No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

True Lord Qiyun cast a glance at Ping Han on the other side, admiration deepening in his eyes.

Onscreen, Ping Han’s construction progress was leagues ahead. With his cultivation paired with the array beneath his feet, each palm strike landed like a tectonic quake, sweeping up hordes of Yellow-Turban Enforcers one after another.

”Richest, deepest cultivation, and by far the most efficient on-site.”

True Lord Qiyun remarked, “Old Gao, your Civil Engineering Department has raised another fine disciple.”

“Once the exam’s over, be sure to have a good talk with him. Don’t let him waste his prospects.”

Director Lin stood nearby, watching coldly. Director Gao, on the other hand, merely nodded with a helpless smile to show he understood.

Meanwhile, True Lord Tianxiang was watching Zhang Yu with some surprise. “Zhang Yu’s performance may not compare to Ping Han’s, but it’s still commendable.”

In the footage, Zhang Yu’s palmprints continuously shifted, channeling the Small Threefold Harmony to condense drifting sand and dust, patching up the damaged body of the Earth Giant.

The result: the Earth Giant became a seemingly indestructible beast, charging into the Yellow-Turban Enforcers from all sides, regenerating as fast as it broke.

At the same time, surging Martial Qi coursed through the Earth Giant’s body like sculpted sinews and meridians, flowing up and down its massive form.With every cycle of Martial Qi, Zhang Yu used the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force to absorb explosive force and concussive shock from the enemies’ attacks.

That made the Earth Giant seem to master some esoteric martial skill, expertly countering force with force—every blow it received rebounded in a storm of shockwaves, sweeping through swathes of Yellow-Turban Enforcers.

Hovering behind Zhang Yu’s head, the Goldfilament Jade Disk flared with ray after ray of crimson sunlight, detonating distant enemies on sight.

Meanwhile, Azure Sand streamed continuously from the Azure Cloud Sand-Pouch into the Earth Giant’s body, enhancing Martial Qi conductivity and reducing energy loss.

The Groundfiend Bottle and Ground-Stabilizing Seal also activated—either releasing torrents of mud and stone to engulf enemies, or deploying broad fields that slowed enemies in place, leaving them to be crushed under the Earth Giant’s tread.

Elsewhere, Ying Xin’s great-grandfather operated his artifact while comforting Zhao Tianxing and Mo Tianyi.

Ying Xin’s Great-Grandfather: Don’t worry, Boss Zhang’s power is overwhelming. As long as we stick to his plan, we’ll be fine.

Zhao Tianxing: Senior, are you also a graduate of Wanfa University?

Ying Xin’s Great-Grandfather: Haha, no point talking about past glories.

Ying Xin’s Great-Grandfather: I’m just a Soul Cultivator like you now.

Ying Xin’s Great-Grandfather: Actually, I envy you lot. You’ve only been dead a few years, right?

Ying Xin’s Great-Grandfather: The first five years after death are crucial. The jobs you take, the résumés you build—they’ll determine your future income.

…

Back in the battlefield, Zhang Yu’s mind was firing on all cylinders. He manipulated every strand of his power with precision, sensing how each force interlocked and intensified, wave after wave.

”The Martial Saint Body boosts the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force, and also the Small Threefold Harmony.”

”It gives me near-microscopic control, enhancing martial arts strength, parrying, redirection, evasion, destructive power, area coverage, speed, frequency, and piercing force...”

”And when I channel both techniques through the Earth Giant, the effects compound...”

He could feel the Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force’s Martial Qi flooding the Earth Giant’s entire body, unleashing incredible parry and redirection capabilities.

With the Martial Saint Body’s reinforcement, the Earth Giant’s every move driven by Small Threefold Harmony was overlaid with rebound force from the Cloudstride Force.

As a result, the Earth Giant’s might soared ever higher as it fought.

With a thunderous crash, the Earth Giant stepped forward. Its mountainous weight, propelled by Small Threefold Harmony and amplified by rebounding Martial Qi, landed a single strike—splitting the ground and sending Yellow-Turban Enforcers flying like ragdolls.

Yet even now, Zhang Yu hadn’t pushed Small Threefold Harmony to its limits. After all, he had only been practicing the third of the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes, the Earthmaster’s Divine Transformation, for less than two months.

…

True Lord Qiyun’s gaze flickered. “Zhang Yu’s control range with Small Threefold Harmony is small, but its explosive power is terrifying.”

True Lord Tianxiang added, “His Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force is executed to perfection. Every trace of Martial Qi, every shred of power, is in perfect sync with Small Threefold Harmony.”

“Turning less into more—he wrings out lethal force from every ounce of energy. A martial prodigy, no doubt.”

Still, to True Lord Tianxiang, “martial prodigy” was only worthy of brief notice.

After all, this wasn’t an era for martial arts geniuses. What mattered more were construction savants, coin-trading prodigies, or those so obscenely rich they were considered Innate Dao Physiques.

