Chapter 683: Old Friends on the Construction Site, Zhang Yu’s Trail
For the past few months, the Auspicious God’s consciousness had roamed the Spirit Realm.
He gathered information about Myriad Laws University, tracked Zhang Yu’s movements, and simultaneously bewitched and converted believers, transforming residents of the University City into loyal users of the Righteous Qi Alliance and the Dark Spirit Realm.
This was no challenge for the Auspicious God, who had operated in Kunxu’s criminal underworld for years and honed his skills within the Three Great Demonic Cults.
Especially now, with the Righteous God’s disappearance and the ongoing war, students and faculty alike had far less trust in the Spirit Realm’s oversight, the Ten Great Universities, the sects, and the Heavenly Court than before.
In the past, when regulations were strict and the Heavenly Court’s power radiated across all realms, the Auspicious God had still managed to deceive and manipulate at will. How much easier it was now, in these opportune times? This was his chance to truly shine.
“Even we Evil Gods have finally caught up with the times and are reaping the benefits of this era.”
Thus, from the lowest-ranking monsterfolk and vocational college students to factory workers assembling parts, office drones, construction site elites, and laboratory academic overachievers, the Auspicious God gradually cultivated an ever-growing network of informants within Myriad Laws University City.
But… for the past five months, he had found no trace of Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu had vanished like dissipating smoke, a wisp of blue vapor drifting away over the past five months. No one had seen him, no one had contacted him, and no one had received any response from him.
Even transfers of funds and tempting offers yielded no reaction.
“Could he be outside University City?”
“Was he taken somewhere else?”
Just as Auspicious God was about to despair, facing the vast University City with no leads, a believer offered an intriguing suggestion.
This believer, Fu Xinyao, was a student from Joyful Union University whom Auspicious God had discovered outside a construction site.
For Fu Xinyao, Auspicious God’s appearance was an unprecedented opportunity.
She had been stuck at Myriad Laws University for far too long.
“Originally, Divine Monarch Jade Nectar sent me to Myriad Laws University. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to earn the favor of a Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch.”
“I thought I just needed to keep an eye on Zhang Yu, but I got caught up in the conflict between two Spirit Transformation Divine Monarchs. I thought I could return home once things settled down, but then the Ten Greats League dispute erupted.”
“I thought the Ten Greats League would be my chance to serve Divine Monarch Jade Nectar and earn merit, but I failed before even entering the competition. Then the sudden Great Upheaval shattered all my plans, and I was left stranded at Myriad Laws University once again.”
“Just like that… three months after three months, three months after three months, I’ve been stuck in Myriad Laws University City for three whole years now! Three years completely wasted!”
“In these three years, I, once a top student in Joyful Union University’s flagship program, have achieved nothing but becoming intimately familiar with everyone on the construction site.”
“I haven’t reaped a single benefit from the Great Upheaval. The Myriad Laws University certificate means nothing to me, and Joyful Union University no longer recognizes me as a student. All because Divine Monarch Jade Nectar disappeared, and my identity as an undercover agent remains unknown.”
“The perilous wilderness has further blocked my path back to Joyful Union.”
“Divine Monarch Jade Nectar’s casual move back then has utterly ruined my life.”
Fu Xinyao felt anger, heartache, frustration, and regret at her current predicament.
Watching her former classmates obtain their Golden Core Certificates and break through to the Golden Core realm while she still had to work daily, serving Foundation Establishment Students on the construction site, only deepened her resentment.
It was under these circumstances that she encountered the Auspicious God.
“Since the Ten Great Universities offer me no place, I’ll join the Demonic Cults and worship an Evil God!”
When she learned that the Auspicious God was searching for Zhang Yu’s whereabouts, Fu Xinyao remembered the person residing within her Yin Artifact.
“Ping Han,” Fu Xinyao said, “this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life trapped in a Yin Artifact, do you? Think carefully — what methods could you use at Myriad Laws University to find Zhang Yu?”
Hearing Zhang Yu’s name, Ping Han, who had been gradually numbing into a state of spiritual torpor within the Yin Artifact, suddenly jolted awake.
“Zhang Yu…” he murmured softly, his spirit stirring with renewed intensity, causing the Yin Artifact to tremble slightly.
More than three years had passed, yet Ping Han still vividly remembered the exam that had changed the course of his life.
He remained convinced that his loss to Zhang Yu in the Military Certificate exam — his failure to secure the certificate during his final year at the university — had set in motion the series of tragedies that followed.
He refused to acknowledge that he had been defeated by Zhang Yu in that battle. To him, it was all due to Gao Chongguang’s favoritism, the Civil Engineering Department’s corruption, and the sordid machinations of Myriad Laws University’s upper echelons.
Watching Zhang Yu win the Civil Engineering Competition, transfer to the Artifact Refinement Department, and even participate in the Ten Greats League — each step propelling him higher and higher — culminating in his victory over Kuang Tianqing and his ascension as the strongest undergraduate student among the Ten Great Universities, only intensified the gnawing torment in Ping Han’s heart, as if a swarm of insects were tearing at his flesh.
He had resigned himself to the belief that he would never have another chance to surpass Zhang Yu or exact his revenge — until this very moment…
Hearing Fu Xinyao’s question, Ping Han murmured, “As long as Zhang Yu still needs to cultivate, he’ll need spiritual energy and Magic Power.”
“We can access the University City’s spiritual energy flow data and check for hidden spaces that have maintained a Golden Core-level supply of spiritual energy during the period Zhang Yu disappeared.”
