Chapter 381: Top Contributor of the Match: Zhang Yu
Ever since Zhang Yu demonstrated his Level 20 Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force, his duel with Ma Xuan and the others had drawn the attention of many teachers.
Especially after Zhang Yu dominated the first half, many teachers were curious about Ma Xuan’s strategy for the second half and how Zhang Yu would respond.
Before the second half officially began, another figure appeared in the Spirit Realm Space, seemingly to observe the Civil Engineering Department’s competition.
It was a vertical text box displaying only four large characters: True Monarch Magnetic Pole.
Director Gao’s eyes flickered as he sent a private message: “You’ve finally arrived.”
Director Gao was already accustomed to True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s presence in the Spirit Realm Network.
“This woman is ridiculously wealthy, but she won’t spend a single extra coin on anything she deems unnecessary.”
“Her Spirit Realm avatar, Nascent Soul Domain, projection effects… all the cheapest options available.”
“Even her Bionics are patched up and self-modified, used for decades.”
Director Gao knew that True Monarch Magnetic Pole was, for the most part, an incredibly frugal person.
Sometimes, Director Gao genuinely wondered if True Monarch Magnetic Pole had a gambling problem. Otherwise, why would she be so frugal?
“I really don’t understand where she spends all that money she hoards. It’s not like she’s building an Immortal Artifact.”
Still, Director Gao was grateful. Despite True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s stinginess and difficult personality, he considered her one of his few friends, and she had agreed to support him at the competition today.
Director Gao’s gaze swept over the Peace Faction teachers present. “The Finance Department may be rich, but can they get their department director to attend the competition and publicly endorse them?” he thought.
“If we completely align with the Finance Department, we’ll just become their blood bank. They might even blow up the entire Civil Engineering Department.”
The arrival of True Monarch Magnetic Pole caused a stir among the teachers.
Wei Huai, the Peace Faction’s geology teacher, mused, “Director Gao’s relationship with True Monarch Magnetic Pole is truly extraordinary.”
Scorching Thunder, also a member of the Peace Faction and the class teacher of Zhang Yu’s Foundation Establishment Class, thought, “True Monarch Magnetic Pole herself came? The Artifact Refinement Department clearly values the Civil Engineering Department highly and is genuinely committed to collaboration.”
Many teachers from the War Faction believed that by aligning with the Artifact Refinement Department and forging connections with the Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch of Heavenly Sword University, they would soon be drowning in projects.
For a moment, the War Faction teachers present felt their spines straighten a little.
As True Monarch Magnetic Pole arrived, Director Gao, Director Lin, and Old Director True Monarch Sacred Mountain immediately greeted her.
True Monarch Sacred Mountain chuckled warmly, “Welcome, True Monarch Magnetic Pole, to guide us. Your presence truly illuminates our humble Civil Engineering Department today.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied, “Old Gao mentioned that the Civil Engineering Department’s finest talents have gathered today, and the Departmental Competition is about to determine the top ten. I thought I’d come take a look.”
“With several Soulless Production Factory Areas scheduled for construction next year, I figured this would be a good opportunity to assess the Civil Engineering Department’s current construction capabilities.”
Hearing about the massive projects True Monarch Magnetic Pole held in her hands, the surrounding Civil Engineering teachers’ eyes lit up like a pack of wolves spotting fresh meat.
After exchanging pleasantries, they resumed watching the competition.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole privately messaged Director Gao: “Satisfied?”
Director Gao: “Great! Great! Great! [thumbs up]”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Send the money.”
Director Gao: [Transferring funds]
Director Gao: “This is the deposit. I’ll send the rest after you’ve reviewed the full footage.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “What about trust?”
Director Gao didn’t reply. Based on his centuries of experience with this individual, he knew that if he paid the full amount upfront, they’d watch for five minutes and then disappear.
After all, every moment of their time, every thought, every idea was truly invaluable.
He also knew that while the Artifact Refinement Department had teachers specializing in artifact refinement and civil engineering-related fields, True Monarch Magnetic Pole herself had no genuine interest in civil engineering construction.
As the second half of the competition began, the teams clashed fiercely once more.
Director Gao pulled True Monarch Magnetic Pole aside and began introducing Mo Shangjin.
As the War Faction’s strongest student and the only one to have mastered the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, Mo Shangjin was the faction’s flagship student, the perfect candidate to showcase their capabilities.
Director Lin chimed in occasionally, introducing Xuan Liangtian, the Peace Faction’s master of the Mountain-Shifting Divine Power.
True Monarch Sacred Mountain stood nearby, beaming with pride, seemingly delighted by the Civil Engineering Department’s abundance of talent.
After listening for a while, True Monarch Magnetic Pole suddenly asked, “Who is that student?”
Director Gao glanced at Zhang Yu, who was surrounded by Ma Xuan and his three companions, and frowned. “Zhang Yu,” he muttered.
Although Ma Xuan and Zhang Yu were engulfed in a swirling cloud of sand and dust, each participant’s Bionic Eye transmitted live footage to the judges and teachers, allowing them to monitor the competition.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole remarked with surprise, “So this is the Zhang Yu you mentioned? It’s my first time seeing him.”
Director Gao didn’t reply, his gaze fixed on Zhang Yu, who appeared on the verge of elimination.
Director Gao sent a private message: “Stop talking. Stop talking about Zhang Yu.”
Director Lin, standing nearby, smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming. “This Zhang Yu is Director Gao’s prized disciple, his most cherished protégé, whom he has nurtured with utmost care.”
