No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

The Nascent Soul disciple, body merged with sword, soared across the sky, tearing through the air. With sheer flesh and blood, he crushed all of Bai Zhenzhen’s attacks.

Yet the greater her disadvantage, the stronger Bai Zhenzhen’s tenacity became.

Watching her sword momentum grow fiercer, Wen Wuya thought to himself, “Zhenzhen’s Divine Spirit Root suits swordsmanship perfectly. It not only conceals her presence but also hides her sword itself. Against weaker opponents, she can cut them down in one or two exchanges.”

“And when she faces someone on par with her, the longer the battle drags on, the stronger her fighting spirit burns. Her Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship manifests perfectly in such moments, often allowing her to exceed her limits and win.”

“If she meets someone stronger…”

Looking at the Nascent Soul disciple from Whitebone University, Wen Wuya knew this was exactly that situation.

“When she’s outmatched, the negative emotions in her heart begin to accumulate, and the power of her Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship skyrockets.”

“If she remembers Zhang Yu, and their promise, that power will surge even higher.”

“So the stronger her opponent, the greater her rise in battle.”

The more Wen Wuya thought about it, the more she felt that this battle style—or rather, the Extreme Sentiment Swordsmanship itself—was downright unreasonable.She would rather fight a stronger foe than face Bai Zhenzhen.

After all, the strength of an opponent could be measured.

But Bai Zhenzhen’s erratic, emotion-driven combat made her utterly unpredictable.

Wen Wuya mused, “If she suddenly paused mid-battle to chat with Zhang Yu, who knows how much her power would spike again?”

As she pondered, the tide of battle suddenly turned. Bursts of blood mist erupted from the Nascent Soul disciple as Bai Zhenzhen’s sword shattered his protective sword aura.

“She won,” Wen Wuya murmured. “Looks like Zhenzhen might make the top ten this year.”

But just as victory was declared, the situation changed abruptly.

Crimson sword light pierced through the Nascent Soul disciple’s body, cutting him to pieces.

Wen Wuya froze. “Zhenzhen got too excited… lost control?”

Either way, she knew this would cause trouble.

With the opponent’s death, arguments over compensation flared between Heavenly Sword University and Whitebone University.

Before long, seven-colored sword light and white divine radiance clashed in the skies.

Wen Wuya gasped. “The Seven Sentiments Lord and White Lotus Lord are both here?!”

She knew that the White Lotus Lord was the master of the slain Nascent Soul disciple.

Their confrontation was like the lighting of a fuse.

Days later, Pleasure and Harmony University accused Myriad Law University of cheating in the Treasure Battle. Soon, the Divine Lord Wanhuan and Divine Lord Nectar clashed.

As the Ten League tournaments continued, more Divine Lords appeared. Each brief duel shook the world.

Over the following month, stock prices fluctuated wildly, currencies crashed, prices soared, companies went bankrupt, and unemployment surged…

Only then did countless cultivators realize that a financial crisis—a great tribulation—had already begun, silently.

…

Outside the arena, inside Myriad Law University’s temporary cave-dwelling.

Ye Xingli was filming her legs.

She hadn’t been this diligent before.

But as one Nascent Soul after another fought, the stock market plunged, shrinking her assets. Her combat power and tournament performance both suffered.

She had to shoot more videos between matches just to make ends meet.

Zhang Yu: Senior Sister, how are things? Are you okay?

Ye Xingli was about to reply when she remembered she hadn’t activated the Poor People Simulator. She opened it immediately.

Poor People Simulator: User hesitates how to respond to Zhang Yu’s question… seems she’s still immersed in the fun of playing a poor person, trying to boost his affection further.

Poor People Simulator: Considering the current financial crisis, a “poor person” should respond with useless concern, empty comfort, and worthless mutual encouragement, displaying the incompetence and foolishness of the poor.

Poor People Simulator: “Junior Brother, I’m fine.”

Poor People Simulator: “How about you?”

Ye Xingli: This financial crisis might not end soon. Be careful.

Ye Xingli: If anything happens, come to me anytime.

Zhang Yu: Got it, Senior Sister. You be careful too.

Feeling her genuine concern, Zhang Yu felt a flicker of warmth. Compared to True Lord Magneto, this senior sister seemed far more humane.

“Too bad she doesn’t know much about the Nascent Soul conflicts—or about Ah-Zhen’s situation.”

“Nascent Souls…”

Even from a few clashes between them, Zhang Yu sensed their terrifying destructive power. Stock crashes, currency collapse, inflation… this was no mere financial storm.

And he was feeling it personally—his company couldn’t collect payments or get new projects.

Then Wen Wuya’s 10-spirit-coin subscription was paused. His sister Zhang Pianpian’s loan repayment too.