Auspicious God’s heart stirred at this suggestion, finding it quite reasonable. He immediately mobilized his believers to gather the past six months’ worth of data on spiritual energy and Magic Power supply.
“Focus on locations where the supply began within the last five months.”
“It must be Golden Core-level consumption.”
“And it has to be a hidden space, an area inaccessible to ordinary people…”
As each location was investigated, a laboratory on the 555th floor finally caught Auspicious God’s eye.
“A laboratory that should have been shut down has been continuously receiving spiritual energy and Magic Power for the past five months.”
“The surrounding area is heavily guarded, and Spirit Realm signals are lost upon approaching?”
“Heh, it seems he’s likely hiding here.”
With the target location confirmed, the next question was how to act.
Auspicious God mused, “I need to find the right opportunity.”
“An opportunity where all four Spirit Transformation cultivators from Myriad Laws University are distracted.”
The Auspicious God chuckled at the thought, realizing such an opportunity wouldn’t be hard to find.
“Firstly, the Righteous Qi Alliance has been launching large-scale aerial assaults on the Second Layer recently, forcing the Ten Great Universities to constantly shift their forces back and forth. The Spirit Transformation cultivators’ energy, mental focus, and computational power are stretched thin across multiple fronts.”
“Secondly… the other nine universities are pressuring Magnetic Pole. Her true form has already left University City to face the combined accusations of the Spirit Transformation cultivators from the other schools.”
Thus, the Auspicious God quickly finalized his battle plan, setting the operation for the next time the Righteous Qi Alliance launched an aerial assault on University City.
Just then, Fu Xinyao sent a message to the Auspicious God.
Fu Xinyao: “My Lord, may I participate in this operation?”
Fu Xinyao: “I’m very familiar with Myriad Laws University, and the Soul Cultivators under my command know the design blueprint of the 555th floor by heart.”
Auspicious God: “Be ready at all times. I’ll summon you the moment we move.”
As Fu Xinyao and Ping Han endured days of anxious waiting, another wave of aerial assaults descended upon University City.
Streaks of Thunderfire streaked across the sky, plummeting toward the city.
Cultivators inside and outside University City immediately mobilized to defend against the onslaught, following their commanders’ orders.
Vast swarms of Soul Cultivators roamed the Spirit Realm, already in a state of war.
Yet, precisely because of this all-out defense against external enemies, Myriad Laws University’s internal surveillance in certain areas had weakened.
Boom!
With a faint tremor, a large hole was blasted open in the floor of a corner on the 556th floor.
A figure leaped down through the opening, landing on the 555th floor of Myriad Laws University.
Fu Xinyao and Ping Han followed closely behind, dropping into the hole as well.
As Fu Xinyao watched the figure ahead, she thought to herself, “A Nascent Soul Realm expert? Did the Evil God send them to infiltrate University City? Or is this a Nascent Soul True Monarch from within the city who has turned to the Evil God?”
The Nascent Soul True Monarch before her was completely enveloped in a layer of gray mist-like Gang Qi, making it impossible for Fu Xinyao to identify their true identity.
Regardless of which possibility was true, she realized it demonstrated the Evil God’s formidable power.
Meanwhile, concealed within the gray mist, Feng Yuhuan, the administrative director of the Research Department, remained utterly calm.
Unlike Fu Xinyao and Ping Han, who were consumed by regret, anger, resentment, and anxiety, Feng Yuhuan had never indulged in emotional outbursts since becoming a member of the Demonic Cults and a believer of an Evil God during the cults’ attack on Myriad Laws University City.
Feng Yuhuan believed that when he was driven to the brink, he had no choice but to embrace the Evil God. Joining the Evil God’s ranks was, in his eyes, the best possible decision.
Having aligned himself with the Evil God, he naturally sought to achieve great things, to climb higher, to become stronger and wealthier, until one day he could break free from the Evil God’s control.
Later, as the Great Upheaval shook the world and the situation deteriorated rapidly, Feng Yuhuan secretly rejoiced, thinking, “Perhaps joining the Evil God’s forces wasn’t a loss, but an unprecedented opportunity.”
Thus, he felt elation at the Righteous Qi Alliance’s successive victories, satisfaction in completing the Evil God’s daily tasks, and a secret sigh of regret when Magnetic Pole shattered the Spatial Lockdown.
Today, the Evil God had assigned him another major mission.
“Capture Zhang Yu?”
Feng Yuhuan vividly remembered the influential figure at Myriad Laws University, as well as their past conflicts.
In Feng Yuhuan’s eyes, his conflict with Zhang Yu was merely a trivial matter.
Even though he had once bowed and scraped before this student, apologizing profusely and handing over Spirit Coins, Feng Yuhuan convinced himself that he hadn’t taken it to heart. It was all just a matter of seizing opportunities and adapting to circumstances.
Similarly, his decision to strike against Zhang Yu today wasn’t driven by revenge. It was simply a mission from the Evil God, a risky investment.
Lost in thought, he called out to his companion, “Stay close and keep an eye out for any changes in the terrain.”
At the same moment, a 555th floor design blueprint projected onto the Bionic Eyes of Feng Yuhuan and Fu Xinyao.
This blueprint had been painstakingly reconstructed from Ping Han’s memories. While not perfectly accurate, it would serve as a guide. Any discrepancies or modifications encountered during the operation would require Ping Han, currently residing within the Yin Artifact, to adapt and provide real-time adjustments.