Chapter 39: Heart Art
With the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method finally at level 10, Zhang Yu planned to switch the Feather Book’s specialization and select another cultivation technique to upgrade.
After deciding not to sign the contract with the student council and to instead fight his way into one of the top ten universities, Zhang Yu had come to understand a few things.
First, without the student council’s investment, the resources at his disposal would inevitably be far more limited.
And to get into one of the Ten Greats, the pressure he would face would only be much greater than it was now.
Fewer resources, yet heavier pressure.
Therefore, Zhang Yu had to meticulously plan the allocation and use of his resources, pushing himself to develop faster and better within any given period.
To do this, he would have to leverage his greatest strengths as much as possible: his absolute self-discipline and astonishing potential.
Simply put, it meant practicing stronger and more difficult cultivation techniques.
For Zhang Yu, master of the Feather Book, if he was going to pour the same ascetic training into a cultivation technique, it was only natural that the stronger the technique, the better the results.
It was like one version of himself training the ‘Great Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Finger’ while another trained the ‘Basic Extended Palm’. Just from the names, you could tell which had a better future.
…but this isn’t something that can be done casually.
The more powerful the cultivation technique, the higher the threshold to learn it.
It was like how any dog could learn the doggy paddle, but not everyone could perform water ballet.
Among expert-grade cultivation techniques, take the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art he possessed; he still hadn’t met its requirement of a level 3 Dao heart.
Thus, to cultivate powerful techniques, the first condition was to meet their prerequisites.
Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across his phone screen, reading the requirements that one powerful cultivation technique after another demanded of its practitioner…
“Dao heart! Magic power!”
Just as his high school teachers always said, the Dao heart and magic power were the foundation of the Immortal Dao.
The Dao heart level represented a cultivator’s control over and capacity to bear the powers of the Immortal Dao.
Magic power was the most fundamental energy used to power all kinds of cultivation techniques.
The prerequisites for the vast majority of powerful cultivation techniques were related to one’s Dao heart and magic power.
Therefore, to practice powerful cultivation techniques, one needed a sufficiently high Dao heart and plenty of magic power.
In terms of magic power, I already have the level 10 Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method, which is like constantly performing a breathing exercise to absorb spiritual energy and refine magic power.
My Dao heart level, on the other hand, is what I’ve neglected to improve recently.
Zhang Yu checked his savings. After paying for rent, utilities, food, and other miscellaneous expenses, he had just over 62,000 left.
Even if he spent all of it on increasing his magic power, it would only be enough to rent a Heavenly Spiritual Root for a little over ten hours, like paying for an all-nighter at an internet cafe—gone in a flash, with very limited improvement.
So, after thinking it over for the past few days, Zhang Yu decided he should purchase a stronger heart art, raise his Dao heart to level 3 as quickly as possible, and then switch to the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art to accelerate its growth even further.
After all, during the initial stage of cultivation, the Dao heart level ranged from 1 to a maximum of 10, whereas magic power ranged from 1 to 100.
Raising his Dao heart level to 3 would not be a quick process; if he had a heart art that was stronger and more suited to him than the Basic Heart Tempering Art, he could save a considerable amount of time.
Once both his Dao heart level and magic power were higher, he could then practice a stronger cultivation technique. This was the fastest and most cost-effective path for his development right now.
As for which heart art to buy, Zhang Yu had already done a lot of searching and thinking over the past few days.
Basic, Advanced, Expert…
Among the heart arts he could currently afford, the basic-grade ones were the cheapest, but they offered him little improvement.
Although the expert-grade arts were powerful, they were not only expensive but also had high cultivation thresholds, making them unsuitable for him at the moment.
The advanced-grade heart arts, however, were just right for him, even though they were considered of dubious value to most students four months into their first year of high school.
In terms of effectiveness, the first year of high school was all about building a solid foundation, and the basic cultivation techniques promoted by schools were all developed by the Ten Great Sects to be perfectly balanced and stable, making them excellent for that purpose.
