Chapter 337: Competition Team

Chapter 337: The Competition Team

Hearing Zhang Yu's question, Zhang Pianpian was momentarily taken aback and replied, "Who in this world doesn't need money?"

"I am indeed trying to gather a sum of money. Although I'm still a bit short, it shouldn't take much longer to collect it all."

Upon hearing Zhang Pianpian's response, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Could it be that she’s only short of 50 spirit coins?"

But he wasn’t sure whether the 50 spirit coins reflected in his Dao Seed had anything to do with the money Zhang Pianpian was gathering. Unable to bring it up, he could only bury his doubts deep in his heart for the time being.

At the same time, Zhang Yu also felt that his own spirit coins were becoming increasingly insufficient.

"Sigh, since I’ve achieved the unity of spirit and flesh, I might as well try it on my own first. If I can’t manage it, then I’ll spend the money."

Over the next few days, Zhang Yu and the other three went about their studies, cultivation, and work as usual, as if nothing had happened.

On this day, Zhang Yu was still practicing his breathing technique in the cemetery as he always did.

After days of diligent cultivation, he had already completed the seventh breathing technique of the Qi Vein Long Flow and was now practicing the eighth—the Spirit-Guiding Body Tempering Technique.

At this moment, his spiritual energy flowed smoothly, with dense spiritual essence coursing through his meridians, continuously dispersing and silently tempering his muscles and sinews.

During his time working and cultivating in the cemetery, since he spent more hours each day meditating and practicing breathing techniques, Zhang Yu had specifically chosen a breathing technique that could temper his muscles and sinews while he practiced, ensuring his physical cultivation wouldn’t fall too far behind.

However, as he practiced the seventh and eighth breathing techniques, he could also feel his cultivation efficiency slowing down.

This slowdown... wasn’t due to his environment or any changes in his condition, but simply because the breathing techniques Zhang Yu was practicing were becoming increasingly difficult.

"But there’s nothing to be done about it," Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. "There are only a dozen or so breathing techniques in the Qi Vein Long Flow set, and I’ve already completed the simplest ones. The remaining ones are quite complex, each cycle taking a considerable amount of time."

"Even for someone like me, it would probably take half a month, or even a full month, to raise a single breathing technique to level 20."

Zhang Yu knew that if anyone heard his lament, they might want to beat him up.

But for someone accustomed to rapidly improving his techniques, taking a month to cultivate a technique to level 20 felt somewhat lacking.

After a long while, Zhang Yu felt the medicinal effects from his last meal wearing off, so he slowly ended his cultivation session and took a moment to check the accumulated messages in his Eye Bone.

First, he replied to the group-buying messages in his dormitory group, then skimmed through the homework notifications in his class group, one by one.

Next were the various chaotic messages in different groups.

There was a forging group that Night Xingli from the Artifact Forging Department had added him to, where two factions were arguing over which brand of leg tendon technique bones was better—Diamond Profound Forging or Heavenly Craftsmanship.

Then, in the Songyang Hometown Group, more bad news had arrived. A student from the Shuizhou Monster Descendant Vocational College, trying to save money by not taking medicine, had been pushing himself too hard for years, staying up late and nearly dying from cardiac arrest. Now, he was borrowing money in the group to buy energy capsules so he could stay up late without worry.

Chu Qiuhe from Diamond University: No borrowing money in the group. First warning, second offense results in removal.

Xiong Wenwu from Tianyao University: We’re all fellow townsfolk. He just wants to borrow some money to stay awake—no need to be so strict, right?

Chu Qiuhe from Diamond University: If you have no money, just go to sleep.

Another monster descendant student chimed in: Telling him to sleep every day in college is like 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 Diamond University: Who knows if it’s a scam? If he’s so poor he can’t even afford to stay up late, what’s the point of cultivating immortality?

After briefly glancing at the arguments in the group, Zhang Yu turned his attention to other accumulated messages.

Then, he noticed that Cong Na from the competition team had sent him a message.

Cong Na: Everyone else on the team has agreed. I’ll send you the competition materials and add you to the group.

Zhang Yu first accepted the competition materials, skimmed through them briefly, and then agreed to the group invitation.

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 aside from Cong Na and Ma Xuan, no one else welcomed him. Their conversation was quickly buried under other messages.

Zhang Yu took a closer look and realized that three other members in the group were engrossed in a heated discussion about Dao techniques, their messages flooding the chat box line after line.

Zhang Yu then checked the profiles of the other five members in the group besides himself.

He noticed that, aside from Cong Na, who only displayed her class ranking as fifth, the others showed both their class rankings and their rankings within the entire department.

Among them, Ma Xuan was ranked 35th in the department, while the remaining three were also in the forties or fifties.

Including Zhang Yu, the six of them made up a full competition team.

Zhang Yu also checked their academic years and found that the oldest was only in their fifth year of university.

Zhang Yu understood that being able to break into the top 50 of the entire department at this stage meant these individuals were elite academic achievers in the Civil Engineering Department.

"No wonder no one paid me any attention," Zhang Yu thought, completely understanding. After all, it was normal for high-ranking students to even belittle lower-ranking ones. Ignoring them... was actually quite polite.

Just then, a student named Bu Ziran posted a short video showing a freshly unpacked lung technique bone.

Bu Ziran: The latest lung technique bone from the Myriad Dao Artisan Sect. Just by breathing, you can accumulate and refine lung metal sword energy.

