Chapter 786: One Day Equals Two Months
Listening to Yang Kaitai’s words, Zhang Yu cursed inwardly. “Trouble,” the thing he had feared most had finally happened.
“Although Bu Yingshu, that Immortal Clan member, has been pushing for the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation to pass review, the higher-ups in the Edict Pavilion clearly have the opposite idea…”
Zhang Yu felt as if he were caught in the middle of two colossal beasts tearing each other apart. Compared to these behemoths, he was utterly insignificant. A single misstep, and he could be casually crushed to dust by either side in their fierce struggle.
“Is Yang Kaitai here to make me choose a side? But…”
At this moment, at least, Zhang Yu was unwilling to make an enemy of Bu Yingshu.
It wasn’t just because this noble lady of the Immortal Clan had a profound background and could shatter his years of hard work with a mere stomp of her foot. It was also because Bu Yingshu held opportunities he couldn’t bear to lose.
Whether it was the advancement of his Myriad Laws Immortal Clan Dao Seed or the chance to begin cultivating the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation, Zhang Yu was unwilling to give up either easily.
“And besides…”
Zhang Yu looked at the outwardly calm Yang Kaitai and thought, “Even if I help you, even if I align myself with your faction, what would I gain?”
“In fact… if you ask me to betray Bu Yingshu, you’ll probably just discard me like a pawn afterward, won’t you?”
Zhang Yu had already heard from Gu Qingya about the factional divisions within the Edict Pavilion. He knew that Yang Kaitai, standing before him, was a cultivator from the Innate Dao Lineage faction.
And Zhang Yu understood that in the eyes of these Innate Dao Lineage cultivators, someone like him — a cultivator who had ascended from the Lower Realm through examinations — was expected to be obedient, subservient, and forever trampled underfoot. That was the normal, natural order of things.
“Between me and the Innate Dao Lineage… there’s simply no foundation for cooperation at this point.”
Fu Ji chimed in, “Indeed! Better to cling tightly to Bu Yingshu’s thigh than to be crushed under the Innate Dao Lineage’s heel.”
So, in response to Yang Kaitai’s inquiry, Zhang Yu said, “Leader, if you wish to know about Dao Monarch Bu’s research progress, you can send a formal inquiry through official channels.”
“The official procedures will naturally be followed,” Yang Kaitai replied coolly. “You’ve done a decent job in the Martial Dao Group over the past year. For this year’s outstanding performance awards, the Pavilion will prioritize your case.”
Faced with this blatant bribe, Zhang Yu remained unmoved.
Seeing Zhang Yu’s unwavering expression, a flicker of surprise crossed Yang Kaitai’s eyes.
He had originally noticed Bu Yingshu’s confident demeanor during the meeting and decided to probe for information through Zhang Yu.
Before descending, Yang Kaitai had never even considered the possibility of being refused.
With his esteemed status as Vice Pavilion Master of the Edict Pavilion, a 6th Rank Void Refinement Dao Monarch, a single word from him should have been enough to make a minor figure like Zhang Yu spill everything he knew.
Within the Edict Pavilion, in his presence, Zhang Yu should have been utterly powerless, with no choice but to kneel in submission.
Yet, this insignificant character, whom Yang Kaitai had previously dismissed entirely, dared to reject his request to his face.
“Does he really think Bu Yingshu can protect him forever?” Yang Kaitai thought grimly.
As he gazed at Zhang Yu, his figure slowly faded, leaving only a single sentence lingering in Zhang Yu’s ears.
“Consider your actions carefully. Don’t forget where you stand.”
“A bunch of bastards! Is this still Myriad Laws? Whose land do they think they’re standing on?”
In her laboratory, Bu Yingshu seethed with rage. During the recently concluded meeting, she had faced unanimous opposition from everyone else.
To see those who usually treated her with utmost respect, never daring to offend her in the slightest, now brazenly criticizing her project plan from every angle during the meeting — Bu Yingshu was both shocked and furious.
Unfortunately, Bu Yingshu had recently devoted all her energy to enhancing her own talent, leaving no time to delve deeper into the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation.
