Chapter 1: The Interview
“Are you there yet?”
“Don’t be nervous. With grades like yours, you’ll definitely make it.”
“Don’t worry about the surgery fee. Mom found a new part-time job and will definitely scrape it together for you. Just focus on your interview.”
Looking at the messages from his mother on the screen, Zhang Yu silently put his phone away, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, waiting quietly.
A long while later, a voice called out from ahead.
“Candidate 989, Zhang Yu.”
Zhang Yu stood up and walked into the interview room.
He looked at the three interviewers and offered a polite smile he had long practiced.
“Good day to you three. I am Zhang Yu from Dongyang Junior High School.”
The interviewer in the middle regarded him and said flatly, “Why do you want to apply to our school?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Your school’s long history, profound foundation, and rich educational resources have consistently cultivated many outstanding talents for society…”
The interviewer frowned, cutting him off. “Spare me the formalities.”
Zhang Yu answered honestly, “I want to get into a prestigious university, and of all the schools I can apply to, Songyang High School has the highest university acceptance rate.”
The interviewer smiled slightly, looking down at the documents in his hand.
“Hmm, perfect scores in all subjects, first in the entire school? No wonder you were recommended to us.”
“There’s no issue with your grades, but if you want to enter Songyang High School, exam scores from your school are far from enough.”
He thought for a moment, then asked casually, “How long do you sleep each day?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Five hours.”
The interviewer was surprised. “Five hours?”
“Students at our school, starting from elementary school, sleep no more than two hours a day on average. And the top graduates throughout the years basically don’t sleep at all.”
“You actually sleep five hours a day? That means you study three hours less than others every day. Over nine years, that’s a difference of nearly ten thousand hours…”
Zhang Yu was slightly stunned. He had thought himself exceedingly diligent, yet he never expected such a vast gap in effort between himself and others. He knew that students in Songyang City started elementary school at age nine and entered high school nine years later at eighteen, but he hadn’t expected that within the same nine years, the gap between people could be so vast.
Zhang Yu quickly said, “I will work hard to catch up to them.”
The interviewer on the left asked, “How much of the high school curriculum have you covered?”
Zhang Yu composed himself slightly and said with confidence, “I’ve already self-studied the entire first-year curriculum.”
The man’s brow furrowed. “Only the first year? Don’t you know that we assume all our students have already finished the entire high school curriculum before they even attend?”
Zhang Yu was dumbstruck by this revelation. This was yet another piece of information he was unaware of. What he thought was his advantage had turned into a disadvantage in an instant.
Just as he was at a loss, the middle interviewer posed the next question.
“In order to improve academic efficiency and prevent puppy love, our school requires all students to undergo a sterilization procedure to have the relevant organs removed before enrollment, so they may focus on their cultivation.”
“Were you aware of this?”
Finally hearing something he knew, he hastily replied, “My family is already preparing for it. I will definitely complete the sterilization surgery before the school year begins and maintain my hormone levels at the most optimal state for studying.”
The interviewer nodded noncommittally. “Alright, that’s all for today’s interview. You may leave.”
Zhang Yu walked out of the classroom, feeling anxious. It seemed to him that his interview was shorter than those of the other students.
After he left, the middle interviewer shook his head. “Still not sterilized in junior high. This child’s devotion to the Dao is insufficient.”
The female interviewer beside him chuckled. “It seems to me he came here knowing nothing. He has none of the required test reports or extracurricular exam scores. I can only say the quality of recommended students from these ordinary junior highs is getting worse year by year. If not for the support policies, they wouldn’t even be qualified to see us.”
The middle interviewer nodded. “Sigh, I thought the poor would be more diligent. Perhaps my expectations for them were too high.”
“Let’s put this one on the reserve list for now.”
With that, he tossed Zhang Yu’s resume into the wastebasket to the side, where it was crammed together with several hundred other reserve resumes.
Although Zhang Yu felt his interview had not gone well, he had no extra time to dwell on it. He was already preparing for one interview after another, visiting one high school after another.
“Student Zhang Yu, we understand that your family’s financial situation may not be sufficient to cover the tuition here. However, we do offer favorable loan services for students from poor families, as long as you’re willing to mortgage some of your non-essential organs…”
“Rest assured, you haven’t come to the wrong place. We know you are male, and while our school is an all-girls institution, we never discriminate against men. As long as you complete gender reassignment surgery, not only will you be able to enroll, but you will also be considered a promising student with a resolute Dao heart, with the opportunity to enter the key class to study the Primordial Yin Qi Refining Art…”
“It’s a pity, you’re still just a little short of our admission standard. However, to accommodate students from poor families this year, we have introduced a policy for students with special talents. If you are willing to abandon your physical body, you can enroll as a specialized soul cultivator and study within the principal’s Ten Thousand Souls Banner…”
“My friend, you’ve come to the right place. This is the most suitable high school for a civilian prodigies like you.
