Chapter 138: Farewell to Zhang Pianpian, Registration Begins
Zhang Yu listened to the various instructions coming from Zhang Pianpian on the other end of the line.
He would nod from time to time, murmuring his assent.
“The Ten Great Sects have established an ironclad rule: To maintain order and the business environment on each level, travel between the various levels of Kunxu is forbidden.”
“To return, one must either be like True Person Starfire, returning in disgrace with greatly diminished cultivation and shrunken assets after countless setbacks.”
“Or one must have a specially assigned mission or job, like the Immortal Resonance Group’s Songyang Director, relegated to this level to warm the bench.”
“But both of those are merely the outcomes of being eliminated while climbing higher… I refuse to accept that.”
“Brother, I want to climb. I want to ascend to the highest reaches of Kunxu and see the scenery from above.”
“Therefore, my gaze will only be fixed upward; I will not look back.”
“If we are to meet again in the future, it can only be up there, never on the first level of Kunxu.”
Zhang Yu clenched his fist and said to Zhang Pianpian on the other end of the line, “Sis, I will definitely catch up to you!”
Zhang Pianpian laughed. “Then I will wait for you at Myriad Laws University.”
Zhang Yu then asked, “Since moving between levels is so difficult, do you have anything you won’t need that you can leave for me?”
Zhang Pianpian replied, “I still have over twenty million in debt…”
“Let’s forget about that,” Zhang Yu said righteously. “Something so personal, you had better keep it with you.”
“I mean, do you have anything you can’t take with you? Like a house, a car, or anything else of value?”
Pfft! Bai Zhenzhen, standing nearby, couldn’t help but laugh. It felt like she was listening to a dutiful grandson asking his ascending grandmother for his inheritance.
“I’ve left three talismans for you.”
Zhang Yu looked at the three images she had sent. Each was a screenshot of a talisman, but the contents were so complex that he couldn’t decipher what kind of talismans they were.
A question also arose in his mind, “Can screenshots even be used?”
Zhang Pianpian explained, “These three are a Freezing Talisman, which can freeze someone’s bank account, though the higher their faith level, the shorter the duration of the freeze.”
“There is also a Thunderclap Talisman, which sounds a thunderous alarm and summons an armed patrol team to enforce the law within one minute. But remember, the minimum charge for using this is ten thousand, so make sure you have the funds in your account before you use it.”
“And finally, there is a Godspeed Talisman. It can summon a minor earth god to serve as your transport, allowing you to escape in an instant up to a maximum distance of ten kilometers. But remember, this one charges three thousand per kilometer, deducted directly from your account, so calculate the cost before using it.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up as he listened; these three talismans sounded incredibly useful.
Zhang Pianpian said coolly, “I will also send you the phone number of a captain in the Songyang City patrol team. I have entrusted the talismans to her.”
“Add her as a friend. When you need to use one of the talismans, just send the image to her, and she will activate it for you.”
“Also, if you run into a problem you can’t solve on your own, you can go to her for help.”
Here, Zhang Pianpian paused as if considering something, before finally adding, “If you need a slightly higher-level identity in the divine ministries for cover, she can help arrange a promotion. You can discuss the specifics with her.”
“But if she offers you a promotion, remember to go no higher than a special assistant.”
“Also, you must remember never to meet her alone at night.”
“And continue to work as an external contractor. Do not, under any circumstances, sign a formal contract.”
“Don’t worry about the loan, either. Just continue to make payments slowly according to the contract.”
“You should still focus on using your money for self-improvement. It’s fine to be a little more in debt; often, the amount of debt one carries is a reflection of their strength.”
“As for the Foundation Establishment exam registration, you have to be in the Immortal Capital to open the registration website. I’ve never taken it, so you’ll have to adapt to the situation as it unfolds…”
And so, Zhang Pianpian patiently went over various matters with Zhang Yu, one by one, and he listened with great concentration.
Only at the very end did she say slowly, “We have no foundation on the first level of Kunxu. Remember, never go around causing trouble and invoking my name.”
“After I’m gone, be as tolerant as you can. If you manage to earn your Foundation Establishment qualification, you must be even more discreet.”
Zhang Yu felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead.
Really, sis? Do I look like the kind of person who throws his weight around and stirs up trouble?
“Don’t worry, sis. Just wait for me at Myriad Laws University. I’ll come find you in two years.”
After hanging up, Zhang Yu suddenly felt a sense of emptiness, as if a guardian who had always protected him was ascending to the heavens, leaving him to face the world alone.
Sigh, I should first prepare for the Foundation Establishment exam registration.
Zhang Yu picked up his phone and called his class advisor, Su Haifeng, directly.
“Hey? Old Su, Bai Zhenzhen and I need to request two days of leave.”
“This is something Senior Zhang Pianpian asked me and Bai Zhenzhen to help her with before she left.”
“We can’t even take this leave?”
“Then my only choice is to tell her, and let Senior Zhang go to the ascension platform with regrets.”
“Mm, thanks, Old Su.”
Time flew by, and soon it was the day before the Foundation Establishment exam registration.
Today was also the day Zhang Pianpian would step onto the ascension platform and officially depart.
Night.
Songyang City, Intercity Train Station.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were sitting together in the waiting hall, anticipating the high-speed train to Tiantai City.
