Chapter 220: The Foundation Establishment Exam Full of Spectators

On the 333rd floor of the Central Building in Songyang City, Zhou Yang lay on his hospital bed, his lower body absent, gazing out the window. He looked at the Oasis Building under construction not far away, its height gradually surpassing the Central Building. He felt as if he saw the ascendant Oasis Group surpassing all the old influential families in Songyang.

Zhou Yang thought to himself: "After synthetic food, even synthetic meat has been commercialized. As a result, the food market on Kunxu's first layer will likely be flooded with related products in the future."

However, Zhou Yang knew that it was impossible to monopolize the market solely through technology. Just like the Oasis Group, which also possessed more advanced synthetic food technology, it still had to cooperate with local companies and families to enter the Songyang City market. Zhou Yang recalled the cooperation that began half a year ago between the Oasis Group and the three major high schools and their backing companies, leading to the development of three new body-refinement techniques.

"Taking it a step further, it might be the synthesis of human organs."

"It's said that there are prestigious families in Xiandu who are already combining bloodline technology with the human body technology mastered by the Oasis Group."

"If this is the case, in the future, not only food but also the cultivation of descendants and body-refinement practices for major families will all be inseparable from the Oasis Group."

However, Zhou Yang understood that this didn't mean the Oasis Group would dominate the first layer of Kunxu in the future. Instead, various local influential families and companies would inevitably collaborate with the Oasis Group.

Zhou Yang mused: "The overt and covert struggles among the various companies and families in Songyang City are merely to secure more shares and power in future collaborations. Some companies and families will gradually weaken in this process and eventually perish in the long river of history. But the remaining families and companies, together with the Oasis Group, will become a behemoth spanning the entire first layer of Kunxu, further monopolizing it in areas such as food, cultivation, and bloodlines. Facing this wave of the era, for the Zhou family to survive this transformation, and for me to advance further and secure a better position, the best way is to enhance the power of the Evil God..."

Zhou Yang could imagine that the struggles in Songyang City would become increasingly fierce, and both the Zhou family and he would face a more dangerous situation. This thought made him feel an even greater sense of urgency.

However, the Zhou family ranked low among Songyang City's sixteen influential families, making it difficult to compete directly with powerful families like the Song and Le families. This was especially true after the Wanxing Group was recently sanctioned, and both the Zhou family and he suffered a setback.

In contrast...

"Instead of trying to compete with other influential families, it would be better to deal with these two weak individuals, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, after the Foundation Establishment Exam, and seize the Evil God behind them."

Zhou Yang picked up his phone, looked at the message, and slowly exhaled, thinking: "Have they already departed? Once the Foundation Establishment Exam is over, the True Gods won't protect you like that anymore. Given the disparity in wealth and information between us..."

Whether he acted himself, sent others, or controlled them using the leverage of Evil God followers, Zhou Yang believed that once the protection of the Foundation Establishment Exam was gone, things would be simple.

"The situation is unpredictable now; as soon as the Foundation Establishment Exam concludes, these two must be dealt with swiftly."

Considering the current developments, Zhou Yang grew increasingly impatient, as if he could already see Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen falling into his hands, to be manipulated at his will.

***

On the train heading towards Xiandu City.

As his phone vibrated, Zhang Yu was about to tap it open to see who sent the message, but his hand shook... and a video popped up on the screen. He tried to close the video, but instead of hitting the close button, he was redirected to a shopping platform. Seeing "You might like Kidney-Boosting Capsules" displayed on the shopping platform, Zhang Yu frowned as he closed it. This time, it finally closed.

Zhang Yu muttered to himself: "Damn it... as corporate battles intensify, this big data targeting is getting out of hand. Was that vibration just now a message from Yu Xinghan?"

Seeing the two words "Go for it!" sent by Yu Xinghan, Zhang Yu smiled slightly, knowing Yu Xinghan had sent the message because he knew Zhang Yu was going to participate in the Foundation Establishment Exam.

Meanwhile, in a classroom at Bailong High School.

Yu Xinghan looked at the smiling emoji Zhang Yu sent him and thought to himself: "Zhang Yu is very capable, but he's still a year behind that Xiandu master. Judging from the last round of the Foundation Establishment Exam, there's a significant gap between them. Even though he might not pass this Foundation Establishment Exam, his chances of success in the next one will be very high. By then, I'll still be in the same year as him. I definitely need to get on good terms with this guy and choose a different path..."

As Yu Xinghan pondered these thoughts, Zhang Yu on the train considered: "From what Yu Xinghan has subtly implied these past few days... he doesn't think I can secure a Foundation Establishment Certificate this time. So, he wants to get on good terms with me and A'Zhen, so we can work together next year during the Foundation Establishment Exam to obtain our certificates."

Regarding whether he could defeat his opponent, Ye Lingxiao, in this Foundation Establishment Exam, Zhang Yu naturally couldn't guarantee absolute certainty. After all, he didn't know what progress Ye Lingxiao had made during the past three months. But he believed that if he gave his all, his chances of success were definitely high.

