Chapter 325: The Ranking Taught Everyone Respect

Watching Zhang Yu, who still didn’t know his ranking, Li Xiao sighed inwardly: “So this is what it means to have a calm demeanor in the face of great events?”

“On the very night after the exam ended, he didn’t even bother to refresh the rankings right away… to check…”

“Steady, truly too steady.”

“After the exam, knowing that his strength had improved dramatically and his results were about to skyrocket.”

“Yet he could not even look—this spirit of being undisturbed by external distractions is truly remarkable…”

Li Xiao tried to put himself in that position; he was sure he absolutely could not do the same. Knowing his results would be good, he would probably find it unbearable not to start refreshing the rankings the moment the time came.

At the same time, in the Foundation Establishment class group, the homeroom teacher Jiao Lei was still speaking.

Jiao Lei Zhenren: I especially want to commend classmate Zhang Yu.

Jiao Lei Zhenren: I still remember that shortly after classes began in June, classmate Zhang Yu gradually fell to the middle-to-bottom level.

Jiao Lei Zhenren: But in just eight short months, he climbed step by step to second place in the class, achieving a transformation-like improvement. This is worth studying carefully by every student in the class.

Jiao Lei Zhenren: Of course, besides him, the top three students in the class are all excellent, and I have already applied for this semester’s scholarship loan for them.

Inside the construction site, Zhang Yu’s hand pouring concrete gradually slowed down.

“University teachers really have their unique insights—their evaluations of students are penetrating.”

First screenshotting and saving the class ranking and the teacher’s message, Zhang Yu then looked at the other replies.

…

Che Yufei, who had been a colleague for three months, was also quite curious about Zhang Yu’s final grades.

After all, in his view, Zhang Yu looked like he could collapse at any moment, yet he still insisted on taking medicine—it seemed he had become completely obsessed with university.

“Going to take the final exam in this state… the results will be pretty dismal, right?”

Out of curiosity, during the time after returning, every day when the rankings updated, while refreshing his own ranking, he would also take a look at Zhang Yu’s ranking.

And today, when he looked, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed inwardly: “Second place?”

“Even higher than that rich fourth-layer classmate of his, Gongshu Jin?”

“This guy… if he can successfully survive until graduation, I can’t even imagine how high his salary will be.”

At this moment, Che Yufei felt as if he had seen a rising star in civil engineering.

Taking a screenshot of the ranking, Che Yufei sent it to Shi Yunxiang: Xiang, look at this Zhang Yu’s ranking.

Then Che Yufei thought for a moment and sent a message to Zhang Yu: Impressive, jumped to second place in the class.

…

In the Spirit Realm.

As a soul cultivator student from Fengdu Information Vocational and Technical College, Zhao Tianxing swept his gaze across the comments on various platforms before him.

“Fuck! Garbage review! Paid shilling, wish you go bankrupt tomorrow and be a soul cultivator for life!”

Zhao Tianxing’s gaze shifted, he chose to delete the comment for the reason of insult and abuse, then muted the person for a month.

“Nascent Soul Lord recommends courses, latest techniques and resources, Hehuan cultivator’s personal coaching service, click my avatar.”

Zhao Tianxing silently chose to delete it for the reason of prohibited marketing, then permanently muted the person.

Just as an avalanche of platform comments was sweeping past his eyes and Zhao Tianxing was continuously processing them,

a sudden notification sound came through.

Zhao Tianxing’s mind stirred slightly, and he immediately looked over.

Since entering the second layer, as his various skills as a soul cultivator continuously improved, Zhao Tianxing had gradually integrated them into his daily life.

For instance, the notification sound at this very moment was one of the automated operations he had set up himself.

There were many specific notification conditions: reminders for soon-to-expire coupons, reminders for soon-to-expire Spirit Realm services, reminders for scoring deals on various platforms… and also reminders for changes in classmates.

Another example was the reminder for changes in friends’ displayed rankings.

“Zhang Yu is second in the class?”

"He's really strong—even on the second level, he's still this strong."

Zhao Tianxing was about to send a message, but after thinking for a moment, he first opened a document and started writing.

After reading the version he had written, he fell into hesitation again, and finally picked what he felt was the most natural one and sent it.

Zhao Tianxing: "Impressive."

Just as Zhao Tianxing was about to send a second sentence...

The next moment, a warning message appeared before him.

Warning: During work hours, chatting not related to business is prohibited.

Zhang Yu saw the message from Zhao Tianxing and replied: "Just a small achievement, nothing worth mentioning."

Since the other person didn't reply again, Zhang Yu didn't mind—after all, soul cultivators were very busy.

Zhang Yu then casually clicked on messages from others—mostly from a few classmates and some fellow townsmen who had added him as a friend and noticed the change in ranking.

And of course, his good roommates.

In the dormitory group chat, Yu Xinghan said: "Bro, aren't you going to send a red envelope?"

Zhang Yu replied: "You're 9th, in the top 10, and you didn't send one either."

Zhang Yu still remembered that on his first day back in the dorm, Yu Xinghan had insisted on dragging him over, asking Zhang Yu to see what was different about him, and then kept showing off his 7th place class ranking at the time.

And Yu Xinghan also remembered that when he first saw Zhang Yu with white hair, he was relieved that he hadn't been chosen for that field project.

