Chapter 29: The Celestial Universe Staff Technique

At dinner time, Shi Yu’s phone screen flickered incessantly, accompanied by a rapid succession of notification chimes. Bank transaction alerts arrived one after another, broken into several deposits.

The first was one hundred thousand, a scholarship from his school.
The second was one hundred fifty thousand, a subsidy from the district education bureau.
The third was two hundred fifty thousand, from the municipal education bureau.
The fourth was one hundred thousand, the reward for clearing the challenge earlier that day.

A total of six hundred thousand!

It was the largest balance he had ever seen in his bank account, both in this life and his previous one. Shi Yu felt a sudden surge of emotion. To an average wage earner, this was a massive fortune, yet in the path of martial cultivation, it would likely vanish like flowing water in the blink of an eye. "Literature is for the poor, martial arts are for the rich"—the path of the warrior was never an easy one to tread.

A moment later, a call came through from Song Yunwei. She informed Shi Yu that, in addition to the funds he had already received, five hundred thousand from Tianheng had also been transferred to the school’s account. Because the agreement with Tianheng was signed under the name of Yali High School, the funds had to be transferred through official institutional channels. Naturally, a supplementary agreement was attached to ensure the money could only be used for Shi Yu’s martial cultivation.

Once the funds were settled, Song Yunwei immediately began going through the plans she had prepared for him, item by item. First was the most important: the foundation-building technique. She already had a preliminary candidate in mind, but since Shi Yu did not need it yet—he would have to wait for the critical period of next year’s college entrance examination—she advised him not to rush, suggesting they wait to see if a better, more suitable option might appear later.

Next was the matter of martial arts techniques. The technique Song Yunwei provided for Shi Yu was named the "Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique." This style was created by Zhao Dongwu, one of the twelve Pillars of the Great Xia, and was renowned for its immense, unparalleled power and ferocity. Zhao Dongwu’s cultivation had already reached the pinnacle of the Earth Realm in the Transcendence Domain, just one step away from the legendary Immortal Domain. Once one enters the Immortal Domain, they become ageless and undying, shining with the sun and moon, living as long as heaven and earth—truly god-like beings.

The "twelve Pillars of the Great Xia" were the twelve Masters of the Martial Soul Palace. Excluding the legendary beings of the Immortal Domain, they were the strongest individuals in Great Xia and its de facto rulers. As the saying went, "When the Immortals do not appear, the Earth Realm reigns supreme." This staff technique, created by Zhao Dongwu, had been honed through countless battles and the passage of time, becoming one of his signature traits. Whether within Great Xia or across the entire Blue Planet, this technique ranked in the top three, placing it firmly in the category of Heaven-tier techniques. Song Yunwei had used her family’s connections and gone to great lengths to obtain the staff maneuvers and mental cultivation methods for the Mortal Domain stage from the Martial Soul Palace. Even for just the Mortal Domain phase, the Martial Soul Palace had demanded fifty million!

This was already a discounted price granted to the Song family. One could only imagine the terrifying cost of the full "Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique." More importantly, such a Heaven-tier technique was absolutely not something that could be bought with money alone.

"Sister Song, this staff technique must be very expensive, right?" Shi Yu had only glanced at the summary, but his intuition told him it was extraordinary. It was certainly not the kind of common staff technique that schools could provide or that one could find anywhere on the market. It was worlds apart.

"It’s alright. It cost three hundred thousand; I simply deducted it from that five hundred thousand from Tianheng," Song Yunwei said nonchalantly. She, of course, would never tell him the astronomical sum. It would certainly frighten the boy. He might even reject her gift, and then how would she be able to offer him this favor? Shi Yu still had a long road ahead; as long as she remained by his side throughout his growth and cultivation, these investments would surely yield bountiful returns. Letting him discover the true value of the staff technique on his own—that was the best way.

In addition to the Heaven-tier staff technique, Song Yunwei also put her heart into purchasing a large quantity of blood-energy supplements and resources, both for internal and external use. This left Shi Yu both moved and distressed.

"Sister, you’re being too generous. Please, take it easy..."

Song Yunwei, meanwhile, was wondering if it was actually too little and whether she should add more. In any case, this boy must not be snatched away by the Xia family!

...

After dinner and thanking Sister Song over the phone, Shi Yu returned to the school’s martial arts arena, buzzing with excitement. He had an important task: registering a new user on the Hongmeng Network. After a flurry of activity, carefully filling in his personal details and entering the invitation code, the Hongmeng Network finally opened its doors to him.

However, Shi Yu soon discovered a problem. He could only browse martial arts information; he could not engage in virtual combat with warriors from around the world. To battle, one required a specific set of virtual data connection equipment. The school’s arena did not have such a setup. The reason was simple: the Hongmeng Network was not open to high school students, so the school had no need for it.

Shi Yu quickly checked the price: the equipment cost one hundred thousand Great Xia credits. He was rendered speechless. So, the reward from clearing the challenge was waiting for this. It turned out that the one hundred thousand credits were merely passing through his hands...

Before the money even had a chance to warm up, it was gone. However, he did not hesitate for long and decisively clicked "Purchase." Only by converting money into cultivation resources could he progress faster. Moreover, he believed that this investment would surely be recouped on the Hongmeng Network.

The Hongmeng system soon notified him that the complete set of equipment would arrive tomorrow. Once everything was settled, Shi Yu threw himself back into his practice. This was his mandatory daily routine; a nine-story tower begins with a pile of earth, and only through steady accumulation can a qualitative change occur!

[Host realm progress: Nascent Origin Third Layer progress increased from 6% to 7%]
[Host realm progress: Nascent Origin Third Layer progress increased from 7% to 8%]

After two hours of practicing the "Five Mountains Energy-Gathering Technique," his progress reached 14%. Shi Yu felt refreshed, the constant improvement fueling his motivation. Without pause, he clicked on the instructional video for the "Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique" and began to learn.

"Tiangang Qiankun Staff: This technique is ferociously powerful, as if the staff itself is imbued with the power of the thirty-six Tiangang stars, capable of piercing through any defense! As the staff shadows flicker, they carry the might of falling stars!"

This was the general outline of the technique, written by Zhao Dongwu himself. Between the lines, Shi Yu could feel the overwhelming, invincible aura radiating toward him!

Following the outline was a demonstration video of a transcendent warrior performing the Tiangang Qiankun Staff. He saw the majestic warrior holding a long staff; the technique was like a meteor streaking across the sky, or a comet sweeping across the horizon, with a terrifying momentum that made one dare not look directly at it. Every swing seemed to cause stars to fall from the sky, carrying world-destroying power. Wherever the tip of the staff touched, space was torn asunder, emitting a piercing sonic boom.

As Shi Yu stared at the screen, he felt as if he were being sucked into a soul-shaking cosmic vortex. He held his breath, completely immersed in the spectacular sight of falling stars and collapsing heavens.

Strong! It was too strong! When the warrior performed the technique, it was as if he were resonating with the stars, breathing in unison with the heavens and earth. At that moment, Shi Yu felt the inadequacy of his own vocabulary. It was an indescribable feeling, an unstoppable power!

He felt a shock like never before, a powerful sensation that surged through his entire body like a flash flood. At the same time, Shi Yu had a deep doubt: for such a powerful staff technique, even if it were only the Mortal Domain stage, it shouldn't just be worth three hundred thousand. The true value of this technique was likely far beyond that!