"Are we there yet?"
"Don't be nervous. Your grades are so good, you'll definitely pass."
"Don't worry about the surgery fees. Mom found a new part-time job, and she'll definitely help you scrape together the money. Just focus on your interview."
Looking at the messages from his mother on the screen, Zhang Yu quietly put away his phone, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and waited in silence.
After a long while, a voice called out from the front.
"Candidate number 989, Zhang Yu."
Zhang Yu stood up and walked into the interview classroom.
He looked at the three interviewers and flashed a polite smile he'd practiced for a long time. "Hello, everyone. I'm Zhang Yu from Dongyang Junior High."
The interviewer in the middle looked at him and said indifferently, "Why do you want to apply to our school?"
Zhang Yu: "Your school's long history, profound heritage, and rich teaching resources have always cultivated many outstanding talents for society..."
The interviewer frowned and interrupted, "Cut the formalities."
Zhang Yu said honestly, "I want to get into a prestigious university. Songyang High School is the one I can apply to with the highest university admission rate."
The interviewer smiled slightly and looked at the information in his hand. "Hmm, perfect scores in all subjects, first in the school? No wonder you were recommended."
"Your grades aren't a problem, but to get into Songyang High School, just having good exam scores isn't nearly enough."
He thought for a moment and asked casually, "How many hours do you sleep every day?"
Zhang Yu: "Five hours."
The interviewer said in surprise, "Five hours?"
"Our students have been averaging less than two hours of sleep per day since elementary school. And basically all the outstanding graduates over the years don't sleep at all."
"You actually need to sleep five hours a day, which means you're learning three hours less than others every day. Over nine years, that's almost ten thousand hours less..."
Zhang Yu was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected that he, who thought he was already working very hard, had such a huge gap in effort compared to others.
Zhang Yu quickly said, "I will work hard to catch up with them."
The interviewer on the left asked, "How much of the high school curriculum have you studied?"
Zhang Yu calmed down slightly and said confidently, "I've already self-studied the first year of high school curriculum."
The other person's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Only first year? Don't you know that when we teach here, we assume students have already finished the high school curriculum?"
Zhang Yu was stunned when he heard this. This was another piece of information he didn't know. What he thought was an advantage had instantly become a disadvantage.
Just as he was at a loss, the interviewer in the middle asked the next question.
"To improve learning efficiency and prevent early romance, our school requires all students to undergo sterilization surgery to remove relevant organs before enrollment, so they can focus entirely on cultivation."
"Do you know about this?"
Finally hearing something he knew about, he quickly replied, "My family is already preparing. Before school starts, I will definitely complete the sterilization surgery and keep my hormone levels at the most suitable level for studying."
The interviewer nodded noncommittally. "Alright, today's interview is over. You can leave now."
Zhang Yu walked out of the classroom uneasily. He felt that his interview time seemed to be shorter than other students.
And after he left, the interviewer in the middle shook his head. "Not even sterilized by junior high, this kid's determination on the Dao isn't strong enough."
The female interviewer on the side smiled. "I think he came without knowing anything. He doesn't have any required test reports or extracurricular exam scores. I can only say that the recommended students from these ordinary junior high schools are getting worse each year. If it weren't for the support policy, they wouldn't even be qualified to see us."
The interviewer in the middle nodded. "Sigh, I thought the poor would be more motivated. Maybe my expectations were too high."
"Let's keep him as a backup for now."
With that, he tossed Zhang Yu's resume into the nearby wastebasket, where it squeezed in with several hundred other backup resumes.
Although Zhang Yu felt that this interview didn't seem very successful, there was no extra time for him to think about this. He was already preparing for one interview after another, visiting different high schools one after another.
"Student Zhang Yu, we understand that your family situation probably can't afford the tuition here. However, we offer preferential loan services for disadvantaged students. All you need to do is mortgage some unimportant organs..."
"Don't worry, you've come to the right place. We know you're male, and although our school is a girls' school, we never discriminate against males. As long as you complete the gender reassignment surgery, not only can you enroll, but you'll also be considered a seed student with a strong Dao Heart, with the opportunity to enter the key class to study the Primordial Yin Qi Refining Art..."
"It's a shame, you're still a little bit short of our enrollment standards. But this year, to accommodate disadvantaged students, we've launched a special talent policy. If you're willing to give up your physical body, you can enroll as a soul cultivation special talent and study in the principal's Myriad Soul Banner..."
"Student, you've come to the right place. This is the most suitable high school for ordinary geniuses like you."
