Seeing the cultivation methods recommended, Zhang Yu grew curious: “My friends are viewing these? Who exactly are these friends looking at martial arts?” Unfortunately, after logging in with his real name, most of Zhang Yu’s real-life classmates were his friends on the shopping website, and there were so many that he couldn’t pinpoint who was viewing what.

“Nine Heavens Rapid Eight-Part Talisman Cultivation?” Remembering his 60-point score in the Daoist Arts exam, Zhang Yu immediately clicked on it, only to be deterred by the price of 98,000. “Talismans are too expensive for the value; I’ll skip them for now.”

Zhang Yu simply opened the rankings to see the most popular cultivation methods. “Evergreen Longevity Cultivation Deluxe New Revised Edition,” “Health and Illness-Curing Cultivation,” “Brick-Mover King’s Detailed Explanation of Excavator Palm and Crane Claw,” “Sports Car Leg Uncut Version,” “Elevator Vertical Cultivation Guide…”

Zhang Yu was slightly stunned to see the cultivation methods sold for the Qi Refining stage. The bestsellers were primarily longevity-extending and illness-curing/body-strengthening methods, which Zhang Yu understood perfectly. Who wouldn’t want to live a few more years? As for curing illnesses, it was even more logical; hospitals were too expensive, so practicing cultivation to overcome sickness offered better value.

However, the next top-selling items were either strength-based martial arts mimicking excavators and cranes, or agility techniques modeled after sports cars and elevators. In short, they all looked like martial arts for manual laborers. But Zhang Yu quickly realized why. Compared to high school students like himself, the majority of people in the Qi Refining stage were working professionals, especially high-income individuals in construction, factories, delivery, and security who often did the work of dozens of people alone. For them, these “excavator palms,” “crane claws,” and “sports car legs” were tools to earn money, cultivation methods essential for their survival and stability in Kunxu. To them, these were genuinely useful cultivation methods, far more reliable than breaking through realms or improving cultivation levels.

Understanding this, Zhang Yu changed the filter settings, adjusting the suitable age range to 15 to 18 years old. Immediately, the displayed cultivation methods changed to “Mana Point Strategy,” “Basic Eight-Part Talisman General Dictionary,” “Thirty-Six Simple Body-Strengthening Forms…” Looking at them, Zhang Yu felt that these high-selling cultivation methods were too basic and simple. “It seems they’re all bought by regular high school students.”

So Zhang Yu added a new filter criterion: cultivation method rank. According to what Zhang Yu learned at school, cultivation methods were divided into five ranks: Basic, Advanced, Expert, Military, and Immortal Sect. He heard that Immortal Sect-rank methods had even more detailed subdivisions, but Zhang Yu didn’t know the specifics. After all, Military and Immortal Sect ranks weren’t for ordinary people; one required joining military or government departments for cultivation authorization, while the other necessitated joining a major sect. As for his own Great Circle Qi Gathering Method, he estimated it was Advanced rank. And the Heavenly Martial Mind Forging Art, he guessed, was Expert rank.

“Unfathomable Mountain Moving Scripture,” “Heart Essence Great Mudra,” “Great Circle Star Sword,” “Bright Heart Sutra…” Zhang Yu’s gaze swept over these Expert-rank cultivation methods. After a moment of longing, he could only shake his head helplessly: “Expert-rank methods not only have higher cultivation thresholds and more requirements… the cheapest one costs tens of thousands for usage rights. I really can’t afford them.” “Unless the school contract can really offer me a high price.” Zhang Yu’s eyes scanned the Advanced-rank cultivation methods, thinking to himself, “As for the Advanced ones, I can consider buying a few after the contract is settled.” “Especially heart techniques that suit me, allowing me to quickly reach Dao Heart Level 3 and start practicing the Heavenly Martial Mind Forging Art.”

After browsing the shopping platform for a while and adding a few promising cultivation methods to his cart, Zhang Yu planned to log out for a bit. Just then, he suddenly noticed a change in the recommendation bar.

“Your competitor is placing an order for: Mana Point Strategy, Basic Eight-Part Talisman General Dictionary, Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method…”

“Holy cow!”

“So this is how you abuse big data, huh? Creating a cultivation race among users to stimulate consumption?” “Wait… what in the world is this Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method?”

“Your competitor is ordering the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method…” Who wouldn’t click on that? Even a dog walking by would have to take a look. Zhang Yu clicked on it and discovered that the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method was an Expert-rank cultivation method that combined abilities such as flesh self-healing, organ transplantation, flesh devouring, qi and blood adaptation, and human body parasitism. In essence, it was a martial art that allowed one to plunder others’ bodies.

As a twenty-year veteran of legitimate webnovel consumption in his previous life, Zhang Yu had only one feeling upon seeing the name and description. Could anyone buying this cultivation method be a good person? “My competitor? Which monstrous individual wants to cultivate the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method?” “Is there really such a competitor? Or is this website just making stuff up?” Zhang Yu felt some doubt, but considering the various wondrous powers and ways of doing things in the Kunxu world, he felt it wasn’t impossible.

Zhang Yu checked the price: the usage rights for the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method cost a staggering 300,000. Among the people he knew, only a few were qualified to cultivate such a method, and with the added qualifier “competitor”… “Qian Shen?” “Or He Dayou?” Zhang Yu immediately felt that He Dayou was a major suspect. After all, Teacher Lei Jun had replayed his and He Dayou’s fight video many times, and he remembered He Dayou’s unfriendly gaze towards him.

