Chapter 328: Wang Yin's Dao Heart Shattered

Chapter 328: Wang Yin’s Dao Heart Shatters

During this period while Zhang Yu cooperated with Tian Yang, thanks to Wang Yin’s daily sponsorship, Zhang Yu had food to eat every day, replenishing his vitality through nourishment and fortifying his foundation.

Professional masseurs provided him with massages, aiding his physical recovery and accelerating the restoration of his bodily functions after each cultivation session.

"As for the side effects of the masseurs, I naturally overcame them with my supreme willpower."

Coupled with potent medicinal supplements and the dense spiritual energy of the cemetery environment, his cultivation conditions had never been better, and the speed of his progress far surpassed anything he had experienced before.

"If Wang Yin knew that Tian Yang and I were merely putting on an act to swindle his spirit coins, and that I never left the construction site after work each day, he’d be even more furious, wouldn’t he? He’d probably hate me even more intensely."

Upon hearing Zhang Yu’s words, Fu Ji remarked, "If he learns the truth, I’m afraid he’ll be the first to suffer."

Zhang Yu was surprised. "Himself?"

Fu Ji explained, "Hehe, the most important aspect of deceiving someone is to let them reap some benefits."

"Only after gaining profits and tasting the rewards will a person plunge headlong into the trap, sinking deeper and deeper until, in the end, they refuse to face the truth even when they know it’s a scam."

"Wang Yin is a wealthy man. Hatred alone wouldn’t be enough to make him so actively involved."

"I think…" Fu Ji speculated, "it’s likely as I guessed before. You’ve become his inner demon. He needs to use you to mend his flaws and elevate his Dao heart."

"And if he learns the truth, realizing that you haven’t been manipulated by him but instead have used the resources he invested to cultivate even better… then his inner demon will likely intensify, the flaws in his cultivation method will worsen, and his Dao heart may not only fail to recover but could even regress."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered. "So that means… I now hold another card to use against him?"

Fu Ji said calmly, "But this card isn’t solely in your hands."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Tian Yang… and his friend from the Netherworld University? Could it be that someone from the Netherworld University is setting a trap for Wang Yin?"

Lacking sufficient information, Zhang Yu’s understanding of the full picture remained like a blind man touching an elephant, making it difficult to grasp the whole truth.

He decided to set aside these distracting thoughts and focus on his cultivation. After all, achievements, rankings, and cultivation level were the foundations of his standing in the Ten Thousand Laws University.

Taking a deep breath, he once again began circulating his breathing technique.

In the days that followed, Zhang Yu spent his time cultivating, working, attending online classes, eating, receiving massages, occasionally spending spirit coins on various cultivation services, and finding time to assist Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan in their cultivation.

Every day, he felt that twenty-four hours were far from enough, wishing he could split himself into several more clones.

Under such circumstances, his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed. On this day, Zhang Yu was cultivating at the construction site as usual.

His Dao heart had now reached Level 14 (25.3%).

Feeling his increasingly resolute will and the white ox in his mind striding through rolling black mud, standing taller and prouder, Zhang Yu thought, "After reaching Level 15 Dao heart, I can attempt to cultivate the second heart technique."

"Come to think of it, I haven’t gone for a compatibility test yet."

"I wonder which heart technique is most suitable for me and the Remnant Ox Sacrificial Heart Art?"

At the same time, the flow of spiritual energy within Zhang Yu’s body grew increasingly turbulent. His spiritual energy had reached 610.9, and its quality had attained a level of 165%.

With every movement, his aura surged forth like rolling clouds, forming vast expanses of mist, stirring up whirlpools, twisting steel meshes, assembling and disassembling debris, or clearing away garbage…

But in the next moment, Zhang Yu’s entire body trembled as he felt his flesh, spiritual energy, and aura merging seamlessly, like milk blending with water.

"Physical strength has broken through to Level 15."

Although Zhang Yu’s primary cultivation focus during this period was the breathing technique, he still found time to train his physical strength whenever possible.

