Chapter 429

Looking at the message from Su Yanyang and recalling the contrast between his earlier and later remarks, Ma Xuan felt an incredible guess rising in his mind.

He replied: Didn’t Ping Han get the Military Certificate?

Su Yanyang: [Military Certificate Public List]

Seeing the name on the list, Ma Xuan exclaimed: Zhang Yu?

Ma Xuan: How could it be Zhang Yu?

Ma Xuan: How is it possible to be Zhang Yu?

Ma Xuan was all too clear about what the Military Certificate represented.

He thought to himself: “A student who obtains this certificate will have a smooth path ahead when taking the graduate entrance exam or the Golden Core qualification exam… He’s already at the half-step master level compared to ordinary undergraduates.”

Thinking of this, Ma Xuan felt both jealousy and admiration. He asked: Didn’t you say he did terribly on the exam, that he couldn’t even stand up when it ended?

Su Yanyang: [Crying Emoji] I have no idea either!

Su Yanyang: I can’t figure it out either!

Ma Xuan: Could there be some shady business?

Ma Xuan: If there is, we should hurry up and patch things up with Zhang Yu.

Seeing Ma Xuan’s message, Su Yanyang deeply agreed.

Ma Xuan: Also, what’s our next move?

Su Yanyang: Hold on, I’ll ask my teacher about the situation.

So Su Yanyang sent a message to his teacher, Lingyue Zhenjun, wanting to inquire about the situation of this year’s Military Certificate exam.

But the message seemed to vanish without a trace, and Su Yanyang waited over an hour without a reply.

Su Yanyang wasn’t too surprised by this—after all, as the saying goes, the older you get, the busier you are.

And that old director of the Civil Engineering department, with his own lifespan drawing to a close, was busier than ever, running around without a moment’s rest. Students like Su Yanyang were mostly left to fend for themselves, often receiving no reply or one that came days later.

So after thinking for a moment, Su Yanyang sent messages to Ping Han and Xiao Yunji, who had also taken the exam, asking if they knew any details.

Su Yanyang: Did you see the Military Certificate results?

……

That evening, Ping Han glanced at his message bar, then checked Mo Shangjin’s as usual, and saw that the other still hadn’t sent anything.

“Hmph, even if Mo Shangjin doesn’t want me to go back, Teacher Gao will definitely ask me to come back for the sake of the competition rankings.”

Then Ping Han received Su Yanyang’s message. He rubbed his hands together and hurriedly opened the Military Certificate publication address.

Seeing the new list of Military Certificate recipients released, Ping Han clicked on it with excitement.

“It’s here! Finally here!”

But when he opened the file and saw the name inside, he was momentarily stunned.

Ping Han deleted the file, downloaded it again, and opened it once more.

After repeating this several times, he muttered: “Impossible.”

“This is absolutely impossible!”

“I’ve been cultivating in university for ten years, breaking and rebuilding nine times—how could I lose to someone who has only studied for two and a half years?”

Ping Han directly sent a message to Principal Gao: Why is it Zhang Yu?

Principal Gao: He performed better than you.

Ping Han: Nonsense! How is that possible?

Principal Gao: [Military Certificate Exam Data]

Principal Gao: His kill count is higher than yours.

Ping Han: In a civil engineering exam, why are we comparing kill counts?

Ping Han: Look at this data! My construction volume is way higher than his!

Ping Han: Shouldn't civil engineering be compared on this matter? Doing solid, down-to-earth work—isn't that what you've always taught us?

Director Gao: This was a joint decision by the judges and the Heavenly Court. I'm just a guest.

Ping Han: I don't accept this.

Ping Han: I want to file a complaint!

Director Gao: Ping Han, calm down.

Ping Han: This is my last year of university! My military certificate got blacklisted—how am I supposed to stay calm?

Ping Han: I'm your disciple too!

Ping Han: Why, when I was at my lowest point, wouldn't you lend me money?

Ping Han: Why, when I finally managed to get back on my feet and was fighting for my last chance in university, wouldn't you help me?

Director Gao: Ping Han, you need to understand that in the exam environment, I have no way to speak up for my own disciple.

Ping Han: This matter isn't going to end here.

……

Xiao Yunji looked at the message from Su Yanyang, paused in slight surprise, then quickly logged onto the website and downloaded the public notice.

Seeing Zhang Yu's name on it... Xiao Yunji felt utterly bewildered.

Ping Han, with ten years of accumulated strength and the great momentum of his divine transformation, would be perfectly reasonable to earn the military certificate.

