Heart Sutra

Heart Sutra

The Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method had finally reached Level 10. Zhang Yu planned to switch Feather Scroll's Specialization next and choose another cultivation method to level up.

After deciding not to sign a contract with the Student Union and deciding to break through the encirclement to get into one of the Ten Great Top Universities, Zhang Yu had also figured out a few things.

First, without the Student Union's investment, the resources at his disposal would inevitably be far more limited.

And if he wanted to get into the Top Ten, the pressure he would face in the future would only be far greater than it was now.

His resources were more limited, yet the pressure was heavier.

So Zhang Yu had to carefully calculate how to allocate and use the resources in his hands, doing his utmost to develop faster and better within each unit of time.

To do that, he had to make the fullest possible use of his strengths—absolute self-discipline and astonishing potential.

Simply put, he had to practice stronger, more difficult cultivation methods.

For Zhang Yu, the owner of Feather Scroll, if he worked equally hard at cultivating a method, then naturally, the stronger the method he learned, the better the results.

It was like one Zhang Yu diligently practicing the Great Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Finger while another diligently practiced the Basic Long Palm. You could tell which one had more promise just from the names.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, ...But this isn't something I can just do whenever I want.

The more powerful a cultivation method was, the higher its threshold tended to be.

Just as even dogs could learn dog-paddling, water ballet was not something everyone could learn.

Among Expert-level Cultivation Methods, the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Art in Zhang Yu's possession still required Dao Heart Level 3, a requirement he had yet to meet.

So if he wanted to cultivate powerful methods, the first condition was to satisfy their thresholds as much as possible.

Zhang Yu's gaze swept over his phone screen, looking at the requirements those powerful cultivation methods imposed on their practitioners...

"Dao Heart! Magical Power!"

Just as high school teachers often said, Dao Heart and Magical Power were the foundation of the immortal path.

Dao Heart Level represented an immortal cultivator's control over and capacity to bear immortal power.

Magical Power was the most fundamental force that drove all kinds of cultivation methods.

The thresholds for the vast majority of powerful cultivation methods were related to Dao Heart and Magical Power.

So to cultivate powerful methods, one needed sufficiently high Dao Heart and Magical Power.

"As for Magical Power, I already have the Level 10 Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method. At every moment, it's equivalent to Breathing Spiritual Opportunity and refining Magical Power."

"On the other hand, Dao Heart Level is what I've neglected to improve during this period."

Zhang Yu checked his savings. After another round of rent and utilities, along with meal expenses and other miscellaneous costs from this period, he had a little over 62,000 left.

Even if he spent all that money on improving his Magical Power, he could only rent a Heavenly Spiritual Root for a little over ten hours. It would vanish in the blink of an eye, like staying overnight at an internet café, and the improvement would be extremely limited.

So after much thought these past few days, Zhang Yu still felt that he should buy a stronger heart cultivation method, raise his Dao Heart to Level 3 as soon as possible, then switch to the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Art and further accelerate the growth of his Dao Heart.

After all, Dao Heart Level during the Qi Refining Stage ranged from Level 1 to the maximum Level 10, much like Magical Power ranged from 1 to 100.

Raising Dao Heart Level to Level 3 would take no short amount of time. If he had a heart cultivation method stronger and more suitable than the Basic Heart Refining Method, he could save quite a bit of time.

Once both his Dao Heart Level and Magical Power had risen, he could cultivate stronger methods. That was the route that currently offered faster development and better value for money.

As for what heart cultivation method to buy, Zhang Yu had already searched through plenty and thought about it extensively over the past few days.

Basic, Advanced, Expert...

Among the heart cultivation methods Zhang Yu could currently purchase, Basic Cultivation Methods were the cheapest, but they would not improve him much.

Expert-level methods were powerful, but not only were they expensive, their cultivation thresholds were also high. They did not suit him at this moment either.

Advanced Cultivation Methods, on the other hand, seemed rather tasteless to most students who had only been in their first year of high school for four months, but they were just right for Zhang Yu.

In terms of effectiveness, the first year of high school was precisely the time to lay one's foundation. The several Basic Cultivation Methods promoted by high schools were all researched and developed by the Ten Great Sects. They were the most balanced and peaceful, and exceptionally effective for building foundations.

