Chapter 360: Competition Decision, Taiqing Talismans

After a long while, Ma Xuan finally replied to Cong Na: No need to switch.

Ma Xuan: Anyway, the main force is us. Whether Ji Yuanshu in this position is a bit stronger or a bit weaker, the difference isn't big.

Ma Xuan: And since Zhang Yu hasn't trained with us for so long, it would be a hassle to rebuild synergy.

Ma Xuan: Let's go with Ji Yuanshu.

Although Ma Xuan gave a bunch of reasons, deep down he knew that not switching Ji Yuanshu wasn't because of those reasons.

Looking at the ranking chart, Ma Xuan thought to himself: "The old director's lifespan is almost up..."

Ma Xuan knew that in the Civil Engineering Department, the current leaders were Director Lin of the Peace faction and Director Gao of the War faction.

As for the actual head director of Civil Engineering—the leader of Ma Xuan's own faction—in the last decade or so, his funds haven't been able to cover expenses, and he gradually cannot afford the consumption for life extension; his remaining years are nearly spent.

"The Finance Department can provide a loan to the old director."

Ma Xuan thought: "For the sake of this loan, the old director, who originally stood on neither side, has decided to side with the Peace faction."

Ma Xuan understood that compared to individual student scores and rankings, the department's alignment was more important.

Just then, Cong Na replied: If that's the case, Zhang Yu might quit the team, right?

Ma Xuan: There's no helping it then.

…

Inside the 100-square-meter suite on the 450th floor.

Ji Yuanshu looked at the message Ma Xuan had sent in the competition team, and his internal organs couldn't help trembling.

He tried hard to suppress it, but couldn't no matter what; in the end, with a *pfft*, he spat out a large mouthful of blood, and his entire aura weakened at an inconceivable speed.

At that moment, with the results announced, he was no longer the number one in people's minds.

The confidence others had in him kept dissipating, and the fortune he had been suppressing in his mind also scattered in all directions.

Even the fortune he originally possessed—the faith people once had in him as a Level 6 student—began to dissipate in great quantities.

Feeling the change in fortune within his body, Ji Yuanshu thought to himself: "These people—just a few nice words from me, and they get expectations of me that exceed my actual strength."

"And once I fail once, they can't wait to trample me into the mud, constantly revising downward their judgment of my strength."

Ji Yuanshu let out a cold laugh, knowing that fortune, like public opinion, is always like this—either overestimated or underestimated; there has never been any objective evaluation.

But feeling the backlash inside his body at that moment, a bitter expression still appeared on Ji Yuanshu's face.

Back then, he had flaunted his strength, guided public opinion, and gathered fortune. Under the blessing of fortune, his mana flow became smoother, his Dao heart more flawless, even his physical blood and qi became more vigorous, and even his thinking and memory improved to varying degrees.

Now, with the fortune backlash, not only were those boosts gone, but his mana flow became sluggish, his physical reactions somewhat dull, and his thinking, memory, and other aspects also declined to varying degrees.

It was as if his entire state had suddenly plummeted to rock bottom.

But that wasn't the most terrifying part.

Ji Yuanshu tried circulating the techniques within his body and felt that the techniques he had once mastered effortlessly were now full of mistakes when activated, always out of sync.

Techniques that were originally Level 15 or Level 18 could now only exhibit the effectiveness of Level 10, or even Level 8.

All this caused a severe regression in his strength.

"It'll take at least a month or two to gradually recover."

"It will delay quite a few courses and also delay the improvement of basic data..."

Messages kept popping up in his eye display from time to time, but Ji Yuanshu didn't want to look at any of them.

He knew they were nothing but sarcastic remarks, mockery, or some people showing off and bragging.

But the message from Director Lin, he had no choice but to read.

Director Lin: The matter with the Finance Department, put it aside for now.

Director Lin: In the coming period, focus on studying Civil Engineering.

Director Lin: You must suppress Zhang Yu. Don't let him get first place again and learn the Seven Ultimates.

Director Lin: Also, in a few years when he goes to take the military certification exam, you go and knock him out.

Hearing what Director Lin said, Ji Yuanshu's heart skipped a beat, feeling that his greatest fear had come true.

"They won't let me transfer to the finance department?"

Even before Ji Yuanshu started high school, he knew his future goal was to enroll in All-Dharma University, master the Three Marvels in the civil engineering department, then transfer to finance...

This had long been his life plan—a goal he had pursued day and night, paying countless prices to achieve.

But at this very moment... that life plan was thoroughly overturned.

"Stay and study civil engineering?"

"Master, don’t you know what studying civil engineering means?"

"It was you who told me not to wallow in the mire of civil engineering..."

Reading Director Lin's message over and over, Ji Yuanshu could almost feel the deep disappointment hidden between the lines.

Beyond that, he also read another meaning from it.

"They want me to stay in civil engineering to obstruct Zhang Yu? To sabotage Zhang Yu?"

Ji Yuanshu gave a bitter laugh, knowing that at this moment... he had shifted from a long-term investment to a short-term one.

Never before had he so desperately wanted someone dead.

"Zhang Yu..."

But Ji Yuanshu understood that killing Zhang Yu would be useless. Only by defeating him honorably—by achieving a higher rank with absolute strength—could he possibly regain his master's regard.

"Defeating Zhang Yu is just the first step."

"I will graduate as the top student of the department, then enter graduate studies in finance and get my life back on track."

Feeling the weakness in his body, Ji Yuanshu murmured to himself: "But to reach that point, I need stronger help."

