Chapter 223: Divine Spiritual Root (Thanks to 'Yu Xian Qi Tian' for Sending Bai Zhenzhen)

Chapter 223: Divine Spirit Root (Thanks to 'Rain Immortal Qitian' for giving Bai Zhenzhen 10 pairs of external spirit root socks)

In previous Foundation Establishment exams, there had never been any spectators. In Zhang Yu's view, this was to protect student information, lest the candidates' situations be known to the outside world.

"But what does this situation mean now?"

"Are they going to announce the exam results to the world?"

Zhang Yu frowned, looking at the spectator stands around him, and suddenly noticed that the people in the stands were all bizarre and grotesque—some were cartoon characters, some were game avatars, and some even looked like emojis, with only a few appearing as real humans.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Are they watching remotely through the internet?"

Shortly after Zhang Yu arrived at the exam venue, Ye Lingxiao also arrived. He, too, was slightly startled when he saw the spectators in the stands.

At the same time, the voice of the True God Huang Zichou directly reached the ears of Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao.

"Don't be nervous, you two. These spectators all come from various universities in the second layer of Kunxu, not from the first layer."

"After watching your match, they will return to report to their respective schools and departments, and when you apply to universities in the future, they will offer you better terms."

"This is an opportunity specially fought for you by the Divine Ministry, so that you can shine in this final exam and have more development opportunities when you ascend to the second layer."

As for whether being watched like this would affect the candidates' performance, that was never a consideration for gods like Huang Zichou.

How could any strong person not be watched?

Not to mention being watched—participating in live streams, filming commercials, giving speeches, being cyberbullied... enduring countless gazes and stares, experiencing all kinds of grand occasions while maintaining mental stability and calmly unleashing one's power—these are qualities that any immortal path strongman must possess.

If one gets too nervous due to the crowd's attention and even underperforms, ultimately missing out on the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate, it only proves that the candidate's aptitude and talent are still insufficient.

Upon hearing Huang Zichou's words, both Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao were jolted.

Zhang Yu felt he understood: this was like admissions officers from above descending to select outstanding talents, right?

"If I snatch the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate in this exam, will several of the top ten universities come to recruit me at the same time in the future? Offering me even better conditions?"

Thinking this, Zhang Yu grew more excited. With the surging of his blood and qi and the rise in his body temperature, he looked forward to the upcoming exam even more.

Huang Zichou, seeing Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao visibly more energized, thought to himself, "The perks are indeed perks for you."

"But it's also a chance to collect some ticket fees and open a betting pool to recoup some losses for us."

"Those two kids ate way too much in the last round, consuming a lot of the exam budget."

Then Huang Zichou continued speaking to the two, "Besides this perk, the winner of this exam will receive a 3 million interest-free loan, the option to choose any expert-level cultivation technique, and the opportunity to designate a teacher once after entering university."

"The loser will also get a 3 million interest-free loan, one expert-level technique, and bonus points for future Foundation Establishment exams."

After hearing this, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Designate a teacher?"

Zhang Yu had heard from Fuji that after entering university, choosing the right teacher was extremely important.

In the second layer of Kunxu and above, for most people, the master-disciple relationship was more important than family background.

Zhang Yu glanced at Ye Lingxiao beside him, seeing the other's slightly excited expression, and knew this must be a very good reward; otherwise, someone as wealthy as him wouldn't be so stirred.

Then Huang Zichou began to explain the rules for the final round of the Foundation Establishment exam.

"Your final Foundation Establishment exam consists of three stages."

"The focus of the test is not only your current strength but also your potential after Foundation Establishment, to determine which of you two is more qualified to take the first step toward Foundation Establishment..."

...

While Huang Zichou was describing today's exam rules,

Two emojis on the spectator stands were having a conversation.

A smiling emoji said, "See that one? That's Ye Lingxiao. When you are sent down to the first layer next month to oversee the Oasis Group, this Ye Lingxiao will assist you there."

Beside the smiling emoji was a crying-laughing emoji, who replied, "Oh? So it's this Ye Lingxiao who will take the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate today, huh?"

The "smiling emoji" nodded and said, "The average IQ and learning ability of first-layer students are indeed a bit lacking, but it's not that there are no talents at all. This Ye Lingxiao is not bad."

"Moreover, the Ye family behind him has some influence in the first layer; they're not from some poor, small household, and they know the rules."

"When he represents the Ye family to assist you, you must remember..."

The "smiling emoji" was cut off mid-sentence by the "crying-laughing emoji": "Mom, I know. Don't worry, I'll treat them with respect and courtesy, treat them well, and won't bully them."

The "smiling emoji" sighed upon hearing this and said, "I'm not afraid you'll bully them; I'm afraid you'll be deceived by them."

"Son, you're too soft-hearted. You're too kind to your subordinates."