And she, Xiao Yunji, had poured money in for years, even paying to transplant shape-shifting arcane remains and abandoning her human form—earning the certificate would also have been justified.

But what about Zhang Yu? Hadn't he been severely wounded by the Yellow Turban Warriors and collapsed?

A faint sense of resentment began to stir in Xiao Yunji's heart, especially when she thought about how much she had sacrificed for this exam, only to lose to him. That resentment gradually turned into bitterness.

So Xiao Yunji immediately asked her teacher, Director Lin, what the reason was.

After a moment, Director Lin replied: Don't talk nonsense.

Director Lin: An exam presided over by Qiyun True Lord, Tianxiang True Lord, and the Fifth-Grade Righteous Deity—how could there be any backroom dealing?

Xiao Yunji: But Zhang Yu only enrolled two and a half years ago, and after the exam he ended up in that condition...

Xiao Yunji: How exactly did he win?

Director Lin originally didn't want to boost the morale of the War Faction or dampen the spirit of the Peace Faction—especially since he didn't think much of the way Zhang Yu had won.

But he also didn't want his student spreading rumors about backroom deals, which might eventually provoke the principal's displeasure.

So after thinking for a moment, he replied: What I'm about to tell you, keep it to yourself—don't spread it around.

Director Lin: Ping Han's performance was indeed very good.

Director Lin: His construction scale was the largest in the entire exam.

Xiao Yunji: Then why did Zhang Yu win?

Director Lin: Because Zhang Yu, with a much lower construction volume, completely wiped out all the Yellow Turban Warriors on the exam field.

Director Lin: [Military Certificate Exam Data]

"Completely wiped out?" Xiao Yunji's heart shuddered as she opened the file Director Lin had sent.

Seeing Zhang Yu's name at the top in terms of number of kills, Xiao Yunji took a deep breath. "He actually... wiped out all the Yellow Turban Warriors?"

She recalled the final wave of Yellow Turban Warriors surging in like a tide during the exam, but she simply couldn't figure out how Zhang Yu had managed that.

So she directly asked Director Lin the question troubling her.

Director Lin replied: What else could those laborers from the War Faction rely on? They hammered their way through with their own fists, of course. Otherwise, why would he be so badly injured?

Xiao Yunji's heart jolted at these words: "You mean... Zhang Yu achieved that by relying on his own martial arts?"

"I remember that apart from his ocular remains, he has no other arcane remains, right?" "So... he annihilated every Yellow Turban Warrior in the exam field with pure martial arts?"

If, before the exam, someone had told Xiao Yunji that they intended to obtain the military certificate while only equipped with ocular remains, she would have thought that person had a problem with his brain.

But now that she heard someone had actually done it, she suddenly felt that this person with the supposed brain problem was really, truly powerful.

At the same time, the reluctance in Xiaoyun Ji's heart gradually faded.

Su Yanyang: Any news?

Looking at Su Yanyang's message, Xiaoyun Ji thought for a moment and replied: Don't spread what I'm about to tell you.

Xiaoyun Ji: Zhang Yu used his martial arts to wipe out all the Yellow Turban Warriors, so he got the military certificate.

Su Yanyang: How is that possible?

Xiaoyun Ji: [Military Certificate Exam Data]

Xiaoyun Ji: Look at his kill count, isn't it number one?

Su Yanyang stared in shock at the file sent by Xiaoyun Ji, repeatedly comparing the data of each examinee.

"Zhang Yu... really wiped out all the Yellow Turban Warriors? His kill count is even higher than Ping Han's?"

"Why has his strength improved so quickly?"

"Could it be that he bought more Qiongjiang Coins than Ping Han?"

Su Yanyang was a very practical person, and also quick to change his mind. After having solid evidence, it took him only a few seconds to accept the facts before him.

Su Yanyang thought to himself: "The accomplished one is the teacher, the wealthy one is the elder. Zhang Yu can now be considered my senior brother."

Just then, Ma Xuan sent a message: How is it?

Su Yanyang: Sigh, the next round is hopeless.

Ma Xuan: Why? What exactly happened?

Su Yanyang: Let me show you something.

Su Yanyang: Remember, don't spread it.

Su Yanyang: [Military Certificate Exam Data]

Su Yanyang: Zhang Yu used pure martial arts to slaughter all the Yellow Turban Warriors.

Su Yanyang: According to my guess, he might have earned more through Qiongjiang Coins than Ping Han.

