Chapter 521: Solving Lei Ji

Chapter 521: Resolving the Thunder Pole

At the sharp rebuke of Sovereign Magnetic Pole, Sovereign Thunder Pole felt a genuine tremor of fear.

In his memory, his senior sister was a woman who never wore her heart on her sleeve; she rarely resorted to such vitriolic cursing, let alone the physical intimidation she now displayed.

After all, in the current Kunxu, acting with such reckless disregard for decorum was considered beneath them.

Yet, in the few instances he recalled her erupting in such fury, it had always heralded the disappearance of many.

Some had vanished from this university city, others from the entire Myriad Dharma University, and some from the academic world itself.

Every outburst was a cathartic release, and once the emotions subsided, only the cold calculus of profit and loss remained: who must be sacrificed, who must be abandoned, and who must be erased.

This time, it seemed, the one destined to disappear was his own disciple.

Hearing the Sovereign’s tone, Thunder Pole replied weakly, "A ghost? Who is the ghost?"

Magnetic Pole continued, "Is the person in that video your disciple or not? Did you know what he was doing? Does the rot start with you?"

Thunder Pole stammered, "He... he signed a master-disciple contract with me."

Magnetic Pole retorted coldly, "And what is a contract worth? Which of the Top Ten rose to power without leaving a trail of shredded contracts in their wake?"

"If contracts could govern everything, what need would there be for the Heavenly Court?"

"If it isn't him, and it isn't you, then is it me? Is there a problem with me? Am I the ghost, is that it?"

Thunder Pole lowered his head, silent, his projection shrinking as he appeared increasingly frail and helpless.

Magnetic Pole pointed at Zhang Yu. "Or is there a problem with him? Did my disciple betray you?"

Thunder Pole whispered, "How could it be your disciple, Senior Sister? He only works in civil engineering on the construction site, and he is merely at the Foundation Establishment stage. How could it be him?"

Magnetic Pole glared coldly at him. "Does working in civil engineering make him innocent? Is Foundation Establishment impossible? I was already dealing with Nascent Soul cultivators when I was at that stage!"

With that, she took a deep breath, and the office fell into a suffocating silence.

As the air grew heavy, Magnetic Pole spoke again, her face devoid of expression. "Besides your disciple, write down the names of five others under your command. Pin the entire affair on them."

"As for the money you've pocketed over the years, cough up half of it."

"Every eye is on this matter now; it must be settled today, and the affair concluded."

Thunder Pole felt his heart constrict at her words.

Handing over five more people was manageable, but the thought of surrendering half the hard-earned wealth he had scraped together over the years made his very mana circuits feel as if they were about to snap.

"Senior Sister," he groaned, "that is my retirement and longevity fund."

Magnetic Pole laughed at this. "Do you have any idea how many people, both inside and outside this school, are praying that I do not reach the Deity Transformation stage?"

"You don't want to pay? Fine. Then you can step out there and shoulder the blame yourself."

Thunder Pole hung his head, his projection shrinking further until he stood shorter than Zhang Yu.

"Enough," Magnetic Pole said coldly. "I give you one hour to get it done."

"From now on, crawl back to your laboratory and stay out of departmental affairs."

Watching the projection of Sovereign Thunder Pole fade away, Magnetic Pole sighed with a complex expression.

She stroked Zhang Yu’s head and said softly, "My junior brother grows more muddled with age."

"In his youth, he was a renowned genius; he reached the Nascent Soul stage in little more time than I did."

"But ever since he attained that level, he has grown stagnant."

"Though he was invigorated for a time after joining the university, the repeated failures in competition left him with fewer resources, and his spirit withered. He stopped learning the latest refining techniques, abandoned his lab, and spent his days in petty schemes, becoming the man you see today."

"He may have found his ease, but has he ever considered how difficult he makes things for me?"

She sighed, "If I dispose of him, what will the other veterans who fought alongside me think?"

"If I don't protect him after a minor incident, many will think I am losing my grip, that I am failing."

"I place him where he can do the least harm, and yet he still manages to stir up trouble..."

Listening to her lament, Zhang Yu said earnestly, "Teacher, I will never grow stagnant. I will strive to climb higher and follow closely in your footsteps."

"Good." Magnetic Pole smiled, patted his head, and pulled him into her embrace. "Remember today. Never become like your uncle."

Meanwhile, the video footage played on a loop in her mind.

The angle was too cunning, as if the cameraman had been tailing them, clinging to their shadows.

Yet, subsequent investigations revealed no trace of the recorder at the scene.

All of this pointed to a formidable adversary.

"Whose man is it?"

Names surfaced in her mind—some from within the school, others from without.

"The Golden Palace God?"

"Or perhaps the Immortal Soldier University? Diamond University?"