Learning an additional advanced-grade heart art at this stage was a waste of time and energy; it was better to just focus on improving a basic one.
That was why even wealthy students tended to stick to the basics in their first year, only beginning to apply their resources toward learning various expensive heart arts in their second year.
This was one reason why at Songyang High School, the academic gap between the rich kids and the poor students often widened dramatically in the second year, and why talented but poor students would begin to see their rankings fall.
From a price perspective, while advanced-grade cultivation techniques were much cheaper than expert-grade ones, the subsequent costs were still substantial.
After all, self-studying a cultivation technique was too difficult. For most people, it wasn’t a simple matter of getting a manual and mastering it, but often required hiring a tutor for guidance.
An advanced-grade heart art manual might only cost a few hundred or a few thousand, but the follow-up tutoring, classes, and guidance… those supplementary fees could run into the tens of thousands.
It reminded Zhang Yu of certain games from his past life: the base game was free, but spending money on various items and characters could cost thousands.
Time to run.jpg
But for Zhang Yu, these two points were perfect.
Tutoring? Not for me.
I, Zhang Yu, can rely on myself alone and still master divine arts with my peerless aptitude.
Opening the favorites tab on a shopping website, Zhang Yu looked at a heart art he had selected.
An advanced-grade cultivation technique: the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra.
Judging by the name alone, it seemed to be a mighty, domineering, and incomparably resolute heart art that could shake one’s very soul.
But upon closer inspection, he discovered that the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra required a corresponding mindset: one of diligence, perseverance, and endurance, like an old ox tirelessly plowing a new field.
Crucially, the heart art’s most powerful state required the cooperation of another person—a figure who could constantly pressure and suppress the practitioner, ceaselessly assigning them tasks, like a manager or a boss.
The more one was ordered around, the harsher the pressure, and the longer the working hours, the stronger the effects of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra became.
For ten consecutive years, the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra had been voted the best heart art for construction sites and the most beloved by bosses.
It was also a “beast of burden” heart art, with a user rating that perennially hovered below 1.2 stars.
Zhang Yu looked at the user reviews.
One star.
“My company requires it. It’s really useful.”
One star.
“I’ll give the five-star review in installments.”
One star.
“Got chewed out by my moron boss again today.”
After a quick scan, Zhang Yu was hit by a palpable wave of resentment. Obviously, the vast majority of people who practiced this beast-of-burden heart art were forced into it, meaning they perfectly met its requirements.
Zhang Yu then looked at the technique’s detailed system requirements.
Recommended Specifications:
- Forced to work more than 18 hours a day.
Zhang Yu thought for a moment. He was being forced by the ritual’s power 24 hours a day, so that certainly met the requirement.
He read the next line.
- Method of compulsion must be at least verbal pressure. Threats to salary are optimal. The harsher the pressure, the better the effect.
He considered this. He was currently being threatened with death, which also fit the requirements perfectly.
This beast-of-burden heart art really is perfect for my current situation, and most importantly, the price…
Zhang Yu checked the price for the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra; the usage rights currently cost only 588 yuan.
It was one of the cheapest advanced-grade cultivation techniques Zhang Yu had ever seen.
However, because getting started required the practitioner to have a ‘boss’ to work with, the page also recommended a guidance service for 1,000 yuan a day.
After all, many jobs required this heart art as a prerequisite for hiring, but many people needed to find a job and have a boss before they could master it.
To solve this employment catch-22, the platform had conveniently introduced a paid guidance service.
So you’re supposed to fucking pay to hire your own boss?
Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, knowing he had no need for that; he already had something pressuring him 24/7.
In terms of effect, price, and requirements, the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra was a heart art perfectly suited for Zhang Yu’s current situation.
For 588, you couldn’t go wrong and you couldn’t get scammed. Even if he found his mentality couldn’t adapt to it, the loss would be minimal.
The only thing that bothered Zhang Yu was the art’s underlying philosophy.
