Chapter 768: Setting Zhang Yu as the Benchmark
As Minister Luo Wuji of the Review Department spoke, Group Leader Qu Yizhi’s eyes flickered rapidly. As Dharma Realm Interfaces materialized one after another, he swiftly reviewed Zhang Yu’s data.
“I checked Zhang Yu’s data just before leaving work yesterday. He definitely hadn’t submitted this many review reports to the Dao Repository yet!”
A sharp glint flashed in Qu Yizhi’s eyes. “These records… they were all submitted after hours, within the Dao Seeking Hall, and approved by the Dao Repository one by one?”
“Could this kid be deliberately paying overtime to secretly submit everything before the end of the month and complete his performance quota?”
Qu Yizhi sighed inwardly. “He came prepared. This newcomer, barely over a month in, came specifically to deceive… to ambush us.”
Recalling Zhang Yu’s seemingly diligent and compliant demeanor over the past month, dutifully accepting every assigned task, Qu Yizhi felt even more convinced of the young man’s deep-seated cunning, his mastery of acting and disguise.
Meanwhile, Qu Yizhi’s gaze had already swept across the cultivation arts that had been approved.
In addition to the 24 cultivation arts Qu Yizhi had initially given Zhang Yu, he had gradually slipped the newcomer another seven.
“Thirty-one cultivation arts in total? That means he reviewed an average of one per day in January!”
“These lower layer people… they really push themselves hard.”
Qu Yizhi speculated that Zhang Yu might have already accumulated a mountain of debt, purchasing various memory packs and even borrowing cultivation resources, recklessly burning through his Immortal Dao Potential to achieve this feat.
Just then, Minister Luo Wuji spoke up: “Zhang Yu’s performance suggests we may have underestimated the potential of the Martial Dao Group. The members’ potential and motivation appear to be far from reaching their peak.”
Sensing Luo Wuji’s gaze turning his way, Qu Yizhi immediately adopted an attentive and respectful posture.
“Group Leader Qu, the Sect’s reforms are in full swing. The higher-ups are placing great emphasis on exceeding performance targets in the next phase, especially since we’re now in the critical window for achieving our annual goals. Zhang Yu’s experience as a newcomer to the sect is invaluable.”
Luo Wuji continued, “Where’s Zhang Yu? Have him come and share his insights.”
In the next instant, Zhang Yu’s consciousness was connected to the Dharma Realm conference room.
Upon entering the conference room, Zhang Yu immediately felt his thoughts racing, their speed amplified a hundredfold.
He had long known that the Sect Layer’s mental acceleration capabilities, both in the Spirit Realm and the Dharma Realm, far surpassed those of the Lower Realm.
But Zhang Yu, being short on funds, had never tried them before.
This first taste of hundredfold mental acceleration filled him with exhilaration. Each second in reality now stretched into an eternity, making him feel as though his time had suddenly expanded a hundredfold.
Zhang Yu inwardly marveled, “So this is how the leaders hold their meetings? No wonder I heard they meet so often. With this publicly funded mental acceleration, they can easily attend meetings while simultaneously working on their own tasks. It’s like the more meetings they attend, the longer their lifespans effectively become!”
Luo Wuji turned to Zhang Yu, first offering praise before inquiring about his experience.
But what experience could Zhang Yu offer? He knew his current achievements stemmed solely from his innate talent and relentless effort.
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Yu casually shared some of his review experience from the past month, picking out a few random points.
To the assembled cultivators, these insights sounded like tired platitudes, offering nothing particularly noteworthy.
Luo Wuji remarked, “Zhang Yu’s experience may seem simple and unadorned, but it embodies the most fundamental principles.”
Turning to Qu Yizhi, he continued, “Group Leader Qu, I hope your team will use Zhang Yu as a benchmark to fully unlock everyone’s potential and set an example for the entire department. Our goal isn’t to have a single outstanding performer, but rather a garden in full bloom…”
Just then, Zhang Yu suddenly interjected, “Minister, I’m willing to share my experience with the entire team to improve everyone’s performance.”
Luo Wuji asked coolly, “Oh? By how much can you improve their performance?”
After a moment’s contemplation, Zhang Yu replied, “A 30% increase should be achievable.”
Qu Yizhi’s eyes widened in shock, and he wished he could sew Zhang Yu’s mouth shut right then and there.
