Chapter 396: Granted the Seven Absolutes

Chapter 396: Bestowed the Seven Absolutes

The Spirit Realm.

Inside a room shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

Suddenly, a line of text flickered into view: "Old Zhao, you went to Ten Thousand Dharmas University this time?"

In the dark, to save on spirit coins, Zhao Tianxing—who had set his Spirit Realm projection to display only his name—smiled faintly.

He typed back a line: Yes, I participated in the top-ten tournament of the Civil Engineering department’s internal competition, helping our team secure seventh place.

The darkness immediately filled with a flurry of "Ohs!", "Wows!", and "Aahs!" (⊙o⊙)!

Zhao Tianxing: You guys haven't been to Ten Thousand Dharmas University; you have no idea how wide their spirit energy circuits are, how high-quality their dharma-remains are, or how complex the work they do is...

Classmates: Oh! Wow! Aah! (⊙o⊙)!

Feeling the envy and shock of his peers, an indescribable sense of pride welled up in Zhao Tianxing’s heart.

Another line of text appeared: Old Zhao, did you get a good review?

A junior college student: If you manage to snag a good review on top of that, won't you be getting overtime every day? Your salary will skyrocket!

Zhao Tianxing checked his data, thinking to himself: "Should I ask Zhang Yu for a good review?"

"If I pester him like this, will he stop hiring me for work in the future?"

"Maybe I should wait a few more days and see?"

Just then, Zhao Tianxing noticed a new good review had been added, and his heart leaped with joy.

A moment later, as a suction force took hold, Zhao Tianxing knew he had been matched to another job.

...

Mo Tianyi: Thanks.

Mo Tianyi: Find me if you have more work later; I'll give you a discount.

Zhang Yu: Sure, I'll look for you when I have work.

After casually leaving good reviews for Zhao Tianxing and Mo Tianyi, Zhang Yu checked his current bank balance.

Initially, with the 5 spirit coins his sister had repaid, the 10-coin monthly fee from Wen Wuyai, and the 10-coin treatment fee from Director Gao, his savings had climbed to over 40.

But during the last match, Zhang Yu had used the "Eidetic Memory" Daoist service, split the costs of waste-eye remains with his teammates, hired soul cultivators, purchased Earth-Sha pollutant materials, and paid out Zhao Tianxing, Mo Tianyi, and his group members.

In the blink of an eye, his bank balance had dwindled to just over 17.

"This competition is a real money pit," Zhang Yu thought. "I hope they give me a bit more once the rankings are finalized."

Just then, Xiao Qingxuan walked over and looked at Zhang Yu. "We are the victors. How do you intend to use our challenge rights in the next round?"

Zhang Yu asked, "If we keep climbing, we'll just lose to whoever we face, right? Can we sell these challenge rights?"

Xiao Qingxuan smiled faintly. "That depends on how you sell them."

"The teams currently holding challenge rights are first, second, third, fifth, and us."

"The order of challenge starts with us at seventh, followed by fifth, third, and second, each taking turns. The first-place team cannot use their challenge rights."

"According to my intelligence, the third-place team is neutral; they’ve decided to forfeit their rights."

"The second-place team is Mo Shangjin’s; they will definitely challenge the first-place Xuanliang Heaven."

"The fifth-place team is also a pacifist faction. To assist Xuanliang Heaven, they will likely choose to challenge Mo Shangjin to wear them down."

"Director Gao’s intention is for us to challenge the fifth-place team, just to drain them a little. If there’s any danger, we should forfeit immediately."

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred. "How much is the compensation?"

Xiao Qingxuan said coolly, "For official team members, 5 spirit coins each."

Zhang Yu smiled sheepishly. "Can we get a bit more?"

Xiao Qingxuan consulted with Director Gao and sighed. "5.5 is the absolute limit. That’s all Director Gao can squeeze out for us."

And so, in the following matches, Zhang Yu led his team to challenge the fifth-ranked squad.

Not long after the match began, watching Xiao Yuji—a ten-meter-tall, three-headed, six-armed giant wielding six dharma treasures while reciting advertising slogans and charging wildly—Zhang Yu couldn't help but curse, "Is this a civil engineering competition?"

Xiao Qingxuan explained, "Xiao Yuji is the descendant of a construction company executive. Even though he’s in the Civil Engineering department, he’ll never set foot on a real construction site."

After struggling for over ten minutes, Zhang Yu and his team couldn't bear Xiao Yuji’s relentless bombardment and chose to withdraw one after another, fearing that an injury in this pointless competition would cost them a fortune in medical bills.

Next, Xiao Yuji’s team challenged Mo Shangjin. After being suppressed by a single member of Mo Shangjin’s team, they surrendered after holding out for only five or six minutes.

Watching this, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "This Xiao Yuji is a real snake. He hit us so hard, but when he met Mo Shangjin, he put on a show and just folded."

The final battle unfolded between Mo Shangjin and Xuanliang Heaven.

Both sides possessed military-grade techniques capable of moving mountains like the Heavenly Kunlun. As the battle began, the entire arena seemed to turn upside down, gravity reversing itself.

Everyone in the arena had to resist the Earth-Sha gravity emitted by Mo Shangjin and Xuanliang Heaven while flying at high speeds to perform construction and combat.

Zhang Yu mused, "Is this a three-dimensional aerospace array? They’ve turned a ground bunker into a space station."

A moment later, the simulated spirit veins beneath the ground were ripped out by the two, torn and pulled like a giant dragon, eventually shattering into fragments that were fought over, repaired, and destroyed by various forces...

In the end, Mo Shangjin’s team won with an 8% advantage.

