Chapter 337: The Competition Team

No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Hearing Zhang Yu’s question, Zhang Pianpian paused slightly and said, “Who in this world doesn’t need money?”

“I am indeed putting together a sum. Still short a little, but I should be able to scrape it together soon.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself,

Don’t tell me she’s just short 50 spirit coins?

But he couldn’t be sure if the 50 spirit coins that appeared in the Dao Seed’s response were related to Zhang Pianpian’s situation. He couldn’t just bring it up, so he buried the suspicion in his heart for now.

At the same time, he felt that he was running out of spirit coins again.

“Sigh, fusion of spirit and flesh... I better try to figure this out myself first. If I really can’t manage, then I’ll spend the money.”

In the days that followed, Zhang Yu and his trio resumed their usual cycle of study, cultivation, and work, as if nothing had ever happened.

That day, Zhang Yu was once again cultivating the Breathing Technique inside the graveyard.

Thanks to days of intense training, he had completed the seventh technique in the

Mana Pulse Flowing Stream

set and was now working on the eighth: the

Spirit-Infusing Body Tempering Technique

At that moment, his mana flowed smoothly, rich spiritual energy surging through his meridians and gradually diffusing outward, silently tempering his muscles and tendons.

Since this period in the graveyard required extended time for seated meditation and breathing, Zhang Yu had chosen a technique that strengthened the body during cultivation, ensuring he didn’t fall too far behind in his physical training.

But as he moved from the seventh to the eighth technique, he could feel his cultivation efficiency slowing.

And the slowdown wasn’t due to the environment or his physical condition. The Breathing Techniques themselves were simply getting harder.

“But that’s inevitable,” Zhang Yu reflected. “There are only about a dozen techniques in the

Mana Pulse Flowing Stream

set. I’ve already mastered the easier ones. What’s left is all complex stuff. Just running through one full cycle takes a big chunk of time.”

“At this rate, even for me, it’ll take half a month, maybe even a full month, just to level a technique to 20.”

Zhang Yu knew that if anyone overheard this complaint, they’d probably want to beat him up.

But for someone like him—who had grown used to skyrocketing through cultivation levels—a full month just to max one technique felt painfully slow.

Eventually, as the medicinal power from his last dose wore off, Zhang Yu wrapped up his cultivation and checked the backlog of messages in his EyeNet.

First, he responded to a few messages in the dorm’s pill-sharing group, then skimmed through some class group assignments.

Then came the usual spam and chaos.

In a forgecrafting group he’d been added to by Ye Xingli from the Artifact Refinement Department, two cliques were hotly debating whether the Vajra Forge or the Tech Artisan Law Husk brand made better leg-tendon husks.

In the hometown group for Songyang locals, tragedy had struck again. A student from the Water Province Demon-Kin Vocational Academy had collapsed from cardiac arrest after chronically skipping medicine and pushing through sleepless nights. Now, he was begging for money in the group chat to buy a stamina capsule so he could keep pulling all-nighters safely.

Chu Qiuhe from Vajra University:

No borrowing money in this group. One warning. Next time, you’re out.

Xiong Wenwu from Demon-Beast University:

Come on, we’re all from the same hometown. He just wants to borrow a bit to stay awake. No need to be so harsh.

Chu Qiuhe:

If you’re broke, go to sleep.

Then a demon-kin student jumped in: “You tell him to sleep every day in college, you might as well tell him to die. He’s a student—he just doesn’t want to sleep. He wants to study harder. What’s wrong with that?”

Chu Qiuhe:

How do we know it’s not a scam? If he can’t even afford to stay up late, why’s he cultivating immortality in the first place?

Zhang Yu skimmed the argument and moved on to the next set of messages.

Then he saw a new message from Cong Na from the competition team.

Cong Na:

Everyone else on the team agreed. I’m sending you the competition materials and adding you to the group chat.

Zhang Yu accepted the materials, gave them a quick glance, and joined the group.

Zhang Yu:

Hello everyone, I’m new here. I hope the upperclassmen will look after me.

Cong Na:

Welcome.

Ma Xuan:

Welcome aboard.

Aside from those two, no one else greeted him. Their messages were quickly drowned out by an ongoing rapid-fire discussion between three other group members, passionately debating Dao Techniques like no one else was present.

Zhang Yu glanced at the profiles of the five others in the group.

Besides Cong Na, who was marked as fifth in class, the rest not only listed class ranks but also full-department rankings.

Ma Xuan was ranked 35th in the Civil Engineering Department. The other three were all in the 40s or 50s.

With six people total, this was clearly a full competition team.

He also noticed none of them were above fifth year.

That meant these students had broken into the top 50 of their department while still in lower years—clearly the elite of the Civil Engineering Department.

“No wonder no one responded,” Zhang Yu thought. “Honestly, just ignoring a low-ranked student like me is already considered polite.”

