Chapter 396: Receiving the Seven Absolute Arts
Ling Realm Space.
Inside a pitch-black room, a caption suddenly appeared: "Old Zhao, you went to Wanfa University this time?"
In the darkness, Zhao Tianxing—choosing to conserve spiritual coins by displaying only his name as "Zhao Tianxing" in the Spiritual World Projection—let out a faint smile. He typed back:
"Yeah. I made it to the top ten of the Wanfa University Civil Engineering Department’s inter-departmental competition. Our team secured seventh place."
Instantly, a chorus of "Ooh!" "Wow!" "Whoa!" (⊙o⊙)! echoed through the dark space.
Zhao Tianxing: "You guys haven’t been to Wanfa University. You don’t know how wide their Spirit Energy Circuits are, how advanced their Spirit Armors are, or how complex the work really gets…"
Classmates: "Ooh! Wow! Whoa!" (⊙o⊙)!
Feeling the waves of envy and astonishment from his peers, Zhao Tianxing couldn’t help but swell with pride.
Then another caption appeared: "Old Zhao, did you get a high rating?"
A junior college student chimed in: "If you get another top rating, won’t you be getting classes nonstop? Your salary will skyrocket!"
Zhao Tianxing glanced at his stats, then silently mused: "Should I ask Zhang Yu for a high rating?"
"If I keep pestering him, will he stop assigning me work?"
"Maybe I should wait a few more days…"
Just then, Zhao Tianxing noticed a new high rating had been added to his record. His heart leapt with joy.
Moments later, a sudden pull surged through him—he’d been matched with another task.
…
Mo Tianyi: Thanks.
Mo Tianyi: If there’s more work later, just call me. I’ll give you a discount.
Zhang Yu: Yeah, if there’s work, I’ll definitely come to you.
Zhang Yu casually awarded high ratings to Zhao Tianxing and Mo Tianyi, then checked his current Bank Deposit.
Thanks to his sister’s repayment of 5 Lingbi, Wen Wuya’s new 10-Lingbi monthly subscription, and Director Gao’s 10-Lingbi medical fee, his Lingbi balance had soared past 40.
But in the previous match, Zhang Yu had used his "Photographic Memory" Dao Arts service, split the costs of old Eye Armor with teammates, hired Soul Cultivators, bought Disha Qi Pollutants for preparation—and then paid out money to Zhao Tianxing, Mo Tianyi, and the rest of the team.
In the blink of an eye, his balance had plummeted to just over 17 Lingbi.
"This competition is pure cash burn," Zhang Yu thought. "Hope I get a decent payout once the rankings are confirmed."
At that moment, Xiao Qingxuan approached and said, "We’re the winning team. What do you plan to do with the Challenge Right in the next round?"
Zhang Yu asked, "Going up again? No matter who we face, we’d just lose. Can’t we just sell the Challenge Right?"
Xiao Qingxuan gave a calm smile. "It depends on how you sell it."
"Currently, the teams holding Challenge Rights are: first, second, third, fifth, and us."
"The order of challenges starts with us—rank seven—then fifth, third, second, each taking turns. The first-place team cannot use the Challenge Right."
"According to my intel, the third-place team is a Neutral Faction—they’ve decided to forfeit the Challenge Right."
"Second place is Mo Ejin. They’ll definitely challenge first-place Xuan Liangtian."
"Fifth is a Peace Faction. They’ll likely help Xuan Liangtian by challenging Mo Ejin—just to wear them down."
"Director Gao’s suggestion is for us to challenge the fifth-place team. Just wear them down a little. If it gets dangerous, just quit."
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. "How much compensation?"
Xiao Qingxuan replied calmly: "5 Lingbi per official team member."
Zhang Yu chuckled sheepishly. "Can we get a bit more?"
After consulting with Director Gao, Xiao Qingxuan sighed. "5.5 Lingbi is the max. Even Director Gao can’t push beyond that."
So in the next match, Zhang Yu led his team to challenge the team ranked fifth.
Soon after the match began, Zhang Yu stared in disbelief at the towering figure—over ten meters tall, three heads, six arms, wielding six Spirit Artifacts, chanting promotional slogans as it charged headlong through the arena.
"Is this a Civil Engineering Competition?!" Zhang Yu muttered, exasperated.
Xiao Qingxuan explained: "Xiao Yunji is the heir of a major construction company executive. Though he’s in the Civil Engineering Department, he’ll never actually work on a construction site."
After enduring over ten minutes of relentless bombardment, Zhang Yu and his teammates finally gave up, unable to take any more. They weren’t willing to risk injury—especially not with the extra medical fees that would follow.
Then, Xiao Yunji’s team challenged Mo Ejin. After just five or six minutes, Mo Ejin single-handedly crushed them. The team surrendered without a fight.
Watching this, Zhang Yu thought bitterly: "That Xiao Yunji’s a real snake—hitting us hard, but when he runs into Mo Ejin, he folds instantly."
The final showdown came down to Mo Ejin versus Xuan Liangtian.
Both teams wielded the Military-Grade Technique Tian Kunlun Shifting Mountain Divine Power. As the battle erupted, the entire arena twisted and inverted—gravity flipped, the sky turned upside down.
Everyone on the field had to fight against the crushing Disha Gravity radiating from the two titans, while simultaneously flying at high speed through midair to perform construction and combat.
