https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-416-The-Embodiment-of-the-Magnetic-Pole/13687044/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-418-Alchemy-Exam-Thank-you-aghfh-for-your-support-as-Patron-/13687046/
Chapter 417: Soaring Progress, Foundation Establishment Limit, and the Race for Food
On the Yuan Ci Channel.
A female student suddenly stepped in front of Le Mulan, her eyes locked onto her with earnest determination. "Le Mulan! Please, let’s cultivate together through Mutual Cultivation!"
Hearing her sincere plea, the surrounding crowd turned to watch, curious glances flickering between the two. Thoughts swirled in their minds.
"Ah, youth truly is wonderful—so much free time to devote to cultivation."
"Please, don’t agree! Slow down your progress—give me a chance to catch up!"
"Both of you are Foundation Establishment masters—wouldn’t it be amazing if you’d take one of us under your wing…"
Le Mulan glanced at the girl, then calmly shook her head—refusing.
The rest of the way back to the dormitory, she was approached twice more—once by a classmate wanting to take pills together, another asking to conduct a drug experiment. Both requests were firmly declined.
Watching Le Mulan vanish into the luxurious dorm building, the rejected boy sighed. "Wow… so Le Mulan’s really rich? No wonder she doesn’t want to do experiments with me."
Just then, another male voice cut in from behind. "It’s not that Le Mulan is rich—her Mutual Cultivation partner, Zhang Yu, is."
The boy turned around to see Yu Xinghan approaching. "You’re…?"
Yu Xinghan spoke with quiet confidence. "I’m Yu Xinghan from the Civil Engineering Department. I have some knowledge in Mutual Cultivation, health preservation, and longevity practices."
"From my observation, you’re not the first student this week who’s asked Le Mulan to cultivate together."
"You’re all from the Pharmacology Department, right? You know she possesses a Specialized Martial Energy, studied under Professor Yin, and learned self-produced pharmaceutical techniques—so naturally, you’re drawn to her for mutual advancement."
The boy nodded slowly, surprised by the depth of knowledge in this Civil Engineering student.
Yu Xinghan gave a mysterious smile. "But do you realize… even that isn’t the real story?"
Seeing the boy’s skepticism, Yu Xinghan continued. "Le Mulan’s Mutual Cultivation partner, Zhang Yu, is truly extraordinary."
"Rumors say a Hua Shen Disciple traveled all the way from Tianjian University just to cultivate with him."
"And Professor Yin from your department once spent a fortune—25 Lingbi—to purchase his seeds."
"Not only that—another classmate of yours, Xuan Ge, also underwent multiple breakthroughs after receiving his guidance."
Yu Xinghan sighed. "This man possesses a rare talent for Mutual Cultivation. He might just change the fact that Wanfa University lacks a dedicated Mutual Cultivation department—and one day, fill the gap in this field entirely."
The boy’s eyes flickered with interest. He had indeed heard whispers of recent breakthroughs in Professor Yin’s research. Le Mulan and Xuan Ge had been making noticeable progress.
Then Yu Xinghan added, "Want me to add you to the group? Everyone in it is aiming to get into that dorm. We share the latest intel there."
Without hesitation, the boy replied, "I’m in!"
Stepping into the group chat, he saw seven or eight others already active, flooding the screen with messages.
"Can’t even imagine how good Le Mulan must feel inside that dorm right now."
"Damn it, I’m so jealous!"
"Probably jumped straight onto Zhang Yu the moment she walked in—taking the express lane on the immortal path."
"Can’t even dream of cultivating with Zhang Yu… but just being able to train with Le Mulan would be enough for me."
"Even Xuan Ge would be enough."
"Sharing a cultivation session with Xuan Ge? That’s like indirectly cultivating with a Hua Shen Disciple through three degrees of separation…"
Yu Xinghan: Have you all tried throwing money at Zhang Yu?
Yu Xinghan: Don’t you remember? In Kunxu, there’s nothing money can’t buy.
"Problem is, we don’t have money."
"Zhang Yu lives in a luxury dorm—he’s loaded. Our pocket change wouldn’t even ruffle his hair."
Yu Xinghan: Give me a price. I’ll help you find out.
Yu Xinghan: No group purchase...
Inside the luxurious dorm.
Zhang Yu and Le Mulan sat opposite each other, palms pressed together, channeling their Martial Energies—Deep Cold Mana Vein and Yanyang Dao Mai—into each other’s bodies.
Back then, when Zhang Yu had tried using Deep Cold Mana Vein to aid Xuan Ge, the latter hadn’t fully awakened Yanyang Dao Mai. The effect had been minimal.
Now, however, with Zhang Yu having successfully replicated the Dao Seed of Yanyang Dao Mai, the fusion of their energies created a powerful transformation.
Ice and fire—the two opposing forces of Martial Energy—raged within their bodies, colliding and intertwining. They forged and tempered their meridians and energy cores, silently accelerating their speed of energy manipulation and conversion.
Especially under the constant impact of dual energies, Zhang Yu felt his own Martial Energy becoming increasingly balanced—flexible yet firm, harmonizing Yin and Yang. A new, unprecedented resilience emerged within him.
With this resilience, his already refined Gang Qi Strength reached new heights, continuing to grow quietly.
