Chapter 416: Magnetic Pole Avatar

Chapter 416: The Avatar of the Magnetic Pole

The very moment the Earth Fiend Bottle was forged, Zhang Yu’s face paled, and a sharp, stabbing pain erupted in his chest.

He shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself: "Did I still get injured while processing the Earth Fiend Qi?"

He understood that this was partly due to his lack of cultivation and experience in handling such volatile energies, and partly because the laboratory equipment was far too primitive.

Though Zhang Yu had been cautious, a few wisps of the Earth Fiend Qi had still managed to infiltrate his body.

Yet, this was within his expectations.

"Fortunately, I was careful enough; this level of infection should pass after a few days of rest."

"The money saved on renting a high-end laboratory can be spent on the Spirit Realm’s simulated lab these next few days to hone my artifact-refining skills."

For the next two days, aside from attending classes, Zhang Yu remained sequestered in his dormitory, practicing his craft within the simulated environment of the Spirit Realm.

...

On this day, Ye Xingli appeared at his door and knocked.

Zhang Yu looked at her, surprised, and asked, "Senior Sister Ye? Is something the matter?"

Ye Xingli looked at him with a strange expression, stepped into the room, and quickly shut the door behind her.

Ever since the Sovereign of the Magnetic Pole had tasked her with guiding Zhang Yu and recording his performance—even asking her to take photographs—she had been filled with confusion.

And thinking of what she was doing today, her bewilderment only deepened.

She reached into her robes and produced a sphere that shimmered with seven-colored light; inside, nebulae seemed to swirl, shifting between clarity and haze, brimming with mystery.

Zhang Yu asked, puzzled, "Senior Sister, what is this?"

The next moment, the voice of the Sovereign of the Magnetic Pole emanated from the sphere: "It is I."

The entire dormitory seemed to tremble violently.

But Zhang Yu soon realized it was not the physical room shaking, but the Spirit Realm visible to his Eye of Bones.

With a thunderous boom, a phantom of a pagoda tore through space and manifested within the room—it was the Sovereign’s Level 40 artifact, the Nine Heavens Primordial Sun Pagoda.

As the pagoda arrived, all matter in the small room intertwined with the Spirit Realm—be it his Eye of Bones or his artifacts—had its information transmission suppressed and taken over by the pagoda.

A flash of brilliance followed, and a phantom emerged from the sphere in Ye Xingli’s hand, standing before Zhang Yu.

Looking at the slender figure in elegant palace robes, feeling the noble aura radiating from her, and noting the haughty tilt of her head and the pride in her gaze, Zhang Yu asked uncertainly, "Are you the Sovereign of the Magnetic Pole?"

"Yes and no," the phantom replied coolly. "This is an avatar condensed from my Profound Female Heavenly Bead. It is not my true self, but it is sufficient to represent my will."

This was Zhang Yu’s first face-to-face encounter with the Sovereign, and he spoke with some nervousness: "Is there something you need?"

The Sovereign said faintly, "You purchased a batch of materials tainted with Earth Fiend Qi, and then rested for two days. Were you infected?"

Zhang Yu was startled, not expecting the Sovereign to be so attentive. He nodded slightly: "Yes."

The Sovereign continued, "You may think your constitution is strong enough to endure it."

"But Earth Fiend Qi is like a bone-eating maggot; if not handled properly, it can cause long-term damage to your physical form and degrade its quality."

With that, the Sovereign smiled slightly and looked at Ye Xingli behind her: "Xingli, go outside and keep watch. Do not let anyone disturb me."

"I understand." Ye Xingli cast a complex look at the Sovereign and then at Zhang Yu before silently retreating.

Once she was gone, the Sovereign leaned in close to Zhang Yu, observing him from head to toe.

Zhang Yu said nervously, "Sovereign, I feel the impact of the Earth Fiend Qi shouldn't be that severe."

The Sovereign grabbed his wrist and said imperiously, "Wait until I have finished my examination."

Zhang Yu felt an incredibly powerful force surge into his body, sweeping through his limbs, bones, and thirty-six meridians in an instant.

Fortunately, he had long since hidden all his Dao Seeds and Chain-Law diagrams, and he felt confident that the Sovereign had detected nothing unusual.

A moment later, Zhang Yu felt a pain in his chest, and black mist vented from his seven orifices, dissipating into the air.

The Sovereign looked at him with some surprise: "I have purged the residual Earth Fiend Qi for you. Your constitution is indeed formidable; even without my help today, you would have recovered before long."

She then swept her fingertips across his arms, shoulders, and chest as if inspecting something, finally saying with appreciation: "You have cultivated your body well. Many senior students who have tempered themselves for years cannot compare to you."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, feeling as though he were being scrutinized from every angle.

The Sovereign said lightly, "Relax. Are you this nervous in front of Director Gao as well?"

Zhang Yu replied helplessly, "No... it’s not quite the same."

The Sovereign asked, "How is it different? If anything, it was only after you and I established a master-disciple relationship that old Gao took you on as a nominal student."

