Chapter 449: Granted the Five Absolutes (Thanks to 'In Love with Fiji')

Chapter 449: Receiving the Five Ultimates (Thanks to 'Love Fiji' for gifting Bai Zhenzhen 10 pairs of silk stockings)

The chaos ignited by Nectar Coins persisted in the City of Ten Thousand Laws for several days.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming fullness of university life, or perhaps there were simply too many other pressing concerns, but the turmoil in the University City gradually subsided after a few days.

The streets remained crowded with bustling throngs, the construction sites hummed with feverish activity, and the various scars left upon the city by the financial storm had already been repaired through overtime labor.

The entire University City appeared as busy as it had always been; whether on the faces of the people or along the streets, there was no longer a trace of the financial storm to be found.

This even gave Zhang Yu the illusion that the financial storm had never arrived at all.

Only when he looked at the withdrawal notifications in his class group and the dwindling number of members could he truly feel that none of this was a hallucination; the financial storm had not only descended, but had also carried many from the material realm into the spirit realm.

Just then, a message arrived in the Songyang Hometown Group: Hu Yuntao’s memorial service had begun.

Zhang Yu tapped to open it and saw Hu Yuntao’s black-and-white avatar floating in his ocular display, speaking: "Everyone, I apologize for the interruption, and for asking you to attend my farewell."

"I was born in the first layer, at the Songyang City protected breeding base. I was admitted to Red Pagoda High School at eighteen and Heavenly Demon University at twenty. I worked hard my whole life, yet in the end, I did not depart in peace; I am filled with pain, resentment, and regret."

"They say the first year after death is the most important. I hope that if you have any business, you might consider supporting me..."

Listening to Hu Yuntao’s speech, Zhang Yu shook his head with a sigh; this was not the first spirit-realm memorial service he had attended.

Usually, the deceased presided over their own services, reminiscing about the past while promoting their soul-cultivation services to fellow townsfolk and classmates, hoping to secure more work opportunities in the afterlife.

"The Dao of Immortals is fickle indeed."

Witnessing these events, Zhang Yu could only secretly warn himself to tread with caution on the path of immortality, and never to engage in things like coin speculation without reliable inside information.

He arrived at the construction site, continuing to work while practicing the Dragon Pulse Induction Manual.

Through the tempering of these past few days on-site, Zhang Yu had pushed this martial art to the 19th level.

Shortly after he began working, Feng Tingting sent a message: Zhang Yu, have you heard? Ping Han from your department is working at Hehuan University to pay off his debts.

Zhang Yu had already blocked Ping Han, so he was indeed unaware of the other's situation.

Hearing what Feng Tingting said, Zhang Yu asked curiously: What kind of work can he do at Hehuan University?

Feng Tingting sent a photo: [Yin Artifact]

No way... Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, why the hell are you sending me this? Is this harassment? Do you have no sense of boundaries between classmates?

But Feng Tingting’s next sentence shocked Zhang Yu.

Feng Tingting: This is Ping Han.

Zhang Yu: Huh?

Feng Tingting: This is what he posted on his social feed, didn't you see it? He’s even planning to attend the next joint cultivation conference.

Zhang Yu: What on earth happened?

Feng Tingting: After the high-intelligence spirit artifact runaway incident, Hehuan University was left with a massive shortage of spirit artifacts.

Feng Tingting: Furthermore, a sense of distrust toward high-intelligence spirit artifacts has arisen.

Feng Tingting: So, after a new batch of Yin artifacts was produced, they recruited a group of soul cultivators to temporarily act as spirit artifacts.

Feng Tingting: This is Ping Han.

Feng Tingting: To be precise, [Yin Artifact] is what Ping Han is now.

Zhang Yu looked at the circled part of the image, stunned: Huh?

Feng Tingting: This is a high-level Yin artifact; how could Ping Han operate it all by himself?

Feng Tingting reminded him: By the way, Ping Han is currently borrowing money from everyone he can find. Don't you dare lend him any; he can't pay it back.

Feng Tingting: By the time the Great Ten ends, if he hasn't redeemed his physical body, he probably won't be able to graduate.

Feng Tingting: At that point, he might only be able to take the "college-to-vocational" route.

Zhang Yu knew that the so-called "college-to-vocational" route was a sarcastic term for those who couldn't graduate from the top ten universities and ended up settling for a vocational diploma; after all, for many vocational schools, even the talents discarded by the top ten were highly sought after.

After closing the chat with Feng Tingting, Zhang Yu felt a deep sense of melancholy, once again grateful that he hadn't fallen into the trap of Nectar Coins due to a moment of greed.

...

Ji Yuanxu watched the repayment reminders popping up incessantly in his ocular display, and his entire body slowly slumped to the floor.

"I can only continue to seek help from the Evil God."

"The Evil God must have a way to save me."

Just as he was wondering what to do next, several notifications appeared before him. Before he could clearly read their contents, calls were already coming from outside the door.

Looking at the inspection officers outside, he was filled with confusion, only to hear the other party say: "Have you been contacting this person online?"

Looking at the content projected by the other party, Ji Yuanxu’s heart sank, for the avatar was exactly that of the Evil God he had been contacting in the spirit realm.

