Chapter 799: Le Mulan’s Whereabouts, Zhang Yu’s New Position

Zhang Yu wasn’t entirely unprepared for the exposure of Le Mulan’s Profound Cold Meridian.

After all, during the previous Sect Examination, Le Mulan might have inadvertently revealed some of her unique qualities.

Given the sect’s advanced Immortal Dao Technology and the relentless series of examinations, discovering the longevity-extending properties of the Profound Cold Meridian through various tests would not have been difficult.

Zhang Yu had once considered persuading Le Mulan to abandon the Sect Examination and forgo joining the sect, allowing her to cultivate more safely in the Lower Realm.

But after discussing it with her, he realized this was impossible.

Like most of the Ten Greats Students, joining the sect and climbing to the Apex of the Immortal Dao was a dream deeply ingrained in their hearts, a challenge they were willing to pay any price to attempt.

Le Mulan refused to give up the opportunity to join the sect. It was her decision, and Zhang Yu chose to respect it.

“Fortunately… thanks to the sect’s powerful Immortal Dao Technology, the Myriad Laws Sect has no shortage of longevity-extending methods.”

“Even if they discovered Le Mulan’s Profound Cold Meridian, it probably wouldn’t attract any truly terrifying powers. In fact… it might even be safer than being discovered in the Lower Realm, which lacks the sect’s abundance of longevity-extending methods.”

Despite this reasoning, Zhang Yu couldn’t simply ignore his companion’s disappearance.

He gazed at the three avatars in his contact list, thinking, “Teacher Starfire… Elder Sister… and Bu Yingshu.”

These were the people he believed most likely to help him find out about Le Mulan’s current situation.

After some thought, Zhang Yu chose to contact Bu Yingshu.

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In a lavishly decorated room, Bu Yingshu was casually listening to her subordinates’ reports.

Though she appeared utterly indifferent, the reporting subordinates were trembling with fear, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

After all, the legends surrounding this Immortal Clan noblewoman were too terrifying. Her history of ruining people and bankrupting families left them no choice but to be cautious.

Just then, a Dharma Realm projection, visible only to Bu Yingshu, materialized before her.

“Little Sister, I heard you pulled off something earth-shattering at the Edict Pavilion. All the uncles are praising you.”

The speaker was Bu Zhenting, one of Bu Yingshu’s clan brothers from the Immortal Clan.

Although he was her clan brother, their relationship had never been good.

They were among the youngest generation of the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan, which naturally led to more interaction, but also inevitable comparisons.

In Bu Zhenting’s eyes, his clan sister was all ambition and no talent — aiming too high while lacking the skill to achieve her goals. He believed she hadn’t inherited any of the greatness from their bloodline.

Ever since they were children, Bu Zhenting had crushed his clan sister in every aspect of their achievements.

This led him to consistently look down on Bu Yingshu.

To him, she was the epitome of an incompetent Immortal Clan member, wasting the sect’s resources and her immortal bloodline.

Yet, frustratingly, her status from the moment of her birth… was far higher than his.

This made Bu Zhenting’s disdain for her curdle with a sharp pang of jealousy. “That woman… she’s barely fit to be my daughter, what right does she have to be my sister?”

So, when Bu Zhenting first heard that she had deciphered the mysteries of the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation and successfully verified the cultivation art, he found it hard to believe.

After all, he hadn’t been confident he could verify the cultivation art himself, which was why the opportunity had fallen to Bu Yingshu.

According to his judgment at the time, Bu Yingshu would absolutely fail. The plan was simply to use her high status to test the waters.

Only after receiving confirmation from multiple sources did Bu Zhenting finally accept that she had truly completed the verification of the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation.

Meanwhile, Bu Yingshu looked at her brother, the same one who had repeatedly insulted her, now acting so polite. A triumphant smile spread across her face.

“All of you who once looked down on me, despised me, and underestimated me… now you see how capable I truly am, don’t you?”

Bu Yingshu thought to herself, “In the past, I was merely accumulating my foundation and biding my time. Now, it’s my moment to soar to the heavens. Forget you… even those old geezers in the clan who were born a few years earlier will eventually be trampled beneath my feet.”

Bu Yingshu held her brother, Bu Zhenting, in equally low regard.

In her view, even when she had been deliberately concealing her talent and accumulating her potential, he had only been slightly stronger than her, yet had received far more resources.

“If all those resources had been given to me, I might have awakened a decade or more earlier.”

She thought to herself, “Unlike that useless glutton Bu Zhenting, who took so many resources for nothing, his current talent is probably far inferior to mine.”

“Brother? From now on, you can just be my little brother.”

“No, wait. In a few more years, you’ll be my grandson.”

