Chapter 557: School's Top 50 and New Eye Remnant

Chapter 557: The Top 50 and New Ocular Artifacts

Gazing at the message sent by Yan Qianji, Zhang Yu felt a flicker of emotion; he had reached this milestone almost without realizing it.

As soon as Zhang Yu entered the group chat for the school’s top 50, he saw Jiu Tianliu, the top student of the Finance Department and second in the school, holding court.

Jiu Tianliu: Shan Congning, rules are rules. You know what to do.

Shan Congning: I will be back.

Immediately after, Zhang Yu saw Shan Congning, ranked 51st in the school, exit the group.

Jiu Tianliu then sent another message: Everyone, we have a new member. Let us welcome Zhang Yu, the top student of the Artifact Refining Department and 44th in the school. [Fireworks][Fireworks][Fireworks]

Watching this, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "This guy Jiu Tianliu... didn't he represent the Finance Department in blacklisting me? I wonder what his attitude toward me is now."

Following Jiu Tianliu’s lead, a flurry of messages erupted in the group, welcoming Zhang Yu.

The students from the Artifact Refining Department were the most vocal.

Yan Qianji: Congratulations, Zhang Yu.

Ye Xingli: Junior brother, welcome to the group.

Bei Wufeng, second in the Artifact Refining Department, also chimed in: A warm welcome. [Fist bump]

While the artifact refiners dominated the chat, students from other departments offered scattered greetings.

Zhang Pianpian, ranked 26th in the school, also sent a congratulatory message.

Watching the messages refresh rapidly, Zhang Yu replied to them one by one and exchanged friend requests with the academic elites in the group.

Looking at the list of top students from the Artifact Refining, Finance, Daoist Arts, and Talisman departments, Zhang Yu knew these were invaluable connections. Many would be his future clients, and many would see him as one as well.

Just as the welcome ceremony wound down, the school’s number one, Dao Qiankun, spoke.

Dao Qiankun: Welcome.

Two simple words, yet they seemed to silence the group for a heartbeat.

The focus of every member instantly shifted to Dao Qiankun.

Jiu Tianliu: Brother Dao, you’ve finished your seclusion?

Dao Qiankun: Yes.

Yan Qianji: Brother Dao, there are new artifact remains on the market; you might want to take a look.

Jiu Tianliu: Brother Dao, the company has launched a new installment plan for our premium clients...

Xu Haixuan, top of the Talisman Department: Brother Dao, the Spirit World protection service is due for an upgrade.

Reading the stream of messages, Zhang Yu felt as if these campus prodigies had all transformed into gold-medal salespeople, circling Dao Qiankun to peddle their wares.

Zhang Yu couldn't help but ask his sister, Zhang Pianpian, and Ye Xingli: Just how rich is Dao Qiankun?

Ye Xingli: He’s the top student in the school, and the richest among us by far.

Ye Xingli: You should know that the school administration has targeted development plans for students participating in the Ten Great Leagues.

Ye Xingli: Every student is assigned a path to maximize their income based on their personality, specialty, ability, and background.

Ye Xingli: But for Dao Qiankun... the school’s only arrangement is to have teachers guide his secluded cultivation.

Ye Xingli: Because the higher-ups believe he doesn't need to learn how to make money, at least not while in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhang Yu: That rich?! [Oh my god]

Zhang Pianpian’s reply was even more concise.

Zhang Pianpian: Half of the spirit veins beneath the University City belong to the Wanling Mana Production Group.

Zhang Pianpian: Dao Qiankun’s family holds a massive stake in the Wanling Group.

Zhang Yu realized instantly: "If spirit veins are the oil of the Kunxu realm, then isn't this Dao Qiankun the Prince of Oil?"

Looking back at the items being pushed in the group, Zhang Yu found them overpriced and of questionable utility, finally understanding the others' motives.

"Damn... they're all counting on the big spender to hit their quotas."

Zhang Yu: Brother Dao, if you have any need for artifact repairs, you can come to me.

Bei Wufeng: Zhang Yu, you’ve got that wrong. Why would Brother Dao need repairs? When his artifacts break, he just buys new ones.

Bei Wufeng: No matter how well an artifact is repaired, it can never return to its factory-peak state.

Bei Wufeng: To achieve peak performance, you have to buy new.

Others immediately chimed in, mostly from the Artifact Refining Department.

But just then, Dao Qiankun replied: Very well, Zhang Yu.

Reading the message, Dao Qiankun thought to himself: "These guys... all they do is try to sell me things."

The idea that one should only buy and never repair... Dao Qiankun scoffed at it. He was rich, but he wasn't about to waste spirit coins like that.

At most, he would replace his entire set of artifacts and ocular remains before a major competition to maintain peak condition.

For daily practice, however, Dao Qiankun still repaired his gear.

After browsing the group for a while, Zhang Yu felt a slight fatigue in his eyes—a sensation his ocular remains had been giving him lately.

Zhang Yu knew his Time-Remnant Demon Pupils were aging.

As an Artifact Refining student, he hadn't learned much about ocular remains, and his maintenance of the pupils was mediocre at best, leading to accelerated wear from daily use.

"Since I know so many experts in the department now, I should find someone to replace them." As for learning to craft them from scratch... Zhang Yu was confident he could, but his time was too tight. To gain the strength to reach the pinnacle of the Ten Great Leagues within six months, he couldn't handle every detail himself.

"Who should I ask?"

