[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-no-money-what-cultivation":3,"chapter-no-money-what-cultivation-no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-197":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","No Money, What Cultivation?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},163546,323,"Chapter 197: Saint Body Complete, Exam Exemption","no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-197",197,"\u003Cp>Inside the cafeteria of Songyang High School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu scooped up a spoonful of pure white synthetic food and swallowed it, feeling the gritty texture scrape against his mouth as it passed through his throat, releasing a greasy odor of fat and protein.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the original-flavor synthetic food, completely unseasoned and unprocessed. It tasted like eating vomit, with a flavor reminiscent of a blend of insects and rotting meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how awful the taste, for Zhang Yu it was the cheapest and most cost-effective source of the fats, proteins, vitamins, and other nutrients he needed for survival and cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh, I'm so broke.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he was being tracked and monitored across the entire city, he had lost his job in the underground tutoring world, severely cutting his income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with the money from selling seeds and the subsidy from Bai Zhenzhen's food delivery work, after deducting the two big expenses—medicine and food—there was almost nothing left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On top of that, the 45,000 monthly loan interest made it even harder for Zhang Yu to save any money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll just have to save wherever I can.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, when eating at the cafeteria, Zhang Yu chose to enjoy the natural flavor of the ingredients to save on the daily seasoning costs for synthetic food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for expenses like renting spirit roots for cultivation, renting spirit realms for training, buying cultivation techniques, and purchasing cultivation tools, Zhang Yu cut all of those out entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Luckily, after my High School Sacred Body advanced to the second stage, my digestion and absorption during meals greatly improved. I don't need to eat as much as before to get enough nutrients.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By constantly saving money like this, Zhang Yu finally managed to accumulate 33,000 yuan in his bank account.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But regarding that 33,000 in savings...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't dare to spend even a single cent of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the second round of the Foundation Establishment Exam was coming up. Besides transportation costs, he was genuinely afraid that this damned exam would demand some other payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it really comes down to it, I'll just borrow some money from Zhao Tianxing or Qian Shen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Zhang Yu was savoring the natural flavor of his food, Zhao Tianxing, sitting nearby, looked at him with a hesitant expression, as if wanting to say something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Tianxing thought to himself: \"Yu didn't score higher than Bai Zhenzhen in September or October. It seems his mana and physical strength have even regressed. He must be feeling pretty down right now, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A decline in grades... In Zhao Tianxing's view, that was the most terrifying thing in high school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if your grades dropped while your good friend surpassed you, it could easily lead to the end of the friendship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Things like getting jealous of a friend's results, secretly adding extra laxatives to their food, sneaking milk tea into their energy drinks, or constantly sending them funny short videos...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Tianxing had seen too many cases like that, where good friends turned against each other because of changes in their grades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides that, Zhao Tianxing had also noticed that Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu had been interacting less lately, barely even talking during or after class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They don't even have dinner together often anymore,\" Zhao Tianxing thought to himself. \"Could things really be getting strained between them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But if I just ask them outright, would that be okay? Would it upset Zhang Yu?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Would Zhang Yu think... I'm mocking him for his grades dropping?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Zhao Tianxing was hesitating back and forth, Qian Shen, sitting nearby, spoke up: \"Zhang Yu, why have your grades been slipping lately?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu sighed casually and said, \"I'm just out of money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Tianxing seized the opportunity to ask, \"Are you and Bai Zhenzhen okay? I noticed you two don't talk much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We're fine. What could be wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu thought to himself that under the immense pressure lately, he and Bai Zhenzhen had been focusing entirely on their own cultivation, seizing every single second to grow stronger. Naturally, they didn't have much chance to talk at school, only exchanging a few words when they got home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, Zhen has to deliver food orders. Every evening, she just grabs dinner from the cafeteria and eats it on the road.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Zhang Yu was thinking about all this, his phone buzzed slightly—he had received a message from Bai Zhenzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Zhenzhen sent a transfer of 200 yuan—please accept.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Zhenzhen: Son, here's your breakfast money for tomorrow. Mom just earned it from food delivery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu: Thanks, Mom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Zhenzhen: But if your seed-selling income keeps dropping next time, even Mom won't be able to support you anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Zhenzhen: You're still young—why is your quality so poor? Can we think of a way to improve the quality and earn more money?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu stopped reading the rest of Bai Zhenzhen's messages, just thinking to himself that after the second round of the Foundation Establishment Exam, he really needed to figure out a way to make some money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dinner, under Teacher Zhou's supervision once again for four hours of tutoring, Zhang Yu walked beneath the streetlights back to his apartment outside Ziyun High School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Zhang Yu enter the apartment, Si Zhouyu, who had been following not far behind him, stretched her arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the shift change today, it was her turn to monitor Zhang Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for her, monitoring Zhang Yu was much easier than monitoring Bai Zhenzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, unlike Bai Zhenzhen who ran all over delivering takeout, Zhang Yu spent most of his time either at school or in his apartment, living the same repetitive day after day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This monotonous, uneventful surveillance left even Si Zhouyu feeling somewhat helpless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But after being tormented for so long, he should be making a move by now, right?