Chapter 143: Zhang Yu, Valuation???
In the office.
Not long after Deng Bingding recorded Yun Jing’s valuation.
A minor god to the side said, “Lord Deng, this Ye Lingxiao is proving to be a bit of a problem.”
Deng Bingding looked over and saw that the Ye Lingxiao in the illusion was unmoved by nearly every temptation.
Whether it was superior cultivation conditions or the success and honor of his family… nothing seemed to deter him from his goal of obtaining the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate for high school.
If Deng Bingding were to evaluate him, she would say he was sufficiently selfish, singularly focused on his own advancement, and possessed the courage to continuously climb the path of the Immortal Dao.
But Deng Bingding also believed that if they just kept raising the price, he would eventually agree.
After all, as long as someone was human, they had a price.
But what Ye Lingxiao demanded was beyond Deng Bingding’s expectations.
Within the illusionary landscape, Ye Lingxiao said, “Since you are so powerful, do you know how to use a Favorability Talisman on a person?”
Deng Bingding’s brow furrowed. “How would Ye Lingxiao know about something like that?”
The minor god at her side said, “Lord Deng, what do we do now?”
“The secret of using a Favorability Talisman on a person is a matter of great importance; it cannot be revealed lightly.”
“Although it’s only an illusionary landscape and we could just lie to him.”
“But all memories and records from the Foundation Establishment exam’s illusion must be preserved.”
“In that case… if the valuation is too low, wouldn’t it seem like we’re deliberately giving the student a low score? And if the valuation is too high, won’t that let Ye Lingxiao know there’s a great secret involved?”
“This is truly… difficult to manage.”
Deng Bingding felt a headache coming on, and she realized something.
“For this person to make such a request amidst so many temptations in the illusion… it means he has subconsciously realized the high value of this secret, and has perhaps even understood what it truly represents.”
“Hmph, but this Ye Lingxiao’s curiosity is far too strong, and his appetite is far too large.”
“Then again, being selfish, audacious, and insatiably greedy… isn’t that also the mark of a seed of the Immortal Dao?”
The thought flashed through her mind, and Deng Bingding decided to take a different approach, asking, “Where did he learn of this? Was it hearsay, or did he witness it himself?”
The minor god replied, “He said he saw it with his own eyes, used by a high school student named Zhang Pianpian. I’ve already looked at that student’s file. She is very outstanding, but she doesn’t seem like someone who would know such a technique. Could she have been deceiving Ye Lingxiao?”
Deng Bingding closed her eyes, and countless scenes from the Spirit Realm appeared before her.
Arriving before a row of massive bookshelves, she casually opened Zhang Pianpian’s file, her divine power sweeping across it as the girl’s life story unfolded before her.
This was a Level One archive of the Department of the People, which theoretically recorded the information of everyone on the first level.
As Deng Bingding rapidly scanned Zhang Pianpian’s information with her divine power, a strange feeling crept into her heart.
“This Zhang Pianpian is indeed outstanding, even serving as the deputy captain of the Songyang City patrol team. She’s almost excessively excellent.”
“From Songyang City again…” Deng Bingding frowned. “Why is it that every student from Songyang City seems a little strange?”
As she was pondering, this sixth-rank World Roaming God suddenly noticed something amiss.
“Zhang Pianpian’s file… has someone tampered with it?”
The thought that someone had meddled with the archives sent a jolt of alarm through Deng Bingding, and when she tried to uncover the truth hidden behind the file, an unprecedented sense of crisis stopped her.
“This has nothing to do with me. I don’t want to know anything.”
After a moment’s thought, she immediately retreated and reported Ye Lingxiao’s situation, making no mention of the issue with Zhang Pianpian’s file, pretending she had never seen it.
What surprised her even more was the swiftness of the response from above.
“A directive sent directly from the Department of the People?” Deng Bingding’s heart skipped a beat.
So Zhang Pianpian really is involved in something, she thought, I wonder what plan or scheme of the higher-ups she’s caught up in.
The directive from the Department of the People was to suppress Ye Lingxiao’s valuation directly to 5.5 billion.
Witnessing this, Deng Bingding felt a wave of emotion.
Many people in Kunxu, especially the poor… all believed the rules of the Ten Great Sects, the regulations of the Eight Ministries of Righteous Gods… were heavenly edicts, inviolable celestial laws.
But Deng Bingding knew very well… that was not always the case.
Take the Foundation Establishment exam before her; it wasn’t as if no one had ever dared to try and cheat it from the very beginning.
It was just that all the people and gods who had dared to try were sent to the Spirit Realm to ‘enjoy a blissful retirement,’ and gradually, no one dared to try anymore.
But even for an event like the high school Foundation Establishment exam, which no one on the first level of Kunxu dared to interfere with, if a powerful figure from above wanted to make a move—like suppressing Ye Lingxiao’s evaluation at this very moment—then it was done.
“Everyone has a price, and the rules of Kunxu have a price too.”
“As long as one can pay the cost, many things are not impossible.”
“It’s just that for some, that cost is their entire clan. And for others, perhaps all it takes is a single directive…”
Deng Bingding cleared the stray thoughts from her mind, burying the matter deep in her heart, resolving never to think of it again.
She turned her gaze to the last person remaining in the Dao heart test—Zhang Yu.
In fact, at this moment in the office, whether it was her, the World Roaming God, or the other four minor Duty Gods, all eyes were now focused on Zhang Yu’s illusion.
Deng Bingding asked in confusion, “This Zhang Yu has actually managed to last until now.”
Huang Zichou, however, sounded both nervous and excited as he said, “Lord Deng, if this continues, Zhang Yu’s illusion is going to collapse.”