At that moment, a student named Bu Ziran posted a short video showcasing a freshly unboxed lung Law Husk.

Bu Ziran:

The newest lung-type Law Husk from Vajra Forge. Breathing with it builds and condenses Metallic Sword Aura in the lungs.

Bu Ziran:

Subscribe to Vajra Forge’s monthly plan, and you can switch between 23 types of Sword Aura.

Bu Ziran:

Got this for just 18.88 spirit coins.

Zhang Yu almost blurted out “That’s crazy expensive!” when another student, Yang Yan, replied:

Yang Yan:

That’s cheap! You got a discount?

Bu Ziran:

My uncle works at Vajra Forge. Got the internal price.

As the chat devolved into discussions of Law Husks, potions, Dao Techniques, and magical artifacts, Zhang Yu recalled the

flour brick

he’d fought tooth and nail to grab not long ago. He felt even more out of place in this group—completely unable to join these conversations.

Seeing these fourth- and fifth-years not even cracking the department’s top 20, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly: “That old fart Xinghuo Zhenren… telling me to transfer to the Artifact Refinement Department

after

getting into Civil Engineering. Does he have any idea how hard it is to change departments in college nowadays?”

“To do it by the end of third year, I’d have to break into the top 20 of the entire department... that’s rough.”

He knew that to surpass older students in overall score while still in a lower year, one had to start studying advanced coursework early.

Which meant insane talent—and insane money.

Ji Yuanshu, a classmate of his, was one such prodigy aiming for a department switch.

Over time, Zhang Yu had figured out the usual game plan for these so-called department-switching prodigies:

“Year 1 and 2—build a solid foundation, push base stats to the Foundation Establishment peak.”

“Year 3—begin studying upperclass content early. Use the Spiritual Realm to accelerate progress and finish tons of high-level courses ahead of schedule. Pass the exams.”

“Then, use the third year to build up tons of composite scores and shoot into the department top 50. Only then can you transfer.”

“And for Civil Engineering to Artifact Refinement? You’d need top 20 at least.”

“Old Xinghuo’s probably been away from college too long.”

“And my sister just thinks, well, worst case, I can switch during grad school.”

“But...” Zhang Yu’s eyes hardened with resolve. “I’m getting into one of the Ten Major Sects. I don’t have time. I have to make it in—before they close off recruitment.”

“And the Ten Major Sects don’t accept Civil Engineering students.”

“I

must

get into Artifact Refinement sooner. I have to start learning their Techniques earlier.”

“Waiting until grad school to switch... is far too slow.”

Looking again at the rankings of Ma Xuan and the others, the pressure built in Zhang Yu’s chest. He returned to his cultivation with urgency.

But with the last dose’s effects worn off, his breathing efficiency had dropped.

He decided to take this window of time—before his next dose—to attempt Spirit-Flesh Fusion.

“According to Teacher Feng Jiu in the Dao Heart class, running the Heart Technique 24/7 is just the beginning.”

“Above that is the semi-instinctual level.”

“Beyond that lies true instinct—the realm of Spirit-Flesh Fusion.”

He recalled that time on the first floor, when the building collapsed and he was buried alive. He had fallen into a false-death state.

“To the outside world, I was unconscious. But deep down, I clung to a final sliver of will to survive.”

“I wasn’t thinking. I wasn’t feeling. Just... keeping my body alive, somehow.”

“That razor-thin clarity... that’s about the level of semi-instinct.”

“But true Spirit-Flesh Fusion is where even if you’re totally unconscious, the Heart Technique keeps running—like breathing.”

He tried activating the

Endless Spring and Autumn Meditation

’s deathlike state, clearing his thoughts again and again.

But no matter how hard he tried, there was always one last thought remaining—his final wisp of awareness.

“As expected, it’s hard,” Zhang Yu muttered inwardly. “Keeping a Technique running even while unconscious... that’s inhuman.”

From that day on, he practiced Spirit-Flesh Fusion every time he had a spare moment during cultivation.

Though he never succeeded, he felt the flow of his Heart Technique becoming just a little smoother each time.

Especially when slipping into that near-death mindscape—he was getting faster and faster at it.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, June had arrived.

It had been over a month since he first joined the graveyard project.

During that month, Director Wang’s early support had helped. Even after the funding dried up, the daily

Tiger-and-Wolf Tonics

and the graveyard’s unique environment had allowed him to make major breakthroughs in mana.

His mana now surged to a total of 661.3.

Though his mana quality gains slowed as the numbers rose, it still reached 168%.

His Dao Heart continued its steady growth under the constant operation of his Heart Technique, hitting Level 14 (64.8%).

His body, however, had lagged behind due to his focus on Breathing Techniques, only reaching Strength Level 15.18.

Meanwhile, his Martial Qi conduction rate and max transmission range had also increased steadily, now sitting at 42% and 44 meters respectively.

That day, Ma Xuan contacted him again—inviting him to join the competition team’s synergy training.