Zhang Yu thought: "This is an Aerospace Stereoscopic Array? They’ve turned the ground bunker into a space station."
Moments later, the simulated Spirit Vein beneath the arena was violently torn free—writhe like a dragon—then shredded into countless fragments, endlessly fought over, rebuilt, and destroyed again.
In the end, Mo Ejin’s team won by a narrow 8% margin.
…
Back in the Ling world space.
With Mo Ejin claiming first place, the Departmental Competition concluded with the War Faction holding a slight edge.
The War Faction’s teachers wore smiles. Director Gao chuckled softly, discussing rewards with Lin Director and Lingyue Immortal.
Tu Lishan said: "Old Director, this competition had a batch of Loan Rewards for top performers. I think Zhang Yu should get one."
Lingyue Immortal remembered clearly—Zhang Yu’s team had beaten Ma Xuan before, and Tu Lishan had proposed this then, only to be denied with an excuse.
Now, seeing Tu Lishan bring it up again, Lingyue Immortal smiled faintly, knowing there was no longer any reason to refuse. He turned to Lin Director and asked, "Lin Director, what do you think?"
Lin Director replied coolly: "Teacher Tu, our department always follows strict criteria—results, ranking, data. Anyone qualified for the reward loan gets it automatically. No need to single out one person."
Director Gao chuckled: "Teacher Tu’s just concerned about nurturing our top talent. But old Lin’s right—let’s follow the process."
"Let’s first discuss the first-place prize. Mo Ejin took first. He’s my disciple, but I won’t play favorites. He’ll represent our department in the Inter-School League."
"The landscape is shifting fast. Every school is upgrading their Military-Grade Powers. Even with the Tian Kunlun Shifting Mountain Divine Power, Mo Ejin might not be enough in this league."
"I think… it’s time to activate the Military-Grade Spirit Armor."
Lin Director’s eyes narrowed. “He’s asking for a fortune…”
Meanwhile, standing at the edge, Lang Yougong sensed the growing tension in the Ling界 Space and sighed inwardly: "This competition just made the rift between the factions even more obvious."
…
Not long after, Zhang Yu received news about the competition rewards during class.
First, as a full team member of the seventh-place team, he received 8 Lingbi in prize money.
Next, as an outstanding performer, he got a low-interest loan of 12 Lingbi—credited to his account.
His Bank Deposit surged back up to 42.5 Lingbi.
Then came the Comprehensive Score boost: 1,800 base points, plus 194 performance bonus—totaling 1,994 points—pushing Zhang Yu’s Comprehensive Score to nearly 5,000.
With this jump, Zhang Yu finally earned his own Department Ranking.
Civil Engineering Department – Foundation Establishment Realm – Rank 95
In the classroom, students slowly noticed the change above Zhang Yu’s head. Seeing "Rank 95, Civil Engineering Department," some were amazed, others envious, and a few utterly stunned.
Only the top 100 across the entire department had their rankings displayed. At 95, it might not seem impressive—but this was only three months into the second year.
Zhang Yu’s rank stood out like a beacon. Even Li Mingbo, the Martial Energy teacher, glanced over a few times.
"This First Layer kid," Li Mingbo thought, "heard he placed seventh in the Civil Engineering competition. Impressive. Way beyond what I expected."
Zhang Yu knew this rank would bring another reward loan at the end of the academic year.
"But 95th place gives too little. By the end of second year, after finishing all my exams, I should be able to climb higher."
Just then, a message popped up from his sister.
Zhang Pianpian: Congratulations. Made it into the top 100.
Zhang Yu glanced at her rank: Spellcraft Department – Foundation Establishment Realm – Rank 44.
He felt even more awed by her achievement.
But every time, Zhang Pianpian simply said: "Spellcraft is fast-paced. You learn fast, you’re strong. You learn slow, you’re weak. High rankings in early years are common in our department. Don’t compare yourself to me."
Besides the ranking update, the final reward was the transmission of the Seven Absolute Arts.
At the same time, the competition group began debating who would receive the second copy of the Seven Absolute Arts.
Shi Huaixu: One goes to Zhang Yu. The other, up for auction.
Zhang Yu: How much should I offer?
Shi Huaixu: You contributed the most. Just take it.
Che Yufei: If it weren’t for your money in the competition, I wouldn’t have even covered my medical fees. You don’t need to pay extra.
Yu Xinghan: Still, we should at least make a token gesture.
Shi Huaixu: I’ll mute you as a backup player.
Yu Xinghan: I spent money too!
Yu Xinghan: [Transfer record]
Gong Shuijin: Can backup players bid too?
Shi Huaixu: Of course.
Che Yufei: Please, sir.
Facing Gong Shuijin—who had personally spent 20 Lingbi in the final stretch—everyone in the group showed deep respect.
Moments later, the auction concluded. Gong Shuijin won the second copy for 26 Lingbi.
Zhang Yu immediately received the transfer. His Deposit jumped to over 46.8 Lingbi.
Seeing so much Lingbi in his account, like most Kunxu people, Zhang Yu felt an overwhelming urge to spend it immediately—convert it into real Daoist strength.
At that moment, Director Gao sent a message:
Director Gao: Tomorrow, same place. I’ll teach you the second of the Seven Absolute Arts.
Director Gao: Also, we’ll discuss your future plans for the Military License exam.
Zhang Yu’s heart pounded. Tomorrow was now something he truly looked forward to.
(End of Chapter)
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