Chapter 352: Competition Decided, Supreme Clarity Talisman
After a long silence, Ma Xuan replied to Cong Na: “No need to switch.”
Ma Xuan: “Our main strength lies in the core members anyway. Whether Ji Yuanshu’s position is slightly stronger or weaker won’t make much difference.”
Ma Xuan: “Besides, Zhang Yu hasn’t trained with us for so long. Rebuilding our teamwork would be a hassle.”
Ma Xuan: “Let’s stick with Ji Yuanshu.”
Though Ma Xuan offered a series of reasons, he knew in his heart that none of them were the real reason for not replacing Ji Yuanshu.
Staring at the rankings chart, Ma Xuan thought to himself: “The Old Director’s lifespan is nearing its end…”
Ma Xuan knew that the Civil Engineering Department was currently dominated by two factions: the Peace Faction led by Director Lin and the War Faction led by Director Gao.
As for the true head of the Civil Engineering Department — the leader of Ma Xuan’s own faction — his finances had been dwindling for over a decade, making it increasingly difficult to afford Longevity Extension treatments. His lifespan was rapidly approaching its end.
“The Finance Department can offer the Old Director a loan,” Ma Xuan mused. “To secure that loan, the Old Director, who had previously remained neutral, has now decided to align himself with the Peace Faction.”
Ma Xuan understood that departmental alliances outweighed individual student achievements and rankings.
Just then, Cong Na replied: “If that’s the case, Zhang Yu might withdraw from the team.”
Ma Xuan: “Then so be it.”
Inside his 100-square-meter suite on the 450th floor, Ji Yuanshu stared at the message Ma Xuan had sent from the competition team, his internal organs trembling uncontrollably.
He desperately tried to suppress the tremors, but they persisted. Finally, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his aura weakening at an alarming rate.
At that moment, with the results announced, he was no longer the undisputed number one in people’s eyes.
The public’s faith in him dwindled, and the Qi Luck he had suppressed in his mind scattered like smoke.
Even the Qi Luck he had originally possessed — the collective confidence the people had placed in him as a Sixth Layer student — began to dissipate rapidly.
Sensing the shifts in his internal Qi Luck, Ji Yuanshu thought bitterly, “These fools! I only have to spout a few pretty words, and they expect me to surpass my actual capabilities.
“But the moment I fail once, they can’t wait to trample me into the mud, constantly lowering their assessment of my abilities.”
Ji Yuanshu sneered coldly. He knew that whether it was Qi Luck or the fickle hearts of people, it was always the same — either wildly overestimated or brutally underestimated, never objectively assessed.
Yet as he felt the backlash surging through his body, a bitter expression crept across his face.
In his heyday, he flaunted his power, manipulated hearts, and gathered Qi Luck. Blessed by this Qi Luck, his Magic Power flowed more smoothly, his dao heart grew flawless, his vital energy surged, and even his thinking and memory improved significantly.
Now, with the Qi Luck backlash, not only had these blessings vanished, but his Magic Power had become sluggish, his physical reactions sluggish, and his thinking and memory had deteriorated to varying degrees.
It felt as if his entire being had suddenly plummeted into a deep abyss.
But this wasn’t the worst part.
When Ji Yuanshu tried to circulate his cultivation arts, he found that techniques that had once come effortlessly were now plagued by constant errors, as if he were completely out of sync.
Cultivation arts that had reached Level 15 or 18 could now only muster the effectiveness of Level 10, or even Level 8.
This catastrophic setback had severely weakened his overall strength.
“It’ll take at least one or two months to gradually recover.”
“This will disrupt my studies and delay improvements to my foundational data…”
Numerous notifications popped up in his Bionic Eye, but Ji Yuanshu refused to glance at any of them.
He knew it was nothing more than sarcastic remarks, mocking taunts, and arrogant boasts of others.
But he couldn’t ignore the message from Director Lin.
Director Lin: “Put aside the Finance Department matters for now.”
Director Lin: “Focus entirely on Civil Engineering going forward.”
Director Lin: “You must suppress Zhang Yu. Don’t let him take first place again or master the Seven Absolutes.”
Director Lin: “Also, when he takes the Military Certificate exam in a few years, push him out of the top spot.”
As Ji Yuanshu read Director Lin’s words, his heart sank. The very thing he had feared had come to pass.
“They won’t let me transfer to the Finance Department?”
Even before entering high school, Ji Yuanshu had known his future goal: to enter Myriad Laws University, master three Absolutes in Civil Engineering, and then transfer to the Finance Department.
This had been his life’s plan — the objective he had poured countless days and nights into pursuing, at immeasurable cost.
But now… that plan had been utterly shattered.
“Stay and study Civil Engineering?”
“Master, do you not understand what studying Civil Engineering means?”
“You were the one who told me not to wallow in the mud pit of Civil Engineering…”
Repeatedly rereading Director Lin’s message, Ji Yuanshu could almost feel the man’s deep disappointment in him radiating through the screen.
But he also discerned another meaning:
“They want me to stay in the Civil Engineering Department to obstruct Zhang Yu? To snipe at him?”
Ji Yuanshu let out a bitter laugh, realizing that at this moment… he had gone from being a long-term investment to a short-term one.
He had never before wanted someone dead so badly.
“Zhang Yu…”
But Ji Yuanshu understood that even killing Zhang Yu would be futile. Only by defeating him honorably, by securing a higher ranking through sheer strength, could he possibly regain his Master’s favor.
“Defeating Zhang Yu is just the first step.”
“I must graduate as the top student in the All-Attribute Department Ranking, then enroll in the Finance Department’s graduate program to get my life back on track.”