But before he could react, Luo Wuji burst into laughter, then said sternly, “Zhang Yu, this meeting isn’t a place for you to spout nonsense.”
Zhang Yu had already made up his mind.
He wanted to climb the ranks, and he wanted to do it quickly.
He understood that within the Myriad Laws Sect, climbing the ranks through the usual channels was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
To ride the fast track to promotion, he needed to take risks and seize every opportunity.
After working for over a month, Zhang Yu was confident he could improve the overall efficiency of Martial Dao Group Three.
With a serious expression, he turned to Luo Wuji, a 5th Rank Spirit Transformation Cultivator, and declared, “Minister, I’m confident I can increase the performance of every member in Martial Dao Group Three by at least 30% in February.”
Luo Wuji gazed steadily into Zhang Yu’s eyes, as if trying to see through his very being.
In truth, he was doing just that. As his gaze lingered, Luo Wuji’s 5th Rank authority allowed Zhang Yu’s personal information to materialize before his eyes.
After reviewing the data, he smiled and turned to Qu Yizhi, who stood nearby. “Group Leader Qu, did you hear that? In February, you’ll fully cooperate with Zhang Yu and see just how much this newcomer can boost your group’s performance.”
As Luo Wuji spoke, Qu Yizhi felt a thousand objections rising within him, desperate to be voiced.
“This is utter nonsense!” he wanted to shout.
As the Group Leader of Martial Dao Group Three, how could he tolerate Zhang Yu’s brazen power grab, promising a 30% performance increase in his name?
Besides, he completely doubted Zhang Yu’s ability to deliver on such a claim. Even if Zhang Yu himself worked at peak efficiency, how could he improve the efficiency of others?
In Qu Yizhi’s view, Zhang Yu’s reckless actions were disrupting his daily management, eroding his authority within the group, and possibly even a form of retaliation.
“This brat…” Qu Yizhi thought bitterly. “I should have gone all out from the start and found a way to kick him out of my group.”
But seeing Luo Wuji in such high spirits, Qu Yizhi dared not confront him directly. Instead, he turned to Deputy Minister Lu Hengzhang on the other side, sending him a barrage of messages, hoping the senior leader would speak up for him and rein in Zhang Yu’s recklessness.
Lu Hengzhang sat motionless, eyes lowered, like a clay deity, showing no reaction to Qu Yizhi’s messages.
Meanwhile, the Group Leaders of Martial Dao Groups One and Two were also observing the scene, their eyes devoid of emotion.
They shared the same skepticism about the new Level 1 Sect Staff member at the Edict Pavilion, doubting his ability to improve the performance of everyone in Martial Dao Group Three by 30%.
After all, there were ways for an individual’s performance to surge.
But for the entire group’s performance to increase by 30% simultaneously? If such a method existed, why would a Level 1 Sect Staff member be the one to implement it?
In their eyes, Zhang Yu was nothing more than a clown resorting to any means necessary to get promoted, reinforcing their impression that lower layers staff were unreliable.
After the meeting adjourned, Qu Yizhi immediately sought out Lu Hengzhang to complain. “Deputy Minister, Zhang Yu’s reckless actions are completely disrupting our daily work in Martial Dao Group Three.”
Deputy Minister Lu Hengzhang replied calmly, “Then don’t let him succeed.”
Shortly after the department meeting concluded, the performance rankings for each group were announced.
Many Sect Staff from Martial Dao Groups One and Two were surprised to see Zhang Yu at the top of the rankings.
“Who is this Zhang Yu?”
Their surprise deepened when they learned he was a newcomer who had arrived just over a month ago.
“Which noble family’s young master managed to get in?”
“He’s from the lower layers.”
“The one who climbed up from the lower layers?! How much did he borrow to secure that top spot? Is he crazy?”
When Zhang Yu announced his intention to increase Martial Dao Group Three’s performance by 30%, some dismissed him as overconfident, others labeled him arrogant, and some even thought the lower layers upstart had lost his mind. Soon, all three Martial Dao Groups were buzzing with speculation, yet no one believed Zhang Yu could achieve such a feat.
Within Martial Dao Group Three itself, discontent with Zhang Yu’s methods grew even stronger.
