Chapter 237: Renowned Throughout Songyang (Thanks to 'Xiao He Ma 233' for Rewarding)

Chapter 237: Fame Shakes Songyang (Thanks to 'Little Hippo 233' for the generous support as a leader)

Watching the characters formed by the flying sword formation in the sky, Zhang Bi of the Tianwu Group narrowed her eyes and thought to herself, "Is the Oasis Group planning to pull something like this?"

Although she had occasionally heard intelligence in the celestial capital about the Oasis Group teaming up with the Ye family and a few other clans to push certain technologies down to the First Layer, she hadn't expected them to now directly publicize the high school foundational pill certification exam.

"What are they up to? Are they using this foundational pill exam to promote new technology?" Zhang Bi understood that every new technology's rollout often came with flashy publicity tactics and gimmicks, and the Oasis Group had clearly set its sights on the buzz around the foundational pill exam.

As for the First Layer's old unspoken rules… "They couldn't care less," Zhang Bi mused bitterly. "Looks like the rumors are true—some big shot from the Second Layer is coming down to run the Oasis Group."

The other company representatives around her also showed varied expressions, all clearly pondering the Oasis Group's actions and the fallout to come.

Meanwhile, the principal, along with the school's leadership, had already gone to greet the Oasis Group's representative at the school gate. Zhou Chechen followed somewhat dazedly, his eyes darting toward the shimmering characters still glowing in the sky.

"A foundational pill certificate? Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen passed the foundational pill exam? How is that possible?" Zhou Chechen's first reaction was disbelief—in everything he knew, high schoolers simply couldn't earn a foundational pill certificate.

At the same time, Lan Ling appeared beside him, asking in shock, "Can high schoolers really get a foundational pill certificate? Isn't that something college students take?"

Zhou Chechen didn't answer, but followed the school leadership alongside Lan Ling to meet the Oasis Group's arrivals.

Around them, a crowd of students gathered to watch the spectacle. Normally, the principal, school leaders, and student council president would have stepped in to restore order and send them back to their studies or cultivation, but the Oasis Group's commotion had seized everyone's attention, leaving no one to mind the high schoolers gawking.

At the school gate, the principal and a few school leaders had just arrived when the Oasis Group's representatives stepped forward. The man at the front had blood-red eyes and silver hair combed immaculately, with a faint, lingering scent of blood about him.

Seeing the bewildered school leaders of Songyang High School, the red-eyed man smiled and said, "You must be the leaders of Songyang High School, yes? I'm Chi He, general manager of the Oasis Group's Songyang branch. We're here because our CEO Wang was deeply moved after hearing about the deeds of your students, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. To support Songyang's educational cause, CEO Wang has decided to donate ten million yuan as a reward for them, hoping they'll continue to strive, become people grateful to Kunxu, loyal to the company, and worthy of their university years…"

Hearing that ten million figure, the surrounding students gasped inwardly, marveling at CEO Wang's generosity. They only ever heard of money buying limbs or muscles, or loans and mortgages—donations to reward students? What a rare phrase.

The school leaders' faces grew even more awkward and confused, torn between shock at the lavish donation and utter ignorance of what Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had done to move CEO Wang. Some wanted to ask what it meant that they'd suddenly passed the foundational pill exam, but hesitated, falling into silence.

Fortunately, Chi He had anticipated this. Seeing the embarrassed silence, he smiled and said, "Your students Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen recently went to the celestial capital, took the high school foundational pill exam, achieved outstanding results, and were granted the foundational pill certificate by the Heavenly Court, earning the right to build their foundation." He then briefly explained the high school foundational pill exam and its significance—for instance, the top ten universities were now a sure thing.

As Chi He spoke, gasps rippled through the teachers and students. Someone exclaimed, "That means Zhang Yu's already got one foot in the top ten and onto the Second Layer!" Another sighed, "One foot? Didn't you hear? He can pick any school after the gaokao—not just a foot, half his body's already squeezed into the Second Layer." A third concluded, "Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen are practically at 1.9 layers now." Someone cheered, "One pair of foundations for the school—Songyang should be called one of the Four Great High Schools now, and our Songyang High is the top one!"

Hearing this, the students nodded, feeling their school badge shine brighter and their high school diploma gain more luster. Wang Hai, standing nearby, silently congratulated himself for not joining Zhou Chechen's scheme last time.

Meanwhile, the teachers who had once made trouble for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen turned pale. The female gym teacher who had drugged Zhang Yu looked particularly lost. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she ran to Wang Hai and asked, "Teacher Wang, I heard you had a falling out with Zhang Yu but later made up—how did you do it?"

