Chapter 758: Eulogy of Heaven and Earth (Thanks to 'Shu Mu Shen Shan Chao' for tipping)

Chapter 758: The Hymn of Heaven and Earth (With gratitude to "Shu Mu Shen Shan Zhao" for the Alliance Master's bounty)

"Synchronized with the latest sect curriculum system, fully covering the initial, secondary, and interview stages of the Imperial Examinations!"

"Personalized study plans tailored for every single student, breaking through your weakest links."

"Furthermore, we offer the most realistic mock exams to let you feel the atmosphere of the examination hall in advance, adapting to the rhythm so that you may remain perfectly calm and collected when truly facing the examiners, leaving your rivals far behind."

Within the livestream room, Feng Tingting, having pocketed the advertising fees, was broadcasting the commercial for the Spark Imperial Examinations; in the face of numerous inquiries flooding the live chat, she opened her mouth to speak: "I have actually listened to the lectures given by True Lord Spark, and he truly teaches exceptionally well."

"However, the competition this year is simply too fierce, which is why I intend to settle and accumulate myself for a year, waiting for next year's opportunity."

"It is also thanks to True Lord Zhuyi and the others passing the interview, striving to win us the opportunity for future Imperial Examinations."

Speaking up to this point, an image seemed to surface once more in Feng Tingting’s mind of the very first time she had laid eyes upon Zhang Yu.

On that occasion when Ye Xingli had introduced Zhang Yu to her, Feng Tingting had assumed he was a newly purchased soul cultivator of hers, wondering how he had managed to be bought while still among the living.

She was heard speaking in the livestream room: "I still remember when I first met True Lord Zhuyi, I discovered that aside from his ocular remains, he did not possess a single piece of dharma remains upon his entire person."

"At that moment, I knew he was no ordinary man. Thinking back on it now, that action holds an even deeper significance... it was likely a form of tempering his own physical flesh, refusing the convenience of dharma remains in order to constantly grind every inch of his body and discipline his flesh-tempering techniques."

"It was precisely this attitude of never relaxing his physical cultivation for even a single moment that allowed True Lord Zhuyi to gain such a massive advantage in the final physical-refining topic."

...

Within the Songyang Hometown Group, although everyone was buried in their studies, working overtime, or juggling part-time jobs, they still managed to part with a shred of their consciousness on this rare occasion today, gathering in the same spiritual realm space to watch the live broadcast of the interviews together.

A former top student of White Dragon High School, Song Hailong, looked at Yu Xinhan, who had ultimately passed the interview, and could not help but feel a slight surge of excitement within his heart: "Excellent! As expected of the man who once defeated me to become the number one of White Dragon."

Looking at the five individuals who had ultimately passed the interview, Lian Tianji thought to herself: "Zhang Yu did not lie to me... they truly passed. In the future, every one of us will be able to take the Imperial Examinations."

Qian Shen, a former classmate of both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, looked at the profile pictures of the two and could not help but sigh: "The score of the Imperial Examinations will be the ultimate evaluation system for cultivators from the 1st to the 10th layers in the future, encompassing even students like Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen who have transcended the conventional evaluation systems."

Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling, these two former student union officials of Songyang High School, had also gathered together on this rare occasion today.

Lan Ling sent a private message: "Do you think if someone came to ask us for dirt and wanted us to report Zhang Yu right now, the offered price would be even higher?"

Zhou Chechen struck him in the chest with a fist, saying: "Even though we had some grievances with Zhang Yu during high school, still..."

He looked toward the final employment roster and sighed softly in a low voice: "This is our chance—and the chance for everyone in the future—to climb to the pinnacle of the immortal path. How could we destroy it?"

The past grievances from high school flashed and vanished within their minds; the former anger, the resentment of being repeatedly humiliated... to the two of them at this moment, it all seemed to have become so insignificant, leaving behind even a trace of nostalgic sentiment.

Lan Ling remarked: "I was only speaking hypothetically. The Imperial Examinations... who wouldn't want to give it a try. Even if you gave me any amount of money, I wouldn't want to give up this chance. Heheh, speaking of which, we hold a shred of credit for the normalization of the Imperial Examinations this time, though it's a pity no one knows."

Hearing this, Zhou Chechen replied: "Is it truly limited to just this Imperial Examination? Supporting the collapsing heavens last time, and the ten-billion heaven-mending project before that where money shattered the vault of heaven, we lent a hand in all of it..."

Lan Ling suddenly burst into laughter: "Didn't you say you never bought Yu-bonds and never snatched red packets? Did you secretly do it after all?"

