Chapter 541: Refining the Prototype Begins
Mid-October.
Inside his dormitory room, Zhang Yu had just returned from his cultivation session in the Supreme Clarity Realm when he received the good news from Myriad Laws University.
Reading the report, Zhang Yu thought, “The Ten Greats League has ended?”
“It seems to have concluded earlier than usual this year.”
“Dao Qiankun from the Dao Techniques Department secured second place in Daoist Arts Combat. Jiutian Liu from the Finance Department claimed first place in Luck Combat. And Yan Qianji from our Artifact Refinement Department took second place in the Magical Artifact Competition, while Senior Sister Ye Xingli finished tenth.”
Zhang Yu mused, “Although Senior Sister’s magical artifact design skills are formidable, earning her a spot in the top five among all universities, her artifact combat prowess still lags behind the top students from other schools.”
This realization only reinforced Zhang Yu’s admiration for his senior sister’s innate talent in artifact design, making him even more determined to replicate her Dao Seed.
He also wondered, “Yan Qianji, as a Spirit Transformation disciple and the face of our Artifact Refinement Department, actually lost? How did he fail to secure first place?”
Scanning the remaining rankings, Zhang Yu concluded, “This year’s first-place winners in Daoist Arts Combat and the Magical Artifact Competition came from Heavenly Demon University and Netherworld University, respectively.”
Heavenly Demon and Netherworld Universities truly lived up to their reputations as two of the Ten Greats’ three strongest institutions, alongside Myriad Laws University.
As Zhang Yu scanned the leaderboard, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. “The Ten Greats League is truly a gathering of extraordinary talents.”
The thought of having to surpass so many top-tier academic overachievers, defeating them one by one to obtain the Immortal Sect Technique, filled Zhang Yu with both anxiety and excitement.
Just then, he noticed Bai Zhenzhen’s seventh-place ranking in the Sword Duel.
“A-Zhen did well this time too,” Zhang Yu thought. “To achieve such a ranking as a fourth-year student is impressive.”
He sent Bai Zhenzhen a congratulatory message. After a moment’s hesitation, he also sent one to Ye Xingli.
Ye Xingli: “Thank you! I got lucky this time. Still need to keep working hard.”
Reading her reply, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. “Ah, Senior Sister used to always include a Spirit Coin transfer with her messages. Why hasn’t she sent any lately?”
A strange feeling crept into Zhang Yu’s mind — that conversing with Ye Xingli recently felt no different from chatting with someone in the Songyang Hometown Group.
Suddenly, an invitation from Bai Zhenzhen appeared. With Zhang Yu’s acceptance, his consciousness instantly traversed the Spirit Realm, arriving in a private chamber.
This was the secret room Divine Monarch Seven Emotions had prepared for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen in the Spirit Realm, the place where they had met daily for some time.
The moment they saw each other, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were locked in a tight embrace.
Feeling Zhang Yu’s arms squeeze her tightly, Bai Zhenzhen murmured, “Yu Zi, I’m sorry for not replying sooner. My mother wouldn’t let me contact you.”
Zhang Yu felt Bai Zhenzhen resting quietly against his chest, observing the rare serene expression on his usually energetic friend’s face. He smiled and said, “It’s enough that you’re safe.”
Bai Zhenzhen asked, “What about you? Did you encounter any Demonic Cult members?”
Still embracing, they began sharing their recent experiences.
Of course, in the room provided by Seven Emotions, Zhang Yu couldn’t reveal his true ordeal — his desperate battle against the Demonic Cult’s Golden Core cultivator. Instead, he repeated the same fabricated account he had already given to the Righteous Gods.
When the topic shifted to the Ten Greats League, Bai Zhenzhen shared news of the upcoming reforms for the next year’s competition.
Hearing this, Zhang Yu was startled. “So, starting next year, the results of the Ten Greats League will determine the allocation of resources among the Ten Great Universities, and the competition will become even more intense?”
“There’s also the option to choose an Immortal Sect Technique,” Bai Zhenzhen said gravely. “Selecting a technique from the Dao Repository Catalog — that reward is incredibly enticing.”
“And it’s hard to say if the Ten Greats League will ever offer such a benefit again. This might be a one-time opportunity.”
Whenever Bai Zhenzhen thought about it, she couldn’t help but sigh. “The Dao Repository Catalog was originally created by the Ten Great Sects to document all Immortal Dao knowledge in the world, as part of their efforts to establish a new Immortal Dao system. It’s said to contain every cultivation art in existence.”
“Even if that’s an exaggeration, or if the Ten Great Sects impose restrictions on the selection range, the number of Immortal Sect-level Techniques available would still be overwhelming.”
“If Expert-Grade Techniques are merely exceptionally powerful, and military-grade cultivation techniques defy logic, then Immortal Sect-level Techniques are game-changers. They can deliver a dimensional strike against any technique below that level, belonging to an entirely different realm of cultivation arts.”
Zhang Yu nodded repeatedly, his heart filled with boundless longing.
But as Bai Zhenzhen continued, her voice lowered. “Unfortunately, next year… the time is too short.”
Zhang Yu asked, “Will the competition format change?”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “The specific details haven’t been released yet, but according to rumors, all the Military Competitions will be merged into a single event.”
“A single event?” Zhang Yu’s heart jolted.
Does that mean students from Magic, Treasure, Luck Combat, Sword Duel, and all other disciplines will have to compete in the same arena?
