Chapter 335: The Competition Team
Upon hearing Zhang Yu’s question, Zhang Pianpian paused slightly before replying, “Who in this world doesn’t need money?”
“I am indeed trying to raise a sum of money. I’m still a bit short, but I should have it all soon.”
Hearing her answer, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Could she really be short just 50 Spirit Coins?”
However, he couldn’t be certain whether the 50 Spirit Coins his Dao Seed had reacted to were related to the money Zhang Pianpian was trying to raise. Unable to voice his suspicions, he suppressed his doubts for the time being.
At the same time, Zhang Yu felt his Spirit Coin reserves were dwindling faster than ever.
“Ah, Spirit-Flesh Unity… I should try this myself first. If I can’t manage it, then I’ll spend the money.”
Over the next few days, Zhang Yu and his three companions continued their usual routine of studying, cultivating, and working, as if nothing had happened.
One day, Zhang Yu was practicing his breathing technique in the cemetery as usual.
After days of diligent practice, he had completed the seventh Qi Meridian Everflow breathing technique and was now working on the eighth one — the Spirit-Guiding Body Tempering Art.
At that moment, his magic power circulated, thick spiritual energy coursing through his meridians and constantly seeping outward, silently tempering his muscles and flesh.
During his time working and cultivating in the graveyard, Zhang Yu had deliberately chosen this particular breathing technique — one that refined both his Qi and his physical body simultaneously — to ensure his body refinement progress wouldn’t fall too far behind. He spent extra time each day in meditation and breathing exercises.
However, as he progressed to the seventh and eighth breathing techniques, he noticed his cultivation efficiency slowing down.
This slowdown… wasn’t due to the environment or any changes in his condition. It was simply because the breathing techniques Zhang Yu was practicing were becoming increasingly complex.
“But there’s no helping it,” Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. “The Qi Meridian Everflow set only contains about a dozen breathing techniques in total. I’ve already mastered the simplest ones. The remaining ones are quite intricate; each complete cycle requires a considerable amount of time.”
“At this rate, even I might need half a month, or even a full month, to raise a single breathing technique to Level 20.”
Zhang Yu knew that if anyone overheard his lament, they might feel like giving him a good beating.
But for Zhang Yu, who was accustomed to rapidly leveling up cultivation arts, raising one to Level 20 in a month felt somewhat underwhelming.
After a long while, Zhang Yu sensed that the medicinal power from his previous dose had been completely exhausted. He slowly ceased his cultivation session and took a moment to check the accumulated messages in his Bionic Eye.
First, he responded to the group chat about pill combinations in his dormitory group, then skimmed through the assignment notices from the class group chats.
Next came the miscellaneous messages from various other groups.
Ye Xingli from the Artifact Refinement Department had added him to an artifact refinement group where two factions were fiercely debating which brand of leg tendon Bionics — Vajra Profound Creation or Heavenly Craftsman — was superior.
Meanwhile, the Songyang Hometown Group brought more grim news: a student from Shuizhou Monsterfolk Vocational Academy, trying to save money by skipping medication and forcing himself to stay up late for years, had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and nearly died. He was now begging for loans in the group to buy Energy Capsules so he could continue his sleep-deprived routine.
Vajra University’s Chu Qiuhe: “No borrowing money in this group. First warning. Second time, you’re kicked out.”
Celestial Monsters University’s Xiong Wenwu: “Come on, we’re all from the same hometown. He just wants to borrow a little money to stay awake. Why be so strict?”
Vajra University’s Chu Qiuhe: “If you can’t afford it, go to sleep.”
Another monsterfolk student jumped in, retorting, “What’s the difference between making him sleep every day and telling him to die? He’s a University Student! He just doesn’t want to sleep; he wants to get up and study. What’s wrong with that?”
Chu Qiuhe from Vajra University scoffed, “Who knows if it’s just a scam? If you’re so poor you can’t even afford to stay up all night, what’s the point of cultivating Immortality?”
Zhang Yu glanced casually at the heated debate in the group chat before turning his attention to the other accumulated messages.
He then noticed a message from Cong Na, a member of 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 competition materials, skimmed through them briefly, and then accepted Cong Na’s invitation to join the group chat.
Zhang Yu: “Hello everyone! I’m new here. Please take care of me, seniors.”
Cong Na: “Welcome!”
Ma Xuan: “Welcome aboard!”
Zhang Yu greeted the group, but apart from Cong Na and Ma Xuan, no one else welcomed him. Their brief exchange was quickly buried under a flurry of new messages.
Glancing through the chat, Zhang Yu noticed three members engrossed in a heated discussion about daoist arts, oblivious to everything else. Lines of text flew by rapidly, completely dominating the chat window.
Zhang Yu examined the profiles of the five other members in the group.
He noticed that only Cong Na’s profile showed her class ranking (5th), while the others displayed both their class and overall department rankings.
Ma Xuan ranked 35th in the department, while the remaining three members were all in the 40th to 50th range.
Including Zhang Yu, the six members constituted the entire competition team.
Zhang Yu checked their academic years and found that none were beyond their fifth year of university.
It became clear that these students were the elite academic overachievers of the Civil Engineering Department, having reached the top 50 in the department at such an early stage.
“No wonder they’re ignoring me,” Zhang Yu mused, completely understanding the situation. After all, it was normal for high-ranking students to even humiliate those lower down, and simply ignoring someone like him… well, that was actually quite polite.
Just then, a student named Bu Ziran posted a short video showcasing a newly unboxed Lung Organ Bionic.
Bu Ziran: “Myriad Paths Artisan Group’s latest Lung Organ Bionic. Breathing alone allows you to accumulate and condense Lung Metal Sword Qi.”