Wen Wuya: Sorry. I don’t know how long this storm will last. Let’s pause the subscription for now.

Zhang Pianpian: I’m suspending payments. I need my spirit coins to get through this. Be careful and don’t spend unnecessarily.

Then, even True Lord Magneto and Director Gao’s company reimbursements of 30 coins per month were halted.

One by one, Zhang Yu’s income sources vanished, leaving only the 40 coins from the Nascent Soul Laboratory.

“Good thing that project’s tied to Nascent Soul Law Husks—it hasn’t been affected much.”

He couldn’t help but feel relieved.

“But how long will this financial storm last? Until the Ten Leagues end? That’s two months!”

He couldn’t imagine the devastation Myriad Law University would face if this continued.

Fu Ji sighed. “I’m afraid it’s not just a financial storm.”

“The last one happened when the Divine Lord Nectar’s faction collapsed.”

“This time, it’s multiple Nascent Soul Lords fighting.”

“If their clashes escalate, they’ll reforge Heaven and Earth’s geomancy—Heaven will fall, Earth will crack.”

Zhang Yu asked, “Reforge Heaven and Earth’s geomancy?”

Fu Ji explained, “When ordinary cultivators fight, they channel their mana from their dantian throughout their body, right?”

“For Nascent Soul cultivators, it’s the same—but their ‘mana’ is what?”

“It’s stocks, corporations, countless assets and employees, and the spirit coins in your accounts.”

“Every time they clash, public confidence shakes.”

“With both the stock and currency markets collapsing, we get a financial storm. People go bankrupt, explode, die, and their souls are dragged into the Spiritual Realm. That’s the Wind Disaster.”

…

In the streets below, beams of divine light rained down, disintegrating the bodies of bankrupt debtors, dragging their souls into the deep Spiritual Realm.

Across the Spiritual Realm Network came alerts:

【Storm Warning】Urgent! The financial storm triggered by the Ten League Nascent Soul clashes is rated at magnitude 1.8. Small-scale debt recovery phenomena expected in your region. Avoid crowds, limit travel, and secure your assets. Beware of rumors. — Myriad Law University

…

Fu Ji continued, “The Water Disaster is unemployment. As Nascent Soul cultivators marshal their power, resources concentrate around them. Projects stall, companies fail, layoffs surge.”

“When unemployment spikes, poverty rises, countless cultivators fall off the Immortal Path, and their cultivation plummets.”

…

At the 670th floor construction site—

A flood of powerful graduates rushed in, fighting for temporary jobs.

Xiao Qingxuan was stunned. “Why are so many people here for labor work?”

Even senior alumni with their own construction crews were now competing for odd jobs.

Watching wages plummet, Xiao Qingxuan almost gave up—but remembering his “graduate-to-unemployed” status, he clenched his teeth, kept applying, and waited by the site gate, desperate for work.

“Our batch really drew the short straw… this is the hardest graduation season ever.”

…

Fu Ji sighed again. “Then comes the Earth Disaster. Spirit Veins are drained by the Nascent Souls’ battles. Construction projects halt, arrays go unmaintained, spiritual energy supply dwindles.”

“Areas with stable supply see rent skyrocket, while everywhere else faces a mana drought.”

…

Ji Yuanshu left his dorm with his backpack.

Because rent spiked overnight, he had to move out.

Feeling the thinning aura in the air, he headed underground.

He planned to sneak into Huilongyuan under the guise of ‘visiting graves,’ to leech off its Spirit Vein.

On the way, he met Li Xiao. They went together—only to find an endless line already at the gate.

…

Fu Ji concluded, “And finally comes the Fire Disaster.”

“As more people go bankrupt, impoverished, and mana-starved, order collapses. Countless Righteous Gods are mobilized to maintain control.”

“They also have to handle rising debt reclamations, stretching the Divine Power Network thin.”

“Crime rates soar. Fights, riots, conflicts erupt everywhere.”

“The Black Agricultural Underworld, Dark Mana Sects, the Dual Cultivation Cult, the Feathered Sect, the Unemployed Cult… all rise like wildfire, burning across the world.”

Listening to Fu Ji, Zhang Yu could almost see the Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire Disasters erupting together—interlinked and feeding one another, plunging the world into chaos.

“This…” Zhang Yu murmured. “It can’t really get that bad, can it?”

Fu Ji replied, “If the Nascent Souls go all out, it can.”

“But that’s unlikely—they’d risk their own ruin.”

“The world’s direction ultimately depends on the collective will of the high-ranking cultivators. They won’t fight to bankruptcy.”

“So all we can do is hide, stay quiet, and hope to survive this calamity.”

“Fortunately, you don’t owe much, and your 40-coin income should see you through.”

“In short—hold onto your spirit coins. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”