Chapter 415: Rapid Progress, Foundation Establishment Limit, Scrambling for Opportunities
On the Primordial Magnetic Channel, a female student suddenly blocked Le Mulan’s path. Looking at her, she declared, “Le Mulan! Please engage in Dual Cultivation with me!”
Hearing the girl’s earnest confession, many passersby turned to stare, their gazes shifting curiously between the two. Their thoughts varied:
“Ah, youth is truly wonderful. They still have so much time to devote to cultivation.”
“Don’t agree! Everyone, slow down your progress! Let me have fewer competitors!”
“Both of them are Foundation Establishment Seniors. If only one of them would take me under their wing…”
Le Mulan looked at the girl before her, shook her head slightly, and politely declined.
On her way back to her dormitory, she encountered two more classmates. One wanted to take medicine with her, while the other wanted to conduct drug experiments together. Le Mulan firmly rejected both proposals.
Watching Le Mulan’s retreating figure disappear into her luxurious dormitory, the rejected male student sighed, “So Le Mulan is this wealthy? No wonder she doesn’t want to do experiments with me.”
Just then, another male voice interjected, “It’s not that Le Mulan is wealthy, but rather that her dual cultivation partner, Zhang Yu, is the one with the money.”
The student turned to see Yu Xinghan approaching from behind. “You are…?” he asked, surprised.
Yu Xinghan said calmly, “I am Yu Xinghan from the Civil Engineering Department. I have some knowledge of dual cultivation, health preservation, and Dao cultivation.”
“From what I’ve observed, you’re not the first student who’s tried to pursue dual cultivation with Le Mulan these past few days.”
“You’re likely all from the Pharmacology Department, aware that Le Mulan possesses special Magic Power, has become Professor Yin’s disciple, and has learned self-produced medicine techniques. That’s why you want to advance together with her, isn’t it?”
The male student nodded slightly, looking at the Civil Engineering student with surprise, realizing he knew so much.
Yu Xinghan smiled mysteriously and continued, “But do you know that compared to Le Mulan’s dual cultivation partner, she’s nothing special?”
Seeing the student’s skeptical expression, Yu Xinghan explained, “Le Mulan’s dual cultivation partner, Zhang Yu, is an extraordinary figure.”
“Rumor has it that a Spirit Transformation Disciple traveled thousands of miles from Heavenly Sword University just to cultivate with him.”
“Even Professor Yin from your Pharmacology Department spent a fortune — a full 25 Spirit Coins — to purchase his seed.”
“And besides Le Mulan, another classmate of yours, Xuan Ge, has also achieved consecutive breakthroughs after receiving his guidance…”
Yu Xinghan sighed, “This man possesses unparalleled talent in dual cultivation. He might very well change Myriad Laws University’s current lack of a Dual Cultivation Department, filling the void in this field in the future.”
The male student’s eyes flickered at the mention of Professor Yin’s breakthroughs in related research. It was true that Le Mulan and Xuan Ge seemed to be making rapid progress.
Just then, Yu Xinghan said, “Want me to add you to the group? It’s full of people trying to get into that dorm. We share the latest news there.”
Without hesitation, the male student replied, “I’m in!”
As soon as he joined the group, he saw seven or eight people already there, spamming messages.
“I can’t imagine how good Le Mulan must be feeling in that dorm right now.”
“Damn it, I’m so jealous of her!”
“She’s probably already all over Zhang Yu, cultivating like crazy and riding the fast track on the Immortal Dao.”
“Sigh, I don’t even expect to cultivate with Zhang Yu anymore. Just cultivating with Le Mulan would be enough for me.”
“I’d even settle for Xuan Ge.”
“Cultivating with Xuan Ge would be like indirectly cultivating with a Spirit Transformation Disciple through a few intermediaries…”
Yu Xinghan: “Have you guys tried throwing money at Zhang Yu?”
Yu Xinghan: “Have you forgotten? In Kunxu, there’s nothing money can’t buy.”
“The problem is we don’t have any money.”
“Zhang Yu’s a rich guy living in a luxury dorm. Our meager funds wouldn’t even make a dent.”
Yu Xinghan: “Give me your offers. I’ll see if I can get some intel for you.”
Yu Xinghan: “No group buys.”
Inside the luxurious bedroom, Zhang Yu and Le Mulan sat facing each other, their palms pressed together. They were each circulating their Profound Cold Meridian and Blazing Sun Meridian Magic Power, channeling it into the other’s body.
Previously, Zhang Yu had attempted to assist Xuan Ge using his Profound Cold Meridian, but Xuan Ge’s Blazing Sun Meridian hadn’t been fully activated at the time, limiting the effectiveness.
Now that Zhang Yu had truly replicated the Dao Seed of the Blazing Sun Meridian, cultivating with Le Mulan using its Magic Power had brought about a profound transformation.
The Ice-Fire dual Magic Power surged back and forth between Zhang Yu and Le Mulan, continuously refining their meridians and Magic Power, silently enhancing their Magic Power circulation and conversion speeds.
Under the impact of these dual forces, Zhang Yu felt his Magic Power becoming increasingly balanced between yin and yang, gradually developing an unprecedented resilience.
Fueled by this resilience, the strength of his condensed Gang Qi had reached new heights and was still steadily improving.
The cultivation of his Magic Power reserves, Magic Power Quality, and Magic Power manipulation had also accelerated significantly during this process.
Unfortunately, Zhang Yu’s Magic Power had already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage limit of 1000 units, leaving no room for further improvement in this fundamental metric.
