Chapter 1

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/

Chapter 1 The Interview

“Are you there yet?”

“Do not be nervous. With grades as good as yours, you are sure to pass.”

“Do not worry about the surgery fees. Mom found a new part-time job and will definitely raise the money for you. Just keep steady and focus on your interview.”

Reading the messages his mother had sent on the screen, Zhang Yu silently put away his phone. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and waited quietly.

After a long while, a voice called out numbers from the front.

“Candidate number 989, Zhang Yu.”

Zhang Yu stood up and walked into the interview classroom.

He looked at the three interviewers, offering the polite smile he had practised for so long. “Greetings to you all. I am Zhang Yu from Dongyang Junior High School.”

The interviewer in the middle gazed at him and asked calmly, “Why do you want to apply to our school?”

Zhang Yu began, “Your school’s venerable history, its profound heritage, and its rich educational resources have consistently cultivated many outstanding talents for society…”

The interviewer frowned, interrupting him. “Skip the platitudes.”

Zhang Yu answered honestly, “I want to attend a prestigious university. Among the schools I am eligible to apply for, Songyang High School has the highest university acceptance rate.”

The interviewer smiled faintly, glancing at the materials in his hand, and said, “Hmm, perfect scores in all subjects, top of the entire school? No wonder you were recommended.”

“Your grades present no problem, but to get into Songyang High School, relying solely on your school exam scores is far from enough.” He thought for a moment, then asked casually, “How long do you sleep each day currently?”

Zhang Yu replied, “Five hours.”

The interviewer sounded surprised. “Five hours?”

“Our students here average less than two hours of sleep per day, starting from elementary school. As for the outstanding graduates from previous years, they basically do not sleep at all.”

“You actually sleep five hours every day? That means you study three hours less than others daily. Over nine years, that difference amounts to nearly ten thousand hours…”

Zhang Yu was momentarily stunned. He had thought himself incredibly diligent, never imagining such a vast gap still existed between his own efforts and those of others. He knew students in Songyang City started elementary school at age nine and entered high school nine years later at eighteen. Yet, he had not expected that over the same nine years, the disparity between people could become so great.

Zhang Yu quickly said, “I will work hard to catch up to them.”

The interviewer on the left asked, “How much of the high school curriculum have you studied?”

Zhang Yu composed himself slightly and confidently replied, “I have already completed the First-Year curriculum through self-study.”

The interviewer’s brow furrowed slightly. “Only First-Year? Did you not know that when classes begin here, we operate under the default assumption that students have already finished the entire high school curriculum?”

Zhang Yu was dumbfounded upon hearing this. It was yet another piece of information he had not known. What he thought was an advantage had, in the blink of an eye, become a disadvantage.

Just as he was at a loss, the interviewer in the middle posed the next question.

“To improve learning efficiency and prevent premature romance, this school requires all students to undergo Sterilization Surgery, removing the relevant organs before enrollment. This allows one to concentrate fully on their Cultivation from then on.”

“Are you aware of this?”

Finally hearing something he actually knew about, he hurriedly replied, “My family is already making preparations. I will definitely complete the Sterilization Surgery before school starts and maintain my Hormone Level at the most optimal state for studying.”

The interviewer gave a noncommittal nod. “Very well, today’s interview is concluded. You may leave now.”

Zhang Yu walked out of the classroom full of anxiety. He had the feeling his interview time seemed shorter than that of the other students.

After he had gone, the interviewer in the middle shook his head. “He is already in Junior High and still not sterilized. This child’s Dao Heart is not firm enough.”

The female interviewer beside him chuckled. “It seems to me he came here knowing nothing at all. He does not have any of the required test reports or extracurricular exam results, not a single one. One can only say that the quality of recommended students from these ordinary Junior High schools below gets worse year after year. If not for the Support Policy, they would not even be qualified to meet us.”

The middle interviewer nodded. “Alas, I had thought poor people would try a bit harder. Perhaps my expectations for them were too high.”

“Let us put this one on the reserve list temporarily.”

Having said that, he tossed Zhang Yu’s resume into the wastepaper basket beside him, where it squeezed in amongst several hundred other reserve resumes.

Although Zhang Yu felt this interview had likely not been very successful, he had no spare time to ponder it. He was already beginning preparations for interview after interview, travelling to one different High School after another.