Zhou Chechen went slightly dazed, speaking with a touch of unnaturalness: "Lan Ling... when I first got accepted into university, there was actually a sliver of a thought remaining in my heart, just a tiny sliver of a desire to exact revenge."

"But now..." He let out a long sigh: "I am truly, thoroughly, and completely convinced."

"With these earth-shattering deeds he has accomplished one after another, supporting the collapsing heavens for us and bringing forth a thread of opportunity to catch a glimpse of the peak of the immortal path... even if I were sent back to high school to lose another ten or a hundred times, I would do so willingly."

Within a low-pixel space of the spiritual realm.

Ji Yuanshu, who had once been classmates with Zhang Yu and Yu Xinhan in the civil engineering department, was also looking at the interview roster at this moment.

He had heard that advertisements for the Imperial Examinations were everywhere now, yet Ji Yuanshu could not see a single one.

He understood that this was because he had already become a soul cultivator; thus, all advertisements for the Imperial Examinations avoided him, like wind passing without a trace, unable to leave the slightest mark before his eyes.

Gazing at Zhang Yu's name on the list, Ji Yuanshu could not help but sigh softly: "To be born in the same era as you is a form of luck. Yet to me... it is a form of sorrow."

"A pity. If only I had been born a year later."

If he could return to the past at this moment, Ji Yuanshu truly wished to say to his past self: Avoid his sharp edge!

If there was anything else, it would be to not speculate in currency, especially Nectar Coin.

On the construction site, watching the screen where Yu Xinhan had ultimately passed, Ping Han emitted a succession of excited vibrations, requiring a good while of comforting from Fu Xinyao before he finally calmed down.

Ping Han sighed: "Zhang Yu and his group have charged forward and smashed open the heavenly gates; unfortunately, I will never have the chance in this lifetime."

"Xinyao, you are still young, you don't need to waste away like me. Work hard in the future, strive to get out of the Overtime Institute early, and return to Hehe University; perhaps there will still be a chance to test into a sect."

Ping Han thought to himself that if Fu Xinyao could test into a sect in the future, then perhaps he might also have a chance to follow along and widen his horizons.

Fu Xinyao, however, kept staring intently at Yu Xinhan's profile picture, suddenly remarking: "Doesn't this person look a bit familiar? It seems he was a past client of ours."

To Ping Han, he could not recognize the vast majority of their clients; according to his own words, the face he interacted with back when he was working was not the one on top.

However, Yu Xinhan... he indeed held a deep impression of him, after all, the man was a friend of Zhang Yu, and he had known him back when he was in the civil engineering department.

Ping Han was heard saying: "We did indeed have contact with him."

Within the campus of the Netherworld University, watching Yu Xinhan emerge victorious in the end, Wang Yin shouted the word "Excellent" three times in a row.

Wang Yin: "Next year! That will be the time I test into the sect!"

Wang Yin understood that the competition for the Imperial Examinations would only grow more fierce year after year from this point onward, so he was determined to invest everything into next year's examinations.

"A pity the old fellow went up there for training, making it inconvenient to even transfer money."

Thinking here, Wang Yin intended to see if he could entreat Zhang Yu to help him communicate with the Yin Spring up above in the future, making it easier for him to harvest gold coins from the old fellow, which would allow him to further increase his success rate in the Imperial Examinations.

At the same time, on the other side, Wen Wuya of the Heavenly Sword University was currently looking at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen on the roster, thinking secretly in his heart: "Zhenzhen, Zhang Yu, I will definitely catch up to you."

"I want to stand together with you."

"Preferably standing right in the middle of you, connected together with you."

And with the emergence of the interview results, Wen Wuya could feel that the harsh, mocking voices that had appeared due to his leaving production to prepare for the exams had suddenly vanished significantly.

Clearly, Zhang Yu and his companions smashing open the heavenly gates this time had allowed all students intending to prepare for the examinations to gain far more support.

And within Wen Wuya's master's lineage, someone had also proposed that he find Bai Zhenzhen and follow her up to the Heavenly Sword Sect, working within the sect while preparing for the exams at the same time.

Regarding this, Wen Wuya also found himself falling into hesitation: "Should I remain below, separated from production to prepare for the exams, or should I try to follow Ah Zhen up there..."

Just as countless people from the 1st to the 10th layers were being influenced by the results of this sect examination.

The flying vessel that Zhang Yu and his group were riding had already traversed the cloudy skies all the way, about to return to the fifth layer of Kunxu.

And aboard the flying vessel, Bai Zhenzhen and Le Mulan had both, with Zhang Yu's assistance, suppressed the examination clones within their bodies once more, returning to normal.

Looking at Zhang Yu before her, Le Mulan spoke of the outsourcing invitation the sect had given her.

