When Zhang Yu first arrived in Kunxu, he was quite cautious about borrowing money.
This caution stemmed from both the original body's past experiences and memories, as well as Zhang Yu's own wariness of loans from his past life.
However, after living in Kunxu for more than half a year and seeing many people borrowing money, his mindset has slowly begun to change.
"Taking pills to refine the body, borrowing money to make a profit..." Zhang Yu couldn't help but reflect, "I’m gradually being assimilated by Kunxu, becoming more and more like a local."
But Zhang Yu didn’t think that was a bad thing. People had to adapt to their environment, and if he wanted to climb the ranks in Kunxu, he had to follow its rules.
Refining the body meant taking pills! Cultivating immortality meant borrowing money!
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu had borrowed money from multiple platforms.
Now, Zhang Yu paid his loans on time every month, his bank transactions were booming, and his achievements had significantly improved. The total loan limit, when combined from various platforms, had increased by another 1 million.
So, just like that, Zhang Yu's account now held 1 million.
"Adding the 15,000 from before, I'll need to pay 40,000 in interest every month. By the time I reach the third year of high school, I’ll have to pay back the principal of 1.7 million from all platforms.""Plus the 5,000 from the interest-free loan, I need to pay a total of 45,000 per month."
Looking at the cold balance of over 1.3 million in his account, Zhang Yu let out a slow breath. There was a sense of overwhelming pressure on his shoulders, but at the same time, he was filled with motivation to go back and work even harder.
Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen, who had borrowed less money than Zhang Yu in the past, now went all-in and borrowed another 900,000, looking just as motivated to use this sum to fuel her cultivation after returning.
After more than ten hours, the two of them finally made their way back to Songyang City, preparing for yet another round of cultivation.
And time passed rapidly as they forged ahead…
...
In the apartment.
Zhang Yu took off his usual training weighted clothing and retrieved the newly purchased "training skin."
This training skin looked like a thin layer of human skin, its texture eerily close to the real thing. Zhang Yu couldn’t help but wonder, "Could this have been made from the skin of a master?"
With his knowledge of Kunxu, he knew that such a thing wasn’t entirely out of the question.
Fu Ji, however, sneered. "With the money you spent, you really think you can afford real skin?"
"This is obviously synthetic. It won’t fit 100%, at best 99%."
Once Zhang Yu put it on, he immediately felt the skin naturally adhering to his own body as though it became a new layer of his skin.
At the same time, it imposed a powerful sense of restraint on his body, forcing him to constantly exert effort to resist it, like training all his muscles continuously.
Yet, Zhang Yu didn’t feel any discomfort. In fact, he found it far more useful than his previous weighted clothes.
After a while, Zhang Yu opened his phone, clicked on the management app for the training skin, and chose to turn it off.
The sensation of restraint vanished instantly, and Zhang Yu couldn't feel the presence of the skin anymore.
"Breathing, sweating, and energy circulation are all unaffected."
"Not bad for a 100,000-yuan training skin. Now, I can add another layer of exercise at all times."
"And I can also turn it off whenever I don’t need it."
...
In the protected zone.
In the breeding chamber.
The little red panda, An'an, was hugging its large tail, observing Bai Zhenzhen doing her breathing exercises. It silently reflected that the time Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had spent here had at least doubled.
"I wonder if the time they've spent on tutoring Wenwu has also been extended by double?"
Though An'an had felt a pang of heartache when seeing the company’s assets being drained, it tried its best to conceal its emotions.
After all, someone like it, who hadn’t even finished elementary school, viewed high school students as brilliant beings.
When facing competitors like Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen from elite high schools, An'an always felt inferior, especially after learning about their impressive results. Every time it stood before them, a sense of self-deprecation and shame crept over it.
Because deep down, An'an knew that compared to them, it was basically a pure illiterate.
Especially Bai Zhenzhen, who always looked so cold, made An'an feel as if the latter probably looked down on it.
However, when Bai Zhenzhen was about to leave, An'an quickly scurried up and blocked her way, saying, "This is for you."
Bai Zhenzhen looked at the demon beast meat with a butterfly knot and asked curiously, "For me?"
An'an replied, "Thank you for tutoring Wenwu."
Seeing the slightly nervous look on An'an's face, Bai Zhenzhen accepted the demon beast meat and said, "You often have leftover demon beast meat that doesn’t sell, right?"
"Why don’t you sell it to me at a discount? I’ve been planning to stock up on some demon beast meat for nutritional supplementation."
An'an panicked, "You want me to sell out the company’s interests?"
Bai Zhenzhen smiled, rubbing An'an's ears, "You don’t want Wenwu’s grades to drop, right? Just sell it to me at a discount."
"The money you earn, if you feel uneasy about using it, you can always give it to Wenwu as a supplement."
An'an sighed internally, realizing it was gradually becoming the company’s inside mole, feeling unworthy of its 2,000 salary.
...
Back in the apartment.
