Chapter 395: Zhang Yu's Victory

Chapter 395: Zhang Yu’s Victory

Within the spiritual realm, the final outcomes of the five duels were settled as the match timer expired.

The result that most defied the expectations of the gathered instructors was, naturally, the clash between Zhang Yu’s team and Su Yanyang’s team.

In truth, ever since Zhang Yu and his companions defeated Ma Xuanyi’s squad, they had been consistently shattering the faculty’s predictions.

Jiao Lei Zhenren looked at his students—Zhang Yu, Gongshu Jin, Ying Xin, and Yu Xinghan—who had secured a top-seven finish in the Civil Engineering department’s internal competition while only in their second year. He mused that his bonus this year would surely be substantial.

Yet, just as a smile touched his lips, he caught sight of Director Lin standing nearby, expressionless and silent, and promptly swallowed his grin.

On the other side, Tu Lishan had no such reservations. He let out a hearty laugh, "It seems that no matter how much money Su Yanyang throws around or how flashy his smart architecture becomes, it cannot compare to the honest, hard work of Zhang Yu and Shi Huaiyu."

Tu Lishan was clearly delighted that his own disciple, Shi Huaiyu, had taken seventh place.

When this disciple had gone bankrupt playing the stock market, he had feared her affinity for the Dao was insufficient and her future potential limited, meaning the resources he invested in her would never yield a return. Now, however, it seemed his fortunes had turned.

"Still, I must stop lending her money for stocks and crypto."

Recalling how Shi Huaiyu had pushed her body to the brink of collapse twice during the competition, Tu Lishan thought to himself, "I thought suffering such losses would temper her impulsive nature, but it seems that flaw is not something she can shed in the short term."

Lang Yougong remarked, "I feel that in the final stages, Zhang Yu achieved another subtle breakthrough in both spirit and flesh. It seems the greater the pressure, the better he performs."

Tu Lishan nodded repeatedly, having observed that whether it was his construction style, his systemic approach, his cultivation path, or his own personality, Zhang Yu was the type to grow stronger in the face of adversity.

"In our line of civil engineering, this kind of stress resistance is exactly what we need," Tu Lishan mused. "If I want to force out his full potential, I should arrange some truly grueling tasks for him."

"Perhaps unfinished high-rises, forced demolitions, subterranean ruins, environmental remediation, or projects that have languished for centuries... that might accelerate his growth."

"But as it stands, his ability to push the Xuanhuang Zhenyue Seal to over level 10, and his War Demon Meteor Life Art and Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force to level 20 in such a short time, is a rare talent. Director Gao likely wouldn't risk sending him anywhere too dangerous just yet."

As he pondered, plans for maximizing Zhang Yu’s potential and profit began to take shape in Tu Lishan’s mind.

Meanwhile, Director Gao was scrolling through the chat logs of the competition group, feeling a pang of sentimentality. "This kid, he actually chipped in his own money for his teammates? How many spirit coins does he even have? Trying to play the big spender like the wealthy?"

What surprised Director Gao even more was that the three classmates had followed suit, contributing their own funds.

In Zhang Yu, Director Gao suddenly felt a sense of familiarity—a feeling he had not experienced in a very long time.

Elsewhere, the Magnetic Pole Monarch was also reviewing the communications between the competing teams.

"Su Yanyang knows how to achieve the best results with the lowest cost."

"Give him a budget of five spirit coins, and he might produce the effect of ten."

"If he were under my command, I might put him in charge of a division of soul cultivators."

"But Zhang Yu..." the Magnetic Pole Monarch thought slowly, "This boy, despite not being wealthy, commands such trust from his teammates."

"He may have a natural talent for attracting investment and funding."

The Monarch knew that compared to talents in martial arts, artifact refining, or alchemy, the charisma that inspires trust—the ability to make others double down on their investments under high-pressure, high-risk conditions—was far rarer.

Give such a person five spirit coins, and they might lose them, but they might just as easily create the effect of a hundred.

The great powers in Kunxu who had amassed vast fortunes through currency creation all possessed this peerless talent, capable of leveraging massive resources with their own strength.

"Interesting," the Monarch thought. "But there is no rush; I will continue to cultivate him and see how far he goes. After all, it is Old Gao’s money being burned."

At the thought of this, the Monarch felt even more satisfied. Free of charge—that was what the Monarch liked most about Zhang Yu.

Simultaneously, Director Lin was replaying Zhang Yu’s special maneuvers at a hundred times speed, thinking, "This is not Gao Chongguang’s style. The one guiding Zhang Yu from behind... must be from the Architecture, Artifact Refining, or Talisman departments."

"And he uses money to buy hearts? It seems Gao Chongguang has given him quite a lot of spirit coins."

A thought occurred to Director Lin: "I wonder what the price would be to buy him into my own faction?"

