Chapter 523: Gaining a Bit of Fame
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Ling Realm.
Alchemy Department classroom.
Unlike the Civil Engineering Department, many courses in the Alchemy Department were accelerated within the Ling Realm, allowing students to progress at a much faster pace. This efficiency came at a steep price—exorbitant tuition fees. Yet for those fortunate enough to attend the Alchemy Department, the cost was merely a footnote among the department’s many financial burdens.
Today, as the Martial Energy Conduction course concluded, Zhang Yu rose from his seat and walked toward the instructor.
The course’s teacher, known as Jiu Duan Immortal, was a rare young prodigy—only just past fifty, yet already a doctoral graduate from Wanfa University’s Alchemy Department and retained on staff. He was, in every sense, a man of remarkable promise.
Like most faculty and students in the Alchemy Department, Jiu Duan Immortal judged people first by their Spirit Armor. After all, the path of Alchemy was a matter of wealth above all else. To him, wealth was the ultimate criterion for talent selection.
And the clearest indicator of wealth? The Spirit Armor one wore.
To streamline evaluation, he kept detailed notes on every student and displayed their rankings directly in their Eye Armor—ensuring he could monitor and manage them seamlessly, whether in the real world or within the Ling Realm.
Take the current class, for example:
- Su Yun Ni, ranked Class One in the Wandao Jiangzong premium line, glowed a faint purple in Jiu Duan Immortal’s perception. To him, she was a minor elite—ideal for immediate labor. Whether it was menial tasks in the lab or contracted work for Alchemy firms, she was ready to be deployed as a reliable worker.
- On the other hand, Zi Wen Zhen, ranked fourth in the class, wore a basic Wandao Jiangzong set. Her Armor flickered a soft blue—ordinary, unremarkable, but obedient. She’d need some coaching before she could function independently, yet her willingness to endure hard, dangerous work made her valuable for tasks others wouldn’t touch.
- Students who quietly wore secondhand or mid-tier Spirit Armor? A handful in each class. To Jiu Duan Immortal, they appeared green in his vision—discarded material, expendable. Their greatest contribution to the Alchemy industry? Their spending during school. They had no real potential, yet every year, a few still managed to enroll.
- As for those clad in low-tier Spirit Armor, or worse—those with nothing beyond their Eye Armor—Jiu Duan Immortal only saw them outside the Alchemy Department. In his eyes, they were a dull gray-black, with the darkness deepening the lower the total value of their armor.
University City was full of such people—growing in number with each passing year, becoming increasingly worthless.
To Jiu Duan Immortal, they were walking wet garbage. The only difference? Throwing them into the dump would cost a fine.
Occasionally, he had to admit, Youming University did better. They regularly cleared out the low-tier population from the city, preventing these “wet garbage” from wandering freely.
It was like pouring medicine into a river—keeping the human market stable. Without overpopulation, the value of low-tier lives wouldn’t collapse. It preserved dignity, ensuring the poor weren’t treated as utterly disposable.
Now, as Zhang Yu approached, a massive patch of gray-black shadow loomed in Jiu Duan Immortal’s perception.
“Zhang Yu?” The name surfaced instantly in his mind. This student—transferred from Civil Engineering Department just two months prior—wore nothing but a four-year-old Eye Armor. He stood out more than any other student in the room, an anomaly in Jiu Duan Immortal’s system.
By his standards, Zhang Yu should have been wet garbage.
Yet, the Alchemy Department didn’t have wet garbage. And Zhang Yu’s academic record suggested otherwise. He was a contradiction—neither trash nor a person, but something unknown.
To Jiu Duan Immortal, Zhang Yu was a mystery. A strange new species.
Zhang Yu spoke. “Teacher, I’d like to request a leave of absence.”
“Why?” Jiu Duan Immortal asked.
“I’m planning to build a prototype of the Tian Ri Huang Shen,” Zhang Yu explained. “I’ll need more time in the lab—more practice, more technical preparation.”
He truly didn’t want to waste time in class. He’d already mastered the material—deeply internalized it through his own Alchemy Technique. And the Tian Ri Huang Shen prototype was his next real goal. It was the perfect excuse—just as legitimate as a Civil Engineering student requesting time off to work on a construction site.
Jiu Duan Immortal frowned slightly. “You want to build the Tian Ri Huang Shen prototype? Ambition is admirable, but Alchemy demands humility. Martial Energy Conduction is foundational. Focus on mastering this course first.”
A student from Civil Engineering, only two months in, claiming to build a Tian Ri Huang Shen prototype? To Jiu Duan Immortal, it sounded absurd. If he’d agreed, he’d have been mocked as a fool.
Zhang Yu anticipated this. Without further delay, he sent over the data from his refined Spirit Artifact—the Liangyi Yangyin Shield.
He knew words meant little. Proof was everything.
The Liangyi Yangyin Shield could switch between two defensive modes: Li Huo Zhao and Xuan Bing Zhao. After Zhang Yu’s personal Strengthening, it demonstrated mastery of Martial Energy Conduction—far beyond what a typical student could achieve.
At first, Jiu Duan Immortal dismissed it. But as he reviewed the data, his brows lifted. Then narrowed. Then widened.
“Is this really your refinement?” he asked, astonished.