... Inside the Spirit Realm.

With Mo Shangjin taking first place, the internal competition ended with the War Faction holding the upper hand.

The War Faction teachers on the scene all wore smiles.

Director Gao smiled slightly, discussing the distribution of rewards with Director Lin and True Monarch Lingyue.

Tu Lishan spoke up, "Old Director, doesn't this internal competition include loan rewards for outstanding contestants? I think Zhang Yu deserves one."

True Monarch Lingyue remembered clearly that when Zhang Yu’s team defeated Ma Xuan, Tu Lishan had brought this up, only to be shot down.

Seeing Tu Lishan bring it up again, True Monarch Lingyue smiled faintly, knowing there was no longer any reason to refuse. He looked at Director Lin and asked, "Director Lin, what do you think?"

Director Lin said coolly, "Teacher Tu, the department only looks at results, rankings, and data. Students qualified for loan bonuses will naturally receive them. Everything follows procedure; there is no need for you to single anyone out."

Director Gao chuckled. "Teacher Tu is just concerned for the department's gems, but you're right, Old Lin. We should follow the process."

"Let’s talk about the first-place team. Mo Shangjin took first; though he is my disciple, I won't avoid the issue—he is, after all, representing the department in the inter-school league."

"The situation is changing rapidly; every school is developing military-grade power. While Mo Shangjin has mastered the Heavenly Kunlun mountain-moving strength, it might not be enough for this league."

"I think... it’s time to authorize the use of military-grade dharma-remains."

Director Lin’s gaze sharpened, thinking, "A lion’s share, indeed..."

Meanwhile, standing on the periphery, Lang Yougong felt the increasingly tense atmosphere in the Spirit Realm and thought, "Sigh, after this competition, the rift between the two sides has become even more public."

...

Not long after, while in class, Zhang Yu received news regarding his competition rewards.

First was the bonus for being an official member of the seventh-place team, totaling 8 spirit coins.

Next, the low-interest loan for outstanding contestants, 12 spirit coins, was credited to his account.

Zhang Yu’s savings suddenly surged to 42.5 spirit coins.

Then came the surge in his composite score: a base of 1800, bolstered by a performance bonus of 194, totaling a 1994-point increase that catapulted Zhang Yu’s composite score to nearly 5000.

With such a dramatic rise in his standing, Zhang Yu finally earned a place in the departmental rankings.

95th Place, Foundation Establishment Realm, Department of Civil Engineering.

Inside the classroom, students who had been quietly attending the lecture gradually noticed the change hovering above Zhang Yu’s head. Gazing at that 95th-place ranking, some were struck with astonishment, others with envy, and some with sheer disbelief.

Departmental rankings only manifest upon entering the top 100; while 95th might seem unremarkable, it had only been three months since the start of their sophomore year.

The ranking above Zhang Yu’s head was strikingly conspicuous in the classroom, drawing even the gaze of the mana instructor, Li Mingbo, who could not help but glance at it several times.

"This kid at the first layer, I heard he took seventh in the Civil Engineering competition," Li Mingbo mused to himself, "Impressive. Far more impressive than I had anticipated."

Zhang Yu knew that with this 95th-place departmental ranking, he would be entitled to an additional bonus loan at the end of each academic year.

"Still, the reward for 95th is too meager. Before the end of my sophomore year, once I finish the exams for all my courses, I should be able to climb higher."

Just then, Zhang Yu received a message from his sister.

Zhang Pianpian: Congratulations on breaking into the top 100.

Zhang Yu could not help but steal a few glances at her ranking: 44th, Foundation Establishment Realm, Department of Talismans.

At this moment, Zhang Yu felt even more keenly how formidable his sister’s ranking truly was.

Yet, every time he brought it up, Zhang Pianpian would simply explain that the Department of Talismans was fast-paced—that the difference between learning quickly and slowly was vast, and that lower-year students with high rankings were far ahead of other departments, telling him not to compare himself to her.

Beyond the shift in departmental rankings, the final reward was the transmission of the Seven Absolutes.

Simultaneously, the competition group chat began discussing the two slots for the Seven Absolutes inheritance.

Shi Huaiyu: One for Zhang Yu; let’s auction off the remaining one.

Zhang Yu: How much should I pay?

Shi Huaiyu: You contributed the most; just take it.

Che Yufei: If you hadn't poured money into the competition, I wouldn't have even had enough for my healing fees. You don't need to pay anything more.

Yu Xinghan: I still think it would be polite to contribute something.

Shi Huaiyu: I’m going to mute you first, substitute.

Yu Xinghan: I poured money in too!

Yu Xinghan: [Transfer Record]

Gongshu Jin: Can a substitute participate in the auction?

Shi Huaiyu: Of course.

Che Yufei: Be my guest.

Facing Gongshu Jin, who had dropped 20 spirit coins at the end of the competition, everyone in the group showed the utmost respect.

A moment later, the auction concluded, with Gongshu Jin securing the other Seven Absolutes slot for 26 spirit coins.

Soon, Zhang Yu received the transfer from Gongshu Jin, his savings suddenly swelling to over 46.8.

Seeing such a bounty of spirit coins, Zhang Yu felt the same urge as most Kunxu citizens: an impulse to spend the currency immediately and convert it into his own immortal strength.

At the same time, Director Gao sent a message.

Director Gao: Same place tomorrow. I will teach you the Second Absolute.

Director Gao: We shall also discuss your plans for obtaining a military certification in the future.

Seeing the message, Zhang Yu’s heart stirred, and he found himself looking forward to tomorrow with even greater anticipation.

(End of Chapter)