Chapter 399: Zhang Yu's Military Certificate Planning

Chapter 399: Zhang Yu's Military Certification Blueprint

Upon hearing Director Gao mention the military certification, Zhang Yu’s expression tightened, his gaze instantly turning grave.

Ever since he had first witnessed Mo Shangjin unleash the divine, mountain-moving power of the Heavenly Kunlun on that wilderness construction site, he had harbored an intense longing for this military-grade martial art of the civil engineering lineage.

During this recent civil engineering competition, Mo Shangjin’s cultivation had advanced yet again, and the Heavenly Kunlun power he wielded had grown even more earth-shattering, dominating the very heavens.

This only solidified Zhang Yu’s resolve to master this martial technique.

Sensing the ambition and desire burning in Zhang Yu’s eyes, Director Gao smiled faintly; he never feared a student’s ambition, viewing it as an essential fuel for charging forward along the immortal path.

On the contrary, losing one's fighting spirit, becoming easily satisfied, and suppressing all desires... those were the true obstacles to cultivation.

"The military certification available to our civil engineering department is known as the Military Civil Engineering Certificate."

"This certification is divided into Class A and Class B, applied to military-grade dharma-skeletons and military-grade martial arts respectively."

"What I am discussing with you now is the certification for military-grade martial arts..."

As Director Gao explained, the exam for the Military Civil Engineering Certificate was held once every two years, always in October.

The standards for the military certificate were incredibly high, and it was never guaranteed that someone would pass in any given session; if no candidate met the criteria on site, everyone would be eliminated.

"The next military certification exam is next year, which is far too soon for you."

"Therefore, the plan I’ve mapped out for you targets the exam after next—that is, October of the year after next, just one month after you begin your fifth year."

"By then, you should have just mastered the Seven Civil Engineering Ultimates. Once you pass the exam, you can fuse the seven ultimates into one and cultivate the Heavenly Kunlun mountain-moving power."

Passing the military exam in the fifth year and cultivating the Heavenly Kunlun power was, in Director Gao's eyes, already an exceptionally fast track.

In his projections, at this pace... by his sixth year, Zhang Yu would be able to represent the department in the inter-school league and contest for a respectable ranking.

But hearing that he would have to wait until his fifth year just to take the exam and cultivate the Heavenly Kunlun power gave Zhang Yu only one impression... it was far too slow.

Zhang Yu could not help but speak up: "Can it not be any sooner?"

"For instance, I could simply sit for next year's military certification exam."

"And then gather the Seven Civil Engineering Ultimates even earlier."

Director Gao's brow twitched at the words, sensing that the Zhang Yu before him had become somewhat overly ambitious and overconfident after the competition.

He cautioned: "It is currently December. If you wish to take next year's October exam, you have a mere ten months left."

"Do you even know who will be competing in next year's exam?"

"Su Yanyang and Xiao Yunji, whom you encountered in this competition, will both be taking it."

"To say nothing of Xiao Yunji, whose cultivation potential is so formidable she ranks among the very best in the entire civil engineering department. In a brief ten months, catching up to her will be immensely difficult."

"As for Su Yanyang, though your team defeated theirs in the competition, you must know that in a pure clash of personal strength, a significant gap still remains between you and him."

Director Gao reminded him: "Zhang Yu, your talent and aptitude are indeed remarkable, but you must not let that breed arrogance."

"Rather than trying to force a confrontation with Xiao Yunji and Su Yanyang in ten months, it is better to settle yourself for another three years, deeply mastering each of the Seven Civil Engineering Ultimates one by one, while raising your baseline data and dimensional attributes across the board. Your time to soar will come."

"The immortal path is a vast journey. Right now, a difference of one or three years feels immense to you, but forty or fifty years from now, looking back, you will find it mattered very little."

Zhang Yu knew he could not convince the man on this matter.

Thus, his mind shifted, and deciding to alter his approach, he spoke up: "You are right, Teacher. I should not bite off more than I can chew; I ought to ground myself more."

Director Gao nodded approvingly at this.

Zhang Yu then continued: "However, surely there is no harm in just participating? I don't necessarily expect to pass the military exam; I simply want to gain some early exposure and see what the examination is actually like."

Director Gao pondered for a moment, and seeing the earnest look on Zhang Yu’s face, decided this wasn't entirely out of the question, so he replied: "Gaining some exposure is fine, but you must exercise extreme caution when the time comes. If the situation looks bad, withdraw immediately, and do not spend too much money during the exam."

Zhang Yu naturally agreed repeatedly, though in his heart, his resolve was absolute: "Next October, I will definitely seize that military certificate!"

At the same time, Zhang Yu felt a surge of pressure.

He possessed a measure of confidence that he could surpass Su Yanyang, but overtaking Xiao Yunji in ten months left him somewhat uncertain.

After all, her strength and cultivation potential were a bottomless abyss; at the very least, he still had no idea where her limits lay.

With the timeline of the military exam settled, Director Gao turned the conversation toward specific study and cultivation arrangements.

In Director Gao’s view, Zhang Yu possessed extraordinary talent in martial cultivation, a powerful physique, a genuine passion for civil engineering, and a severe lack of funds...

Therefore, the most suitable place for Zhang Yu to cultivate remained the construction site.

On a site, Zhang Yu could cultivate his martial arts, hone his physique, take advantage of medicinal subsidies, earn money from projects, and contribute to the department... it was truly killing multiple birds with one stone.