To him, this wasn’t just a high-level artifact—it was the work of a senior student. The precision, the energy flow patterns, the structural integrity—everything screamed advanced expertise.
“Alright,” Jiu Duan Immortal said, smiling faintly. “Do you have any ongoing projects? Interested in joining my lab?”
In that moment, Zhang Yu was marked with a First-Layer purple aura—unusually rare, and instantly classed as a high-value asset, ready to be deployed for profit.
“I’m pretty busy lately,” Zhang Yu replied, shaking his head.
He’d learned a lot from Ye Xingli about the Alchemy Department’s underbelly. Joining a professor’s lab meant trading guidance and cultivation opportunities for endless labor—often for less pay than hauling trash at a construction site.
Zhang Yu had his own cultivation plan and income strategy. He didn’t need to be exploited for scraps.
Jiu Duan Immortal nodded. “Fair enough. Whenever you’re ready, my door’s open.”
On the other side of the classroom, most students had already vanished after class.
But Zi Wen Zhen lingered, pretending to organize her notes. She’d watched Zhang Yu approach the teacher—and now, she listened.
Seeing Jiu Duan Immortal’s sudden interest, her heart raced. “This Zhang Yu… he’s getting stronger every day.”
Since becoming Ye Xingli’s assistant, she’d seen Zhang Yu cultivating Alchemy Techniques in the lab again and again. She’d watched him master one technique after another. His explanation? The influence of the Hua Shen Spirit Armor.
She’d been envious—her eyes burning with longing.
“I could do mutual cultivation too! I could even change my gender!”
But she’d taken the test. The Hua Shen Armor hadn’t chosen her.
As Zhang Yu’s Alchemy skills grew, so did his reputation. More jobs came his way. In the Alchemy Department’s group chat, his name began to surface more often.
Zi Wen Zhen thought: “He’s only a Third-Year. Already planning to build the Tian Ri Huang Shen prototype? That’s jumping too far ahead.”
She didn’t believe in his ambition.
“The Hua Shen Armor gives random techniques. How could it possibly guide him to complete something like the Tian Ri Huang Shen?”
“He’s just lucky. Doesn’t mean he’s a genius.”
But as Zhang Yu kept requesting leave from various instructors, the news spread. More students heard about his project. Rumors grew. A name began to circulate.
…
Inside the laboratory.
Ye Xingli flicked her hand, and the Zhen Kong Jie Bian Tu unfurled.
Within its military-grade Spirit Armor field, air currents, temperature, humidity, spiritual energy, gravity—every variable shifted under her control, shaping a perfect experimental environment.
As she manipulated the device, a Spirit Artifact on the lab table began to disassemble, revealing its intricate inner structure.
On the other side, Zhang Yu, deep in cultivation, suddenly frowned. “That smell… sharp and pungent. Is that Saiqi?”
Ye Xingli nodded. “It’s a factory device meant to purify Di Shasha Qi. But something went wrong—there was a leak.”
“Normally, a small leak wouldn’t matter. But this one seeped into the lower-level water pipes of University City. Causing widespread Saiqi pollution.”
“Fortunately, the factory’s manager sensed the issue and immediately dumped his own waste into the pipes—claiming it was a sewage leak. Not only did he avoid paying compensation, he charged the poor people who’d drawn water from the pipes for their ‘meals’.”
Zhang Yu’s expression darkened. “So in Kunxu, you can’t afford to be poor. Even if you’re fed sewage, you still have to pay.”
Ye Xingli continued, still adjusting the Zhen Kong Jie Bian Tu, while messaging Zhang Yu privately:
> Heard you asked your teacher for leave. Preparing for the Tian Ri Huang Shen prototype? Still going through with it?
Zhang Yu replied:
> Yeah. I’m confident.
Seeing his resolve, Ye Xingli didn’t stop him—but warned:
> If you’re serious, look into who’s planning to work on the Tian Ri Huang Shen in the coming years.
> The Military License isn’t officially announced, but the number is limited. Only one license per year for each type of military-grade artifact—like the Tian Ri Huang Shen.
> So everyone tries to secure their spot early, to avoid conflict.
> [Jin Jun]
> He’s the one starting next academic year—September. He’s working on the prototype. He’s my friend. You can ask him anything.
Zhang Yu’s mind raced.
“Next year?”
“It’s already June. Only three months until September. I’ll be in my fourth year.”
“Everyone thinks I’m just starting now—probably won’t finish for years.”
“But with my current progress… I could finish the prototype by next year.”
“That means I’ll be directly competing with Jin Jun.”
“If he secures the Military License first… I’ll have to wait until Fifth Year.”
…
In the Spiritual Realm’s Cave Palace.
Jin Jun opened Jin Dan Zhi Zhi and checked his Jin Dan Simulation Benchmark Score: 158,312
Checking his simulation score daily—watching his incremental progress—had become a lifelong habit.
Then, his Ling Realm projection flickered, transforming into a towering figure over three meters tall, armored in golden Spirit Armor.
Projected parameters danced across the armor’s surface—numbers, stats, efficiency ratings—showcasing the power of the artifacts he’d personally refined, or enhanced through his own Strengthening.
As the master of the Military-Grade Technique Tai Xu Shen Qi Ce, his Alchemy prowess far surpassed that of most students in the Alchemy Department.
(End of Chapter)
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