"Inviting you up?" Zhang Yu's gaze shifted slightly, his first thought being the possibility that Le Mulan’s longevity-extending ability had been discovered.

After pondering for a brief moment, he asked: "What are your thoughts?"

Le Mulan replied: "I... am somewhat worried."

Zhang Yu nodded: "It is normal to be worried. To be honest... I don't recommend you accept this invitation either."

"You are not a disciple of the sect after all, and the status of outsourced personnel up there is low; once you go up and become an outsourced worker under them, the initiative will be held entirely in their hands, and we won't be able to help you either."

Hearing up to this point, Le Mulan looked toward Zhang Yu with a face full of hope, saying: "Then can I enter the sect together with you?"

Le Mulan knew that if she could follow Zhang Yu and his companions up there, she would be an outsourced employee under them, allowing her to receive their protection.

And even without the interference of the examination memories, Le Mulan still harbored an intense unwillingness regarding this failure.

She also wanted to test into the sect, wanted to glimpse the scenery at the pinnacle of the immortal path, and wanted to keep pace with Zhang Yu's footsteps.

And if she could enter the sect to prepare for the exams, then returning to the lower layers to participate in the Imperial Examinations the following year would surely cause her success rate to skyrocket.

Especially all along, Zhang Yu had always aided Le Mulan’s cultivation—so much so that, in Le Mulan’s eyes, even the several transformations of his own physique were directly tied to Zhang Yu’s constant, day-and-night stimulation.

But seeing the yearning in Le Mulan’s gaze, Zhang Yu said instead, “I’m sorry, Mulan. I’ve already promised Senior Sister Ye Xingli that I’d take her into the sect.”

At those words, wave after wave of bitterness surged through Le Mulan’s heart. She thought to herself, “Was it because my performance this time was too poor?”

“Is it because my score was too low, so Zhang Yu doesn’t want to bring me up with him?”

“Am I no longer worthy of being Zhang Yu’s companion?”

Le Mulan never imagined that one day… she would be rejected by Zhang Yu simply for scoring too low.

Yet upon second thought, it seemed perfectly natural—what right did someone of her caliber have to call herself a friend of Sect Young Master?

Intense shame and anxiety flooded her chest, making her wish she could turn and flee at once, to spare herself further humiliation and disappointment.

But her burning desire for the pinnacle of the Immortal Path flared within her like fire, urging her to beg Zhang Yu once more.

“I… I can give you all my spirit coins. I can repay every seed debt I owe you…” Le Mulan opened her mouth, ready to speak these words.

But before she could hesitate further, Zhang Yu continued, “Don’t worry, though. Given our relationship, I’d never leave you down here alone.”

He smiled gently at her and added, “I’ve already arranged with Yu Xinghan—he’ll take you into Wanfa Sect to find outsourced work.”

Hearing this, Le Mulan’s eyes glistened faintly with moisture. Biting her lip, she looked at Zhang Yu and whispered, “Zhang Yu… just now, I thought you all were rejecting me.”

“How could that ever happen?” Zhang Yu replied. “Have you forgotten, Mulan? We’re sworn companions who’ve been together since university entrance. I’ve always said—if we die, we die together; if we go bankrupt, we go bankrupt together. I won’t enjoy future glory alone.”

Le Mulan nodded firmly. “Next year—you believe in me, right? Next year… I’ll definitely pass the sect entrance exam!”

“Of course I believe in you,” Zhang Yu said.

He knew Le Mulan possessed genuine potential and talent. With a year of solid preparation, she’d surely have a strong chance of entering the sect next time.

“Then Le Mulan can bring others up to prepare for the sect exams.”

“And I can always bring another companion up as well.”

Hearing Zhang Yu’s inner thoughts, Fu Ji mused silently, “This kid hasn’t even properly entered the sect yet, and he’s already scheming to keep bringing his people in, building his future faction. Without even noticing, he’s learned so much from following me.”

After chatting briefly about entering the sect, Le Mulan asked another question: “Didn’t Yu Xinghan want to bring anyone else up?”

“You mean Li Xuelian?” Zhang Yu said. “Master Starfire True Lord will take her—he’s her father, after all. They’re apparently going up to reunite with old family.”

Just then, a message from Bai Zhenzhen appeared in Zhang Yu’s eye socket:

Bai Zhenzhen: Yu-zi, come quick! So many people are waiting for us on the fifth floor!

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred—he understood this was yet another publicity stunt orchestrated by the Heavenly Court, meant to further amplify the influence of this sect examination.

Moments later, Zhang Yu stood hand-in-hand with Bai Zhenzhen at the prow of the flying vessel, gazing down at the crowd beneath the fifth-layer sky.

