Chapter 292: Abnormal Performance in the Exam, Construction Site Invitation

Chapter 292: Underperformance in Exams, Invitation to the Construction Site

In the Dao Heart class, the students of the Foundation Establishment class sat upright, their attention fixed on Feng Jiu at the podium. Feng Jiu spoke calmly, "Willpower is the most direct manifestation of the Dao Heart. The content of your upcoming exam is simple: enduring the burning of flames."

As the students donned their spirit interface masks, their consciousness instantly entered the spirit realm. Unlike the projections of the spirit realm seen through the Eye Skeleton, this time they felt as if their minds had truly entered the spirit realm.

In the next moment, as flames engulfed them, many students let out screams of agony. Meanwhile, Feng Jiu, as the artifact spirit, descended into the examination hall within the spirit realm, observing the students who had turned into figures of fire.

Her first focus was Ji Yanshu, the top student in the class. As the only student who had reached Dao Heart Level 12, he remained calm even as flames consumed him, as if he were merely feeling a warm breeze rather than being burned by fire. With a steady gaze, Ji Yanshu thought to himself, "I undergo similar spirit realm training for over two hours every day. What is this level of intensity to me?"

Feng Jiu, observing Ji Yanshu, silently recorded, "Ji Yanshu, exceptionally high Dao Heart potential, tentatively selected as a participant for next year's spirit realm competition."

Next, Feng Jiu turned her attention to Gong Shujin, the second-ranked student in the class and the one closest to Dao Heart Level 12. Though frowning slightly, Gong Shujin gritted his teeth and endured the burning flames. He thought to himself, "After this exam, I need to invest more spirit coins in spirit realm training. I'll get a membership card as soon as I return to push myself."

Feng Jiu recorded, "Gong Shujin, second in Dao Heart in the class, tentatively selected as a participant for next year's spirit realm competition."

After observing a few more students, Feng Jiu noticed Zhang Yu and recorded, "Zhang Yu, suspected to have a high Dao Heart talent due to early Foundation Establishment and advanced cultivation techniques. Still slightly below the standard for the spirit realm competition, temporarily listed as a reserve candidate."

...

In the Mana class, Li Mingbo watched as the students channeled mana into the detection devices in front of them, his gaze lingering on Ji Yanshu and Gong Shujin. "From Ji Yanshu's mana purchase records, he buys large quantities of both high-quality and low-quality mana. It seems he uses high-quality mana to infuse his body and improve his mana quality, while low-quality mana is used for operating the Mana Skeleton through the spirit realm network. He hardly uses his own mana for anything other than cultivation... How extravagant."

Though Li Mingbo sighed, he felt more joy than anything else. After all, the other party's large purchases on the Mana Treasure platform had earned him considerable commissions. "Gong Shujin is also impressive. I heard he lives in the most luxurious upper dormitory and changes into a Mana Skeleton dedicated to mana cultivation as soon as he returns every day. No wonder his mana cultivation progresses by leaps and bounds, second only to Ji Yanshu."

"Hmm, Li Xiao's progress has accelerated again. It's a pity he's a first-year student; I'm afraid he might lack staying power."

Li Mingbo's gaze swept over Zhang Yu, thinking, "Zhang Yu is the same. If he can maintain this performance, he should have no problem breaking into the top 100 in the Civil Engineering Foundation Establishment rankings in a few years. But the hard part is maintaining it."

The top 100 in the Civil Engineering department included Foundation Establishment students from all grades. In Li Mingbo's view, for a first-year student to achieve this, it would only be possible through years of accumulation, likely in the higher grades.

...

On the Physical Cultivation examination ground, Lang Yougong addressed the students, "Physical strength isn't just about numbers. Factors like the body's tolerance for drugs, your control over your physique, reaction speed, agility, and technique... these can only truly be demonstrated in practical application."

"The three-month basic course has ended. Today is the day to test the results of your efforts over these three months..."

As Lang Yougong spoke, Zhang Yu glanced at the students around him, thinking to himself, "Hiding data is manageable with anti-detection rituals. But how should I perform in the practical test? I can't let my actual performance far exceed the data, or it would be too conspicuous."

With this in mind, Zhang Yu looked at Li Xiao. "This guy seems to be ranked one place below me. So, as long as I perform slightly better than him, it should be fine, right?"

In the strength test, after Li Xiao let out a shout and strained to lift the weight tester, he soon saw Zhang Yu do the same, lifting a slightly heavier weight. In the agility test, when Li Xiao pushed himself to the limit, dodging increasingly fast balls and lasting for a minute, he noticed Zhang Yu nearby lasting three seconds longer.

Before the final speed test, Li Xiao received a package from a delivery person and thought to himself, "Zhang Yu... He really does see me as his biggest competitor." He could sense that in the previous two tests, Zhang Yu had been watching him from time to time. And each time Zhang Yu confirmed he had surpassed Li Xiao, he soon reached his limit.

"Clearly, my threat has stimulated and motivated him, pushing him to perform better. Perhaps... to beat me, he even took some harmful drugs that damage the body. But it's the same for you, Zhang Yu. You've also motivated me intensely."

After taking the newly purchased fierce drug and feeling his body gradually heat up and grow scalding, Li Xiao thought, "Even if it means halting cultivation for a few days, I must win the next round!"