July.
Zhang Yu was participating in a War Fortress project.
The project site was located at the border between two vocational colleges. As soon as Zhang Yu arrived, he saw a large group of junior college students engaged in a fierce battle.
The reason Zhang Yu could immediately recognize them as junior college students was because the words “Junior College Student” were marked above their heads.
This was the work of a talisman master who had deployed a Manifestation Talisman on the battlefield. All junior college students and lower college students would have their institutions directly displayed, and they would need to pay to conceal this information.
Witnessing the intense fighting, Zhang Yu didn’t intervene. After all, he was only being paid for construction work, not combat.
Still, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Have the vocational colleges really become this chaotic now?”
Seeing the screenshot Zhang Yu posted in the project group chat, Che Yufei replied, “Haven’t the vocational colleges always been like this?”
However, when Zhang Yu had completed about half of the fortress construction, a Foundation Establishment Student from the 36 Upper Colleges, holding the rank of Colonel, suddenly charged toward the unfinished fortress.
Zhang Yu called out sharply, “Wait until I finish the fortress, then you can attack. I won’t stop you.”
Zhang Yu’s plan was that after he completed the construction and the enemy destroyed it, he could earn double the payment.
The Colonel ignored him completely, shouting, “Get out of the way!”
Zhang Yu sighed. His construction contract stipulated that he had to protect the construction site during the work process.
“Ugh, more extra work.”
With a thunderous sonic boom, the Upper College Foundation Establishment Student repeatedly shattered the sound barrier, each acceleration bringing him closer to the construction site.
But in the next instant, a deafening roar erupted as a palm slammed into his face, halting him in his tracks.
The immense force of the impact and inertia sent violent tremors through the Upper College Student’s body, temporarily paralyzing his flesh.
Yet his Hand Bionics activated frantically, unleashing a relentless barrage of Gang Qi blasts at Zhang Yu.
Face, shoulders, chest, abdomen… Zhang Yu’s physical body absorbed the continuous assault, each point of impact flashing with wisps of white mist.
Yet Zhang Yu remained motionless, his head not even tilting back a fraction under the full force of the Upper College Student’s assault.
After more than half a year of cultivation, Zhang Yu’s physical strength had reached Level 20, the pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment Limit.
Beyond his Level 20 physical strength, he was fortified by bones of Secret Steel #20, layers of Protective Cultivation Arts, the defensive and force-redirecting capabilities of the Martial Dao Sacred Body, the enhanced Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force, Gang Qi Body Protection, and partial Civil Engineering Sacred Body effects granted by the Azure Lotus Sword Embryo.
Under these layers of reinforcement, the Upper College Student’s Hand Bionic-enhanced punches felt as gentle as a breeze against Zhang Yu’s skin.
In the next instant, Zhang Yu pointed his finger, and a wisp of cloud-like Gang Qi formed at his fingertip, shooting toward the Upper College Student’s abdomen.
Bang!
The Upper College Student’s twelve full-power punches instantly detonated within the cloud-like Gang Qi, exploding back toward his own abdomen.
Under Zhang Yu’s Microscopic control, the twelve fist energies crushed the student’s internal organs into a mangled mess.
Watching the student tremble violently, his throat convulsing, Zhang Yu sniffed the air and immediately aimed him outward.
The Upper College Student opened his mouth and vomited a massive spray of half-digested rice across the sky.
Observing this scene, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I heard these schools provide a full meal before battles. It seems it’s true.”
As the Upper College Student continued to vomit rice everywhere, the Qi Refining Laborers nearby erupted in cheers and scrambled to snatch up the half-digested food.
“Wow! It’s rice!”
“Is this what rice tastes like? It’s so fragrant!”
“You fools! This rice is soaked in a Foundation Establishment Student’s bodily fluids! It’s an unimaginably nutritious top-tier cultivation resource! Of course it’s fragrant!”
Even though it was half-digested, the fact that it came from a Foundation Establishment Student meant that even a small mouthful would take these Qi Refining Laborers a long time to digest.
Zhang Yu casually tossed the Upper College Student to the ground and returned to his cultivation.
August.
Artifact Refinement Laboratory.
Zhang Yu was refining a metallic rectangular prism.
The prism, roughly the size of a human thumb, shimmered with an ethereal glow, revealing intricate bronze-colored Magic Power Circuits across its surface. Though seemingly simple and rustic, it exuded an air of profound mystery.
This was the Earth-Suppressing Seal, a magical artifact Zhang Yu had been practicing refining recently. When infused with Magic Power, it could generate an Earth-Suppressing Aura.
This aura could both level the earth and agitate materials, while also creating a deep-sea-like resistance within its field, serving defensive or control purposes.
Zhang Yu thought, “Though the Earth-Suppressing Seal isn’t part of the Artifact Refinement Department’s exam curriculum, it’s incredibly useful to me.”
For this refinement session, Zhang Yu had Zhang Pianpian anonymously purchase the materials, allowing him to refine the artifact discreetly without drawing attention.
As his mastery of magical artifact crafting techniques grew, Zhang Yu planned to selectively reveal his refinement skills in the future. He would claim to have refined some artifacts himself, while attributing others to secondhand purchases.
After several days of intermittent refinement, the Level 20 Earth-Suppressing Seal was finally completed and claimed by Zhang Yu.
Gazing at yet another Level 20 magical artifact in his possession, a faint smile curved the corner of his lips.