No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Wen Wuya gave Ji Yuanshu a glance and said blandly, “I’m looking for Zhang Yu. Is he not here?”

Ji Yuanshu blinked, confused why this man was here for Zhang Yu. He opened his mouth to ask a few more questions—maybe even add him as a friend...

But Wen Wuya’s brow furrowed. He found Ji Yuanshu irritatingly chatty.

He’d met plenty of people who tried to cozy up to him. By now, he had a tried-and-true way to deal with them.

Simplified Immobilization Sigil—activated!

With just a thought, the sigil triggered silently and invisibly. Ji Yuanshu suddenly froze in place.

“Please remain still and silent. In 2 minutes and 59 seconds, you will receive 3 spirit coins.”

“Please remain still and silent. In 2 minutes and 58 seconds, you will receive 3 spirit coins.”

Staring at the text floating in his EyeNet, Ji Yuanshu’s eyes showed a flicker of struggle—before he finally chose to stand quietly.

If this had been a few months ago, he might’ve broken free of the Immobilization Sigil. But now? With his luck-reversal debt looming, he was strapped for cash.“Besides, the sigil’s just a warning.”

“If I actually broke free… what followed wouldn’t be spirit coins anymore.”

With that sobering thought, Ji Yuanshu chose to endure.

Sensing his heart technique wobbling in his mind, he forced himself to reframe the situation: “It’s not that Wen Wuya locked me in place with 3 spirit coins—it’s that he paid me 3 coins to let him pass.”

“Standing for three minutes to earn three coins… that’s still a win, isn’t it?”

As Ji Yuanshu adjusted his perspective, his heart technique slowly stabilized.

A trace of joy surfaced in his heart. “Fine then. A low point in life… is just another form of tempering. Use it to hone my Dao Heart until it’s flawless. Only then can my heart technique adapt to all situations.”

“To stand out in the Civil Engineering Department, I need this exact spirit—unyielding, tireless, endlessly optimistic.”

Meanwhile, Wen Wuya had already reached Gongshu Jin and the others. “Do you know where Zhang Yu is?”

Gongshu Jin and Ying Xin exchanged puzzled looks. None of them had expected this Nascent Soul disciple to be here for Zhang Yu.

Ying Xin quickly answered, “Zhang Yu should be at the construction site.”

Wen Wuya’s gaze flickered. “Lead the way.”

As the group set off to guide Wen Wuya, Li Xiao paused and glanced back at Ji Yuanshu, who stood frozen. He muttered to himself, “What’s wrong with him? Did Wen Wuya hit him with something?”

Staring at Ji Yuanshu’s desolate silhouette, Li Xiao saw a reflection of his own past. “If you can’t blend into a circle… don’t force it.”

…

“Faster… come on, Yuzi!”

“Whew!” Bai Zhenzhen let out a deep breath, sensing her true spirit root settle and stabilize.

She suddenly frowned. “Why does it feel like the changes were especially intense this time?”

Zhang Yu silently thought, Probably because I kept switching between all the Chain Diagram sets and observing the Greenlotus Sword Embryo’s behavior.

But naturally, he couldn’t say any of that.

So he simply held her close and said, “Since you’re leaving soon, I went all-in tonight with your true spirit root for cultivation. Might’ve… overdone it.”

Hearing that, Bai Zhenzhen hugged him back. “Yuzi, I’m leaving.”

“You have to keep working hard. Train and study until you can transfer out of the Civil Engineering Department and into Artifact Refinement.”

She looked at him with intensity. “Don’t forget—you promised we’d enter the Ten-Sect League together.”

Zhang Yu nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, Ah-Zhen. Not only will I enter the League—I’ll reach the top of it and earn access to Immortal-Class Techniques.”

If anyone else had heard that, they’d have burst out laughing at how clueless Zhang Yu was.

But Bai Zhenzhen listened intently.

After three years of high school together, she knew Zhang Yu better than anyone.

She understood that beneath his calm exterior lay a talent far beyond what most people could even imagine.

And beneath that seemingly humble demeanor was a fierce ambition—to climb to the peak of the Immortal Path and crash into the gates of the major sects themselves.

Whether it was True Gods, Director Wang, or any of the wealthy elites... Bai Zhenzhen could sense that Zhang Yu had never truly bowed to any of them in his heart.

Hearing him speak now, she couldn’t help but smile. “Yuzi, you’re always like this—setting goals no one else dares to dream of, goals that sound completely impossible.”

“But I believe… you just might pull it off.”

Just then, Zhang Yu glanced at his EyeNet and raised an eyebrow. “Yu Xinghan just messaged me. Wen Wuya showed up at the worksite looking for me.”

Bai Zhenzhen sighed. “Then it’s time I left.”

“Yuzi, I’ll be waiting for you at the Ten-Sect League.”