Bai Zhenzhen nodded, then sighed softly. “It’s a shame. If this had been delayed by two or three years, we might have had a chance to compete.”
“Next year…”
Thinking of the academic overachievers who had dominated the Sword Duel’s top three spots, as well as the Heavenly Chosen from other disciplines, Bai Zhenzhen sighed again.
Even with her current strength, she still lagged behind the senior students.
But Bai Zhenzhen was confident that with more time, she could definitely catch up to them.
However, a year was too short, especially with the escalating tensions between the Ten Great Universities and the lure of self-selected Immortal Sect Techniques next year. The senior students would undoubtedly receive full support from their schools, including resources from Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs.
This would make it even harder to close the gap with the senior students within a single year.
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, but a spark of determination ignited in his heart.
He looked at Bai Zhenzhen and said, “No matter what, we can’t afford to let this opportunity slip away.”
“For the next year, we’ll give it our all to compete.”
Feeling the sincerity in Zhang Yu’s eyes, Bai Zhenzhen nodded in agreement.
Just then, Divine Monarch Seven Emotions’ voice echoed around them: “In this year’s Ten Greats League, a total of eleven students died across all the Military Competitions. Every single one of them was stronger than you.”
And next year’s Ten Greats League will only be more intense and brutal.
“Moreover, the skill level of next year’s participants will be even higher. It’s likely to be the most formidable cohort of students in the Ten Greats League’s history.”
“Zhang Yu, if you rashly participate, you might die.”
“And your death could trigger a backlash from the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao within Zhenzhen.”
Zhang Yu paused, then turned to Bai Zhenzhen and said, “A-Zhen, don’t worry. I won’t die. Neither you nor any other academic overachiever from other schools can kill me.”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded slightly, but inwardly she thought, “During next year’s competition, if Yu Zi is ever in danger, I’ll intervene, even if it means disqualification, to protect him.”
After further conversation, Bai Zhenzhen reminded Zhang Yu before leaving, “Yu Zi, try to take on fewer external projects for now.”
“After this economic crisis, the Demonic Cults’ power has surged, especially since you know they’ve mastered the technology to hijack the Spirit Realm. They’re bound to launch more operations.”
“Meanwhile, the various universities are locked in bitter rivalries. The upcoming year, centered around the Ten Greats League, will likely be filled with open and covert conflicts.”
“The wilderness will undoubtedly become even more dangerous.”
After ending his communication with Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu devoted himself even more diligently to his studies and cultivation.
After all, the next Ten Greats League was less than a year away. Even with his unparalleled talent, time was extremely tight, and he needed to seize every moment.
Several days later, as he had predicted, Zhang Yu finally advanced the production techniques for over a dozen magical artifacts to Level 20 through simulated practice within the Supreme Clarity Realm.
The diverse artifact refinement techniques contained within these artifacts precisely covered the skills required to refine the Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism.
With this, Zhang Yu could finally begin the formal refinement of the prototype mechanism.
For this process, Zhang Yu decided to abandon his solitary practice within the Supreme Clarity Realm.
“The refinement of the Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism must proceed step by step. I need to meticulously record every refinement attempt, every improvement, and every modification I make.”
“This way, it will be easier for me to pass the review.”
“If I were to directly push the Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism’s refining technique to Level 20 within the Supreme Clarity Realm and then unveil it in the real world, achieving Level 20 on my first attempt at refining this magical artifact would indeed be astonishing. However, without any tangible record of the process, it might be dismissed as fabrication, creating unnecessary complications for me.”
“Even if I eventually overcome these hurdles and prove the authenticity of my work, it would likely attract unwanted attention. People would start questioning why I could reach Level 20 on my first attempt at refining the prototype mechanism.”
Zhang Yu realized that attributing the Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism to Divine Monarch Jade Nectar’s Magic wouldn’t be plausible. He decided to have everyone witness firsthand how he gradually advanced the prototype mechanism step by step through sheer talent.
Zhang Yu resolved to first refine the Heavenly Sun Radiance God to Level 1.
Then, he would repeatedly refine and improve it in the laboratory, gradually advancing it to Level 20.
Throughout this iterative refining process, he would also leverage the Feather Book to elevate his mastery of the design blueprints to Level 20.
Before commencing the refining process, Zhang Yu first calculated his expenses.
Due to the economic crisis, Zhang Yu’s income had plummeted. Apart from the 40 Spirit Coin subsidy from the laboratory, he had almost no other earnings. In fact, he had even used his own savings to cover a portion of his company’s employees’ salaries.
Fortunately, his recent cultivation had been conducted entirely within the Supreme Clarity Realm simulation, costing Zhang Yu nothing — a stark contrast to the exorbitant expenses of practicing the artifact refinement techniques earlier.
Even so, his bank balance now stood at less than 120 Spirit Coins, clearly insufficient to complete the prototype mechanism’s refinement.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Refining the prototype mechanism will require at least 300 Spirit Coins. Considering potential cost overruns and repeated modifications, the total expense could easily reach 400 Spirit Coins, or even 500 Spirit Coins for a safer margin.”
Of course, this estimate applied to others. With the Artifact Refinement Prodigy diagram effects, he might be able to save a considerable number of Spirit Coins.
“But overall… my current Spirit Coin reserves are definitely insufficient.
“I need to earn more.”
Despite the financial shortfall, Zhang Yu remained confident.
First, the 120 Spirit Coins were enough to get started. He could refine artifacts while earning money simultaneously.
Second, with the economic crisis ending, opportunities to earn money were now abundant throughout University City.