Chapter 394: Awarded the Seven Absolutes
Within the Spirit Realm.
In a pitch-black room, a subtitle suddenly appeared: “Old Zhao, were you at Myriad Laws University this time?”
In the darkness, Zhao Tianxing, who had set his Spirit Realm Projection to display only his name to save Spirit Coins, smiled faintly.
He typed back: “Yeah, I participated in the top ten round of the Civil Engineering Department’s Competition at Myriad Laws University and helped my team secure seventh place.”
Immediately, a chorus of “Ooh!” “Aah!” “Wow!” “(⊙o⊙)!” erupted in the darkness.
Zhao Tianxing: “You guys haven’t been to Myriad Laws University. You have no idea how wide their spiritual energy circuits are, how advanced their Bionics are, or how complex the work is…”
Classmates: “Ooh!” “Aah!” “Wow!” “(⊙o⊙)!”
Feeling his classmates’ envy and astonishment, Zhao Tianxing’s heart swelled with indescribable pride.
Another subtitle appeared: “Old Zhao, did you get a good review?”
A Junior College Student: “If you get another good review, you’ll be working overtime every day! Your salary will skyrocket!”
Zhao Tianxing glanced at his data, thinking to himself, “Should I ask Zhang Yu for a good review?”
“If I keep pressuring him like this, will he stop giving me work in the future?”
“Maybe I should wait a few more days and see?”
Just then, Zhao Tianxing noticed he had received a good review, and his heart instantly leaped with joy.
Moments later, a sudden suction pulled him away, signaling that he had been matched with another job.
Mo Tianyi: “Thanks.”
Mo Tianyi: “Hit me up next time you need work. I’ll give you a discount.”
Zhang Yu: “Got it. I’ll keep you in mind.”
Zhang Yu casually left positive reviews for Zhao Tianxing and Mo Tianyi, then checked his bank balance.
Originally, with his sister’s repayment of 5 Spirit Coins, Wen Wuya’s monthly subscription fee of 10 Spirit Coins, and Director Gao’s 10 Spirit Coins for treatment, his Spirit Coin savings had exceeded 40.
But during the last competition, Zhang Yu had used the Photographic Memory daoist arts service, split the costs of the Bionic Eye, hired a Soul Cultivator, purchased Earthly Fiend Qi Contaminants, and sent money to Zhao Tianxing, Mo Tianyi, and his teammates in the contest group.
In the blink of an eye, his bank balance had plummeted to just over 17 Spirit Coins.
“This competition is a real money pit,” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “I hope they give us a good bonus once the final rankings are confirmed.”
Just then, Xiao Qingxuan approached him. “We won,” he said, looking at Zhang Yu. “How do you plan to use our Challenge Right in the next round?”
Zhang Yu asked, “If we challenge anyone higher up, we’ll just lose, right? Can we sell this Challenge Right?”
Xiao Qingxuan smiled faintly. “That depends on how you sell it.”
“The teams currently holding Challenge Rights are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and us.”
“The challenge order will proceed from us, ranked seventh, followed by fifth, third, and second, each taking turns to exercise their Challenge Right. The first-ranked team cannot use their Challenge Right.”
“According to my information, the third-ranked team is the Neutral Faction, and they have decided to forfeit their Challenge Right.”
“The second-ranked team is Mo Shangjin. They will definitely challenge Xuan Liangtian, the first-ranked team.”
“The fifth-ranked team is also the Peace Faction. To assist Xuan Liangtian, they will likely challenge Mo Shangjin to weaken them.”
“Director Gao wants us to challenge the fifth-ranked team, just to wear them down a bit. If it gets too dangerous, we can withdraw immediately.”
Zhang Yu’s heart stirred. “What’s the compensation?”
Xiao Qingxuan replied calmly, “Five Spirit Coins per official team member.”
Zhang Yu smiled sheepishly. “Could we get a little more?”