"Let me introduce you to the benefits here. We add intelligence-boosting agents to the drinking water, ensuring students maintain a level-five focus state at all times."
"Every day, the homeroom teacher will distribute over 900 grams of supplements designed specifically for bull demon beasts, ensuring your cultivation results are at least ten times better."
"Even the air circulation system is filled with neural excitant fillers, so you never need to sleep again. And all of this is free."
"Of course, to withstand these performance-enhancing supplements, you must undergo modifications at our designated hospital."
"Don't worry, just implant some small artifacts to improve your metabolism. Here's the price list..."
One interview after another, one question after another.
Either the threshold was insurmountable, leaving him with no hope at all.
Or it was riddled with traps, making him feel like he'd be swallowed whole by the contract.
All of this made Zhang Yu feel like he was being crushed.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that he, who had the top grades in his ordinary suburban junior high, was already worlds apart from the students in the city center.
And even at this point, he only knew a fraction of the actual gap between them.
All these years of hard study now seemed like a joke.
In the end, he was no different from his classmates who didn't study at all—he couldn't get into high school either.
Back at home, Zhang Yu sat silently like a stone statue.
The phone on the table vibrated repeatedly.
Mother: How did the interview go?
Mother: I have to work overtime today. Remember to heat up the food in the fridge yourself.
A moment later, the phone vibrated again.
Mother: Son, don't worry. Whether you choose sterilization or sex reassignment, Mom will definitely help you gather the money for the surgery.
But Zhang Yu didn't look at the vibrating phone. He just stared blankly at the ceiling, wanting to think about the future, but feeling like his head was completely empty, unable to squeeze out any thoughts.
Just then, the phone vibrated violently again.
Zhang Yu originally didn't want to bother with it, but after it vibrated for over a minute, he finally couldn't help picking it up, only to find the other party had already hung up.
Then he received a message from them: Your five thousand reserve fund is ready, it will be in your account in just ten seconds...
"A loan shark ad?"
"Hmph."
Zhang Yu thought his interview materials must have been sold by some school.
But after putting down the phone for a moment, he picked it up again and reopened the message.
...
That night, when his mother came back from overtime, she found that Zhang Yu, who had been looking like death, seemed to have recovered and was sitting at his desk reading.
"Mom, don't worry. I won't be defeated so easily."
"If I can't make it this year, I'll try again next year. I will definitely cultivate."
"Tomorrow I'll go find a cram school. I'll fill in everything I'm missing one by one."
The next morning, Zhang Yu rushed out early. When he came back that night, his face was beaming.
"Mom, I found a cultivation cram school. The teachers there were all hired from key high schools. If I study with them, I'll definitely get into high school."
"Don't worry about the tuition. They saw that I've had good grades since I was little and knew my family isn't wealthy, so they waived my tuition for now. If I can get into Songyang High School next year, I won't need to pay back the tuition—it'll count as advertising for them."
"Don't worry, they're a big company and won't deceive people."
His mother watched Zhang Yu leave for cram school before dawn every day and come home late at night to study until two or three in the morning.
She watched him constantly bring back textbooks for second and third year high school—Chinese, math, physics, and so on. She watched him plan to finish all the general education courses in high school except cultivation in just one year. She was gratified by her son's ambition.
But when she saw the boxes of medicine he brought back, a hint of doubt still welled up in her heart.
Zhang Yu explained with a smile, "Mom, since I was little, I've already studied ten thousand hours less than those top students. If I don't work harder, I'll only be left further and further behind."
"These neural excitant fillers let me sleep only half an hour a day, improving my study efficiency. At least I won't let the students in the city continue to pull away from me."
"Don't worry, these drugs don't cost anything."
"The principal of our cram school really appreciates me. These drugs were all gifts from him."
Hearing that the gifts were from the principal, his mother was even happier that her son was being appreciated.
Soon, Zhang Yu brought back even more things.
Besides various high school textbooks and neural excitant fillers, there were hormone-regulating capsules, supplements for demon beasts, and bottles of unmarked medicinal powder.
Zhang Yu had many explanations—sometimes he said he bought cheap stuff from part-time work, sometimes he said classmates gave them to him, sometimes he said the cram school rewarded him...
His mother was happy for her son's diligence, and even happier for his good connections and excellent performance at the cram school.
She transferred 1,000 yuan to Zhang Yu, telling him to remember to thank his classmates and teachers.
But gradually, she noticed that Zhang Yu's emotions started to change. Sometimes he'd be cheerful when he left in the morning, but when he came back at night, he'd go straight to bed without saying a word.