Thus, when faced with the council’s doubts, even under the Edict Pavilion Master’s moderation, she couldn’t produce enough convincing evidence to support her claims. She could only watch as the situation turned increasingly against her.
Although her fierce insistence kept the Special Task Force alive, a deadline was imposed.
“Two months… If there are no results within two months, we’ll have to report to the Myriad Laws Palace Hall and halt the review of this Immortal Sect Technique.”
To secure this timeframe, Bu Yingshu had signed a contract in front of everyone, pledging to personally bear all expenses, personnel salaries, and any losses incurred by the Special Task Force if no substantial results were achieved within two months.
Bu Yingshu knew she was gambling a significant portion of her personal assets and the prestige of her Immortal Clan.
“Hmph, they all think I can’t prove it. They think I’m still the same Bu Yingshu as before?”
“I’ll show them what it truly means to be an Immortal Clan, what it means to be a Heavenly Chosen.”
“Zhang Yu! Where are you? I’m counting to 10. Get over here right now!”
After sending the message to Zhang Yu, Bu Yingshu began sending the numbers one by one.
“1!”
“2!”
When Zhang Yu arrived at the laboratory as she counted to 8, Bu Yingshu slowly asked, “Where have you been? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the lab?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Vice Pavilion Master Yang’s Dharma Realm Projection just appeared. I went out to speak with him for a moment.”
Bu Yingshu’s brow furrowed. “What did he say to you?”
After listening to Zhang Yu’s account, Bu Yingshu snorted coldly and looked at him. “You did well. Remember, no matter who asks, you are not to speak of anything that happens in this laboratory, especially what you and I do. Do you understand?”
Zhang Yu answered firmly, “Rest assured, Dao Monarch. I wouldn’t tell even if the Pavilion Master himself asked.”
Pleased with Zhang Yu’s attitude, Bu Yingshu continued, “Within two months, I need to achieve a substantial breakthrough in verifying the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation.”
“So, starting now, there will be no rest.”
“We’ll work 24 hours a day until the job is done.”
“I’ll cover your overtime pay, and I’ll give you an extra 8,000 Immortal Coins per day as a subsidy.”
With a wave of her hand, Bu Yingshu transferred another 8,000 Immortal Coins to Zhang Yu’s account.
Fu Ji exclaimed happily, “Wow, Zhang Yu! One day in this Special Task Force earns you more than two months of work outside!”
Immortal Slayer sighed. “As the saying goes, ‘A day in heaven is a year on earth.’ The higher you climb within the sect, the greater the income disparity. It’s not uncommon for a single day’s earnings to surpass what you once made in an entire year.”
Zhang Yu glanced at his savings. He had unknowingly accumulated 220,000 Immortal Coins, leaving him just 10,000 away from paying off his loan.
In the days that followed, Bu Yingshu continued to work with Zhang Yu, refining Immortal Dao Technology from Expert-Grade Techniques.
In her view, this was like sharpening the axe before chopping wood. She needed to further awaken her peerless talent before attempting to verify the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation, a Sect-Guarding-Tier Immortal Sect Technique.
When Zheng Meng arrived at the laboratory, she was stopped at the door.
Bu Yingshu’s voice came from inside: “Zheng Meng, stand guard outside. Remember, don’t let anyone in.”
Hearing Bu Yingshu’s words, Zheng Meng’s heart tightened.
She recalled the questions Vice Pavilion Master Yang Kaitai had just asked her.
Facing this high-ranking leader of the Edict Pavilion, Zheng Meng had naturally answered everything truthfully, not daring to defy him in any way.
After all, in Zheng Meng’s eyes, he was also a senior leader of the Special Task Force, so it was perfectly normal for him to inquire about the situation.
Moreover, since Zheng Meng felt she could no longer cling to Bu Yingshu’s coattails, she certainly wouldn’t dare to offend a leader from the Edict Pavilion.
“Is the Dao Monarch displeased with me? Is that why she won’t let me into the laboratory?”
