Chapter 365: Wealth Breeds Affection
After obtaining Bai Zhenzhen’s Divine Spirit Root, Zhang Yu devoted a significant amount of time to cultivate with the Level 20 cultivation arts, nurturing the Divine Spirit Root within his Dantian.
As he nurtured the Divine Spirit Root, his body was continuously strengthened by it. This strengthening stemmed from Bai Zhenzhen’s cultivation, the Divine Spirit Root having adapted to her body over time and developed this enhancement.
As this strengthening spread through Zhang Yu’s body, he felt his reaction speed, mental processing speed, Magic Power circulation speed, Gang Qi manipulation speed… all noticeably improve.
Yet Zhang Yu knew: “The Divine Spirit Root has only been in my body for a short time. These improvements are too slight.”
“To truly benefit greatly from the Divine Spirit Root, I still need to replicate the Dao Seed. That way, even after A-Zhen leaves, I can continue using this Azure Lotus Sword Embryo for an extended period.”
Back in high school, although Zhang Yu knew the power of True Spirit Roots, he never entertained any personal ambitions.
He understood that the root ultimately belonged to Bai Zhenzhen, and after his Foundation Establishment, he would need to focus on his own Spirit Root.
Especially after Bai Zhenzhen was accepted as a disciple by Divine Monarch Seven Emotions, Zhang Yu had completely abandoned any such notions.
Until now. On one hand, he had unlocked the Dao Seed Register, allowing him to replicate Bai Zhenzhen’s Azure Lotus Sword Embryo. On the other hand, the Divine Spirit Root proved to possess boundless wonders, capable of suppressing his Qi Sea Spirit Root and ultimately replacing it.
Thus, Zhang Yu made up his mind.
“I must seize this opportunity and successfully replicate the Dao Seed before A-Zhen leaves Myriad Laws University.”
“Otherwise, who knows how long I’ll have to wait to see her again?”
To achieve this, Zhang Yu needed to not only cultivate his Level 20 arts for 300 hours to nurture the Divine Spirit Root.
The most crucial task was to safely and secretly return the Divine Spirit Root to Bai Zhenzhen each time.
“Absolutely no one can find out.”
With this thought, Zhang Yu intensified his movements, forcefully inserting the True Spirit Root into Bai Zhenzhen’s Dantian.
“Hmm…” Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t help but close her eyes, a soft, lingering sigh escaping her lips.
At that moment, she felt a tingling sensation coursing through her body, from head to toe.
This was the enhancement effect of the Divine Spirit Root, adapted to Zhang Yu’s body, now gradually feeding back to her.
Her physical strength, endurance, bone density, and overall bodily resistance were gradually increasing, albeit at an extremely slow pace.
However, the Divine Spirit Root had only resided in Zhang Yu’s body for a short time, so the stimulation it provided Bai Zhenzhen was far less intense than when it was within Zhang Yu.
After a moment, Bai Zhenzhen exhaled deeply. Though she still felt slightly unwell, she sensed it no longer impeded her movements.
Zhang Yu said, “Hurry back, A-Zhen, before anyone notices.”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “Then I’ll be going now.”
With a flash, Bai Zhenzhen vanished completely from Zhang Yu’s sight.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “A-Zhen’s stealth abilities have become increasingly terrifying with the Divine Spirit Root’s enhancement.”
However, after obtaining the Divine Spirit Root, Zhang Yu had been too preoccupied with nurturing the Spirit Root to delve deeply into these hidden abilities.
He mused, “My immediate priority is still replicating the Dao Seed. As for the various capabilities of the Divine Spirit Root, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to study them later.”
As Zhang Yu stealthily made his way off the 66th floor, Fu Ji reminded him, “Zhang Yu, find some time to perform a ritual for Bai Zhenzhen.”
“Enhance her latent potential and install the new Surveillance Ritual and Anti-Surveillance Ritual on her.”
Zhang Yu nodded. “Alright,” he replied.
Outside the Heavenly Sword Team’s guest room, a young man frowned, a hint of bewilderment flickering in his eyes. “Where did Bai Zhenzhen go?”
The young man was Wen Wuya, a key member of Heavenly Sword University’s team, hailing from the Tenth Layer of Kunxu.
He had come to fetch Bai Zhenzhen for the arena, only to find her room empty.
When he tried contacting her, he received only a terse “I’m coming” in response.
His communication requests were repeatedly rejected.
A soft sigh escaped his lips. “Does Bai Zhenzhen still not trust me?”
Wen Wuya recalled their first meeting a year and a half ago. Bai Zhenzhen’s Divine Spirit Root and her status as a Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch’s disciple had instantly captivated him, resonating deeply with the Divine Spirit Root in his Dantian.
He had immediately wanted to shower her with wealth, hoping to engage in dual cultivation with the girl who possessed this rare Spirit Root.
Just as he was about to transfer 30 Spirit Coins upfront, followed by 1 Spirit Coin for each word exchanged… Divine Monarch Seven Emotions intervened.
The Divine Monarch and Wen Wuya struck a deal: he must cultivate a deep emotional bond with Bai Zhenzhen without relying on money to earn the chance for dual cultivation.
“Cultivate a deep emotional bond?”
“But how can there be any emotion without spending money?”
Wen Wuya struggled to understand the condition set by the Divine Monarch Seven Emotions.
In his view, money was the foundation of emotion; the more money spent, the stronger the bond.
