Chapter 296: Earning Spiritual Coins, Spending Spiritual Coins

Chapter 296: Earning Spirit Coins, Spending Spirit Coins

With the activation of the Infinite Vibration Zen, Zhang Yu felt a resonant hum within his body. His flesh and blood were tempered through repeated vibrations, while the concrete encased in his protective energy expelled air bubbles more efficiently under the oscillations, speeding up the process even further.

"Excellent..." Zhang Yu thought to himself. "This way, I can both improve work efficiency and cultivate the Earthwork Saint Body."

"I should continue following this approach while working on the construction site."

"Many of the techniques within the Earthwork Saint Body should complement the tasks here."

However, as the work progressed and the Infinite Vibration Zen continued to operate, Zhang Yu began to feel his body growing sore and weak.

He recalled the side effects described in the Infinite Vibration Zen.

"Prolonged operation can damage nerve endings, joints, muscles, and tendons, leading to muscle tremor syndrome."

"In severe cases, it may even cause fingertip gangrene, limb deformities, and severely impair physical motor functions..."

"But..."

Zhang Yu took a deep breath and, while maintaining the Infinite Vibration Zen, focused on controlling the activation of his body to continuously repair the damaged areas.

As Zhang Yu worked diligently, not far away, Yu Xinghan lay on a wooden plank, quietly gazing at the starlit night sky.

"Sigh, this work is too exhausting. I need to rest, or my body will suffer."

"In the path of immortal cultivation, balancing income and health is crucial."

"I can't spend half my earnings on medical bills in the end."

On the other side, Li Xiao watched Yu Xinghan lying down and secretly laughed at his inability to endure hardship.

"If he can't even handle this much hardship, how can he survive in earthwork?"

Li Xiao watched the number of spirit coins in his salary steadily increase, feeling more and more motivated. His sore muscles seemed insignificant now.

Especially when looking at the vast construction site spanning the entire 666th floor, Li Xiao felt as if mountains of gold and silver were waiting for him to collect.

Yu Xinghan observed Li Xiao working tirelessly and thought, "How can he keep going? This guy must have been hiding his strength all along, just as Zhang Yu said."

Then, Yu Xinghan turned his gaze to Zhang Yu and noticed that his body had subtly expanded, radiating even more astonishing power.

Zhang Yu channeled his protective energy, pouring concrete over large sections of rebar mesh like a giant dragon rolling through a river of steel.

To increase efficiency, Zhang Yu had slightly activated the War Demon Life-Burning Technique, boosting his physical strength by 0.2.

Thanks to the bodily activation brought by the Remnant Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Technique, he could fully withstand the physical damage caused by the War Demon Life-Burning Technique and the Infinite Vibration Zen.

Zhang Yu noticed that his work salary had quietly risen to 0.01135 spirit coins, prompting him to intensify the operation of his techniques.

Watching Zhang Yu work even faster, Yu Xinghan thought, "What a monstrous physique."

He recalled how Zhang Yu had repeatedly collapsed under Starfire True Person's training on the first floor, only to quickly recover and stand up again. A look of envy flashed in his eyes.

Meanwhile, behind the construction site's surveillance cameras, Tu Lishan was observing the work performance of the new students.

"That Yu Xinghan kid... knows how to slack off quite well."

"Li Xiao is diligent and hardworking, a promising talent for earthwork."

As he observed, Tu Lishan thought to himself, "And Zhang Yu... truly embodies the Earthwork Saint Body. His efficiency equals that of twenty Qi Refinement laborers, yet his salary is only ten times theirs."

"His martial arts aptitude is poor, but he's diligent, hardworking, and can endure hardship. His physical condition isn't bad either, and he comes from a rural area like the first floor, lacking money..."

Poor aptitude, good physique, willingness to endure hardship, impoverished background, rural origins... In Tu Lishan's eyes, this was the very definition of the Earthwork Saint Body. He was a natural seed for earthwork.

At the same time, Ying Xin and two others, following their quality inspection supervisor, arrived at Zhang Yu's work area.

Seeing this, Yu Xinghan immediately stood up and resumed working.

Ying Xin watched the three toiling away and thought, "Construction site work wears down the body the most. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would eventually fall ill if they expended themselves like this every day."

Tasks like Zhang Yu's concrete pouring, maintaining protective energy and high-frequency vibrations year after year, could easily lead to meridian expansion syndrome.

Long-term physical vibrations could also cause muscle tremor syndrome.

Construction workers were plagued with ailments... Ying Xin had seen and heard too many such stories since childhood.

So, she told herself that once she joined the Earthwork Department, she would avoid such grueling labor.

She hoped that starting with her generation, future generations of her family would no longer have to endure such hardships.

"Let these first-floor people earn this sweat-and-blood money."

"I aim to become management material."

Ying Xin's primary goal in participating in this construction site internship was to attract the attention of a leader with outstanding performance in the upcoming assessment and be selected for fieldwork projects.

"The truly capable figures in the Earthwork Department aren't in the university city but are out running external projects."

Ying Xin thought to herself, "Otherwise, how could the College of Architecture support so many Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators with just the projects within the university city?"

