Chapter 353: Zhang Yu's Secret

Chapter 353: Zhang Yu's Secret

Looking at Ye Xingli's reply, Zhang Yu felt a slight surprise in his heart: "What a coincidence? Ye Xingli is actually a disciple of the Magnetic Pole True Lord?"

"Doesn't that make her my senior sister?"

Then another question arose in Zhang Yu's mind.

Zhang Yu: Did the Magnetic Pole True Lord mention me?

Ye Xingli: Yes, Master said that while chatting with the Verdant Wood True Lord today, the other mentioned a disciple.

Ye Xingli: After learning more, Master thought this disciple was quite outstanding and asked the Verdant Wood True Lord a few more questions.

Ye Xingli: Master told me this disciple's name is Zhang Yu.

Ye Xingli: As soon as I heard it was you, I thought I knew you, so I talked to Master about you.

Zhang Yu knew that the Verdant Wood True Lord was Director Gao, but looking at Ye Xingli's reply... he felt a strange expression on his face.

Especially when he imagined Director Gao praising him in front of the Magnetic Pole True Lord, with the Magnetic Pole True Lord listening and asking questions on the side.

"This Magnetic Pole True Lord has a rather mischievous personality, playing with our Civil Engineering Department's Director Gao right to his face, huh?"

But realizing that he was also part of the Magnetic Pole True Lord's game with Director Gao, Zhang Yu immediately felt a sense of guilt.

"Does this make me a traitor to the Civil Engineering Department?"

"Being a traitor is one thing, but if the Magnetic Pole True Lord plays around like this... what if he doesn't take responsibility three years later?"

Zhang Yu shook his head, pushing aside the distracting thoughts.

He couldn't control the thoughts of such important figures. The only thing he could do was continuously improve himself, become more outstanding, achieve better grades, higher rankings, and gain more initiative.

After chatting with Ye Xingli for a few more sentences, Zhang Yu immediately asked her about courses related to artifact crafting.

After all, according to the Magnetic Pole True Lord's requirements, Zhang Yu had to complete all the courses for the first three years of the Artifact Crafting Department and pass the assessments before the end of his junior year.

Ye Xingli: You want to take some courses from the Artifact Crafting Department?

Ye Xingli: That makes sense. For you Civil Engineering students, learning some material courses, as well as courses on the maintenance and use of magical skeletons, would be quite beneficial.

Ye Xingli wasn't surprised by this. Civil engineering construction inevitably required an understanding of various materials, and the Artifact Crafting Department's expertise in the design, craftsmanship, and proper use of materials was unmatched throughout the Ten Thousand Arts University.

As for the maintenance and use of magical skeletons, that went without saying. When Civil Engineering students participated in various projects, they initially wore down their bodies, but after equipping magical skeletons, they would start wearing down the skeletons instead.

Learning how to maintain magical skeletons, how to choose them, and how to use them more effectively could save a lot of money and improve work efficiency.

Among middle and upper-year Civil Engineering students, quite a few took courses from the Artifact Crafting Department, and Ye Xingli had seen this many times.

However...

Ye Xingli: You're just about to start your sophomore year, right? Isn't it too early to take courses from other departments now?

Zhang Yu: I just want to get a head start and prepare for the future.

Ye Xingli: That makes sense too. Let me send you the Artifact Crafting Department's course schedule. You can look up the specific details yourself.

Looking at the course schedule she sent, Zhang Yu immediately scanned it, but the more he looked, the more astonished he became.

Artifact Engineering Drawing, Principles of Artifacts, Artifact Design, Basics of Rune Engraving, Artifact Dynamics, Spiritual Energy Materials and Forming Techniques, Magical Power Transmission and Conduction, Primary Automated Artifact Spirits, True Fire Processing Technology...

Looking at the densely packed list of courses, Zhang Yu felt as if he were seeing entire libraries appearing before his eyes.

"Wait... the Artifact Crafting Department has this many more courses than our Civil Engineering Department?"

"In the same semester, their course load is almost three times that of Civil Engineering, isn't it?"

"And all those lab classes, artifact crafting practice sessions..."

"And this course arrangement..."

Zhang Yu voiced his confusion to Ye Xingli: I see many courses are scheduled at the same time. How does that work?

Ye Xingli: The Artifact Crafting Department's course load is heavy, so heavy that it can't be scheduled without overlaps.

Ye Xingli: Either find a way to attend multiple courses simultaneously or make up for them later with online classes.

Ye Xingli: But you don't need to learn all of this. It's too much. Just pick a few useful ones to study.

Zhang Yu let out a bitter laugh, thinking to himself, "But I have to learn all of them."

"No wonder the Magnetic Pole True Lord's requirements aren't so simple."

"With so many courses, if I wait until my junior year to start learning, I might not have enough time."

"Fortunately..."

Zhang Yu felt the operation of the Remnant Ox Body-Mind Technique and the Boundless Inner Dharma Body in his mind.

Looking at the two-headed white ox roaring with its head raised, he thought to himself, "Fortunately, I've now cultivated the Boundless Inner Dharma Body and can split my focus."

"I must push the Boundless Inner Dharma Body to level 20 next."

"There's so much to learn in the Artifact Crafting Department. Without the ability to multitask, it would be impossible to learn all this while maintaining my cultivation."

"Oh, right, and the time acceleration in the Spirit Realm."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "By accelerating time in the Spirit Realm, I can further improve efficiency."

"But that costs money too."

"And learning the Artifact Crafting Department's courses also costs money."

Zhang Yu wasn't a student of the Artifact Crafting Department. According to the Ten Thousand Arts University's regulations, he couldn't freely attend their courses... unless he paid.

