Ever since Zhang Yu unleashed the level-20 Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force, his duel with Ma Xuan and the others had drawn the attention of nurous instructors.
Having dominated the first half, many teachers were now curious: what strategy would Ma Xuan use for the second half? And how would Zhang Yu respond?
Just as the second half was about to begin, a new figure appeared in the Spiritual Realm space—another spectator here for the Civil Engineering Departnt’s tournant.
It wasn’t a person, but a vertical text fra with just four bold characters inside: True Lord Magneto.
Director Gao’s eyes flickered as he saw this and sent a private ssage: You finally showed up.
He was already used to True Lord Magneto’s avatar on the Spiritual Realm Network.
“This guy’s loaded, but the mont he deems sothing ‘unnecessary,’ he won’t spend a single coin.”
“Spiritual Realm avatar, Nascent Soul projection effects, premium projection filters... he always picks the cheapest options.”
“Even his Law Husk is patched up junk he upgrades himself. Been using it for decades.”
Director Gao often wondered if this guy was secretly a gambling addict. What else could explain the extre thrift?
“No clue where all his hoarded funds are going. It’s not like he’s building an Immortal artifact.”
Still, for all his stinginess and gruff personality, True Lord Magneto was one of the few people Director Gao considered a friend—and today, a friend showing up to lend so presence.
Gao’s eyes swept across the Peace Faction instructors on-site.
Sure, the Finance Departnt is rich. But can you get their Director to co stand with you like I did?
Fully siding with the Finance Departnt ans we’ll just beco their blood bank. They might even blow up the whole Civil Engineering Departnt.
True Lord Magneto’s arrival made many teachers shift their expressions.
Wei Huai from the Peace Faction's Geology class thought to himself, Gao really is tight with True Lord Magneto.
Immortal Jiao Lei, also of the Peace Faction and Zhang Yu’s horoom instructor in the Foundation Establishnt Class, mused, True Lord Magneto himself showed up? The Artifact Refinent Departnt really values us. Their sincerity is high.
Other instructors felt the War Faction now had both the Artifact Refinent Departnt and the Heavenly Sword University’s Nascent Soul cultivator in their corner. Wouldn’t they be rolling in project opportunities?
The War Faction instructors straightened their backs with newfound pride.
True Lord Magneto’s arrival prompted a warm greeting from Director Gao, Director Lin, and the senior True Lord Lingyue.
True Lord Lingyue bead. “Welco, True Lord Magneto. Your presence brings great honor to our humble Civil Engineering Departnt.”
True Lord Magneto replied, “Old Gao told the departnt’s top talents are gathering and the tournant is narrowing down to the final ten. Thought I’d co take a look.”
“There are a few soul-void manufacturing zones getting commissioned next year. Thought I’d assess your departnt’s current construction capabilities.”
The mont he ntioned those major projects in hand, the Civil Engineering instructors around lit up like wolves eyeing fresh at.
After so polite chit-chat, they resud watching the match.
True Lord Magneto sent a private ssage: Satisfied?
Director Gao: Very much so [thumbs up emoji]
True Lord Magneto: Pay up.
Director Gao: [Transfer initiated]
Director Gao: That’s the deposit. I’ll send the rest after the match.
True Lord Magneto: Where’s the trust?
Gao didn’t reply. After centuries of friendship, he knew: if he paid the full amount now, the guy would watch for five minutes and disappear.
Every second of True Lord Magneto’s ti, thoughts, and attention was absurdly valuable.
He also knew, while the Artifact Refinent Departnt had staff involved in construction studies, True Lord Magneto himself had zero real interest in the field.
As the second half kicked off, teams clashed once more.
Director Gao nudged True Lord Magneto, introducing Mo Shangjin—the War Faction’s strongest student and the only one to have mastered the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might. He was the poster boy of their faction.
Director Lin chid in, pointing out Xuan Liangtian of the Peace Faction, another student who had grasped the Mountain-Moving Might.
True Lord Lingyue stood to the side with a cheerful smile, looking pleased with the departnt’s wealth of talent.
But True Lord Magneto, after listening a while, suddenly asked, “Who's that student?”
Gao glanced at the one surrounded by Ma Xuan’s group. “Zhang Yu.”
Despite being buried in a storm of sand and mud, every contestant had shared their EyeNet feeds with the referees and instructors—so the battle was fully visible.
True Lord Magneto raised his brows. “That’s the Zhang Yu you ntioned before? First ti I’ve seen him.”
Gao didn’t answer. Zhang Yu looked like he was about to be eliminated.
He sent a private ssage: Let’s not talk about Zhang Yu right now.
