Chapter 529: Undercurrents Surging (Thanks to 'Falling Leaves Fluttering Fragrance Fills Long')

Chapter 529: Undercurrents (Gratitude to ‘Falling Leaves and Fragrant Flowers’ for the Alliance Leader donation)

As the top student in her class for three consecutive years, Su Yunni had always believed her position was unassailable.

As for Zhang Yu, who had transferred from the Civil Engineering Department, she had initially paid him no mind at all.

However, watching his reputation steadily rise within the Artifact Refinement Department over the past few months, Su Yunni could not help but compete in secret, determined to hold onto her throne as the class leader.

Reviewing, drilling, experimenting... every time she thought of Zhang Yu chasing closely behind her, she dared not slack off for even a moment.

On the day of the exam, she gave it her all, exhausting every ounce of her ability.

On this night in early September, Su Yunni kept refreshing the transcript on her ocular implant, desperate to see her results the very first moment they appeared.

"First place!"

Seeing the ranking, Su Yunni felt a wave of relief: "I am still the top of the class."

Just as she felt a touch of pride and prepared to scroll through the group chat to see if anyone was singing her praises,

she saw Zi Yunzhen say in the group: Do you guys know? Zhang Yu handed in his paper half an hour early.

Another person added: I was in the same exam hall as him; he left the lab an hour early.

Zi Yunzhen: That early? No wonder he was already there when I went to the lab that day.

Seeing these messages, Su Yunni frowned and hurriedly checked the rankings and comprehensive scores again.

Zhang Yu was still second in the class, but due to an increase in his comprehensive score and the graduation of the tenth-year students, his departmental ranking had jumped from 48th to 39th.

After calculating the change in his comprehensive score, Su Yunni realized that he had gained the exact same amount as she had in this final exam.

"I got a perfect score... and he got a perfect score too?"

But Su Yunni immediately thought of how hard she had worked to achieve that perfection, while he had left every exam early, clearly not even exerting his full strength.

The excitement of maintaining her top rank cooled instantly; Su Yunni felt as if she had punched a pile of cotton. The final exam she valued so highly was treated by Zhang Yu with such casual indifference.

"Is this guy putting all his energy into his own projects?"

The light of Su Yunni's ocular implant flickered as she opened the textbooks for the upper-year students one by one.

"I need to prepare for the design competition as well."

Though Zhang Yu had spoken of challenging Jin Jun head-on, Su Yunni naturally did not believe he could succeed.

Su Yunni made up her mind to prepare well for the design competition: "I will win a place in the competition and secure the military-grade cultivation technique before Zhang Yu can produce a military-grade project."

While purchasing the materials needed for her experiments, Su Yunni frowned slightly: "Have the raw materials gone up in price?"

"Could it be because of the Ten Schools League?"

Although the price of raw materials had risen, it was nothing to Su Yunni, and she did not take it to heart.

...

The refreshing of the final exam results also signaled the arrival of a new academic year.

Zhang Yu had now become a fourth-year student.

In the Songyang hometown group, students were constantly refreshing their messages.

Most of the posters were freshmen who had arrived on the second level after the college entrance exams. They had been the most active in the group since arriving, often discussing the environment, academics, coursework, and dormitories of different schools.

Watching their conversation, Zhang Yu felt as if he were seeing himself as a freshman.

Yu Xinghan: 90% new second-hand Sky Eye artifact, anyone want it?

Yu Xinghan: Once you enter university, you can't even keep up with class without a good ocular implant.

Seeing Yu Xinghan recommending implants to the freshmen again, Zhang Yu didn't think much of it; many people in the group did similar things, a sort of "old leading the new" tradition from Songyang City.

However, some of the topics the freshmen discussed did catch Zhang Yu's attention.

"Has Songyang High School already become one of the four major high schools in Songyang City?"

Zhang Yu looked at the newly graduated students from Songyang High in the group and found that many were asking about him, seemingly particularly interested in him.

"I didn't expect that even years after leaving Songyang High, my legend still remains?"

Just as the freshmen in the group radiated vitality, the graduated seniors would occasionally voice various laments.

"Have you guys found a job yet?"

"The employment rate data for this month has dropped again; it seems to be related to the Ten Schools League."

"Graduation is unemployment... I guess I'll have to take odd jobs for now..."

Most students found it hard to grasp the feelings of the graduates.

To most, the subtle changes in employment data seemed no different from the annual fluctuations.

However, the start of the Ten Schools League attracted much attention, and it also interrupted Zhang Yu's deep cultivation in the Taiqing Realm.

This year's Ten Schools League was held on a floating island amidst a sea of clouds.

Beyond the various professional competitions, the most eye-catching events in the Ten Schools League were naturally the military contests. Many were paying attention to the Ten Schools Sword Duel, and Zhang Yu knew that Bai Zhenzhen and Wen Wuyue would be participating.

There was also the Ten Schools Treasure Duel; as far as Zhang Yu knew, Yan Qianji from the Artifact Refinement Department, his senior sister Ye Xingli, and several other geniuses from the department would be participating.

Because of Ye Xingli's participation, her experimental project had been paused, and Zi Yunzhen, as her assistant, was temporarily without work.

