Chapter 508: Finance is Finance, Wanfa is Wanfa
(Thank you to 'Xiaomo Who Works Hard to Earn Money' for the MVP donation)
Ciji Zhenjun: "Loans were originally meant to meet the funding demands of various departments' expansion. Yet some treat them like their own personal piggy banks..."
Lian Shu Zhenjun let out a cold snort. "Ciji! You all just blindly expand your departments, lose money, then expect the school to bail you out. Who’s the one constantly patching the holes? Isn’t it us in the Finance Department? So tell me—whose pocket are you really lining? Who’s thinking about the school? Who’s thinking about Wanfa?"
"I just don’t get it. The Finance Department has poured our hearts and souls into serving the school, sacrificing everything—how much Lingbi have we personally covered? Yet the more we spend, the more we’re blamed?"
As Ciji Zhenjun and Lianshu Zhenjun clashed head-on, the spiritual realm erupted in a storm of light and sound.
The Jiutian Yuanyang Tower suppressed the flow of information across Ling界, freezing the chaotic data streams like amber.
Meanwhile, Lingbi surged—vast swaths of the Ling world network were instantly seized, and Ling world Flow fees skyrocketed.
Beneath the radiant glow of the Jiutian Yuanyang Tower and the dazzling waves of Lingbi, the scene resembled an eternal dance of ice and fire, each side dominating half the banquet hall.
Inside, everyone felt their consciousness paralyzed. No message could be sent or received—communication was severed entirely.
No one dared move.
They watched the confrontation between the Alchemy Department and the Finance Department with frozen silence, terrified of drawing attention from these two powerhouse figures.
Then, a veil of clouds parted from the depths of the Ling realm.
In an instant, the entire scene shifted—like being yanked from the banquet hall and thrust into the sky, thousands of meters above the earth, standing atop endless layers of floating clouds.
At that moment, Xi Yun Zhenjun coughed softly. The mist-formed projection of Ling界 flashed with lightning-like eyes, sweeping over Ciji Zhenjun and Lian Shu Zhenjun.
Xi Yun Zhenjun: "Enough. This is the Civil Engineering Department’s victory celebration. Is this how you behave? Speak your minds, but don’t start fighting."
Glancing at his own traffic bill, Xi Yun Zhenjun silently fumed. Just those two’s clash sent my data fees through the roof.
Unlike the others, he couldn’t afford to disconnect—he was the Deputy Principal, and his Spirit Realm projection had to stay live at all times.
Meanwhile, in the Deep Ling界, Old Director stared at the severed connection, cursing under his breath: "Who raised the Network Fee?!"
He messaged Su Yanyang: What’s happening out there?
On the other side, Lian Shu Zhenjun nodded slightly. "The Principal is right. Ciji, today I won’t waste my breath on you."
Ciji Zhenjun: "Hmph."
Then, Lian Shu Zhenjun turned to Zhang Yu, his voice calm. "Zhang Yu, you don’t need to answer me right away."
He spread his palm open.
Gleaming threads of light from Lingjié seemed to stretch across vast distances, converging in his hand—forming a golden card that shimmered with divine power.
"This is an invitation letter, personally signed by Jin Que Shen Jun, inviting you to visit the Finance Department."
Feeling Lian Shu Zhenjun’s piercing gaze, Zhang Yu opened his mouth to refuse—
But a hand settled firmly on his shoulder.
A message flashed in his Eye Armor: Don’t push too hard. It’ll hurt your Immortal Path at Wanfa University.
Director Gao sighed inwardly: If it were just about Zhang Yu… it wouldn’t be worth this effort. It must be about the Hua Shen Spirit Armor, then.
From afar, Xi Yun Zhenjun watched the invitation, his brow furrowed—but still, he said: "Zhang Yu, since it’s a divine seal, you should accept it."
The onlookers stared at the golden invitation floating in midair, stunned.
None had expected Lian Shu Zhenjun to go this far—inviting a divine figure to endorse his offer.
The message was clear: this wasn’t just a courtesy. It was a declaration of intent.
Lian Shu Zhenjun watched as Zhang Yu accepted the invitation through his Eye Armor. A faint smile touched his lips.
"Once you’ve accepted, your consciousness can travel directly to the Finance Department via Spirit Realm—costs covered by us. You pay nothing."
As the invitation shattered into fragments, the world trembled.
Reality twisted and reformed in an instant.
Zhang Yu’s awareness shot through the spiritual realm like a comet, streaking toward the heart of the Finance Department.
...
Zhang Yu opened his eyes.
The surroundings looked familiar—stone paths paved with Spirit Stone beneath his feet.
He exhaled quietly. The Finance Department, huh?
He’d been here before. He knew this place.
Then, a figure appeared before him—Jiutian Liu, the top-ranked student in the Finance Department, second only to the school’s number one.
