Chapter 451: Jinhe University Featured Teaching (Thanks to 'A Different')

Chapter 451: The Unique Pedagogy of Jinhe University (Thanks to 'buyiyangdeyanhuoli' for sponsoring the alliance master)

With a gentle shudder of the hull, the flying boat descended upon Jinhe University.

Zhang Yu stepped off the vessel, gazed at the university town sprawling before him, and asked, "Where to next?"

Xiao Qingxuan remained silent.

Beside him, Xiao Yunji was equally speechless, her eyes shimmering with shifting light as she seized every passing second to stream her online lectures.

Su Yanyang, scanning the digital map of Jinhe University, inquired, "The tournament doesn't start for another six hours. Shall we wander around, find a place to rest, or perhaps do a bit of a warm-up?"

Shi Huaiyu scoffed, "What is there to warm up for against a place like Jinhe University? Let's just find anywhere to idle for a while; I haven't even finished my daily cultivation homework yet."

Just then, a towering man whose skin was tinged with a bruised purplish-blue spoke up: "I've been to Jinhe University several times. There's a spot near the tournament grounds that's quite suited for passing the time."

Zhang Yu looked toward him. The speaker was named Li Zhen, a former teammate of Mo Shangjin and now their comrade for this Civil Engineering League.

Hearing Li Zhen's suggestion, Zhang Yu turned his gaze to the projection of Mo Shangjin floating nearby.

Though Mo Shangjin's physical body was still undergoing medical treatment, his consciousness manifested beside them through the spiritual realm, serving as their tournament advisor.

Mo Shangjin spoke up: "That works. Just follow Li Zhen's lead."

Zhang Yu nodded at the words and said, "Alright then, I'll trouble the senior to guide the way."

A moment later, Li Zhen shared the coordinates of their destination with everyone, and with a collective flicker of their forms, the group blurred into a sequence of afterimages, moving at high velocity through the university town.

The main thoroughfares of Jinhe University were crowded with cultivators moving at breakneck speeds, though trucks could still be seen appearing along the roadsides from time to time.

Zhang Yu surmised that this was because Jinhe University's campus was sprawling and sparse, and its students' average cultivation could not match that of the top ten elite institutions like Wanfa University, making vehicular transport necessary for a lot of freight.

Yet it was still one of the Thirty-Six Colonel Universities, unlike the vocational college Zhang Yu had visited for a project before, where the streets were filled with poor people and academic failures driving around.

Before they had traveled far, Zhang Yu spotted a checkpoint up ahead where personnel were intercepting people, seemingly inspecting something, which had caused a long queue to choke the street.

Seeing this, Li Zhen slowed his pace slightly, but he had absolutely no intention of waiting in line.

As he unleashed his Foundation Establishment Domain, a sudden stir rippled through the crowd.

Immediately after, a surge of dense astral qi erupted forward from within Li Zhen, parting the crowd in two within the blink of an eye and forcing a path for Zhang Yu and the others to march straight toward the checkpoint.

The surrounding crowd stared at the rankings hovering above the heads of Zhang Yu's group, their expressions a mix of shock and terror.

"They are Foundation Establishment students from Wanfa University!"

"Every single one of them is top-ranked in the Civil Engineering Department."

"They're so rich! The dharma-skeletons they're wearing are all major luxury brands. Wanfa students truly are loaded."

"Why is that guy using a Jihu brand dharma-skeleton?"

"The taste of the wealthy is always hard to comprehend."

"Wait, that's not right—he owes ten thousand spiritual coins!"

Arriving before the checkpoint, Zhang Yu watched as students queued to present their yin-artifacts, yang-artifacts, or both simultaneously, undergoing inspections for intelligent artifact-spirits.

A staff member inquired during an inspection, "Why are there traces of an intelligent artifact-spirit here?"

"I have no idea! How could I ever afford an intelligent artifact?"

"Then please cooperate with our investigation."

Meanwhile, on the other side, a student pulled down his trousers and said, "I didn't bring my yin-artifact. I've locked it at home lately just to avoid these checks."

The staff member performed a brief scan, nodded, and said, "Fine, move along."

Gazing at the inspecting queue, Su Yanyang lamented, "There sure are a lot of students at Jinhe University who have dharma-skeletons installed down below."

Xiao Qingxuan remarked, "After all, the specialized education at Jinhe University centers on civil engineering and dual cultivation. It is only natural that the proportion is so high."

Watching someone else being led away while crying out their innocence, Zhang Yu asked in bewilderment, "Isn't this anti-intelligent-artifact campaign a bit too extreme?"

Mo Shangjin stroked his chin and murmured, "It is indeed a bit exaggerated. Perhaps... they are seizing this opportunity to search for those highly intelligent artifact-spirits that escaped?"

Zhang Yu asked in surprise, "Searching for escaped intelligent artifact-spirits? Are you saying those spirits that fled from Hehuan University might be hiding inside people's yin or yang-artifacts?"

Mo Shangjin speculated, "They are, after all, artifact-spirits forged by Lord Elixir. Even though they successfully escaped this time, it is highly improbable that no restrictions were left on them."

"Perhaps they can only function by drawing power through yin or yang-artifacts? They might very well be hiding inside some student's yin-artifact."

An image suddenly flashed across Zhang Yu's mind: The Path of Immortality Begins After Picking Up a Transforming Deity Lord's Yin-Artifact.

He thought to himself, "Could someone actually rise to power by finding a Transforming Deity Lord's yin-artifact?"

But in the next breath, he shook his head, thinking that such good fortune would likely never happen in Kunxu.

As they conversed, they were about to bypass the checkpoint's inspection altogether.

Walking at the very front, Li Zhen noticed several inspectors looking over and directly enlarged the text floating above his head.