Chu Wangji stared at Zhang Yu’s name at the top of the leaderboard, recalling his ambitious promise. He sighed inwardly, “A thousand-plus Immortal Coins a month… does he really need to push himself this hard? And a 30% increase? Fucking hell… as if the heat wasn’t high enough already?”
Meanwhile, in the office area of Martial Dao Group One, unlike the many sighing and groaning colleagues, a young cultivator who appeared to be a girl gazed at Zhang Yu’s name on the leaderboard, a faint, arrogant smile playing at the corner of her lips.
This young woman was Shen Qingyun, a Level 2 Sect Staff member in Martial Dao Group One and the cultivator who had topped the Martial Dao Review Leaderboard in January. She had also held the top position in the Martial Dao Group for ten consecutive months.
On her way to work that morning, Shen Qingyun had been looking forward to claiming the 1,500 Immortal Coins and 20 Dao Merit rewards, hoping to further enhance her Immortal Dao foundation.
But to her surprise, her top position had been snatched away by someone else.
“Interesting… a newcomer has risen to the top?”
As she studied Zhang Yu’s performance score of 124, her expression remained completely calm. She was confident she could achieve the same score if she wanted to. The only reason she hadn’t done so was to avoid artificially inflating performance targets, which would drastically increase the pressure on her colleagues.
“This Zhang Yu is acting recklessly… what a naive fool.”
“Trying to outwork us, huh?”
At that moment, a wave of high-performance pressure erupted from Shen Qingyun, causing her colleagues to tremble.
“Fucking hell… I’ll bury you in results this month!”
Shen Qingyun was confident she could defeat Zhang Yu.
In her eyes, this newcomer from the lower layers must have already exhausted much of his Immortal Dao Potential to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
Meanwhile, she had been conserving her energy…
“I haven’t taken out a loan in six months.”
“How could you possibly withstand the reserves I’ve accumulated?”
While undercurrents of tension swirled through the Martial Dao Group because of Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu himself was delighted to see his bonuses deposited into his account.
In addition to the 1500 Immortal Coins and 20 Dao Merit for ranking first across all groups, he also received 500 Immortal Coins and 10 Dao Merit for ranking first within the group.
These rewards, calculated after taxes, instantly boosted Zhang Yu’s earnings by 2000 Immortal Coins and 30 Dao Merit. Combined with his regular salary, his savings skyrocketed.
After deducting Dharma Realm usage fees, overtime pay, and other miscellaneous expenses, Zhang Yu’s current balance stood at just over 2500 Immortal Coins and 30 Dao Merit.
The thought of overtime pay sent a pang of pain through Zhang Yu’s heart.
“Ah, if only I had more experience, I could have finished yesterday before leaving work. Now I’ve had to pay for overtime…” Zhang Yu muttered to himself. “Looks like I can’t keep submitting everything together at the last minute to save time.”
“Now… how should I spend these Immortal Coins?”
Zhang Yu knew that whether he could successfully achieve his promised goal, increasing the performance of everyone in Martial Dao Group Three by 30%, depended heavily on how he used this money.
Just as Zhang Yu was staring at his bank balance, Fu Ji’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
“Zhang Yu, you’ve finally earned some money! It’s time to buy me some antiques, isn’t it?”
Getting into the Ten Greats, joining a sect, then earning wages to buy antiques and fulfill the Evil God’s wish… This was the path to fulfilling his wish that Zhang Yu had confirmed through a ritual.
Hearing Fu Ji bring it up now, Zhang Yu smiled faintly. “You don’t need to remind me. I know.”
“See? I ordered it for you, didn’t I?”
Fu Ji stared at the antique Zhang Yu had casually purchased in the Dharma Realm for a mere 1 Immortal Coin. “1 Immortal Coin?” she exclaimed. “It should be at least 10! This is a matter of dignity for a seasoned Evil God like myself!”
“Damn it,” Fu Ji cursed inwardly. “Ever since Zhang Yu joined the sect, his attitude toward me has become increasingly arrogant. How dare he buy me something worth only 1 Immortal Coin? Does he think I, the Fortune God, am begging for scraps?”
Zhang Yu reassured her, “We just joined the sect, and we’re still in the startup phase. Every Immortal Coin we have needs to be used as seed money. How can I afford to fulfill your wish right now? Make do with this for now. Once we’re better off, I’ll get you something better.”