Staring at the tightly shut laboratory door, Zheng Meng thought of Zhang Yu and Bu Yingshu bustling inside. She realized with a sinking heart that she would never truly belong with them.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu and Bu Yingshu were completely immersed in refining Immortal Dao Technology. They finally extracted another piece of Immortal Dao Technology from an Expert-Grade Technique.
Zhang Yu checked the Feather Book’s Dao Seed Register and saw that [Myriad Laws Immortal Clan] had officially advanced to the 3rd-tier.
Meanwhile, feeling the swift surge in her talent, Bu Yingshu suddenly let out a series of joyous peals of laughter.
At this moment, she gained new insights into the various Expert-Grade Techniques she cultivated. The techniques she had analyzed over the past few days sparked successive waves of enlightenment within her, causing her martial dao foundation to skyrocket.
“Basic, intermediate, expert…” Bu Yingshu thought to herself. “Next should be military-grade, right? I’ll use Military-Grade Techniques to further hone my talent.”
Zhang Yu, on the other hand, had already activated the power of the [Myriad Laws Immortal Clan] and drawn ten rewards.
Most of them were still the “Choose an Expert-Grade Technique: Level +1” rewards. There was also one “Choose an Expert-Grade Technique: Entry-Level Mastery” and one “Random Expert-Grade Technique: Mutation.”
“Random? Mutation?” Zhang Yu blinked, seeing this reward for the first time. He wondered, “What kind of mutation could it be?”
“It seems the prize pool connected to the Dao Repository is far more unfathomable than I imagined,” he mused. “I wonder what other rewards there are.”
Though Zhang Yu was burning with curiosity, he was currently with Bu Yingshu almost 24/7, and any anomaly would be easily discovered.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhang Yu decided not to try the “Technique Mutation” reward. Instead, he silently suppressed his curiosity, saving it for later.
As Zhang Yu and Bu Yingshu threw themselves wholeheartedly into their work, a growing number of rumors began to circulate within the Special Task Force.
There were whispers about the heated confrontation between Yang Kaitai and Bu Yingshu during the meeting, a clash so intense that the Pavilion Master had to intervene.
Other rumors claimed that after the meeting, Bu Yingshu had dragged Zhang Yu into a 24/7 work schedule, vowing to achieve a breakthrough in the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation within two months.
There were also stories accusing Zhang Yu of slandering Deputy Minister Lu Hengzhang, deliberately inciting conflict between Bu Yingshu and him.
Listening to these various rumors, Chen Xingxuan felt that the seemingly calm Special Task Force was actually a massive powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.
As someone who had previously participated in the Adaptability Assessment with Zhang Yu, competed against him for the leadership of Martial Dao Group One, and later been recommended into the Special Task Force alongside him, Chen Xingxuan, a high-level user of the Celestial Inquiry Star, now felt incredibly fortunate.
“Thank goodness I wasn’t the one chosen to work under Dao Monarch Bu.”
“Otherwise, caught in the crossfire of this power struggle, even a glancing blow from the fallout would have vaporized all my years of hard work.”
Chen Xingxuan actually understood Zhang Yu’s choice.
“After all… she’s from the Immortal Clan. What right do low-level Sect Staff like us have to defy them?”
Chen Xingxuan felt that if he were in Zhang Yu’s position, he would probably also choose to cling tightly to Bu Yingshu’s thigh.
But understanding was one thing; it didn’t change Chen Xingxuan’s current opinion of Zhang Yu.
“Zhang Yu is finished,” Chen Xingxuan thought grimly. “Once Dao Monarch Bu fails and the Special Task Force is disbanded, Vice Pavilion Master Yang Kaitai will settle the score with him.”
“By supporting Dao Monarch Bu, Zhang Yu has defied the will of the Edict Pavilion’s upper echelons. He’ll be ostracized by the entire Pavilion. When that happens, Dao Monarch Bu will just walk away, and all the blame… will likely fall on Zhang Yu’s head.”
As for successfully verifying the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation?
“Absolutely impossible.” Chen Xingxuan stared at the Celestial Inquiry Star interface before him and commanded, “Celestial Inquiry Star, analyze this report.”