Just as Ji Yuanxu thought his worship of the Evil God had been discovered, he heard the inspection officer say: "This person is suspected of fraud under the guise of recruiting believers for an Evil God, with over a hundred victims."

"Because of the Nectar Coin crash, his trail was finally uncovered."

"When we searched his chat logs, we found that you had been swindled as well..."

The words that followed became a blur to Ji Yuanxu, his mind echoing only with the phrases: "Fraud? Swindled?"

"Impossible! I performed the rituals and gained fortune!"

"How could it be fraud?" Just as Ji Yuanxu fell into shock, the inspection officer continued: "Do you have time? Come back with us to make a statement."

When he emerged from the Inspection Bureau, Ji Yuanxu was still in a daze, the officer's words constantly replaying in his mind.

"This fraudster is a graduate of the Finance Department, but he had no background or resources, so he turned to fraud to make money."

"We recovered a portion of the stolen funds, which we will return to you. Keep it safe."

"Go back, study hard, work overtime, and stop dreaming unrealistic dreams. The Evil God is just an urban legend; don't believe in that nonsense."

Looking at the returned portion of the funds, Ji Yuanxu felt as if the entire process had been a dream.

However, with this small sum of spirit coins, he wouldn't have to work as a soul cultivator and could barely manage to remain a human, though he would be a truly impoverished one.

Yet, regarding the entire incident, Ji Yuanxu still felt a strong sense of wrongness, as if he were a pawn in some grand scheme, but everything before him was shrouded in a fog, preventing him from seeing what had truly transpired.

...

Ping Han: "Brother Yu, I was wrong!"

Ping Han: "Please forgive me."

Ping Han: "I’ll kowtow to you right now! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Ping Han: "Please, lend me some money..."

Listening to the apology voice message sent by Ping Han from a different account, Zhang Yu shook his head helplessly and silently chose to block him.

He heard that Ping Han was currently borrowing money from everyone, not even sparing the freshmen in the Qi Refining department.

Just then, Zhang Yu heard laughter from the side. He turned to see Yu Xinghan looking both happy and terrified.

Before the Nectar Coin crash, Yu Xinghan had made a small profit of 12 spirit coins and withdrawn in time, managing to escape unscathed.

Meeting Zhang Yu’s gaze, Yu Xinghan couldn't help but say: "Snatching spirit coins from under the hands of a Deity-Transformation Sovereign and running—that was truly a thrill."

He sighed: "But if it happens again, I’m afraid I wouldn't dare."

Zhang Yu shook his head, "Take care of yourself; it is best to touch this thing as little as possible."

A moment later, Zhang Yu arrived at the construction site on the 669th floor, where he met Director Gao.

Director Gao spoke plainly, "The seven trials of civil engineering I have set for you are quite simple: complete the floor before you within one hour."

Hearing the director’s requirements, Zhang Yu could not help but sigh at how absurdly blatant this nepotism was; finishing a floor in an hour counted as passing?

But since he was the one benefiting from the back door, he supposed it was fine.

After breezing through the trial set by Director Gao, Zhang Yu was granted the fifth wonder of civil engineering: Pointing Earth to Steel.

This was a technique that utilized mana and martial energy to temporarily bolster the strength of soil and sand, or even animate earth into soldiers.

Beyond this, Zhang Yu was granted the right to purchase a piece of Dharma remains called Earth-Quaking Steel Waves, a relic specifically designed to complement Pointing Earth to Steel.

Zhang Yu had no interest in the purchase right, so he posed another question: "Teacher, can I purchase the blueprints for this Dharma remains?"

Director Gao replied, "The blueprints?"

Zhang Yu explained, "I was thinking... if I were to ask a classmate from the Artifact Refining Department to craft this for me, would it be much cheaper?"

Director Gao nodded slightly, "That is permissible, though only for small-scale private customization; large-scale commercial production is forbidden..."

Halfway through his sentence, Director Gao chuckled and shook his head; how could Zhang Yu possibly engage in large-scale commercial production?

Looking at the blueprints he had acquired, Zhang Yu mused to himself, "It involves three refining techniques I have yet to master; I cannot learn the contents of these blueprints just yet."

Although Zhang Yu did not intend to equip the Dharma remains, he was very interested in mastering their design and production.

On one hand, it was to eventually modify the remains into a magical treasure to complement his seven wonders of civil engineering.

On the other hand...

"If I truly encounter a critical moment where I need to boost my combat power," Zhang Yu thought, "then equipping the remains temporarily to enhance my strength is not entirely out of the question."

"At worst, I can simply reattach the body parts I peel off once I am finished."

After granting Zhang Yu the technique, Director Gao nodded in satisfaction, "I have already spoken with another professor; next month, you will be scheduled for another of the seven trials. Succeed, and you shall be able to cultivate the sixth wonder: Twisting Earth to Gold."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu could not help but nod with excitement; before he knew it, the day he would gather the full power of the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Strength was drawing ever closer.

Director Gao continued, "Next month, you will join Mo Shangjin for the inter-school league."

"However, two fellows on Mo Shangjin's team have seen their value plummet due to the nectar coin crisis, forcing them to sell off many of their Dharma remains; they are no longer strong enough to compete."

"I am currently selecting replacements, so if you have any recommendations, feel free to let me know."