But he was no longer the same Zhang Yu who had just transmigrated; facing the harsh environment of Kunxu and the relentless pressure from the ritual’s power, he had already learned to adjust his mindset to survive.
Zhang Yu took a deep breath and thought, A beast of burden it is, then. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I’ll swallow my pride when I have to. I’ll just be a beast of burden for a while.
With my potential, even if I have to toil away like an animal, a day will come when I can tear a hole in the heavens.
Zhang Yu knew full well that by practicing this heart art, he wasn’t resigning himself to a life of servitude; it was a temporary measure to build power for a better future.
Order placed, payment sent, item received.
In the blink of an eye, he received a digital copy of the heart art.
After he finished reading through it carefully, the new cultivation technique appeared in the Feather Book.
Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra 0 (0/1, requires Dao heart level 1/1)
Zhang Yu sat cross-legged and began to practice the heart art.
He emptied his mind, keeping his spirit as calm as possible, and began to construct the technique’s visualization diagram in his thoughts.
It was the image of an old ox, head bowed, silently tilling the wasteland.
But after a short while of trying to form the image, he felt that something was off.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he quickly stopped his cultivation and sat there in a daze.
A moment later, a dreadful chill welled up in his heart as the countdown timer sounded in his mind.
This time, when Zhang Yu resumed practicing the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra, everything suddenly clicked into place.
A few minutes later, the image of an old ox, head bowed and silently tilling the wasteland, was fully formed in his mind.
At that moment, he felt as if he had become that silently toiling, uncomplaining ox, and much of the displeasure in his heart dissolved.
As he completed the visualization, a flood of memories of practicing the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra seemed to materialize from nothing in his mind, allowing him to grasp the heart art in an instant.
Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra Level 1 (0/3)
“I only need to practice it three times to level up?”
Zhang Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Is it because this cultivation technique is so compatible with my current state?”
So he waited a moment longer for the countdown to ring in his mind before practicing the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra again, sketching out the visualization of the old ox tilling the wasteland.
He practiced it back and forth like this three times. After about ten minutes, Zhang Yu felt a stir in his spirit as his understanding of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra deepened once more, and the visualization in his mind grew clearer and more vivid.
Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra Level 2 (0/6)
Especially after raising the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra to level 2, he felt that cultivation wasn’t so tedious or unbearable anymore.
“Is this the effect of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra? It makes you less afraid of hardship and more able to just grind…”
It was only when he stopped circulating the heart art that feelings of fatigue, tedium, and the desire to slack off surged back into his mind.
A moment later, after the ritual’s power descended, Zhang Yu activated the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra again. The restless, avoidant thoughts in his mind were instantly swept away, allowing him to begin cultivating in earnest.
“This technique… doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.”
He suddenly recalled a line from the technique’s foreword, written by its founder, who called himself the Great Sage Desolate Ox.
“May all under heaven who face hardship feel less bitterness in their hearts and more hope for the future.”
A thought suddenly occurred to him: Maybe the person who created this technique never intended for it to be a beast-of-burden heart art.
Nearly half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Yu took a sharp breath, feeling a tremor in his sea of consciousness as his Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra rose to level 3 (0/9).
After cultivating for a short while longer, he suddenly felt that both the magic power and physical strength within his body had become as responsive as his own limbs, far more tangible and controllable.
“My Dao heart level has risen to 2.”
Although Zhang Yu had already felt his Dao heart level was about to advance, he couldn’t help but marvel at the rapid progress he had made after practicing the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra.
This technique was truly a perfect match for his current state.
“Then I’ll keep being a beast of burden. As long as the reward is good enough, it’s no big deal.”
And so, Zhang Yu once again immersed himself in the practice of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra. As the technique circulated, he seemed to feel the tedium and toil of cultivation less and less, replaced by a growing sense of satisfaction from his steady accumulation of power.
It was like the sense of achievement an old ox feels as it diligently plows a field, watching the fertile soil expand beneath its feet.