No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Inside the dormitory.

Le Mulan cautioned, “Hold on, I’m not done squeezing it out yet.”

Zhang Yu replied, “Isn’t that enough already?”

Le Mulan insisted, “No way. Every drop is money—we need to get it all.”

Zhang Yu asked, “Now?”

Le Mulan said, “Let me try a little more.”

As she exerted a bit more effort, a few more strands of blood streamed from her fingertips and entered Zhang Yu’s mouth.

Only then did Le Mulan nod. “The solution should be fully extracted now. How do you feel?”

Zhang Yu smacked his lips and said, “Not bad. The medicinal effect is noticeably milder than before.”

Ever since Le Mulan began studying homebrew pharmacology, she had started producing medicinal solutions within her own body.From that point on, her blood, sweat, saliva, and even her mana began to carry trace medicinal effects.

Especially after Zhang Yu began dual cultivation with her—combining his Solar Meridian with her Frost Abyss Technique—the medicinal qualities in her body underwent fascinating transformations.

Recently, Le Mulan had been experimenting with synthesizing various compounds inside her body.

Zhang Yu, thanks to his robust physique and high tolerance for medicinal infusion, naturally became her ideal test subject.

Not that he was losing out—Le Mulan spent a good deal of money on raw ingredients for each batch, and the final products mostly ended up in his belly.

While Zhang Yu was busy taste-testing, a message from Yu Xinghan popped up on EyeNet.

Yu Xinghan: Someone’s offering 3 spirit coins. Wanna dual cultivate?

Yu Xinghan: You in?

Zhang Yu had to admit, the number three spirit coins stirred a flicker of temptation in him.

But that flicker was quickly replaced by anger.

“Zhang Yu, have you really let Kunxu turn you into this?”

“Not everything in this world is for sale.”

Zhang Yu: Don’t ask again. Not for sale at any price.

Yu Xinghan: Got it. So, fifty spirit coins or more, huh?

Zhang Yu: Are you out of your damn mind? I said it’s not for sale, period.

Yu Xinghan genuinely didn’t understand. He simply couldn’t imagine what in the world was worth so much that not even spirit coins could buy it.

Turning back to the group chat, he decided to promote his massage services on his own platform instead.

…

At the construction site on the 668th level.

With work on the 667th level completed, Wanfa University City had now expanded to the 668th level.

Zhang Yu’s Ground-Stabilizing Seal hovered in midair, releasing an invisible force field.

Wherever the force passed, the ground trembled and flattened out.

The billowing clouds of dust that had filled the air were also suspended mid-flight, seemingly frozen by the force field.

From inside the seal, Mo Tianyi’s voice rang out: “This artifact is incredible.”

Mo Tianyi: “Zhang Yu, you really are loaded now. Even using a level-20 artifact?”

Zhang Yu gave a calm smile. “It’s alright.”

“How’s the control?”

Mo Tianyi: “No problem.”

Mo Tianyi: “Zhang Yu, you don’t have to worry. Since you gave me this chance to be your Artifact Spirit, I’ll stake my entire soul-realm compute pool if that’s what it takes—I won’t let you down.”

Zhang Yu said, “Whoa, no need to go that far. You can’t make money if you’re dead.”

Mo Tianyi: “You’re right. We soul cultivators don’t have lives to spare anyway. Fighting hard only means dying faster.”

Nearby, the Azure Cloud Sand-Pouch floated in the air as it poured Azure Sand into the Formless Golem.

Zhao Tianxing muttered inwardly, “Zhang Yu actually entrusted Mo with the level-20 Ground-Stabilizing Seal?”

“So in his eyes, I’m still a latecomer… not a true soul cultivator?”

He had been proud—thrilled, even—to become the Artifact Spirit of the Azure Cloud Sand-Pouch.

But seeing how flawlessly Mo Tianyi operated the level-20 Ground-Stabilizing Seal, his own artifact now looked a little… pathetic.

Just then, Zhang Yu casually tossed out another artifact—this time, the level-20 Groundfiend Bottle.

“Old Zhao, give this one a try.”

Zhao Tianxing lit up: “On it!”

With a subtle swirl, the Groundfiend Bottle sucked in all the suspended dust and instantly transmuted it into concrete, which it poured into designated molds nearby.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “With Old Zhao and Old Mo acting as Artifact Spirits for the Groundfiend Bottle and Ground-Stabilizing Seal, I can focus on controlling the Taiyi Gold-Refining Elixir and Formless Golem. At most, I just need to occasionally manage the Azure Cloud Sand-Pouch.”

With the sophomore finals approaching, Zhang Yu wasn’t the least bit worried—he was completely confident.

“If I top the class again, I’ll unlock the third Technique in the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes—Small Threefold Harmony.”

“After that, October brings the Military License Exam.”

“With my current capabilities, will mastering Small Threefold Harmony be enough to pass that exam?”

He turned to look at the Feathered Tome. As a soon-to-be junior, his stats were overwhelming.