"Especially now, with frequent university wars, it's the perfect time for the Earthwork Department to shine. It's a golden age for countless earthwork talents to rise and develop. How could I stay in the university city earning this meager, hard-earned money?"

"If I can be selected by the Earthwork Department's deputy director for that project..." Thoughts of the Seven Earthwork Secrets surfaced in Ying Xin's mind.

She knew she was no match for Gongshu Jin or Ji Yuanshu and couldn't compete with them in rankings.

"But who says only those who rank first in their class for seven consecutive years have the chance to master all Seven Earthwork Secrets, merge the seven energies, and grasp the Heaven Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power?"

As a sixth-generation earthwork practitioner, Ying Xin understood that the wealth of information she possessed would be key to her future rise.

Unconsciously, Zhang Yu had worked through the entire night.

But under the effects of bodily activation, he remained vigorous and full of energy, appearing highly motivated.

Infinite Vibration Zen Level 4

Earned Salary: 0.038 Spirit Coins

Zhang Yu thought, "At this rate, I'll earn 1.14 spirit coins per month, 13.68 spirit coins per year... Starfire True Person didn't lie to me. Earthwork truly is lucrative."

Not far away, Li Xiao watched Zhang Yu and thought to himself, "Zhang Yu's workload today seems much greater than mine. As expected of my rival, he can endure even more hardship than I can."

On the other side, Ying Xin shook her head slightly. "At this rate, Zhang Yu will likely develop health issues within six months."

Just then, Huang Yun, a Yellow Turban Warrior, noticed the three students finishing their shift and reminded them, "Three of you, don't mind me saying this."

"Our line of work pays well, but it also wears down the body. You need to take good care of yourselves after each day's work."

"There's a massage parlor at the construction site entrance. The technicians there are skilled and provide excellent service, helping to alleviate much of the physical strain..."

With that, Huang Yun left. As a Yellow Turban Warrior, he could no longer benefit from massages for maintenance.

Hearing Huang Yun's advice, Zhang Yu paid little heed. After all, he possessed the Remnant Ox Self-Sacrifice Technique, and if bodily activation wasn't enough, he could switch to the Martial Dao Saint Embryo for self-healing.

At the very least, during tonight's work, he hadn't pushed himself to his limits to avoid drawing too much attention.

He had already planned how to use the money earned from the construction site.

"I'll buy high-quality spiritual energy."

"Not only can it be used to improve Le Mulan's spiritual energy quality in the future."

"I can also sell my own high-quality spiritual energy to earn money."

Zhang Yu deeply envied those who made money by selling spiritual energy. Compared to construction site labor, it was far, far easier.

On the other side, Li Xiao also dismissed Huang Yun's suggestion. He would rather spend any massage money on studying and cultivation.

"The matter of physical wear and tear is something that needs to be taken seriously," Yu Xinghan said gravely. "I'll go to the massage parlor first to try it out for you. If there are no issues, we can go together after work in the future."

Zhang Yu waved his hand dismissively. "Not interested. You go on your own."

...

Inside the massage parlor.

Yu Xinghan waited nervously for a few minutes. When he saw the massage therapist, whose muscles were more robust and physique even stronger than his own, his voice turned dry. "You..."

The other person grinned, patting their chest with a resounding thump. "Don't worry, little brother. We've been serving construction sites for a long time. We know how to help you maintain your muscles."

Yu Xinghan wanted to stand up and leave, but thinking of the spirit coins he had already paid, he ultimately held back.

He asked, "Do you have any female technicians?"

The other person laughed. "I am a woman."

Yu Xinghan took a deep breath. "Let's begin."

...

Over the next week, Zhang Yu was busy every single day, with no time to rest.

Every day, after taking his morning medicine, he would start classes, studying immortal knowledge such as formations, engineering, and force techniques, while also practicing the foundational methods of the civil engineering system.

After a full day of classes, he would receive infusions of high-quality spiritual energy. Once he had digested it, he would work overnight at the construction site, pouring concrete while cultivating the Wuji Vibration Zen.

In the morning, he would receive another infusion of high-quality spiritual energy, then head straight to the classroom without a break.

For this... he even invested an additional 0.5 spirit coins per month in high-quality spiritual energy. This month, the spirit coins he earned at the construction site were practically spent before they even arrived.

Unconsciously, a week passed. His Dao Heart reached Level 11 (93.6%), his spiritual energy increased to 320.5, his physical strength reached Level 11.367, and the quality of his spiritual energy also rose to 115%.

He also continuously advanced his Wuji Vibration Zen, which had now reached Level 13.

Upon breaking through to Level 10, he gained the Level 10 effect, allowing his physical body and protective energy to vibrate in sync, unleashing a higher frequency of vibration.

At the same time, this also increased the burden of Wuji Vibration Zen on his body, accelerating physical wear and tear and raising the likelihood of illness.

Whenever Zhang Yu had free time these days, he would read the descriptions of various techniques under the Civil Engineering Sacred Body, becoming increasingly certain of one thing.

"These techniques of the Civil Engineering Sacred Body either have severe side effects themselves, or the work environment they’re adapted to on construction sites is problematic. Conditions like pneumoconiosis, vibration syndrome, cancer... each one is more severe than the last."

(End of Chapter)