Chapter 253: Endurance

"Kid, let's talk."

Looking at the being before him, whose body was like crystal and whose hair was a mane of flames, Zhang Yu knew that this was the Starfire True Person, whom he had never met but had heard about from various people.

Following the other to the rooftop of a building, Zhang Yu asked in confusion, "Senior, is there something you need from me?"

Starfire True Person laughed, spurting a string of sparks from his mouth: "Why be so formal as to call me 'Senior'? You and Yu Xinghan are practice partners and classmates—just call me 'Master'."

Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback: "Master?"

"Mm." Starfire True Person acknowledged and then smiled: "Have you decided on a university and major?"

He looked at Zhang Yu with a half-smile and asked: "It wouldn't be Youming University, would it?"

Zhang Yu did not answer directly but asked: "Does Senior think Youming University is unsuitable?"

Starfire True Person said: "Universities select students based on grades, but conversely, when enrolling, students also naturally choose universities based on whether the university suits them."

"Youming University is affiliated with Youming Palace. The arts cultivated by this sect are known for draining qi and blood, flaying skin, and refining living souls. They view all beings under heaven as worthless weeds, stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and will buy or sell anything for sufficient profit."

"If not for the obstruction of other sects, they would happily turn layers 1 through 10 into breeding farms to provide them with cultivation resources."

"I'm not saying this immortal path is good or bad, but do you really think this path suits you?"

Zhang Yu then asked: "Then which university does Senior think is suitable for me?"

Starfire True Person said: "Wanfa University has been the orthodox Daoist school since ancient times, with the goal of selecting the best from the best and cultivating generation after generation of immortal seeds."

Fuji, listening to Starfire True Person's words on the side, explained in Zhang Yu's mind: "Selecting the best from the best means competing to the death, just to produce an immortal through competition. Before becoming immortals, everyone is a beast of burden."

Starfire True Person said: "Students who enter Wanfa University, even if they don't become immortals, can at least display their talents and have ample opportunities for practice."

Fuji smiled: "Ample opportunities for practice means they're telling you that you'll start working part-time and doing overtime in university."

Starfire True Person continued: "Wanfa University also provides excellent guarantees for students. Everything is done according to rules. As long as you work hard, you can earn money, improve your cultivation, and support yourself."

Fuji said: "Being able to support yourself means that your income during university will not be very high."

Starfire True Person said: "Of course, the school also has high demands on teachers and students, aiming to cultivate every student into an elite who can contribute to the company, the sect, and Kunxu."

Fuji understood: "High demands from the school means that daily performance reviews are tough, and both graduation and postgraduate exams are not easy."

"'Make contributions' means that after graduation, you'll work for the company and sect for a long time—they didn't train you for free..."

Listening to Starfire True Person's propaganda and Fuji's explanations, Zhang Yu gradually gained a glimmer of understanding.

"Come to think of it, the various mechanisms for selecting and cultivating immortal talent on Kunxu Layer 1, as well as what Fuji once said about making people struggle to climb up and compete fiercely—these were all created by the Ten Great Sects like Wanfa Sect, right?"

"The difference between Wanfa University and Youming University... maybe it's the difference between needing oxen and horses versus needing pigs and sheep?"

"So the ones who oppose Youming Palace's methods are sects like Wanfa Sect among the Ten Great Sects, right? Because they want oxen and horses that can work, not tasty pigs and sheep."

"Yeah, what else?" Zhang Yu sighed inwardly: "The conflicts among the Ten Great Sects... if not for profit, could they really be about the struggle between good and evil?"

Seeing Zhang Yu in deep thought, Starfire True Person continued: "If you are willing to enter Wanfa University, I can introduce you to my university connections, which should give you a lot of support."

"As for me, I can also serve as your master for the remainder of your high school career and provide you with some guidance."

"Alright, I've said my piece. You can take your time deciding."

"What I said today—tell Bai Zhenzhen about it later. I'm pressed for time and will be leaving shortly."

"Next..." said Starfire True Person: "There's another orthodox deity who wants to speak with you."

The next moment, Deng Bingding appeared and said: "Classmate Zhang, long time no see."

This time, Deng Bingding's purpose in seeking out Zhang Yu was to deal with Wang Yin.

Deng Bingding thought to himself: "The other arrangements Oasis Group has on the first layer are not hard to deal with."

"But Wang Yin... is a troublesome hot potato."

Neither the orthodox deities like themselves nor Starfire True Person, who was willing to take money for jobs, were willing to act against Wang Yin as an individual.

After all, collecting salaries and overtime pay to clean up various underlings under Oasis Group... was fine with them.

But to slap the face of that young master with deep background and get targeted by him—that was another matter entirely.

However, Wang Yin was like a flag erected by Oasis Group on the first layer, representing the confidence of countless people and attracting numerous talents and powerful families to join.

Deng Bingding understood that as long as Wang Yin never fell, no matter how many times the Oasis Group's limbs were severed, they would grow back each time.

But that was easy to say—she had no desire to step forward and suppress this young master herself, and then be remembered by the little young master of the Oasis Group. Under these circumstances, Deng Bingding thought of Zhang Yu.