She patted Zhang Yu’s head, comforting him: "Do not worry. I have used the Nine Heavens Primordial Sun Pagoda to suppress the Spirit Realm here; no one will ever know I came to see you."

Zhang Yu couldn't help but say, "Sovereign... I think it would be better if we communicated via the Spirit Realm network. Director Gao is a good teacher; this doesn't feel right."

Compared to Director Gao, the Sovereign’s methods were far more overbearing, and Zhang Yu did not want to be subjected to her inspections at every turn.

The Sovereign laughed dismissively: "Enough about old Gao."

"Three months remain until the end of your second year."

"Today, I shall test how well you have learned your artifact-refining courses."

... Meanwhile, outside the door, a thousand questions flooded Ye Xingli’s mind: "Why did Master come to find Zhang Yu?"

"And why so secretive, making me stand guard?"

"Judging by what was said, was it because Zhang Yu was infected by Earth Fiend Qi?"

"Did Master come specifically to treat him?"

Thinking this, more questions arose: "But... does this require her personal intervention? She could have had anyone else handle it, unless..."

"Did Master come in secret because she didn't want people to know Zhang Yu was tainted, or didn't want them to know he was refining artifacts?"

"Is it really Director Gao who is training him, or is it..."

As these speculations surfaced, a look of conflict appeared on Ye Xingli’s face.

She even recalled incidents where teachers had fought over disciples, leading to disastrous consequences.

"It couldn't be, could it?"

"Master and Director Gao have been friends for centuries; by the standards of their generation, they shouldn't do such things."

Ye Xingli nodded repeatedly, telling herself: "Master must be doing this for Director Gao."

"She must have come here to look after the Director's student."

Half an hour later, seeing that the Sovereign had not yet emerged, Ye Xingli wanted to send a message but feared disturbing her.

"How much longer will this take?"

Just then, a voice rang out: "Xingli?"

Ye Xingli looked up to see Mo Shangjin approaching, looking at her with curiosity: "What are you doing here?"

Knowing Mo Shangjin also lived on this floor, she quickly explained, "I’m here to see Zhang Yu."

Mo Shangjin smiled: "Looking for Zhang Yu? I also need to discuss the next project with him. Let’s go in together."

But as Mo Shangjin took a step forward, he found Ye Xingli blocking his path.

Mo Shangjin asked in bewilderment, "Hm? Xingli, what are you doing?"

Ye Xingli offered an awkward smile and replied, "I... I just finished talking to him, and he still has some matters to attend to. Let's not disturb him for now."

Simultaneously, Ye Xingli swiftly fired off a message to True Monarch Magnetic Pole.

Ye Xingli: Master, Mo Shangjin is outside the door right now.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole: Don't let him bother me.

Ye Xingli gave a wry smile internally, looking at the man before her, and had no choice but to engage him in idle chatter.

At first, Mo Shangjin was quite delighted to be drawn into conversation by Ye Xingli.

He had long desired to cultivate a rapport with such a star pupil of the Artifact Forging Department; if nothing else, the maintenance of his own dharma-remains would cost significantly less through her.

Yet, after ten minutes of forced small talk, Mo Shangjin began to sense that something was amiss, thinking to himself, "Ye Xingli... why does it feel like she's just making conversation for the sake of it? What exactly is she trying to do?"

Five minutes later, just as Mo Shangjin’s suspicions reached a fever pitch, the dormitory door behind them finally creaked open.

Zhang Yu looked at the pair and asked, "Senior Mo, Senior Ye, why are you two here?"

As Mo Shangjin stepped forward to greet him, the Profound Female Heavenly Bead transformed into a light so subtle it escaped the naked eye, slipping unnoticed into the folds of Ye Xingli’s robes.

Ye Xingli offered a quick greeting and hurried away, tactfully sending a message as she left: Master, Zhang Yu is, after all, Director Gao’s disciple.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole: Xingli, since when did you become so talkative?

Ye Xingli immediately deleted the text she had been drafting.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole: As for today’s events, act as though you saw nothing.

Ye Xingli: [Zip-mouth emoji]

Ye Xingli sighed to herself, "Alas, what charm does this Zhang Yu truly possess?"

Inside the dormitory on the other side.

After Mo Shangjin had departed, Fu Ji sighed, "Zhang Yu, have you considered what you will do once Director Gao discovers this?"

Recalling the look of satisfaction on True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s face before he left, Zhang Yu replied slowly, "My grasp of the artifact forging curriculum has essentially earned the approval of True Monarch Magnetic Pole."

"The next step is to simply pass the Artifact Forging Department’s final exams."

Since the True Monarch had already promised to arrange a private examination for him, he felt little cause for concern.

Zhang Yu mused, "The True Monarch said he would secretly grant me the status of an artifact forger without making it public, so I can remain in the Civil Engineering Department for a few more years."

"Sigh, I’ll just keep it hidden as long as I can."

"Director Gao has been very good to me; I have no desire to come into conflict with him."

Fu Ji thought to herself, "Is that really for Director Gao’s sake? You’re just eyeing the Seven Wonders of Civil Engineering and the Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power."

(End of chapter)