But Director Lin’s eyes glead. “Zhang Yu is Director Gao’s prized protégé, one he’s personally cultivated with great care.”
Wei Huai joined in. “Indeed, I heard Director Gao poured quite a bit of effort into Zhang Yu. But it looks like he’s in trouble...”
Just as Gao frowned at the Peace Faction’s attempts to spin the narrative, Zhang Yu, blood-soaked and still battling four at once, managed to down one opponent.
True Lord Magneto nodded. “Interesting student. You found a good one, Old Gao.”
Gao’s frown turned to a slight smirk. “I gave him a few pointers. The rest is his own talent.”
An instructor added, “Mastering level-20 Nine Heavens Cloudstride Force and level-20 War Demon Life-Draining Technique in sophomore year? His martial talent is obvious. And to fight this hard, take this much damage, and keep going—his physique and fighting spirit are top-notch.”
Tu Lishan chid in, “Wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t scouted him as a freshman and sent him to the worksite. That’s what unlocked his potential.”
Lang Yougong nodded. “I’m his body-refinent instructor. Ever since he started worksite training, his growth has been insane. Just proves: our departnt’s real future is in construction.”
Director Lin watched it all unfold. When Ma Xuan’s team surrendered one by one, and even Ji Yuanshu gave up, his expression chilled.
Ji Yuanshu: Teacher, I lost.
Ji Yuanshu: Ma Xuan’s group sabotaged . I suspect they took bribes from the War Faction and threw the match to suppress .
Lin didn’t reply. Instead, he looked at the post-match stats and sent Ji a screenshot.
First, combat duration: Zhang Yu ranked first. Ji Yuanshu was near the bottom, only above Shi Yunxiang.
Second, estimated damage: Zhang Yu again led the field, contributing 78% of his team’s destruction. Ji Yuanshu? Just 1.5%.
Lin chuckled to himself.
You’re calling others a liability?
He mused, Decked out in brand-na Law Husks and you still rank bottom in every tric? What a leech.
anwhile, the rest of the instructors reviewed the data.
What stood out was Zhang Yu—taking 89% of his team’s total damage, leading in physical injuries and estimated losses. His na was now firmly etched into the minds of every teacher present.
Tu Lishan sighed, “Zhang Yu was the MVP of this round. To hold out that long—his physique, defensive techniques, leverage skills, tactical instincts—it all ca together.”
“After beating Ma Xuan’s team, they’ve made it to the top ten, right?”
“Second-year student in the top ten. That’s rare.”
He proposed, “Didn’t we approve a special cultivation loan reward for outstanding contestants? I say Zhang Yu deserves one.”
Wei Huai responded coolly, “Zhang Yu’s tactics have no real-world application. You can only play that way in tournants. In real combat, there are no ‘non-lethal’ clauses.”
“If Ma Xuan’s team hadn’t held back for fear of killing him, Zhang Yu would’ve been out long ago.”
“If he enjoys fighting so much, maybe he should transfer to the Security Departnt. Their simulators let you go all out. Kill as many as you want, no compensation needed.”
Tu Lishan snorted. “Rules are rules. A proper engineer needs to know how to work within constraints. Zhang Yu won by using the rules—that’s skill.”
“If Ma Xuan was so smart, why didn’t he use the rules too? Why didn’t Bu Ziran go all in? Because they didn’t have what it takes.”
“So folks are used to fighting with money and forgot how to fight with guts…”
True Lord Lingyue nodded thoughtfully. “The Civil Engineering tournants discourage pure combat. Killing incurs compensation. Zhang Yu has admirable spirit, but it’s not the style we want to promote.”
Tu Lishan narrowed his eyes. Oh, so now that we’re winning, you want to interfere?
But seeing Director Gao stay silent, he decided not to push further either.
With True Lord Lingyue’s final judgnt, discussion about Zhang Yu quieted down. The teachers moved on to critique other matches.
anwhile, Director Gao ssaged Zhang Yu privately.
How bad are your injuries? Got money for treatnt?
Zhang Yu read the ssage, warmth blooming in his chest. Is he... gonna send money?
Right then, another ssage popped up—this ti from True Lord Magneto.
Guess who I’m with right now.
Image: True Lord Magneto and Director Gao watching the match together
Zhang Yu blinked. Then a new ssage ca from Director Gao: [10 spirit coins]
Use this to patch yourself up.
You’ve made top ten. No need to go so hard next round.
True Lord Magneto: You don’t want Gao to find out you’ve secretly taken as your master, do you?
How’s the Artifact Refinent course going? Finish the first three years by the end of sophomore year. Do that, and I’ll reward you.
Next Chapter >>>
User Comments
0 comments from readers