"It's a Wanfa master!"

"Should we kneel?" "Captain, do we inspect them?"

"Inspect? You're a mere colonel-school student trying to check the yin and yang-artifacts of the Top Ten? Where do you get the damn nerve?"

Seeing the rankings above the group's heads, staring at the name of Wanfa University followed by those singular digits, the inspectors felt an overwhelming pressure wash over them, striking terror into their souls and leaving them paralyzed, unable to do anything but watch blankly as Zhang Yu's group departed.

Advancing at high speed, just as they neared their destination, ghostly specters materialized before Zhang Yu, letting out strings of wretched, piercing shrieks.

"I am so miserable! The Elixir Coin crashed, and now I have to watch my physical body being auctioned off every single day, watching myself die bit by bit..."

"My entire family wiped out, seven soul-cultivators in one lineage, I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate!"

"Why! Why did I get struck and killed by a madman when I didn't even buy any coins! You blind heavens! How can you be so unjust!"

Watching the phantoms roar with resentment inside his optical-skeleton, Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "What kind of advertisement is this? Is there a funeral home nearby? Are they holding a memorial service?"

Having lived in Kunxu for several years now and having spent a long time at the university, Zhang Yu was not particularly surprised by these ghosts that resembled advertisements.

Mo Shangjin, however, said, "It should be Jinhe University's job fair."

Hearing the words 'job fair,' Zhang Yu was still astonished: "A what fair?"

Mo Shangjin explained, "Many people died in that Tier 3 financial storm, which left Jinhe University with a sudden surge of soul-cultivators in a short period, breaking the original balance of supply and demand."

"To help students repay their debts and ease employment pressures, the job fair hosted by Jinhe University specifically made arrangements for soul-cultivators. As expected of one of the Thirty-Six Colonels, they are quite humane in this regard."

Fuji scoffed, "Humane my foot. It's probably because quite a few of the deceased owe debts to the university. If they don't hurry up and work after dying, it'll all turn into bad debt."

Mo Shangjin continued, "Look at these miserable resumes; aren't they all exaggerating their primary cause of death? After all, the first job after dying is the most critical."

A moment later, Zhang Yu saw figures shifting across a plaza they were passing, where many colonel-school students were lining up in front of recruitment booths.

Mo Shangjin looked toward one of the corporate booths and said, "Look at that Avici Group. That's a subsidiary of Tianmo University, specialized in handling soul-cultivator business. The anti-intelligent-artifact movement might very well have them pulling the strings behind it."

Zhang Yu silently mused that the shadow of Tianmo University seemed to loom behind this anti-intelligent-artifact movement once again, and it appeared intertwined with Hehuan University's hunt for the spirits; the waters here were truly deep.

Just then, a loud shout rang out from the recruitment venue.

"This Daoist master has succeeded!"

A yang-artifact was seen leaping up in front of a recruitment booth, letting out a wild cry of ecstasy.

A teacher standing nearby led the group in applause, shouting, "Let us congratulate this classmate for finding a job on the spot and signing the contract!"

...

Before the health club, Zhang Yu asked, "Is this the place?"

Li Zhen replied, "The spiritual network here is free, and whether you need a pre-match massage to loosen up or a room for cultivation, it is incredibly convenient and reasonably priced."

As Zhang Yu and his companions entered the club, the eyes of many technicians lit up, all eager to serve these Foundation Establishment students from Wanfa University.

Soon after, many students from Jinhe University arrived upon hearing the news, some even offering free services just for a chance at dual cultivation.

"This is a high-end Yin artifact I just bought from the Yin-Yang Heavenly Path, eighty percent new! Look at the luster, feel the texture, test the spiritual connection..."

"I am a Colonel-level student in the competition track; here is my record of past tournaments..."

"Everyone, here is my dual cultivation history and resume, please take a look..."

Watching the Colonel-level students crowd around to recommend themselves, a flicker of helplessness crossed Zhang Yu's eyes, thinking, "Damn it, truly a university defined by civil engineering and dual cultivation; they all have that distinct look of a construction worker."

Just then, a text projection appeared in his ocular display.

He noticed one student marked by an unknown source: This person is a vocational-to-degree transfer student, not to be trusted.

Su Yanyang and the others, seeing the same, immediately added their own notes to the student; after all, could a transfer student be reliable? Better to blacklist them just in case.

In the blink of an eye, the student became a blurred figure in their sight, leaving only the label of "vocational-to-degree transfer" visible.

Eventually, Su Yanyang and Li Zhen departed with a few Colonel-level students from Jinhe, leaving the others behind with expressions of envy.

Su Yanyang asked the Colonel-level students beside him, "It really costs nothing?"

"I am telling you now, I won't be spending a single cent."

Zhang Yu turned and asked, "Is it really okay to do this before a match?"

Mo Shangjin replied casually, "The dual cultivation majors have their own unique expertise; once practiced to a high level, their income far exceeds what we make on the construction site. These Colonel-level students may lack the cultivation of Su Yanyang and his group, but they are professional enough. Cultivating together is mutually beneficial."

"It is only because we came in such a rush; for a major event, it would be normal for them to arrange eight or ten dual cultivation partners for us. They are desperate to progress alongside us."

In the time that followed, Zhang Yu seized every moment in the club to continue practicing the Art of Turning Earth into Gold.

"The Seven Wonders of Civil Engineering all belong to the 'Overturning Kunlun' set within the Chain Dharma Diagram."

"If I can bring the Art of Turning Earth into Gold to level 20, I will have six techniques at level 20 within the Overturning Kunlun set, enough to unlock the first tier of effects."

With this thought, Zhang Yu felt a surge of anticipation and poured all his energy into the practice of turning earth into gold.

(End of chapter)