[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-no-money-what-cultivation":3,"chapter-no-money-what-cultivation-no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-23":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},163372,323,"Chapter 23: Talk","no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>One in the morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having finished his security work, Zhang Yu was crammed into the subway and then a bus, heading back to his rented room in the suburbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why the buses and subways were still packed with people at one in the morning, it was naturally because one in the morning was the peak of the night shift in Songyang City, with countless workers commuting to and from their jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After getting home, he took a shower first, then Zhang Yu looked at the balance in his account and wondered if he could buy an air conditioner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, having 8,300 in savings suddenly made him feel that his life this month was much more comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he thought about how two weeks later it would be next month, when he would have to pay back a 15,000 loan, and he couldn’t help frowning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He recalled what Bai Zhenzhen had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He murmured to himself, \"The school contract?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If signing the contract could give him a large sum of money every month, then he wouldn’t have to worry about the loan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Yu also knew that overthinking was pointless. Whether it was his performance in front of the Celestial Man Martial Arts Diagram yesterday or the school contract, everything ultimately depended on his own talent and strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that thought, he took out the neural filler he had bought at the stationery store near the school gate today and consumed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he sat cross-legged on the bed, began to circulate the Cycle Qi-Collecting Method, and felt strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth surging into his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he had switched Feather Script’s specialization to the Heaven Martial Heart-Tempering Art today for the test of the Celestial Man Martial Arts Diagram, the Cycle Qi-Collecting Method wouldn’t be able to rapidly improve until he switched back twenty-four hours later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since his Dao Heart hadn’t reached level 3, he couldn’t practice the Heaven Martial Heart-Tempering Art anyway, and now he needed to focus on raising his mana power for the upcoming spell competition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the Cycle Qi-Collecting Method couldn’t advance quickly today, having already reached level 4, it could still effectively help him increase his mana power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so the rest of the night passed quietly as Zhang Yu breathed in and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early the next morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Zhang Yu entered the classroom, he noticed something different from usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, the vast majority of students at Songyang High School were so focused on their own studies and cultivation that they rarely paid attention to other ordinary students in the class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even two classmates might go months without exchanging a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, when Zhang Yu walked into the classroom every day, nobody paid him any attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only someone like Zhao Tianxing would, when entering the classroom each day, wonder if the other students were looking at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But today was different. Zhang Yu could clearly sense that, from the moment he entered the classroom, students kept stealing glances at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Zhang Yu sat down, Zhou Tianyi patted him on the shoulder and said, \"Your story about being accepted as a disciple by a Golden Core True Person has spread through the class.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Seems like it was those guys who went to the art exhibition with Qian Shen who said it in the group chat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As everyone knows, school is one of the places where gossip spreads fastest in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as a key high school, Songyang High had intense cultivation pressure, many sterile youths, and everyone had a phone, so the gossip spread even faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention text messages; even the photo of Zhang Yu from yesterday in his security uniform had already circulated in the group chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu chuckled lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My exploits are already being talked about in class? That’s Songyang speed for you. Let them keep spreading the word.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In days where he was forced to train hard every day, feeling the attention and discussion from others behind his back about his excellent performance was a rare pleasure for Zhang Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he curled his lips, thinking of a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, Li Xuelian had secretly called him into a small meeting to tell him about rejecting him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant that many of those present didn’t know that he had actually been rejected by the Golden Core True Person; they all still believed, as Li Xuelian had declared on stage, that he was about to be taken as a disciple by the Golden Core True Person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I went up to the podium now to clarify, I’d look pretty stupid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forget it. Let them gossip however they want. After a while, they’ll probably forget about this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu closed his eyes and resumed circulating the Cycle Qi-Collecting Method, inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chatter of his classmates was just a temporary amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he had planned before, his main goal now was still to fully raise his mana power and prepare to participate in the city-wide spell competition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, Zhang Yu hadn’t been breathing for long before his homeroom teacher, Su Haifeng, called him out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still remembered the last time Su Haifeng had called him in for a talk—it was on the third day after Zhang Yu had arrived in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, he still hadn’t fully understood Songyang High School or its teachers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d even mistakenly thought Su Haifeng was a good teacher who cared about poor students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, standing outside the classroom, following behind Su Haifeng, Zhang Yu could feel the terrifying pressure of this demonstration-class homeroom teacher and grade director.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wherever Su Haifeng passed, the classroom instantly fell silent, with many students trembling in fear. Qian Shen didn’t dare move an inch and focused intently on his breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Tianxing, who had just stood up to go to the bathroom, quickly sat back down and picked up a book to read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Bai Zhenzhen sat up straight like a primary school student, staring tightly at the textbook in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s nerves were tensed at that moment, all hoping Su Haifeng’s gaze wouldn’t land on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Su Haifeng, the head of the first-year grade at Songyang High School, a scourge in the hearts of countless Songyang students, and the author of the teaching research paper “On the Application Prospects of Electric Shock in High School Teaching.