Gradually making up his mind, a strange dialog box appeared in Ji Yuanshu’s eye socket.

Ji Yuanshu: I accept the wish you mentioned.

Ji Yuanshu: Tell me how the ritual goes.

On the 667th floor of the construction site.

In Zhang Yu's mind, the twin-headed white ox let out a roar, and his Immeasurable Mind Inner Dharma Body was pushed to level 11.

Feeling his thinking speed quicken slightly, Zhang Yu continued multitasking—glancing at the messages popping up in his eye socket while circulating his profound energy and carrying out his construction work.

At the same time, his mental cultivation method continued to operate at the realm of merging spirit and flesh, growing stronger step by step.

In the blink of an eye, the night passed. When Zhang Yu returned to his new dormitory, he found that no one else had arrived yet besides himself.

He first took his share of the prepared medicine and ate it. Soon after, he saw Yu Xinghan returning to the dorm with a hint of a smile.

Yu Xinghan said: "I succeeded in becoming a disciple!"

As a passer of the first-layer foundation-building exam, Yu Xinghan also had the right to designate a mentor, just like Zhang Yu.

But just like with the Magnetic Pole True Lord, the mentor Yu Xinghan selected also made a demand—that his annual ranking must be in the top five of the class.

If he failed to meet the requirement, even if Yu Xinghan designated him as mentor, he wouldn't receive much guidance.

So after the semester results came out yesterday, Yu Xinghan took the scores and went to see that person, finally successfully becoming his disciple.

Zhang Yu asked curiously: "What kind of mentor?"

Yu Xinghan replied: "It's Professor Gong, who studies construction site health management."

"Huh?" Zhang Yu was shocked.

Construction site health management? There's research on that? Can it have any future?

Yu Xinghan seemed to understand Zhang Yu's surprise and explained: "Professor Gong is a newly appointed professor."

"But that doesn't mean Professor Gong is weak."

"You have to understand, as immortal cultivation develops more and more prosperously, research in each field becomes more complex, more difficult, with more and more subdivisions. Many research directions are very obscure, and achieving results becomes increasingly hard."

"The fact that he could forge a Golden Core and become a professor in this era only shows that his talent is even more terrifying than those Golden Core True Persons from decades or even centuries ago."

"Heh heh, and besides, I'm genuinely interested in what he's researching."

Just as Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu were chatting, Li Xiao called out to them from outside, having come specifically to attend the first class of sophomore year with them.

Yu Xinghan opened the door, and upon seeing Li Xiao in front of him, he was momentarily startled. Staring at the other's hands, he said, "You switched Arcane Prosthetics?"

Li Xiao smiled and said, "Yeah, after painstakingly saving up spirit coins, I exchanged them for a pair of Diamond Genesis hand prosthetics."

"No way..." Yu Xinghan questioned, "How can you afford Diamond Genesis? Is it a counterfeit?"

Li Xiao said, "Why would I buy a fake? It's real Diamond Genesis, genuine Diamond Genesis."

Looking at the Arcane Prosthetic info the other sent, Yu Xinghan said angrily, "Why are you so vain?"

"Why would you go and buy Diamond Genesis? Are you even the kind of person who can afford Diamond Genesis? Is it a zero-down, 30-year installment plan? Doing something like that, people on the street will just think you're using a fake..."

Seeing Li Xiao's brand-name Arcane Prosthetic, Yu Xinghan felt all the good mood from the morning vanish.

But the next moment, as he looked at the content of the Arcane Prosthetic info, Yu Xinghan suddenly laughed again: "It's ninth-hand."

Yu Xinghan patted his chest and thought to himself, "Damn, you scared me. I thought you'd also gotten better and your credit limit had gone up."

With a big smile on his face, he patted Li Xiao on the shoulder and praised, "Ninth-hand is good! It's cost-effective to use, and the performance isn't worse than a new one."

"We college students should value diligence and thrift—spend where you should, save where you should."

While Yu Xinghan and Li Xiao were chatting, Zhang Pianpian also returned to the dormitory.

Zhang Yu glanced at the top of her head and saw that his senior-year sister had now become the 44th in the Foundation Establishment realm of the Talisman Department.

"Sister has improved again."

"But this still shouldn't be her true strength, right? I remember she has to control her scores."

Zhang Yu could imagine that Zhang Pianpian would keep improving step by step, entering the top ranks of the department at a relatively moderate pace.

Then Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Pianpian's chest, at her Dao Seed Talisman of Grand Purity.

Last night, when his savings surpassed 56 spirit coins, he finally had the chance to activate that Talisman of Grand Purity.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "It's time to have a talk with sister."

So Zhang Yu sent Zhang Pianpian a message: "Senior, are you short on money?"

Zhang Pianpian: "Why ask that all of a sudden?"

Zhang Yu: "Before this, you were already in the top 50 of the department, but the place you live and the things you use are all very ordinary."

Zhang Yu: "Have you been saving and hoarding money all along, planning to spend it on some major expense?"

Zhang Pianpian wasn't surprised by this—after all, it wasn't a hard conclusion to draw—and casually replied, "What? Do you want to lend me money?"

Zhang Yu: "I currently have 56 spirit coins. How much do you need?"

Zhang Pianpian was momentarily stunned, as if she hadn't expected Zhang Yu to have saved so many spirit coins without using them.

For college students, that was absolutely a huge sum of money, enough to cause brothers to turn against each other or fathers and daughters to become enemies.

Zhang Pianpian looked deeply at Zhang Yu and sent a message: "You don't need them yourself? You're willing to lend them to me?"