The reason they had booked a train to Tiantai City, rather than one directly to the Immortal Capital, was simply because they did not wish to reveal their final destination.
At that moment, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were continuing to seize every moment to perform their breathing exercises.
Over the past few days, Zhang Yu’s stats had improved once again; his magic power had increased to 61.4, and his physical strength had reached level 6.08.
But his funds had also dwindled further.
This was especially true during the university entrance exam period, when controls throughout Songyang City had become exceedingly strict, and patrol officers were a common sight on the streets near the high schools.
Not only were outsiders barred from entering the major high schools, but even the Dark Learning Gang had suspended their tutoring activities, causing Zhang Yu to lose a significant source of income.
Zhang Yu could only sigh. The university entrance exam was tied to university admissions, to the quotas for ascending to the second level, and to the futures of countless individuals and families. It was indeed a matter of the utmost importance, putting the entire city of Songyang on high alert.
Consequently, his savings had dropped to 50,000 in just a few days.
I still need to find a way to earn money. After I get back from registration… perhaps I can expand my business in the dark world of tutoring?
A little over an hour later, Zhang Yu’s phone vibrated faintly. He had received a message from Zhang Pianpian.
Zhang Pianpian: I’m off.
Immediately after, her profile picture turned gray. Zhang Yu knew that, aside from a few special methods of communication, he would be unable to contact his sister again until he ascended to the second level of Kunxu.
At this thought, threads of loss once again welled up in his heart.
The next time we meet will probably be in two years.
Good thing I still have Zhen.
He turned to look at Bai Zhenzhen, who was beside him, shoveling down a bucket of synthetic food.
“Zhen? Why did you eat my portion too?”
“You were just staring at your phone in a daze. I thought you weren’t going to eat it.”
Zhang Yu grumbled, “You little…”
Not long after, upon arriving in Tiantai City, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen boarded another train bound for a different city.
More than ten hours passed in a flash.
The train sped across the land.
Zhang Yu glanced at Zhen beside him and saw her pressed against the window, exclaiming, “Yu-boy, look at that!”
In the distance, a dense, endless cityscape stretched from the earth to the sky.
That was their destination: the Immortal Capital.
High above the Immortal Capital, white and golden auspicious clouds spread out like continents and islands. Upon them, one could see countless immortal palaces and divine halls, as well as innumerable skyscrapers piercing the cloud layer, resembling a city in the sky.
And beneath this celestial metropolis lay the earth, perpetually shrouded in shadow, with its dense clusters of buildings and the constant flicker of neon lights in the darkness.
A young man sat not far from Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. He pointed to the city in the sky and asked, “Uncle, have you ever been to the Upper City?”
The old man sitting next to the youth, his face a roadmap of wrinkles, glanced at the spectacle of the Immortal Capital with an air of indifference.
“Aye, I worked up there when I was young. Back then, the Upper City was just a few floating islands. Later, it got bigger and bigger, the clouds got thicker and thicker, and now the rich folk call it Kunxu’s one-and-a-half level.”
“It gets more and more prosperous up there, while down here in the Lower City… the cloudy days just kept getting more frequent, until it ended up like this, night all day long.”
The young man said, “With no daylight at all, isn’t it miserable to stay here?”
The old man scoffed, “As long as there’s money to be made, what difference does day or night make? Kid, let me tell you, in the Immortal Capital, even begging is better than working in a factory in any other city.”
As the train slowly came to a halt at a station in the Lower City, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen felt a wave of damp coldness wash over them the moment they disembarked.
Looking up, they could only see the roiling sea of clouds that was the ceiling of the Upper City.
But what appeared as white and golden auspicious clouds from the outside was, from below, nothing but a pitch-black mass, like dark storm clouds in constant, turbulent motion.
Is it because the undersides of the clouds are completely blocked from the sun by the Upper City’s buildings and roads?
This is seriously oppressive, Zhang Yu thought to himself. If I had to stay here for long, it would be inconvenient to cultivate the Great Sun Qi Sea.
The two didn’t wander far. They remained in the station, found an empty corner, and opened the registration website as Zhang Pianpian had instructed.
They had tried to open this website in the past, but it had always been a blank page, devoid of information.
Now, standing within the Immortal Capital, the website finally displayed something, but it was merely a countdown timer.
“It hasn’t started yet?”
The two decided to wander around the station. Seeing lunch boxes for a hundred yuan, water for ten yuan a bottle, and a pair of stockings priced at fifty million, they both lamented the exorbitant cost of living.
Suddenly, Bai Zhenzhen pointed at the fifty-million-yuan white stockings and said, “Yu-boy, that’s actually an external spiritual root.”
“Mm.”
Bai Zhenzhen continued, “If you wore those, you would have a spiritual root too.”
Zhang Yu rolled his eyes. “If anyone’s wearing them, it’ll be you. Then you can give the True Spiritual Root to me.”
“Fine by me. Just remember to buy them for me in the future.”
Zhang Yu had no illusions that he could ever afford such an expensive external spiritual root, but he replied casually, “When I’m rich, I’ll buy you seven pairs in seven different colors, one for each day of the week…”
As the two continued their idle wandering, the countdown for the registration finally reached zero.
They looked at the instructions that appeared: “Find a space with no surveillance, no outsiders, and where you are completely alone. Then, click confirm.”