Chapter 287

Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen and said, "Don't worry, Zhen. If anyone dares to mess with me, I'll just call you."

"Yeah." Bai Zhenzhen smiled and nodded, but then remembered something and pouted, "Too bad I can't transfer any spirit coins to you today."

"Last time, when Mom (Lord of Seven Emotions) found out I transferred coins to you, she scolded me and forbade me from giving you any more spirit coins."

"Sigh, how stingy. It's only five spirit coins. Wait for me to think of a way; I'll find a chance to give you the money later."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu quickly advised, "Zhen, don't rush this. You're at Sword Heaven University, so you should consider the Lord’s thoughts more. Don't anger the Lord."

Fuji warned, "Right. Don't end up on the Nascent Soul Ancestor's enemy list just because Bai Zhenzhen keeps throwing money at you."

Zhang Yu nodded. "Zhen, next time you transfer money, don't use my name. Transfer it to Yu Xinghan first... No..."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yu said, "You can transfer it to my sister, or to Le Mulan. I'll get it from them and spend it secretly."

Bai Zhenzhen patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If there's a problem, I'll discuss it with you in advance."

The two continued with a lively exchange. After Bai Zhenzhen turned around a few times, as if being urged by someone, she finally said with a hint of reluctance, "Yu, I need to go practice breathing."

Zhang Yu nodded understandingly. "Go ahead. I'll hang up then."

But Bai Zhenzhen suddenly turned her head again, as if listening to someone, then smiled and said, "It's fine. Just keep the call open."

"Mom said we can keep the communication open and cultivate separately. It helps build friendship bonds and prepares for the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao."

So then, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen didn't close the projection call and began cultivating on their own.

Although they didn't speak to each other anymore, Zhang Yu, while practicing the Foundation Building Body Forging Seventy-Two Forms, occasionally caught sight of Bai Zhenzhen breathing and meditating beside him, making him feel as if they had returned to the First Layer, with her still by his side, cultivating together.

Although Bai Zhenzhen had her eyes closed in meditation and couldn't see Zhang Yu, thanks to the advanced technology of the Spirit World Network, she could constantly hear the sounds of his movements and breathing, as if he were right beside her.

Everything seemed to have returned to the past, causing a faint smile to curl at the corners of Bai Zhenzhen's mouth.

After a few more hours passed in the blink of an eye, Bai Zhenzhen opened her eyes and let out a long breath. "Yu, I have to go to class."

Foundation Building Body Forging Seventy-Two Forms Level 8 → Level 9

Zhang Yu also stopped his movements and nodded. "I should be going to class too."

"See you tomorrow night."

"See you tomorrow night."

After bidding each other farewell, with a flash of light, Bai Zhenzhen vanished from Zhang Yu's sight like a phantom.

Then, with a thought, Zhang Yu saw the current data consumption in his eyes. A pained expression appeared on his face. "Although having Zhen accompany me while training feels good..."

"But if I use this much data every day, I'll burn through a whole month's data in just a few days."

"Sure enough, on the Second Layer, maintaining a friendship with a good buddy is expensive."

Just as Zhang Yu was worrying, the dormitory door opened and Yu Xinghan urged, "Zhang Yu, have you eaten? After you finish, we have to go to class. We can't be late for the first lesson today."

Seeing Zhang Yu's expression, Yu Xinghan asked curiously, "Why do you look so upset? Did you find your feelings fading when talking to Bai Zhenzhen? After all, she's a Nascent Soul disciple now. You need to prepare in advance."

Zhang Yu said flatly, "Don't talk nonsense. You don't understand the friendship between Zhen and me."

Yu Xinghan said, "Pfft, what feelings never change? Do you think the old man didn't have sworn brothers and battle comrades back in the day?"

"Look at him after he fell to the First Layer—how many reached out to help him?"

"Feelings are temporary. Money is real. It can turn into your cultivation and your power, staying by your side forever."

"While you can still contact her, you should ask Bai Zhenzhen for more money. Get as much as you can. Even if you're not friends later, at least you'll have profited."

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes, thinking, "So preparing in advance means asking her for more money?"

Zhang Yu walked into the dorm, took out some synthetic food brought up from the First Layer, and began eating while pulling up the class schedule on his eye-piece.

This schedule was posted in the Foundation Establishment class group yesterday, showing the course arrangements for the next three months.

"These three months are unified Foundation Establishment period courses."

"After three months, school starts in September. Then we'll attend classes based on the courses we've chosen and registered for."

"Until next June when the academic year ends, all rankings will be finalized, determining each student's rank and rewards..."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Counting this way, I have a whole year to cultivate. I just wonder how high I can push my ranking."

He looked down at his palm—the black symbol was already mostly filled, clearly indicating that the Feather Book would begin a new chapter within a day or two.

Besides this schedule, Zhang Yu had also received a friend request from a True Deity yesterday.

"Is this the True Deity assigning me a teacher?"

