Chapter 157: True Crippled Ox, True Self-Sacrifice, True Mental Method

Chapter 157 True Broken‑Ox True Self‑Sacrifice True Heart Method

Beyond the illusion.

Song Xu watched the scene, astonished: “You say Zhang Yu is cultivating the Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice Heart Technique?”

Mo Tianyi found it odd as well, saying, “Zhang Yu has registered this heart method, and, boss, look at him now—transformed into a gravely ill worker, persisting on the assembly line. Isn’t that precisely the effect of the Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice technique?”

Song Xu stroked his chin, puzzled: “Isn’t this skill meant for the poorest of the lowly, to make them labor more, seek less treatment, demand fewer compensations—a worthless cultivation for worthless people?”

“Zhang Yu intends to use this method to elevate his Dao‑heart?”

“Does he not fear that he will become ever more attuned to this technique, ending up a wretched soul who only endures blows, never retaliates, forever swallowing his grievances?”

“On the contrary, that Bai Zhenzhen…” Song Xu evaluated, “Her Cold‑Soul Ice‑Heart Technique deepens in such a setting; she will surely shine on future examinations.”

As Song Xu and Mo Tianyi were commenting, the scene within the illusion shifted once more.

……

On the assembly line.

With Bai Zhenzhen’s vigor and a flurry of actions, every worker was squeezed to the limit.

In that circumstance, Zhang Yu felt hope draining from his heart, his whole body ablaze with pain as if flames licked him, making concentration on his work impossible.

“It hurts so much…”

Zhang Yu did not wish the pain to continue.

Yet he knew that to keep the Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice technique effective, to continue suppressing the ache in his heart, he needed at least a sliver of hope.

Even a tiny hope of leaving early would suffice.

So he stepped forward, looked at Bai Zhenzhen and said, “Boss, I’d like to take a day off today.”

Bai Zhenzhen’s gaze swept over him, and when she saw Zhang Yu’s face, a flicker of emotion flashed across her expression.

After hearing that his request stemmed from injury, Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly, sighing, “You don’t want to work overtime?”

Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Bai Zhenzhen said, “It seems you’ve truly been exhausted.”

Then she turned to the assembled crowd and asked, “Who else wishes, like him, to refuse overtime?”

Watching the workers’ hesitant faces, unwilling to speak, Bai Zhenzhen pressed again, “Look at you, all meek and compliant, ready to obey any command. I employ people, not machines.”

“If you have any demands, step forward and tell me—show a little courage.”

Seeing employees, Zhang Yu among them, step up to refuse overtime, Bai Zhenzhen smiled with satisfaction, “Very well, refusing the factory’s assignments—you're all dismissed.”

Bai Zhenzhen glanced at the secretary, “We have a batch of fresh graduates ready to be hired; replace all these old, sick hands, and pay them nothing.”

Under the operation of the Cold‑Soul Ice‑Heart Technique, every worker before Bai Zhenzhen became merely a chip in her hand, waiting for her moves to generate more profit.

As she manipulated, the heart method flowed ever smoother, her Dao‑heart hardened like rock, invincible.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, hearing her words, felt his heart turn to utter darkness; all hope vanished with the loss of work… completely gone.

When every hope is stripped away, what is he to do?

How can he ever find hope again?

How can he continue to suppress the bone‑deep agony within him?

……

Song Xu, watching the scene, lamented, “The Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice technique is utterly useless; how could anyone choose such a method?”

“Making one’s mind understand and align with this technique… what good does it do?”

“It’s nothing but a hindrance.”

Mo Tianyi, however, reflected, “Enduring it all the way does indeed temper the Dao‑heart, doesn’t it?”

“Zhang Yu, being poor and lacking the qualifications to enter the top ten, is like us… often forced to endure.”

He said with empathy, “Compared to fighting, compared to rebellion… endurance is the only choice the poor have, isn’t it?”