"You must remember one thing: these people below are like the dogs you used to keep. If you're too good to them, let them eat too well, they'll start to think they can stand on equal footing with you, have improper thoughts, even want to sit at the table and bite you back."

"You need to learn to make them hungry, to feed them with your own hands, to discipline them, to make them fear you." "Remember, you're going to control them, not to make friends with them..."

Listening to the "smiling emoji's" long-winded speech, the "crying-laughing emoji" said with a mix of tears and laughter, "How was I deceived?"

The "smiling emoji" said, "Last time you used the legal killing permit, you didn't kill anyone and even paid those passersby so much money..."

The "crying-laughing emoji" replied helplessly, "I never kill people anyway."

"Look, since I got my killing permit, when have I ever killed anyone?"

"That time, I was temporarily short of Daoist materials and needed some limbs from passersby for a spell. To avoid misunderstanding from the True Gods, I used the killing permit. As for paying afterward, that was just buying the local people's flesh and blood..."

The "smiling emoji" sighed, "You paid too much. Just a few limbs, yet you paid the price for killing."

"If your father were here, he wouldn't have wasted that money. You're still too soft-hearted... Son, you have a killing permit. You're not illegally killing; you're legally killing. When compensating, you can get a discount. Besides, the people you killed were all unregistered, so they're worth even less."

"If you keep being this wasteful, not even knowing how to use discounts and benefits, no matter how much money our family has, it won't be enough for you to squander."

...

On the exam field, Huang Zichou had finished explaining the content and rules of the first stage.

To test the physical potential of the two, they would be temporarily granted Divine Spirit Roots in this stage.

Divine Spirit Roots, surpassing Human Spirit Roots, Earth Spirit Roots, and Heaven Spirit Roots, were recognized as military-grade power, and had always been usable only by the military and some special government departments.

When he heard that he could temporarily use Divine Spirit Roots in this exam, Zhang Yu's heart couldn't help but stir slightly.

"Indeed, the standard of this Foundation Establishment exam is very high."

"To be able to use Divine Spirit Roots on the exam field..."

The specific assessment content was to compare how much of the Divine Spirit Root's performance Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao could each unleash.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "According to the examiner, to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, one needs to plant the spirit root into the dantian, transform the spirit root into a new organ during the breakthrough, drive the sublimation of body and mind, and finally step into the Foundation Establishment realm..."

Zhang Yu had known for a long time that to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, besides a level 10 Dao heart and 60 points of mana, the most important thing was the spirit root.

And in Huang Zichou's description, during the process of breaking through to Foundation Establishment and planting the spirit root, the stronger the body, and the fewer internal injuries, damages, defects, impurities, toxins, etc., the better the spirit root's performance could be unleashed, and the stronger the power after Foundation Establishment.

Huang Zichou thought to himself, "Qi Refining stage high school students often stop at nothing to improve their cultivation, using many methods that force their potential to boost their grades."

"In this process, it's easy to leave too many hidden injuries and toxins in the body, damaging potential and harming the foundation."

"Often, two people who seem equally strong physically, for this reason... will have vastly different achievements after Foundation Establishment."

"The Divine Spirit Root stage is for testing this aspect."

The reason for using Divine Spirit Roots was that the upper limit of Heaven Spirit Roots was still considered too low by the True Gods, and they were worried they couldn't measure the gap between the two.

At the same time, two black long boxes were delivered in front of Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao.

Zhang Yu opened the box and saw a black combat suit appear before him.

Huang Zichou introduced, "This is a military-grade external spiritual root, the Divine Spiritual Root Combat Suit, though all extra functions have been removed, leaving only the most basic spiritual root."

"Once you put it on, the spiritual root will enter your body, providing you with an endless supply of mana and stamina..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu changed into the black combat suit; the black top and pants wrapped his entire body.

The next moment, he felt the suit come alive, as if countless tendrils were connecting to his skin, clinging tightly like they were fused to his flesh.

Huang Zichou continued, "Channel your mana through this Divine Spiritual Root Combat Suit, and you can activate the spiritual root within."

As Zhang Yu poured his mana into the suit, the entire outfit suddenly tightened, conforming even more closely to his body.

At the same time, the spiritual energy in the air seemed to roar like a thunderclap, surging toward him like a tidal wave.

Endless spiritual energy flooded into the combat suit, transforming in the next instant into streams of pure mana, merging with the mana Zhang Yu had infused into the fabric—like an external mana cycle, ceaselessly replenishing his reserves.

Beyond that, an unending flow of spiritual energy converted into vital essence was also injected into Zhang Yu's body, restoring his stamina.

In the span of a single breath, Zhang Yu felt his mana and stamina had both returned to their peak state.

And on the cuff of his combat suit, a number—0.03%—suddenly appeared.

This signified that he was currently only utilizing 0.03% of the spiritual root's power.

Please vote for monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)