Hearing Director Lin’s words, Wei Huai of the Peace Faction immediately chimed in, “Indeed, Director Gao has invested considerable effort in Zhang Yu, hasn’t he? But the situation looks dire…”
Just as Director Gao frowned, watching the Peace Faction steer the conversation toward Zhang Yu’s impending elimination, Zhang Yu, locked in fierce combat, fought valiantly against four opponents. Despite being drenched in blood, he never faltered, ultimately subduing one of his attackers.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole nodded. “This student is quite interesting. Old Gao, you’ve found yourself a remarkable disciple.”
Watching this scene, Director Gao’s frown immediately transformed into a smug grin. “I offered him a few pointers, but his success is mainly due to his own hard work.”
A teacher remarked, “Mastering Level 20 Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force and Level 20 Battle Demon Life-Shattering Art by his second year? His martial arts talent is undeniable. And to fight so fearlessly, disregarding personal losses — his physique and fighting spirit are both top-tier.”
Tu Lishan quickly added, “If Director Gao hadn’t recognized Zhang Yu’s potential during his freshman year and recruited him to the construction site for training, he wouldn’t have made such rapid progress.”
Lang Yougong chimed in, “As their body refinement teacher, I’ve been monitoring their progress closely. Since joining the construction site, Zhang Yu’s improvement has been nothing short of miraculous. This proves that the true path for our Civil Engineering Department lies in practical experience on construction sites.”
Director Lin observed the scene calmly. As Ma Xuan’s team surrendered one by one, and finally Ji Yuanshu also yielded, his gaze grew increasingly icy.
Ji Yuanshu: “Teacher, I lost.”
Ji Yuanshu: “It’s mainly because Ma Xuan and the others were such a drag. I suspect they took bribes from the War Faction and threw the match on purpose. The War Faction wants to suppress me.”
Director Lin didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he reviewed the post-match statistics, extracted key data, and sent it to Ji Yuanshu.
One statistic showed combat duration, ranging from Zhang Yu’s highest to Shi Yunxiang’s zero. Ji Yuanshu ranked second-to-last.
Another statistic measured estimated damage. Zhang Yu, who caused the most destruction, still ranked first, accounting for 78% of the team’s total.
Shi Yunxiang, who had been focused on construction throughout the match, remained last with 0% of the team’s total.
Ji Yuanshu ranked second-to-last again, contributing just 1.5% of the team’s damage.
Director Lin couldn’t help but chuckle at the data.
“And you still think others were dragging you down?” he thought to himself. “Ji Yuanshu, you little brat, decked out in top-tier Bionics, yet you have the shortest combat duration and the least damage… What a deadweight.”
Meanwhile, the other teachers were also reviewing the post-match statistics.
Zhang Yu naturally drew the most attention, especially with his team absorbing 89% of the total damage, suffering the most physical injuries, and incurring the highest estimated losses. These statistics etched Zhang Yu’s name deeply into the minds of the observing teachers.
Tu Lishan marveled, “Zhang Yu was the key to this victory. His endurance, protective cultivation arts, force dissipation techniques, combat will, and strategic acumen were all indispensable.”
“Speaking of which, after defeating Ma Xuan’s team, Zhang Yu’s team must have entered the top ten, right?”
“Reaching the top ten as a Second-Year student is an exceptionally rare achievement.”
Tu Lishan proposed, “Since the Departmental Competition offers loan rewards to outstanding participants, I think Zhang Yu deserves one.”
Wei Huai of the Peace Faction retorted coolly, “Zhang Yu’s fighting style is completely impractical in real combat. It’s just a gimmick for competitions. In a real war… there are no rules against killing your opponent.”
“If Ma Xuan’s team hadn’t deliberately held back, fearing they might kill him, Zhang Yu would have been eliminated long ago.”
“If he loves fighting so much, he should join the Security Department. They have simulated combat with avatars there — fight all you want, and no one has to pay for killing anyone.”
Tu Lishan snorted coldly. “Rules are rules. Isn’t the whole point of civil engineering learning to work within them? Zhang Yu’s ability to exploit the competition rules to achieve victory is itself a demonstration of his skill.”
“The rules were right there for everyone. Why didn’t Ma Xuan use them? Why didn’t Bu Ziran fight harder? Because they lacked the ability! Some people have become so accustomed to competing for money that they’ve forgotten how to fight for their lives…”
Observing the heated debate, True Monarch Sacred Mountain nodded slightly. “The rule requiring compensation for killing in the Civil Engineering Competition was established to discourage pure combat. Zhang Yu’s fighting spirit is commendable, but it doesn’t align with the ethos of our Civil Engineering Department and shouldn’t be encouraged.”
Tu Lishan’s eyes flickered, and he thought to himself, “Now that we’re gaining the upper hand, you’re stepping in to tip the scales?”
However, after glancing at Director Gao and seeing that he remained silent, Tu Lishan also fell silent.
True Monarch Sacred Mountain’s assessment seemed to have sealed Zhang Yu’s fate. The teachers fell silent, and after a moment, they began discussing other matches.
Meanwhile, Director Gao, who had remained silent, contacted Zhang Yu.
Director Gao: “How’s your injury? Can you afford treatment?”
Zhang Yu glanced at Director Gao’s message, feeling a warmth in his heart. “Is he going to send me money?”
Just then, another message arrived, this time from True Monarch Magnetic Pole.
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Guess who I’m with?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Photo of True Monarch Magnetic Pole and Director Gao watching the match together” [Image file]
Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback. Then Director Gao sent another message: [10 Spirit Coins]
Director Gao: “Take this and get some rest.”
Director Gao: “You’re already in the top ten. No need to push yourself so hard in the next match.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “You wouldn’t want Director Gao to find out you secretly became my disciple, would you?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “How are your Artifact Refinement courses going? Finish the first three years’ curriculum before the end of your second year.”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Achieve that, and I’ll reward you.”