Bu Ziran: “Subscribe to Myriad Paths Artisan Group’s monthly service for 23 additional sword qi types to swap between.”
Bu Ziran: “Snagged it for 18.88 Spirit Coins!”
Seeing the price, Zhang Yu nearly blurted out, “That’s so expensive!” but another student named Yang Yan replied, “That’s a steal! Did you get a discount?”
Bu Ziran: “My uncle works at the Myriad Paths Artisan Group, so I got it at an internal price.”
As Zhang Yu scrolled through the group chat, reading conversations about Bionics, medicinal pills, daoist arts, and magical artifacts, he thought about the flour brick he had recently risked his life to obtain. He felt increasingly out of place in this group, unable to even participate in these discussions.
Looking at the fourth-year and fifth-year academic overachievers in the group — none of whom had even cracked the top 20 in the All-Attribute Department ranking — Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. “Old Man Starfire… he told me to transfer to the Artifact Refinement Department after joining the Civil Engineering Department. Does he even realize how difficult it is to switch departments in university now?”
“Climbing to the top 20 in the Overall Department Ranking by the end of my third year… that’s going to be tough.”
Zhang Yu knew that to surpass upperclassmen in Comprehensive Points during his early years, he would need to take courses typically reserved for upperclassmen ahead of schedule.
This required not only terrifying talent but also vast financial resources.
In their class, Ji Yuanshu was a Heavenly Chosen aiming to transfer departments.
Over the past few weeks, Zhang Yu had gradually pieced together the typical cultivation plan of these transfer-seeking prodigies:
“During Freshman and Sophomore years, they focus on building a solid foundation, pushing their base stats to the peak of Foundation Establishment.”
“In their Junior year, they begin accelerated learning, using the Spirit Realm to study advanced courses from their target department ahead of schedule and pass the corresponding exams.”
“Finally, throughout their Junior year, they accumulate a large number of Comprehensive Points, pushing their Overall Department Ranking into the top 50. Only then can they transfer.”
“And if you want to transfer from the Civil Engineering Department to the Artifact Refinement Department, the requirements are even stricter — you’d need to break into the top 20 at least.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Old Man Starfire has probably been out of university for too long.”
“My Elder Sister, on the other hand, thinks… even if I can’t transfer now, I can still pursue artifact refinement in graduate school.”
“But…” Zhang Yu’s gaze hardened, his resolve hardening. “I need to join one of the Ten Great Sects. I need to seize the opportunity… and get in before the Ten Great Sects’ recruitment channels close.”
“And the Ten Great Sects don’t accept Civil Engineering majors.”
“I need to join the Artifact Refinement Department sooner and start practicing their methods earlier,” Zhang Yu thought.
“Applying for the Artifact Refinement Department after graduate school… that’s too slow, far too slow.”
Looking at Ma Xuan and the others’ rankings, Zhang Yu’s sense of urgency surged anew. He seized the moment to continue his cultivation.
However, the effects of his previous medicinal dose had worn off, significantly reducing the efficiency of his breathing technique.
Zhang Yu decided to use this time, before taking his next dose, to attempt Spirit-Flesh Unity.
“According to Teacher Feng Jiu from the Dao Heart Class, the Cultivation Realm of mental cultivation techniques… achieving 24-hour circulation is just the foundation.”
“Above that lies the realm of semi-instinctive operation.”
“And beyond semi-instinctive, there’s the Realm of Spirit-Flesh Unity, where the technique operates entirely on instinct.”
Focusing on the mental cultivation technique circulating in his mind, Zhang Yu recalled the sensation he’d experienced on the First Layer when the building collapsed and buried him alive, forcing him into a state of suspended animation.
“Back then, to the outside world, I appeared completely unconscious, but deep down, I retained a sliver of the will to survive.”
“At that time, I wasn’t thinking or pondering anything. I only felt myself in a dark realm of consciousness, channeling all my bodily vitality to sustain the growth of flesh and blood.”
“Maintaining that last shred of clarity in my mind was barely above a semi-instinctual level.”
“The Realm of Spirit-Flesh Unity, on the other hand, allows the mental cultivation technique to continue operating even if one loses consciousness completely, as naturally as breathing.”
Zhang Yu attempted to activate the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen’s false death state, constantly purging distracting thoughts from his mind.
But no matter how many thoughts he extinguished, that last sliver of awareness persisted, clinging to his final thread of clarity.
“This is proving even harder than I thought,” Zhang Yu mused inwardly. “Maintaining the mental cultivation technique even while unconscious… This is inhumanly demanding.”
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu devoted every spare moment during his daily cultivation sessions to attempting the Realm of Spirit-Flesh Unity.
Though he never fully succeeded, he could sense the mental cultivation technique operating with slightly greater smoothness each time.
Especially his ability to enter that state of near-empty-mindedness, where only a sliver of awareness remained, grew increasingly swift.
Time flew by, and before he knew it, early June had arrived.
More than a month had passed since Zhang Yu first set foot in the cemetery project.
During that time, he had benefited from President Wang’s initial funding. Although the support later dwindled, daily consumption of Tiger Wolf Medicine, combined with the cemetery’s naturally conducive environment, allowed Zhang Yu’s Magic Power to surge to an impressive 661.3.
As his Magic Power increased, the rate of improvement in Magic Power Quality slowed, but it still reached 168%.
Under the constant operation of his mental cultivation technique, his dao heart steadily advanced to the level 14 (64.8%).
Due to his recent focus on breathing techniques, Zhang Yu had less time for physical training, and his physical strength only rose to 15.18.
The Gang Qi Conduction Rate and maximum transmission distance steadily increased alongside his foundational stats, reaching 42% and 44 meters, respectively.
On this particular day, Ma Xuan contacted Zhang Yu again, inviting him to join the competition team’s training sessions.