True Lord Qiyun nodded slightly, noting that Zhang Yu’s future was promising.

Yet what really caught his attention wasn’t Zhang Yu’s martial talent.

While browsing Zhang Yu’s file using vice-principal privileges, he noticed something hidden.

“Zhang Yu used the permissions gained from his high school Foundation Establishment exam to designate True Lord Magneto as his mentor.”

This made Qiyun glance subtly at Director Gao, who was intently watching Zhang Yu’s performance.

He thought, “Does Old Gao even know his registered disciple picked someone else?”

He couldn’t be sure. If Zhang Yu had any sense, he would have consulted True Lord Magneto first before making such a designation.

“But how did a Civil Engineering student like Zhang Yu get in touch with Magneto?”

“Then again, Old Gao and Magneto have been friends for centuries…”

“And Zhang Yu’s martial talents make him ideal for artifact refinement…”

A scene flashed in his mind: Old Gao taking Zhang Yu to visit True Lord Magneto, personally escorting his disciple into the mentor’s office.

True Lord Qiyun messaged: Old Gao, your disciple’s looking solid.

Director Gao: It’s thanks to the leadership for creating such a good environment.

True Lord Qiyun: You’re getting more gracious by the day.

True Lord Qiyun: A disciple’s a disciple. Let the old ones go; new ones will come. Don’t take it to heart.

Director Gao froze for a moment before he realized what was meant.

“He’s talking about Ping Han?”

“He wants me to talk to Ping Han—try to bring him back if I can, but not to obsess if I can’t?”

Director Gao’s face revealed a trace of helplessness. The more Ping Han dominated the battlefield, the more bittersweet the feeling became.

…

Back on the field, the battle shifted again.

Yellow-Turban Enforcers with twin wings burst into the sky, launching an aerial assault.

Zhang Yu’s heart sank. “Did they really pour this much money into the exam?”

Other examinees all tensed up, steeling themselves.

Just then, Su Yanyang saw the flashing alerts in his EyeNet feed and couldn’t resist checking.

“Nectar Coin’s up to 15?!”

His face lit up with joy. Laughing aloud, he shouted, “Perfect timing!”

He immediately deployed more computation-pool resources to his Soul Cultivators, enhancing the power of their tomb arrays.

One by one, fortifications rose from the earth, bracing against the incoming airborne swarm.

…

Elsewhere, Xiao Yunji said coolly, “Your turn.”

“Do well this round, and you’ll be rewarded.”

Her six-armed frame swapped out a new batch of Soul Cultivators to man each artifact.

These Soul Cultivators hailed from her family’s construction firm. They were seasoned, with unique traits—either nearing death and desperate for longevity, mentally frozen and rarely employed, or lacking support from descendants, forced to fend for themselves.

“Each one has a reason to fight. Each one is burning with resolve. Each one is racing against death…”

Personally selected by Xiao Yunji, they were her ace in today’s Military License exam, chosen to propel her power to new heights.

…

Meanwhile, Ping Han’s chest-displayed number kept climbing—and with it, his aura intensified.

Not just his aura—his artifacts, his Law Husk, and even the array beneath his feet grew more ferocious, fueled by the rising price of Nectar Coin.

Because every Soul Cultivator under his command had, under his direction, bought into Nectar Coin.

Now that prices were surging, they too were surging—deploying more resources, fighting with blood-boiling fervor.

His artifacts and Law Husks, all linked through network arrays, had also been upgraded—ordinary memberships now Gold-tier, unleashing enhanced power.

Ping Han himself felt his Dao Heart becoming polished, flawless.

“For the past two years, I endured humiliation and bided my time—all for this moment of crypto-cultivation triumph.”

“Today, I, Ping Han, will soar into the heavens!”

He slammed out a palm. A sandstorm burst forth into a massive hand, empowered by artifact and Law Husk. It soared into the sky, clutching the Yellow-Turban swarm like insects in its grasp.

Boom!

…

Zhang Yu had already merged into the Earth Giant.

As the Earth Giant marched forward, the shattered remains of Yellow-Turban Enforcers were drawn inside, delivered to Zhang Yu’s waiting form.

His figure rapidly expanded. Enlarged, he devoured the remains, beginning digestion.

Despite only retaining 10% of the University Saint Body’s effects, Zhang Yu’s strong foundation and the Martial Saint Body’s boost to the Soil-Eating Divine Technique gave him a monstrous digestion capacity.

The Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill had gathered in his digestive system, like armor for his gut—enhancing his ability to break down materials.

With the alternating heat and cold from the Flame-Sun and Frost Abyss manas, and with buffs from the Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation and War Demon Life-Draining Technique…

His gut had become a massive furnace, melting Yellow-Turban corpses into high-grade materials.

…

True Lord Qiyun swept his gaze across the candidates, sighing, “Not bad at all. Each is showcasing their divine powers, each with their own trump cards. All of them making breakthroughs mid-battle—true prodigies of Wanfa.”