Bu Ziran: Subscribe to the Myriad Dao Artisan Sect’s monthly service, and you can switch between 23 different sword energies. Bu Ziran: Got it for 18.88 spirit coins.

Seeing the price, Zhang Yu wanted to say how expensive it was, but then another student named Yang Yan replied: That’s cheap. Did you get a discount?

Bu Ziran: I have an uncle who works at the Myriad Dao Artisan Sect. This was an insider price.

Watching the subsequent conversations in the group about technique bones, medicines, Dao techniques, and magical treasures, Zhang Yu thought of the flour brick he had fought tooth and nail to obtain not long ago. He felt increasingly out of place in this group, unable to participate in these discussions.

Seeing that even these fourth- and fifth-year academic elites hadn’t broken into the top 20 of the department, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. "That old man Starfire... still wants me to transfer to the Artifact Forging Department after joining the Civil Engineering Department. Does he even know how difficult it is to transfer departments in university nowadays?"

"To climb into the top 20 of the entire department before the end of my third year... it’s tough."

Zhang Yu knew that to surpass middle- and upper-year students in comprehensive scores during the lower years, he would need to study middle- and upper-year courses in advance.

This required not only terrifying talent but also a substantial amount of money.

Students like Ji Yuanshu from his class were prodigies aiming to transfer departments.

Over time, Zhang Yu had gradually come to understand the conventional cultivation plans of such transfer-seeking prodigies.

"In their first and second years, they mostly lay the foundation, pushing their basic stats to the peak of Foundation Establishment."

"In their third year, they begin advanced studies, accelerating through the Spirit Realm to complete many upper-year courses in their department ahead of schedule and pass the exams."

"Finally, during their third year, they accumulate a large number of comprehensive points, pushing their rankings into the top 50, which allows them to transfer departments."

"And if transferring from the Civil Engineering Department to the Artifact Forging Department, the requirements are even stricter—they need to break into the top 20."

Zhang Yu thought, "Old man Starfire might have been out of university for too long."

"And my sister thinks... even if I can’t do it, I can always transfer to artifact forging during graduate school."

"But..." Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened as he made a firm resolution. "I want to enter one of the Ten Great Sects. I need to seize the time... to test into one of the Ten Great Sects before their admission channels close."

"And the Ten Great Sects... don’t accept students from the Civil Engineering Department."

Zhang Yu thought, "I must join the Artifact Forging Department earlier and start studying its content sooner."

"Transferring to artifact forging during graduate school... is too slow, far too slow."

Looking at the rankings of Ma Xuan and the others, Zhang Yu felt a renewed sense of urgency and immediately focused on his cultivation.

However, the effects of his last medicinal meal had worn off, and his breathing efficiency had dropped significantly.

Zhang Yu decided to seize this fleeting window of time to attempt the union of soul and flesh before his next dose of medicine.

“According to Teacher Feng Jiu from the Daoist Mind class, the realm of heart-method circulation… a twenty-four-hour cycle is merely the foundation.”

“Beyond that lies the realm of semi-instinct.”

“And above semi-instinct is the state of total instinct, the perfect union of soul and flesh.”

Sensing the movement of the heart-method within his mind at this very moment, Zhang Yu recalled the sensation of entering a state of suspended animation on the first floor when the building collapsed and buried his body.

“At that time, to the outside world, I appeared completely comatose, but in reality, I retained a final, lingering thread of desire to survive.”

“Back then, I thought of nothing, contemplated nothing, and only felt myself within a dark world of consciousness, exhausting every effort to activate my body’s vitality to sustain the growth of my flesh and blood.”

“That state of maintaining a final sliver of clarity in the mind is roughly the level of semi-instinct.”

“Whereas the state of soul and flesh as one means that even if one truly loses consciousness and falls into a complete coma, the circulation of the heart-method continues automatically, just like breathing.”

Zhang Yu attempted to trigger the suspended animation state of the Spring and Autumn Endless Chan, continuously erasing the stray thoughts within his heart.

Yet no matter how he extinguished the countless notions in his mind, a final thought would always remain, preserving his ultimate shred of clarity.

“It really is difficult,” Zhang Yu muttered inwardly. “To maintain the circulation of the heart-method even while unconscious… this is truly no task for mere mortals.”

In the days that followed, whenever he found a spare moment during his daily cultivation, Zhang Yu would attempt to achieve that state of union between soul and flesh.

Though success eluded him, he could still feel the circulation of the heart-method becoming subtly smoother.

In particular, each time he sought to enter that state where only a single thread of thought remained in his mind, the speed of his entry grew faster and faster.

As time hurried past, the beginning of June arrived in the blink of an eye.

More than a month had already slipped away since Zhang Yu first set foot in the cemetery project.

During this past month, the early stages had been supported by President Wang’s funding, and though that later vanished… relying on the daily potent medicines and the uniquely blessed environment of the cemetery, Zhang Yu’s magic power still made tremendous strides, surging to a level of 661.3.

As the numerical value grew, the efficiency of his magic power quality improvement slowed down, yet it still reached 168%.

Under the constant circulation of the heart-method, his Daoist Mind also advanced steadily, reaching Level 14 (64.8%).

Because he had focused intensely on breathing exercises during this period, sacrificing a great deal of training time, his physical strength had only increased to Level 15.18.

Meanwhile, his astral qi conductivity and maximum conduction distance steadily advanced alongside his foundational attributes, reaching 42% and 44 meters.

On this day, Ma Xuan contacted Zhang Yu once more, inviting him to participate in the integration training for the competition team.

(End of Chapter)