Zhang Yu followed the address Le Mulan had given him and arrived in front of an apartment building just outside Purple Cloud High.

The building’s antique exterior and intricately carved beams and pillars gleamed in the sunset glow, wrapped in a veil of golden light that gave it a quiet yet lavish elegance.

Compared to this, the apartment he’d stayed in before felt like a pigsty.

As soon as he stood before the glass doors, they automatically slid open, and a voice greeted him: “Mr. Zhang, your registration is complete. Please follow the guidance lights to your room.”

Following the purple glowing arrows on the floor, Zhang Yu arrived at Room 101.

The door opened automatically, and the moment he stepped in, a purification mist sprayed him from head to toe.

Inside, Le Mulan was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, silently practicing her breathing.

“You’re here?”

As Zhang Yu entered, Le Mulan slowly stood up. She still wore the thick upper half of her school uniform, but at some point had removed her long pants, leaving only a pair of athletic shorts that revealed her long, straight, snow-white legs.

“I figured the pants were going to get shredded anyway, so I took them off first. You don’t mind, right?”

Zhang Yu looked down helplessly. “Do as you please.”

Le Mulan picked up the apartment keycard from nearby and handed it to him. “This place belongs to you and Bai Zhenzhen now. It’s 2,000 a month, all utilities included.”

“But I’ve got one condition: if I’m coming here to train with you, Bai Zhenzhen can’t be in the room during our sessions—unless I give permission.”

Internally, she thought, “I’m just… not ready for close-quarters with the both of them yet.”

Zhang Yu frowned. “You’ll have to give us advance notice then. You can’t just show up whenever you feel like it. What if we’re in the middle of something?”

Le Mulan nodded. “Of course. I’ll schedule times with you each week and try to pick times when Bai Zhenzhen’s not around.”

She handed him the keycard. “Let’s begin.”

…

Two hours later.

Le Mulan emerged from her private bathroom, freshly showered and wearing a clean school uniform.

She sat down by the window, rubbing her bruised legs.

Then she pulled out a Mind-Stabilizer and took a hit, her face relaxing in relief.

She was in a good mood today. After finishing the training session with Zhang Yu, she felt that her mental cleanliness obsession had diminished a bit more.

More than that, her physical control had also improved through their wrestling practice.

“That Zhang Yu really is talented with his body.”

“After college, he’d probably make a decent body-refinement coach.”

She turned her head, curiously watching Zhang Yu as he mopped the floor.

While he cleaned, Fu Ji reminded him, “Don’t forget to bottle the solution. Bai Zhenzhen’s been bugging you about it.”

Le Mulan watched him eye the water bottle with a conflicted look. She seemed to understand.

“Can’t handle this kind of solution? Mental block?”

In a seasoned tone, she said, “You’ll get used to it.”

“You have to learn to adapt to your environment.”

“Right now, you feel grossed out, maybe even dirty—but after doing it a few more times, it’ll get easier.”

Zhang Yu frowned. “I’ve been doing my best to adjust to this messed-up place.”

He looked at the fragrant, sweet-smelling, and probably tasty sweat-water and sighed. “But there are still things here I really don’t want to get used to.”

Le Mulan tilted her head. “Then spend money. Money can change your environment. If you buy your own medicine, you won’t need to drink that stuff.”

Zhang Yu stepped over to her with a grin. “Got any medicine channels? Can you give me a better price?”

Le Mulan replied coolly, “Money works now… but one day, you’ll run into something money can’t fix.”

A memory of losing to Zhang Yu during the martial arts tournament flashed in her mind, and she said with resignation, “When that happens, you’ll have no choice but to adapt.”

Zhang Yu laughed. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

Le Mulan gazed at him, as if seeing a version of herself who once tried to solve everything with money—who thought money could keep poverty at bay.

But this Zhang Yu was a different kind of poor.

She suddenly smiled, put on her pants, and walked toward the door. “Fine. Just message me the list of medicines you want.”

“I’ll get you an employee discount—20% off.”

Zhang Yu asked, “Same quality as what you use? Got any Neural Filler? What about Hunyuan Pills?”

Le Mulan was already out the door.

As it closed behind her, her cool voice echoed through the hall.

“Same quality. Should have them.”

Thinking about buying Hunyuan Pills at 20% off made Zhang Yu giddy.

To cultivate the Crimson Marrow Primordial Energy technique, he needed 300,000 worth of Hunyuan Pills every month.

“With a 20% discount, that’s 60,000 saved!”

Over an hour later, Bai Zhenzhen arrived.

She first inspected the body-refinement equipment, checked the bathroom, tested the Meditation Chamber’s soundproofing, then reviewed laundry, cleaning, and meal services.

There were even cheap synthetic food options available, so they could eat whenever they were hungry.

