No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

As she stared at the message spelled out by the flying swords above, Zhang Bi of Tianwu Corporation narrowed her eyes.

“Oasis Group is really going this far?”

Back when she was still stationed in Xiandu, she had occasionally caught wind of intelligence reports—whispers that Oasis Group had been colluding with the Ye clan and a few other families to push certain technologies down to the First Floor.

But she hadn’t expected them to go public with the high school Foundation License exam this soon.

“What’s their angle? Are they using the Foundation Exam to market their new tech?”

Zhang Bi knew full well that any major tech rollout came hand-in-hand with attention-grabbing theatrics and gimmicks. Clearly, Oasis Group had chosen the Foundation Exam as their stage this time.

As for the old unspoken rules of the First Floor...

“They just don’t care,” Zhang Bi thought bitterly. “So the rumors were true. A major figure from the Second Floor is really coming down to oversee Oasis Group’s operations.”

The other company reps gathered nearby wore mixed expressions as they tried to figure out Oasis Group’s intentions—and brace for the ripple effects.

Meanwhile, the principal and school administrators had already gone to the gate to receive Oasis Group’s delegation.Zhou Chechen trailed behind the group in a daze, though his eyes kept drifting toward the glittering sword-light letters in the sky.

“Foundation License?”

“Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen passed the Foundation License exam?”

“How is that possible?”

His gut reaction was disbelief. Based on everything he knew, it was simply unheard of for high school students to pass the Foundation License exam.

At that moment, Lan Ling appeared beside him, looking equally shaken.

“High schoolers can take the Foundation License exam?”

“Isn’t that something only college students do?”

Zhou Chechen didn’t answer. He just followed the administrators along with Lan Ling, right up to where the Oasis Group representatives were waiting.

They weren’t the only ones drawn to the scene. A huge crowd of students had gathered too.

Normally, the principal, administrators, or student council president would’ve already stepped in to restore order, shooing everyone back to their cultivation and studies. But Oasis Group had made such a splash that everyone’s attention was riveted. No one even noticed the rubbernecking students.

At the school gates, the principal and several administrators had just arrived when Oasis Group’s delegation stepped forward.

The man in the lead had blood-red eyes and immaculately combed silver hair. A faint scent of blood seemed to linger on him at all times.

Seeing the confusion on the administrators’ faces, the red-eyed man smiled.

“You must be the administrators of Songyang High School?”

“I’m Chi He, general manager of Oasis Group’s Songyang City branch.”

“Our visit today is on behalf of Director Wang. He heard about the achievements of your students Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen and was deeply moved.”

“To support Songyang’s educational development, Director Wang has decided to donate ten million credits as a reward for these two students. We hope they will continue to strive, to be grateful to Kunxu, loyal to our company, and capable of bearing the burdens of university life and beyond…”

The moment the crowd heard that staggering ten-million figure, the students collectively gasped in shock. The generosity of Oasis Group’s Director Wang left everyone reeling.

They were used to stories of people paying for limbs, muscle grafts, or taking out loans with collateral.

But donations? Scholarships? That was practically a foreign language.

The administrators looked even more awkward and bewildered. On one hand, they were stunned by the massive donation. On the other, they had no clue what “achievements” Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had supposedly accomplished to move Director Wang.

Some even wanted to ask what the Foundation License exam was and how the students had managed to pass it so suddenly—but they couldn’t tell whether it was appropriate to ask.

Thankfully, Chi He anticipated their confusion. Smiling gently at the silent administrators, he continued, “Your students Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen recently traveled to Xiandu and participated in the high school-level Foundation License exam. Both achieved outstanding results and were awarded Foundation Licenses by the Heavenly Court, officially earning Foundation Establishment status.”

He then gave a brief explanation of the high school Foundation Exam and what the license meant—like how it virtually guaranteed admission to any of the Ten Great Academies.

Gasps erupted from the students and staff alike.

“Does this mean Zhang Yu already has one foot in the Ten Great Academies?”

“More like most of his body. Didn’t you hear? He gets to choose any academy he wants after the college entrance exams. He’s practically already on the Second Floor!”

“They’re not just on the First Floor anymore—they’re at, like, Floor 1.9.”

“With two Foundation Establishment students in one class, Songyang High should be called one of the Four Great High Schools now! We’re the new Number One!”

The students all nodded enthusiastically, pride swelling in their hearts. The school emblem seemed to gleam brighter, and their own diplomas felt more prestigious.

