Chapter 241: The Wealthy Zhang Yu
In the blink of an eye, March had arrived.
In the meditation chamber, Zhang Yu slowly opened his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, two beams of brilliant light seemed to flash within them.
He glanced at the Feather Book beside him, which displayed his stats: Dao heart level 10, magic power 100, and physical strength level 10.
After these days of cultivation, his Dao heart level had finally reached the tenth level, the limit of the Qi Refinement stage.
Now that his Dao heart had reached the tenth level, he felt a perfect, unobstructed command over every muscle and every wisp of magic power, as if they were extensions of his own limbs; the feeling of his power being constrained was completely gone.
On the other hand, however, the Crippled Ox he visualized in his sea of consciousness was now slow and languid. Its demeanor was lazy, and even the broken horn on its head seemed to have lost its former sharpness, growing dull and thick.
Zhang Yu checked his bank balance again. It had reached 19 million, bringing him another large step closer to affording the Heavenly Spiritual Root.
Ever since the numbers in his bank account began to climb, his daily cultivation had become progressively easier, and he had started attending more and more social events with Mr. Wang. With this change, Zhang Yu could feel the effects of his Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art—its ability to mobilize his potential, strengthen his body, and invigorate his flesh and blood—dwindling.
Is it because my life has been too comfortable lately, without enough pressure? This technique is most effective under duress, after all.
Zhang Yu wasn’t sure, but he thought, My life is only going to get better from here on out.
My grades are improving, I’m making more and more money… maybe it’s time to consider switching to a heart art that suits me better?
This Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art is, after all, a technique for the lower class.
He thought of Le Mulan and Song Hailong, of Yu Xinghan and Ye Lingxiao, and even of Mr. Wang.
Zhang Yu thought that maybe he should ask one of these wealthy individuals to recommend a new heart art for him.
Without even realizing it, I’m about to become a rich person myself.
So, do I need to adapt to the cultivation methods of the wealthy? Find one of their cultivation techniques to practice?
And he didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but as this thought surfaced, the visualized Crippled Ox in his mind seemed to grow even more lethargic, losing all its fighting spirit and vitality.
Just then, Zhang Yu’s phone vibrated. It was a call from Mo Tianyi.
Mo Tianyi, a member of the Paupers’ Alliance.
Mo Tianyi had cut off contact with them last year, ever since Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen announced they were siding with Zhang Pianpian.
And after the death of the alliance’s leader, the evil god worshipper Song Xu, the Paupers’ Alliance had fallen into disarray, and Zhang Yu hadn’t heard any news from them in a long time.
Seeing Mo Tianyi’s name on the screen, Zhang Yu felt a bit surprised but answered the call nonetheless.
Mo Tianyi’s somewhat timid voice came through the line. “Zhang… Zhang Yu, hello.”
The Zhang Yu of today was not only vastly wealthy, but his strength had also long since reached the peak of Qi Refinement. Thanks to the Oasis Corporation’s promotion and the prestige of his Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate, he had become a well-known figure on Kunxu’s first layer—a rich man.
In Mo Tianyi’s eyes, Zhang Yu had already become a major figure, someone far beyond the level of a mere high school student; they no longer belonged to the same world.
Zhang Yu, however, replied casually, “What’s up?”
Mo Tianyi said softly, “I wanted to ask if I could borrow some money.”
“Things haven’t been going well for us since the boss… had his accident.”
“The company recently cut our pay, and one of the alliance members got into an accident while making a delivery and hit someone…”
Zhang Yu remembered the twenty thousand yuan he had once invested in him and Bai Zhenzhen.
Although it wasn’t a large sum, for the Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen of that time, it had been a lifeline.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yu said, “I understand. I’ll transfer 100,000 to you in a bit. Contact me anytime if you need anything else.”
“Th-thank you.”
“We’ll definitely pay you back in the future!”
Mo Tianyi hadn’t expected Zhang Yu to agree so readily. In his eyes, all rich people, no matter how wealthy, would never part with money so easily unless there was something in it for them.
Sensing the kindness in Zhang Yu’s voice, Mo Tianyi couldn’t help but add, “Zhang Yu, you’re a role model for all of us poor students now. No high schooler from a poor background on the entire first layer of Kunxu has ever achieved what you have.”
“You have no idea how thrilled everyone was when they heard your results, when they knew you could get into the Ten Greats. You gave those rich people a huge slap in the face for us.”
“Now, all the students in the high schools are holding their breath. Inspired by you, everyone is working harder and pushing themselves further than ever before…”
Listening to Mo Tianyi’s words, Zhang Yu was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
After a long moment, he hung up the phone amid Mo Tianyi’s profuse thanks. Zhang Yu then impulsively used his phone to search for news about wage cuts.
It turned out that ever since the various powerful families and corporations began to merge, one of the first things they did was collectively cut wages.
Zhang Yu read some online analyses, all of which said that with the number of high school graduates and university students returning to the first layer increasing every year, the job market was already getting worse.
And now, with corporations collectively suppressing wages and benefits, employees had no choice but to silently accept the new terms just to keep their jobs.
Fu Ji reminded him, “What’s the point of reading news like this? It has nothing to do with us.”
“Even if it weren’t you and Bai Zhenzhen, Oasis Corporation would have just used Ye Lingxiao for their promotions, and the result would be the same. This is just how the world works.”
Zhang Yu pursed his lips. “Do I need you to remind me? I was just curious, just browsing the news.”
“Mr. Wang is a powerful backer. Zhen and I will definitely hold on to him for dear life and never let go.”