“Student Zhang Yu, we understand your family’s circumstances likely make it difficult to afford the tuition here. However, we provide favourable loan services for impoverished students. All that is required is your willingness to mortgage some non-essential organs…”

“Rest assured, you have not come to the wrong place. We know you are male, and although our school is a girls’ school, we have never discriminated against males. Provided you complete the Gender Transition surgery, not only will you be admitted, but you will also be recognised as a seed student with a resolute Dao Heart, gaining the opportunity to enter the key class and study the Primordial Yin Qi Refinement Technique…”

“A pity, you still fall just a little bit short of our admission standards. However, this year, to accommodate impoverished students, we have introduced a special talents policy. If you are willing to abandon your physical body, you can enrol with the status of a talented Soul Cultivator and study within the Principal’s Myriad Soul Banner…”

“Student, you have certainly come to the right place. Our school is the most suitable High School for a commoner genius like you.

Let me introduce you to the benefits here. We add cognitive enhancers to the drinking water, guaranteeing students constantly maintain a Level 5 state of focus.

Every day, your homeroom teacher will distribute over 900 grams of supplements specifically for Bull Demons, guaranteeing your cultivation results will be more than ten times the original rate.

Even the air circulation system is filled with a neural stimulant filler, eliminating your need for sleep, and all of this is completely free.

Of course, to withstand these function-enhancing supplementary agents, you must undergo modification at our designated hospital.

Do not worry, it only requires implanting a few small Magic Tools to boost your metabolic capacity. Here is the detailed price list…”

Interview after interview, question upon question.

Either the threshold was impossibly high, leaving him utterly without hope.

Or the contracts were riddled with traps, making him feel as though he would be swallowed whole in one gulp.

All of it left Zhang Yu feeling crushed, unable to breathe.

In that moment, he abruptly realised that despite being ranked first in his entire ordinary suburban Junior High school, there was already a difference like that between heaven and earth when compared to the students from the city centre.

Even now, regarding the true extent of the gap between them, he had only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.

All his hard work and study over the past years seemed to have become a joke.

In the end, there was no difference between him and those ignorant classmates who never studied. He, too, would be unable to attend High School.

Returning home, Zhang Yu sat silently, motionless as a stone statue.

His phone on the table vibrated repeatedly.

A message from his Mother asked, “How did the interview go?”

Another from his Mother said, “I have to work overtime tonight, remember to heat the food in the fridge and eat it yourself.”

A moment later, the phone vibrated again.

His Mother wrote, “Son, do not worry. Whether you choose sterilization or gender transition, Mom will definitely find a way to raise the money for the surgery.”

But Zhang Yu did not look at the vibrating phone. He merely stared blankly at the ceiling, wanting to think about the future, yet feeling as though his mind was utterly empty, unable to bring forth a single thought.

Just then, the phone began vibrating violently again.

Zhang Yu originally did not want to pay it any attention, but after the phone had buzzed continuously for more than a full minute, he finally could not help but pick it up, only to discover the caller had already hung up.

Next, he received a message sent by the caller. “Your 5,000 yuan reserve fund is ready, requiring only ten seconds to reach your account…”

“A small loan advertisement?”

“Hmph.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself that his interview information had probably been sold off by one of the schools.

Yet after putting the phone down for a moment, he picked it up once more and opened that message again.

That night, when his mother returned home after working overtime, she found that Zhang Yu, whose face had been ashen earlier, seemed to have recovered. He was sitting upright at the table, absorbed in a book.

“Mom, please don’t worry. I will not be defeated so easily.”

“If it doesn’t work out this year, I will just take the examination again next year. I absolutely will pursue Cultivation.”

“Tomorrow I am going to find a Cram School. I will patch up every single gap in my knowledge one by one.”

Early the very next morning, Zhang Yu hurried out. He returned that evening, his face beaming with delight.

“Mom, I found a Cultivation Cram School. All the Teachers there have been hired from Key High Schools. Studying with them, I am certain I can test into High School.”

“You do not need to worry about the tuition fees. They think because my grades have always been good since I was young, and knowing our family is not well off, they have temporarily waived my fees. As long as I can get into Songyang High School next year, the tuition will not need to be repaid at all. It will just be considered as advertising for them.”

“Rest assured, they are a big Company. They would not deceive people.”

His mother watched as Zhang Yu left for the Cram School each day before the sky was even light, and how upon returning late every night, he would continue studying until two or three in the morning.

Watching him constantly bring home Second-Year and Third-Year teaching materials for language, mathematics, physics, and other subjects, and seeing his plan to master all the High School general knowledge courses apart from the Cultivation, she felt gratified by her son’s drive and ambition.

Yet, when she saw the boxes of medicines he brought back, a flicker of doubt stirred within her heart.

Zhang Yu explained with a smile “Mom, from childhood until now, I have already studied ten thousand hours less than those Top Students. If I don’t work harder, they will only leave me further and further behind.”

“These neural stimulant fillers allow me to only need half an hour of sleep each day, increasing my study efficiency. At the very least, it stops those students from the city from increasing their lead.”

