Chapter 283: Doing Civil Engineering Really Has a Future

Chapter 283: There Really Is a Future in Civil Engineering

In the Body Refinement class, Zhang Yu was practicing the moves of the Level 20 Spring and Autumn Endless Zen, while his Eye Frame slowly replayed the guidance he had just received from Lang Yougong.

Thanks to the extraordinary capabilities of the Time Remnant Demon Pupil, every moment of Lang Yougong’s instruction had been clearly recorded, allowing Zhang Yu to replay, comprehend, and compare his own movements repeatedly.

“One must refine the body together with the spiritual root within…”

“After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, the spiritual root becomes a part of my body.”

As Zhang Yu practiced, he felt a slight tremor in his spiritual root within the Qi Sea, as if it had become a bit more active.

“It really works.”

Zhang Yu’s Spring and Autumn Endless Zen had already reached Level 20, the maximum limit for Foundation Establishment-stage techniques.

His understanding of this body-refinement technique was already profound; he simply hadn’t been aware of the concept of refining the spiritual root along with the body.

Now, awakened by Lang Yougong’s guidance, he progressed rapidly. With every refinement of his physique and spiritual root, he felt the spiritual root in his Qi Sea slowly growing and further integrating with his body.

While Zhang Yu diligently absorbed Lang Yougong’s teachings and continuously tempered his body and spiritual root, Lang Yougong continued instructing the other students. However, by the end of the class, several students, including Yu Xinghan and Li Xiao, still hadn’t received any guidance from the body-refinement teacher.

Lang Yougong looked at them calmly and said, “Students who haven’t received guidance yet, don’t worry. Body refinement isn’t something achieved overnight. There’s plenty of time ahead. We’ll continue next class.”

Watching Lang Yougong vanish in a flash, Li Xiao sighed inwardly, “With the cultivation conditions and immortal path potential of Gongshu Jin and Ji Yuanshu, they hardly need his guidance.”

“But for us poor students who truly need help, getting his guidance is so difficult.”

“It’s like some are dying of thirst while others are drowning…”

“To make these teachers take notice, I must get a better Eye Frame.”

Thinking this, Li Xiao’s Eye Frame displayed his contact list. He selected his uncle, who had climbed to the second layer years ago, and sent him a message.

Li Xiao: Uncle, can you lend me some spirit coins?

Li Xiao: I want to buy an Eye Frame, a real Heavenly Eye.

Uncle: Don’t you already have an Eye Frame?

Li Xiao: Everyone else uses either high-end Heavenly Eyes or Heavenly Crafts. Using this cheap thing, my classmates look down on me, and the teachers ignore me. It’s really affecting my studies.

The other party shared a link with you [Borrow and repay anytime, funds arrive in 3 minutes].

Uncle: Just mention my name when you go in. No need to thank me.

Li Xiao: Uncle, the platform’s interest rate is too high. Can I borrow directly from you?

Uncle: If I lend to you, won’t I have to borrow from the platform too?

Uncle: Besides, if you’re too scared to take out an online loan while in university, what’s the point of studying? You might as well go back to farming on the first layer. Staying here is just a waste of money.

Looking at the reply, Li Xiao sighed softly and thought, “Yes, if I can’t even handle the pressure of online loan interest rates, how can I strive to climb the immortal path?”

Recalling the subtle mockery of Gongshu Jin, Ying Xin, and others, and the overt or covert disregard from various teachers, Li Xiao made a painful decision and clicked on the lending platform his uncle had shared.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu, while absorbing Lang Yougong’s teachings, hurried to his next class.

Time flew by quickly as one class followed another. Zhang Yu reveled in the constant influx of immortal path knowledge into his mind, feeling his cultivation improve almost every moment.

The unity of spirit and flesh, the second cultivation method, the quality of magical power, the fusion of spiritual roots… along with Foundation Establishment techniques and the university’s sacred physique, Zhang Yu felt he had an endless list of tasks ahead and immense room for improvement.

That evening, upon returning to his dormitory, Zhang Yu continued practicing the Seventy-Two Forms of Foundation Establishment Body Refinement right outside his door.

Shortly after Zhang Yu raised the Seventy-Two Forms of Foundation Establishment Body Refinement to Level 13, Bai Zhenzhen’s avatar flashed in his Eye Frame.

“Yu,” Bai Zhenzhen said with a smile. “Did that Gongshu Jin bully you again today?”

“No,” Zhang Yu shook his head. “Actually, the classmates and teachers are quite friendly. It’s just that the customs here are a bit unique.”

Bai Zhenzhen: “By the way, I met someone from the tenth layer here. He has friends studying in the Dao Arts Department at Wanfa University. I’ll introduce you when I get the chance…”

“You still plan to switch from civil engineering to artifact refining, right? Then you’ll need to choose a mentor from the Artifact Refining Department. It might be hard to meet artifact-refining mentors in the Civil Engineering Department, so don’t rush your decision. I’ll ask around for you…”

“Also, remember to send me your dorm address. I’ll mail you some things…”

Zhang Yu asked, “Won’t that upset the Seven Emotions Divine Lord?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Would I do something to upset my mom?” Bai Zhenzhen replied. “It’s just some food. It’s normal for friends to send food to each other. It helps build relationships, and that’s part of cultivation too.”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen chatted for a while, with Bai Zhenzhen doing most of the talking and Zhang Yu speaking less.

Zhang Yu could clearly sense that this was because Bai Zhenzhen now knew more and had more ways to help him.