Song Xu murmured to the illusionary Zhang Yu, “Keep enduring? But until when does that end?”

“No wonder he finally buckled under pressure and signed under a wealthy patron.”

“At least you didn’t pour too much investment into him at first.”

“He’s so impoverished in spirit that even his chosen heart method is a spineless one—hardly worth investing in.”

Yet at that moment, the shifting illusion left the two slightly startled.

……

Feeling hope utterly evaporate, Zhang Yu stood frozen in place.

Besides the workers’ mournful sighs and Bai Zhenzhen’s commands, he could faintly hear something else.

“Is that the voice of protesting workers outside?”

“Protest?”

The thought sparked a faint glimmer in Zhang Yu’s eyes.

Simultaneously, the heart method that had stalled in his mind showed signs of movement again.

In his mind’s vision, the broken ox, once mired in a swamp, had halted because hope was invisible.

Yet at this moment, as Zhang Yu’s thoughts shifted, a cold gleam seemed to flash from the broken horn of the ox.

“The only hope left is battle.”

“When all hope has perished, when darkness engulfs the present, when prayers yield no answer… only these broken horns can claim justice, forging a sliver of hope by one’s own hand…”

In that instant, a flash of enlightenment struck Zhang Yu’s heart.

“The Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice Heart Technique is not a martial art meant to suppress pain for the sake of labor.”

“Its original purpose is to care for crippled cultivators, to ease their suffering.”

“Yet deeper within the method lies a philosophy: even in a hopeless abyss, one must fight to the death, to wrest the final thread of hope!”

“Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice… that is the true essence of self‑sacrifice, not the perverse notion of harming one’s health to keep working.”

At that moment, the level‑10 Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice technique seemed to undergo a subtle transformation, raging ever more fiercely within Zhang Yu’s mind.

Zhang Yu felt his comprehension of the technique deepen anew.

He let out a roar, surged toward the confronting Bai Zhenzhen, bellowing, “All or nothing!”

Bai Zhenzhen, seeing Zhang Yu’s familiar face, furrowed her brows and stepped back, while Yu Xinghan and the other guards charged at him.

Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan’s guards quickly became a tangled melee.

Though Zhang Yu’s strength lagged behind the others, his reckless bravery knew no fear of death; he struck death‑defying blows, forcing the guards to retreat step by step.

After all, medical expenses can be reimbursed, but no amount of money revives a dead body.

Especially as Zhang Yu sensed that the more he faced this dire strait, the more his power surged.

Under the operation of the Broken‑Ox Self‑Sacrifice technique, latent potential deep within his body erupted beyond ordinary limits, making him fiercer with each clash.

The technique’s effect at that moment far exceeded any prior use.

Watching the guards temporarily driven back by his life‑risking assault, the remaining workers began to stir with restless intent.

Beside them, Bai Zhenzhen watched Zhang Yu fighting the others, and her emotions stirred once more, as the Cold Soul Ice Heart Technique seemed to encounter a barrier.

She felt a fleeting pang of compassion flash through her heart at that moment.

In that instant, a thought rose within her: she did not wish to see Zhang Yu beaten down further.

And as Bai Zhenzhen struggled to adapt to the method, the true spirit root in her dantian altered its interpretation of the Cold Soul Ice Heart Technique.

……

Observing the scene, Song Xu clicked his tongue in amazement: “What’s happening? Under the operation of the Sacrificial Ox Body‑Soul Technique, Zhang Yu can still fight with such vigor.”

Mo Tianyi replied, puzzled: “Could there be some hidden secret in the Sacrificial Ox Body‑Soul Technique?”

Yet something even more astonishing soon caught Mo Tianyi’s attention.

As Zhang Yu led the workers into a fierce clash with the guards, Bai Zhenzhen finally halted the fighting on both sides, announced increased benefits for the staff, and raised their wages.

