No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

The day of the Civil Engineering Competition arrived.

Inside the operating room, Ji Yuanshu glanced at his brand-new arms, a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Detailed specs of his new arms surfaced in his mind.

“Twin Roaring Thunderfire Arms, top-tier Law Husk model from Wandao Forge Sect’s Thunderforce Series.”

“Both arms are capable of high-temperature and electromagnetic enhancement, and with external meridian extensions, they can reshape external Martial Qi into Martial Qi Cannons with a range exceeding 500 meters.”

As he recalled the specs, Ji Yuanshu activated his ocular Law Husk, snapped a photo of the Thunderfire Arms, and uploaded it to his social media with a simple caption: “New day, grind continues.”

Looking through his past posts, one could find photos of various Immortal Dao products—all bought in a spending spree after the finals, using a massive sum of spirit coins.

There were Sixth-Gen Soulseeker Eyes from Wandao Forge Sect, capable of pre-setting and locking onto high-speed targets, and syncing with other Law Husks for auto-aim and auto-fire.

There was the Impermanence Wind Module for his legs—short-range flight propulsion using high-speed air bursts, enabling sudden acceleration, rapid movement, and agile maneuvering at up to Mach 3.

There was also the Feathered Core from Tiangong Group, which, aside from a built-in Level-20 Technique, added anti-gravity support to further enhance the leg modules’ low-altitude flight performance.The copper coin Law Artifact once used to stabilize his fortune had now been replaced.

Floating quietly in Ji Yuanshu’s mind was a card-shaped Law Artifact known as the Platinum Fortune-Stabilizing Card. Unlike the old one, modeled after an ancient coin, this new Fortune Artifact took its design from a credit card from a century ago.

Its minimalist design and retro-style text and imagery symbolized prestige, credit, and immense financial power.

Thanks to the card’s effect, the backlash from his Fortune accumulation was no longer crammed into two months but was now spread evenly over twelve—greatly easing his burden.

As his arsenal of Law Husks grew, so too did the attention he received for flaunting high-end Immortal Dao products. More and more people began to believe in his wealth and power, drawing ever greater streams of Fortune toward him.

Especially since...

Ji Yuanshu thought back to the secret Evil God Ritual he performed after the finals.

Ever since that ritual, the more Law Husks he installed, the faster he could accumulate Fortune.

And with the Evil God’s backing, his follower count had exploded over the past three months—hundreds of thousands joined, each display of luxury bringing in another wave of Fortune.

Not only did this help him quickly recover from the backlash of accumulated Fortune, but it also propelled his cultivation forward at breakneck speed.

Currently, the Fortune churning beneath the Platinum Fortune-Stabilizing Card was even denser than during finals, boosting every aspect of his performance.

The card’s effect didn’t just stabilize—it amplified his Fortune’s blessings multiple times over.

But to maintain this growth, to keep up his image and keep swapping in newer Law Husks, Ji Yuanshu had burned through a massive amount of spirit coins—draining his savings and racking up substantial debt.

Even his trusty Wind-Stabilizing Pearl had long since been sold.

Without it, all he could do was inhale the stale air of Kunxu Second Floor day in and day out.

“Before I knew it, I got used to the stench of poverty in University City.”

“This... is the polish of hardship.”

He committed the bitter smell to memory, reminding himself constantly that the suffering now was to build a better future.

“Zhang Yu is just the beginning.”

Feeling the surging Fortune within him, Ji Yuanshu was convinced that his future held unimaginable heights.

Like many senior students in the Finance Department, he believed that as long as he kept building his follower base and drawing in Fortune, more people would trust him, follow him, listen to him. One thought, one sentence from him could sway millions, redirect spirit coin flows, and dictate where Fortune pooled.

Ji Yuanshu no longer saw Zhang Yu as a threat. The Civil Engineering Department was just a minor stop in his grand journey—his true stage was the vast financial world.

Noticing the time, he stood up and left the operating room, heading toward the competition grounds.

Ma Xuan and the others had already arrived. When Ma Xuan saw Ji Yuanshu approaching, he gave a small nod and smile.

He had witnessed Ji Yuanshu’s rapid growth with his own eyes—and it reaffirmed his belief that keeping Ji Yuanshu around had been the right decision.

…

Inside a one-square-meter meditation capsule.

With a soft chime, Che Yufei slowly opened his eyes.

He hadn’t worked for three days straight.

For the past three days, he’d skipped all overtime, sticking only to daytime study and spending each night on breathing practice.

It was the first time since entering university that he’d gone over 72 hours without work.