Especially with daily meals and massages, coupled with the daily tempering under the thirtyfold gravity enhancement of the Nine Prisons Mountain-Suppressing Belt…

His physical strength had finally reached Level 15.

"Just as the Wolf Companion Art says…"

Zhang Yu flicked his finger lightly, and his aura rippled like water, transmitting the force of his flick far away until it struck a wall over ten meters distant, producing a soft *tap*.

With his physical strength reaching Level 15, Zhang Yu could feel his spiritual energy and body merging more deeply, as if his aura had become an extension of his body.

The power of every punch and kick was transmitted far away through his aura.

Later, he conducted a measurement in the teaching area. His aura transmission rate was 35%, and the maximum transmission distance was 38 meters.

This meant that through martial aura, he could transmit up to 35% of the force of a punch.

And this 35% of force could travel along his aura as far as 38 meters.

Beyond 38 meters, the transmitted force would rapidly diminish.

"To improve the aura transmission rate and maximum transmission distance, it’s related to my spiritual energy level, spiritual energy quality, physical strength, and martial skills."

Zhang Yu thought, "It requires comprehensive improvement. I’ll take it step by step."

Spreading his fingers and exerting a slight force, his Formless Cloud Aura took the shape of his hand over ten meters away, gently lifting a pile of bricks.

His aura had become like new limbs, transmitting force with a mere thought.

"This makes work much more convenient."

Apart from improvements in strength, Zhang Yu’s greatest gain during this period was spirit coins.

Although he had spent quite a bit, the spirit coins transferred by Tian Yang on several occasions had steadily increased his balance.

Especially after the recent act of failing to apply for overtime, Tian Yang and Wang Yin traded a magical artifact produced by the Netherworld University. Following the transaction, Tian Yang transferred a full 22.5 spirit coins to Zhang Yu at half the market price.

This often led Zhang Yu to reflect, "Wang Yin truly is a fat sheep. How many people and jobs has he single-handedly supported?"

As a result, Zhang Yu’s spirit coin balance had now grown to over 29.1.

As for how to spend these spirit coins next, with so many possible uses, Zhang Yu hadn’t yet decided.

Just then, two figures approached excitedly. Yu Xinghan called out, "Brother!"

Li Xiao added, "Brother Yu!"

Yu Xinghan couldn’t wait. "Let’s go, it’s time for the massage."

Though Li Xiao remained silent, he gazed at Zhang Yu with eager eyes.

Thanks to Wang Yin’s extravagance during this period, not only did Zhang Yu hire multiple masseurs daily, but Yu Xinghan and Li Xiao also occasionally took advantage of masseurs who weren’t fully booked, since Wang Yin was footing the bill anyway.

Zhang Yu pulled up Tian Yang’s profile in his Eye Socket and said, "It seems the arrangements haven’t been made yet."

His daily massages were always scheduled by Tian Yang, who notified him once everything was ready.

Upon hearing this, Yu Xinghan looked slightly disappointed. The third eye in his mind rotated as he thought, "Sigh, I’ve almost learned all the techniques of those masseurs. Could it be that there won’t be any arrangements today?"

Using the imitation function of his Three-Eyes Divine Ability, Yu Xinghan had been secretly learning the massage techniques of the masseurs.

Just then, Zhang Yu received a message from Tian Yang: The situation may have been exposed.

…

Netherworld University.

Wang Yin watched the video appearing in his Eye Socket, his expression growing increasingly grim.

In the video, Zhang Yu was eating heartily, devouring bowls of Celestial Essence Rice and plates of Dragon Liver and Phoenix Gall.

After finishing five bowls of rice and three plates of meat, Zhang Yu showed no signs of fatigue, displaying astonishing digestive capabilities.

The video Wang Yin was watching had been recorded not long ago, during a banquet hosted by Ye Xingli, where Zhang Yu was seen eating and drinking.

Watching Zhang Yu’s calm and unruffled demeanor in the video, Wang Yin thought to himself, "So… this is his true appetite, isn’t it?"

Beyond that, more news about Zhang Yu's recent situation surfaced before him.