Seeing Zhang Yu, Jiutian Liu smiled. "Zhang Yu, long time no see. Today, I’ll be your guide through the Finance Department."
Without waiting for a response, he led Zhang Yu deeper into the department’s inner sanctum.
"This is the Virtual Currency Trading Center. Want to try your hand at a few trades?"
"Here’s 10 Lingbi—lose it, it’s on me. Win it, it’s yours. There’s a good market shift today. Just follow my strategy—I’ll teach you how to buy right. In ten minutes, you could easily make a few Lingbi."
Zhang Yu stayed silent, but watching Jiutian Liu’s swift, precise moves, the numbers piled up—several Lingbi earned in minutes.
His heart stirred.
Then he saw the traders around him—handling hundreds, even thousands of Lingbi in a single transaction.
A complex mix of awe, envy, and unease welled up inside him.
Jiutian Liu noticed the shift in Zhang Yu’s expression and chuckled. "When I first came to Wanfa University as a high school visitor, this place left the deepest impression on me."
"Do you know that feeling?"
"Imagine someone working hard all month, barely scraping together ten or twenty Lingbi—then walking into a place like this, seeing traders making hundreds or even thousands in a single day… just by clicking a button."
"It’s like… money stops being money."
He sighed. "And you start wondering—what’s the point of years of toil? A lifetime of sweat might not even match one lucky trade."
"Frankly? That feeling isn’t wrong."
"On the Xian Dao Road, there are two kinds of people."
"One type believes in grinding every day, working overtime, slowly climbing the Immortal Path through sheer effort."
"The other? They don’t work hard. They don’t sweat over tiny monthly wages. They just think. And they make money grow—Lingbi breeding Lingbi. They race ahead on the Immortal Path, leaving others behind."
"Call the first kind… fools. The second? Smart people."
Jiutian Liu led Zhang Yu to another hall.
"This is the Qi Yun Monitoring Center—the nerve center of intelligence across Wanfa University, and even half of Kunxu’s Second Layer."
"Here, every piece of data from every high-Qi Yun individual is tracked. We can funnel Qi Yun into anyone—turn a Junior College student into a top-tier genius, guiding them through every transfer, all the way to the Top Ten."
"Or, we can drain the Qi Yun from a prodigy—reduce them to a lowly, useless Junior College student."
As he spoke, holographic case studies unfolded around him—each one a life, a destiny, a soul swinging like a stock price.
Each rise and fall, each surge and collapse—was orchestrated by Finance Department decisions.
Each fluctuation brought profit, revenue, power.
Then, they stepped into a grand exhibition hall.
Outside, massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows revealed endless fields of medicinal herbs—stretching from the earth all the way to the horizon, a sea of green that seemed to touch the sky.
In Wanfa University’s University City, seeing the real world beyond was rare. Even Zhang Yu had only glimpsed it from the rooftop construction site.
This was his first time seeing the outside world from within the city’s heart.
Jiutian Liu smiled faintly. "Well? Does the view look different from here?"
Zhang Yu replied calmly: "About the same as from the rooftop."
Jiutian Liu chuckled. "Fair enough." He led Zhang Yu forward.
"Let me tell you something—our department’s history predates Wanfa University itself."
"And we’re not just the Finance Department of Wanfa University."
"Before Wanfa even existed, our ancestors—various Finance firms—had already been shaping the world."
"Even earlier, we were aristocrats, officials, hermits… even royal blood."
"In ancient times, we manipulated sects, manipulated Qi Yun, witnessed the rise and fall of countless sects."
"In feudal eras, we invested in promising powers, controlled wars, steered the course of history—deciding the fate of empires."
"Today? We span every industry, every school. Our influence is everywhere. We shape the futures of countless people in Kunxu."
He stopped before a massive portrait, showing a line of towering figures—each a legendary figure from history.
"This is the Kunlun Industry Research Institute, formed by Finance Departments across all schools. Commonly known as Kunlun Association."
"Besides our own Jin Que Shen Jun, seven other school-level Immortals are members."
"Zhang Yu, maybe you once thought school was everything—Wanfa was supreme."
"But I’ll tell you this: Lingbi power can cross school boundaries. It can cross Sect lines."
"Finance is Finance. Wanfa is Wanfa."
He turned to Zhang Yu, smiling.
"Are you going to spend your life toiling on a construction site? Or spend your days burning the midnight oil in an Alchemy lab?"
"Or are you going to learn to think—use money to grow money—and earn more Lingbi than you’d ever make in a lifetime in Alchemy or Civil Engineering?"
Zhang Yu stared at him.
Jiutian Liu shook his head. "Your transfer to Alchemy Department? Not a secret. I know. Director Gao knows."
Zhang Yu suddenly asked: "If you’re so powerful… can you get me into a Sect?"
Jiutian Liu went silent.
Then, coldly: "It’s not that we can’t. It’s that you can’t. This isn’t something a person like you should even be thinking about."
(End of Chapter)
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