Chapter 273: Zhang Yu’s Promise to Bai Zhenzhen
Fu Ji couldn’t see the projection on Zhang Yu’s retina, but she could hear his conversation with Bai Zhenzhen and see him holding Le Mulan.
“Talking to Bai Zhenzhen while holding Le Mulan.”
“This kid… he really has the aptitude for the Joyful Union Sect.”
“Maybe I should have advised him to apply to Joyful Union University back then?”
“If he had cultivated the Joyous Union Dao, he could have drained Bai Zhenzhen dry… that would have been a straight path to ascension.”
Fu Ji shook her head inwardly. “Ah, it’s pointless to dwell on it now. Bai Zhenzhen is about to be served up on someone else’s plate. Zhang Yu should just stick to his construction work.”
Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen turned her head to the side, as if listening to someone else speaking. Then she said, “Yu Zi, let’s talk later. I have to go to class now.”
Zhang Yu nodded. “Go ahead. Oh, and… if you have time, let’s talk every day, okay?”
Bai Zhenzhen’s heart stirred. She knew Zhang Yu was worried about her being alone and wanted to check on her daily.
“You’re such a filial son. I can probably rest for a bit around 2 AM every day. I’ll contact you then.”
With that, Bai Zhenzhen flashed a radiant smile and waved goodbye to Zhang Yu. “See you later.”
In a flash, Bai Zhenzhen’s projection vanished, and Le Mulan appeared before Zhang Yu.
Seeing Le Mulan’s puzzled expression, Zhang Yu’s fingers danced across the air, swiping through the projected buttons as he began adjusting the settings of his Time-Worn Demonic Eye.
“Seriously, why does this projection have to be so realistic?”
“I need to increase the projection transparency by 50%. Otherwise, it’s impossible to tell what’s real and what’s not.”
As Zhang Yu adjusted his Bionic Eye, Le Mulan asked curiously, “Zhang Yu, were you just talking to someone?”
“Yeah,” Zhang Yu replied with an awkward smile. “I was just contacting A-Zhen.”
Le Mulan: “So… Bai Zhenzhen’s projection just shone on me, and you mistook me for her… No, wait. When you were hugging her, you accidentally hugged me too?”
After hearing this, Zhang Yu felt even more uneasy, but since what she said seemed to be true, he could only nod. “Mm.”
Upon receiving Zhang Yu’s confirmation, Le Mulan felt a surge of… an emotion she had never experienced before.
This feeling was so unfamiliar that she couldn’t immediately understand what was happening to her. She could only think to herself, “Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s relationship… it’s truly remarkable.”
“Even though one of them has become a disciple of the Divine Monarch Seven Emotions, their friendship from high school hasn’t changed.”
“They added each other as friends the moment they reached the Second Layer. Do they even need to embrace through the Spirit Realm Network?”
The mention of Bai Zhenzhen stirred a wave of wistful emotions in Le Mulan’s heart.
When they first met, Le Mulan was the heir to a prestigious clan in Songyang City, a noble lady, while Bai Zhenzhen was just a penniless girl drowning in debt.
But three years had passed. Now, after entering university, Bai Zhenzhen had become a disciple of a Divine Monarch, the possessor of a Divine Spirit Root, a Heavenly Sword Noblewoman, and had achieved Foundation Establishment in high school.
As for Le Mulan… she was now just a Qi Refining University Student from a small town.
Whether it was background, wealth, cultivation, or academic achievements… she now had to look up to them in every aspect.
This shift between having money and not having it, between being poor and being rich, made Le Mulan deeply realize that the concepts of poverty and wealth were never absolute.
Noticing Le Mulan lost in thought, Zhang Yu asked, “Did you come to find me for something?”
Le Mulan snapped out of her reverie and replied, “We’re about to disembark. I came to ask for your Spirit Realm account so we can add each other as friends.”
“After all, once we get to Myriad Laws University, we’ll be in different departments, and you’ll be in the Foundation Establishment Class. Without adding each other, it might be hard to stay in touch.”
They exchanged friend requests and prepared to join the line to disembark.
As they walked, messages appeared on Zhang Yu’s retinal display:
“Zhao Tianxing from Fengdu Vocational Technical College has requested to add you as a friend.”
Request accepted.
Zhao Tianxing: “Zhang Yu, I’ve already registered and moved into the Ghost King Banner in Fengdu.”
Zhao Tianxing: “I joined a group for people from Songyang City. You should join too.”
You have been invited to join the group chat “Happy Songyang People.”
Zhang Yu joined and saw that Zhao Tianxing, Qian Shen, and Xiong Wenwu, whom he had already added as friends, were there, along with a bunch of other Songyang City graduates he recognized or didn’t.
Vajra University’s Chu Qiuhe: “Newcomers, remember to change your names to University Name + Real Name. Those who don’t will be kicked after 24 hours.”
“Chu Qiuhe? He got into Vajra University?”
Zhang Yu remembered him as one of the opponents he had defeated at the Martial Dao Tournament… After that, Chu Qiuhe had seemed to be lying on a stretcher until the end of the competition.
But considering Chu Qiuhe’s frequent top-ten finishes in various Songyang City competitions, getting into the Ten Greats was perfectly reasonable.
Zhang Yu then changed his group nickname to Myriad Laws University’s Zhang Yu.
A moment later, the group suddenly became lively.
Myriad Laws University’s Le Jingchen: “[Firework] Welcome Junior Brother to the group! [Clapping]”
Fengdu College’s Mo Tianyi: “Welcome, Great Zhang Yu!”