He did it to preserve his energy for the upcoming Civil Engineering Competition, making sure he wouldn’t collapse mid-match or fall short due to fatigue.

So for three days, he forced himself to rest—no jobs, no gigs, no coin. Just the agonizing discipline of recovery.

And it tortured him.

“This is brutal…”

“Turns out, resting is the real test of one’s Dao Heart.”

“If I can’t get a job after graduation, won’t I be living like this every day?”

That thought made Che Yufei shudder.

Determined to avoid that fate, he resolved to place top ten in the Civil Engineering Competition.

“After all, I’m in seventh year now. If I still can’t score a ranking, I’ll never land a decent job on the second floor.”

He knew he was poor. That’s why he couldn’t afford to compete in earlier years. He accepted that.

But now that he’d made it to Year Seven, he didn’t need first place—just a spot in the top ten would be enough.

Glancing at the time, Che Yufei took a deep breath, feeling his body fully recovered. He climbed out of the meditation capsule and headed to the competition venue.

On the way, he ran into Shi Yunxiang. His eyes were immediately drawn to the shiny new Law Husk on Shi Yunxiang’s right hand.

“Yunxiang, is that the Vajra Forge’s Limitless Palm? Weren’t you using the Local One?”

Shi Yunxiang held up his left hand with a grin. “Swapped it. Local One’s on this side now.”

Che Yufei’s eyes twitched. “So… what happened to your old left hand?”

“Sold it, of course. How else could I afford the Limitless Palm outright?”

He chuckled. “I spent years cultivating that flesh—it fetched a good price. Didn’t raise it for nothing.”

“Once I’ve replaced every piece of meat with Law Husks, no one’ll be drooling over my flesh anymore.”

Che Yufei looked on with envy. Shi Yunxiang’s body, unlike his, had market value as edible material. Its tastiness rating, freshness index, and regional appeal pushed its resale price far beyond Che Yufei’s own.

Of course, that made him a bigger target too—but the profits made it worth it.

When they reached the competition grounds, they found their team captain, Shi Huaiyu, already waiting at the gate and waving them over.

Shi Huaiyu was in high spirits today. She had finally, if temporarily, neutralized the side effects of her Ghost Kidney.

Thinking of that, she silently thanked Yu Xinghan. His tip had helped her catch a price surge in Seven Sentiments Coin.

“Next time, I’ll get a massage from him—support his business a little.”

“And thanks to Teacher Tu for lending me the money to invest in coins.”

Last year’s stock crash had nearly ruined her. That Tu Lishan still trusted her now filled her with emotion. His words rang again in her mind:

“Stocks or coins, it’s all legit. If I won’t lend you money for this, what kind of teacher would I be? Take it—interest will be standard consumer rate.”

Thanks to her windfall, Shi Huaiyu bought a Ghost-Suppressing Seal. Once implanted in her organs, it could suppress the residual will inside her Ghost Kidney.

Just then, her ocular Law Husk pinged with a message from the soul cultivator inside the seal.

Soul Cultivator: Boss, the match hasn’t started yet. Can I take a quick break?

Shi Huaiyu: No. We agreed on a full-day contract.

Shi Huaiyu: I’ve hired plenty of soul cultivators. Don’t take me for a fool. No moonlighting.

She knew soul cultivators loved to juggle gigs, but this one was the original owner of the Ghost Kidney—a specialist in keeping it under control. She wasn’t letting him off duty.

After her warning, she messaged the team chat: Where is everyone?

…

Wanfa University City, 88th floor.

Zhang Yu slowly exhaled.

Just in time for the competition, he had pushed the sixth martial skill of the Martial Saint Body to Level 20.

Beginner - Martial Saint Body (6/6): Any Foundation Establishment Realm martial technique you perform will see a significant boost in real combat power.

“Oh?”

Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow. He remembered that a similar combat-effect boost had been the final layer of the Martial Saint Embryo during the Qi Refinement stage.

“So for the Foundation Establishment version, Martial Saint Body starts with this enhancement?”

“This must be the evolution from Martial Saint Embryo to Martial Saint Body.”

Rather than disappointment, he felt it was perfect.

His current physical defense was already ridiculous—so tough even he found it excessive. What he needed was new ways to expand his combat toolkit.

“This first layer might turn out to be a game-changer in the Civil Engineering Competition.”

Seeing a prompt flash in his ocular Law Husk, Zhang Yu smiled faintly, then shot into the Anti-Gravity Corridor like a lightning bolt.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the competition entrance.

Shi Huaiyu grabbed his arm as soon as she saw him.

“Come on, come on! The first elimination round’s about to start!”