Chapter 309: Superior Civil Engineering Sacred Body (8/8)
Zhang Yu was a freshman in the Civil Engineering Department and a master of construction site survival. For the past few months, he had been relentlessly pursuing wild delicacies from construction sites, risking his life to obtain the freshest, most delicious, and most expensive ingredients.
Several days earlier, he had boarded a flying boat and traveled thousands of miles to this perilous post-war ruin.
Spanning over a thousand acres, the land was riddled with residual Golden Core Magic Power, still-functioning formation energies, and various invisible toxic substances — a landscape teeming with unimaginable dangers.
Extreme heat, explosions, disease… all threatened his life, relentlessly pushing against his mental defenses.
Should Zhang Yu suffer a serious injury from these dangers, he would be handed over to the team’s medic, ending his adventure prematurely.
Yet the most formidable threat he faced wasn’t the lethal perils of the wild, but rather the other predators hunting the same targets.
The older, stronger, and more experienced senior students from the Civil Engineering Department could easily snatch his food right from under his nose.
To avoid competing with his peers, Zhang Yu had to venture farther in search of rare ingredients hidden in remote corners of the ruins.
At that moment, he cautiously navigated the ruins, his Third Eye Mystic Power fully activated, alert to every rustle and flicker around him.
A swirling sea of clouds billowed around him as he scanned through shattered building materials, unidentified parts, and burst equipment.
Occasionally, he would pick up metallic-sheened materials or tools of unknown purpose, examine them, and then casually toss them aside.
In this perilous wasteland, food was always concealed in hidden nooks and crannies.
Suddenly, Zhang Yu’s gaze sharpened. He seemed to have discovered something.
The Formless Cloud Gang transformed into spiraling streams of energy, swiftly capturing a cylindrical object and pulling it before him.
This appeared to be a module from a puppet production line.
Within it lay the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane, renowned for its acid resistance, high-temperature tolerance, and impact resistance — the factory delicacy Zhang Yu had long sought.
Stroking the cylinder’s inner lining, Zhang Yu applied the knowledge and experience he had gained over the past few days. Soon, a smile spread across his face as he carefully began processing this gift from nature.
With a gentle flick of his index finger, the Azure Silk Flying Sword coiled around it activated, unleashing a streak of sword light that sliced through the cylindrical container, shattering it into dozens of pieces.
After the strike, the Azure Silk Flying Sword coiled back around Zhang Yu’s finger, its once-extraordinary properties now diminished. It would require a full day and night of spiritual energy replenishment to restore its full power.
Picking through the scattered fragments on the ground, Zhang Yu mused, “Good thing A-Zhen gave me this Azure Silk Flying Sword. Otherwise, even if I found these materials, hiding or swallowing them would take a lot of time to process myself.”
Zhang Yu opened his mouth and swallowed the fragments of the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane in one gulp.
Despite his gnawing hunger, Zhang Yu resisted the urge to immediately transform into his University Sacred Body and activate the Earth Devouring Divine Art to digest the food.
He understood that fully digesting the materials in this dangerous wilderness would leave him incredibly vulnerable.
Instead, Zhang Yu temporarily stored the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane in his stomach, intending to process the day’s haul after work.
Moments later, Zhang Yu found another section of pipe. It took three Azure Silk Flying Swords to slice through it.
“Secret Steel No. 15, a weakened version of Secret Steel No. 20, still requires three sword strikes to cut through.”
“As expected, I’m still far from being able to digest Secret Steel No. 20.”
Zhang Yu swallowed the fragments of Secret Steel No. 15, thinking, “Just like Secret Steel No. 20, I’ll store this away for now. Once I’ve reinforced my stomach with the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane, I’ll use this Secret Steel No. 15 to further strengthen it. Then I can try digesting Secret Steel No. 20 again…”
As he continued clearing debris and gathering ingredients, preparing them as he went, Zhang Yu’s work shift soon came to an end.
While his classmates rushed off for massages, he buried the collected ingredients in a large pit he had prepared earlier.
