https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-514-Zhang-Yu-s-Jin-Dan-Simulation-Score/13687216/
Chapter 515: Who Said Switching Majors Can't Match Pure-Blooded Alchemists? (Thanks to 'Xie Longqi' for the MVP Donation)
“Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree order?”
When Zhang Yu saw Ye Xingli’s message, his eyes instantly lit up.
Though he had officially switched to the Alchemy Department and was now focused on crafting the prototype of Tian Ri Huang Shen, he hadn’t rushed straight into the process. Instead, he continued building up his Alchemy Genius cultivation. After all, sharpening the blade doesn’t delay the chopping—Zhang Yu knew that with his deep understanding of the Chain Law Diagram set, Alchemy Genius would bring long-term benefits to his future path.
Especially now that he’d pushed Jianbao Jue and Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree both to the 20th Level, and Yuhuo Shenjian had reached Level 10, he was getting dangerously close to completing the first layer of Alchemy Genius, which required mastery of six techniques.
He estimated it would take only two months.
The only thing weighing on him was money.
“This Alchemy path is great—except it’s so damn expensive.”
“Spirit Artifact blueprints cost a fortune.”
“And cultivating techniques? Even more so.”
To level up Yuhuo Shenjian, Zhang Yu not only had to buy fire seeds to refine his true qi, but also needed Spirit Artifacts to practice on. After all, this technique was about mastering true fire to refine Spirit Artifacts—enhancing their material strength and heat resistance.
Though he bought secondhand Spirit Artifacts, each one still drained a significant amount of Lingbi.
At first, his Yuhuo Shenjian level was too low—his craftsmanship poor—so he only purchased the cheapest secondhand items: basic, sub-3rd-level practice pieces. They were cheap, yes, but even so, after his underqualified refinement, they were almost impossible to resell.
To be honest, Zhang Yu never thought these trash practice artifacts would sell at all.
Until he discovered that junior college students actually did have demand for Spirit Artifacts—though their purchasing power was laughably low.
He remembered the peak days when he’d spent nearly 10 Lingbi in a single day, watching his account dwindle.
Later, as his Yuhuo Shenjian level rose, he experimented with better-grade artifacts—5th, 9th, 10th, even 11th-level ones.
After multiple tests, he found that 11th-level Spirit Artifacts were the best to refine and resell.
Especially ones like Zhendi Yin or Di Shasha Bottle—tools widely used in Civil Engineering construction.
“An 11th-level Spirit Artifact reaches Foundation Establishment level. That’s a qualitative leap over anything below 10th level.”
“And for construction sites? They don’t need peak performance. Just sturdy, durable tools. Most people aren’t willing to work overtime using 20th-level artifacts.”
“So for construction crews, 11th-level artifacts are the sweet spot—lower cost, higher efficiency, most practical.”
This made it much easier to sell his practice pieces and recoup some Lingbi, significantly easing the financial pressure of cultivating Yuhuo Shenjian.
“Now that Yuhuo Shenjian is Level 10, I can do more than just sell scrap practice pieces. I can offer custom refining services—cultivate my technique while earning from others’ Spirit Artifacts.”
Zhang Yu calculated in his mind: if he kept spending and earning at this rate, reaching Level 20 would only cost another 15 to 20 Lingbi.
Every time he thought about it, he couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
Thankfully, Kunxu’s Spirit Artifacts weren’t like those in the immortal novels of his past—indestructible for decades or even centuries.
Otherwise, he’d have no idea who to sell all these refined artifacts to.
In Kunxu, Spirit Artifacts wore down with use. They had durability, degraded over time, required maintenance, repairs, and eventually became outdated, obsolete, or outright scrapped.
Zhang Yu had once complained about how fragile they were—but now that he was deep in Alchemy, he realized his old view had been too narrow.
“If a Spirit Artifact lasts for generations without needing repair or maintenance… is that even reasonable? Does that make sense? How would the Alchemy Department survive?”
“If it weren’t for selling back refined Spirit Artifacts, I’d burn through 100 Lingbi just trying to reach Level 20 of Yuhuo Shenjian—and my Alchemy path would be over.”
“Still… once Alchemy Genius is complete, crafting the Tian Ri Huang Shen prototype will likely cost even more. Gotta keep earning, keep moving fast.”
Zhang Yu glanced at his bank account.
He’d just received a 20-Lingbi bonus—but it was quickly swallowed up: payment for Mo Ejin’s Seven Supreme Spirit Armors, payroll for company staff, and more money spent on cultivating Yuhuo Shenjian.
His balance now hovered just below 3 Lingbi.
“Sigh… the more I earn, the faster I cultivate. The faster I cultivate, the more I spend per unit of time.”
“Lingbi will never be enough.”
In this state of financial strain, seeing Ye Xingli’s new Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree order was pure joy.
Zhang Yu: Accepted.
Ye Xingli: [Zi Wen Zhen]
Ye Xingli: Since you’ve officially joined the Alchemy Department, there’s no need to hide anymore.
Ye Xingli: Just contact her directly.