Xiao Qingxuan consulted Director Gao and sighed. “Five and a half Spirit Coins is the absolute maximum. Director Gao can’t offer us any more than that.”
In the following match, Zhang Yu led his team to challenge the fifth-ranked team.
Shortly after entering the arena, Zhang Yu stared in disbelief at Xiao Yunji, a towering figure over ten meters tall with three heads, six arms, and six magical artifacts. As she charged forward, chanting advertisement slogans and wreaking havoc, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is this the Civil Engineering Competition?”
Xiao Qingxuan explained, “Xiao Yunji is the descendant of a construction company executive. Although she’s in the Civil Engineering Department, she’ll likely never work on a construction site.”
After struggling for over ten minutes, Zhang Yu and his team couldn’t withstand Xiao Yunji’s relentless bombardment and successively withdrew from the competition, fearing unnecessary injuries that would require costly medical treatment.
Next, Xiao Yunji’s team challenged Mo Shangjin. After being completely suppressed by Mo Shangjin alone, they endured for only five or six minutes before surrendering as well.
Watching this unfold, Zhang Yu muttered to himself, “Xiao Yunji is such a sly one. She went all out against us, but when she faced Mo Shangjin, she put on a show and then quit.”
The final battle erupted between Mo Shangjin’s team and Xuan Liangtian’s team.
Both sides possessed military-grade cultivation techniques powered by the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power. As the battle commenced, the entire arena seemed to flip upside down, with gravity reversing.
Within the arena, everyone had to simultaneously resist the Earthly Fiend Gravity emanating from Mo Shangjin and Xuan Liangtian while flying at high speed through the air to construct and fight.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Is this a Three-Dimensional Sky-and-Space Formation? They’ve turned ground bunkers into space stations!”
Moments later, the simulated Spirit Vein beneath the arena was forcibly extracted by the two combatants. The vein writhed like a giant dragon before being torn apart into countless fragments, which were then fiercely contested, repaired, and destroyed by various forces.
In the end, Mo Shangjin’s team emerged victorious with an 8% advantage.
Within the Spirit Realm, Mo Shangjin’s final victory secured the War Faction a slight advantage in the departmental competition.
The War Faction teachers present wore satisfied smiles.
Director Gao also smiled faintly, discussing the distribution of rewards with Director Lin and True Monarch Sacred Mountain.
Tu Lishan said, “Old Director, wasn’t there a loan reward for outstanding competitors in this departmental competition? I think Zhang Yu deserves one.”
True Monarch Sacred Mountain remembered clearly that Tu Lishan had made this suggestion once before, when Zhang Yu’s team defeated Ma Xuan’s, but he had dismissed it with a flimsy excuse.
Seeing Tu Lishan bring it up again, True Monarch Sacred Mountain smiled knowingly. Realizing there was no longer any reason to reject the proposal, he turned to Director Lin and asked, “Director Lin, what’s your opinion?”
Director Lin replied coolly, “Teacher Tu, the department has always based its decisions solely on performance, rankings, and data. Students who qualify for the loan reward will naturally receive it according to established procedures. There’s no need to single anyone out.”
Director Gao chuckled. “Teacher Tu is simply concerned about the department’s talented students. But you’re right, Old Lin, we should follow established procedures.”
“Then let’s start with the first-place winner. Mo Shangjin took first place this time. Although he’s my disciple, I won’t let that influence my judgment, especially since he’ll be representing the department in the Inter-University League.”
“The situation is changing rapidly. Every school is developing military-grade power. While Mo Shangjin has mastered the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, it might not be enough for the upcoming league.”
“I believe… it’s time to deploy the military-grade Bionics.”
Director Lin’s gaze sharpened, thinking to himself, “What an outrageous demand…”
Meanwhile, Lang Yougong, standing at the edge of the Spirit Realm Space, sensed the increasingly tense atmosphere. He thought to himself, “Sigh, after this competition, the conflict between the two factions has become even more public.”
Not long after, Zhang Yu, who was in class, received news about his competition rewards.
