Chapter 348: The Trend of the Times, The Righteous Path of Civil Engineering

Chapter 348: The Tide of the Times, The True Path of Civil Engineering

Yu Xinghan glanced from time to time at Ying Xin refining materials, then at Gongshu Jin’s construction movements, before turning his gaze to observe the other students. With the aid of his Three-Eyes Divine Vision, which granted him a panoramic view, he could clearly observe the actions and conditions of each student.

"My construction skills… aren’t particularly strong," he mused. "After all, I’ve long since spent most of my time away from construction sites, instead giving massages to those who come out of them."

Yu Xinghan memorized his classmates’ movements, imitated them, and repeated them. At this moment, he resembled an excellent tailor, stitching together the construction steps of each individual and seamlessly integrating them into his own site.

But in the next instant, he suddenly paused, slightly taken aback. "Zhang Yu, this kid…"

In his observation, Zhang Yu was actually sitting in place, stuffing steel bars and cement into his mouth in large gulps.

"What is he doing? Grabbing a bite to eat during the exam?" Yu Xinghan wondered. "Is now really the time for this?"

Meanwhile, on his own construction site, Zhang Yu, feeling the building materials he had ingested, thought to himself, "Ying Xin’s choice was correct. The quality of construction materials truly depends on us to enhance it ourselves."

With a surge of magical energy, Zhang Yu’s muscles expanded and contracted rhythmically, unleashing unparalleled elasticity.

Mountain and Peak True Form Technique—Propulsion!

In the next moment, as magical energy poured into him, Zhang Yu’s muscles and internal organs swelled dramatically, ballooning like an inflating sphere as he transformed into a towering giant.

Then, with a wide-open mouth, he swallowed large quantities of building materials into his stomach.

But Zhang Yu did not intend to digest these materials. Instead, he planned to use his stomach and intestines, forged from No. 15 Secret Steel, to reprocess the construction materials, significantly enhancing their strength.

Feeling the transformation of the materials within him, Zhang Yu’s gaze remained unwavering.

"This alone isn’t enough…" he murmured inwardly. "In this examination hall, there are people stronger than me in every aspect—whether it’s magical bones, wealth, experience, or even abilities like Taoist arts. If I want to win, I must fully leverage my advantages, using the most authentic, most fundamental power of civil engineering within me to forge this bunker into an indestructible fortress!"

With a low shout, Zhang Yu’s aura surged dramatically. One after another, formless warrior apparitions materialized behind him, catching the construction materials he spat out and beginning to lay the foundation on the site.

Ji Yuanshu had been observing Zhang Yu’s condition all along, as the latter was the student whose strength came closest to his own in this exam. However, upon seeing Zhang Yu condense human-shaped auras, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat dismissive. "What a waste of magical energy…"

As steel bars and cement rose from the ground, Zhang Yu’s formless warriors moved among them, gradually obscuring the view of his construction team.

Time swiftly passed amidst the sounds of hammering and collisions in the examination hall. Every student was giving their all, showcasing the essence of what they had learned in their first year and pouring it unreservedly into the construction site before them.

Watching the bunkers gradually take shape and observing each student’s movements, Tu Lishan grew increasingly curious and eager to see the final results.

As the three-hour construction period neared its end, fewer and fewer students continued their work. Most had already completed all their construction tasks.

Noticing the frantic hammering still emanating from Zhang Yu’s bunker, Gongshu Jin thought to himself, "Could it be that his magical energy was too depleted earlier, causing his construction efficiency to drop and leaving him behind?"

When the three-hour construction period finally ended, the commotion within Zhang Yu’s site also ceased. He emerged from the bunker with a hint of regret on his face.

Seeing this, everyone speculated whether Zhang Yu had failed to fully complete the interior of his bunker.

At the same time, a flicker of light appeared in Tu Lishan’s Eye Bone as a young man dressed in Taoist robes, resembling an ancient scholar, materialized before him. It was the astral projection of Director Gao.

Director Gao spoke calmly, "How are things progressing?"

Tu Lishan replied respectfully, "Construction has just concluded. We are about to begin the inspection."