Mo Tianyi grew increasingly doubtful: “Is this something the Cold Soul Ice Heart Technique can achieve?”

Song Xu said, “A shift in thought changes the interpretation and understanding of a method, and naturally the effects shift as well.”

“The deeper one’s comprehension of the method, the stronger its results become.”

“But in reality, for a person’s mind to change and for their grasp of a method to deepen, it usually requires ample time for contemplation and experience.”

“The existence of the spirit‑realm illusion accelerates this process through myriad scenarios.”

“From the two’s performance, it is clear that each has attained a deeper understanding of their respective methods.”

“After this illusion, both will surely have a firmer Dao‑heart, and the method’s power will grow even stronger.”

As he spoke, Song Xu saw the illusion shift once more.

……

With wages rising and benefits improving, the entire factory sprang back to life.

Though Bai Zhenzhen still presided over the factory with cool composure, she sensed that this calm differed from her earlier detachment.

If her previous calm had been a cold, calculating abandonment of sentiment,

then now her composure was infused with her humanity, no longer a blind pursuit of success and victory.

“This is… knowing what cannot be done yet doing it, doing what one truly wishes,” she thought.

For instance, she no longer wished to be an enemy of Zhang Yu across the way; even if profits fell and risks grew, she would accept it with poise and press on.

In that moment, Bai Zhenzhen’s grasp of the Cold Soul Ice Heart Technique deepened suddenly.

“Suppressing emotion, reducing everything to cold calculations of gain and loss, success, is not true calm—it is merely a repression of humanity.”

“Only when one can face failure with equanimity, and pursue one’s convictions without fear, does one truly follow the path of the Cold Soul Ice Heart Technique…”

At that instant, she felt like an assassin wielding a tiny blade—though the odds were slim, death loomed, she would still strike the decisive thrust with calm resolve.

Feeling the Cold Soul Ice Heart Technique pulse through her heart with an unprecedented effect, Bai Zhenzhen’s mind cleared, and her resolve hardened ever more.

She sensed that as her understanding of the technique deepened, its power grew ever stronger.

The greater the risk, the lower the chance of success, the more she felt her mind, body, and mana awaken with heightened vigor.

Then she, Zhang Yu, and Yu Xinghan watched the factory collapse under soaring wages and benefits, costs soaring, and pressure from rival plants driving it to total ruin…

……

Watching this, Mo Tianyi felt a stir in his heart and murmured, “Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen have good intentions.”

“If they hadn’t been forced by Zhang Pianpian to sign, and if you, boss, had guided them, perhaps they might have a sliver of hope to make the top ten.”

Song Xu replied coolly, “But as with every poor soul’s plight, noble ideas without wealth to back them are like flowers in a mirror, moon on water—ultimately doomed by this world.”

Mo Tianyi said, “Yet from this illusion, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s thoughts align closely with ours.”

“Perhaps if we ask them directly, they will reveal the secret of their rapid ascent, helping us poor folk carve out our own sky…”

The poor have always helped one another, breaking the net the rich have woven; this has long been the doctrine Song Xu taught Mo Tianyi, and the creed of the Poor Alliance.

Guided by this belief, they poured every ounce of support into Song Xu, hoping he would become the first to shatter the heavens and one day lead them soaring into the firmament.

Upon hearing this, Song Xu shook his head: “An illusion remains an illusion.”

“No matter what they think inside, in reality they become the rich man’s dogs; we cannot place too much trust in them.”

“We’ll use my method instead.”

“They will likely restart the illusion soon, continuing to temper their Dao‑heart, won’t they?”

“Notify me when they emerge.”

After waiting more than two hours, Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Yu Xinghan finally prepared to exit.

Meanwhile, in some underground chamber of the real world,

Song Xu knelt, mask upon his face, amid a strange ritual.

In his mind he whispered, “Zhang Yu is about to leave the illusion; I must commence the rite and summon his dark deity.”

(End of Chapter)