Ma Xuan stared in shock at the message from Su Yanyang and asked: Isn't that even stronger than Ping Han?

Ma Xuan: What should we do in the next round? Surrender directly?

Su Yanyang: It's what you all should do.

Ma Xuan was slightly stunned, and the next moment he received the notification that Su Yanyang had left the competition group and withdrawn from the competition team.

Ma Xuan: You're not participating in the competition anymore?

Su Yanyang: I'm going to find a team that can get into the top ten without having to fight Zhang Yu.

Su Yanyang: Besides you and Zhang Yu's team, there are still 18 other teams. I don't believe I can't find one that can help me boost my overall score.

Looking at Su Yanyang's reply, Ma Xuan sighed, his mind in a tangle.

"What's the point of fighting?"

"Have to think of a way..."

Just then, Ji Yuanshu asked: Senior Ma Xuan, why did Senior Su Yanyang leave?

Seeing Ji Yuanshu, Ma Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he said: For the next round against Zhang Yu, you know Su Yanyang has a foolproof strategy, a sure-win method, he's the key to our team.

Ma Xuan: So he wants to raise his price temporarily, needs to be paid.

Ma Xuan: But it's fine, I'll persuade him to come back in a moment.

Ma Xuan: By the way, you'll be the captain of this competition team.

Ji Yuanshu: Ah? Me as captain?

Ignoring Ji Yuanshu's bewilderment, Ma Xuan forcibly transferred the captain position of the competition team to him, then urged him to accept.

Soon after Ji Yuanshu agreed, he was shocked to discover that Ma Xuan had also withdrawn from the team.

"What's going on?!"

"To persuade Su Yanyang to come back, do they need to leave the team?"

Ji Yuanshu repeatedly sent messages to Ma Xuan, but never got a reply.

During this time, he discovered that the other members had left one by one, leaving him, the team leader, alone.

Ji Yuanshu: Senior? Why did all of you withdraw?

After a long time, Ma Xuan replied: Zhang Yu got his military certificate.

Ji Yuanshu: How could he possibly beat Ping Han?

Ma Xuan: [Military Certificate Exam Data]

Ma Xuan: I'm sending this data to you. Don't spread it around.

After reading Ma Xuan's message several times, Ji Yuanshu finally confirmed that he hadn't misread it or been hallucinating.

"Zhang Yu has already obtained the military certificate?" Ji Yuanshu gritted his teeth and thought bitterly: "Is he already halfway to a master's degree?"

"And he's only a junior... That means once he gathers all Seven Ultimates, he can use the divine power of Tiankunlun to move mountains and make money? By then his income will skyrocket, probably ten times mine."

At that thought, Ji Yuanshu felt the seven credit cards in his mind grow heavier.

Finally, Ji Yuanshu replied: I paid to join the team!

Ma Xuan: So they made you team leader directly.

Looking at Ma Xuan's message, Ji Yuanshu fumed: "Damn it... at least let me withdraw first!"

Looking at the competition team now only consisting of himself, Ji Yuanshu wondered what to do.

After thinking for a long while, Ji Yuanshu's eyes suddenly moved. He sent a message to Bu Ziran, a teammate from the previous year with whom he had parted after a quarrel.

Ji Yuanshu: Senior Bu, there's an open spot on my competition team. Would you like to transfer over?

Bu Ziran: [Military Certificate Exam Data]

Bu Ziran: [Fear] You want me to go against Zhang Yu?

Bu Ziran: Are you trying to make me go bankrupt?

Ji Yuanshu then asked Cong Na, another teammate from the previous year.

Cong Na: [Wiping sweat]

Cong Na: Junior, that's not very fair of you.

Cong Na: [Military Certificate Public List]

Looking at the document the other party sent, Ji Yuanshu's face flashed with bitterness. He cursed inwardly: "How do they all know? Why did the news spread so fast?"

Ji Yuanshu had an idea and decided to find some junior-year students.

He directly sent a message to Li Xiao, asking if he wanted to join the team.

He remembered that Li Xiao had been begging everywhere to be a substitute member, but couldn't even afford one slot. Now, if he didn't charge him, he might be able to recruit him directly.

But seeing the other's reply, Ji Yuanshu couldn't help asking: How do you also know that Zhang Yu got the military certificate?

Li Xiao: Zhang Yu posted it on his Moments.

Li Xiao: Didn't you see it?

Ji Yuanshu quickly switched to Zhang Yu's Moments and found that he had already posted the public list of the military certificate, with all kinds of comments and likes below.