“Don’t worry, these medicines do not cost any money.”

“The Principal of my Cram School thinks very highly of me. He gave all these medicines to me.”

Hearing they were a gift from the Principal, his mother felt even happier, pleased that her son’s potential was being recognised and appreciated.

Soon, Zhang Yu began bringing even more things home.

Besides the various High School teaching materials and neural stimulant fillers, there were capsules for regulating Hormone Levels, supplements specifically for Demon Beasts, and bottle after bottle of unlabelled medicinal powders.

Zhang Yu offered many explanations. Sometimes he said they were cheap goods bought with money from a part-time job, sometimes he said a classmate had given them to him, and other times he claimed they were rewards from the Cram School.

His mother was happy about her son’s diligence, and even more pleased by his popularity 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.

Gradually though, she noticed that Zhang Yu’s mood was becoming strange. Sometimes he would be cheerful when leaving in the morning, only to return at night without a word and go straight to sleep.

Other times, he might be happily eating a meal, but after receiving a phone call his brow would furrow tightly, and he would be unable to eat another bite.

She knew the pressure of Cultivation must be immense, leaving Zhang Yu mentally strained.

All she could do was buy more of the food he loved and save more money for his tuition, hoping only that she could help alleviate some of his stress.

As time passed, she also noticed that Zhang Yu became extremely particular about his mobile phone. Not only did he keep the phone with him almost constantly, but he also forbade anyone else from casually touching it. Whenever a call came, he would always go into the bathroom and close the door before answering.

Once, seeing that his phone battery was dead, she took it to charge it, only to be unexpectedly and angrily scolded by Zhang Yu.

Understanding his immense pressure, she never dared touch Zhang Yu’s phone again, deeply afraid of affecting her son’s Cultivation.

Then suddenly one day, Zhang Yu asked her for tuition money, explaining the Cram School had invited Seniors who had tested into top Universities to come and lecture them, and this money was payment for the Seniors.

Next came a recommendation fee for the High School admissions Teachers.

Then a Spirit Root detection fee for the hospital.

There was also money needed to purchase a civilian-grade children’s Flying Sword together with his Cram School classmates.

The amounts ranged from two or three thousand up to seven or eight thousand. The final time, he asked her to directly transfer twenty thousand yuan, which Zhang Yu said was the fee for renting a Heavenly Spirit Root.

But good news finally arrived. Zhang Yu had successfully been accepted into Songyang High School.

His mother felt boundless joy. She was proud of her son’s hard work and talent, and readily agreed without hesitation to all the subsequent tuition fees, miscellaneous fees, Potion fees, and everything else Zhang Yu mentioned.

However, after school started, the amount of money Zhang Yu asked for grew larger and larger, and the family’s income gradually became insufficient to cover their expenses.

Finally, one afternoon, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, the mother’s heart trembled.

“Hello? May I ask if this is Zhang Yu’s mother?”

“Are you aware that your son’s loan is already thirty days overdue?”

That very night, Zhang Yu confessed everything to his mother.

During all that time, the various expenses incurred throughout his studies had not been free, or signs of appreciation, or gifts as he had claimed. All the money had come from loans he had taken out from various large Platforms.

“Mom, I am sorry.”

“But I truly want to pursue Cultivation.”

“Even if I am in debt for a lifetime and can never pay it back, I still want to pursue Cultivation.”

After hearing it all, his mother silently sold everything of value in their home and then borrowed more money to repay Zhang Yu’s debts.

She had thought that from then on, her son would be able to pursue Cultivation with peace of mind.

But very quickly, she discovered her son had yet another new loan that was overdue.

A vicious cycle began of repaying, borrowing, repaying, and borrowing yet again.

Finally, his mother could bear it no longer and urged Zhang Yu to spend less money.

“Mom, I cannot stop this medicine. If I stop, my Dao Heart will regress, and all my previous efforts will have been wasted.”

“I absolutely must rent the Heavenly Spirit Root. Without a Heavenly Spirit Root, my magic power cannot keep up.”

“This Cram School VIP card needs to be recharged, otherwise I cannot understand the Cultivation Arts that the school Teacher explains in class.”

Advanced immortal cultivation technology allowed mortals without Spirit Roots to set foot upon the path of immortality, but the price was the most expensive study and maintenance, performed regularly, just to continue walking that path.

In the blink of an eye, three months have passed since school began. Watching the debts grow ever larger, to the point where even the household rent and utilities were impossible to afford, it all felt like a never-ending nightmare. The mother finally could bear it no longer.

And so, when Zhang Yu returned home from school one day, he no longer saw his mother’s figure.

He read the note his mother had left explaining her departure and sat there blankly for a long time. Finally, he silently picked up his phone and walked out.