Chapter 324: Project Selection

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Inside the cafeteria, the sound of Zhang Yu devouring his meal echoed throughout the space.

With every thunderous rumble from his gut, it sounded like lightning striking from within his stomach. He grabbed his rice bowl, tipped his head back, and inhaled—the entire bowl of rice vanished into his gullet, visibly sliding from his bulging throat down to his chest, and finally into his stomach.

Then, with another open-mouthed exhale, streams of Martial Qi surged forth like a foggy mist, sweeping up over half a plate of Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gallbladder into his mouth.

With resounding

crunch-crunch-crunch

sounds, Zhang Yu’s steel teeth bit down, and chunks of the exotic delicacies burst in his mouth. The rich aroma of meat, laced with strange oils, danced across his tongue, making his eyebrows twitch in bliss.

Bite after bite of rice and meat, Zhang Yu could feel the food transforming into waves of vital essence, rushing madly through his body. His muscles, organs, and bones drank it in with ravenous greed.

Beside him, Gongshu Jin mused inwardly, “This guy… his digestion is this strong?”

“But the moment he opened his mouth, he ordered three more bowls of Heavenly Essence Rice and three more plates of Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gallbladder… isn’t that too much? Doesn’t he worry about exploding?”

Meanwhile, the others in the cafeteria were eyeing Zhang Yu, who was wolfing down meat and rice, with amused glances.

On EyeNet, private chats were flying.

“Hah, three more bowls of rice and three more plates of meat? That’s five bowls of Heavenly Essence Rice and three plates of Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gallbladder total… this guy’s overplaying it. Let’s see how he wraps this up.”

“Is he just stuffing it all in to puke it out later?”

“Heavenly Essence Rice is highly compressed food essence. If you don’t digest it in time, it’ll congeal. Then, the only way to get it out is with a scalpel.”

At the same time, Ye Xingli glanced at Mo Shangjin and said, “Your junior is quite the character. How much do you think he can eat?”

Mo Shangjin gave a helpless smile. He didn’t know Zhang Yu well at all—he’d just brought the guy along as a new member of the faction to introduce him to the crowd.

He never expected Zhang Yu to show up and immediately flaunt his appetite like this.

Still, as a fellow faction member, Mo Shangjin didn’t plan to undermine him. He casually replied, “My junior has a unique physique, but I’ve never seen him eat like this before.”

Everyone watched Zhang Yu devour his meal like a storm sweeping through a forest.

By the time he’d finished three bowls of rice and one plate of meat, those around him were visibly surprised.

At four bowls of rice and two plates of meat, even Mo Shangjin, Ye Xingli, and Cang Lanyu showed signs of astonishment. Several students began recording with their Law Husks.

By the time Zhang Yu polished off five bowls and three plates, his body felt like a high-pressure cooker, with an intense flood of food essence surging through his system.

It was too much. His entire body felt like a field drowned by a flood, unable to absorb all the vital essence anymore.

He could tell that today’s meal replenished him more than an entire month of cultivation. Not only had all deficiencies been filled, but a vast surplus of essence remained to be slowly absorbed in the days to come.

Rubbing his belly, Zhang Yu said with satisfaction, “Ah… that hit the spot. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten this well.”

At the same time, a hint of confusion stirred in his heart: “This Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gallbladder taste amazing, but… why doesn’t it feel special? Don’t tell me it’s fake?”

Fu Ji chimed in, “Of course it’s farmed. This is a buffet—we’re talking about fast-grown meat dragons and meat phoenixes. No intelligence, no cultivation. It’s just great for boosting blood and Qi. You expecting it to grant enlightenment or something?”

Beside them, Gongshu Jin stared wide-eyed at the empty plates in front of Zhang Yu, even more shaken than he had been when he saw Zhang Yu in the gravity simulator.

“One bowl of Heavenly Essence Rice and one plate of Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gallbladder is already my limit.”

“But Zhang Yu can eat this much?!”

“Does he train his digestion daily? Has he cultivated a digestion-boosting technique? Or is it his physique?”

“No doubt—he’s my friend.”

Gongshu Jin knew that while training played a role, digestion was heavily influenced by genetics. Some people were simply born with a stronger appetite.

And at this moment, he realized he still knew far too little about Zhang Yu.

On the other side, Ye Xingli looked at Zhang Yu with admiration. “You’ve got the appetite of a rich man.”

“If you can eat like this as a freshman, there’s no way your future rank will be low. You’ll definitely be rich someday.”

“Old Mo, your Civil Engineering Department really raised a monster.”

Mo Shangjin gave a small smile. “If it weren’t for you, Xingli, giving him this chance, I wouldn’t have known he had such a monstrous appetite.”

Zhang Yu patted his stomach and said, “Senior Mo is right. I normally don’t get to eat like this. I owe it all to Senior Ye. I just hope every month you succeed in refining artifacts again.”

Ye Xingli chuckled. “It’s just food. Add me as a friend—next time I host a banquet, I’ll invite you again.”