Sometimes he'd be happily eating, but after taking a phone call, he'd furrow his brow and couldn't eat another bite.
She knew it must be the pressure of cultivation that was making Zhang Yu tense.
She could only buy more of his favorite foods and save more tuition money for him, hoping to ease some of his pressure.
Gradually, she also noticed that Zhang Yu was particularly attached to his phone. Not only did he almost never let it out of his sight, but he also didn't allow anyone to touch it casually. Whenever there was a call, he'd always walk into the bathroom and close the door before answering.
One time she saw his phone was dead and took it to charge, but Zhang Yu actually got angry and scolded her.
Understanding his pressure, she never dared touch Zhang Yu's phone again, afraid it would affect her son's cultivation.
Suddenly one day, Zhang Yu asked her for cram school fees, saying the school had invited seniors who got into top universities to give them lectures, and this was money for the seniors.
Then it was referral fees for the high school admissions teachers.
Spiritual Root testing fees for the hospital.
And also money to buy民用级 children's flying swords with his cram school classmates.
From two or three thousand to seven or eight thousand... the last time he asked her to transfer directly twenty thousand yuan, which Zhang Yu said was the rental fee for a Heavenly Spiritual Root.
But finally, good news came—Zhang Yu successfully got into Songyang High School.
His mother was overjoyed. She was proud of her son's effort and talent, and she agreed to everything Zhang Yu mentioned next—tuition, miscellaneous fees, medication costs, and so on.
But after school started, Zhang Yu asked for more and more money, and the family gradually couldn't make ends meet.
Finally, one afternoon, hearing the voice on the other end of the phone, her heart trembled.
"Hello? Is this Zhang Yu's mother?"
"Do you know that your son's loan is already overdue by 30 days..."
That night, Zhang Yu confessed everything to his mother.
Over the past year or so, all the expenses during his studies weren't free, appreciative gifts, or rewards as he'd claimed... the money had all come from loans he'd taken from various platforms.
"Mom, I'm sorry."
"But I really want to cultivate."
"Even if I'm in debt for the rest of my life and can never pay it off, I want to cultivate..."
After hearing everything, his mother silently sold everything valuable in the house, then borrowed more money to pay off Zhang Yu's debts.
She thought her son could now focus on cultivation in peace.
But she soon discovered new overdue loans from her son.
Repaying loans... borrowing more... repaying loans... borrowing more...
His mother finally couldn't help urging Zhang Yu to spend less money.
"Mom, I can't stop taking this medicine. If I stop, my Dao Heart will regress, and all my progress will be wasted..."
"I have to rent a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Without it, my magical power won't keep up..."
"This VIP card for the cram school needs to be topped up again, otherwise I won't understand the techniques the school teacher explains in class..."
Advanced cultivation technology allowed mortals without Spiritual Roots to embark on the path of immortality, but the cost was the most expensive regular learning and maintenance to continue on the path.
In the blink of an eye, three months of school had passed. Watching the debt grow larger and larger, until now they couldn't even afford rent and utilities... all of this was like an endless nightmare, and his mother finally couldn't bear it anymore.
So when Zhang Yu came home from school one day, he no longer saw his mother's figure.
After reading her message, he sat dazed for a long time, then quietly walked to the rooftop.
...
On the rooftop of the rental apartment.
A sharp pain shot through the man's mind, gradually awakening his confused consciousness from the darkness.
He opened his eyes and looked forward, seeing a street not far away with people coming and going, sewage flowing everywhere.
On both sides of the street flickered neon signs of various advertisements, and looking up further were dark buildings crowded together, as if trying to block out the entire sky.
And the building beneath his feet was a dilapidated apartment. On its mottled red brick wall, a financial advertisement video was still playing, with flying immortals recommending a thirty-day interest-free cultivation loan for new users.
"Weren't I playing Black Myth: Wukong?"
"Where am I?"
Just as he was wondering what was happening, he turned his head and found the rooftop was covered with candles.
Rows of candles flickering with crimson flames surrounded him and a tattered doll.
It was a cloth doll with yellowed, faded fabric, crooked stitching, as if it might burst open at any moment.
The eerie scene seemed to stimulate his brain, causing fragmented memories to continuously roll and jump through his mind.
"This isn't China... it brought me to another world?"
He found it hard to accept this transmigration.
But the real memories about cultivation technology in his head kept impacting his consciousness, gradually merging him with the original body while constantly reminding him that he was now in another world.
This was Kunxu, a super-structure standing on the earth like a pyramid, with thirty-six levels above ground and eighteen levels below ground.
