No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Out on the construction site.

Zhang Yu stood in place as mana surged within him, unleashing a torrent of Martial Qi.

With a thought, he merged the modified Taiyi Liquid Gold Pills into his body. Almost instantly, the originally white Martial Qi shifted into a dazzling golden hue.

After days of practice and hands-on testing, Zhang Yu had completely reworked all of his Taiyi Liquid Gold Pills and fully integrated them into his system.

At this very moment, the altered and fused Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill was perfectly bonded with his Martial Qi. It had become nearly impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

Then, at the flick of a thought, the golden Martial Qi began to shift.

The cloud-like mist of gold condensed into surging currents—golden torrents that roared and twisted like water dragons around Zhang Yu.

Moments later, the golden torrents condensed into overlapping layers of golden armor, forming solid defensive plating that wrapped tightly around his body like a fortress.

With the power of the modified Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill, his Martial Qi now flowed seamlessly between gaseous, liquid, and solid states, boasting a defensive power far superior to his previous Protective Qi Barrier.

At the same time, it was faster, more agile, and far more versatile than the original pill’s effects.When he struck the ground with a palm, the massive blast carved out a deep crater—and left behind a golden palmprint embedded in the earth.

Zhang Yu thought, With this upgraded Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill, my Martial Qi can linger in the world even after I release control of it.

With all these transformations in his Martial Qi, Zhang Yu felt his defensive capabilities had grown dramatically. Even if he had to face Chan Rong’s Great Sun Aspects again, he would have more room to maneuver—and at the very least, suffer fewer injuries.

Taking it a step further, Zhang Yu summoned humanoid constructs of golden Martial Qi. These quickly took shape, transforming into Formless Golems with sturdy, physical forms.

After testing out the effects of the modified pill, Zhang Yu pulled out another artifact—this one called the Yin-Yang Dual Polarity Shield.

Though it appeared to be a simple round bead, once Zhang Yu channeled mana into it, Fire Dragons surged from within, spiraling around him before forming a blazing Fire Shield that wrapped him in searing flame.

He continued to manipulate the artifact, and the Fire Dragons dissipated, giving way to icy mist that condensed into air-freezing frost. A Cold Shield now formed, surrounding him in a veil of chill.

Zhang Yu mused, This Yin-Yang Dual Polarity Shield can switch between the Fire Shield and Cold Shield defensive modes.

Not only can it withstand physical attacks, but more importantly, it counters extreme temperature changes.

If I had this shield back when I fought Chan Rong, dealing with his Great Sun Aspects would’ve been much easier.

But Zhang Yu knew full well—before the battle with Vajra University, he hadn’t even received his construction payments. How could he spare the thought or money to upgrade his artifacts?

Even now, his savings had only just passed 140 spirit coins, and he’d already loaned 100 of them to Zhang Pianpian. He wasn’t exactly rolling in wealth—he’d only been able to upgrade these two items.

I’ll probably have to fight Heavenly Sword Sect University next. I need to prepare more artifacts that will actually be useful.

But what truly stirred Zhang Yu wasn’t the prospect of battle—it was the thought of seeing Bai Zhenzhen again.

It’s been over a year since I last saw Ah-Zhen.

This time, when I go to Heavenly Sword University, I’ll definitely sit down and have a real conversation with her.

After wrapping up his artifact trials, Zhang Yu spun around and returned to the construction site to resume work.

Activating the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might, he sent waves of soil and stone surging into the sky. Earth cracked and mountains split, turning the worksite into a fully optimized engine of productivity.

Zhang Yu felt like he had become the most valuable, most efficient, most central piece of heavy machinery on the site—everything else, from artifacts to workers, revolved around him.

Just then, Fu Ji sent over a document.

“This is the company’s new financial report. I already sent it to you yesterday. Did you read it?” she asked.

Zhang Yu nodded casually. “Yeah, I looked it over. What about it?”

He had skimmed it, sure—but his grasp on financials was basic at best. Everything seemed to be running fine, so he just figured he’d keep doing the work.

But Fu Ji said sharply, “Costs are going up!”

“Did you see the wear rate on our artifacts and the mana consumption levels?”

“Artifacts getting worn down is normal, right? And using artifacts burns mana. Isn’t that just how it works?” Zhang Yu replied.

Fu Ji snapped, “Wear rate is up 1.2% from last month. Mana usage? Up 5%!”

“We have no controls in place for this, you understand?!”

“It’s like toilet paper in the office—if nobody regulates it, employees will waste ten or a hundred times more than needed!”

“Same with mana. Just because you recover fast doesn’t mean everyone gets to waste it.”

Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across the worksite, landing on Zhao Tianxing, Mo Tianyi, Hu Yuntao, Che Yufei, and the elders of the Ying clan.