For a long time, Ye Xingli had acted as a middleman under Ciji Zhenjun’s orders, selling Spirit Artifacts and offering Alchemy services for Zhang Yu—mainly to conceal his Alchemy skills before the transfer.
Now that Zhang Yu had officially transferred, she no longer saw the point in hiding.
A moment later, Zhang Yu sent a friend request to Zi Wen Zhen.
Zi Wen Zhen blinked upon seeing the request.
“Why is this damn Civil Engineering kid adding me? Does he want to ask me about Alchemy courses?”
She opened the request details—and froze again.
Zhang Yu: Need Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree service?
Zi Wen Zhen’s mind raced: “Is Zhang Yu running some kind of brokerage? Or a reseller? Did some big data algorithm leak my needs?”
She knew plenty of Alchemy Department freshmen with weak skills would use their department’s reputation to sell or act as intermediaries.
Suspecting Zhang Yu might be a prospect Ciji Zhenjun had personally vetted, she accepted the request.
Zhang Yu: Are you the one needing Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree service?
Zi Wen Zhen: Sorry, I’ve already hired someone.
Zhang Yu: Was it Ye Xingli Senior Sister? She told me to come to you.
Zhang Yu: What kind of Spirit Artifact are you planning to infuse with Dragon Vein power?
Zi Wen Zhen replied with clear skepticism:
“You know Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree?”
She added: “I’m very particular. Only top-tier quality will do.”
“Junior, you just transferred from Civil Engineering. Focus on your classes first.”
Zhang Yu saw that reply and knew he couldn’t just ignore it.
In the Alchemy world, individual reputation was as vital as brand value.
Take Ji Hu-brand vs. Wandao Jiangzong vs. Jin Gang Xuan Zao—were Ji Hu’s techniques truly worse? Not necessarily.
But Ji Hu-brand couldn’t compete on price, and their high-end models were largely ignored outside Xianbing University circles.
That was branding—prestige, image, market perception.
And the same applied to individuals.
Did a Civil Engineering transfer student really have less skill than a pure-blooded Alchemy prodigy?
Zhang Yu knew better.
But he also knew many people held that bias.
So now, he had to actively maintain his own Alchemy reputation—protect and build his personal brand.
After all, before, he’d hidden behind Ye Xingli. Now, it was time to step into the spotlight under his own name.
If he didn’t protect his image, how could he earn? And if he couldn’t earn, how could he cultivate?
Especially with this conversation already recorded in the chat history.
If Zhang Yu backed down now, and Zi Wen Zhen later shared the chat—saying: “This Zhang Yu just transferred, knew nothing about Alchemy, tried to start a custom service, and I shut him down—now he’s back to studying like a good little student.”
That would be a lifelong black mark.
No matter what he did afterward—good or bad—people would bring it up. His personal brand would be damaged.
Zhang Yu couldn’t afford to bet on Zi Wen Zhen’s integrity. He didn’t know her personality.
But he did know someone else who’d done similar work—though that person was now exiled to Civil Engineering.
The odds weren’t bad.
So Zhang Yu typed back:
Zhang Yu: My Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree is already Level 20. I’ve handled several orders through Ye Xingli Senior Sister before—my skill is solid.
Zhang Yu: Zi Wen Zhen, if you’re skeptical, check my Spirit Artifact: Taiyi Jin Ye Dan.
Zi Wen Zhen opened the file—and her gaze sharpened instantly.
Sharing Spirit Artifact data this way was like ancient cultivators examining each other’s tools—standard practice among Alchemy experts.
No matter how much you talked, nothing proved your skill like showing your actual refined artifact.
And since Spirit Artifact refinement was time-consuming and labor-intensive, you couldn’t just challenge someone to a duel to prove strength.
So examining another’s Spirit Artifact was the most effective way to gauge their cultivation level.
In modern times, it was even simpler.
Thanks to the Top Ten Sects’ standardized classification system, every parameter was clearly defined.
Just glance at the numbers, and you could estimate the refiner’s skill level at a glance—far more reliable than a resume.
If you couldn’t even understand the stats?
Then you were clearly far behind.
Zi Wen Zhen studied the data closely, determined to give a fair assessment.
- Temperature: 39°C
- Gang Qi conductivity: 99%
- Martial Energy storage: 999
- Spirit Energy Circuit: 64-layer
- Intelligent Artifact Status: None
- Dragon Vein infusion: 20 units
Zi Wen Zhen read through each line carefully.
Though she hadn’t invested much effort into Taiyi Jin Ye Dan—her current skill level was only 10th—she understood the numbers.
“Level 20 Taiyi Jin Ye Dan…”
“Over five overlapping fusion refinements…”
“Refined twice using Dragon Vein Treasure Forging Decree…”
The more she read, the more impressed she became.
“Is this really Zhang Yu’s work?”
At the bottom of the data sheet, the refiner’s information was listed:
Refiner: Wanfa University, Zhang Yu
Second Refinement: Wanfa University, Zhang Yu
(End of Chapter)
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