"Zhang Yu's background is unfathomably deep; he probably isn't afraid of being resented by Wang Yin."

Moreover, Deng Bingding recalled that over the past few months, Zhang Yu had come to Wang Yin's side to act as the Oasis Group's spokesperson, frequently visiting Wang Yin's mansion and attending his gatherings.

Linking this to Zhang Pianpian behind Zhang Yu, and some great deity behind Zhang Pianpian, she realized that Zhang Yu was definitely not from the Youming Palace faction.

"Could this be an arrangement deliberately made by some great deity?"

"From the day Zhang Yu took the Foundation Establishment exam, he had already been drawn into the game."

"Replacing Ye Lingxiao, getting close to Wang Yin, infiltrating the Oasis Group—all to finally have Zhang Yu take down Wang Yin?"

"If that's the case, then Wang Yin came down to run the Oasis Group and gild his resume, while Zhang Yu is meant to gild his by taking down Wang Yin..."

Every time she thought of this, a chill ran through Deng Bingding's heart: "The waters of Kunxu are always so unfathomably deep."

"Both we and the Oasis Group have probably long been within the calculations of this mysterious great deity, step by step walking toward the endgame he has laid out."

As for Zhang Yu, after hearing Deng Bingding's request, he was first taken slightly aback, then wondered if she was joking.

!

"Me? A high school sophomore going up against the Oasis Group's President Wang?"

Zhang Yu thought to himself that this really would get people killed, and not just him—Bai Zhenzhen would likely die too.

But Zhang Yu didn't want to offend a great deity like Deng Bingding either; he just wanted to politely decline.

Deng Bingding said, "In order to quickly advance to the next level and also to replace his spiritual root for a new Foundation Establishment, Wang Yin has voluntarily crippled his own cultivation. He no longer has peak Foundation Establishment strength. As for his magical artifacts and talismans, there are ways to deal with them..."

In short, Deng Bingding's meaning was one: they could create an opportunity for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to deal with Wang Yin.

But after much persuasion, Deng Bingding found that Zhang Yu still repeatedly refused.

At first Deng Bingding thought Zhang Yu's refusal was just for show, but soon she realized that no matter how she tried to convince him, he wouldn't accept.

Yet Deng Bingding was not angry; instead, new thoughts arose in her mind.

"Zhang Yu contacted Zhang Pianpian on the second level earlier; he must have received instructions from above."

"If he's refusing me now... does that mean it's not yet time to strike?"

Deng Bingding pondered this over and over, feeling more and more convinced that this was his intention. So she no longer insisted and let Zhang Yu leave.

Watching from the side, Xinghuo Zhenren frowned and said, "Letting a high school student go after Wang Yin—what exactly are you righteous deities thinking? Even if you're afraid of getting burned and want to use someone else as a knife, isn't this going too far?"

Deng Bingding said gloomily, "Hmph, Young Sparkfire, this is exactly why you climb up and then fall back down."

"This Zhang Yu is not as simple as you think."

"For the matters on the first level to be completely settled, and to drive Wang Yin back up, the final hand will likely have to fall through Zhang Yu."

Zhang Yu returned to the apartment and saw Bai Zhenzhen, who had been cultivating, stand up and say cheerfully, "Yu, you're back! I ordered some good food—let's eat together."

Bai Zhenzhen still didn't know the purpose of Zhang Yu's outing. At that moment, looking at Bai Zhenzhen's happy expression, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly: "It wasn't easy to finally have a stable life like this—how could I go and risk my life?"

"I don't want to fight for my life anymore, and I don't want A-Zhen to lose half her life like before at every turn."

"Endure, Zhang Yu."

"Endure silently, build up strength silently, until you're strong enough, until the day you can stand out..."

In the following period, the people around President Wang noticed that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen rarely appeared at gatherings anymore.

Many felt that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had fallen out of favor with President Wang, and a surge of delight rose in their hearts. They worked even harder to please President Wang, thinking of taking their place.

At a gathering, Ye Mantian cursed, "A poor dog like Zhang Yu—you can't feed him too much. These guys who crawled up from the bottom, if you feed them too much, they start thinking they have backing, get cocky, and won't obey."

Someone chimed in, "Exactly, you can't give too much money to poor people. Throwing money at them works at first, but once you give too much, they think they're rich too, and they become less obedient."

President Wang looked calmly at the people all around him who were utterly subservient and now, because of his little move, were all joining in cursing Zhang Yu. He watched them like a group of begging dogs, a cold sneer in his heart.

He had seen too many of these begging, subservient dogs, and had raised too many of them as well.

This kind of dog, the longer you raise it, the more dependent it becomes, its courage also grows smaller, and it becomes more obedient. When faced with trouble, it doesn't even dare to bare its teeth. It is so well-behaved that even when its own interests are harmed, it doesn't dare to make a sound.

Wang Yin once liked raising this kind of dog, but he soon discovered that this kind of dog was not up to important tasks. This was also the point of divergence between him and his mother.