Then, he retrieved a portion of the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane, switched to his University Sacred Body, activated the Earth Devouring Divine Art, and began focusing all his efforts on digesting this rare food.
“Too bad, I have food but no medicine.”
But Zhang Yu knew he couldn’t be too picky at an outdoor construction site. He shook his head and channeled his Magic Power to diligently digest the food in his stomach.
Thin strands of the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane were gradually refined into his stomach lining, strengthening its resilience and resistance bit by bit, like gradually encasing his stomach in a layer of armor.
With each refined strand of Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane, Zhang Yu’s digestive abilities grew stronger, gradually transforming his stomach into a massive grinding stone, pulverizing any food that entered it.
In the following days, Zhang Yu devoted himself entirely to gathering and refining ingredients while simultaneously clearing the ruins’ rubble.
In just over a week, leveraging the peak Foundation Establishment digestive power granted by his University Sacred Body and the Level 20 Earth Devouring Saint Art, he refined Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane worth over ten Spirit Coins into his esophagus, stomach, and intestines, fortifying them into impregnable copper walls and iron ramparts.
A few days before the ruins were completely cleared, he finally attempted to digest Secret Steel No. 15.
First, he expended seven Azure Silk Flying Swords to slice a dozen metal blocks into hundreds of tiny fragments.
Next, Zhang Yu swallowed the fragments, and the voracious magic power condensed by the Earth Devouring Divine Art erupted forth. Combined with his peak Foundation Establishment digestive power, he relentlessly attempted to break down the Secret Steel No. 15.
Sensing the Secret Steel No. 15 slowly shrinking as it was painstakingly digested, Zhang Yu activated the Battle Demon Life-Shattering Art, temporarily boosting his physical strength by a full 1.0 level.
Within Zhang Yu’s body, his internal organs erupted like a volcano, unleashing a torrent of savage power. Amplified by his voracious magic power, they churned Secret Steel No. 15 like a colossal grinding stone, relentlessly grinding it down.
Next, Zhang Yu activated Level 20 Limitless Vibration Zen, using high-frequency vibrations to further accelerate the digestive process.
As he felt wisps of Secret Steel No. 15 being digested by his stomach, merging with the Corrosion Abyss Gel Membrane to enhance its strength, Zhang Yu finally felt a flicker of satisfaction.
“Digesting Secret Steel No. 15 already requires every ounce of my effort.”
“When I refine No. 20 Secret Steel into my bones, what level of physical strength will I reach?”
Several days later, with the rubble cleared, the construction site entered its second phase: building the factory structures for the Bionics Factory.
With the start of factory construction, faculty and students from the Artifact Refinement Department and Architecture Department began to arrive.
Unlike the Civil Engineering Department, which used the outdoor Bionics Factory project to train students, the Artifact Refinement Department and Architecture Department saw it primarily as a profitable venture. Moreover, since their roles focused on design, supervision, and quality control, only a few personnel were dispatched.
With the dangerous ruins cleared, Zhang Yu drove the University Sacred Body daily, diligently working while simultaneously practicing the Civil Engineering Sacred Body cultivation art.
Previously, his practice of the Mountain True Form Manual had slowed due to constantly maintaining the Civil Engineering Sacred Body for safety. Now, however, his cultivation progress surged forward again.
Under the Mountain True Form Manual’s circulation, Zhang Yu’s body expanded in a surge of power. He unleashed a series of palm strikes, firmly securing the steel reinforcing bars before him.
Observing the departing seniors around him, dimensional data appeared in his Bionic Eye. “The 1.3mm spacing here is unacceptable. The specification requires it to be no more than 1mm.”
That day, he also advanced the Mountain True Form Manual to Level 10.
Upon reaching Level 10, Zhang Yu felt his body’s expansion shift. No longer a uniform, full-body transformation, he could now selectively expand and contract individual muscle groups.
“After Level 10, can I now control localized muscle expansion and contraction?”
After sensing the new power of his cultivation art, Zhang Yu glanced at the group chat messages and sighed, “Has the Architecture Department’s blueprints arrived yet? Can we get them to hurry up? We’ve been waiting for almost an hour now.”