Let me introduce you to the benefits here. We add intellect-enhancement agents to the drinking water to ensure students maintain a state of level-five focus at all times.
Every day, your class advisor will distribute over 900 grams of supplements specialized for ox demon physique to ensure your cultivation is more than ten times as effective as before.
Even the air circulation system is filled with neuro-stimulants, so you will never need to sleep again. And all of this is completely free.
Of course, to withstand these performance-enhancing supplements, you must undergo modification at our designated hospital.
Don’t worry, it just involves implanting a few small magical artifacts to boost your metabolic capacity. Here is the specific price list…”
Interview after interview, question after question.
Either the threshold was so high as to be utterly hopeless, or the contracts were so riddled with traps that he felt he would be swallowed whole.
All of this made Zhang Yu feel like he was being crushed.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that, despite being first in his entire school at a suburban junior high, he was already worlds apart from the students in the city center.
Even now, he had only seen the tip of the iceberg regarding the true extent of the gap between them.
All his years of diligent study seemed to have become a joke.
In the end, there was no difference between him and his classmates who had slacked off; he, too, would be unable to attend high school.
Returning home, Zhang Yu sat in silence like a stone statue.
The phone on the table began to vibrate repeatedly.
Mom: How was the interview this time?
Mom: I have to work overtime today. Remember to heat up the food in the fridge for yourself.
A moment later, the phone vibrated again.
Mom: Son, don’t you worry. Whether you choose sterilization or gender reassignment, Mom will definitely get the money for the surgery.
But Zhang Yu did not look at the vibrating phone. He just stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to think about his future, yet his mind felt completely empty, unable to squeeze out a single thought.
Just then, the phone began to vibrate violently again.
Zhang Yu initially wanted to ignore it, but after the phone had been vibrating for a full minute, he finally couldn’t resist picking it up, only to find that the caller had already hung up.
Then, he received a text message from them: Your 5,000 reserve fund is ready and can be in your account in just ten seconds…
A loan advertisement?
“Hmph.”
Zhang Yu figured one of the schools must have sold his interview information.
But after putting the phone down for a moment, he picked it up again and reopened the message.
…
That night, when his mother returned from working overtime, she found that the ashen-faced Zhang Yu seemed to have recovered, sitting upright at the desk and reading a book.
“Mom, don’t worry, I won’t be defeated this easily.”
“If I can’t make it this year, I’ll try again next year. I will definitely cultivate.”
“I’ll go look for a tutoring class tomorrow. I’m going to make up for everything I’m lacking, one by one.”
Early the next morning, Zhang Yu rushed out, returning that evening with a joyful expression.
“Mom, I found an Immortal Dao tutoring class! The teachers there are all from key high schools. Studying with them, I’ll definitely be able to get into high school.”
“You don’t have to worry about the tuition. They saw that my grades have always been good and knew my family isn’t well-off, so they waived the fee for now. As long as I can get into Songyang High School next year, I won’t have to pay it back. It’ll just be like advertising for them.”
“Don’t you worry, they’re a big company. They wouldn’t lie.”
His mother watched as Zhang Yu left for his tutoring class before dawn each day and returned late at night, only to study until two or three in the morning.
Watching him bring back second- and third-year textbooks for language, math, physics, and more, seeing his intention to master all the general education courses of high school besides the Immortal Dao, she felt gratified by her son’s drive.
But when she saw the boxes of medicine he brought back, a trace of doubt still rose in her heart.
Zhang Yu explained with a smile, “Mom, growing up, I’ve already studied ten thousand hours less than those top students. If I don’t work harder, I’ll only fall further and further behind them.”
“These neuro-stimulants will let me get by on just half an hour of sleep a day and increase my study efficiency, so at least I won’t lose any more ground to the students in the city.”
“Don’t worry, this medicine doesn’t cost anything.”
“The principal of my tutoring class thinks very highly of me. He gave me all of this.”
Hearing that the principal had given them to him, his mother was even happier that her son was so appreciated.
Soon, Zhang Yu began bringing more things home.
Besides various high school textbooks and neuro-stimulants, there were also capsules to regulate hormone levels, supplements meant for demonic beasts, and bottle after bottle of unpackaged medicinal powders.
Zhang Yu had many explanations—sometimes he said they were cheap goods he bought with money from a part-time job, sometimes that a classmate gave them to him, and other times that they were rewards from the tutoring class…
His mother was happy for her son’s diligence, and even more pleased by his good relationships and excellent performance at the tutoring class.
She transferred 1,000 yuan to Zhang Yu, reminding him to thank his classmates and teachers.
Gradually, however, she noticed that Zhang Yu’s moods began to turn erratic. Sometimes he would leave the house happy in the morning, only to come back in the evening without a word and go straight to bed.