Zhang Yu had opted for the standard shipping service. He knew that for an additional fee, the sect’s internal delivery service could even breach spatial barriers, transporting goods directly to their destination via space-time transfer.
This made Zhang Yu marvel at the sect’s mastery of Spatial Technology, far surpassing anything in the Lower Layers.
When Fu Ji finally saw the dilapidated incense burner in the package, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Isn’t this a bit too shabby?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Shabbiness is what proves it’s a genuine antique. Old things are supposed to look tattered and worn.”
Fu Ji transformed from a Black Pearl into a raggedy doll and approached the incense burner, attempting to absorb its divine power.
Silently absorbing the lingering traces of divine power, Fu Ji thought to herself, “Zhang Yu, you brat… Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily. From now on, every time you get paid, I’ll be taking my cut. You’re stuck supporting me for life.”
“The more you earn, the more I’ll demand. And I won’t even have to lift a finger!”
“Holding onto a potential goldmine for dear life, this is my path to financial freedom!”
After Fu Ji retreated, resuming her Black Pearl form, the interface of a shopping platform materialized before Zhang Yu’s eyes. Instantly, rows upon rows of products flooded his screen.
Seemingly aware of Zhang Yu’s current financial situation, the recommended items… included neither Immortal Spirit Roots costing tens of thousands of Immortal Coins, nor the Secondary Primordial Spirits, Personal Calculation Pools, Lightspeed Flying Swords, or Hyperspace Cave Estates priced in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of Immortal Coins.
Instead, the offerings consisted entirely of work potions and office supplies priced at a few dozen to a few hundred Spirit Coins each.
Yet Zhang Yu knew these were exactly the products he needed.
“What I need… are some affordable items that can immediately boost my work efficiency and help with my upcoming tasks.”
“Forget about the Bionics… I’ll need to set aside time and resources to reforging my physical body eventually anyway.”
“I don’t need any cultivation arts for now either…”
Zhang Yu currently possesses 36 basic cultivation arts for advancing his Nascent Soul Sacred Body, each requiring repeated practice.
Every advancement of the Nascent Soul Sacred Body required consuming a portion of the cultivated arts as sustenance.
Even if he mastered one basic cultivation art daily through continuous practice, it would still take him a considerable amount of time to fully advance his Nascent Soul Sacred Body to its maximum level of 36/36.
“I barely have time to cultivate the arts I already have. Why buy more?”
“I should get a magical artifact instead…”
The first magical artifact that caught Zhang Yu’s eye was the Thought Membrane Seal, a device that could connect his mind with another person’s.
With this artifact, he could establish a mental link with Ye Xingli, allowing them to communicate as quickly as their thoughts flowed.
This would drastically reduce the time spent on daily work exchanges, further enhancing their efficiency.
Other team members could also use this magical artifact to accelerate communication efficiency.
In Zhang Yu’s view, this was essential for their upcoming work.
Although similar functions existed within the Dharma Realm, and could even be activated remotely without the Thought Membrane Seal’s distance limitations, Zhang Yu still preferred this tangible magical artifact over the potential for thought leaks inherent in the Dharma Realm.
-300 Immortal Coins
As his account balance changed, the Thought Membrane Seal Zhang Yu had purchased was already on its way.
Next, Zhang Yu considered the 210 Immortal Coins per stick of Spirit Awakening Incense and the 99 Immortal Coins per vial of Enlightenment Extract Type 1.
The former, when burned, could accelerate thinking tenfold without requiring connection to the Spirit Realm or Dharma Realm.
The latter, purportedly extracted from Bodhi Seeds, claimed to enhance memory, association, and comprehension, inducing a state of sudden enlightenment.
After some deliberation, Zhang Yu decided against purchasing either item.
He thought to himself, “Still too expensive. I’ll consider it again after I get a raise.”
Moments later, the Thought Membrane Seal arrived. Zhang Yu infused it with his Magic Power and, together with Ye Xingli, logged in. Instantly, they felt their minds connect, as if their thoughts were flowing seamlessly between them.
At that moment, any thought, image, or memory in Zhang Yu’s mind instantly transmitted to Ye Xingli’s consciousness.
Ye Xingli exclaimed joyfully, “Now we can communicate so much faster! Junior Brother, if you have any requests, I’ll understand them immediately!”
Zhang Yu nodded and transferred another 50 Immortal Coins to Ye Xingli.