“Hasn’t the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao always forged relationships through lavish spending?”
“Cultivate feelings without spending money? Does she expect me to reverse the transfers and take back my gifts?”
“Isn’t that just fraud?”
In Wen Wuya’s worldview, a master who refused to invest in their disciples wasn’t a good master, and a disciple who refused to earn money for their master wasn’t a good disciple.
As for family, the principle was even more deeply ingrained. In close-knit family units, each descendant, from the moment of birth, was bound by lifelong emotional bonds forged through intricate debt relationships.
“Emotion is money… and she wants me to stop spending?”
Perplexed, Wen Wuya consulted ancient texts and resources on the lives of the poor at the Divine Monarch Seven Emotions’s urging, finally gaining insight into this unfamiliar world.
“In the past, Kunxu’s Immortal Dao Technology was underdeveloped, its economy stagnant, and its currency lacked circulation. As a result, many people relied on low-cost methods to strengthen bonds within their groups.”
“Even today, many impoverished individuals, lacking funds, still resort to these outdated methods to maintain relationships.”
Wen Wuya sighed inwardly. “Kunxu’s former barbarism and backwardness, combined with a lack of financial mechanisms and mutual trust, bred countless schemes aimed at achieving goals without spending a dime, leading to rampant scams.”
“Now, instead of focusing on earning money, these impoverished individuals still resort to such scams.”
Though he didn’t understand why the Divine Monarch Seven Emotions had instructed him to do this, Wen Wuya followed the methods described in the ancient texts, attempting to deepen his bond with Bai Zhenzhen without spending money.
He greeted Bai Zhenzhen daily, asked about her meals, and made small talk.
He also regularly spent time with Bai Zhenzhen in the same limited space, during fixed periods.
He also praised her various strengths. Wen Wuya’s summary of Bai Zhenzhen’s strengths was: her Divine Spirit Root was highly developed, her teacher was immensely wealthy, her hair was incredibly valuable, and her loan limit was remarkably high…
He had also studied numerous tactics, strategies, and deceptions from the available resources…
But after a year and a half of relentless effort, Wen Wuya realized he hadn’t made any progress.
After all, Bai Zhenzhen’s replies to his messages were rarely more than five words, she had never transferred him any money or spent a single coin on him, and she never came within two meters of him… By all accounts, no emotional connection had developed between them.
“As expected,” Wen Wuya sighed inwardly, “these outdated, poor man’s methods could never succeed with a Spirit Transformation Disciple like Bai Zhenzhen.”
Just as Wen Wuya was lamenting this, a familiar figure suddenly appeared ahead of him, Bai Zhenzhen herself.
“Zhenzhen, you’re back?”
Wen Wuya swiftly banished his stray thoughts, plastered on his perfect smile, and greeted Bai Zhenzhen as usual: “Where have you been? I couldn’t find you anywhere! I was worried sick.”
Bai Zhenzhen gazed at Wen Wuya before her, a creeping unease prickling her senses.
She felt the same unsettling aura from him as she did from President Wang Yin — a sense that he wasn’t quite human.
In fact, the inhuman quality radiating from Wen Wuya felt even stronger than what Wang Yin had projected.
Whenever Wen Wuya showered her with affection and attention, it only made Bai Zhenzhen feel deeply uncomfortable.
There was, however, one crucial difference between him and Wang Yin…
“This guy hasn’t even transferred a single Spirit Coin so far.”
“Trash.”
In response to Wen Wuya’s concerned inquiry, Bai Zhenzhen casually replied, “Just warming up with a quick jog.”
Suddenly, Bai Zhenzhen’s brow furrowed, and she instinctively clutched her lower abdomen.
The Divine Spirit Root, still adjusting to its new vessel, had just pulsed erratically, sending sharp pains through her Dantian and meridians.
Noticing her reaction, Wen Wuya asked anxiously, “Zhenzhen, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
Clutching her stomach, Bai Zhenzhen said, “It’s nothing. I just bumped into something while warming up.”
“Do you need pain medication?” Wen Wuya asked.
Bai Zhenzhen waved her hand. “It’s fine, it’ll pass in a bit.”
“Let’s go, the competition’s about to start.”
At the construction site on the 667th floor, Yu Xinghan noticed Zhang Yu had returned unnoticed.
Seeing Zhang Yu’s refreshed and invigorated appearance after returning the Divine Spirit Root, Yu Xinghan felt a sense of familiarity.
A faint smile curved his lips. “Ah, so you went to relax?”
Just then, the first match of the Flying Sword Tournament officially began, immediately drawing the attention of countless viewers, including Yu Xinghan.
Yu Xinghan, Ying Xin, and Zhang Yu continued their overtime work at the construction site while watching the live broadcast through their Bionics.
The first match wasn’t held within Myriad Laws University City but had been arranged tens of thousands of meters above the ground.
Contestants from various teams stood on cloud platforms suspended in the raging winds, tasked with guiding their flying swords to strike targets eighty kilometers away.
Ying Xin remarked, “Flying swords capable of hitting targets eighty kilometers away… there isn’t a single poor person among these contestants.”
Zhang Yu knew that the Heavenly Sword Sect had deployed eighty-four thousand Sky-Patrolling Flying Swords across the Second Layer, establishing a Spirit Realm Network that blanketed the entire Kunxu Second Layer. This enabled them to remotely control their flying swords for beyond-visual-range strikes.
“But how do the other sects manage this?”