Hearing Zhang Yu’s breezy reply, Fu Ji thought to herself, This Zhang Yu, he clearly came from nothing, so why is he always worried about things that aren’t his concern?
Fu Ji advised, “As long as you keep climbing, you’ll get richer and richer. You need to learn to integrate into the circles of the wealthy and stay away from the poor. Do you understand?”
“You should just block trash like the Paupers’ Alliance. Why even bother with them?”
“They helped me, after all,” Zhang Yu said casually. “As for the circles of the rich… I know what you mean. Because their environment is different from ours, it’s inevitable that their habits and perspectives will differ from those of us who came from nothing.”
“I have to get used to how they talk and live, make more wealthy friends, so I can climb higher in Kunxu and become stronger…”
Zhang Yu understood. Of course he understood.
Stay away from the poor, get close to the rich—that was the key to climbing the ladder in Kunxu.
But for some reason, he just couldn’t feel at ease.
Arriving at the cafeteria for lunch, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen sat at their usual table with Qian Shen and Zhao Tianxing.
However, in recent days, while Zhang Yu’s and Bai Zhenzhen’s trays were piled high with sumptuous synthetic meat, Zhao Tianxing had started eating the unflavored original synthetic food.
At first, Zhang Yu thought Zhao Tianxing’s family was having financial trouble, or perhaps it was related to the rising price of synthetic food.
Yes, the price of synthetic food had gone up.
Synthetic food, which had initially pushed pre-made meals out of the market with its low prices, was now becoming more expensive as the Oasis Corporation’s market share continued to grow.
And the price of the green food that Zhang Yu endorsed had also been steadily climbing, fueled by the hype around the Foundation Establishment exam and promotions from major corporations.
Now, even average students in regular high schools knew they should be eating green food and signing up for the Foundation Establishment exam to fight for a chance to soar to the heavens in a single bound.
According to the Oasis Corporation’s estimates, their promotional efforts could lead to hundreds of thousands of first-layer high school students signing up for the Foundation Establishment exam next year, a market potential that was truly staggering.
And now, looking at the plain synthetic food on Zhao Tianxing’s plate, Zhang Yu suspected that his friend’s parents had also had their income slashed due to corporate wage cuts.
“Ugh, this chicken breast is awful,” Zhang Yu said, pushing a plate of it over. “Old Zhao, help me finish this. I really can’t eat another bite.”
Zhao Tianxing froze for a second, his eyes on the plate of synthetic chicken breast as he swallowed.
Being a perceptive person, Zhao Tianxing could guess that Zhang Yu was giving him the food on purpose.
This filled him with a mixture of shame and gratitude. He finally whispered a quiet “thanks” and accepted the plate of chicken breast.
As Zhang Yu continued his comfortable life, time passed into April.
These days, even if Zhang Yu did nothing, a large sum of money was deposited into his account each month.
His account balance had now surpassed 24 million.
That day, he and Bai Zhenzhen went to the newly completed Oasis Tower to attend a meeting about the group’s upcoming promotional plans.
“Recently, the income of many citizens has continued to decline, while the price of food has risen repeatedly.”
“The group has taken note of this situation and decided to make a change…”
Hearing the product manager’s words, Zhang Yu felt a jolt. He couldn’t help but glance at Mr. Wang next to him, thinking, Is this because of Mr. Wang? Is the Oasis Corporation going to give back to society, to help more people get enough to eat?
Thinking about the recent situation in the school cafeteria, a sliver of hope rose in his heart.
The product manager then announced loudly, “To ensure that everyone can eat their fill, we have decided to launch a food loan service!”
“Through installment payments, we will lower the barrier for citizens to purchase synthetic and green food, ensuring everyone has something to eat.”
“Our first promotional target will be students. We will go into the schools and strive to ensure that every student has a reserve food fund for when they run out of money…”
Zhang Yu listened to the speech, looking at the presentation slides filled with content related to food, finance, interest, and collateral, and hearing about promotional tactics like interest-free periods for new users and discounts for monthly subscribers.
Zhang Yu was suddenly reminded of the time when he himself didn’t have enough to eat.
If that starving version of himself had encountered this situation, he probably would have chosen to eat on credit, eventually sinking deeper and deeper into food debt.
Just then, Mr. Wang, who was beside them, patted Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen on the shoulder.
“The promotion of this financial service is very important. Our ultimate goal is that for every person who eats, there will be a person who borrows.”
“This is crucial to the group’s strategic layout on the first layer.”
“Rest assured, I never treat my own people poorly.”
“You two work hard for the next year.”
“By the time you go to Netherworld University next year, I’ll probably be heading back up as well.”
“When the time comes, I’ll help you get internships at a second-layer financial firm. Once you have that work experience, I can recommend you for a transfer into the finance department…”
As Wang Yin spoke, he reached out to straighten Zhang Yu’s clothes, shaking his head in dissatisfaction. “You and Zhen should get some better clothes. I gave you so much money; you should use it.”
“And that training skin of yours, I can tell it’s an artificial fake at a glance. Get a real one, quickly. Otherwise, you’ll embarrass me at future gatherings.”
“Do you hear me? If you don’t have enough money, I’ll give it to you.”
Bai Zhenzhen quickly replied, “Understood, Mr. Wang. We’ll change our clothes as soon as we get back.”
Seeing Zhang Yu standing there, stunned, Bai Zhenzhen nudged him. Only then did Zhang Yu seem to snap out of it. “Mm… I know.”
But Wang Yin’s words kept replaying in his mind.
“For every person who eats on the first layer, there will be a person who borrows.”