One by one, assistants and other civil engineering teachers overseeing the exam entered the bunkers, inspecting and recording their conditions.

Observing this, Director Gao nodded slightly and said casually, "I’m here to see the first-year results."

Tu Lishan could sense Director Gao’s displeasure, and considering the timing, he guessed it likely had to do with the semester’s grades.

Director Gao was indeed dissatisfied with the final grades across all grades. Among the war faction and peace faction students in the Civil Engineering Department, the war faction had fallen behind in five grades, losing their top positions. If Ji Yuanshu secured first place in the first year, it would mean falling behind in six grades overall.

Director Gao asked, "What are Zhang Yu and Gongshu Jin’s chances of winning?"

Tu Lishan hesitated before replying, "It’s hard to say."

Director Gao frowned. "Then I’ll see for myself."

Meanwhile, the students gathered outside the construction site, anxiously awaiting the inspection phase and the subsequent ten waves of attacks.

The inspection concluded quickly. Ying Xin checked her 100% completion rate and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Now it’s time to see how many waves of attacks we can withstand."

Astral projections rose around the construction site, appearing in everyone’s Eye Bones as shimmering bands of light encircling the area, marked with "No Entry" signs.

As Tu Lishan announced the start of the final phase of the exam, the first wave of attacks commenced.

With the surrounding partitions rising, massive pipes unfolded from the ground. In the next moment, like a mountain flood pouring forth, towering waves resembling dragons crashed toward the bunkers on-site.

Terrifying forces surged within the waves, as violent tides repeatedly slammed against the bunkers like battering rams, causing many students to worry that their structures would collapse.

Ten minutes later, the floodwaters gradually receded.

Tu Lishan nodded slightly and initiated the second wave of attacks.

Amidst thunderous roars, all the bunkers trembled slightly. As the simulation field’s formation activated, the ground beneath the bunkers undulated violently, as if churning waves had erupted from the earth.

With the intense shaking of the ground, the bunkers experienced what felt like a magnitude 7 or 8 earthquake. Some students watched with concern as cracks appeared in their walls, while others breathed sighs of relief seeing their structures stand firm.

One minute later, as the simulated earthquake ended, not a single bunker had collapsed.

The third wave of attacks brought violent explosions, with visible shockwaves sweeping across the bunkers. It was during this wave that walls finally began to crumble.

By the end of the fourth wave, only four bunkers remained intact. However, one of them had cracked exterior walls, revealing large patches of bloodstains within.

Tu Lishan was slightly surprised at the sight. "Ying Xin actually lasted until this wave?" he thought.

Noticing the bloodstains in the walls, his eyes flickered. "A blood sacrifice?"

Director Gao’s Eye Bone displayed Ying Xin’s information as he nodded slightly. "During the material refinement process, she incorporated her own essence blood and the ancestral ashes stored within her body, completing a blood sacrifice."

Director Gao smiled faintly, his eyes seeming to conjure images of students who resembled Ying Xin—her father, grandfather, and ancestors from even earlier generations.

"Truly worthy of a sixth-generation civil engineer, mastering the technique of worksite blood sacrifice as a freshman."

In the fifth wave of the assault, massive fireballs rose and engulfed the remaining bunkers one by one.

As most of the bunkers built by Ying Xin were shattered, a large hole was torn open in the bunker constructed by Gongshu Jin, revealing a section of spine within.

Blood vessels and nerves from the spine spread throughout the entire wall, drawing in and expelling the spiritual energy of the formation, as if it had become the heart of the structure.

Tu Lishan's eyes flickered. "He inserted his own Diamond Profound Spine Relic into the formation's core?"

Director Gao nodded appreciatively. "Oh? Is this a living pile? That's a construction technique taught in the sophomore year. I never expected him to have mastered it already, and even managed to embed his own relic into it."

The sixth wave of the assault arrived, accompanied by flashes of lightning as bolts of thunder and fire covered the entire worksite.

Amidst the continuous explosions, shockwaves swept in all directions, leveling all the broken walls and ruins.