Vajra University’s Chu Qiuhe: “Welcome, Great Zhang Yu!”
Celestial Monsters University’s Xiong Wenwu: “Welcome, Great Zhang Yu!”
Celestial Monsters University’s Hu Yuntao: “Welcome, Great Zhang Yu!”
Joyful Union University’s Lian Tianji: “Welcome, Great Zhang Yu!”
Seeing Lian Tianji’s name, a peculiar expression crossed Zhang Yu’s face. “That Lian Tianji fellow certainly knows how to pick his schools.”
Mountains and Rivers College’s Lan Ling: “Hey Old Zhou, let’s welcome the Great One together! @Tianhai College’s Zhou Chechen”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “These two are in this group too?”
“And Zhou Chechen… It seems the upheaval in the Zhou Family’s First Layer hasn’t affected him, or perhaps it has, but since he didn’t collude with the Evil God, he was spared?”
At that moment, Zhou Chechen’s profile picture silently turned gray.
After exchanging pleasantries with the group, they urged Zhang Yu to invite Yu Xinghan. The chat immediately flooded with compliments, this time primarily from White Dragon High School graduates.
While casually scrolling through the group chat, Zhang Yu, Le Mulan, Yu Xinghan, and Li Xuelian gradually disembarked from the flying boat in an orderly line.
The flying boat was now docked at the University City’s internal Airport. After clearing customs and passing through the Airport gates, they had finally entered the true heart of Myriad Laws University’s University City.
This was the 600th floor of the University City, each floor approximately 10 meters high. The streets were narrow, lined with tightly packed buildings on both sides.
There were no vehicle lanes to be seen; most people moved swiftly on foot.
Simultaneously, Zhang Yu’s eyes perceived two distinct worlds.
Through his left, natural eye, the city appeared encased in reinforced concrete, its world seemingly composed solely of gray and white hues, radiating a deathly stillness.
But through his right Bionic Eye, the world burst with vibrant colors. The Spirit Realm Network projected holographic signs, advertisements, and slogans everywhere.
The shops lining the streets buzzed with activity, their endless array of potions, textbooks, Bionics, and countless other goods practically leaping out of the storefronts to grab the attention of passersby.
Above each pedestrian’s head floated various titles, while their bodies, clothing, and even the air behind them shimmered with colorful special effects.
In addition to the floating labels, Zhang Yu could also see massive road signs suspended in the air, indicating the directions to different areas and floors.
Notifications about approaching Foundation Establishment cultivators kept popping up on his retina, forcing Zhang Yu to ignore them and prioritize alerts for Golden Core cultivators and above.
Meanwhile, Yu Xinghan, clutching his eyes, exclaimed, “Holy shit… it’s so laggy! The whole world is stuttering!”
“Let’s get out of here,” he added. “It’s too laggy for me.”
Li Xuelian rolled her eyes and smacked Yu Xinghan on the back of the head. “You brat… how much did you actually spend on this piece of junk? Hurry up and replace it when you get the chance.”
As they spoke, Zhang Yu and the others followed Li Xuelian forward, arriving at the entrance to the Primordial Magnetic Channel.
The Primordial Magnetic Channel resembled a series of massive pipes that connected different floors of University City.
Zhang Yu watched as pedestrians walked along the ground one moment, then seamlessly transitioned onto the walls of the channel the next, ascending or descending to different levels.
Li Xuelian reminded them, “The Primordial Magnetic Channel has a reinforced electromagnetic field. By converting your magic power to thunder magic power, you can walk freely along the channel walls.”
“Oh, and did you all subscribe to the monthly transportation pass? Otherwise, you won’t be able to use the Primordial Magnetic Channel.”
Converting special magic power was a skill Zhang Yu had been learning since his first year of high school.
Hearing Li Xuelian’s reminder, he, Yu Xinghan, and Le Mulan subtly converted their magic power. As soon as they stepped into the Primordial Magnetic Channel, they felt a force pulling them down, firmly anchoring them to the channel wall.
In that moment, the wall transformed into the ground beneath their feet.
At first, Zhang Yu could still sense he was walking on a wall. But after a while, especially after noticing the various shops, vending machines, and advertisements lining both sides of the channel, he gradually lost the sense that it was any different from walking on a normal street.
Li Xuelian casually remarked, “Although this University City spans 666 floors and covers over 6,600 square kilometers, it’s all concentrated within a vertical space less than 10 kilometers high and a horizontal area just over 3 kilometers wide.”
“The vertical application of space here means that the straight-line distance between any two points is actually quite short. Cultivators move through the Primordial Magnetic Channels at high speeds, making it the most agile and fastest method of transportation.”
“Of course, besides the Primordial Magnetic Channels, there’s also the central Anti-Gravity Passage, which allows even faster travel between floors. However, it requires an additional toll, so it’s generally only used in emergencies.”
“I’ll guide you the first time, but you’ll need to navigate on your own afterward. Remember to make good use of the navigation system.”
After several transfers between Primordial Magnetic Channels, Zhang Yu found himself sometimes upside down, sometimes right-side up, and sometimes sideways.
Combined with the fact that University City lacked any natural reference points like a sky or ground, Zhang Yu gradually felt as if space and gravity were constantly shifting and distorting. He soon lost all sense of which way was up and which way was down.
Watching the countless cultivators moving up, down, and sideways through the complex network of channels, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but think of an enormous beehive.
After a period of high-speed travel, Zhang Yu finally arrived at his destination.