“They’re all working hard. Doesn’t seem like abuse. Maybe Zhao Tianxing’s just inexperienced—some wastage is normal.”

“Plus the new project’s harder. Higher difficulty means higher costs, no?”

Fu Ji scolded, “We can’t just let it slide. Especially as the company grows and adds more people. Without standards, what happens?”

“The old employees already use mana without thinking. If they keep doing that, they’ll teach the new hires to do the same. Eventually everyone will be wasting mana—our costs will skyrocket, and fixing it later will be even harder.”

“That wasted mana? You could be selling it. Right now, we’re losing 1 to 2 spirit coins of potential profit each month!”

“That difference eats into our margins. It weakens our competitiveness.”

Zhang Yu frowned slightly—but he had to admit, she made sense.

At that moment, Fu Ji sent him another document.

“What’s this?” Zhang Yu asked.

“A mana quota chart,” Fu Ji replied.

“Starting tomorrow, every employee will have a daily mana allocation for work.”

“Those who stay under quota all month get a bonus. I’m calling it the Monthly Frugality Reward. Go over quota? Salary deduction.”

Zhang Yu blinked. “Deducting pay… won’t that upset people?”

“Upset?” Fu Ji scoffed. “They’re already paid plenty. Especially those two from that second-rate vocational college. Their presence lowers the company’s whole image. If it were up to me, I’d have fired them already.”

That evening, after work, Zhang Yu made a post in the company group chat explaining the new mana quota system.

Zhao Tianxing: Got it

Mo Tianyi: Understood

Hu Yuntao: Okay

Ying Xin’s grandfather: Should’ve done this ages ago

Che Yufei: I support it!

Seeing how positively everyone responded, Zhang Yu finally let out a breath of relief.

And knowing the company’s profits might rise next month, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of satisfaction.

Still, another thought popped into his mind.

Feels kinda awkward discussing this stuff directly with the employees.

It’s a shame Fu Ji’s identity can’t be revealed. If she could talk to them herself, that’d solve everything.

Fu Ji said, “The company’s still small. For now, we’ll have to handle both major and minor matters ourselves.”

“Maybe next year, when we’re more stable, we can hire someone to manage all the miscellaneous stuff.”

Just then, Yu Xinghan sent a message.

Yu Xinghan: Zhang Yu, still getting a lot of stranger requests lately?

Zhang Yu nodded. Ever since he earned his Military License and defeated Ping Han, his friend requests had exploded.

And after he mastered the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might and beat Vajra University, the flood only grew.

Too many to tell who’s a scammer and who’s legit—he’d simply stopped accepting anyone.

Zhang Yu: Yeah, it’s a lot.

Yu Xinghan: If it’s too much hassle, and you’re worried about missing out on money-making chances, want me to handle the contacts for you?

Zhang Yu’s interest stirred. He knew Yu Xinghan had been managing a group of students who wanted his guidance.

Zhang Yu had even met some of them over the past few months—students with rare, Specialized Mana types.

Whether he could harvest Dao Seeds from them still required more observation.

Still, Yu Xinghan’s proposal seemed promising. Zhang Yu decided they could discuss the details further.

…

While Zhang Yu was buried in his work…

The Civil Engineering Competition Team from Wanfa University scored another win.

As sand and dust filled the air, a massive mudslide swallowed the site.

Su Yanyang walked out with his teammates, sighing, “Fighting students from regular schools is just too easy.”

“If only it could stay this easy forever.”

He turned to see Xiao Yunji watching him closely.

“What’s up? Something wrong?” he asked.

Xiao Yunji shook her head. “Nothing. Just… wondering if you’ve gotten a bit too relaxed lately.”

Su Yanyang laughed. “Relaxed? Maybe a little. I mean, we’re only fighting students from lower-tier schools—do I really need to be on full alert?”

Up ahead, a checkpoint was inspecting passing students.

Li Zhen said, “Security’s gotten tighter at these schools. Heard some cults are acting up again. Even got followers refusing to work overtime.”

Xiao Yunji sneered. “Can’t even be bothered to earn more pay? What a joke. People like that will never get far on the Immortal Path.”

She looked at Su Yanyang. “Don’t you agree?”

“…Yeah. Sure,” he said, nodding faintly.

…

Later that day, as Zhang Yu was hard at work, a message came in from Immortal Jiao Lei, his homeroom teacher.

Immortal Jiao Lei: Zhang Yu, there’s a new project at school. We’re asking top students from every class to participate.

Immortal Jiao Lei: Interested?

Zhang Yu: What’s the project?

Immortal Jiao Lei: Something in the field of Dual Cultivation.

Immortal Jiao Lei: Seems to be an exploration into new technologies.

Immortal Jiao Lei: Want in?

Zhang Yu: For the school, I’ll do whatever it takes.