Chapter 290: Underperforming in the Exam, Construction Site Invitation
In the Dao Heart Class, the Foundation Establishment Class students sat upright, their eyes fixed on Feng Jiu at the podium.
Feng Jiu spoke calmly, “Willpower is the most direct manifestation of one’s dao heart. Today’s exam is simple: endure being engulfed in flames.”
As the students donned their Spirit Realm Masks, their consciousnesses instantly entered the Spirit Realm.
Unlike the Bionic Eye’s projection of the Spirit Realm onto reality, this time they felt their spirits truly entering the Spirit Realm.
The next moment, flames erupted around them, and many students screamed in agony.
Meanwhile, Feng Jiu, as an artifact spirit, had descended into the Spirit Realm’s Examination Field, her gaze sweeping over the students transformed into living torches.
Her attention immediately focused on Ji Yuanshu, the class’s top student.
The only student in the class currently at Dao Heart Level 12, Ji Yuanshu remained composed even as flames consumed him, as if the searing heat were merely a warm breeze.
Ji Yuanshu’s gaze remained calm as he thought to himself, “I undergo Spirit Realm training like this for over two hours every day. This level of intensity is nothing.”
Observing Ji Yuanshu, the Feng Jiu Artifact Spirit silently recorded, “Ji Yuanshu: Dao heart potential extremely high. Provisionally selected as a participant for next year’s Spirit Realm Competition.”
Feng Jiu then turned her attention to Gongshu Jin, the second-ranked student in the class.
Though Gongshu Jin, the student with the dao heart closest to Level 12, was slightly frowning, he gritted his teeth and endured the searing flames.
Gongshu Jin thought to himself, “After this exam, I need to invest more Spirit Coins in Spirit Realm training.”
“I’ll get a membership card as soon as I get back to motivate myself.”
On the other side, Feng Jiu recorded, “Gongshu Jin: Second-highest dao heart in the class. Provisionally selected as a participant for next year’s Spirit Realm Competition.”
After observing a few more students, Feng Jiu noticed Zhang Yu and noted, “Zhang Yu: Likely due to early Foundation Establishment, his mental cultivation technique level is high, and his dao heart talent is remarkable. He falls just short of the Spirit Realm Competition standard and is currently listed as an alternate.”
In Magic Power Class, Li Mingbo watched as the students inputted magic power into the detection devices before them, his gaze lingering particularly on Ji Yuanshu and Gongshu Jin.
“According to Ji Yuanshu’s magic power purchase records, he buys both high-quality and low-quality magic power in large quantities.”
“It seems he’s infusing his body with high-quality magic power to enhance his own magic power quality.”
“The low-quality magic power is used to operate his Bionics via a Spirit Realm Network plugin.”
“Apart from cultivation, he hardly uses his own magic power for anything else… What extravagance!”
Though Li Mingbo sighed in admiration, he was mostly pleased. After all, Ji Yuanshu’s massive purchases on the Magic Power Treasure Platform had earned him a substantial commission.
“Gongshu Jin is doing well too. I heard he lives in the most luxurious upper residence and immediately changes into his magic power cultivation Bionic upon returning each day. No wonder his magic power cultivation is advancing by leaps and bounds, second only to Ji Yuanshu.”
“Hmm, Li Xiao’s progress has accelerated again. It’s a pity he’s a First Layer student — I worry about his long-term potential.”
Li Mingbo’s gaze swept over Zhang Yu. “This Zhang Yu too,” he thought. “If he can maintain this performance, breaking into the top 100 Foundation Establishment students in the Civil Engineering Department within a few years shouldn’t be a problem.”
“But maintaining it is the challenge.”
The top 100 Foundation Establishment students in the Civil Engineering Department included all grade levels. In Li Mingbo’s view, for a First Layer student to reach that level, they would need years of accumulated effort, making it only possible in their later years.
In the Examination Field for the Body Refinement Class, Lang Yougong addressed the assembled students: “Physical strength isn’t just about the numbers. You can’t determine someone’s true capabilities based solely on their physical strength score.”
“After all, the body’s tolerance for medicinal pills, your control over your physical form, your reaction speed, agility, and techniques… these can only be truly demonstrated in practical application.”
“The three-month foundational course has concluded. Today is the day to assess the results of your training…”
As Lang Yougong spoke, Zhang Yu glanced around at the other students, thinking to himself, “Hiding my stats with the Counter-Detection Ritual was easy enough.”
“But how should I perform in the practical tests? I can’t outperform my stats by too much, that would be too conspicuous.”
His gaze landed on Li Xiao. “This guy’s ranked just one spot below me,” Zhang Yu noted. “I just need to outperform him slightly, right?”
During the strength test, Li Xiao roared and strained to lift the weight. Moments later, Zhang Yu let out an equally loud roar and lifted a slightly heavier weight.
During the agility test, Li Xiao exerted himself to the utmost, dodging increasingly fast spheres until he reached the one-minute mark. He then noticed Zhang Yu, not far away, had managed to endure three seconds longer.
Before the final speed test, Li Xiao accepted a package from a deliveryman, thinking to himself, “Zhang Yu… he truly sees me as his greatest rival.”
He could sense that in the previous two tests, Zhang Yu had been watching him intermittently. Each time Zhang Yu confirmed he had surpassed Li Xiao, he would soon reach his own limit.
“Clearly, my threat has both stimulated and motivated him, pushing him to perform even better.”
“Perhaps… to defeat me, he’s even resorted to taking Tiger Wolf Medicine, which could harm his body.”
“But it’s the same for you, Zhang Yu, the same… you’ve fiercely motivated me as well.”