"Or maybe the Netherworld University?" There were too many who would prevent her from reaching Deity Transformation. Magnetic Pole could not be certain which faction was involved, but her vigilance deepened, and the path ahead felt increasingly fraught with peril.

In the days that followed, Sovereign Thunder Pole voluntarily resigned from his administrative duties, and his disciple, Bian Hao, along with the five subordinates, vanished without a trace.

The Department of Artifact Refining remained as still as a stagnant well; the students knew nothing of what had transpired.

Had Zhang Yu not been observing it all, he might have believed nothing had happened at all.

On the day he stepped out of the lab, he received a message from Thunder Pole.

Thunder Pole: Junior Nephew, how have you been lately?

Zhang Yu: Sovereign, it is best we do not address each other by our sect titles within the school. I fear my teacher might find it inappropriate.

Reading the reply, the mana circuits in Thunder Pole’s body surged with violent agitation.

"The arrogance of a petty man."

He suppressed his fury; his situation was already dire enough.

The money he had surrendered had crippled his longevity plans, drastically shortening his projected lifespan.

The loss of his position and his disciple meant he saw no path to income growth in the coming years, and his days were dwindling.

Yet, from his observations in the lab, he knew Zhang Yu was currently in favor with Sovereign Magnetic Pole.

"My senior sister buries herself in the lab, more familiar with it than her own cultivation cave. She naturally feels a kinship with the disciples she studies there."

"If this Zhang Yu were willing to whisper a few words in her ear, perhaps she would remember her junior brother with some kindness."

With this thought, Thunder Pole swallowed his resentment and continued the exchange.

Thunder Pole: You are right, student Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu exchanged a few more pleasantries before realizing the man's intent.

"He wants me to speak well of him without paying a cent?" Zhang Yu thought. "The old fool truly grows more senile by the day."

He set the message to silent and went back to his work.

Not long after, Zhang Yu received another message from Master Juxing.

Master Juxing: Greetings, Zhang Yu. I shall be taking over the duties of Lord Leiji for the time being.

Master Juxing: Should any issues arise with the project, please coordinate them with me directly.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Yu was promptly added to the work group by the master.

The man declared in the chat: Everyone, I am quite different from Lord Leiji; I concern myself solely with the work and despise all manner of frivolous distractions.

Master Juxing: As long as you all apply yourselves to the project, there will be no room for corruption under my watch.

Master Juxing: Furthermore, do not even think about offering me bribes.

Master Juxing: I loathe such practices above all else, and should anyone attempt them, do not blame me for being ruthless.

Someone immediately replied: With Master Juxing here, justice has finally arrived.

After observing the group messages for a while, just as Zhang Yu began to doubt whether the man was truly as upright as he claimed, he received a friend request from the master’s disciple.

It was only then he learned that if one were willing to spend one spirit coin at a designated online shop, their project payment would be processed immediately.

"One spirit coin? Only one damn spirit coin?"

Zhang Yu sighed, "A truly incorruptible official, indeed."

Fuji remarked, "They are all like that at first. After all, Lord Leiji has only just been ousted; he wouldn't dare demand more."

"But he must take something; if he doesn't, how can his superiors collect their share? And if they don't, how can Lord Ciji get his?"

"Give it time, though. In a few years, his appetite will surely grow."

Zhang Yu replied, "Future problems can wait for the future. By the time he starts taking more, who knows what the situation will be."

Zhang Yu knew his focus was on the Ten Great Leagues, a goal that depended on the next few years; he had no time to ponder the distant horizon.

With the arrival of the first payment, Zhang Yu’s account balance surged past thirty spirit coins.

Though salary payments and taxes would soon deplete much of it, this marked the beginning of positive capital growth.

As the days passed and the project stabilized, Zhang Yu spent only a few days a month on-site, while his employees generated passive income for him daily.

Meanwhile, as Zhang Yu burned through funds to refine his artifact-crafting techniques, he gradually gained the capacity to accept a wider variety of commissions.

With artifact crafting and construction advancing in tandem, Zhang Yu was soon saving twenty to thirty spirit coins a month, preparing for the prototype of his military-grade magical treasure.

...

Mid-May.

In the dormitory that day, Zhang Yu took the rare opportunity to infuse Yu Xinghan with mana, enhancing both the level and quality of the youth's spiritual energy.

With the breakthrough of the final barrier, Yu Xinghan’s mana finally reached the thousand-point threshold, the absolute limit of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Feeling the surging power within, Yu Xinghan suddenly felt a tremor in his mind, as if the third eye were undergoing another stage of development.

Zhang Yu observed as Yu Xinghan’s Dao Seed, the Three-Eyed Divine Ability, ascended from level two to level three.