At this time, spending extra effort to learn an Advanced heart cultivation method was not as worthwhile as focusing on improving one Basic heart cultivation method.

Thus, even wealthy students usually focused on fundamentals in their first year, only beginning to exert themselves in their second year and learn all kinds of expensive heart cultivation methods.

This was also one reason why, at Songyang High School, the rich kids often only began opening a huge gap over the poor in their second year, while poor geniuses began slipping in the rankings during that same year.

In terms of price, although Advanced Cultivation Methods were much cheaper than Expert-level ones, their follow-up costs were no less substantial.

After all, self-study was too difficult. For most people, it was not a matter of being handed a secret manual and casually learning it. They often needed to hire teachers for guidance.

An Advanced heart cultivation method might cost only a few hundred or a few thousand, but the subsequent teaching, classes, instruction... tutoring fees could cost tens of thousands.

It reminded Zhang Yu of some games from his previous life. The base game was free, but spending on all the items and characters could run into thousands upon thousands.

But those two points suited Zhang Yu perfectly.

Tutoring? Didn't exist.

I, Zhang Yu, could rely on myself alone and still master divine arts with my peerless talent.

Opening the favorites tab on the shopping site, Zhang Yu looked at a heart cultivation method he had chosen.

An Advanced Cultivation Method: the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra.

Judging from the name alone, it seemed to be a heart cultivation method that was mighty and tyrannical, incomparably unyielding, and capable of shaking people to their souls.

But after examining it closely, he discovered that the mindset required by the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra was one of diligent, tireless, hardship-enduring labor, like an old ox reclaiming wasteland.

Most crucially, this heart cultivation method reached its strongest state only with another person's cooperation—someone who could constantly force and suppress the practitioner, constantly assigning them tasks, such as a supervisor or boss.

The more orders one received, the harsher the coercion, and the longer the working hours, the stronger the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra became.

The Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra had been selected as the best heart cultivation method for construction sites for ten consecutive years, and was the heart cultivation method most beloved by bosses.

It was also a workhorse heart cultivation method whose user rating had remained below 1.2 for years.

Zhang Yu looked at the user reviews.

One star: The company made me learn it. Really useful.

One star: My five-star review was bought on installments.

One star: Got chewed out by that idiot boss again today. After casually scanning a few, Zhang Yu felt a dense wave of resentment rushing straight at his face. Clearly, the vast majority of practitioners of this workhorse heart cultivation method had been forced into cultivating it, and every last one of them perfectly met its requirements.

Zhang Yu looked again at the method's detailed configuration requirements.

Recommended configuration:

1. Be forced to work for over one hour every day.

Zhang Yu thought about it. He seemed to be forced around the clock by Ritual Power, so he met that requirement.

He looked at the next condition.

2. The means of coercion must be at least verbal pressure. Threats to wages are preferred; the harsher the pressure, the better the effect.

Zhang Yu thought about it. He was currently being threatened with death, which also fit the requirements perfectly.

"This workhorse heart cultivation method really suits my current state. More importantly, the price, too..."

Zhang Yu looked at the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra. Its current usage rights cost only 588 yuan.

This was one of the cheapest Advanced Cultivation Methods Zhang Yu had ever seen.

However, because entering the method required a "boss" to cooperate with the practitioner, it also recommended a guidance service priced at 1,000 yuan per day.

After all, many jobs required this heart cultivation method before one could be hired, but many people first had to find a job and gain a boss before they could cultivate this heart cultivation method.

To solve this employment dilemma, the platform had specially launched a paid guidance service.

So I'd be paying to hire myself a boss?

Zhang Yu cursed inwardly. He knew he obviously had no need for that. He had something forcing him around twenty-four hours a day, anytime and anywhere.

It could be said that the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra was a heart cultivation method whose effects, price, and configuration were all incomparably suitable for Zhang Yu's current state.

For 588 yuan, there was no loss and no scam. Even if he discovered that his mindset could not adapt to it, the loss would not be significant.

The only thing that made Zhang Yu uncomfortable was the meaning behind this cultivation method.

But by now, he was no longer the Zhang Yu who had just transmigrated. Facing Kunxu's harsh environment and the repeated coercion of Ritual Power, he had learned to adjust his mindset and thoughts to adapt to his surroundings.

