”

He took a single step forward—heading straight for the pair in front.

The four attackers raised their eyebrows. One of them, a silver-haired man, sneered, “Oh? You’re not running?”

“I don’t need to run,” Zhang Yu said calmly. “But the four of you—if you leave now, you might still make it.”

“Arrogant,” the silver-haired man spat.

They already knew Ma Yunteng was strong. But even so, four-on-one at the peak of Qi Refinement? Overwhelming advantage.

They moved.

Thunder roared as the four charged from all directions.

Boom! The two in front lashed out with fists and kicks—Zhang Yu parried both with ease. The pair behind seized the opening, unleashing a barrage of Martial Qi that slammed into his back. ɽáNȮ𝐛Ęs

A deafening explosion rang out. Seeing Zhang Yu take a direct hit, the silver-haired man grinned. “Let’s see who’s running now.”

But Zhang Yu ignored him. He was focused on analyzing the effects of his Martial Saint Embryo.

Over the next few seconds, he continued to absorb the flurry of attacks—meeting punches, palm strikes, even Sword Aura with various parts of his body.

He tracked the impact as they were filtered through his Copper Corpse Skin, dulled by Formless Cloud Qi, and absorbed by the layers of muscle, bone, and organs refined through techniques like the Thunderburst Bone-Cleansing Sutra, Whale Tendon Transformation, and Five-Essence Organ Tempering Technique.

He noted: “Bones and internal organs—virtually unharmed.”

“Muscles and fascia—minor damage, but healing rapidly.”

“The six Martial Techniques forming the Martial Saint Embryo are working as one. My durability’s increased by at least 60%.”

“This body of mine—it’s alive. Bruises are being expelled, wounds closing, inflammation subsiding, fever diminishing…”

Zhang Yu calculated, “Blunt trauma like punches and kicks? I can self-heal in one to two minutes.”

“Blade cuts and sword pierces? Give it five or six.”

“So this is what it means to have high durability and accelerated self-repair…”

In that moment, Zhang Yu fully grasped the power of his new Technique.

Meanwhile, the four attackers had gone from smug to stunned.

The silver-haired man barked, “He’s using multiple body-protecting Techniques! Our fists won’t cut it. Use specialized mana!”

At once, all four changed tactics. Sword Aura, flames, frost, and lightning erupted—Techniques fueled by Specialized Mana.

Zhang Yu, now confident in his defenses, no longer took hits head-on. With a roar, Formless Cloud Qi erupted from his body, swirling around him like a living storm.

Whoosh!

The silver-haired man stabbed forward, but it felt like his blade had been caught by deep-sea currents—veering sideways to strike a comrade.

Meanwhile, a flaming fist meant for Zhang Yu was yanked by the swirling Qi—crashing into the silver-haired man’s waist.

He twisted, barely dodging both attacks.

Then he stabbed again—only for his Sword Aura to collide with a palm infused with ice-cold energy. His comrade’s Frost Palm!

As the chaos continued, their confusion grew.

There was no sense of having the upper hand, no matter their numbers. Their Techniques kept getting redirected—into each other.

It felt less like four versus one and more like one versus one, with Zhang Yu receiving endless assistance—from invisible teammates.

Sometimes it even felt like Zhang Yu was the one with backup.

The silver-haired man reeled. “His ability to redirect and manipulate mana is godlike!”

“With those hardened bones, layered Techniques, and seamless redirection, the more chaos we throw at him, the stronger he becomes!”

Zhang Yu, meanwhile, was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“With the Martial Saint Embryo enhancing my durability and self-healing, I can withstand more, redirect more—it’s so much easier now...”

But then, he noticed the four beginning to retreat.

“Oh? Just now realizing you want to run?”

The silver-haired man had indeed decided to flee. The signal jammer’s time was running out, and this area was close to a Dark Studies Gang base. Reinforcements were imminent.

“We can’t take him down alone. If this drags on, we’re screwed.”

He shouted, “Retreat!”

But in the next instant, Zhang Yu’s Formless Cloud Qi surged—his Great Sun Qi Sea Technique activated.

The swirling Qi turned pitch black, like a bottomless abyss, engulfing the four.

They suddenly felt like they were at the bottom of the ocean—tossed by currents mimicking the Back-Dragon Mountain-Toppling Grip and Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm, their balance completely wrecked.

In that moment, they understood: though all of them were at the peak of Qi Refinement, not all peaks were equal.

When Black Crow and the others arrived, they found four unconscious bodies sprawled across the road.

Zhang Yu stood to the side, nonchalant in the face of their awe.

“These four are yours now. I get a bonus for this, right?”

Black Crow rushed forward. “Teacher Ma, you just beat down Golden Tutoring elites—of course there’s a bonus! I know you prefer cash. I’ll get it sorted; you can pick it up next time.”

On his way back to the apartment, Zhang Yu reflected on the battle.

“The Martial Saint Embryo really is a huge boost.”

“As for these guys—they’re nothing compared to Ah-Zhen now, or that other guy… Ye Lingxiao.”

“If I’d had this power back in the last Foundation Establishment exam… maybe I could’ve gone toe-to-toe with him.”

Thinking of Ye Lingxiao’s performance, Zhang Yu’s battle intent flared.

“One month left. Time to earn more, train harder, and push this Martial Saint Embryo even further…”

And with the assassination attempt foiled, tensions between the Dark Studies Gang and Golden Tutoring Gang only escalated.

Over the next ten days, they clashed repeatedly—lobbing copyright bombs, distributing pirated martial techniques, forging deadly vendettas.

Even the security teams of Deep Sea Education Group and Xianyun Group suffered casualties.

In these all-out turf wars, Le Mulan (Bai Zhenzhen) carved her legend—breaking through enemy lines, defeating gang leaders in hundred-person brawls, and escaping unscathed.

In Songyang’s shadowy tutoring underworld, her fame soared within the Dark Studies Gang.

Thanks to her repeated copyright bombings and the crackling lightning she wielded, she earned the moniker “Copyright Lightning” of the Dark Studies Gang—said to bankrupt all in her path and silence crying children.

And so, amid the chaos of gang war, time crept toward mid-December.