In the crowd, Wang Hai secretly thanked his lucky stars for bailing on Zhou Chechen’s scheme last time.

Meanwhile, the teachers who had once bullied Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were now deathly pale.

The female PE teacher who had drugged Zhang Yu looked especially shaken. As if grasping at straws, she hurried over to Wang Hai.

“Teacher Wang, I heard you used to have issues with Zhang Yu, but later you two patched things up. How did you do it?”

Wang Hai raised an eyebrow and rubbed his fingers together.

“You’re just gonna ask like that?”

Only after she transferred 10,000 credits did he say, “Exactly like this.”

“That’s how I made up with him.”

“I gave him 66,000. You gave ten? Eh… can’t say I’m optimistic.”

Elsewhere, Lei Jun stood frozen in the crowd, as if struck by lightning. His heart was in turmoil.

“Foundation License?”

“Those two actually passed the Foundation License exam in high school?”

He recalled his own futile ten-year struggle to pass the same test in college. Now his students had done it in their sophomore year.

It was impossible not to feel jealous—but above all, he felt defeated.

“Comparison really is the thief of joy,” he sighed. “They’ve already surpassed me.”

Nearby, Zhou Chechen swayed and nearly collapsed, saved only by Lan Ling’s quick reflexes.

“High school Foundation License? Why has no one in my family ever told me such a thing existed?”

Lan Ling snapped, “I told you! We should’ve had that courier ‘accident’ when they were still weak! Look at this mess now! Look!”

He kept repeating “look,” though it was unclear what exactly he wanted Zhou Chechen to look at.

Zhou Chechen shoved Lan Ling away and glared at him in contempt.

“Still talking about murder? Did you forget the incident with the Righteous Gods? If you’d tried that half a year ago, we’d both be dead. You think anyone without serious backing could pass an exam we didn’t even know existed?”

He turned away in disgust, wondering why he was stuck with someone like Lan Ling—while Zhang Yu got a genius like Bai Zhenzhen.

Amid the murmuring crowd, Zhao Tianxing trembled.

“F-Foundation License! If Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen pass the college entrance exams, they can coast straight into the Ten Great Academies?!”

Qian Shen nodded gravely. “It looks that way.”

He felt a strange sense of clarity.

“So that’s it. There really is a high school Foundation License.”

“I thought Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had already evolved beyond the bounds of GPA and academic rankings—transcended the grading system itself.”

“But it turns out the high school Foundation Exam exists as a failsafe. It quantifies what otherwise couldn’t be measured.”

Relieved, Qian Shen thought, “Of course… The entire entrance exam system is airtight. It’s been refined by countless experts and cultivators. It truly is the most rigorous and scientific path to Immortal Dao.”

Meanwhile, across the street, Le Mulan had seen the sword-formed message in the sky and heard everything Chi He had said.

“They really outperformed every rich kid in Songyang City?”

She realized that over the past year, Zhang Yu had single-handedly shattered every stereotype she’d held about poor students.

And now?

“Does this mean… he’ll end up in the Ten Great Academies too? I wonder which one he’ll choose.”

“But if that’s the case, it won’t be so easy to book his tutoring sessions anymore. And if I do manage to, it definitely won’t be this cheap.”

A complicated feeling welled up inside her.

It was like discovering your favorite massage therapist had gone pro as a streamer—and blown up overnight. You felt proud to have supported them early, but mourned that you’d never get that one-on-one time again.

She shook her head, pushing the thought aside, and sent a message to Le Jingchen.

When her brother got the news, he was stunned for a moment, then muttered, “When he comes back, get close to him. Try to acquire his sweat, saliva, urine—any bodily fluid, really.”

“Oh, and make sure it’s uncontaminated. Don’t let your own fluids mess up the sample.”

“Do whatever it takes. Let me know what support you need.”

After hanging up, Le Jingchen thought, “It must be Oasis Group’s Immortal Dao technology that elevated Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen like this.”

“No wonder they rose so fast. No wonder even a Righteous God backed them. The real puppet master was Oasis Group all along.”

“If I can get a sample from Zhang Yu and analyze it…”

Back in her room, Le Mulan stared blankly at her phone, deep in thought.

“Yeah, tutoring will be near impossible now.”

“But I do still have that keycard for his apartment…”

“Maybe I could hide under his bed? Wait—there’s no bed in that place.”

“Then maybe… the wardrobe?”

She stared off into space. Her family had given her an impossible mission.