His base attributes—level-20 physical strength, 1000 units of mana—all sat at the upper limits of Foundation Establishment.

His Dao Heart had reached level 19 (55.3%), and he was confident it would hit 20 before the exam.

His mana quality had also risen sharply—now at 195%, just shy of the 200% cap.

Even his Martial Qi stats were maxed out: 99% transmission rate and a range of 100 meters.

On top of all that, there was something uniquely his—progress with the Greenlotus Sword Embryo.

“The Greenlotus Sword Embryo subtly enhances whatever Chain Diagram-based set I’ve used the most.”

Through repeated testing, Zhang Yu had built a mental model of how much of each set’s power it could retain:

“I’ve used University Saint Body and Earth-Wood Saint Body the most in the first half of the year—Greenlotus currently retains around 9% of their effect.”

“Martial Saint Body was acquired last, but I’ve used it frequently over the past few months—retention is around 5%.”

“As for Mana Pulse Flowing Stream, I only use that for mana regen—barely any runtime. Greenlotus retains just 4% of it.”

Zhang Yu clenched his fists, watching the formless, ever-shifting Martial Qi swirl in his palm.

“The current me… is strong.”

That affirmation strengthened his resolve once again.

“I will pass the Military License Exam.”

His confidence grew with every improvement and every trial.

But the first assessment he had to face wasn’t the finals—nor the Military License—it was True Lord Magneto’s Artifact Refinement test.

…

Inside the Artifact Refinement lab.

Ye Xingli was grading Zhang Yu’s test paper.

It was a composite final exam for all Artifact Refinement juniors—personally selected by True Lord Magneto and handed to Zhang Yu to complete. Ye Xingli was tasked with marking it.

The more she read, the more astonished she became.

“Zhang Yu is studying the entire junior-level Artifact Refinement curriculum… on top of his Civil Engineering major?”

“Is Master planning to have him transfer departments in junior year?”

She pictured the chaos this might cause and grimaced. “Director Gao’s going to lose it.”

She found herself hoping Zhang Yu would actually perform poorly.

But reality disappointed her.

The more she graded, the clearer it became: Zhang Yu had already surpassed most juniors in Artifact Refinement knowledge.

“He must’ve spent a fortune on soul-realm acceleration, Dao Techniques for memory optimization, and recall enhancements…”

Ye Xingli thought, “Now it all depends on his practical skills.”

She knew full well—knowledge is theory, but technique is everything. In this department, hands-on skill was king.

Naturally, the junior-year final exam involved material refinement, rune inscription, and full artifact construction.

True Lord Magneto had booked this lab for the night, assigning Ye Xingli to oversee Zhang Yu’s complete test.

She watched as Zhang Yu skillfully tempered the materials, fed them into the Truefire furnace, and manipulated the flames with precise mana control.

He commanded several Formless Golems to construct the mana circuits from multiple angles around the refined materials, demonstrating impressive finesse.

Ye Xingli grew more impressed the longer she watched.

“It’s only been half a year since I last saw him refine…”

“And he’s improved this much?”

“His talent for Artifact Refinement… it’s even higher than I expected.”

The final part of the exam allowed students to pick one item from a list of artifacts and construct it from scratch.

Normally, they’d supply their own materials.

But this time, True Lord Magneto provided everything herself.

The artifact had been agreed upon in advance, and Zhang Yu had already mastered the required techniques.

Looking at the rare materials in hand, Zhang Yu thought, “True Lord Magneto really is generous.”

Ye Xingli, too, sighed internally. “Master really thinks highly of him.”

When she saw the completed level-20 artifact—Gold-Inlaid Jade Disc—Ye Xingli had to admit, “Master’s judgment was flawless.”

“I didn’t realize Zhang Yu was such a prodigy in Artifact Refinement.”

“If he switches to our department in junior year, he could make it into the top ten with time.”

Zhang Yu examined the Gold-Inlaid Jade Disc and asked, “So… this one’s mine?”

Ye Xingli replied coolly, “Master will pay you 3 spirit coins as a processing fee.”

Zhang Yu felt a small pang of disappointment—but he couldn’t complain. After all, the materials and lab time had been free.

…

True Lord Magneto: Didn’t you say your disciple’s physical strength hit level 20, so the Yin-Yang Bracelet was useless?

True Lord Magneto: [Gold-Inlaid Jade Disc.jpg]

Director Gao: You trying to sell me something? I’m tight on funds right now.

True Lord Magneto: Just the cost of the materials.

True Lord Magneto: What are old friends for?

Director Gao: You’re the best, Magneto.

…

Back in the dorm.

Looking at the Gold-Inlaid Jade Disc Director Gao had gifted him, Zhang Yu asked hesitantly, “This… is the one I made?”

“This is the reward True Lord Magneto promised me if I passed my sophomore finals?”

Fu Ji said, “Zhang Yu, you have to admit—True Lord Magneto’s got finesse. Director Gao from the Civil Engineering Department just can’t compete with her.”