Being able to designate a teacher after entering university was one of the rewards Zhang Yu received for passing the Foundation Establishment exam.

After confirming the other party's intentions through the friend request, Zhang Yu naturally didn't designate a teacher, since he barely knew any teachers at Myriad Methods University right now.

The other party clearly understood this as well and wasn't in a hurry, only asking Zhang Yu to decide slowly—at the latest before the end of the first academic year, before next June.

Aside from that, a scholarship of 2.5 spirit coins had been successfully deposited, pushing Zhang Yu's spirit coin count past twelve.

Just then, Yu Xinghan, who was eating nearby, said, "Speaking of which, when did the people here stop eating food?"

Zhang Pianpian spoke confidently: "The second level of Kunxu... was once the herb garden of the Ten Great Sects, always used to grow medicinal herbs for the sects."

"Later, to expand planting scale and improve efficiency, they started recruiting mortals to help tend the herbs and taught them some immortal arts techniques."

"As more people gathered, schools were gradually established, eventually developing into various universities. Many people here became reserve members of the sects."

"To sell more herbs to the upper levels for greater profit, companies and universities kept expanding the land for medicinal herbs, compressing the area for growing food and raising livestock."

"Gradually, local food became more and more expensive, so some people started using the scraps of the herbs sold upward to refine pills that replenish physical strength, energy, and meet the body's nutritional needs."

"Food is expensive, pills are cheap, so naturally some began relying on pills for sustenance. Then they discovered that cement was the cheapest way to suppress digestion, so others started swallowing cement."

Zhang Yu suddenly asked with curiosity, "So what do the mortals here eat? Without cultivation, they can't easily handle the medicinal potency or cement, right?"

Zhang Pianpian smiled upon hearing this: "The mortals of Myriad Methods University City live below the 100th level, where cultivators almost never go."

"Their state... is hard to describe. Let's just say they are very happy."

"If you're interested, go see for yourself when you have free time."

"Anyway, the current situation is a balance reached by the universities, companies, and sects... and also the effort humans make to adapt to their environment."

"After all, if you want to climb up in Kunxu, you need to get used to different environments. If pills are cheap here, you take pills; if food is cheap somewhere else later, you eat food."

Yu Xinghan looked at this senior from the White Dragon school, recalling the teachings of Starfire True Man, and gave a slight nod. "You're right. We should also adapt to the environment here."

He reached out his hand and said, "Share some cement with me."

Holding the synthetic food in his other hand, Yu Xinghan thought, "I won't eat synthetic food anymore... Didn't they say food is expensive here? I'll sell it and see if I can make some spirit coins."

Le Mulan on the side also reached out and said, "Can you share some with me? I want to adapt to the environment here as soon as possible."

Yu Xinghan glanced at Zhang Yu and asked, "Aren't you having some?"

Zhang Yu said casually, "I can already control my digestive system and weaken my digestion through my own will. I don't need external things to suppress it."

Yu Xinghan cursed inwardly—this guy was showing off again.

Having cultivated with him on the first level for quite some time, he knew all too well how terrifying Zhang Yu's talent was.

Zhang Pianpian, however, gave Zhang Yu an unexpected glance and praised, "Xiao Yu, it seems you've really progressed a lot over these two years."

After finishing breakfast, the group followed the navigation in their eye-displays to their classrooms.

Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan, crackling with electric light, swiftly moved through the magnetic channels.

Yu Xinghan urged, "Hurry up, hurry up—there's a fine for being late here."

Zhang Yu replied calmly, "The classroom is on the 200th floor, less than a kilometer from the dormitory area on the 125th floor. We'll be there soon. No need to rush."

Entering the classroom, Zhang Yu saw that most of the students had already arrived, but the teacher was nowhere in sight.

A few seconds before class started, the eye-displays of all the students flickered, and a projection appeared simultaneously.

It was a phoenix, its entire body blazing with fiery light.

The phoenix swept a cold gaze over everyone, then a female voice came through: "I am your teacher for this course. You can call me Fengjiu. Over the next three months, I will teach you the most basic Dao-heart course for Foundation Establishment."

"I usually work deep in the spirit world, my physical body sleeping year-round. What you see now is my image in the spirit world..."

Zhang Yu thought in astonishment, "So this is like teaching with a virtual avatar?"

Fuji asked curiously, "What? What? Is the teacher here? Why didn't I see him?"

Just as Zhang Yu was about to explain, he heard Yu Xinghan beside him say, "Zhang Yu, look, there's a phoenix."

Zhang Yu sighed helplessly. "You're lagging again?"

Only then did Yu Xinghan realize that his newly replaced eye implant worked fine in less crowded places, but once he came to a crowded area, it had a slight delay.

"It's fine—after all, this Jihu-brand eye implant is cheap enough. The performance is a bit lacking, but as long as it doesn't affect class, it's okay. I'll switch to a better one once I make some money."