“The user has repeatedly inquired about the deconstruction and verification analysis of the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation. It seems he places great importance on this cultivation art, likely being one of its researchers or reviewers. Therefore, a standard analysis will no longer suffice…”
Celestial Inquiry Star (Edict Pavilion Internal Dharma Realm Edition): “Currently, even after deconstruction, the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation cannot be verified. The entire cultivation art contains significant flaws and places extraordinarily unusual demands on the cultivator…”
Meanwhile, Lu Hengzhang, the Deputy Minister of the Review Department, was also examining the report from the Celestial Inquiry Star, nodding in satisfaction.
Ever since joining the Special Task Force, their efforts to deconstruct and verify the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation had been relentless.
With the Celestial Inquiry Star’s assistance, their work efficiency had skyrocketed.
Yet, despite the efforts of the elites from every group, Lu Hengzhang himself, the Deputy Minister of the Review Department, and even Yang Kaitai, the Vice Pavilion Master of the Edict Pavilion and a Void Refinement Dao Monarch who personally led the team, not a single person could even simulate the cultivation art, let alone successfully cultivate it.
In fact, during the deconstruction work personally overseen by Yang Kaitai, many cultivators discovered numerous flaws within the art.
Lu Hengzhang thought to himself, “This Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation is nothing more than a fantastical, speculative concept that exists only in theory.”
“If no one can even complete its cultivation, how can it possibly be verified?”
In Lu Hengzhang’s view, Bu Yingshu’s failure was already a foregone conclusion. After she left, it would be time to settle accounts with Zhang Yu, and he would be part of that process.
“Heh… Zhang Yu, you spend every day exhausting yourself, scheming and fawning over Dao Monarch Bu. I wonder what you’ll think in two months when you realize it was all for nothing and you’ve lost your position as Acting Group Leader?”
To Lu Hengzhang’s surprise, however — perhaps spurred by Bu Yingshu’s unwavering confidence — Yang Kaitai had recently assigned a new task.
“While further deconstructing the cultivation art, we must also search for techniques with similar effects to disprove the novelty and creativity of this Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation…”
Lu Hengzhang thought to himself, “Are they trying to bury this Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation completely, leaving no room for it to survive? Fine by me.”
Still, a flicker of curiosity arose in Lu Hengzhang’s mind. Why were the higher-ups so determined to suppress a cultivation art that no one could even cultivate?
Inside the laboratory, as Zhang Yu finished extracting an Immortal Dao Technology from a military-grade cultivation technique, he saw the progress of his 3rd-tier Dao Seed [Myriad Laws Immortal Clan] reach 3/10.
Unlike his previous work with basic, advanced, and expert-grade techniques, Zhang Yu discovered that a single military-grade cultivation art could yield multiple Immortal Dao Technologies recorded by the Dao Seed.
For instance, the technique he had just processed alone had advanced his 3rd-tier [Myriad Laws Immortal Clan] to 3/10 progress.
Zhang Yu calculated inwardly, “If every military-grade cultivation art can yield three effective technologies, then I’ll only need to process four more to upgrade the [Myriad Laws Immortal Clan] from the 3rd to the 4th tier.”
“But…”
Zhang Yu looked again at the military-grade cultivation technique that had appeared before him.
“Among the Derivative Cultivation Arts, aside from the one we just finished processing, there’s only one left that reaches the military-grade level.”
“If it comes to it, I’ll have to extract from other military-grade techniques.”
“Given Bu Yingshu’s current state, she should agree to this.”
Just as Zhang Yu was pondering this, Bu Yingshu waved her hand, and two military-grade cultivation techniques materialized before them.
Bu Yingshu said, “These two Derivative Cultivation Arts were still under review by other Special Task Forces. I went ahead and requested them directly. We’ll study them while extracting their Immortal Dao Technologies.”
As Zhang Yu looked at the two techniques, his gaze sharpened slightly.
“Great Sage Researcher…”
He recognized them instantly: they were the two missing techniques from the Chain Method Diagram Set, Great Sage Researcher.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “So they hadn’t been approved yet? They were still with other Special Task Forces.”
He sighed inwardly. If it weren’t for Bu Yingshu, these two techniques would never have reached him so easily.