As Zhang Yu turned on the newly bought spotlights, the entire room gradually shifted from bright to a blinding white light, until everything became almost invisible, including Zhang Yu himself.
Zhang Yu felt the Great Sun Qi Sea’s passive operation raging, and the immense power of the Great Sun Law flowing through his body like magma. In this environment, he began practicing the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy technique.
...
Late June.
In the apartment.
A cardboard box in the corner was filled with various potions from Le Mulan that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had received.
Le Mulan casually tossed her torn clothes into the nearby trash can.
Since she had sweat a lot today, her skin felt a bit dry.
While changing her clothes, she said, "Your strength has definitely increased a lot recently."
Zhang Yu smiled, "I owe it to your potions. Every time I use them, I feel full of energy."
Le Mulan glanced at Zhang Yu, noticing that he was focusing on the potion on the floor. She reminded, "The Bone-Flesh Enhancer works best when taken orally."
Zhang Yu couldn’t bring himself to do that. He suddenly stood up, quickly absorbed the potion, and began practicing the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy.
Le Mulan gave him a surprised look, then said as she left, "Next time, if you want me to prepare something beforehand, just let me know."
Back at Ziyun High School, Le Mulan, feeling dehydrated from the intense sweating, drank several cups of water. After finishing another cup, she turned to Lian Tianji beside her and said, "Go get me another glass of water."
"And next time before I leave school, you better prepare a whole bottle of water for me."
Lian Tianji nodded slightly, silently wondering, "What kind of real combat training could make someone sweat so much?"
...
At Songyang High.
In the spirit root rental office.
The administrator, Wei Xin, looked at Zhang Yu in surprise. "You want to borrow for how long?"
Zhang Yu arrogantly replied, "What’s the discount if I rent it for a month?"
Although Bai Zhenzhen had a true spirit root that could be rotated for use, it was still shared between the two of them, and there were some residual effects. At this moment, with a large sum of money in hand, Zhang Yu was thinking of renting a muscle-boosting spirit root. While Bai Zhenzhen used her spirit root, he would use the muscle-boosting one, allowing both of them to cultivate with a spirit root 24/7.
Wei Xin nodded repeatedly, eyes shining, "Of course, we can offer a discount. For a muscle-boosting spirit root, a month’s rent would be 2 million."
Zhang Yu fell silent, realizing he had been too hasty in asking.
"Forget it, let’s rent it by the hour. It’s more flexible that way."
...
End of June.
At Bai Long High.
Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu clashed, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as they fiercely fought.
Sensing the powerful strikes from his opponent, Yu Xinghan asked, "Have you learned the Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm?"
Zhang Yu unleashed a palm strike, accompanied by the sound of a dragon’s roar and an elephant’s trumpet. He shouted, "Because of you, I spent 200,000 buying this set of techniques. Don’t you think you should sponsor me a bit?"
Yu Xinghan countered with a palm and laughed, "You can only blame your own strong martial talent, which is too expensive."
Yu Xinghan, having already seen Zhang Yu’s information, had guessed that Zhang Yu might eventually learn this technique, especially considering its nature as a purely physical martial skill.
But this was his purpose.
When Zhang Yu used the same technique as him, it would make it easier for Yu Xinghan to use his third eye to absorb and replicate Zhang Yu's martial power.
However, Yu Xinghan didn’t want to point it out. That would certainly result in Zhang Yu asking for more money.
"Thankfully... thankfully, he learned the technique himself during our training. I just had to buy it."
"Hehe, saved a little money."
However, upon thinking about Zhang Yu’s poverty and how he still spent 200,000, Yu Xinghan felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry, Zhang Yu. But in the competition for the Immortal Dao, either you spend more money, or I do."
"If you want to go further on the Immortal Path, there’s no room for hesitation."
"As for Zhang Yu’s Foundation Establishment exam, I don’t even care about it."
In Yu Xinghan’s eyes, Zhang Yu would fall further behind him next year due to financial constraints. There was no competition between them in the exam.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, using the first-level Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm, glanced at the Feathered Tome, noting that he had already reached level three (5/30) in this martial skill. He felt the new benefits this technique brought to his combat abilities.
Since his regular cultivation time was occupied by the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy, Zhang Yu could only practice other martial skills during combat training.
So, he simply bought the rights to use the Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm and practiced it during his sparring with Yu Xinghan.
He thought, "Sorry, Yu Xinghan... but using the first-level Dragon Elephant Mountain-Crushing Palm or my highest level, the effect is pretty much the same."
"I can’t reveal how terrifying my talent is."
"I’ll have to sacrifice your training quality and use the first-level version."
"After all, to pass the Foundation Establishment exam this year, I’ll do anything and seize every opportunity to grow stronger."
...
Time passed rapidly as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen relentlessly spent money and trained hard.
Before they knew it, it was already early July.
With only a month and a half left until the Foundation Establishment exam in mid-August, the tension grew…