On the speed test ground, Li Xiao shot forward like lightning, accompanied by the sound of air cracking, charging ahead like a bolt... closely following Zhang Yu. His heart pounded like a drum, beating faster and faster, and his limbs swung rapidly, propelling him forward explosively. But as Li Xiao accelerated, Zhang Yu accelerated as well, leaving Li Xiao unable to overtake him no matter how hard he tried.

Staring at Zhang Yu's back, Li Xiao felt as if he were looking at the gate of a construction site—so close he could step through it, yet always just a little short. "Damn it... Why? Why is it so hard for me to enter the construction site?"

Controlling his speed all the way, Zhang Yu led Li Xiao to the finish line and thought, "This should be fine." Sensing Li Xiao's resentful gaze, Zhang Yu mused, "I'm only one place ahead of you. No need to be so angry, right?"

But in the next moment, as the test scores appeared, Zhang Yu thought, "Huh? I'm fifth in the physical test?" Frowning, he looked at Li Xiao. "This guy... Could he have been hiding his strength too? I shouldn't have chosen him as a benchmark. But it's okay. My previous physical performance wasn't bad. This slight 'overperformance' is still reasonable, right?"

Lang Yougong looked at Zhang Yu with a smile and said, "Keep up the good work. If you continue cultivating at this pace, you should be able to participate in the Civil Engineering department's competition next year."

Nearby, several upper-class students had been watching the competition between Li Xiao and Zhang Yu. One sighed, "They're secretly competing, aren't they? It seems to stimulate and encourage each other." Another exclaimed in surprise, "They're ranked so high in the physical test?"

Ying Xin laughed and said, "If they want to maintain this performance, Li Xiao might not have enough money. Let's see which of these two first-year students runs out of money first. After all, first-year students often struggle to adapt to university life, spend recklessly, progress rapidly in the early stages, and then plummet later on... There are plenty of such examples."

It turned out Ying Xin had long noticed that Li Xiao had been borrowing money to keep up with their cultivation. She had always found it amusing, waiting to see when a first-year student would be unable to repay their debts. Seeing Li Xiao walking over looking dejected, Ying Xin greeted him with a smile, "Old Li, let's go practice in the training room together after the exams."

Li Xiao nodded with difficulty, forcing a smile. "Okay."

...

In the specialized course exam.

Courses such as Engineering Array Diagramming, Martial Arts Dynamics, and Construction Techniques included both written exams and practical skill assessments.

Techniques like Excavation Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Legs, and Elevator Leap, Zhang Yu had long since mastered, having trained each to level 10.

However, specialized civil engineering techniques such as Concrete Aura, Lifting Force, and Mountain-Bearing Sprint, Zhang Yu simply hadn’t had the time to diligently practice. He had only managed to grasp the basics through classroom exercises.

After all, most of his time and energy were devoted to techniques related to the Civil Engineering Sacred Body.

But over the course of three months, the teachers hadn’t expected the students to achieve much with these specialized techniques, so Zhang Yu’s performance didn’t stand out particularly.

Gongshu Jin observed Zhang Yu’s performance and thought to himself, "My friend here truly lacks talent in martial arts. However, in terms of foundational data, although his growth rate can’t keep up with mine, he can still be considered excellent."

"He must have invested a lot of resources."

...

That evening, all exam scores had been calculated.

6th place: Zhang Yu, total score 688

7th place: Li Xiao, total score 682

Looking at the final rankings after these three months, Li Xiao felt a flicker of confusion.

Just as he thought the opportunity to work on the construction site had been snatched away by Zhang Yu, a communication from Tu Lishan revived his hopes.

"Li Xiao, not every student can start working on the construction site right at the beginning of the semester. This single opportunity was something I specially fought for on behalf of outstanding students."

"Ah, I know you’ve been pushing yourself hard lately, and I truly admire you."

"Your results are a bit worse than Zhang Yu’s, but I believe in you. The moment I saw you, I knew you were meant for the construction site."

"How about this: from now on, for every month you earn on the site, transfer twenty percent to my account. I’ll help smooth things out for you and guarantee your entry."

...

In the dormitory.

Zhang Yu showed off his 6th-place ranking and asked Zhang Pianpian, "Sis, I underperformed this time. Is 6th place a bit too conspicuous?"

Zhang Pianpian sighed helplessly. "A little, but it’s still acceptable. How did you underperform in this exam?"

Zhang Yu replied with frustration, "Ah, it was just bad luck. I picked the wrong reference."

"That Li Xiao I chose probably hides his true strength most of the time."

"He might have picked me as his reference, wanting to stay right behind me."

"But I picked him as my reference, wanting to stay ahead of him."

"As a result, one chased, and the other ran, and before we knew it, we pushed our rankings up again."

Zhang Yu sighed. "The top ten are truly filled with hidden talents. I’m not the only one with exceptional aptitude."

Hearing this, Zhang Pianpian nodded slightly. "If that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done. Fortunately, 6th place isn’t too eye-catching. For now, maintain this ranking and avoid making any drastic improvements."

Just then, the dormitory door opened, and Yu Xinghan walked in with a proud expression, having secured 11th place in the class rankings.

Yu Xinghan asked, "Zhang Yu, did Teacher Tu mention anything about the construction site to you?"

Zhang Yu nodded. "He told me to report in a few days."

Yu Xinghan continued, "Did he mention anything about transferring money?"

(End of Chapter)