Meanwhile, every aspect of cultivation—energy quantity, quality, and control—advanced steadily.
Unfortunately, Zhang Yu’s Martial Energy had already hit the Foundation Establishment stage limit at 1,000 units. On this base stat, there was no more room to grow.
……
July.
Zhang Yu joined a War Fortress construction project.
The site was located at the border between two Junior Colleges. As soon as he arrived, he saw a massive group of Junior College students locked in battle.
The reason Zhang Yu could instantly identify them was simple—the words “Junior College Student” were clearly marked above their heads.
A Spellmaster had cast a Manifestation Spell on the battlefield, automatically displaying the school affiliations of all Junior and Lower School students. Only paying a fee could hide the tags.
Watching the chaos unfold, Zhang Yu didn’t intervene. He’d only been hired for construction—no combat duties.
Still, he couldn’t help but mutter, "Is Junior College this chaotic now?"
When he posted a screenshot in the project group, Che Yufei replied: Junior College has always been this way.
But just as Zhang Yu was halfway through building the fortress, a No. 36 Upper School Foundation Establishment-level student suddenly shot toward the site at supersonic speed, launching a direct charge at the unfinished structure.
Zhang Yu called out, “Wait until I finish the fortress—then you can charge. I won’t stop you.”
He was thinking: Let him destroy it after I’m done. Then I’ll get paid twice.
But the Upper School student ignored him, bellowing, “Get out of the way!”
Zhang Yu sighed. The Construction Contract required him to protect the site during work.
“Another extra workload,” he muttered.
With a thunderous Sonic Boom, the Upper School Foundation Establishment-level warrior shattered the sound barrier, accelerating again and again, closing in on the site.
Then—Boom!
A massive hand slammed onto the student’s face, halting him dead in his tracks.
The force and inertia caused his body to tremble violently, freezing him in place.
But his hands, clad in Spirit Armor, erupted into action—fists flying, unleashing devastating Gang Qi blasts toward Zhang Yu.
Face. Shoulders. Chest. Waist—each impact struck with brutal force.
Yet with every hit, faint wisps of white vapor flickered across the contact points.
Zhang Yu stood completely still. Even under the full force of the barrage, his head didn’t so much as tilt backward.
After over half a year of cultivation, his Physical Strength Level had now reached the 20th Level—the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Beyond that, he had the 20th-level Mi Steel bones, layered Body-Protection Techniques, the Martial Dao Holy Body’s ability to deflect and redirect attacks, the Jiuxiao Yun Kongjin enhancement, Gang Qi armor, and even partial effects from Qinglian Jiantai’s Tu Mu Holy Body.
All these layers of reinforcement made the Upper School student’s Spirit Armor-enhanced punches feel to Zhang Yu like a gentle breeze.
Then, with a single flick of his finger, a cloud of mist formed at his fingertip—and shot toward the student’s abdomen.
Peng!
Instantly, the 12 powerful punches the student had just unleashed exploded harmlessly within the mist-like Gang Qi—blasting back into his own gut.
Under Zhang Yu’s precise control, the force twisted and crushed the student’s internal organs.
Watching the man convulse violently, gagging and gasping, Zhang Yu gave a subtle sniff—then instantly knew what was coming.
With a sudden, violent heave, the Upper School student vomited—spewing a torrent of half-digested rice into the air.
Zhang Yu observed, silently thinking: So they really do serve full meals before battle. Guess it’s true.
As the student sprayed rice everywhere, nearby Cultivation Qi Laborers erupted in cheers—rushing to snatch up the half-digested remains.
“Whoa! It’s rice!”
“Is this what rice tastes like? Smells incredible!”
“Idiot—this is rice soaked in a Foundation Establishment-level warrior’s bodily fluids. The nutrients are off the charts. This is top-tier cultivation material—of course it smells good!”
Even half-digested, this food came from a Foundation Establishment-level body. For the Qi Laborers, even a small bite took ages to process.
Zhang Yu casually tossed the dazed student to the ground and returned to his cultivation.
……
August.
In the Alchemy Laboratory.
A small, metallic rectangular object—a mere thumb-sized cube—was undergoing refinement in Zhang Yu’s hands.
Its surface shimmered with a faint, ancient bronze glow, revealing intricate Martial Energy Circuits. Simple in design, yet exuding an aura of quiet mystery.
This was Zhang Yu’s latest project: Zhendi Yin—a Spirit Artifact capable of generating a stabilizing earth-field once infused with Martial Energy.
This “earth-stabilizing field” could flatten terrain, vibrate materials, and create a deep-sea-like resistance effect within its range—perfect for defense or control.
Zhang Yu thought: Though Zhendi Yin isn’t on the Alchemy Department’s exam syllabus, it’s incredibly useful for me.
This time, he’d asked Zhang Pianpian to anonymously purchase the materials—ensuring his Alchemy work remained under the radar.
After all, as he mastered more Spirit Artifact Manufacturing Techniques, he didn’t plan to reveal all of his skills. Some artifacts he’d admit to refining. Others? He’d simply claim they were secondhand finds.
After several days of repeated refining, the 20th-Level Zhendi Yin finally took shape in his hands.
Holding the completed artifact, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but smile.
(End of Chapter)
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