First was the prize money for being a formal member of the seventh-place competition team, totaling 8 Spirit Coins.
Next was a low-interest loan for outstanding participants, with 12 Spirit Coins credited to his account.
Zhang Yu’s savings suddenly surged to 42.5 Spirit Coins.
Then came the boost to his overall score: a base score of 1800, plus a performance bonus of 194, totaling 1994 points. This brought Zhang Yu’s overall score to nearly 5000.
With such a significant score increase, Zhang Yu finally earned his Department Ranking:
Civil Engineering Department, Foundation Establishment Stage, 95th Place
In the classroom, the students, who had been quietly attending class, gradually noticed the changes above Zhang Yu’s head. Gazing at his 95th-place ranking in the Civil Engineering Department, some were astonished, others envious, and still others incredulous.
The Overall Department Ranking only appeared for those who reached the top 100. While 95th place might seem unremarkable, it was only three months into the Second-Year curriculum.
Zhang Yu’s ranking was now strikingly visible in the classroom. Even Li Mingbo, the Magic Power teacher currently teaching the class, couldn’t help but glance at it several times.
“That First Layer kid actually got seventh place in the Civil Engineering Competition,” Li Mingbo marveled inwardly. “Impressive. Far more impressive than I expected.”
Zhang Yu knew that with this department-wide ranking of 95th, he would receive an additional scholarship loan at the end of each academic year.
“But the reward for 95th place is too small. Before the end of my Second-Year, once I’ve finished all my course exams, I should be able to climb higher.”
Just then, Zhang Yu received a message from his sister.
Zhang Pianpian: “Congratulations on making the top 100!”
Zhang Yu couldn’t help but glance again at her ranking: 44th place in the Talisman Department’s Foundation Establishment Stage ranking.
At that moment, Zhang Yu felt an even deeper appreciation for his sister’s remarkable achievement.
But every time he asked about it, Zhang Pianpian would simply explain that the difference between learning talismans quickly and slowly was vast, and that students with high rankings in lower grades far surpassed those in other departments. She urged Zhang Yu not to compare himself to her.
Aside from the changes in departmental rankings, the final reward was the transmission of the Seven Absolutes.
Meanwhile, in the contest group chat, discussions were underway regarding the two spots for inheriting the Seven Absolutes.
Shi Huaiyu: “One spot goes to Zhang Yu. Let’s auction off the other.”
Zhang Yu: “How much do I owe?”
Shi Huaiyu: “You contributed the most, just take it.”
Che Yufei: “If you hadn’t spent so much Spirit Coins during the competition, I wouldn’t have been able to afford my medical bills. You don’t need to give me anything more.”
Yu Xinghan: “I still think we should give him a token amount.”
Shi Huaiyu: “I’m muting you first, you substitute member.”
Yu Xinghan: “I spent Spirit Coins too!”
Yu Xinghan: “[Transfer Record]”
Gongshu Jin: “Can substitute members participate in the auction?”
Shi Huaiyu: “Of course.”
Che Yufei: “Please proceed.”
Facing Gongshu Jin, who had spent 20 Spirit Coins in the final round of the competition, everyone in the group held him in utmost respect.
A moment later, the auction concluded. Gongshu Jin secured the remaining Seven Absolutes slot with a bid of 26 Spirit Coins.
Zhang Yu quickly received Gongshu Jin’s transfer, his savings instantly swelling to over 46.8 Spirit Coins.
Seeing such a large sum of Spirit Coins, Zhang Yu, like most Kunxu People, felt an overwhelming urge to spend it immediately, converting it into tangible progress in his Immortal Dao cultivation.
At the same time, Director Gao sent him a message.
Director Gao: “Tomorrow, same place. I’ll teach you the second Absolute.”
Director Gao: “We should also discuss your plans for obtaining the Military Certificate.”
Zhang Yu’s heart leaped at the message, his anticipation for tomorrow growing even stronger.