She gave him one final tight hug—and then, in a burst of crackling lightning, she vanished.

Zhang Yu’s hand brushed through the air where electricity still lingered, as if he could still feel the warmth she left behind.

“Ah-Zhen…”

…

At the construction site on the 667th floor.

Wen Wuya looked at Zhang Yu. “...So Zhenzhen didn’t come to find you either?”

“Where did she go?”

“It’s already past the departure time.”

Just then, a message from the escort teacher popped up—Bai Zhenzhen had returned to the team.

Wen Wuya gave Zhang Yu a nod. “I’ll head off then.”

Before he left, he patted Zhang Yu’s shoulder. “That matter—keep working on it.”

“As long as I see results, spirit coins won’t be a problem.”

Gongshu Jin, Ying Xin, and the others watched, stunned, as Wen Wuya casually chatted with Zhang Yu before leaving.

Ying Xin was shocked: “Senior Brother already has a Nascent Soul contact?!”

She quickly tried to snap a photo using her EyeNet, hoping to catch Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya in the same frame. Later, she could take a picture with Zhang Yu and claim it as a proxy photo with a Nascent Soul heir.

But when she checked the shot, Wen Wuya had turned into a blur of pixelated noise.

Ying Xin grumbled inwardly, “A Concealment Sigil? Ugh. Can’t take photos without permission.”

Meanwhile, Gongshu Jin had already reported the scene to Tu Lishan.

Tu Lishan was stunned, then passed the intel up to Director Gao.

When he learned it involved a Nascent Soul disciple, Director Gao immediately messaged Zhang Yu.

Director Gao: How do you know Wen Wuya?

Zhang Yu: We met at the banquet. He asked me some questions about civil engineering, I answered them.

Zhang Yu: One thing led to another, and we added each other as friends.

Director Gao was momentarily dumbfounded. Wen Wuya… interested in civil engineering?

Then Zhang Yu sent over their chat log:

Wen Wuya: What factors affect foundation bearing capacity?

Wen Wuya: What methods improve structural resistance?

Wen Wuya: Got any good civil engineering stories?

Wen Wuya: Tell me a few more.

Reading these messages, Director Gao couldn’t help but mutter, “A real civil engineering prodigy.”

“Shame the folks at Heavenly Sword Sect University dragged him into the Flying Sword Department.”

“But maybe it’s for the best. If he actually joined Civil Engineering, we’d be in serious trouble for the next few years of tournaments.”

Director Gao understood that Zhang Yu and the Nascent Soul heir barely had a connection—slightly better than acquaintances.

“Still… a contact with a Nascent Soul cultivator from Heavenly Sword University is better than nothing.”

He also knew the university’s Flying Sword Department was dominated by warmongers. They’d love nothing more than to turn floors one through ten into warzones and flood the market with flying swords.

After some thought, Director Gao messaged again:

Director Gao: If anyone asks about today, just say you and Wen Wuya are friends.

Director Gao: If they ask how you met, say I told you not to tell.

Zhang Yu: Got it. Understood.

Director Gao: When you have time, chat with Wen Wuya more often.

Just as he wrapped up the conversation, Director Gao received another message—from True Lord Magneto.

True Lord Magneto: Old Gao, did you get a line to a Nascent Soul at Heavenly Sword University?

Director Gao smiled to himself.

“Hah. They’ll all assume this is my doing, that Zhang Yu couldn’t have pulled this off alone—that he must be a proxy for his master.”

He replied: Director Gao: You could say that.

True Lord Magneto had always been fascinated by the Flying Sword tech and war strategies at Heavenly Sword University.

As expected, once he got the reply, True Lord Magneto fired off several messages in a row.

Director Gao chuckled as he read them.

…

Elsewhere—

Ji Yuanshu also received a message from Director Lin.

Director Lin: Wen Wuya from Heavenly Sword University came to see Zhang Yu?

Ji Yuanshu: Yes. I saw it with my own eyes.

Director Lin frowned. Old Gao really managed to hook one of those maniacs from Heavenly Sword?

Is he trying to drag Wanfa University into the mud too?

And this Zhang Yu—if he’s being sent to do that… Gao must really be backing him.

At the same time, Ji Yuanshu sent another message:

Ji Yuanshu: Master, how should we arrange the competition?

Director Lin: I’ll set up the match order for the Civil Engineering Tournament.

Director Lin: You’ll eliminate Zhang Yu’s team in the very first round.

Ji Yuanshu’s eyes lit up with fierce resolve.

“It’s here at last.”

“My chance to redeem myself and reclaim my fortune.”

Moments later, his EyeNet displayed loan application forms from various platforms, and he began cashing in the last reserves of his Immortal Dao potential.

Then he threw everything he had into preparing for the tournament battle.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

The internal matches for the Civil Engineering Tournament began in early December.