Chapter 559: Heavenly Demon Coming to Beg for Food

Chapter 559: The Heavenly Demons Come Begging for Scraps

Wanfa University City.

Level 671.

From the newly opened construction site, a golden figure soared into the sky—it was the Level 20 Heavenly Sun Radiant God, refined by Zhang Yu.

With its military-grade performance fully unleashed, the Radiant God’s power grew increasingly vast. Zhang Yu dared not test it within the laboratory, fearing the destruction of his delicate instruments.

Thus, he simply brought the Radiant God to the top of the University City for a trial run, which also served as a bit of self-promotion to pave the way for future monetization.

During the time he spent refining the Level 20 Radiant God, Zhang Yu had also managed to complete his final exams for the Artifact Refining Department.

However, as it was only the first semester of his senior year, while his comprehensive score had risen, his departmental and school-wide rankings remained unchanged.

This was simply because every student ranked ahead of Zhang Yu had performed just as excellently on their finals.

Zhang Yu understood that without the backing of competitions or military certifications, his ranking would likely not climb again until the end of the academic year, when a new batch of tenth-year students graduated.

At this moment, high above Level 671, the five-meter-tall Radiant God trod upon the void, its golden flames surging. Even from hundreds of meters away, one could still feel the searing heat radiating from it.

In Zhang Yu’s perception, the Radiant God felt like an extension of his own body. With a mere thought, the puppet streaked out like a meteor, tearing through the atmosphere and shattering sound barriers as it continued to accelerate.

Simultaneously, Zhang Yu felt a roaring furnace within the Radiant God’s chest, surging with boundless mana every second to drive its mechanical functions.

Once the military-grade performance was fully unlocked, the mana core within the puppet became a "Constant Sun Star Core." Not only did it possess a mana cap of 15,000, but its power output per second reached the absolute limit of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Such immense power brought about drastic improvements in flight speed, flame temperature, and operational efficiency.

The next moment, the Radiant God swept across the construction site in a trail of golden light, churning up vast amounts of debris.

Under the intense incineration of the golden flames, the construction waste vanished into thin wisps of smoke within seconds.

Threads of mana were extracted from the debris and funneled into the Constant Sun Star Core within the puppet.

This was the "Constant Sun Radiant Flame," a capability unlocked by the military-grade performance: extracting mana by burning matter to replenish its own consumption.

"In this way, not only do I gain a waste disposal service, but I can also constantly replenish the mana in the Star Core, granting it incredible endurance."

"Coupled with low-latency communication technology..."

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly, "Even for long-distance work, the Radiant God can handle it with ease."

At this moment, Zhang Yu could already envision the puppet earning money for him every single day once he set it loose.

In the next instant, at Zhang Yu’s mental command, the Radiant God’s body was swallowed by golden flames. The armor and skeleton, originally forged from high-strength materials, dissolved into layers of golden fire.

"After unlocking military-grade performance, the effects of the Fire Escape transformation have also greatly improved."

Relevant parameters flickered in Zhang Yu’s ocular implants: "Now, 85% of my entire body can be temporarily transformed into Constant Sun Radiant Flame."

"Not only have speed and combustion efficiency skyrocketed, but..."

The golden humanoid flame in mid-air shifted violently, morphing into a massive hand that scooped up piles of bricks and stone.

Then, the golden flame shifted again, turning into a fire dragon that swept up a sky full of cement to transport it to the distance.

Throughout these myriad transformations, the temperature was strictly contained, causing only a slight warming effect on the materials it touched.

Ziyun Zhen, watching from the side while taking notes, sighed in wonder: "Such powerful heat containment. After the military-grade Radiant God performs a Fire Escape transformation, it can change size and shape at will, and the Radiant Flame can even take on solid forms. Both shape and temperature are under strict control."

"It can adapt to any environment and perform any task."

Ziyun Zhen thought with envy, "If I had such a military-grade puppet working for me every day, I’d be in heaven."

The other workers on the site watched this scene with a mix of shock and fear, thinking to themselves, "Another job-stealer has arrived."

After the tests, Zhang Yu felt confident: "Construction, artifact processing—the Radiant God can handle both."

"I need to plan this carefully."

If he had obtained this Radiant God a year or two ago, Zhang Yu would have certainly focused it on artifact processing.

But the situation had changed. Construction projects were booming throughout the University City; Wanfa University was entering an era of massive infrastructure. The Radiant God, working in tandem with the others in Zhang Yu’s company, could demonstrate formidable earning potential.

Furthermore, while working on construction sites, the Radiant God could handle waste disposal, earning cleaning fees while simultaneously extracting mana from the trash to offset its own consumption. With this thought, Zhang Yu made his decision: "Construction work takes priority for now, with artifact processing as a supplement."