"Online courses and textbooks cost a lot, and hiring a tutor would cost even more." Zhang Yu sighed, once again lamenting how money never seemed to be enough.

And every time he lamented the lack of money, he couldn't help but think of a man, a wealthy man.

So Zhang Yu sent a message to his senior, Tian Yang.

This senior, who was previously in his sixth year and had now advanced to his seventh, was the one who had worked with Zhang Yu to squeeze some money from Boss Wang back in the underground tomb.

Zhang Yu: Have you managed to contact Boss Wang?

Zhang Yu: Freshman Year Final Ranking. Image File

Zhang Yu: This is my freshly released result. If you can get in touch with Boss Wang, show it to him.

Zhang Yu: Ah, I miss him so much.

Over the past few months, the more he relied on himself to earn money and the more he felt the pinch when money was needed, the more Zhang Yu missed the times when he could get money from Boss Wang.

A moment later, Tian Yang replied: Can't reach him.

Tian Yang: I miss him too.

Tian Yang: If you have any more good pictures like this in the future, send them to me. If I ever get in touch with him, I'll show them all to Boss Wang.

After casually chatting with Tian Yang for a bit, Zhang Yu skimmed through various messages from others.

Li Xiao: Senior Brother, you were amazing this time. I posted your ranking in the Xian Du hometown group, and at first, they didn't believe it.

Li Xiao: Ye Lingxiao even asked me if it was a fake picture.

Li Xiao: You should have seen their incredulous expressions.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "You little rascal, you're a Xian Du traitor too."

"And knowing I can't see the chats in your Xiandu group, couldn't you just send me a screenshot?"

Just as Zhang Yu was thinking about how to hint to Li Xiao to send him the chat records from the Xiandu group, Fu Ji suddenly said, "Ye Lingxiao might be able to contact President Wang, right?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's heart stirred: "Fu Ji, you rascal, when it comes to the realm of scams, your mind becomes sharp indeed."

Zhang Yu knew that Ye Lingxiao, as the descendant of the Ye clan from the first layer of Xiandu, had also been President Wang's designated lackey during his time on the first layer. Moreover, he had graduated from high school and entered university before President Wang's downfall.

"It's very likely Ye Lingxiao got into the Underworld University, so he might indeed be able to contact President Wang."

Thinking this, Zhang Yu immediately replied: "Pass Ye Lingxiao to me, I want to add him as a friend."

Seeing the information forwarded by Li Xiao, Zhang Yu's eyes lit up: "Underworld University, Biology Department, Foundation Establishment Class, Rank 3, Ye Lingxiao."

"So it really is Underworld University."

After adding him as a friend, Zhang Yu thought Ye Lingxiao wouldn't accept immediately. To his surprise, not only was the request accepted right away, but the other party also sent a message.

Ye Lingxiao: Zhang Yu, don't contact me anymore from now on.

Ye Lingxiao: If President Wang finds out, I'm afraid he'll misunderstand.

After sending these two messages, Ye Lingxiao decisively deleted Zhang Yu as a friend.

...

Underworld University.

Recalling Zhang Yu's results this time, Ye Lingxiao suddenly clutched his chest: "That bastard."

"How can he study so well?"

At this moment, Ye Lingxiao felt all the joy of securing third place in the finals vanish in an instant.

...

Seeing Ye Lingxiao disregard their hometown ties so callously, Zhang Yu had no choice but to set it aside for now and turned his attention to messages from others.

Lion Yunxiang: Zhang Yu, if you were at the Heavenly Demon University, you'd probably have been lined up and taken turns by the Breeding Department students.

Che Yufei: Young Master Yu, have you joined the competition team yet?

Zhao Tianxing: [Thumbs up]

Seeing Zhao Tianxing's emoji, Zhang Yu knew the other was likely still working overtime and couldn't send him too much text.

So he replied with a thumbs-up as well, everything left unsaid.

Soon, Zhang Yu saw messages from the competition team group chat.

...

Ma Xuan: @Ji Yuanshu, the results are out, right?

Ma Xuan: Next, you should start learning the first of the Seven Ultimate Earthworks, the Profound Yellow Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

Ma Xuan: This technique lays the foundation. It not only benefits the Seven Ultimate Earthworks but also greatly advances other large-scale construction-type earthwork techniques.

Ma Xuan: If you can master it, it will be a big help in the competition too.

Ma Xuan: I have quite some experience in this area. If you have any questions, you can ask me anytime.

Just as Ma Xuan was halfway through sending his messages, he saw a private chat notification from Cong Na.

Ma Xuan clicked on the window that popped up in his Eye Socket, intending to see what Cong Na had sent him.

Cong Na: Stop talking.

Cong Na: Just stop talking.

Cong Na: Freshman Year Final Rankings.image file

Cong Na: This is their class ranking. Open it and see for yourself.

Ma Xuan opened it and found that Zhang Yu was actually ranked above Ji Yuanshu.

Ma Xuan: Impossible! How could Zhang Yu possibly surpass Ji Yuanshu?

Ma Xuan: Where did you get this screenshot?

Cong Na: Zhang Yu posted it on his social feed.

Ma Xuan remembered that Cong Na and Zhang Yu were friends on social media.

Ma Xuan: If it's from his social feed, then it's probably true.

Ma Xuan: But I still don't understand, how could Ji Yuanshu lose to Zhang Yu?

Cong Na: Why care how he lost? A loss is a loss. It just means Zhang Yu's current strength is above Ji Yuanshu's.

Cong Na: The question now is whether to replace Ji Yuanshu and bring Zhang Yu in instead.

(End of Chapter)