“Anyway, I need to be careful of these rich people nearby.” “To actually cultivate something like the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method… truly a beast in human skin.”

But soon after, in the recommendation bar below the purchase page, he saw: “People who viewed this cultivation method also viewed: Anti-Parasitic Method, Divine Purification Art, Heavenly Demon Slaying Art…” Seeing these highly targeted names, Zhang Yu immediately doubted his previous judgment. “Could this platform really be messing around, trying to trick me into placing an order?” Given Zhang Yu’s understanding of the Kunxu world, companies there would absolutely do something like this.

For now, he could only keep it in mind. However, before exiting the platform, he thought for a moment and added the Anti-Parasitic Method, Divine Purification Art, and Heavenly Demon Slaying Scroll Art to his favorites. A moment later, he simply reopened the platform and added the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method to his favorites as well.

“Heh heh, hopefully, that person who placed the order will also see that their competitor is viewing the Heavenly Demon Parasitic Method, Anti-Parasitic Method, Divine Purification Art, Heavenly Demon Slaying Scroll…”

Another night passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Yu’s Great Circle Qi Gathering Method progressed further, reaching Level 8 (95/160). His mana, after a day of diligent practice, also steadily increased to 12.1.

The next day. Inside Songyang High School.

Zhang Yu received a friend request from an account with a barbell avatar. “Hello Zhang Yu, I’m Lan Ling from the second-year demonstration class, and also the head of the student union’s sports department. I have something I’d like to discuss with you. Please add me as a friend.”

After Zhang Yu accepted, the other party quickly sent another message. “Hello, student Zhang Yu. To promote the development of the Immortal Dao in society, assist our school’s students in reaching new heights on the path to immortality, and achieve more outstanding results, based on the principles of mutual willingness and win-win cooperation, we are honored to invite you to discuss a signing agreement, hoping to achieve deeper value-added cooperation…” The other party arranged to meet him at 12 PM today in the student union office to discuss the signing.

“So it’s finally here?”

So at noon that day, after washing his face, combing his hair, and tidying his clothes, Zhang Yu arrived at the student union office. As soon as he knocked on the door, he saw another door appear after the first one opened. Oh… it wasn’t another door behind the first, but rather a person who looked remarkably like a door.

A student with a physique like a door plank opened the door for Zhang Yu, smiling and stepping back. “You must be Zhang Yu, right?” Zhang Yu glanced at the dumbbell still in the door-plank man’s hand and greeted him, “Lan Ling?”

As they greeted each other, laughter came from behind the door-plank man, followed by the sound of thudding footsteps. “Is that Zhang Yu?” A young man, who hadn’t even had time to put on his shoes, jumped off the sofa and ran quickly to Zhang Yu, grabbing his hands and excitedly exclaiming, “Hahaha, I heard yesterday that our Songyang High School had another unparalleled genius, and today I finally get to meet you!”

With that, he pulled Zhang Yu inside. Lan Ling, walking alongside, introduced, “Student Zhang Yu, this is our student union’s vice president, Zhou Chechen.” Zhang Yu recalled that this person was apparently the top student of the second-year class. After the monthly exam, his name, like Zhang Yu’s, had become commonly seen around the school.

Zhou Chechen pulled Zhang Yu to the sofa, and they both sat down. Feeling his hand tightly squeezed by the other party, and seeing the eyes filled with admiration, excitement, and enthusiasm, Zhang Yu’s heart tightened. “Holy cow, he’s not… a fencer, is he?”

Zhou Chechen, meanwhile, extended his hand and, with a grab from a distance, a stack of documents flew from the desk into his hand. “After seeing your results, I immediately looked into your background.” “That’s when I found out there were debt collection calls about you coming to the school.”

Zhang Yu’s heart sank upon hearing this, thinking, “Are they going to use my debt to push down the price?” But Zhou Chechen waved the documents in his hand and chuckled, “As soon as I heard, I immediately had someone buy out your debts.” “Debts from over a dozen platforms, a total of 700,000, are all right here.” “How can a prodigy from our school be burdened by debt? If word gets out, other high schools will think Songyang High School is so poor we can’t even invest in our own students.”

As he spoke, he channeled mana into his hand, turning all the debt documents to ashes. With Zhang Yu’s astonished gaze on him, Zhou Chechen continued, “From now on, you won’t have to repay debts every month.” “This 700,000 debt will be temporarily recorded under my name. No interest will be charged, and you don’t need to rush to pay it back.” “From now on, you can study and cultivate at Songyang High School with peace of mind. Once you graduate from university and join a major sect, you can slowly repay me after you earn money.”

Zhang Yu stared at the other party in astonishment. He never expected this vice president of the student union to resolve his most pressing debt problem so swiftly. Then Zhou Chechen picked up another document and explained, “After discussing with the president, this is the Class A contract we’ve prepared for you.” “A monthly cultivation allowance of 50,000, 20% off all school resources like spirit roots, meditation rooms, spirit realms, talismans, cafeteria, potions… and we’ve also prepared a single room for you in the school dormitory…”

Hearing the favorable terms offered, Zhang Yu’s heart couldn’t help but pound faster, feeling an urge to sign the document immediately.