After her inspection, Bai Zhenzhen exclaimed with delight, “Holy crap, this place is nice! We can train whenever we want? And it’s only 2,000 a month?”

Zhang Yu nodded and explained Le Mulan’s conditions.

Bai Zhenzhen said, “No problem. Got the rental contract?”

After seeing the electronic lease he sent, she said eagerly, “Now I can apply for an intercity transit permit. We’re one step closer to passing the Foundation Establishment exam.”

Zhang Yu nodded. “I thought we’d have to wait until college before living in a place like this.”

Then he told her about buying medicine from Le Mulan at a discount.

Bai Zhenzhen lit up. “Perfect! That woman only uses top-quality stuff. If we can buy from her supplier at 20% off…”

She smiled, feeling that their chances of passing the Foundation Establishment exam had just gone up again.

Moments later, she eagerly headed into the Meditation Chamber. “I’m gonna try training in here first!”

Zhang Yu, meanwhile, turned on the lights one by one, testing how well his Great Sun Qi Sea technique worked at night.

As the lights shone down, he felt the Great Sun Mana within him stir—less intense than during the day, but still activating at about 20 to 30 percent.

“Since Le Mulan’s covering our electricity, should I buy some high-powered lights?”

…

After moving into the new apartment, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen began spending their days shuttling between school, the apartment, and the Dark Studies Gang, striving toward their goal of passing the Foundation Establishment exam.

Several days passed like this.

On the subway in Songyang City.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen leaned against each other. She practiced breathing techniques while he cultivated the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique in his mind.

Ever since he pushed Great Sun Qi Sea to level 10, he’d started working on the Sacrificial Oxheart Technique.

In his visualization, a crippled ox—limbs severed, blind and deaf—crawled forward, endlessly and without rest.

As he imagined this, Zhang Yu felt a flicker of joy in his heart, as if no matter how hard or painful life was, it was enough to keep moving and improving.

Sacrificial Oxheart Technique Level 5 (23/50)

He thought, “Just like the Soul-Stabilizing Oxheart Technique, this one has a hidden condition… hope.”

“There has to be a path forward for this Heart Technique to truly shine.”

Ten minutes later, he and Bai Zhenzhen exited the subway and arrived before a skyscraper in the city center.

Looking at the tower that seemed to pierce the sky, Zhang Yu smiled.

This was the Songyang City headquarters of Xianyun Group.

The last time he’d been here was to test cultivation techniques for odd jobs. This time, he was here as an endorsement model to shoot a commercial.

After registering at the front desk, they headed to the set.

As soon as they exited the elevator, they saw rows of Xianyun Group posters.

A fetal muscle-enhancement class to boost infant confidence.

A senior vitality extension class—“One more day, one more life.”

A special insurance-busting seminar—“Three moves to bankrupt your opponent.”

Looking at the sheer range of ads, Zhang Yu was stunned by Xianyun Group’s reach and wealth.

“Xianyun Group really does cater to everyone.”

“No kidding,” Bai Zhenzhen said. “Their main business is education—but they can ‘educate’ anyone.”

“From fetus to elder, they’ve made everyone their customer. Only the dead aren’t enrolled yet… but I bet that’s coming soon.”

As they joked, they stopped before another poster—this one featuring Zhang Pianpian.

“Sigil True-God Manual. Top choice for sigil students in the East-12 City Joint Exams. Endorsed by Zhang Pianpian, the number-one sigil student.”

“Co-authored by Xianyun Group and the Eight Divine Officials. Over ten thousand sigil samples. Each purchase comes with a divine tutor. Standard Edition: 888,888. Deluxe Edition: 1,888,888…”

Zhang Yu squinted. “Ah-Zhen, how many eights is that? I’m losing count.”

“That’s 880k and 1.88 million. What a broke-boy thing to say,” Bai Zhenzhen replied, eyes shining as she gazed at Zhang Pianpian. “So Auntie was also a Xianyun Group spokesperson? I wonder how much she got paid.”

She glanced at the tagline: “Top sigil student of the East-12 City Joint Exams.”

“She topped the sigil rankings across 12 cities?”

Zhang Yu knew the first floor of Kunxu was vast, over 2 million square kilometers of pure land, no seas. Cities were everywhere.

The East-12 City Joint Exams were a major annual standardized test for high school seniors from twelve key cities in eastern Kunxu. A dry run for the university entrance exam.

“To rank first in sigils in that test…”

Zhang Yu’s curiosity deepened. “How did Sis get that strong with sigils? That must’ve cost a fortune.”

So when Bai Zhenzhen went to speak with the staff, Zhang Yu clutched the prayer beads at his chest and whispered:

“Do you know how she got so good at sigils?”

“What did you mean last time when you mentioned that ‘Divine Path’?”