After swallowing the newly acquired Tiger Wolf Medicine and feeling his body gradually heat up, Li Xiao vowed inwardly, “Even if I have to stop cultivating for a few days afterward, I’ll definitely beat you in this next test!”
On the speed test track, Li Xiao’s figure shot forward like lightning, accompanied by the explosive crack of air, surging ahead like a bolt of lightning… clinging tightly to Zhang Yu’s heels.
Li Xiao’s heart pounded like a drum, each beat faster than the last, his limbs churning furiously to propel him forward in a relentless burst of speed.
But as Li Xiao accelerated, Zhang Yu matched his pace, ensuring that no matter how desperately Li Xiao strained, he couldn’t overtake him.
Staring at Zhang Yu’s retreating figure, Li Xiao felt like he was staring at the construction site gate, so close he could almost touch it, yet always just out of reach.
“Damn it… why?! Why is it so hard for me to get onto the construction site?”
Maintaining his lead all the way to the finish line, Zhang Yu thought, “This should be enough, right?”
Sensing Li Xiao’s resentful gaze, Zhang Yu mused, “Just one place ahead of you, no need to get so worked up, right?”
But the next moment, as the test scores appeared, Zhang Yu thought, “Huh? Fifth place in physical strength?”
Frowning, Zhang Yu glanced at Li Xiao, thinking, “This kid… was he hiding his true strength all along? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have chosen him to hold back against.”
“Still, it’s not bad. My previous physical performance wasn’t terrible, so this slight ‘overperformance’ is still within reason, right?”
Lang Yougong smiled at Zhang Yu. “Keep up the good work. If you maintain this progress, you should be able to compete in the Civil Engineering Department’s competition next year.”
Meanwhile, several upper-class students observed Li Xiao and Zhang Yu’s rivalry.
“They’re secretly competing, aren’t they?” one remarked. “It’s actually motivating and encouraging for both of them.”
“Did they really rank so high in the physical strength test?” another exclaimed.
Ying Xin chuckled. “To maintain this performance, Li Xiao’s money might not be enough. Let’s see which First Layer Person runs out of funds first.”
“After all, First Layer People struggle to adapt to university life. They spend lavishly early on, making rapid progress initially, only to plummet later. We’ve seen this pattern countless times.”
Ying Xin had long suspected Li Xiao was borrowing money to keep up with their training. She harbored a secret amusement, eagerly awaiting the moment the First Layer Person would be unable to repay his debts.
Seeing Li Xiao approach, looking dejected, Ying Xin greeted him with a smile. “Hey Old Li, let’s hit the training hall together after the exam.”
Li Xiao nodded stiffly, forcing a weak smile. “Sure.”
During the professional course exams, subjects like Engineering Formation Drafting, Martial Dao Force Studies, and Construction Technology included both written tests and cultivation art assessments.
Zhang Yu had long mastered cultivation arts like Excavation Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Legs, and Elevator Verticality, having trained them all to Level 10.
However, he had barely managed to grasp the basics of specialized Civil Engineering Department cultivation arts such as Concrete Gang Qi, Hoisting Force, and Back-Mountain Rapid Walk, relying solely on classroom practice due to lack of time for dedicated training.
After all, most of his time and energy were focused on cultivation arts related to the Civil Engineering Sacred Body.
Given the three-month timeframe, the teachers hadn’t expected students to achieve mastery in these specialized cultivation arts anyway, so Zhang Yu’s performance didn’t stand out negatively.
Watching Zhang Yu’s performance, Gongshu Jin thought to himself, “My friend’s martial dao aptitude is truly lacking. But in terms of fundamental stats, while his growth rate still lags behind mine, it’s still considered excellent.”
“He must have poured a considerable amount of resources into this.”
That evening, the exam results had been fully calculated.
6th place: Zhang Yu, Comprehensive Points: 688
7th place: Li Xiao, Comprehensive Points: 682
As Li Xiao stared at the final rankings after three months, a flicker of confusion crossed his mind.
Just when he thought Zhang Yu had snatched the construction site opportunity, a communication from Tu Lishan revitalized him.
“Li Xiao, not every student gets to join the construction site right after enrollment. This unique opportunity was something I specifically secured for outstanding students.”
“Ah, I know you’ve been working incredibly hard lately, and I truly admire your dedication.”
“Your scores are a bit lower than Zhang Yu’s, but I have faith in you. The moment I saw you, I knew you were destined for the construction site.”
“Here’s the deal: transfer twenty percent of your monthly earnings from the construction site to my account, and I’ll smooth things over to guarantee your admission.”
Inside the dormitory, Zhang Yu displayed his sixth-place ranking to Zhang Pianpian and asked, “Sis, I performed too well this time. Is sixth place too high-profile?”
Zhang Pianpian sighed. “A little, but it’s still acceptable. How did you overperform on this exam?”
Zhang Yu replied helplessly, “Ah, it was just bad luck. I chose the wrong reference target. Li Xiao, the guy I picked, must have been hiding his true strength all along. He probably chose me as his reference target, just wanting to stay close behind me. But I chose him as my reference target, aiming to surpass him. So we ended up chasing each other, unknowingly pushing our rankings higher.”
Zhang Yu marveled, “The Ten Greats truly live up to their name. I’m not the only one with exceptional innate talent.”
Zhang Pianpian nodded slightly. “Since that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. Fortunately, sixth place isn’t too conspicuous. For now, maintain this ranking and avoid any drastic improvements.”
Just then, Yu Xinghan, ranked eleventh in the class, strode into the dormitory with an arrogant expression.
Yu Xinghan asked, “Zhang Yu, did Teacher Tu mention anything about the construction site?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “He told me to report in a few days.”
Yu Xinghan pressed, “Did he mention anything about transferring funds?”