Starting from the largest first level, which was like a continent, each level was a new world.
As for what the world outside Kunxu looked like, Zhang Yu's mind had no answer.
He only knew that inside Kunxu, it was a world dominated by the major cultivation sects.
The major sects were high above and had almost monopolized every industry—food, energy, transportation, education, research, healthcare, finance, the internet, and more. The government and military were more like security guards in front of the sects' law enforcement teams.
But ordinary people couldn't enjoy most of the benefits brought by cultivation technology. Instead, they were busy making a living every day.
And he was one such person, living on the first level of Kunxu, a high school student who had gotten into Songyang High School named Zhang Yu, recently obsessed with some strange ritual...
"The current me has become Zhang Yu in another world."
Just then, a sharp pain shot through his palm, waking Zhang Yu from the shock of the memories.
He looked down and saw a transparent symbol appear in his palm, gradually turning black at an extremely slow pace.
"What is this thing now?"
With the night wind blowing, the crimson candlelight around him flickered.
And on the ground, that tattered doll stared at him with hollow eyes made of black buttons, looking straight at him.
He wanted to remember what had happened, but the more he thought, the more his head hurt and spun.
The atmosphere in the air became increasingly eerie and strange. Zhang Yu clutched his still-dizzy head, feeling everything around him spinning.
When he came to his senses, he found he had already left the rooftop in a daze and walked step by step back to his home.
Glancing at the rent overdue notice, he stepped inside. All Zhang Yu could see was a bed and a table.
"Is this my home?"
Feeling his sweat-soaked sticky skin and the incredibly stuffy environment around him, Zhang Yu wanted to find the air conditioner remote, only to remember that this apartment didn't even have air conditioning.
He then wanted to take a shower, only to find the water had been cut off.
Zhang Yu sat helplessly on the bed.
"What a dump."
"So what if there are immortals? Living like this is worse than a world without immortals."
Zhang Yu's gaze swept across the wall and discovered that the wall behind the table was covered with certificates from throughout his life.
First grade, second grade, third grade... all the way to third year of junior high, the original Zhang Yu had been first in his grade almost every year.
Looking at these certificates, various memories of receiving awards also surged from Zhang Yu's mind: "The original Zhang Yu was a diligent, hardworking student with excellent grades since childhood."
"The Songyang High School he currently attends is also a key high school in the city."
"I'm a top student."
Recalling the knowledge in his mind, Zhang Yu's eyes gradually lit up. "Getting into a prestigious university leads to Foundation Establishment, joining a major sect leads to Core Formation, and I can climb up in Kunxu, leave this slum, enjoy more benefits of cultivation technology. Living a few hundred years longer wouldn't be a problem either."
Thinking of this, Zhang Yu suddenly felt that coming to this world might not be such a bad thing after all.
Just as he was thinking this, his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Zhang Yu, hello. Your loan on our platform is now overdue by 3 days..."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yu scrolled through his text messages and found a dense array of collection notices, all from the original body's overdue loans on various platforms.
At the same time, related memories surged in his mind.
"This guy started borrowing money for tutoring before entering high school. After getting into Songyang High School, to keep up with everyone's grades, he cleverly started borrowing from one loan to pay another, borrowing money everywhere to take medicine and attend tutoring, forcefully stimulating his potential. In the end, not only did he borrow more and more money, but his potential was also gradually drained."
"This bastard is a cultivation genius powered by platform loans."
"Even his mother couldn't stand him and finally left."
Calculating the total overdue loans, cold sweat immediately started pouring from Zhang Yu's forehead.
Because he found that with interest compounding, he already owed over seven hundred thousand yuan across various platforms.
And when he checked his account, he only had about fifty yuan left.
"Owe seven hundred thousand... damn it!"
Zhang Yu slammed his fist on the bed and cursed angrily, "In this world... even for a top high school graduate, this is a huge debt."
"No wonder this guy was obsessed with that messy ritual... he was a loan-addicted loser with no hope in life."
"He enjoyed himself enough, and now I'm here to pay his debts?"
At the same time, the room's lights suddenly went out.
After repeatedly pressing the switch a few times and observing the situation of other neighbors, Zhang Yu confirmed one thing... his electricity had been cut off.
"This dump..."
"If only I could wake up tomorrow morning and be back..."
With all sorts of chaotic thoughts churning in his mind, Zhang Yu finally fell into a groggy sleep on the bed.
And on his palm, the originally transparent symbol had been filled with black by one-tenth.