Feeling the weakness in his body, Ji Yuanshu murmured to himself, “But to achieve that, I need even greater assistance.”
As his resolve hardened, a strange dialogue box materialized within his Bionic Eye:
Ji Yuanshu: “I accept your wish.”
Ji Yuanshu: “Tell me how to perform the ritual.”
On the 667th floor construction site, the Double-Headed White Ox roared in Zhang Yu’s mind, propelling his Immeasurable Heart Inner Dharma Body to Level 11.
Sensing his accelerated mental processing speed, Zhang Yu continued multitasking, simultaneously checking the messages popping up in his Bionic Eye while circulating Gang Qi to perform his construction work.
Meanwhile, the mental cultivation technique within his mind continued to operate at the Spirit-Flesh Unity Realm, steadily growing stronger with each cycle.
Before he knew it, the night had passed. When Zhang Yu returned to his dormitory, he found he was the only one there.
He first retrieved his portion of the medicine mixture and ate it. Shortly after, Yu Xinghan returned to the dormitory with a faint smile.
“I successfully became a disciple!” Yu Xinghan announced.
As a Foundation Establishment Exam passer on the First Layer, Yu Xinghan, like Zhang Yu, had the right to choose his own mentor.
However, like True Monarch Magnetic Pole, the mentor Yu Xinghan had selected also imposed a condition: “his academic ranking for the year must be within the top five of his class.”
If he failed to meet this requirement, even if Yu Xinghan officially designated the mentor, he would receive no guidance.
Thus, yesterday, after the final exam results were released, Yu Xinghan immediately took his grades to the mentor and successfully secured his apprenticeship.
Zhang Yu asked curiously, “What kind of mentor?”
Yu Xinghan replied, “Professor Gong, who studies occupational health and safety in construction.”
“Huh?” Zhang Yu exclaimed in surprise. “Occupational health and safety in construction? They actually research that? Is there any future in that?”
Yu Xinghan seemed to understand Zhang Yu’s surprise and explained, “Professor Gong is a newly appointed professor.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’s weak. You have to understand, as the Immortal Dao flourishes, research in every field becomes increasingly complex and challenging. Specialized subfields multiply, and many research directions become extremely obscure, making it increasingly difficult to achieve breakthroughs.”
“The fact that he attained Golden Core in this era and became a professor only proves that his innate talent far surpasses that of the Golden Core True Persons from decades or even centuries ago.”
“Heh heh, and I’m genuinely interested in his research.”
Just as Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu were chatting, Li Xiao called out to them from outside, having come specifically to attend their first second year class together.
Yu Xinghan opened the door and, after a moment of surprise, stared at Li Xiao’s hands. “Did you get new Bionics?”
Li Xiao smiled. “Yeah, I finally saved up enough Spirit Coins to get Vajra Profound Creation Hand Bionics.”
“No way…” Yu Xinghan said skeptically. “How could you afford a Vajra Profound Creation? Is it a fake?”
Li Xiao replied, “Why would I buy a fake? It’s genuine Vajra Profound Creation, the real deal.”
Seeing the Bionic’s details Li Xiao sent him, Yu Xinghan snapped, “You’re such a show-off! Why bother with Vajra Profound Creation? Can you even afford it? Is it zero down with thirty years to pay it off? If you go out like this, people will just think it’s a knockoff…”
Looking at Li Xiao’s brand-name Bionic, Yu Xinghan felt his good mood from earlier that morning vanish.
But the next moment, as he reviewed the Bionic’s specifications, Yu Xinghan suddenly burst out laughing. “It’s ninth-hand, huh?”
Yu Xinghan patted his chest, thinking, “Damn, you scared me half to death! I thought you’d actually improved and your credit limit had increased.”
Beaming, he clapped Li Xiao on the shoulder and praised, “Ninth-hand is great! Practical and cost-effective, with performance just as good as new.”
“We university students value diligence and thrift. Spend when you need to, save when you can.”
Just as Yu Xinghan and Li Xiao were chatting, Zhang Pianpian returned to the dorm.
Zhang Yu glanced at the numbers floating above her head and noticed that his senior sister, now in her final year, had climbed to 44th place in the Foundation Establishment Stage of the Talisman Department.
“Elder Sister has improved again.”
“But this probably still isn’t her true strength, right? I remember her saying she was holding back.”
Zhang Yu could imagine Zhang Pianpian gradually climbing the ranks, advancing steadily but surely into the All-Attribute Department Ranking’s top tier.
His gaze then shifted to Zhang Pianpian’s chest, focusing on her Supreme Clarity Talisman Dao Seed.
After his savings finally surpassed 56 Spirit Coins last night, he finally had the opportunity to activate the Supreme Clarity Talisman.
“It’s time to talk to Elder Sister,” Zhang Yu thought to himself.
He sent Zhang Pianpian a message: “Senior Sister, are you short on funds?”
Zhang Pianpian: “Why the sudden question?”
Zhang Yu: “You’ve always been in the All-Attribute top 50, but your living arrangements and daily necessities seem quite modest.”
Zhang Yu: “Have you been saving up for something big?”
Unsurprised by the question, Zhang Pianpian casually replied: “What? Do you want to lend me money?”
Zhang Yu: “I have 56 Spirit Coins now. How much do you need?”
Zhang Pianpian was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Zhang Yu to have saved up so many unused Spirit Coins.
For a university student, this was a considerable sum — enough to cause siblings to turn against each other and fathers and daughters to become estranged.
Staring intently at Zhang Yu, she sent a message: “You don’t need it yourself? You’re willing to lend it to me?”