Zhang Yu simply asked Ye Xingli.

Ye Xingli: In our department, Yan Qianji specializes in puppets, and Bei Wufeng in flying swords. As for ocular remains...

Ye Xingli: I’m quite skilled with artifact remains. If you don't have strict requirements for big brands or Spirit World services, I can craft a pair for you.

Halfway through, Ye Xingli frowned at the "Poor Man’s Simulator" before her.

Poor Man’s Simulator: The user is conversing happily with her junior brother, increasingly resembling the relationship between a senior and junior in ancient sects. This is a fascinating phenomenon. Ancient sects used emotional investment and inefficient barter systems to build bonds, thereby resisting the random risks of the era.

Poor Man’s Simulator: Given the user’s extensive knowledge of the artifacts and supplies needed by the poor, it is speculated she may wish to provide aid to her junior brother.

Poor Man’s Simulator: I suggest several response directions: first, gift the ocular remains directly. Second, sell them at cost...

Ye Xingli couldn't bear to read further: "What kind of gibberish is this? How can one craft remains without a profit?"

Following the advice of the Magnetic Pole Sovereign, Ye Xingli could have used the simulator’s guidance to boost her relationship with Zhang Yu more efficiently.

But crafting remains without a profit? That violated her principles; it was absolutely out of the question.

Ignoring the simulator, she replied: I’ll charge you a 10% profit. Take your pick.

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up as Ye Xingli sent over a list of ocular remains she could craft.

"Compared to the big brands, these are much cheaper, and the performance is nearly identical."

Zhang Yu scanned the list.

"Void Eye, with a built-in motion simulation system, capable of predicting the trajectory of material changes..."

The Profound Magnetic Stardust Eye features a ferrofluid module capable of discharging divine magnetic thunder to temporarily paralyze Dharma-remains, though its efficacy wanes against military-grade hardware equipped with shielding.

The Nine-Nether Demon Eye, paired with a River of Oblivion fluid system and a soul-sensing module, can detect and track soul-cultivators while momentarily freezing their cognitive processes.

Zhang Yu scrutinized the options, ultimately fixing his gaze upon the Nine-Nether Demon Eye: "It even includes a transcendence function, allowing one to directly identify and track a soul-cultivator's corporate affiliation for filing complaints and reports."

He nodded slightly, sensing that the Nine-Nether Demon Eye would be immensely useful to him at this juncture.

As Zhang Yu’s mastery of artifact refinement deepened and his arsenal expanded—especially with the impending acquisition of the military-grade Sun-Radiance God—his requirements for spiritual network security grew increasingly stringent.

After all, for any titan of the refinement path, the ultimate trajectory leads to large-scale artifact engineering and even massive, automated artifact warfare.

As the quantity and scale of these artifacts proliferate, a failure to keep pace with spiritual network defense would leave one vulnerable to hijacking, effectively handing one’s life’s work over to others.

Among the myriad forms of spiritual network assault, soul-cultivator attacks are the most fundamental, and the Nine-Nether Demon Eye was the perfect remedy for this specific vulnerability in Zhang Yu’s defenses.

Zhang Yu: I will take this Nine-Nether Demon Eye.

Ye Xingli: 21 spirit coins, delivery in three days.

Having confirmed the order with Ye Xingli, Zhang Yu reviewed the group chat for the top 50 students in the school, acknowledging the flood of congratulatory messages from classmates and friends.

He then began to drift through various other group chats.

His wandering was not born of a desire to boast about his dual military certifications or his top-50 ranking, but rather to further burnish his reputation and promote his business.

Within the Civil Engineering class group.

Zhang Yu, 44th at Wanfa University: Everyone, I have achieved some minor success in artifact refinement; if you have any related needs, feel free to reach out.

Yu Xinghan: President Zhang has just earned his Military Artifact Engineering Certificate, becoming a dual-certified expert in both Civil Engineering and Artifact Refinement.

Ying Xin: President Zhang is willing to offer his services despite his busy schedule; you all had better seize the opportunity.

Gongshu Jin: President Zhang, from now on, I’m coming to you whenever my full-body Dharma-remains are damaged.

Seeing the enthusiastic response, Zhang Yu smiled faintly and turned his attention to the Songyang hometown group.

Zhang Yu, 44th at Wanfa University: [Military Certificate] Finally secured another military certification.

Le Jingchen: Dual military certifications? [Shocked]

Lan Ling: All hail the Master of Refinement at Wanfa!

Lan Ling: Our Songyang High School has produced a true prodigy!

Qian Shen: If you’re ranked 44th as a senior, the odds of breaking into the school’s top 10 in a few years are extremely high.

Chu Qiuhe: Zhang Yu, do you remember? Back in freshman year, you even fought me for a spot in the martial arts competition.

Zhang Yu: Heh, I remember you being carried off on a stretcher and staying there until the tournament ended.

After exchanging a few words with his fellow townsmen, Zhang Yu added: If anyone has any artifact refinement needs in the future, feel free to contact me.

Hu Yuntao: I’ve used artifacts refined by President Zhang; the quality is excellent. Recommended.

Zhao Tianxing: Recommended.

Mo Tianyi: Recommended.

Lian Tianji: Zhang Yu, can you refine Yin-type artifacts?

Staring at Lian Tianji’s question, Zhang Yu never expected that his first potential order after obtaining his military certification would require him to admit he could not.

(End of chapter)