No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

As seven-colored light flickered into being, a hazy silhouette slowly appeared within Zhang Yu’s EyeNet projection.

Then, a woman’s voice entered his ears.

“Zhang Yu, we meet again.”

Seeing the vague figure, Zhang Yu was startled. “You’re… the Seven Sentiments Lord?”

A thought flashed through his heart like cold lightning. “Damn… looks like Wen Wuya’s movements have been discovered. It’ll be much harder to contact Ah-Zhen in the future.”

“The Seven Sentiments Lord came to find me today—don’t tell me she’s here to settle accounts?”

“But this is still Wanfa University City…”

His mind jumped to the scene of the Divine Lord Nectar descending through the Spirit Realm to battle the Divine Lord Wanhuan—a clash whose aftershocks had nearly destroyed the entire region.

“Even if the Divine Lords don’t come in person, the fallout from their fight would be enough to make me bankrupt.”

“Should I call True Lord Magneto for help? Or maybe request aid from the three Divine Lords of the school?”“But that’d completely ruin my relationship with the Seven Sentiments Lord… Maybe I should at least hear what she wants first?”

As Zhang Yu’s thoughts churned wildly, the Seven Sentiments Lord spoke calmly: “Zhang Yu, I’ve often heard Bai Zhenzhen mention you.”

“From high school, you already wanted to join Pleasure and Harmony University, didn’t you?”

Zhang Yu froze, not knowing how to answer. He forced an awkward smile. “Back in high school, who knew what major was good? Now I just want to work hard in the Artifact Refinement Department and deepen my mastery of the refinement path.”

The Seven Sentiments Lord neither approved nor disapproved. “The Artifact Refinement Department is indeed more reliable than Civil Engineering. If you hadn’t switched majors, I wouldn’t have bothered coming to you today.”

Just as Zhang Yu was secretly proud of his choice, she continued: “Because you’re from Artifact Refinement, I’ll make you a slightly better offer.”

“1,000 spirit coins.”

“I’ll give you 1,000 spirit coins…”

Zhang Yu’s heart leapt, then sank. “She wants to pay me 1,000 spirit coins to leave Bai Zhenzhen? Hmph. She really underestimates me. Even for 1,000 spirit coins, I’d never agree—”

But the woman went on: “Within three days, you must go to Heavenly Sword Sect University, live and train together with Bai Zhenzhen. You’ll eat together, practice swordsmanship together every day, and no matter what she does to you, you are forbidden to resist. This will continue for three months.”

As her voice fell, a glowing number—“1,000 spirit coins”—appeared in Zhang Yu’s EyeNet display. He knew that a single nod would transfer the funds straight into his account.

His thoughts wavered.

“1,000 spirit coins, and I get to be with Ah-Zhen for three months… Isn’t that just free money?”

Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!

Voices echoed in his heart, urging him to accept, but he forced them down with reason.

“No. Something’s off about this.”

“Even if I wanted to go, would Wanfa University even approve three months of leave? Would my teachers agree? Who knows what the Seven Sentiments Lord plans once I get to Heavenly Sword? I can’t hand my fate to her.”

He recalled what True Lord Magneto had told him about the old rumors of the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship, and the reports Director Gao had sent him about the Seven Sentiments Lord’s disciples. The memories sobered him, cooling his impulses.

Seeing his restraint, the Seven Sentiments Lord said lightly, “Looks like you’re unwilling to give up your achievements at Wanfa.”

“Fine then. I’ll change the offer.”

Light and shadow shifted again, and a glowing book appeared before his eyes.

Four bold words gleamed across its cover: Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship.

She spoke: “If you agree to cultivate the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship and advance it to Level 10 within three years, then even if you start a Dual Cultivation Department at Wanfa University, even if you invite the Divine Lord Nectar to dual cultivate with you—and throw Bai Zhenzhen in for a triple cultivation—I won’t interfere.”

Zhang Yu was stunned. Those four words seemed to pulse ominously before him, recalling countless headlines—murdered spouses, slaughtered families, madness and ruin.

“If I cultivate this, won’t I turn into a maniac too? That’s not bankruptcy—that’s destroying myself!”

“With my current strength, if I really lost control… who among the people I know could stop me?”

The Seven Sentiments Lord asked coldly, “What’s wrong? You refuse?”

“I don’t have a license,” Zhang Yu replied slowly. “I only hold a Military Civil Engineering License. I can’t register for the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship with that, can I?”