Whenever Director Gao recalled how Zhang Yu, amidst the chaos of the tournament field, had remained single-mindedly focused on construction, ultimately pushing himself to the brink of death to complete the required engineering volume for victory, he could not help but marvel that the boy was a born civil engineer to the very core.

Director Gao spoke: "Starting next month, I will arrange for you to join some high-value projects, allowing you to earn more money while you cultivate."

"Aside from that, what you need most right now is to elevate your baseline data. These are the foundations of the immortal path; the sooner you raise them to the limit of Foundation Establishment, the better."

"This is a platinum membership card for the Heart-Hammering Abode, which grants a fifty percent discount. Take it to temper your Daoist heart."

Looking at the electronic membership card sent over, Zhang Yu felt a wave of delight; with this, he could utilize the spiritual realm services of the Heart-Hammering Abode to accelerate the progression of his Daoist heart level.

Director Gao continued: "I have already adjusted the spiritual energy supply to your dormitory to the highest tier. Lose no time in increasing your mana."

"As for mana quality, I own several cemetery plots in Huilong Garden and possess a collection of high-quality corpse components. Moving forward, I will provide you with some mana of two hundred percent quality every month."

Zhang Yu naturally remembered the Huilong Garden Mana Production Co., Ltd.; he had previously participated in a renovation project at their cemetery.

Hearing that he would be supplied with two hundred percent quality mana made Zhang Yu's heart leap even higher.

Previously, purchasing one hundred and seventy-five percent quality mana through the dark mana markets had accelerated his quality improvements early on, but as his own mana neared that threshold, the effects had grown progressively slower.

Particularly later, once his mana quality surpassed one hundred and seventy-five percent, he was forced to buy even higher qualities to see any progress.

And the higher the quality, the more exorbitant the price for each additional percentage point, which had caused the financially strapped Zhang Yu's progression to grind to a crawl.

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "As expected of Director Gao, to even have enterprises in Huilong Garden."

Director Gao went on: "Regarding physical strength, though you can hone it while working the sites, we can still quicken the pace a bit."

At this point, Director Gao looked at Zhang Yu and suddenly inquired: "Come to think of it, why is it that apart from your eye-skeleton, you have never utilized any other dharma-skeletons?"

In Director Gao's estimation, while Zhang Yu was not wealthy, he wasn't so destitute that he couldn't afford a single dharma-skeleton, yet he had reached his second year using nothing but a single eye piece.

Zhang Yu explained: "I heard that the highest tier of dharma-skeletons are custom-forged from one's own physical body."

"So I want to maintain the tempering of my physical frame, and when I have the funds in the future... I will create a custom dharma-skeleton."

"Oh?" Director Gao nodded slightly. "I did not expect you to harbor such a vision."

"Indeed, tempering the flesh to forge a custom dharma-skeleton is the more farsighted path with greater potential."

"However, this path is both expensive and arduous; even many wealthy individuals are unwilling to slowly temper their bodies, choosing instead to directly install powerful dharma-skeletons."

"Since you wish to walk this path, I shall not assist you with dharma-skeletons. Instead, I will find a way to secure a cultivation-type dharma-treasure for you and hand it over in a few days."

After bidding farewell to Director Gao, Zhang Yu felt that this encounter had yielded a bountiful harvest.

With this wave of support from Director Gao, his cultivation journey ahead would undoubtedly accelerate once more.

Bearing his rank as ninety-fifth in the Foundation Establishment realm of the civil engineering department, and feeling the respectful gazes of those around him, Zhang Yu recalled Director Gao's actions today and could not help but sigh inwardly: "The academic atmosphere at Wanfa University is quite wonderful after all; the professors are actually very humane."

Meanwhile, Director Gao initiated contact with Perfected Lord Magnetic Pole.

Director Gao: Magnetic Pole, I want to procure a dharma-treasure to assist Zhang Yu with his physical cultivation.

Perfected Lord Magnetic Pole: You treat your disciple truly well.

Director Gao: Where do you suggest I make the purchase?

True Lord Magnetic Pole: [Lingxiao Manufacturing Official Shopping Site]

Director Gao: What is the point if the platform pockets all the profit?

Director Gao: I want to buy directly from you, cutting out the middleman’s markup.

True Lord Magnetic Pole: Sigh, very well, I suppose our centuries of friendship demand it.

Director Gao beamed instantly and replied: Foundation Establishment peak physical tempering efficiency, portable, no side effects, no additional costs, no compromise to potential, budget of 5 spirit coins—can you manage that?

True Lord Magnetic Pole: Perhaps I should become your apprentice instead.

Director Gao: Don't be hasty, the price is negotiable.

...

Wanfa University City, 88th Floor.

Zhang Yu began practicing the seventh martial art of the Martial Saint Body.

During the final showdown against Su Yanyang’s team in the civil engineering competition, the Martial Saint Body, even at its first level of efficacy, had proven remarkably effective.

This only heightened Zhang Yu’s anticipation for the full potential of this cultivation set.

Especially with his upcoming stint at the construction site, he intended to accelerate his progress in the Martial Saint Body, hoping that higher efficiency on the job would translate into greater earnings.

Beyond the cultivation of the Martial Saint Body, there remained the Dao heart, mana, mana quality, and physical fortitude—all requiring constant refinement.

Furthermore, his courses in artifact forging and civil engineering could not be neglected.

In the days that followed, Zhang Yu felt as though he were running off his feet, wishing desperately that a single day could stretch to forty-eight hours to accommodate his work, cultivation, and studies.

(End of chapter)