Thinking this, Zhang Yu subconsciously looked at his Yu Scroll. A total of ten cultivation techniques could be equipped on the Chain Formation Chart. After Zhang Yu replaced eight of them, his original High School Saint Body had transformed into a Martial Dao Sacred Embryo. Since a maximum of ten cultivation techniques could be equipped, and sets like the High School Saint Body and Martial Dao Sacred Embryo required six techniques to be effective, only one of them could be active at any given time.

Junior Martial Dao Sacred Embryo (6/6): Initial formation of the sacred embryo, greatly boosting resistance to blows and external wound healing.

Senior Martial Dao Sacred Embryo (8/8): Minor completion of the sacred embryo, greatly boosting physical endurance and internal injury healing, and granting the body an overload capability.

The second-tier effect of the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo significantly increased Zhang Yu's physical endurance and internal injury healing.

Zhang Yu thought: "The surge in endurance allows me to unleash my physical strength beyond limits without worrying about muscle or bone damage and collapse, increasing my burst limit and stamina. Coupled with this overload capability... my bursts become even more terrifying. The surge in internal injury healing, combined with the previous surge in external wound healing, gives my medical insurance an extra layer of protection."

"Wait, I don't even have money for medical insurance now!"

The reason Zhang Yu couldn't afford medical insurance was not only because all his money went into buying cultivation techniques but also because his current insurance premiums had soared too high. After all, as his cultivation and body-refinement strength increased, the cost of treating his injuries also grew. This led insurance companies to continually raise his premiums after evaluation, making medical insurance even more unaffordable for him.

Zhang Yu had heard from Fu Ji before that some powerful Foundation Establishment and even Golden Core cultivators couldn't afford medical insurance. As a result, they were timid and submissive in daily life, never daring to speak loudly to anyone. After all, if a conflict arose, they couldn't afford to pay for either their own medical expenses or those of their opponents. Such immortal cultivators were jokingly called 'fragile cultivators' upstairs, implying that they would go bankrupt if they got into a fight, their immortal dao foundation being unstable and extremely vulnerable.

Zhang Yu thought: "But now that I have the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo's blessing, I'm not afraid of most injuries, even without medical insurance. As for my biggest weakness now..."

Zhang Yu looked at the data on his Yu Scroll.

Dao Heart: Level 8 (89.5)

Although it had made a massive leap from before, compared to Zhang Yu's spiritual power and physical strength, which had both reached the Qi Refinement limit, his Dao Heart was clearly still lacking. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Of the several million he earned recently through tutoring, most of it was invested in purchasing cultivation techniques, and even that only covered eight techniques for the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo. The additional means to improve his Dao Heart were relying on the Grudge Spirit Root and the school's Spirit Realm quota. Reaching Level 8 (89.5) was already a limit.

Still, Zhang Yu knew there was no need to dwell on these things. He had made all the preparations he could; all that remained was to perform his best in the exam.

Speaking of Dao Heart levels, Bai Zhenzhen, on the other hand, had already raised her Dao Heart to Level 10, becoming an entity whose Dao Heart, spiritual power, and physical strength all reached the Qi Refinement limit.

Zhang Yu thought: "After all, A'Zhen doesn't need to buy so many cultivation techniques like I do to complete the Chain Formation Chart's set effect. She can invest more money into her Dao Heart."

However, Zhang Yu knew that while Bai Zhenzhen didn't possess as many cultivation techniques as he did, only learning two new ones in the past three months, her True Spirit Root's deduction ability allowed her techniques to achieve a more powerful Level 10 effect. For instance, the Myriad Swords Infinite Art, which she learned during the Foundation Establishment Exam, could, after deduction, achieve a Level 10 effect that accelerated with thunderous spiritual power, each sword faster than the last, breaking the sound barrier by the twelfth sword and unleashing supersonic sword moves. Furthermore, the two new cultivation techniques she learned, after deduction, were exceptionally suited for arena combat, preparations Bai Zhenzhen made to contend for a Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate.

Gazing at the floating city gradually appearing in the distance, Zhang Yu thought: "Finally, we're almost there. The final round of the Foundation Establishment Exam." Thinking of the past year's struggles, the countless efforts, and the imminent final result, Zhang Yu felt his blood surge through him, experiencing an unprecedented mix of excitement and nervousness.

***

After disembarking at Xiandu City's station, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen didn't dare to go to any restaurants or beverage shops. As for the massage chairs that would emit a piercing alarm if not paid for, they couldn't use those either. They could only find an empty spot within the station to rest for a while, waiting for the Foundation Establishment Exam to begin.

It was still the familiar restroom, the familiar website. As Zhang Yu entered the competition, he felt his body fall rapidly. When he regained his senses, he was already in a vast plaza. What surprised him greatly was that, in addition to the five True God examiners surrounding the plaza, there were also sections of spectator stands, and the figures in those stands were currently looking at him.

"Spectators?!"

Zhang Yu stared in shock at the surrounding stands, thinking: "The final round of the Foundation Establishment Exam... has spectators? And so many of them?!"

"What in the world is going on?"