“Then practice it in secret,” she said flatly. “If no one reports you, who cares about licenses? Reach Level 10, and I’ll find a way to get you certified afterward.”

But Zhang Yu’s heart only grew heavier. The crime for unlicensed cultivation was no small matter, and the risk of losing control with such a technique was even greater.

Then the Seven Sentiments Lord’s voice turned cold. “You refuse this and that—enough talk.”

“Take my sword!”

Zhang Yu froze. The next instant, the glowing manual flipped open, pages flashing before his eyes faster than he could blink. Sword forms and emotional pathways seared into his mind in an instant.

The Seven Sentiments Lord laughed softly. “The Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship is now yours. With your martial talent, you’ll soon master its forms. You can’t escape it now—you’re bound to walk this path.”

“Like human emotions themselves—it will grow inside you, take root and spread. You won’t be able to control it.”

Zhang Yu checked his Feathered Tome, flipping through the recorded techniques—but no record of the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship appeared anywhere.

Strange. “If what she transmitted was really the complete Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship, why didn’t the Tome register it? Could it be incomplete?”

The Seven Sentiments Lord’s voice floated in the air. “People call my swordsmanship heretical and immoral, unfit for the world’s ethics.”

“But I alone know that my Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship is the true righteous path—it’s the world that has gone mad.”

Zhang Yu thought grimly, “Whether righteous or evil, this swordsmanship clearly isn’t complete.”

He’d seen this before—techniques that failed to appear in the Tome were usually missing key portions.

“Did she give me an incomplete version on purpose?”

He dared not speak the thought aloud. If she had done it deliberately, exposing her now would only make things worse.

The Seven Sentiments Lord continued: “Since you’ve learned my swordsmanship, I won’t cut off your connection with Bai Zhenzhen anymore.”

“No—more than that. From now on, you must call Bai Zhenzhen every day, at least half an hour. Understood?”

“Ah?” Zhang Yu blurted.

“If you miss a day, that’s one warning. Miss three days in a month, and I’ll expose your illegal cultivation.”

“Trust me—if your résumé ever lists ‘practitioner of Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship,’ that won’t help your reputation. Especially in the Artifact Refinement field.”

“You wouldn’t want True Lord Magneto to find out you’re secretly practicing my swordsmanship, would you?”

Zhang Yu muttered in his heart, “Damn it… you’re blackmailing me, and you still call it a righteous path?”

Then light flickered—and Bai Zhenzhen’s face appeared.

This time, it wasn’t a recording—it was a real-time Spirit Realm projection.

“Yuzi, did you really cultivate the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship?” she asked anxiously.

The Seven Sentiments Lord’s soft laughter followed. “He’s already learned it. I’ve transmitted the full swordsmanship to him.”

Bai Zhenzhen paled, her voice trembling. “Yuzi, is it true? Did you really learn it?”

“I’ve reviewed Zhang Yu’s file,” the Seven Sentiments Lord said, amused. “With his martial aptitude, he must already be at Level 1 of the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship by now.”

“Zhang Yu, how do you feel? Do you feel something rising in your heart? The urge to rush to Heavenly Sword University? Some sword aura stirring inside you?”

Under Bai Zhenzhen’s worried gaze and the Lord’s tempting words, Zhang Yu felt embarrassed to admit that he hadn’t learned a thing.

Yes, sword forms and techniques had flashed before him—but he hadn’t comprehended any of them.

He had his own “Three Don’ts of Cultivation”: never cultivate incomplete techniques, never cultivate techniques the Feathered Tome can’t record, and never cultivate techniques it can’t switch specializations for.

The Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship met all three conditions—it was beneath him to even attempt it.

Bai Zhenzhen bit her lip in frustration. “Yuzi, it’s my fault. I dragged you into this demonic path.”

Scarlet sword aura flared around her as light swirled in her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll accelerate my training. Once I master the swordsmanship, I’ll personally help you purge it from your body.”

Remembering how Zhang Yu had risked himself to exchange Spirit Roots with her, she clenched her fists. “From now on, we shouldn’t contact each other anymore. I’m afraid the more we meet, the faster your swordsmanship will progress—”

“No,” the Seven Sentiments Lord cut her off coldly. “You must not stop. In fact, you’ll meet in the Spirit Realm every single day.”

Her laughter turned eerie and gleeful.

“Yes, every day. I’ll even give you two a private space in the Spirit Realm. You’ll cling to each other—inseparable, entangled, bound by sentiment! Hahaha…”

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