Seeing the familiar triumphant expression on Bu Yingshu’s face, Bu Zhenting thought, “There she goes again… lost in her fantasies. My foolish little sister, seeing you’re still the same puts my mind at ease.”

“There’s definitely something fishy about this Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation verification.”

With this in mind, Bu Zhenting decided to test her.

He said, “Little Sister, I heard you took in a little pet at the Edict Pavilion. How about lending him to me for a bit?”

At his words, a chilling aura instantly radiated from Bu Yingshu, startling the surrounding subordinates into confusion.

“Bu Zhenting! Are you trying to steal from me again?”

Watching Bu Yingshu instantly shift into her Spinosaurus form¹ and start hissing at his words, a flash of understanding crossed Bu Zhenting’s eyes.

Her current reaction was exactly like the times he had snatched her potions in the past.

Bu Zhenting chuckled and said, “You’re so quick to anger. You’re a grown woman now, why are you still acting like a child? Brother was just joking with you. He’s just a Lower Cultivator. Do you think I’m lacking one? Or that I’d steal him?”

“Alright, don’t be angry. If it’s that bad, take some Dharma Drugs.”

“Grandpa and the others are having a meeting with you soon. Don’t forget the time.”

After ending the call with Bu Zhenting, Bu Yingshu stared coldly at the spot where he had disappeared. She thought, “That guy…”

“Dharma Drugs? If Dharma Drugs could solve this, I would have used them long ago.”

Reflecting on her reaction, Bu Yingshu admitted she had been too impulsive.

But even now, the mere thought of Bu Zhenting snatching Zhang Yu away still filled her with uncontrollable rage.

He was a specialized cultivation tool she had painstakingly trained. How could she let someone steal him?

Especially Bu Zhenting’s earlier words… they reminded her of the helpless scenes from the past when he had stolen her resources.

This only fueled her anger further.

Moreover, since this involved the secret to her talent breakthrough, Bu Yingshu couldn’t tolerate her clan brother coveting Zhang Yu.

“Bu Zhenting, if you dare try to steal from me again, I’ll…”

The surrounding subordinates felt a wave of killing intent wash over them, causing them to tremble uncontrollably.

Just then, a flash appeared before Bu Yingshu’s eyes, revealing a message from Zhang Yu.

When she first saw Zhang Yu’s profile picture flashing, Bu Yingshu was startled, almost thinking Bu Zhenting had already done something to him.

Only after seeing that Zhang Yu was asking about Le Mulan did Bu Yingshu subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.

“Le Mulan? Is she Little Yu’s classmate from the Lower Realm?”

Bu Yingshu curled her lip and casually glanced at Le Mulan’s file, quickly forming a judgment. “Little Yu’s subordinate?”

In Bu Yingshu’s eyes, if Zhang Yu was her pet, then Le Mulan was the pet’s pet.

Bu Yingshu sent a message back: “You came to me for such a trivial matter within a trivial matter?”

On the other end, Zhang Yu pondered Bu Yingshu’s message and thought, “She’s unhappy again? Sigh, I wonder what she’s throwing a fit about this time.”

After some thought, Zhang Yu replied: “To a noble Immortal Clan member like you, Dao Monarch, it’s naturally a trivial matter not worth mentioning. But for small figures like us, it’s a major crisis we’re helpless to solve.”

Bu Yingshu hmphed softly, and the surrounding subordinates felt the atmosphere in the room instantly relax.

Bu Yingshu: “Fine, I almost forgot how little status you Lower Realm Natives have. Wait for my message.”

Bu Yingshu: “Oh, and remember, if any Immortal Clan members approach you, contact me immediately.”

Seeing Bu Yingshu’s message, Zhang Yu thought, “Will other Immortal Clan members really come looking for me?”

As Zhang Yu pondered the implications, another message arrived from Bu Yingshu.

Bu Yingshu: “Found her. The Spiritual Purity Pavilion took her.”

Zhang Yu: “Dao Monarch, could you be more specific?”

Bu Yingshu: “The Spiritual Purity Pavilion noticed the medicinal properties in her body and plans to develop her into a new product.”

Bu Yingshu: “Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.”

In Bu Yingshu’s view, for a Lower Realm Cultivator like Le Mulan to be taken in by a sect and receive investment to increase her value, allowing her to sell herself for a good price in the future, how could that not be a good thing? It was an opportunity countless Lower Cultivation cultivators would beg for and never get.

Otherwise, what future could a common commodity from the Lower Realm possibly have?

After all, in Kunxu, many people wanted to sell themselves, but those who succeeded and fetched a good price were one in ten thousand.

