Chapter 226: Fa Hai's Burden

When Zhang Yu first used the power of the eye-related Fa-hai to see the true appearance of the examination hall, his initial thought was that it wouldn't be so bad to just not wear the eye Fa-hai and see fewer advertisements.

However, as he took a closer look at the numerous light screens covering the floor and the various advertisements displayed on them, he realized he had been too simplistic in his thinking.

A flood of information about spirit roots, Fa-hais, and their prices poured into Zhang Yu's mind.

"Former divine spirit roots? Do military-grade divine spirit roots also get downgraded and flow into the civilian market?"

"And the prices of these spirit roots and Fa-hais... 4.99? 2.98?"

Zhang Yu was naturally astonished when he first saw these prices. "Has the world's currency value shrunk ten million times, and only my money remains unchanged?"

However, Zhang Yu quickly dismissed such an absurd idea.

Then he noticed that some advertisements had "Spirit Coins" written after the prices.

Zhang Yu mused, "Spirit Coins? Is this the currency used by the higher-ups? It seems these Spirit Coins are really valuable; just a few Spirit Coins can buy a spirit root?"

At this thought, Zhang Yu sighed faintly. "Just these advertisements scattered everywhere contain countless pieces of information."

"If I get into university and don't use the eye Fa-hai, I won't even see the ads, let alone other useful information. Compared to those who have eye Fa-hais, there will be a huge information gap..."

"If one is so poor, it seems there might truly be no chance to turn things around."

Even this small glimpse made Zhang Yu realize the importance of the eye Fa-hai.

But in the next moment, he suddenly felt a discomfort in his eyes.

He instinctively reached for his eye sockets but felt nothing, and his hand couldn't block his vision at all.

"Right, my perception of my eyes has been cut off."

"The sensation I'm feeling in my eyes now comes from the Fa-hai... Is the Fa-hai uncomfortable?"

This disorienting sensation—his fingers touching his eyes, yet his eyes feeling nothing—made Zhang Yu extremely uncomfortable.

It was as if his eye sockets were telling him he no longer had eyeballs.

Yet his brain and his thoughts were telling him that he did have eyes, and not only did he have eyes, but he was also connected to a pair of eye Fa-hais.

And when the gaze of the eye Fa-hai swept towards Zhang Yu, allowing him to see himself lying on the operating table from a third-person perspective, face to face, this awkward sensation became even more intense.

It even made Zhang Yu feel the discomfort coming from his eye Fa-hai deepen.

Just then, two numbers appeared above Zhang Yu's and Ye Lingxiao's heads, representing their current synchronization rate with the Fa-hais.

Zhang Yu: 97Ye Lingxiao: 99

At the same time, Huang Zichou was heard saying, "During body refinement cultivation, as physical strength increases, a cultivator's control over their body also continuously improves. The integration of body and mind becomes increasingly tight after repeated arduous training."

"Once you become accustomed to the powerful physique you've cultivated bit by bit, and to this intimate state of mind-body integration, any slight disharmony between your body and mind will cause you discomfort."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew that although this body once belonged to the original Zhang Yu, through a year of continuous strenuous cultivation, he had completely adapted to it. In the process of repeatedly pushing past limits and practicing cultivation methods, he had become inseparable from this body.

Huang Zichou, who was in front, continued, "The tighter the body-mind integration, the more disoriented you'll feel when connected to a Fa-hai, leading to a decrease in synchronization rate."

"As the synchronization rate drops, you might experience various reactions like nausea, irritability, phantom pain, or hallucinations. Don't worry, these are all normal phenomena."

"Just like now, after severing the original connection to your eyes and linking with the eye Fa-hai, your brain perceives your eyes as gone, but the Fa-hai tells you they're still there. In this contradiction, your brain might conclude you're injured, leading to gradual phantom pain..."

Meanwhile, within the True God Network, several examiners were evaluating the two participants' performances.

A minor deity named Mu Guiyin said, "Zhang Yu's physical body is indeed powerful. But precisely because it's so strong, he relies on it too much, making it harder for him to adapt after switching to a Fa-hai."

"In contrast, Ye Lingxiao has undergone various surgeries since he was in the Celestial Womb. He's been modified countless times since childhood and has long been accustomed to sudden bodily changes."

"And after his magical power reached 100, given the Ye family's resources, he must have experimented with various Fa-hais. Although he practiced with different ones, he ultimately returned to his original body, so his acceptance of Fa-hais is undoubtedly very high."

Mu Guiyin sighed, "This is the disparity in their foundations. This gap will undoubtedly be further reflected in the upcoming synchronization rate data for this round, ensuring Ye Lingxiao's synchronization rate remains consistently higher than Zhang Yu's."

"Of course, there's also the most crucial reason why Ye Lingxiao will ultimately win..."

Listening to Mu Guiyin's lament, Huang Zichou thought to himself, "This Mu Guiyin guy strongly supported Ye Lingxiao in the previous round."

"Just how many shares of Oasis Group and the Ye family has this guy secretly bought through others?"

Although he grumbled inwardly, Huang Zichou had to admit that Mu Guiyin was right; Ye Lingxiao's advantage in this round was simply too great.

After Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao had briefly adapted to the "Farsight" Fa-hai, Huang Zichou presented the second Fa-hai for this round.

He saw a pure white, yet incredibly lifelike, arm floating before Huang Zichou.

Huang Zichou introduced it, saying, "This is a professional-grade arm Fa-hai from Tianwu Group – the 'Sword Mound'."

"As a veteran enterprise specializing in the research and development of combat Fa-hais, Tianwu Group's lightweight 'Sword Mound' integrates all the advantages of previous generations, making it an excellent Fa-hai for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators."

"Not only is it made from high-strength materials, capable of withstanding the power contests of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, but when imbued with magical power, it can also automatically transform that power into high-energy sword qi."

"The 'Sword Mound' can even store a Level 20 sword art internally."

"Currently, thousands of sword arts are available in the Tianwu Mall. By simply placing an order, downloading the sword art to the 'Sword Mound,' and installing it, you can immediately possess a Level 20 sword art."

"With just a thought, the 'Sword Mound' can execute sword arts according to pre-set tactics, with its internal spirit artifact providing combat assistance and correcting sword move trajectories..."

As Huang Zichou introduced the 'Sword Mound,' light screens lit up all around, displaying a user wielding the 'Sword Mound' and unleashing streaks of sword qi.

Zhang Yu, watching this scene, thought to himself, "Is this a Fa-hai used by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators?"

"It can even store sword techniques..."

Zhang Yu increasingly felt that in the university phase, wealth seemed to play an even greater role in the path of immortality.

However, he quickly pushed that thought aside. The immediate priority was still this Foundation Establishment examination.

"I wonder if these True Gods chose a Fa-hai that can only be used by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, rather than one for Qi Refining stage, because they're afraid Qi Refining Fa-hais won't challenge us enough, or if it's purely for advertising purposes."

Zhang Yu understood that a professional-grade Fa-hai for the Foundation Establishment stage would certainly be more powerful and have a greater burden than one for the Qi Refining stage.

Just as advanced cultivation methods for the Foundation Establishment stage would be more potent and harder to cultivate than those for the Qi Refining stage.

He secretly guessed, "This Fa-hai for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators probably comes with a significant burden."

As if sensing the two examinees' concerns, Huang Zichou reassured them, "Although the 'Sword Mound' is a Fa-hai specifically designed for the Foundation Establishment stage, we are not implanting it into you this time."

"Neither your blood circulation, muscle strength, nor your flesh and bones are truly connected to the Fa-hai."

"You also don't need to use magical power to maintain the Fa-hai's operation; there are no power requirements, nor side effects like material rejection or cellular repulsion..."

"We are simply temporarily connecting your neural signals to the Fa-hai, simulating the sensation of having one. Therefore, you can connect to the neural signals of multiple Fa-hais, or even those designed for the Foundation Establishment stage."

Zhang Yu understood that this examination was ultimately just testing their physical bodies' adaptability to unfamiliar Fa-hais through a remote connection of neural signals. Since it was not a true Fa-hai implantation, they could connect to Fa-hais used by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

A moment later, after Huang Zichou finished his introduction, he once again used a Ministry of Health charm, just as before, to sever Zhang Yu's and Ye Lingxiao's connection to their right arms.

In that instant, Zhang Yu felt an emptiness below his right shoulder; he could no longer feel his arm in the slightest.

However, this sensation lasted only about ten seconds. Soon, Zhang Yu sensed the presence of a new arm.

He watched as the "Sword Mound," suspended in mid-air by divine power, clenched into a fist, bent its arm, swung... performing various actions in response to his thoughts.

But the more he tried to adapt to this arm Fa-hai, the more awkward he felt. Even the "Sword Mound's" movements seemed to have a slight delay, always a beat slower than his intentions.

And the next moment, the Sword Mound completely stopped, refusing to move an inch, no matter how Zhang Yu tried to urge it.

Zhang Yu was startled by this sight. "Has my synchronization rate dropped so much that I can no longer establish a connection with this Fa-hai?"

Just then, a sound came from the Sword Mound: "Your free usage time has expired. Please watch a video to claim more time."

At the same time, Zhang Yu noticed that Ye Lingxiao's Sword Mound had also stopped and was emitting the same warning sound.

"What the hell..." Zhang Yu cursed inwardly. "What is this? This during an exam? Am I supposed to watch an ad video now?"

Huang Zichou quickly explained, "It's probably because too much free time was used up accidentally during previous tests."

"For daily use, you can skip advertisements simply by becoming a member of the Tianwu Mall."

Zhang Yu watched Huang Zichou explain to the audience and thought, "He's not even explaining to us examinees; he's directly explaining to potential customers, isn't he?"

"And what the hell... you're not even concerned about mistakes during the exam; you're concerned about product user experience."

Meanwhile, Huang Zichou said in the internal network, "Everyone, quickly use the link I sent you and help watch the videos together. If each of us watches one, the rewarded free time will be enough for the exam."

As for paying directly for a membership? Who would pay for that? What kind of expense would this membership be, anyway? How would it be reimbursed?

Thinking about this, the five True God examiners decided it was better to just watch the videos honestly.