Watching his spine vanish in the explosions, Gongshu Jin couldn't help but feel his heart bleed, roaring inwardly, "My Diamond Profound Spine!"

But realizing that even using his own spine as a living pile had only earned him third place, he couldn't help but stare intently at the two remaining bunkers, as if trying to discern what civil engineering techniques they had employed to endure until now.

Tu Lishan's gaze shifted slightly, his eye sockets revealing Ji Yuanshu's construction records and inspection reports.

When Tu Lishan first saw these, he had been astonished.

Now, reviewing them again, he couldn't help but feel awe once more.

"Truly..."

In the inspection report, Ji Yuanshu's corpse was seated cross-legged in the bunker's basement.

"He actually buried himself inside, using his own body to suppress fortune and gather spiritual energy, strengthening the formation to its limit."

"No... it's more than that."

"As early as when he was channeling the spiritual veins, he was already constructing an auspicious site. He had planned to bury himself from the very beginning."

Tu Lishan's eyes swept over the broken walls and ruins, as well as the simulated spiritual veins underground. "At first, he merely used the auspicious site and his buried body to suppress fortune, occupying the largest share of spiritual energy in the spiritual veins."

"But with each bunker that collapsed, Ji Yuanshu's bunker gathered an additional portion of spiritual energy."

"This is the essence of the Finance Department's path of fortune. With each additional resource, more resources can be mobilized, accumulating like a snowball until even the trends of the world can be shifted..."

"At this moment, ninety percent of the spiritual energy in the simulated spiritual veins has converged into Ji Yuanshu's bunker."

Tu Lishan looked beyond the examination hall to the figure belonging to Ji Yuanshu.

At this moment, Ji Yuanshu's soul was preserved in the spirit realm, and what appeared here was his projection from the spirit realm. However, most of the students around were accustomed to observing the world through their eye sockets, so the majority hadn't noticed this.

At the same time, Tu Lishan could also sense that the emergency team from the medical company was already waiting outside the examination hall.

...

One of the young doctors said, "Captain, how much longer do we have to wait?"

The lead doctor replied calmly, "We can go in to save them once the exam is over."

The young doctor asked curiously, "If they have the money to hire us, how could they die in the examination hall?"

The lead doctor said casually, "For the wealthy, dying a few times a year is normal. It's not like the poor, who can't afford to die."

"In our line of work, remember this: don't worry about how the client died. Just revive their physical body each time."

...

Director Gao coldly observed Ji Yuanshu's bunker, sensing its stability under the blessing of fortune, along with the formation.

Just then, a proud voice rang out, "Old Gao, how well has my student mastered the path of fortune?"

A projection from the spirit realm appeared before Tu Lishan and Director Gao—it was Ji Yuanshu's mentor, Director Lin, the representative of the civil engineering department's peace faction.

Director Gao glanced coldly at him and said indifferently, "It's not the true path of civil engineering."

Director Lin sighed. "What true path is there in civil engineering? No matter how well you construct, how meticulously you select materials, or how clever your designs, how can they compare to fortune? How can they defy the will of heaven?"

"Throughout history, even the most impregnable fortresses have fallen due to human folly. Which one was truly destroyed by force?"

"No matter how refined your civil engineering is, without aligning with finance and understanding fortune, you'll ultimately be nothing more than someone's disposable rag, discarded after use."

Director Gao snorted coldly. "The Finance Department has turned the world into one big casino. If everyone is gambling, who will truly build Kunxu? The sect needs to build Kunxu, to prosper Kunxu—that is the great trend."

"Don't try to intimidate me with grand words. Are you the one building Kunxu? And you talk to me about trends? Whoever holds the money holds the trend."

Director Lin sneered, looking at the two remaining bunkers on the scene. "I have more outstanding disciples than you, more projects in hand, and more bank loans for my company. If the trend isn't with me, who else could it be with?"

"Just like in this examination hall, all the spiritual energy has converged to Ji Yuanshu. He is favored by fortune, the trend of the times."

"How long can your true path of civil engineering hold out?"

(End of Chapter)