She then sighed, “But refining artifacts isn’t easy. It might be a year or two before the next one.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself,

Figures. Even the scraps that fall from the mouths of the rich are enough to feed a poor guy like me full.

The following few hours were a delightful blur of mutual respect and shared food. Many students began approaching Zhang Yu proactively. Besides Mo Shangjin, Ye Xingli, and Cang Lanyu, he also made several new friends and got added to a bunch of groups.

…

In a 100-square-meter unit on the 450th floor.

Ji Yuanshu’s eyes flickered as he noticed a notification from the fate-monitoring system.

Just now, Zhang Yu’s fate index had slightly increased.

Ji Yuanshu traced the source of this small shift in fate and saw a video a student had uploaded—just a recording of Zhang Yu eating non-stop.

No storyline, no narration. It had barely any views.

If not for the fate-monitoring system, Ji Yuanshu would never have seen it.

“Astonishing appetite?”

“But in the end, it’s just a tiny boost.”

…

On the way back, Zhang Yu felt the immense vitality coursing through his entire body. He figured he could pop pills and work overtime for three months straight without needing rest.

“Well, time to head to the construction site to cultivate.”

Zhang Yu began reviewing the available project listings and found himself hesitating.

“Pleasure and Harmony University’s amusement park is pretty nice, but the start date is too far off…”

“The Pleasure and Harmony Amusement Park is good too, but it’s too far away. I’d miss out on cultivating Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan.”

“Also, the local cost of living is probably way too high…”

Fu Ji couldn’t help but interject, “You little punk… all you’re thinking about is going to an amusement park? Have you even thought about why that’s labeled a high-risk project? You think you can handle that?”

Zhang Yu muttered to himself,

If only I had the Pleasure Saint Body.

After a moment of indecision, Zhang Yu decided to ask his sister for advice.

A moment later, Zhang Pianpian replied:

Go work on the tomb project on the tenth underground level.

She explained:

The tomb is built on a spirit vein node, rich with dense spiritual essence—so thick it’s practically tangible. It’s perfect for you to cultivate your Breathing Technique, boost mana quality, nourish your body, and fortify your foundation.

Zhang Yu blinked. “There’s room to build tombs in University City? That’s some prime real estate.”

Zhang Pianpian answered:

The tomb is for the poor. Only poor people lose ownership of their bodies after death.

Their corpses are placed in the tomb and used as Breathing Corpses.

Every moment, University City consumes vast amounts of low-grade mana. A large portion of it is generated by the Breathing Corpse clusters in the tomb.

Zhang Yu suddenly realized—no wonder low-grade mana was dirt-cheap on the mana-trading platform.

It turned out that beneath University City, countless corpses were rhythmically absorbing and expelling spiritual essence to mass-produce mana.

He asked: “So poor people’s corpses go to the tomb. What about the rich?”

Zhang Pianpian:

The rich die twice.

The first death is physical. But as long as they’re wealthy, their souls can migrate to the Spiritual Realm. Their bodies remain their property, so they’re not sent to the tomb.

The second death is financial—when their wealth runs out.

The longer a soul exists, the more expensive it becomes to maintain in the Spiritual Realm. Once the money’s gone, they die for real.

Zhang Yu: “So the tomb still ends up with…”

He stopped himself. If a rich man’s corpse was sent to the tomb, that meant he’d already become poor.

“So the tomb only holds the poor…”

Zhang Yu shook his head, marveling at the brutal logic. He reviewed the tomb project details and found it indeed suitable.

Especially since he needed to practice his Breathing Technique to complete the Mana Pulse Flowing Stream set.

“This way, I can also stay in University City and continue nurturing the Dao Seeds in Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan.”

“Two weeks until the project starts. Timing works out.”

He checked the project’s eligibility—top ten students in the Foundation Establishment Class could apply.

Zhang Yu thought he might as well drag Yu Xinghan along too.

…

Feeling the robust foundation and surging energy within him, Zhang Yu spent the next two weeks resuming his cultivation with life-shortening pills.

Only this time, he was footing the bill.

As the Berserk Bloodburst Pill, Life-Leeching Heaven Scour Powder, Hundred-Trials Heart-Eating Parasite, and Lifespan-Debt Insight Powder went down one after the other, that familiar rush returned.

“Oh yeah! Now this is cultivation!”

But with the pills, daily expenses, and various services piling up, his Spirit Coins quickly dipped below 7.

Finally, with the completion of the 666th floor, Zhang Yu moved into the new construction site on the 667th floor of University City.

He sat cross-legged, layers of white Martial Qi appearing over his body, expanding and contracting with each breath.

While practicing his Breathing Technique, waves of Formless Cloud Qi surged from him, spiraling several meters away and slotting rebars into place.

“Sure, it’s a bit slower,” Zhang Yu thought, “but using Martial Qi like this lets me focus on my Breathing Technique.”

“And from here on out, my training is all about the Breathing Technique.”

As days passed, Zhang Yu pushed his

External Circulation Breathing Technique

to level 20—just in time for the tomb project to begin.