\" Regarding Zhang Yu's current situation, Si Zhouyu considered herself more informed than many teachers and students at Songyang High School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they had access to everything—the surveillance footage of Zhang Yu in the classroom every day, his various expenses at school, the results of every exam and test... all kinds of data and information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in Si Zhouyu's view, both Zhang Yu's financial situation and his grades were steadily declining, so his mental state must be getting worse and worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For someone who used to keep improving, watching himself fall step by step is the most painful and the easiest way to damage one's Dao Heart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Si Zhouyu had seen too many similar cases during her time at Jinzhou Junior College.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless students who thought they had some talent, some aptitude, considered themselves geniuses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after stepping into the second level did they realize there were always people better than them, always heavens beyond heavens—and only then did they understand what monsters the students above the first level really were...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called geniuses of the first level were merely the threshold to meeting those monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaking her head, Si Zhouyu refocused her thoughts on the present: \"Especially now... Bai Zhenzhen's grades are improving, and she can even work part-time to earn money while Zhang Yu is in tutoring.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"His psychology is bound to become more and more unbalanced.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No mistakes, no typos, no missing content, all in one read!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then... make your move soon. Let me see what kind of character is behind you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While thinking this, Si Zhouyu had already sat down on the rooftop of a nearby tall building, keeping an eye on the apartment entrance while opening her phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh, during this surveillance period, I've almost finished listening to all the good novels.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll just pick one randomly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Si Zhouyu knew that another long, hard night lay ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Si Zhouyu was lying in wait outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the apartment, Zhang Yu had just taken off his clothes and began practicing the Dragon-Elephant Avalanche Palm, worth 200,000, move by move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After three months of intermittent deduction using the True Spirit Root, this Expert-level technique of his finally gained a new Level 10 effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original Level 10 effect of Dragon-Elephant Avalanche Palm was called Dragon Sinew Elephant Bone, which had continuously improved Zhang Yu's physical structure through repeated training, granting him a more transcendent and powerful load-bearing capacity, enabling him to withstand and transmit greater bursts of strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, after deduction by the True Spirit Root, the effect of Dragon Sinew Elephant Bone was further enhanced, integrating into the circulation of mana—so that Zhang Yu's meridians also gained a higher capacity for mana flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Zhang Yu struck out with one palm, and his physical strength, which had reached 9.89, erupted violently. The terrifying force seemed to shatter the air, stirring up a storm within the room and causing a series of explosive cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the surging power inside him, a faint smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of Zhang Yu's mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps to outsiders, the data from his tests and exams showed no progress—or even a decline—but Zhang Yu himself knew very well how much he had improved during these days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching this, Fuji marveled inwardly: \"This guy... under such conditions, he can still make such leaps forward. What exactly is the deal with his later-boosted potential?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu knew that even in such impoverished and suppressed circumstances, he could still forge ahead boldly on the path of immortality. Apart from reasons like selling seeds for money, Bai Zhenzhen's support, the effect of the True Spirit Root, and the feedback from the Crippled Ox Sacrifice Heart Technique under pressure...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the most important point was that after pushing all ten basic high school techniques to Level 10, he had fully completed the High School Saint Body in the Chain Spell Diagram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basic - High School Saint Body (6\u002F6): Drug load, absorption, and metabolism capacity raised to Qi Refining peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advanced - High School Saint Body (8\u002F8): Food digestion, absorption, and metabolism capacity raised to Qi Refining peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ultimate - High School Saint Body (10\u002F10): For all Qi Refining stage techniques, training efficiency increased by 2 times, training effect increased by 2 times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the High School Saint Body in the Chain Spell Diagram, Zhang Yu sighed to himself: \"Now, whether I eat or take medicine, I can spend less money and get stronger effects, without worrying about side effects.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And this last one... means that every time I practice a technique, it's equivalent to three times the original.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can eat, can take drugs, can grind—truly worthy of being called the High School Saint Body.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such enhancement, Zhang Yu's physical strength skyrocketed all the way to level 9.89, and his mana also increased to 97.56 units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only his Dao heart was somewhat lagging behind, yet it still reached level 7 (18.4%).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it weren't that the closer you get to the data limit of Qi Refining, the harder it becomes to improve, I would have long since pushed my physical strength and mana to the limit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Zhang Yu's phone vibrated slightly, bringing a message from Su Haifeng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Haifeng: Still asking for leave? What's your situation now, and you still have the nerve to ask for leave?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu thought to himself: \"So he really won't approve the leave? If I want to participate in the Foundation Establishment exam, then there's only…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu flipped through his phone's contacts to Yun Ni, the captain of the Patrol Team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Zhang Pianpian, if he ever encountered any difficulties, he could try asking Yun Ni for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So a moment later, Zhang Yu sent a message over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu: Captain Yun, I'd like to ask you a favor. I need to go to Xian Du, but the school won't approve my leave. Could you, in the name of the Patrol Team, send Bai Zhenzhen and me on a business trip?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu: Don't worry, once we're there, we definitely won't cause any trouble—we just have some things to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yun Ni's reply came back far faster than Zhang Yu had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yun Ni: I approve. You don't need to tell me why, and you don't need to report back to me when you return.\u003C\u002Fp>",2026,"2026-05-29T04:54:22.303Z","2026-06-01T04:29:11.989Z",1,"deepseek-v4-flash","2023d5defa62b27edbd550f9019520c59a3210bffbb8e41bed52ef4d04e3ee86","no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-198","no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-196",711,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fno-money-what-cultivation-cover.jpg"]