"Zhang Yu has been worn down to this state—if I went, would I even come back? Those civil engineering bastards don't treat students like beasts of burden; they treat them like soul cultivators!"

But seeing Zhang Yu suddenly jump to second place today, Yu Xinghan had to admit that these three months had indeed brought him huge gains.

However, watching Zhang Yu recover day by day over the past week, Yu Xinghan understood that he truly couldn't learn to do that.

Yu Xinghan thought to himself, "This constitution is too freakish."

At the same time, Le Mulang appeared in the dorm group chat: "What happened?"

Zhang Yu quickly sent the class ranking and the screenshot of Jiao Lei, but got no response from Le Mulang.

Zhang Yu: "@Le Mulang?"

Le Mulang forwarded the screenshot to her brother Le Jingchen and said: "Zhang Yu has made huge progress. Can we raise the price of Feather Juice?"

Seeing Zhang Yu @ her, Le Mulang quickly replied: "Zhang Yu, you're amazing! When are you coming back to the dorm?"

Zhang Yu: "Working overtime. Maybe in the morning."

Just then, Zhang Pianpian also popped up. She didn't speak in the dorm group chat, but sent a private message: "I secretly watched the video of your exam. You acted well, but next time you can use a bit more blood."

Zhang Pianpian: "Desperation is a good cover, and you controlled your score well. Second place is perfect—getting first would still be too flashy."

Zhang Yu looked at his sister's message and thought: "No... I was actually really putting in effort, dammit."

In the blink of an eye, the night passed. After working all night, Zhang Yu's body had mostly recovered.

"This Crippled Ox Body Sacrifice Mind Art is really too useful."

"I wonder where I can find the matching chain diagram set."

As he walked out of the construction site, Zhang Yu felt that the ranking above his head had become even more vivid and eye-catching.

Along the way, he could occasionally see workers attracted by the ranking above his head, looking at him with respectful gazes.

Qi refiners, one after another, kept stepping back, afraid of accidentally blocking his path.

Even some upperclassmen in civil engineering nodded slightly when they met Zhang Yu's eyes.

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly: "Fuji, this university ranking does have its merits—it makes people respect each other more."

Upon hearing this, Fuji cursed in her heart: "You sure didn't say that before."

But thinking about Zhang Yu's performance in this final exam, Fuji was also secretly shocked: "This kid Zhang Yu—every time I feel his talent is already astonishing, he manages to show something even more incredible."

As the one who stayed by Zhang Yu's side 24 hours a day, even witnessing him rewarding himself, Fuji deeply understood... Zhang Yu definitely didn't have this constitution to casually eat life-shortening pills before.

"I always feel like this guy... has secretly gotten stronger somewhere without me knowing, but I've been with him every moment, so what's going on?"

"Could he be a reincarnated immortal?"

"Impossible, how could a reincarnated immortal be this poor?! How could he be reincarnated into the First Layer?"

Just as Zhang Yu was sighing and leaving the construction site, Sheng Jie, who was at the entrance, saw him and was slightly taken aback.

Sheng Jie stared at the ranking above Zhang Yu's head and murmured to himself, "Second in the Foundation Establishment class? Zhang Yu is actually second in the Foundation Establishment class?"

"'Yesterday... Could it be that he only took the exam yesterday, and so the ranking was updated in the middle of the night?'"

Just as Sheng Jie was shocked, he sensed Zhang Yu's gaze and instinctively nodded to him, exchanging a gesture.

Just then, a security guard who was also a student said, "Isn't that your classmate? He..."

The other person's words were only half spoken before they got stuck in his throat.

The ranking of second in the Foundation Establishment class above Zhang Yu's head seemed to carry a tangible pressure, firmly blocking the throats of the security guards.

They understood that someone who could achieve second place in the Foundation Establishment class was definitely no ordinary person.

Watching Zhang Yu leave with respect, the security guards immediately gathered around Sheng Jie and asked curiously, "Is he really from your First Layer?"

……

Returning to the dormitory, he took his morning medicine, changed clothes, and prepared to go to class as usual.

Although the final exams of the first semester had just ended, the second semester was coming up next.

Starting from the coming March until the final exams of the second semester in August, the entire freshman year would be completely over.

Today, when Zhang Yu walked into the classroom, he could feel many pairs of eyes looking at him.

At the same time, Li Xiao waved at him and Yu Xinghan and said, "Bro Yu! There's a seat here!"

Classes, blood draws, cultivation... in the blink of an eye, a day passed.

That evening, Zhang Yu opened the communication link with Bai Zhenzhen as usual, and heard her say, "Not bad, Yu Zi, second in the class."

Zhang Yu smiled smugly and then said, "This result can barely be considered worthy of my efforts."

Bai Zhenzhen said, "Mom sent you some more meat. Your body is depleted now, so you need to supplement more."

"And when will you fix your hair? That white hair looks too unlucky; it feels old and poor, easily looked down upon."

"I know, I know." Zhang Yu looked at the formal dress on Bai Zhenzhen and asked curiously, "Zhen, are you attending an event?"

Bai Zhenzhen nodded. "Mm, the opening ceremony of the Top Ten Tournament. This year's Top Ten Tournament is being held at Tianjian University, so I just came to take a look."