Sometimes he would be eating happily, but then answer a phone call and his brow would furrow, unable to eat another bite.
She knew the pressure of cultivation must be immense, leaving Zhang Yu’s nerves tightly wound.
All she could do was buy more of his favorite foods and save up more money for his tuition, hoping only to alleviate some of his stress.
Slowly, she also discovered that Zhang Yu was particularly protective of his phone. Not only was it almost always on his person, but he wouldn’t let anyone touch it. When a call came, he would always go into the bathroom and close the door to answer it.
Once, when she saw his phone was out of battery and took it to charge, Zhang Yu had even scolded her angrily.
Understanding the immense pressure he was under, she never dared to touch his phone again, fearing she might disrupt her son’s cultivation.
Then one day, Zhang Yu asked her for a tutoring fee, saying the class had invited a senior who had been accepted into a top university to give a lecture, and this was the fee for the senior.
Then it was a recommendation fee for the high school admissions teacher.
A spiritual root assessment fee for the hospital.
And he also needed to purchase a civilian-grade children’s flying sword with his classmates from the tutoring center.
From two or three thousand to seven or eight thousand… the last time, he had her transfer twenty thousand yuan directly, which Zhang Yu said was the rental fee for a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
But good news finally arrived: Zhang Yu had successfully been accepted into Songyang High School.
His mother was overjoyed, feeling proud of her son’s hard work and talent. She readily agreed to all of Zhang Yu’s subsequent requests for tuition, miscellaneous fees, pharmaceutical costs, and so on.
But after school started, Zhang Yu began asking for more and more money, and the family’s finances gradually became unable to cover the expenses.
Finally, one afternoon, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, his mother’s heart trembled.
“Hello? Is this Zhang Yu’s mother?”
“Are you aware that your son’s loan has been overdue for 30 days…”
That night, Zhang Yu confessed everything to his mother.
All this time, the various expenses for his studies were not free, appreciated, or gifted as he had claimed… all the money had come from loans he had taken out from various platforms.
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
“But I really want to cultivate.”
“Even if I’m in debt for a lifetime and can never pay it back, I want to cultivate…”
After hearing everything, his mother silently sold all the valuables in their home and then took out another loan to pay off Zhang Yu’s debts.
She thought that her son would be able to focus on his cultivation from then on.
But she soon discovered new overdue loans under her son’s name.
Repay… borrow… repay… borrow…
His mother finally couldn’t help but urge Zhang Yu to spend less money.
“Mom, I can’t stop this medicine. If I do, my Dao heart will regress, and all my previous efforts will be wasted…”
“I have to rent the Heavenly Spiritual Root. Without it, my magic power can’t keep up…”
“This VIP card for the tutoring class needs to be topped up, otherwise I won’t understand the cultivation techniques the school teachers talk about in class…”
Advanced Immortal Dao technology allowed even mortals without spiritual roots to walk the path of cultivation, but the price was a continuous cycle of the costly studies and maintenance just to keep going.
In the blink of an eye, three months of the school year had passed. Seeing the ever-increasing debt, to the point where they could no longer afford rent or utilities… it was all like a never-ending nightmare, and his mother finally could not bear it any longer.
And so, when Zhang Yu came home from school one day, he no longer saw his mother.
After reading the note she’d left, he sat stunned for a long time before finally picking up his phone and walking out.
…
On the rooftop of the apartment building.
A sharp pain shot through the man’s mind, gradually awakening his chaotic consciousness from the darkness.
He opened his eyes and looked forward, seeing not far away a bustling street teeming with people and flowing with sewage.
On both sides of the street flickered the neon glow of various advertising signs. Looking further up, tightly packed, pitch-black buildings seemed to blot out the entire sky.
The building beneath his feet was a dilapidated apartment, its mottled red-brick wall still projecting a video of a financial advertisement, in which flying, earth-rending immortals jointly recommended a thirty-day interest-free cultivation loan for new users.
Wasn’t I just playing that game?
Where is this?
Just as he was wondering what was happening, he turned his head and found the rooftop covered in candles.
Rows of candles, flickering with scarlet flames, surrounded him and a shabby doll.
It was a cloth doll whose fabric had yellowed and faded, its stitches crooked and twisted as if it could fall apart at any moment.
The strange scene seemed to stimulate his brain, causing fragments of memory to tumble and leap through his mind.
This isn’t China anymore… I’ve been thrown into another world?
He found it somewhat difficult to accept the fact that he had transmigrated.
But the real memories of Immortal Dao technology in his mind continuously assaulted his consciousness, and as he gradually merged with the original owner of the body, they relentlessly reminded him that he was now in another world.
This place was Kunxu, a super-structure that stood upon the earth like a pyramid, with thirty-six floors above ground and eighteen floors below.