“What did you say?” With a surge of intense curiosity, Deng Bingding swept her divine power over, checking his illusionary landscape records.
Within the illusionary landscape.
Without realizing it, more and more things had been piled up before Zhang Yu.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root, a Bionic, citizenship in the Immortal Capital…
All sorts of valuable items were presented to Zhang Yu, yet he steadfastly refused to abandon the Foundation Establishment exam.
Even when the other party offered company shares, although a flicker of desire crossed Zhang Yu’s face, he still gritted his teeth and did not give up on the exam.
Because the moment that thought arose, a chilling sensation would creep up from the depths of his heart.
This stupid ritual, can’t it just let me accept the conditions and take the test next year?
No, the ritual may be stupid, but it wouldn’t be like this. Where is the problem?
And as the illusion constantly probed and raised its offers, Zhang Yu’s consciousness gradually began to feel that something was wrong.
Wait… this has to be worth over ten billion now, right?
Aren’t you guys offering a bit too much?
Is the simple act of me giving up the Foundation Establishment exam really worth such a price?
As Zhang Yu began to ponder these questions, everything before him seemed to grow stranger, giving him the feeling that he was in a dream.
In the office.
Deng Bingding frowned. “How did the price get so high? What are you doing?”
She was already suspecting Huang Zichou of recklessly raising the offers.
Huang Zichou said, “Lord Deng, you can look at the records! I really didn’t raise the price randomly. The illusion operated according to the rules, increasing it bit by bit. I’ve tried everything, but he just refuses to give in.”
Deng Bingding frowned as she repeatedly reviewed the records, discovering that Zhang Yu was truly incorruptible.
Deng Bingding knew that while the illusion could make a student subconsciously ignore many of its incongruities, this disregard was not without its limits.
As a student continued to refuse and the offered price climbed higher and higher, the entire illusion would become increasingly illogical, making the test subject feel a growing sense of dissonance.
And when that sense of dissonance reached its peak, it signified the collapse of the illusion.
In the cases of Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing just now, because they were wealthy and powerful to begin with and were strong candidates to win the qualification certificate, the price could climb steadily under the illusion’s effect, and they could subconsciously ignore the inconsistencies.
But Zhang Yu’s level was far from that of a winning candidate, and he was poor, so the skyrocketing prices would make him notice that something was wrong much more easily.
Watching this scene, a thought that had never occurred to Deng Bingding before suddenly surfaced. The poor actually have an advantage in this test. If they can just hold on, it’s easier for them to see through the illusion and break the limit than it is for the rich?
Shaking her head, she temporarily set aside the extraneous thought and asked again, “Did you not ask him what he actually wants?”
Huang Zichou quickly replied, “I did, I did! Look further ahead!”
Within the illusionary landscape.
Zhang Yu felt that everything before him was becoming more and more like a dream.
How could anyone offer so much money just to have him withdraw from the Foundation Establishment exam?
The ritual’s reaction, in particular, made him feel that everything was very wrong.
Could it be that right now, I’m…
Just then, the other party’s question interrupted his train of thought.
Upon hearing it, Zhang Yu asked curiously, “What do I want?”
He thought about how, under the duress of the ritual he carried, what he wanted most was to remove its power and grant himself true freedom.
But he would never dare to speak of matters related to the evil god; even now, with the feeling that he was in a dream, he still wouldn’t dare.
So the only thing left to say was his other goal, which was to enter one of the Ten Greats, join a sect, and complete this path of his wish.
And combining that with the current condition of giving up the Foundation Establishment exam…
Zhang Yu organized his words in his mind for a moment, feeling that the request he was about to make would be one the other party could never agree to.
But the dreamlike sensation made him suddenly smile, and he spoke his thoughts with a hint of abandon, “I want to climb the Immortal Dao, all the way up.”
“So if you want me to give up, then you’d better be able to give me a better opportunity.”
“An opportunity better than passing the Foundation Establishment exam on the first try, a better chance to get into a university, a chance for better treatment after entering the Ten Greats, a greater chance to be accepted into a sect… only then will I give up the qualification certificate.”
“Oh, and this has to include Bai Zhenzhen as well.”
In the office.
“Everyone has a price.”
This was something Deng Bingding had confirmed countless times.
But this time, hearing Zhang Yu’s demand—even if it was a price exaggerated by the illusion—Deng Bingding was still stunned.
“This guy… does he even know what he’s asking for?”
“A poor wretch from the first level of Kunxu is actually demanding such an absurd price?”
“Is this something that can even be found on the first level? Treatment better than successfully passing the first-year high school Foundation Establishment exam?”
“Forget the first level; even the wealthy on the second or even third level might not be able to seize the kind of opportunity he’s asking for.”
“And he wants to bring someone else along…”
Looking at the Zhang Yu in the illusion, Deng Bingding was momentarily unsure whether to say his ambition to climb the Immortal Dao was overblown, or if the illusion had simply unleashed his insatiably greedy side.
Huang Zichou, standing beside her, said, “Lord Deng, what do we do? This kind of demand, even he must know it’s impossible, right? He clearly has no intention of giving up the Foundation Establishment exam.”
Deng Bingding said, “Continuing the test is meaningless. The temptation offered to him has long surpassed the limit of any temptation he could possibly face.”
“If the illusion were to actually fulfill such an unreasonable request, Zhang Yu would likely wake up from it completely, and the illusion would collapse.”
“Or perhaps…” Deng Bingding said faintly, “he may already be on the verge of waking.”
“End this Dao heart test.”
Huang Zichou said, “Then what about Zhang Yu’s score?”
“What else can be done?” Deng Bingding sighed. “At the very least, this illusion was unable to find his limit.”
With that, she made a note: “Zhang Yu, valuation unknown???, Dao heart test failed to determine limit.”