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the kind of man who could make even a passing dog stop to read a few pages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu followed Su Haifeng’s “learning domain” all the way to the office, watching this devil king smile at him and say, “I heard that Spark Flame True Person wants to take you as a disciple?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu had no intention of lying to the school about becoming a disciple of the Golden Core Sect, after all, the lie about being taken as a disciple was easy to expose, and that would only put him in a passive position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he told the truth: “No, I thought Spark Flame True Person’s conditions were a bit lacking, so I turned him down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Haifeng twitched at the corner of his mouth upon hearing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Zhang Yu was already poor, hadn’t given him any gifts in three months since the semester started, and now that he’d finally had his moment in the spotlight, he was putting on airs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is it about signing the contract… inflating your own value?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, these poor wretches were easily prone to arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if that was the case, Su Haifeng felt that signing the contract later might not be so easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mmh.” After a pause, he took out a document and said, “The school has already learned about your performance at the center building art exhibition.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Although your grades have slipped recently, you’ve been criticized by the PE teacher, you’ve been slack in buying medicine, and the collection agency has called me, the school still cares about talent and has decided to offer you some help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes at this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected of the scourge acknowledged by the whole Songyang High School—opened his mouth and it was all old-school PUA, wasn’t it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling what Bai Zhenzhen had told him about the contract, Zhang Yu guessed this was probably groundwork for the upcoming contract negotiations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as he expected, Su Haifeng placed the document in front of him and continued, “The school has prepared a scholarship contract for you, with terms much better than the previous financial aid plan for impoverished students. Take a look and see if there are any issues.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu took it and skimmed through it, finding that after signing this contract, the school would pay him ten thousand yuan a month. But the money had to be repaid, though the interest rate was much lower than a loan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additionally, it required him to work for ten years at a company under the school’s affiliated education group, regardless of whether he eventually got into college or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Songyang High School was part of the Wanxing Education Group, which in turn belonged to the Wanfa Sect, one of the ten major sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, after signing this contract, Zhang Yu would have to work at Wanxing Education Group for ten years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, during the college application process, Songyang High School had the right to decide which university and which major the student would apply for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ten thousand a month, and they want me to sign an indenture like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without seeing other students’ contracts, Zhang Yu could tell this one was somewhat insulting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu put down the document and frowned, “Teacher, the terms are too low, aren’t they? When I worked as a security guard at the center building, I made 800 an hour.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can a temporary job last forever?” Su Haifeng first dismissed this, then shifted his tone, “I know the terms of this contract are indeed a bit low, but the school leaders have their reasons for doing this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After all, regarding the assessment of the Heavenly Man Martial Arts Diagram at the exhibition—what exactly was the content tested? What were the selection criteria? What were the specific qualities of the examinees? The school doesn’t have first-hand data, so it can’t judge on its own, especially since you didn’t master the martial arts in the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“On the other hand, your grades have clearly declined this month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ultimately, the school is a place that values grades. The six-subject, 700-point evaluation system is certainly more immortal path–oriented and more reasonable than the Heavenly Man Martial Arts Diagram, and it’s also what the board of directors values most. The contract process can’t escape this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu’s frown deepened, because Su Haifeng did have a point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Songyang High School, test scores are ultimately what matters most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, apart from him, the people at the school had no idea about the specific difficulty and power of the Tianwu Heart-Mind Sutra, and didn't even know that this martial art had a Grade 3 Dao heart requirement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Zhang Yu did not have the right to disseminate the Tianwu Heart-Mind Sutra, and no one would vouch for him to make others believe his statements about the Tianwu Heart-Mind Sutra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu: \"I cannot possibly accept this contract.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Haifeng smiled slightly, thinking to himself, \"Is he going to ask for a higher price?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said calmly, \"Don't rush. After all, I am your homeroom teacher; I can help you negotiate a little more.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu: \"Then can it be as good as the terms you offered Bai Zhenzhen?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Haifeng did not answer directly, but laughed first, though the implication of his laughter was self-evident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he said, \"Bai Zhenzhen's contract is not my responsibility, but I can give you an answer. Bai Zhenzhen is the top of the grade with 650 points. How many points do you have?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu: \"Does that mean as long as I become the top of the grade, anything can be negotiated?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Zhang Yu's serious face, Su Haifeng smiled and took the contract back, saying, \"How many points you can get depends on your own ability.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The contract mainly depends on grades. Although there can be some flexibility in details, overall it is only divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The monthly exam is in two weeks. If you are not satisfied with the D-level contract, you can wait until your next monthly exam results come out, and then we can continue negotiating.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2106,"2026-05-29T04:54:22.303Z","2026-06-01T04:29:11.989Z",1,"deepseek-v4-flash","b92bd11590e38a697fd5d78e069a5acbe16c5a19786037688be4840e77e46173","no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-24","no-money-what-cultivation-chapter-22",711,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fno-money-what-cultivation-cover.jpg"]