Wang Hai raised an eyebrow, rubbed his fingers, and said, "Something this important, you just ask like that?" After the female teacher transferred ten thousand yuan, Wang Hai said, "Just like this. That's how I made peace with him. I gave sixty-six thousand back then, but you now… tsk." He shook his head. "Hard to say."

Lei Jun stood in the crowd, Chi He's words striking him like lightning. His heart was a storm of shock and confusion: "A foundational pill certificate? Those two… got it in high school?" Recalling how he had spent ten years in college without passing the exam, while his own students had earned it in their sophomore year, a surge of complex emotions overwhelmed him, nearly bringing tears. He couldn't deny his jealousy, but more than that was a profound helplessness. "Comparing people is pointless," he thought. "They're still in high school, and they've already surpassed me completely."

On the other side, Zhou Chechen swayed, only staying upright thanks to Lan Ling's support. "A high school foundational pill certificate? Things like this exist? Why did the elders never mention it?" Lan Ling snapped angrily, "I told you—back when they were weak, we should have just hired a courier to ram them and be done with it. Look now, look…" He kept repeating "look," unsure what he wanted Zhou Chechen to see.

Zhou Chechen shoved Lan Ling away and shot him a contemptuous glance. "Hit them? Forget what happened with the divinity last time? If we'd dared touch him half a year ago, we'd all be finished. You think someone without backing can pass a certificate like this—one we didn't even know existed?" He couldn't be bothered to look at Lan Ling again, thinking, "Why am I stuck with a fool like him, while Zhang Yu has someone like Bai Zhenzhen?"

In the restless crowd, Zhao Tianxing trembled. "A found… foundational pill certificate! Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen… once they pass the gaokao, they can coast into the top ten with that certificate?!" Qian Shen nodded slightly. "It seems so." He looked grave, thinking, "So that's it—there's a high school foundational pill exam. I thought Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had surpassed the scope of six-subject scores and competition rankings, becoming unquantifiable super-evolved beings. But it turns out my understanding of the whole gaokao system was incomplete—beyond the six subjects and competitions, there's this high school foundational pill exam score that fully encompasses them." With that, Qian Shen sighed deeply in relief. "So the gaokao system has no loopholes—it's been tested and adjusted by countless experts and powerhouses, the best, most scientific, and most immortal-path way to evaluate a person."

Out on the street beyond the school gate, Yue Mulan had earlier seen the flying sword array and later heard Chi He's words. She thought, "As poor as they are, they've surpassed the achievements of all the rich kids in Songyang?" She felt her impressions of the poor being constantly reshaped by Zhang Yu over the past year had now shattered completely. Then she mused, "So… will Zhang Yu go to one of the top ten universities with me? I wonder which one he'll pick? But then, booking his lessons won't be so easy anymore—even if I could, it won't be as cheap as now." Thinking of his likely skyrocketing worth, a subtle emotion stirred within her.

How to put it... The feeling surging in Le Mulan's heart at this moment was a bit like someone suddenly discovering that their favorite masseuse had left the trade, become a streamer, and blown up. She both sighed over having once booked that person and regretted that she could never book them again.

Le Mulan shook her head, casting aside the distracting thoughts, and first relayed the news to Le Jingchen.

Upon hearing the news from his sister, Le Jingchen was startled at first, then after a moment of contemplation, he said, "When he comes back, do your best to contact him, and try to get his sweat, saliva, urine... any bodily fluid will do."

"Right, try to get it as pure as possible—don't let your own fluids contaminate the sample."

"In short, do your best. If you need any support, you can contact me."

After hanging up, Le Jingchen thought to himself, "It must be the Oasis Group's immortal cultivation technology that elevated Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to this level."

"No wonder, no wonder those two paupers' grades skyrocketed all the way, no wonder they have sixth-rank gods backing them—so the Oasis Group is the real mastermind behind the scenes."

"If I could get some samples from Zhang Yu and study something from them..."

On the other end of the line, Le Mulan stared blankly at the hung-up phone, sinking into deep thought.

"Booking a session is definitely going to be hard now."

"But I have the electronic key to the apartment—what if I hide under their bed..."

"No, there's no bed in the apartment. Then maybe hide in the wardrobe?"

Le Mulan fell into a daze, feeling that her family had given her an impossible mission.

Thanks to 'Gods and Demons Are All in a Single Thought' for sending the Fuji Oscar trophy.

Thanks to 'ShuviDola' for the 10,000 reward.

(The chapter ends)