Ever since he had the Finance department as his backing, Director Lin had grown increasingly bold. He thought, "I’ll have Jiao Lei talk to him. Anything under 2.5 times the Ji Yuan Shu rate is a bargain; if it’s higher, I’ll have to consider other conditions..."

As the results were finalized, the post-match rankings emerged based on the completion levels of each team’s structures.

First place went to the Peace faction’s Xuan Liangtian team, second to the War faction’s Mo Shangjin team, and third to the Neutral faction.

The remaining fourth and fifth places went to the Peace faction, sixth to the War faction, and Zhang Yu’s team sat at seventh. Thus, among the top seven, three teams belonged to the War faction, three to the Peace faction, and one to the Neutral faction.

For now, the Peace faction held the upper hand, while the Neutral faction lagged behind.

The Neutral instructors couldn't help but think of Su Yanyang; had he squeezed into seventh place, the Neutral faction’s standing would not look so grim.

Director Lin watched the scene, thinking, "The Peace faction is dominant for now, but Mo Shangjin will surely challenge Xuan Liangtian in the next round."

Director Gao thought, "The opposition will certainly find a way to exhaust Mo Shangjin to prevent him from succeeding in his challenge."

The Magnetic Pole Monarch sent a private message to Director Gao: "Job done, I’m off."

In the next instant, the Monarch’s figure vanished.

Director Gao, watching this, hurriedly replied: "Don't forget the time for the next match."

...

Outside the arena.

"Seventh place!!"

Seeing their team ranked seventh, Yu Xinghan clenched his fists in excitement, then burst into laughter alongside Ying Xin.

Gongshu Jin let out a long sigh, feeling that his spirit coins had been well spent.

He immediately began looking for loans, thinking, "The team will receive two Seven Absolutes, and Zhang Yu is guaranteed one."

"As for the other... Shi Huaiyu would have had the best chance, but she’s likely broke."

"As long as I bid enough, I have a chance to secure it, and it shouldn't be too expensive."

Gongshu Jin realized that this was the moment to test the potential of the Immortal Dao, bloodline bonds, and family heritage.

Nearby, Che Yufei, Shi Yunxiang, Tian Yang, and the others, though covered in wounds, were in high spirits—taking screenshots, posting to their social feeds, and updating their resumes.

Shi Huaiyu looked at Zhang Yu and said, "Your final reinforcement installation was terrible... I mean, it was perfectly terrible! You made it so they can neither dismantle it nor recycle it easily."

"Enough, enough," Zhang Yu quickly cut her off. "We won this competition, but it violated too much of my conscience and professional ethics as a civil engineer. Unless absolutely necessary, I will never do this again."

Shi Huaiyu looked at Zhang Yu with a hint of admiration: "This guy... he’s just as shameless as Teacher Tu. He must have spent plenty of time scavenging for food on construction sites."

Just then, a quarrel erupted in the distance; it was Su Yanyang arguing with his teammates.

Shi Huaiyu turned her head with a sense of satisfaction, watching Su Yanyang surrounded by his team, a smile playing on her lips: "Ha, Su Yanyang might have to reorganize his entire team next year."

A roar rang out: "Su Yanyang, by what right do you fine me?"

"I think your command was the biggest problem! I said we should have just charged in."

"They couldn't have stopped us; if we had swarmed them, we might have won."

"It’s all your fault! Obsessing over smart architecture and formations..."

Facing his angry teammates, Su Yanyang said coldly, "My command was not the problem; your attitude toward the competition was. Especially you... your combat duration and construction scale were the lowest in the team. According to team rules, you are to be fined."

The other retorted, "Wasn't that because you made me clear the miasma pollution the moment we started?"

"Then let me ask you, does the data show how you cleared that miasma?"

"Then let me ask you this: does the data account for the errors in your soul-cultivation maneuvers?"

"Answer me!"

At that same moment, the soul-cultivator sent a message to Su Yanyang: "Boss, you haven't paid yet."

Su Yanyang replied: Do you really have the nerve to ask for money after delivering work like that? I have already requested a refund.

After blocking the user, Su Yanyang continued his argument with his teammates, only to quickly receive a payment demand from the agency representing the soul-cultivator.

Agency: Mr. Su Yanyang, if you persist in defaulting on your debt, we will have no choice but to sue you.

Simultaneously, a reply from the Dharma Remains Company flickered across Su Yanyang’s ocular interface.

Myriad Dao Artisan Sect Customer Service: Greetings, Mr. Su Yanyang. According to the on-site data tracing, the Dharma Remains suffered no malfunction; rather, your internal meridians were compromised. Your claim for compensation cannot be approved.

Just then, the substitute players arrived in succession, demanding that Su Yanyang return their money.

In an instant, Su Yanyang felt the flames of his fury rising ever higher.

"A pack of useless trash, every single one of you dragging me down."

With that thought, he could no longer be bothered to deal with them; with a loud bang, he shoved past his teammates and strode away.

Thanks to 'Today So' for the ten-thousand-point reward.

(End of chapter)