He prepared to arrange for the Radiant God to join the company’s projects, cooperating with his employees to increase efficiency and speed.

On his way out of the construction site, Zhang Yu noticed quite a few members of the demon-kin, many of whom were from Heavenly Demon University.

"Why are so many students from Heavenly Demon University coming here?"

Zhang Yu found it strange. He used his ocular implants to search the Spirit Network to see what was happening, only to discover that many civil engineering group chats had been discussing this for some time—he had simply been too focused on artifact refining to notice.

Feng Tingting: It’s all the work of those bastards in the Finance Department. They think the labor costs for civil engineering are too high and the workforce is insufficient.

Feng Tingting: Those god-forsaken people are actually bringing in workers from Heavenly Demon University.

Zhang Yu felt a surge of anger. Is this something a human would do?

Zhang Yu asked: Did the Civil Engineering Department not resist?

Feng Tingting: We did! Director Gao stormed into the Finance Department and slammed the table, but he was talked down by the others.

Feng Tingting: The Finance Department didn't just import foreign workers; they also imported cheap raw materials, cheap beef, mutton, pork, chicken, and fish from Heavenly Demon University...

Feng Tingting sighed: Although civil engineering wages have dropped, the cost of building materials has also fallen, and meat prices have plummeted. Too many people support the Finance Department.

Feng Tingting: In the end, Director Gao activated the city’s grand array and clashed with the Finance Department, eventually convincing the school’s top brass that key facilities in the University City must be built by our own civil engineering people. It saved quite a few high-paying positions.

Zhang Yu looked at other groups, especially the Top 50 school-wide group, to see if there was any related news.

Jiu Tianliu: Importing labor and materials from Heavenly Demon is the trend of the times. It reduces costs and improves our school’s overall competitiveness. It benefits Wanfa and the students alike.

Jiu Tianliu: Everyone in this group is a pride of the school; you should strongly support this move.

Jiu Tianliu: If you have any dissatisfaction, come see me privately. Do not spout nonsense outside and cause negative public opinion, or even trigger inter-school disputes with Heavenly Demon University.

Jin Guangyuan, second in the Finance Department: Senior Brother Jiu is right. Wooing Heavenly Demon University is a decision made by the school leadership, and we should all support it fully.

Watching the Finance Department crowd follow Jiu Tianliu, offering their full support for the policy, Zhang Yu thought, "Opening up jobs and the market to win over the Heavenly Demons?"

Fu Ji said, "There is endless conflict between the Ten Great Universities, but it has been forcibly suppressed by the sects. Aside from the open competition in the next Ten Great League, the shadow wars will never cease."

"As for Wanfa, we have allied with Immortal Armament, Heavenly Sword, and Vajra to counter Heavenly Demon, Netherworld, White Bone, and Joyous Union."

"Of the remaining two, Danding University remains neutral, caring only about whether the annual export of medicine is sufficient and of high quality."

"Only Heavenly Demon University sways back and forth. If Wanfa can pull them in, we will have a greater advantage in the conflicts between the Ten."

Zhang Yu thought, "In that case, I’m afraid Heavenly Demon, Netherworld, and the others... are probably trying to win them over too."

"This only demon-kin university among the Ten has suddenly become a hot commodity."

"And here at Wanfa, the Finance Department seems to be the main force pushing for this alliance."

Looking at the names in the Top 50 group, watching them discuss the school’s grand strategy, a spark of curiosity flared in Zhang Yu’s heart.

"I wonder which of these Top 50 is a reincarnated great power? And are there any followers of evil gods or members of the demonic cults?"

Zhang Yu recalled what Magnetic Pole True Monarch and Jiu Tianliu had once told him.

The positions in the sects were reserved for those reincarnated great powers who had descended from the upper realms.

With the Ten Great League being so grand this time, would these reincarnated great powers appear? Or rather... had these great powers already reached the pinnacle in their respective universities, making their participation in the league a matter of course?

"Like this Dao Qiankun, the top student at Wanfa—could he be a reincarnated great power?"

Contemplating the prospect that the Ten Great Leagues might one day stand against those so-called reincarnated titans, Zhang Yu felt a sudden, sharp urgency to ascend to greater heights of power.

Just then, a distress signal from Ying Xin flickered onto his device.

...

Deep within the subterranean construction site.

A contingent of the demon-born stood in a tense standoff against Shi Huaiyu and her companions, their gazes heavy with palpable malice.

Shi Huaiyu, Ying Xin, and Xiao Qingxuan had formed a protective arc around Shi Yunxiang, glaring defiantly at the encroaching figures.

A project manager from the Department of Finance wedged himself between the two factions, scolding Shi Huaiyu and the others with a sharp tongue: "What have you done? Were you not warned to avoid conflict with the students of Sky Demon University? Why must you provoke them?"

(End of this chapter)