After a day and night of relentless work, it was finally time to clock out.
Zhang Yu normally hesitated to use the Spirit Realm Network extravagantly, nor would he squander the equally expensive network provided by the Sky-Patrolling Flying Swords.
But at this moment, he held the Profound Creation Relic, inhaling and exhaling the high-quality Magic Power within.
Simultaneously, he connected to the Spirit Realm Network at the construction site to send reassurance messages to Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Pianpian, ask Yu Xinghan for the lecture videos, and exchange greetings with Le Mulan…
“A-Zhen, my seniors went for massages again. Of course, I didn’t join them. There are only six technicians, working overtime every day, barely even having time to shower. I find it too unsanitary.”
Life at the construction site was so fulfilling that Zhang Yu felt like a piece of steel being repeatedly forged, constantly refined under high heat and pressure. Every second propelled him forward on his path of the Immortal Dao.
After half a month, not only had Zhang Yu’s cultivation greatly advanced, but he had also grown increasingly familiar with the construction site, his practical experience deepening with each passing day.
Examining the dimensions of the rebar before him, Zhang Yu remarked to Che Yufei, who stood beside him, “Only two millimeters off? That’s close enough. We’re not building an Immortal Artifact, are we?”
Che Yufei frowned, about to protest, when Zhang Yu slipped him a piece of Secret Steel No. 20. Che Yufei’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he nonchalantly tucked the steel into his sleeve. “I’ll let it slide this time,” he said, “but don’t let this happen again.”
After seeing Che Yufei off, Shi Yunxiang, who was standing nearby, asked, “Did Teacher Tu say the blueprints have been sent over in the group chat?”
Zhang Yu scoffed, “What’s the point of waiting for blueprints? I’ve already finished installing everything on the First Layer. Those desk-bound designers have no clue what’s actually happening on the ground.”
“Time to clock out. I’m heading home.”
Shi Yunxiang returned to his room to find Che Yufei and the others already there. “Didn’t you guys go for massages?” he asked, puzzled.
Che Yufei replied, exasperated, “Those masseuses haven’t bathed in ages. We all found them too dirty — only Zhang Yu went.”
With a soft thump, Zhang Yu dug open the pit he had buried himself and retrieved a piece of Secret Steel No. 20.
Since Che Yufei and the others had stopped getting massages these past few days, Zhang Yu had simply used the excuse of “massage” to sneak out for his daily feeding.
“The masseuses will be bathing tomorrow, so Che Yufei and the others should start going for massages again.”
Zhang Yu gazed at the Secret Steel No. 20 in his hand.
Having reinforced his digestive system with Secret Steel No. 15, he was finally ready to digest this Secret Steel No. 20.
This precious material, used to protect the core components of puppets, possessed physical strength comparable to that of a peak Foundation Establishment Stage body refinement expert’s body parts.
Not only was it explosion-proof and shock-resistant, but it could also evenly absorb martial dao force.
Previously, when Zhang Yu had tried cutting it with his Azure Silk Flying Sword, it had consumed seven strands of Azure Silk energy per day just to carve off a piece the size of his palm.
At that moment, Zhang Yu’s mouth, stomach, and chest suddenly swelled dramatically.
This was the result of pushing the Mountain True Form Manual to Level 20, which granted him the ability to temporarily expand his esophagus, stomach, and other internal organs when the cultivation art was activated.
Having reached Level 20 of the Mountain True Form Manual several days prior, his Civil Engineering Sacred Body had finally advanced to the Second Layer.
Superior Civil Engineering Sacred Body (8/8): Greatly reduces lifespan consumption during cultivation, eating, and medicine consumption in the Foundation Establishment Stage. The Civil Engineering Sacred Body ensures you’ll live long and work hard, forever on the path of labor.
“What a truly remarkable Sacred Body,” Zhang Yu thought. “With the Civil Engineering Sacred Body, I can now cultivate arts and consume lifespan-depleting medicines with even greater impunity.”
“It’s fortunate I’ve only burned through about a year of my lifespan so far. I still have plenty of lifespan to spare.”