Meanwhile, Immortal Slayer spoke in Zhang Yu’s mind: “So that’s how it is. From what I know, the Spiritual Purity Pavilion has likely indeed discovered Le Mulan’s unique qualities. They want to invest in her and turn her into a potion production line.”

“Le Mulan is probably under strict supervision now. Everything — her diet, the medicinal pills she consumes, her cultivation — will be tightly controlled at every level.”

“Of course, under these conditions, she’ll also receive substantial investment to advance her cultivation. However, this advancement will primarily focus on enhancing her ability to produce medicinal pills.”

Zhang Yu asked, “What are the dangers in this situation?”

Immortal Slayer explained, “You can think of her as a living factory now. With the Spiritual Purity Pavilion’s investment, her body no longer belongs solely to her. The Pavilion will have the ultimate decision-making power.”

“If she’s lucky, she might become the ‘acting factory manager,’ making most of the day-to-day decisions.”

“If sales are good, she could become a Spirit Transformation Cultivator in just a few years.”

“If she’s unlucky and sales are poor, it’ll be considered a business failure.”

“Then the Spiritual Purity Pavilion will treat Le Mulan as a bad asset and dispose of her. They might dismantle her body, stripping her of everything valuable, or sell her off to another sect… Anything is possible.”

Fu Ji said, “This is a good thing, Zhang Yu! If Le Mulan stayed in the Lower Realm, she’d never have a chance to reach the Spirit Transformation Realm. Nascent Soul would be her absolute limit. Now that she has a chance to break through to Spirit Transformation, she’s probably overjoyed.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. He understood that for many Lower Realm Cultivators, this was indeed a relatively good outcome.

After all, the mere opportunity to sell oneself to a sect and continue climbing the Immortal Dao was something countless Lower Realm Cultivators could only dream of.

But… Zhang Yu still hoped his companion wouldn’t end up as a bad asset, to be disposed of at the Spiritual Purity Pavilion’s whim.

“I have to keep climbing,” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “Only by climbing higher can I protect more people.”

In the following days, Zhang Yu buried himself in his work at Martial Dao Group One, catching up on all the tasks he had fallen behind on while participating in the Special Task Force.

After work, he cultivated quietly and discreetly, avoiding anything that might cause trouble.

Zhang Yu also planned to re-cultivate the Martial One through Martial Twelve sections of his Chain Formation Diagram: Formless Martial Art to unlock its fourth-layer effect.

As for his savings, Zhang Yu decided not to touch them for now.

Although his funds had surged to over 700,000 Immortal Coins thanks to Bu Yingshu’s generous rewards when he left the Special Task Force, he knew that if he advanced to the 4th Rank and needed to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, that money would be spent in an instant.

So, he didn’t even finish paying off his loan, choosing instead to hold onto the 700,000+ Immortal Coins for his future breakthrough.

Besides cultivating the Formless Martial Art, Zhang Yu spent the rest of his time refining the Immortal Dao Technology within his cultivation arts to accumulate rewards from the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan.

He particularly valued the “Choose a Strategic-Tier Technique +1 Level” rewards, believing they would help him quickly raise his various techniques to Level 50 after he reached the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Through his efforts over the past few days, continuously refining the Immortal Dao Technology from Kunlun in the Palm and the Three Realms and Ten Directions Great Void Barrier, Zhang Yu had already earned over ten “Choose a Strategic-Tier Technique +1 Level” rewards.

Amidst his quiet cultivation and work, Zhang Yu also found time to meet with Ye Xingli and Yu Xinghan.

When the three met, they each brought along the Lower Realm interns they had selected.

Zhang Yu chose Yan Qianji, who was also from the Myriad Laws University’s Artifact Refinement Department. Yan Qianji had achieved the highest score among the university’s failed Sect Examination Candidates this year. Zhang Yu hoped that after a year of internship training, Yan Qianji would be able to pass the sect entrance exam next time.

Ye Xingli brought Feng Tingting, who had transferred back to the Artifact Refinement Department. Yu Xinghan brought Shi Huaiyu, who had already transferred from the Civil Engineering Department to Artifact Refinement.

Taking in the sect’s environment, Feng Tingting couldn’t help but sigh. “I never thought… I’d ever have the chance to come to the sect.”

Beside her, Yan Qianji looked at Zhang Yu with admiration. He had assumed that after joining the sect, Zhang Yu would be at the bottom of the hierarchy. Yet, as they walked, he saw people respectfully greeting Zhang Yu from time to time, a clear sign of Zhang Yu’s considerable prestige within the Edict Pavilion.

Shi Huaiyu, meanwhile, was connected to the Dharma Realm, thinking to herself, “Damn… This really is the sect. You can even bet on anything here?”