Beside them stood Starfire True Lord, Yu Xinghan, and Kuang Tianqing, all facing the throng below.

Le Mulan lingered in the shadows behind them, watching Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s backs, yearning for the day she too could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

“Next time… next time, I absolutely won’t fail again.”

In Zhang Yu’s eyes, the fifth-layer sky teemed with crowds, each person crowned by floating projections—as if a great conflagration blazed across the heavens.

Some bore “[Fist] Zhu Yi [Fire],” others “[Fist] Starfire [Fire],” and still others included Bai Zhenzhen’s Dao title, “Bai Yao.”

Yu Xinghan and Kuang Tianqing’s Dao titles weren’t widely known, so their real names appeared instead.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but feel deeply moved, his mind flashing back to the moment he’d scattered red envelopes and led everyone in breaking through the firmament.

Back then, he’d been fighting desperately from the brink of despair, grasping at the faintest thread of hope.

Now, however, he stood triumphant—not only admitted into Wanfa Sect with achievements that overshadowed his peers, but also having subtly imprinted his will upon Kunxu’s first ten layers.

When the five of them appeared, the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. Divine light and celestial music rained from the sky, while countless auspicious clouds and heavenly blossoms unfurled from the Spirit Realm.

Heaven and earth themselves seemed to sing hymns in honor of these five examinees; the Spirit Realm bowed in reverence.

Bathed in radiant light, Zhang Yu and his companions appeared like immortals descended to the mortal world.

Deng Bingding descended from the heavens and addressed them: “Honored ones, thank you for setting an example for all living beings and for your contribution toward institutionalizing the Sect Clerk Selection Examinations across Layers 1 to 10…”

Immediately, five beams of divine radiance descended from the firmament, enveloping the five.

Above Bai Zhenzhen and the other three appeared the projection: Outstanding Candidates of the First Sect Clerk Selection Examination (Layers 1–10).

But above Zhang Yu’s head shimmered a far more resplendent title: Top Scorer of the First Sect Clerk Selection Examination (Layers 1–10).

This honor, bestowed by the Heavenly Court, allowed Zhang Yu to freely project this title anywhere, anytime, as long as he remained connected to the Spirit Realm.

Watching this, Heaven-Slaying True Lord sighed, “Future generations of sect clerks will likely never enjoy such glory again.”

Beside him, Skillful Hand True Lord glanced at Zhang Yu’s projection and remarked in surprise, “In ancient times, this would’ve made him the zhuangyuan—the top imperial scholar, wouldn’t it?”

After the Heavenly Court’s commendation, Deng Bingding invited Zhang Yu to speak before the assembled crowd.

Surveying the sea of faces and sensing countless gazes crossing the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu paused—then finally spoke:

“Everyone… go take the sect exams!”

Channeling his cultivation, his voice rolled like thunder across heaven and earth, echoing far and wide:

“Go enter the sects!”

“Take the exams for Wanfa Sect! Tianjian Gate! Tianmo Sect! Jingang Sect! Youming Palace! Xianbing Mansion…”

“Charge upward—to Layer 11, Layer 12, and beyond into higher realms of Kunxu!”

“I’ll be waiting for you there.”

In that moment, Zhang Yu’s voice drowned out all other sounds in the world. Even after he finished speaking, the entire world seemed to fall into a brief, breathless silence.

Then—like crashing waves and roaring mountains—the crowd erupted from every direction.

In that instant, Zhang Yu ignited within countless cultivators an unquenchable fire: the fierce longing to storm the summit of the Immortal Path.

Across Kunxu’s first ten layers, innumerable cultivators resolved then and there to enter the sects someday.

Beside him, Deng Bingding watched quietly, already envisioning how each year’s Sect Clerk Selection Examination would grow increasingly brutal.

But Deng Bingding knew—this was now the lower realms’ only hope. To climb upward… this desperate measure was all they had.

“Twenty years? Thirty? Forty? It won’t be long before those from above reincarnate downward and mature enough to compete in the Layer 1–10 sect exams.”

Deng Bingding thought, “These few short decades… this is the final window. Once reincarnated souls begin taking the lower exams, they’ll seize vast numbers of slots and drastically intensify competition.”

“For lower-realm candidates hoping to enter sects, their best chance… lies in giving everything they have within these next twenty to forty years.”

“And in doing so—by steadily raising the competitive bar down here—they may yet preserve more opportunities when facing reincarnated rivals in the future.”

“Zhu Yi True Lord… you think the same, don’t you?”

Zhang Yu’s thoughts were simple. In summary: My dear naive children! Hurry up and take the exams—the flood is coming!