Starting from the first floor, which was as vast as a continent, each level was a new world unto itself.
As for what the world outside of Kunxu was like, Zhang Yu’s mind held no answer.
He only knew that within Kunxu, it was a world where the major sects of the Immortal Dao reigned supreme.
The great sects were high and mighty, holding a near-monopoly on all industries, including food, energy, transportation, education, scientific research, healthcare, finance, and the internet. In front of the sect enforcement teams, the government and army seemed more like gate guards.
But ordinary people were unable to enjoy most of the benefits brought by Immortal Dao technology, instead busying themselves daily just to make a living.
And he was a high school student named Zhang Yu, living on the first floor of Kunxu, who had been accepted into Songyang High School and had recently become obsessed with some sort of strange ritual…
The me of now has become the Zhang Yu of another world.
Just then, a stinging pain came from his palm, waking the immersed Zhang Yu from the shock of the memories.
He looked down and saw a transparent symbol appear in his palm, which was slowly turning black at an extremely sluggish pace.
What is this thing?
As the night wind blew past, the surrounding scarlet candlelight flickered.
And on the ground, the shabby doll stared straight at him with a pair of hollow eyes made of black buttons.
He tried to recall what was going on, but the more he thought, the more his head ached and spun.
The atmosphere grew increasingly grim and eerie. Zhang Yu clutched his still-dizzy head, feeling the world spin around him.
When he came to his senses, he found that he had dazedly left the rooftop and walked step by step back to his own front door.
Glancing at the rent collection notice, he stepped through the doorway. All that met Zhang Yu’s eyes was a bed and a table.
This is my home?
Feeling his skin sticky and soaked with sweat, and the incredibly stuffy environment around him, Zhang Yu wanted to look for the air conditioner remote, only to remember that this apartment had no air conditioner at all.
He then wanted to rinse off with some water, but found that the water had been shut off.
Zhang Yu sat down on the bed, somewhat helplessly.
“What a dump.”
“So what if there are real immortals? This life is worse than in a world without them.”
Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across the wall, where he saw that the wall behind the desk was covered with awards from childhood to the present.
First grade, second grade, third grade… all the way to the third year of junior high, the original Zhang Yu had been first in his grade almost every year.
Looking at these awards, various memories of receiving them also flooded Zhang Yu’s mind.
The original Zhang Yu was a diligent student with excellent grades since he was a child.
The Songyang High School he’s attending now is also a key high school in the city.
I’m a top student.
Recalling the knowledge in his mind, Zhang Yu’s eyes gradually brightened.
Getting into a prestigious university means I can achieve Foundation Establishment. Joining a major sect means I can form my Core. I can also climb higher in Kunxu, leave this slum, and enjoy more of the benefits of Immortal Dao technology. Living a few hundred years longer wouldn’t be a problem then.
At this thought, Zhang Yu suddenly felt that coming to this world might not be so bad after all.
Just as he was thinking this, his phone suddenly rang.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Zhang Yu, good day. Your loan on our platform is now 3 days overdue…”
Hanging up the phone, Zhang Yu scrolled through his text messages and found it flooded with debt collection reminders, all overdue notices from various platforms where the original owner had taken out loans.
At the same time, the related memories flooded his mind.
This guy started borrowing money for tutoring before even getting into high school. After entering Songyang High School, in order to keep up with everyone’s grades, he had a stroke of genius and started feeding his debt with more debt to improve his scores, borrowing money from everywhere for medicine and tutoring, forcibly stimulating his potential. In the end, not only did the debt grow larger and larger, but his potential was also gradually drained.
This son of a bitch is a fake cultivation genius propped up by platform loans.
Even his mom couldn’t stand him and finally just left.
Calculating the total overdue debt, cold sweat immediately beaded on Zhang Yu’s forehead.
It was because he discovered that with the interest rolling over, Zhang Yu already owed various platforms a total of more than seven hundred thousand yuan.
And when he checked his account, he had only a little over fifty yuan left.
“I actually owe seven hundred thousand… damn it!”
Zhang Yu slammed his fist on the bed, furious.
“In this world… even for a heaven’s chosen graduate from high school, this is a colossal debt.”
No wonder this guy was obsessed with some bizarre ritual… he was just a hopeless debt slave.
He had his fun, and now I have to pay his debts?
At the same time, the lights in the room suddenly went out.
After flicking the switch repeatedly and observing the situation with his neighbors, Zhang Yu confirmed one thing… his electricity had been cut off.
“This blasted place…”
If only I could just wake up tomorrow morning and be back where I was…
His mind churning with all sorts of chaotic thoughts, Zhang Yu eventually fell into a groggy sleep on the bed.
And on his palm, the once-transparent symbol was now one-tenth filled with black.