Chapter 563: Magnetic Pole's Treasure

As a renowned expert in the refining world, True Lord Ciji’s many famous designs had naturally been studied in detail by others.

And in the eyes of True Lord Xuepu, Zhang Yu’s design drawings were full of the flavor of Ciji.

Not only in the use and combination of many techniques, but also in some small habits and details of the design drawings, they were filled with a sense of Ciji.

Thinking of this, True Lord Xuepu’s heart stirred slightly: “Earlier, news came that Ciji’s research on the Nascent Soul Dharma Remains has gone beyond simple qi-blood exchange and mana exchange, reaching the level of memory exchange.”

“Has she even completed memory screening and can now exchange designated memories?”

True Lord Xuepu looked at Zhang Yu’s design drawing emerging before him and thought to himself: “Could this Zhang Yu be the result?”

“Did True Lord Ciji pass on her own refining experience to Zhang Yu?”

For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through True Lord Xuepu’s mind, as if countless images were flickering, drawing him into deep thought.

At the same time, the judges had all finished scoring, and Zhang Yu’s score came out.

“488 points.” True Lord Xianyin looked at this score and thought to himself: “I never expected… the champion of this design competition would be Zhang Yu, and such an overwhelmingly dominant champion at that.”

“Did Ciji do this intentionally?”

Back then, Feng Yuhan had brought multiple Nascent Soul True Lords to jointly study the Dharma Remains of Lord Qiongjiang, and True Lord Xianyin was one of them.

He had some understanding of Ciji’s project.

Now, seeing Zhang Yu’s astonishing performance, many extra thoughts arose in his mind.

“Has Ciji made another breakthrough? Was having Zhang Yu win the championship also for publicity?”

Recalling his previous judgment, True Lord Xianyin shook his head: “It seems it wasn’t that Ciji treasured this disciple too much… but that this disciple really became Ciji’s precious treasure.”

Shortly after, as the simulated tests of the 15 contestants’ works were completed one by one, the five judges on-site submitted each of their evaluations and scores.

Next, they would wait for the Heavenly Court’s feedback to confirm the final ranking results.

But whether it was Evil Lotus True Lord of Heavenly Demon University or Xianyin True Lord of Ten Thousand Methods University, the judges on-site all understood that with such clear gaps and performances, there should be no dispute over this ranking.

And watching the orthodox gods finish recording and leave with all the materials and scores, the judges on-site seemed to relax.

True Lord Xianyin looked at True Lord Xuepu of Netherworld University and True Lord Shisui of Bone White University, smiled, and said, “Both of you misjudged, didn’t you?”

True Lord Shisui said calmly, “We were just judging based on the facts. Zhang Yu’s performance was extraordinary. For fairness and impartiality, it was normal for us as judges to have doubts.”

True Lord Xianyin said, “But the students of Bone White University don’t seem to have as solid a foundation in refining as shown in the design drawings submitted last time.”

“And as for Zang Xingye of Netherworld University, his understanding of bionic technology doesn’t seem as deep as in the last design drawing.”

Hearing this, True Lord Xuepu shouted, “Xianyin! What do you mean? I and Shisui graded impartially, every word was upright and fair, worthy of our sect and our school. If you have any grievances or want revenge, come at us directly, don’t drag the students into it.”

Seeing the other’s self-righteous appearance, Xianyin couldn’t help but laugh, thinking to himself, “Bastard, so anxious, anyone would think you didn’t take a single spirit coin.”

True Lord Xianyin said calmly, “Xuepu, why weren’t you so aggressive just now in front of the orthodox gods’ cameras? Didn’t you have a message for me to deliver to True Lord Ciji last time? Do you still want me to deliver it this time?”

Just as the two sides were arguing, they heard Evil Lotus True Lord give a soft cough, interrupting the conversation on both sides.

This vice president from Heavenly Demon University said calmly, “Xianyin, we indeed misjudged earlier.”

“Please take a message to Ciji for us when you return, saying we wish her a speedy promotion and a promising future as a Nascent Soul. Also wish your Ten Thousand Methods University that one day the whole school will have four Nascent Souls, peace and no disasters throughout.”

…

At the same time, Zhang Yu, who had long since set off on his return journey, did not know what the judges were thinking, nor had he yet learned the results of the simulated tests.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged in the meditation room of the flying boat, silently circulating his cultivation technique, feeling a violent storm in his sea of consciousness.

It seemed as though patches of filthy mud surged into the sky, repeatedly suppressed by the roar of the four-headed white ox, only to surge up again and again.

Besides the turbulent sea of consciousness, Zhang Yu also felt a slight disharmony in his muscles and an obstruction in the circulation of his mana throughout his body.

From head to toe, there was a sense that something was wrong everywhere, and that he lacked control over everything.

He let out a helpless sigh and looked at the dao heart data on his feather book.

Level 17 (88%)

In order to secure victory in the competition, and even more so for the Ten Great League a few months later, Zhang Yu felt he could not afford any mistakes. So he not only used the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart to integrate the drawings as much as possible and select the optimal result.

He also repeatedly burned his dao heart, activating Heaven’s Craft and Earth’s Work, continuously optimizing the integrated drawings.

This allowed Zhang Yu to combine the capabilities of various puppets, extremely compress costs, and create a design blueprint that used local materials to produce puppets with puppets.

But another consequence... was that Zhang Yu's Dao-heart regressed all the way to level 17, causing his will to diminish, and his control over his body and magical power also suffered a decline.

Besides that, due to excessive use of the Spirit Resonance Artifact Core, his head was now swollen and painful, feeling that his thinking was rigid, and even moving his mind seemed a beat slower, no longer able to sense any inspiration.

"The inspiration consumed by the Spirit Resonance Artifact Core will probably take a month of rest to recover."

"As for the regressed Dao-heart, it will probably take two or three months of cultivation to make up for it."