Meanwhile, Fu Ji listened to Zhang Yu’s speech and nodded inwardly in approval.

“Good, very good. The cultivators of Layers 1 to 10 must indeed be encouraged to seize this chance and enter the sects.”

“No matter their past relations or opinions of Zhang Yu, once they join the sects, they’ll naturally align with him—even stand in his camp.”

“As the Ten Great Sects continue recruiting downward year after year, these people will become Zhang Yu’s natural allies—and eventually, his core faction.”

“The more of them inside the sects, the better.”

At the same time, Heaven-Slaying True Lord gazed toward Zhang Yu and sighed, “Only by entering a sect can one attain immortality. Today, these five haven’t merely opened the door to sect admission—they’ve cracked open a sliver of the path to godhood itself.”

Master Miaoshou nodded and said, “Indeed. Staying on as faculty or joining a corporate giant is no longer the top choice for students from the Ten Great Academies. Who knows—perhaps by the time freshmen enroll, they’ll already need to start preparing for the Sect Examinations.”

Tiansha Zhenjun suddenly blurted out, “I’m almost tempted to commit suicide and reincarnate just to take the exam.”

Master Miaoshou assumed he was joking—until he turned and met Tiansha’s grave gaze. Alarmed, he exclaimed, “You’re not serious, are you? We don’t possess the techniques of those prodigies within the sects. Even if you reincarnated, you wouldn’t remember who you were.”

Tiansha Zhenjun fell silent, seemingly lost in hesitation.

Elsewhere, Tulishan stared at the promotion notice and thought inwardly, “Head of the Civil Engineering Department?”

He understood that, thanks to his joint mentorship with Qingmu Shenjun in cultivating Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan—both now disciples of a sect—the position of department head would inevitably be his.

Yet after some reflection, Tulishan resolved to pour all his energy into the Sect Examinations instead.

“Besides…” he mused, “I’ve already been an undergraduate, master’s student, doctoral candidate, and now a lecturer—all in Civil Engineering. If I add ‘department head’ to that list… I might never manage to lift myself into a sect.”

On a construction site elsewhere, Xiangshan’s heart pounded with excitement as he replayed Zhang Yu’s final victory over and over in his mind. He wondered silently: Could it be that the martial arts of demon-blooded lineages hold the key to passing the Sect Examinations?

Ying Mingchi of Tianyao University watched the five figures standing at the prow of the ship. Among these five newly admitted candidates, he knew one carried demon blood in their veins. He thought to himself: So twenty percent of lower-tier admits are demon-blooded, and many exam questions clearly test demon-blooded knowledge. Perhaps the higher-ups strongly support demon-blooded candidates taking the Sect Examinations… This might truly be worth pursuing.

Xiong Wenwu scanned the list of available examination posts, his eyes drifting unconsciously toward the Mounts Division.

Ying Xin’s consciousness reached through to the Spirit Realm’s cryochamber, where her grandfather lay frozen in monochrome stillness.

Through countless overtime shifts, her grandfather had quietly reached the end of his soul-cultivator lifespan and entered a prolonged slumber.

She left him a message: “Grandfather, thanks to the efforts of Zhenjun Zhuyi and the others, the Sect Administration Officer selection exam has become a regular event.”

Ying Xin added: “I’ll take the exam myself someday. Perhaps our Ying family will produce a Sect Administration Officer yet.”

…

While floors one through ten were swept repeatedly by the storm of the Sect Examinations, somewhere on the eleventh floor of Kunxu…

Cijí Zhenjun gazed at the luminous screen before her, which displayed the roster of newly admitted members to the Myriad Arts Sect.

Her eyes skimmed swiftly over every name until she locked onto Zhang Yu’s, then immediately found Yu Xinghan’s and others’.

“Old Gao!” She grabbed Qingmu Zhenjun beside her. “It’s Zhang Yu! He’s been accepted into the Yufa Pavilion! Three people from our side made it into the Myriad Arts Sect this year!”

Qingmu Zhenjun stared at Zhang Yu’s name on the screen and sighed wistfully, “So he really got into the Myriad Arts Sect?”

Watching Cijí Zhenjun’s flickering figure, Qingmu asked, “Where are you off to?”

“I’m going to check how Nie Lian and Yin Quan’s students did,” she replied. “We’ve been old friends for ages—it’s only proper to show some concern.”

Qingmu thought to himself, “Concern for their results? You just can’t wait for everyone to know Zhang Yu and the others got into the sect.”

—

Xiao Yu’s Money-Saving Guide: Optimal Strategy for Qidian’s Top-Up Discount Event (Dec 19–21)

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(End of Chapter)