Ye Xingli blinked in surprise and quickly said, “Junior Brother, I have a salary…”
Zhang Yu replied, “Senior Sister, thank you for your hard work these past few days. We’ll likely be even busier moving forward, and I’ll still need your help with the paperwork.”
Staring at the additional 50 Immortal Coins in her account, Ye Xingli couldn’t help but feel… the sensation of receiving money was truly wonderful.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Things are about to get much busier… I need to accelerate the pace of our work.”
Qu Yizhi knew he couldn’t obstruct Zhang Yu with overly direct methods.
Tactics like withholding task assignments would be too easily detected. If word reached Luo Wuji, the Minister of the Review Department at the Edict Pavilion, it would create a major problem.
After all, Qu Yizhi had publicly pledged to support Zhang Yu at the grand assembly, in front of everyone.
“Assigning tasks… of course, no problem. But how they’re assigned is entirely up to me.”
Qu Yizhi immediately dumped all the most difficult and troublesome cultivation arts, the ones requiring the most meticulous review, onto Zhang Yu.
“You want to boost everyone else’s performance? Better focus on your own first.”
As for the remaining tasks, Qu Yizhi distributed them according to his understanding of each team member’s martial dao style. He assigned complex martial arts to those with aggressive, straightforward styles, and powerful, direct techniques to those with agile, versatile styles.
In short, Qu Yizhi deliberately used his knowledge to ensure the team members couldn’t achieve peak efficiency.
“Zhang Yu’s plan to boost the entire group’s performance by 30% was always impossible.”
“Now, he has even less of a chance.”
What pleased Qu Yizhi even more was that almost everyone on the team showed no interest in Zhang Yu’s proposal.
“After all, what does your success have to do with the rest of us?”
Just as Qu Yizhi was starting to relax, Zhang Yu began his work for the new month.
After his first month on the job, Zhang Yu had come to a realization.
“The number of reviews I completed in January was far from my limit.”
Zhang Yu had reached this conclusion because he discovered that the fastest way to review cultivation arts wasn’t through mastering them via the Feather Book’s specialized knowledge.
Electrical sparks crackled between Zhang Yu’s palms as he simulated a palm technique under the enhancement of the Formless Martial Art.
This expert-grade martial art, known as the Rushing Cloud Divine Thunder Palm, was his target for review.
In the next moment, still under the Formless Martial Art’s enhancement, Zhang Yu simulated another cultivation art called the Thunderbolt Palm.
The first layer of the Chain Formation Diagram “Formless Martial Art” allowed Zhang Yu to rapidly simulate a cultivation art. The second layer enabled him to integrate the simulated art into his own martial arts, while the third layer allowed him to simultaneously simulate two arts and merge their operation.
Combined with the Third Eye Mystic Power’s self-reflection ability, this enabled Zhang Yu to immediately discern the differences between the two cultivation arts.
“They appear similar, but the Immortal Dao Technology within them is vastly different.”
In the next instant, another cultivation art’s information appeared on the Dharma Realm Interface before Zhang Yu, connected through the Internal Dharma Realm.
Moments later, the electrical energy surrounding him shifted, and he was already simulating the new cultivation art.
And so… through the Chain Formation Diagram’s Formless Martial Art, combined with his Third Eye Mystic Power and supported by the Edict Pavilion’s vast collection of cultivation art data, Zhang Yu could swiftly discern the similarities and differences between various cultivation arts. This allowed him to identify the Immortal Dao Technology within each art with unprecedented speed, assessing its novelty, creativity, and practicality.
This… was the optimal state Zhang Yu had discovered for his cultivation art review work.
As Zhang Yu once again transmitted the myriad data, judgments, diagrams, and statistics from his mind to Ye Xingli via the Thought Membrane Seal, she couldn’t help but remark, “Junior Brother, your speed is increasing exponentially.”
Zhang Yu replied calmly, “Indeed. The work… is accelerating.”
Ye Xingli said, “But the others…”
Having learned of Zhang Yu’s promise to the Minister of the Review Department, Ye Xingli couldn’t help but worry.
Especially since she sensed that the other Sect Staff in Martial Dao Group Three had no intention of cooperating with Zhang Yu, which only deepened her anxieties.
Zhang Yu smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Senior Sister. As I said…”
“The work… is about to accelerate.”