Zhang Yu didn’t make a fuss about it. Given his friendship with Bai Zhenzhen, they had even shared a spiritual root between them. Now that Bai Zhenzhen was doing well and looking out for him, it was only natural. In the future, when he succeeded, he would help Bai Zhenzhen in return.

However, this time, Bai Zhenzhen was the one who ended the call.

“That’s enough for now. I need to focus on my cultivation. Yu, you study hard and refine diligently too…”

After hanging up, Bai Zhenzhen let out a helpless sigh.

Just then, a woman’s voice sounded beside her ear: “Huh? Why not keep it connected like yesterday?”

“Hmm… Could it be you’re trying to save him the network fees?” Hearing the woman’s light laugh, Bai Zhenzhen pursed her lips and said, “Yu just arrived on the second layer. He doesn’t have many spirit coins, and it’s a time when he needs to spend money…”

The woman’s voice chuckled softly: “In the end, it’s just because he’s poor, isn’t it?”

“My good disciple, it’s a fine talent to value relationships while being poor. I admire that.”

“But such a talent, without the protection of money, is destined to fade over time.”

“Because relationships are things that require money to maintain. So, the relationships of the poor are inevitably temporary.”

“Your friend is so poor he struggles even with network fees for communication, living like a rat. What right does he have to talk about relationships? How long can your friendship last without deteriorating?”

Listening to her words, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: “This old hag… She really made me keep the call connected just to pressure Yu with the network fees.”

Faced with her words, Bai Zhenzhen didn’t respond because she knew there was truth in them. If Zhang Yu were just an ordinary poor person, it wouldn’t be long before the vast gap between them created a rift, and their relationship would gradually deteriorate.

But Bai Zhenzhen understood even more clearly that Zhang Yu wasn’t an ordinary poor person. He was exceptionally poor, extraordinarily poor—a poor person with heaven-defying talent.

Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: “With Yu’s talent and the assistance of Lady Fortune, he won’t stay poor forever. He’ll definitely catch up to me.”

However, she naturally didn’t voice these thoughts or reveal Zhang Yu’s secrets.

Bai Zhenzhen simply said calmly, “I believe in Zhang Yu.”

The woman laughed: “Very well.”

“Let this friend of yours become your whetstone, adding another resource for your future achievement of the Extreme Emotion Sword Dao.”

…

Wanfa University City, 125th Layer, Dormitory Area.

Zhang Yu watched Bai Zhenzhen’s avatar disappear and thought to himself: “Zhen… Even her speaking pace seemed faster today.”

“And she hung up so early…”

“Could it be she was thinking about the network fees and wanted to save me money?”

At this thought, an even more intense determination surged within Zhang Yu.

“Damn it, I can’t even communicate freely with my good friend…”

In the next moment, Zhang Yu threw himself even more fervently into practicing the Seventy-Two Forms of Foundation Establishment Body Refinement.

His body moved with afterimages, completing the technique over and over again in the simplest, laziest, yet fastest way possible.

At this moment, Zhang Yu’s heart surged with boundless fighting spirit, and an overwhelming sense of dominance erupted within him. He wanted to grow stronger! He wanted to earn money! He wanted the damn freedom to afford internet fees without worry, to connect with Bai Zhenzhen 24/7 without any hesitation!

With such unprecedented focus and urgency, by the time the first class of the next day arrived, Zhang Yu had already advanced the Seventy-Two Forms of Foundation Building and Body Refinement to level 17.

He thought to himself, "By this calculation, it should take me about 2 to 3 days to cultivate a basic foundation-building technique to level 20."

"That means in at most a month, I’ll have fully mastered the University Saint Body."

...

Today’s first class was called Engineering Array Design and Drafting, a foundational course in the Civil Engineering Department.

The classroom for this lesson was exceptionally large, accommodating hundreds of students. In addition to the foundation-building students from Zhang Yu’s class, there were also many Qi Refinement students present.

A teacher whose entire body gleamed with golden light, leaving no trace of flesh and blood visible, stood at the podium and said, "My name is Tu Lishan, and I am your instructor for this course."

"This course primarily teaches the drawing and interpretation of engineering array blueprints."

Looking at the expensive magical skeleton adorning the teacher’s body, many students in the room, especially the Qi Refinement students, couldn’t help but show expressions of envy.

At the University of Ten Thousand Arts, the wealthier a student was, the more potential they were seen to have, and the more they were appreciated by the teachers.

But the reverse was also true: the wealthier a teacher was, the more authority they commanded, and the more they were trusted and admired by the students.

"Teacher Tu is so rich—could what he says possibly be wrong?"

"A teacher who can earn this much money must be incredibly skilled!"

"Civil engineering really has a bright future—it can actually make you this much money!"

Thoughts like these flashed through the minds of countless students in the classroom at that moment, and their attitude toward learning became even more focused and serious.

Tu Lishan continued, "All of you will be the pillars of the civil engineering world in the future. The university’s requirements for you are to understand the immortal path, be capable of construction, manage projects, and obtain certification for your roles. These are the core competencies of our Civil Engineering Department."

"To achieve this, to possess the ability to construct and conduct quality inspections, and to pass the exams for construction qualification certificates, you must devote your utmost attention to learning this course."

"After all, building a structure starts with building its array. Whether it’s the university town beneath your feet or the medicinal fields outside the city, all contain intricate arrays..."

(End of Chapter)