Zhang Yu drew a deep breath and thought, A workhorse is a workhorse. Circumstances force people to bow.

When it's time to cower, then cower. I'll be a workhorse for a while.

With my potential, even if I quietly accumulate strength as a workhorse, there will come a day when I punch a hole through the heavens.

Zhang Yu knew very well that cultivating a workhorse heart cultivation method did not mean he was willing to be a workhorse. It was only temporary accumulation, accumulation for a better future.

He placed the order, paid, and received the goods.

In the blink of an eye, he received an electronic copy of the heart cultivation method.

After carefully reading it through once, a new cultivation method appeared on Feather Scroll.

Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra 0 (0/1, Dao Heart Level 1/1)

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged and began cultivating the heart cultivation method.

He emptied his mind, keeping his spirit as calm as possible, and began constructing the visualization image for the method in his mind.

It was an image of an old ox lowering its head and silently reclaiming wasteland.

But after constructing it for a while, Zhang Yu kept feeling that something was off.

As if suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly stopped cultivating and sat there blankly.

A moment later, a chill rose from his heart, and a countdown began sounding in his mind.

This time, when Zhang Yu cultivated the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra again, it immediately felt right.

A few minutes later, an image of an old ox lowering its head and silently reclaiming wasteland had been sketched out in his mind.

At that moment, he seemed to have become an ox working silently, bearing burdens without complaint. Much of the displeasure in his heart had dissolved.

As he completed the visualization image, countless memories of practicing the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra seemed to appear out of nowhere in his mind, allowing him to grasp the heart cultivation method in an instant.

Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra Level 1 (0/3)

"Just practice it three times, and it can level up?"

For a moment, Zhang Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Is it because this cultivation method fits my current state so well?"

So he waited a little longer. Once the countdown in his mind began sounding, Zhang Yu practiced the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra again, sketching out the visualization image of the old ox reclaiming wasteland in his mind.

After practicing it back and forth three times, a little over ten minutes passed. Zhang Yu felt a stirring in his spirit, and his understanding of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra deepened again. The visualization image in his mind became increasingly clear and vivid.

Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra Level 2 (0/6)

Especially after the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra rose to Level 2, he increasingly felt that cultivation was not so tedious after all, nor so hard to endure.

"Is this the effect of the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra? It can make people increasingly unafraid of hardship, increasingly able to grind..."

Only after Zhang Yu stopped circulating the heart cultivation method did all sorts of fatigue, tedium, and thoughts of slacking off surge back into his mind.

A moment later, after waiting for Ritual Power to descend, Zhang Yu circulated the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra once more. The restless, avoidant Distracting Thoughts in his heart were swept away in an instant, allowing him to cultivate earnestly and steadily.

"This cultivation method... doesn't seem as bad as I thought it was."

He suddenly recalled a sentence spoken in the preface of this cultivation method by its founder, who called himself the Desolate Ox Great Saint.

"May all people, when facing hardship and danger, suffer a little less in their hearts and hold a little more hope."

A thought suddenly rose in his heart. Perhaps the person who created this cultivation method never regarded it as a workhorse heart cultivation method.

In the blink of an eye, nearly half an hour had passed. Zhang Yu took a sharp breath and felt a tremor in his Sea of Consciousness. His Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra had risen to Level 3 (0/9).

After cultivating for a little longer, he felt both the Magical Power within his body and his Physical Body's strength suddenly become as responsive as his own arms and fingers, increasingly controllable and perceptible.

"My Dao Heart Level has risen to Level 2."

Although Zhang Yu had already sensed that his Dao Heart Level was close to advancing, at this moment, he could not help marveling at his Valiant and Vigorous Advance after cultivating the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra.

This cultivation method truly suited his current state exceptionally well.

"Then I'll keep being a workhorse. As long as the reward is sufficient, being a workhorse is nothing."

Thus, Zhang Yu immersed himself once again in cultivating the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Heart Sutra. As the heart cultivation method circulated, he seemed to feel less and less of cultivation's tedium and hardship. Instead, faint threads of satisfaction from accumulation rose in his heart.

It was like an old ox diligently reclaiming wasteland, watching the fertile soil beneath its hooves grow ever more abundant, and feeling the fulfillment that came with it.