Zhang Yu had a decent impression of Zi Yunzhen: "She washes materials quite cleanly."

Zhang Yu considered that if he were to start refining the Heavenly Sun Radiance God in the future, he might be able to recruit Zi Yunzhen as his assistant to handle menial tasks and speed up his progress.

Faced with Zhang Yu's invitation, Zi Yunzhen only asked: What is the salary?

Zhang Yu: Young people shouldn't only think about money. Don't you want to participate in a military-grade project?

Zhang Yu: Besides, I can repair magical artifacts. If you join my project team in the future, I can personally help you repair yours.

Zi Yunzhen had no interest in the pie-in-the-sky promises Zhang Yu was making; she replied casually and didn't bother looking again.

Just after replying to the message on her implant, she noticed the door to her neighbor's room was open, and a pungent, foul odor was wafting out.

Speaking of this neighbor, Zi Yunzhen knew he was an upper-year student in the Artifact Refinement Department, but she hadn't seen him in a long time.

She only learned today that he had committed suicide in his room a few days ago, apparently because the stocks he had purchased had plummeted.

"It seems several stocks have crashed quite hard recently."

However, Zi Yunzhen had seen enough people commit suicide over stock losses that she didn't pay it much mind after a glance.

Walking into her room, Zi Yunzhen adjusted her ocular implant.

"Is today the Ten Schools Sword Duel?"

...

"Why has the medical insurance for the competition gone up so much?"

Above the sea of clouds, Bai Zhenzhen looked at the insurance contract before her and couldn't help but curse: "Are they trying to fleece us like sheep?"

Wen Wuyue, standing to the side, said: "Zhenzhen, isn't that how insurance companies always are? If it weren't for the teachers' influence and the need to ensure the fairness of the Ten Schools League, they probably wouldn't even sell us insurance, just like usual."

With a soft, crisp sound, a streak of sword qi slashed at Wen Wuyue, clashing with her protective aura.

Wen Wuyue didn't mind; after all, whenever Bai Zhenzhen's emotions fluctuated even slightly, sword qi would manifest from the void.

Fortunately, Bai Zhenzhen’s self-control had improved significantly; now, students above the junior level were rarely slain by a single stroke of her blade, and those as formidable as Wen Wuya could simply act as if nothing had occurred.

The other academic elites of Sky Sword University surrounding them were no weaklings either, and they remained equally indifferent.

Bai Zhenzhen muttered, "It is still too expensive."

Wenya urged, "I heard the insurance premiums for this year’s Top Ten League have risen, so a higher cost is only to be expected."

Yet, in the next instant, her expression shifted abruptly, the gloom vanishing to be replaced by radiant joy, her body swaying with a rhythmic wiggle as if an invisible tail were wagging behind her.

Seeing this, Wen Wuya understood immediately that she was communicating with Zhang Yu.

With a series of sharp whistles, the contestants from Sky Sword University, Wen Wuya included, collectively retreated to put distance between themselves and Bai Zhenzhen.

A moment later, a crimson sword-light swept across the space around her, carving deep, jagged scars into the very air.

Watching the display, Wen Wuya thought to himself, "Whenever she speaks with Zhang Yu, Zhenzhen is at her most dangerous."

"Did the Seven Emotions God specifically arrange for them to talk before the matches to bolster her combat prowess?"

...

"Zhen, do your best!"

After ending the call with Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu received a message from Ying Xin.

"Has the project funding not arrived yet?"

Zhang Yu hurriedly contacted the person in charge, Master Juxing, but the reply he received left him helpless.

Master Juxing: It is not that I will not help, but everyone’s funds are currently frozen; there is nothing I can do.

Master Juxing: Many projects will likely have to suspend work for now; tell your subordinates to endure a little longer. It should be resolved once the Top Ten League concludes.

Zhang Yu: What does this have to do with the Top Ten League? Why would a tournament affect our projects?

Master Juxing: Do not ask me; I have no idea either.

Looking at the many employees in his company waiting for their livelihood, Zhang Yu had no choice but to dip into his own savings to pay a portion of their wages, telling Zhao Tianxing and the others to find part-time work in the interim.

He then turned his gaze to the live broadcast in his ocular implant, where Bai Zhenzhen’s duel had already begun.

The two combatants clashed repeatedly across an endless sea of clouds, traversing hundreds of kilometers while simultaneously tracking the other’s movements and concealing their own.

Within the roiling clouds, one could only catch glimpses of sword-light flashing and vanishing, leaving behind scars in the sky hundreds of meters long.

Relying on the concealment abilities of her Divine Spirit Root, Bai Zhenzhen remained undetected, eventually succeeding in striking her opponent down from the clouds.

Zhang Yu noticed that the subsequent duels grew increasingly fierce, with casualties beginning to mount.

It was not just the sword duels; as the Top Ten League progressed, Zhang Yu soon discovered that the other military competitions were equally intense, with casualties higher than in previous years.

Zhang Yu mused to himself, "They say the Top Ten Universities use the league’s outcome to distribute interests. Has the friction between them grown so sharp that the matches themselves have become this brutal?"

And when Bai Zhenzhen clashed with a Soul Formation disciple from Bone University, this intensity climbed to yet another level.

(End of chapter)