At the same time, True Monarch Martial Village watched Zhang Yu’s group of six and thought, “It feels like… there are going to be more and more Lower Realm natives around here.”

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Time passed, and March arrived.

Zhang Yu officially received his confirmation notice, becoming the Official Group Leader of Martial Dao Group One and advancing from the 2nd Rank to the 3rd Rank.

At the same time, Zhang Yu learned that Bu Yingshu had also successfully secured her permanent position, becoming the Rank 6 Vice Pavilion Master of the Martial Arts Pavilion. He sent her a special congratulatory message.

Afterward, Zhang Yu continued to wait quietly for his next transfer order.

One day after work, Ye Xingli descended as a Dharma Realm Projection and said to Zhang Yu, “Junior Brother, the notice should be coming soon, right? Dao Monarch Bu is already busy arranging personnel. It looks like they’re about to transfer you to the Martial Arts Pavilion.”

Beside her, Yu Xinghan said excitedly, “If you become a Rank 4 Sect Staff member in the Martial Arts Pavilion, with Dao Monarch Bu’s high regard for you, she’ll probably make you the Deputy Minister of a key department, right?”

“Deputy Minister Zhang!” Yu Xinghan chuckled. “By then, you’ll be a Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch.”

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When April arrived…

As Zhang Yu was speaking with his group members, his gaze flickered. He saw the projection of Gu Qingya, Minister of the Review Department, descend from the sky and land before everyone.

Gu Qingya said, “Group Leader Zhang, Pavilion Master Si wants to see you.”

Hearing Gu Qingya’s announcement, the surrounding group members looked on with expressions of envy and awe.

Watching Zhang Yu’s departing figure disappear, Shen Qingyun couldn’t help but say, “The Pavilion Master is meeting with Zhang Yu personally? Could he be getting an extraordinary promotion?”

Another group member chimed in, “Another extraordinary promotion? If he gets promoted again, that’s two ranks in one year. Surely they won’t promote him three ranks in a row and make him a Minister, right?”

Shen Qingyun countered, “But Dao Monarch Bu specifically requested him. With the Immortal Clan’s influence, it’s not impossible.”

“Besides,” she continued, “since Group Leader Zhang arrived, he first led the three Martial Dao groups to skyrocket their performance, then participated in the verification of an Immortal Sect-level Technique. He has both the merits and the qualifications. Plus, Dao Monarch Bu’s Martial Arts Pavilion is in urgent need of talent. What’s so impossible about an extraordinary promotion?”

Hearing this, the others sighed inwardly.

True Monarch Martial Village thought to himself, “Even if it’s just Deputy Minister, that’s a Deputy Minister who’s been in the sect for just over a year. That’s far too young.”

“Becoming a Deputy Minister at this age means becoming a Minister, Rank 5 Sect Staff, and breaking through to the Void Refinement Realm are practically guaranteed. Doesn’t that mean establishing a new Dharma Law is just around the corner?”

True Monarch Martial Village knew that only a cultivator who had established a Dharma Law truly held a ticket to the sect’s upper echelons.

“At this rate,” True Monarch Martial Village mused, “wouldn’t it mean that one day, he might even have a chance to climb to the position of Pavilion Master?”

At that moment, True Monarch Martial Village seemed to see a new star of the Myriad Laws Sect rising slowly, about to illuminate all corners.

Meanwhile, in the office of Si Xuxiao.

The Rank 7 Sect Staff and Pavilion Master of the Edict Pavilion, looked at Zhang Yu and said, “Group Leader Zhang, you have done exceptionally well in the year since you joined the sect. Your achievements are plain for all to see, and you have not wasted the opportunities the sect has given you.”

“Now, on behalf of the Edict Pavilion, I hereby appoint you Deputy Minister of the Ethereal Communications Department, promote you to Rank 4 Sect Staff, grant you a Spirit Transformation Certificate, and order you to report to the Former Days Graveyard.”

Hearing these words, Zhang Yu abruptly looked up, only to see Si Xuxiao’s face, as calm as an ancient well, betraying no emotion.

Si Xuxiao continued, “I hope you will not disappoint the sect’s expectations. Continue to strive and shine for the sect there.”

That same day, news of Zhang Yu’s transfer from the Review Department to the Ethereal Communications Department, where he would be responsible for Soul Cultivator maintenance at the Former Days Graveyard, spread throughout the entire Review Department.

The Soul Cultivator maintenance business was small in scale, low in profit, and had always been neglected. Compared to the Martial Dao review work Zhang Yu had previously overseen, it was like the difference between clouds and mud.

And the so-called Former Days Graveyard was a Minor Realm that Myriad Laws Sect disciples avoided like the plague.

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