"Tian Yang... Zhang Yu..."

Wang Yin gritted his teeth and said, "Playing me?"

Thinking of how wealthy he was, yet he had been toyed with so thoroughly by the other party—the money he had thrown down not only failed to torment Zhang Yu but instead greatly aided Zhang Yu's cultivation—Wang Yin's rage erupted like a volcano.

As his fury surged, Wang Yin felt the mental cultivation method of the Emperor's Imperial Heart in his mind almost grind to a halt. His Dao Heart, which had just recovered to level 16, now teetered on the brink of collapse.

His face alternating between pale and flushed, Wang Yin felt the magic power within his body and his flesh and blood spiral out of control, while a sharp pain shot through his internal organs...

Pfft!

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and felt his Dao Heart regress to level 15, with signs of further decline.

"Damn it... That beast Tian Yang actually teamed up with Zhang Yu to deceive me?"

"And Mo Xingzi—he was the one who introduced Tian Yang to me. Was he doing it on purpose? Trying to set a trap to ruin my Dao Heart?"

Wang Yin knew that the more he dwelled on it, the worse it would be, but he couldn't control the thoughts flashing through his mind.

The more he thought about being played, about Zhang Yu's secret gloating these past few days, the more unstable his Dao Heart became, and the greater the risk of his inner power spiraling further out of control.

But just then, a woman's voice reached his ears: "My son, there's no need to overthink. It was I who instructed Mo Xingzi to do this."

"Mom?" Wang Yin was momentarily stunned, torn between shock, anger, and confusion. "You told Mo Xingzi to deceive me?"

The woman replied calmly, "I only asked him to point out the flaws in your heart. I never expected he would actually find someone to provoke you with Zhang Yu."

Without giving Wang Yin a chance to speak, she continued quickly, "My son, since your birth, you have sailed smoothly through life, and later you even mastered the Emperor's Imperial Heart cultivation method... I have always worried about one thing."

"This cultivation method, after all, originates from the ancient emperors of dynasties. Success follows compliance, failure follows defiance. But in this life, even immortals face setbacks, let alone us?"

"As the saying goes, human strength has its limits. No matter how much wealth you hold, there will come a time when you fail."

"The key is not to avoid failure but to know how to rise from it."

"This time, Zhang Yu, a pauper, defeated you, and you could throw money at him for revenge. But what if next time, the one who defeats you is richer and more powerful than you? What will you do then?"

Wang Yin murmured, "Mom, you want me to change my mindset and mend the flaws in my heart myself?"

"Exactly," she replied calmly. "Cultivation methods are meant to aid practitioners, not dictate their actions."

"You must master the method, not let it shackle your thoughts."

Wang Yin still struggled to let go, clenching his teeth as he said, "But Zhang Yu..."

The woman said indifferently, "Zhang Yu is nothing but an ant, destined to scrape by on construction sites. From start to finish, he was merely someone else's tool. Think carefully: was it the tool that ruined your plans, or the one holding it at the time?"

"Zhang Yu is not even worth my attention."

"Compared to him, I care more about the flaws in your heart."

"Although your Dao Heart has regressed this time, it has also fully exposed the flaws within you. This is the best opportunity for you to refine your mindset and mend those flaws. If you cannot mend them, you will never hope to achieve the Golden Core, proving you are nothing more than this, and there is no need to waste spiritual coins."

"If you can mend them, I will arrange a mentor for you. Spend the next year preparing diligently for the postgraduate entrance exams."

"In the future, when you break through to the Golden Core and strive for the Nascent Soul, look back at this insignificant Zhang Yu, and he will already be nothing but dried bones in a grave."

...

Since learning that the news had been exposed, Zhang Yu had remained vigilant, guarding against any possible retaliation from Wang Yin.

But several days passed in the blink of an eye, and as May approached, Zhang Yu felt everything was calm and peaceful, as if nothing had happened at all.

At the same time, he finally mastered his sixth breathing technique, unlocking the first layer of effect for the Flowing Qi Meridian.

(End of Chapter)