Chapter 238: Professional Intelligence

At the Zhou family mansion.

Zhou Chechen threw off his outer coat and rushed indoors. He had returned immediately after school today because he wanted to ask the elders in his family about the Foundation Establishment exam in Xiandu. What exactly was it, and why had he known nothing about it until now?

However, just as Zhou Chechen passed the living room, he slowly stopped. He looked at the people in the reception area, a look of astonishment on his face.

“Chechen, you’ve come at a good time.”

Zhou Yang, who was in the reception area, also noticed Zhou Chechen’s arrival. He waved and said, “This is your Uncle Zhang and Aunt Bai.”

“They are both exceptionally talented, and their future achievements will be limitless. I interact with them as equals, so from now on, when you see them, just call them Uncle Zhang and Aunt Bai.”

Zhou Chechen stood frozen, seemingly unable to react for a moment.

Zhou Yang glared at him and said, “This child, why don’t you greet them?”

Zhang Yu chuckled, “Look, you’ve scared the child.”

He waved his hand and said, “It’s fine, we’re all classmates. You can call me Brother Yu and her Sister Zhenzhen from now on, and we’ll call you Little Zhou.”

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhou Chechen and said, “Why does this child show no appreciation after meeting us?”

Zhou Yang gave a helpless smile. “He’s been spoiled by his father; he doesn’t know any manners.”

Then, he looked at Zhou Chechen and said, “When you see your Uncle Zhang and Aunt Bai, why don’t you send them a red packet? Quickly, transfer a goodwill gift to your elders – ten thousand, do you hear me?”

Under Zhou Yang’s intense gaze, Zhou Chechen reluctantly transferred ten thousand each to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Bai Zhenzhen smiled slightly. “Good boy, Little Zhou, go play by yourself. We still have matters to discuss with your Uncle Zhou.”

Then, still under Zhou Yang’s coercive gaze, Zhou Chechen gritted his teeth and called out, “Bro-Brother Yu, Sister Zhenzhen.”

As he turned and left, Zhou Chechen felt as if something inside him had shattered. At that moment, he vividly realized that due to the absolute gap in their academic achievements, he and Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were no longer on the same level.

He thought to himself, “I am still just a pawn, while they are gradually leaping off the board, moving towards a much larger one.”

After Zhou Chechen left, Zhou Yang said, “Our house will be crowded tonight, so let’s continue our discussion in my study.”

Soon after, with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s departure, Zhou Yang reflected on the day’s events.

Upon realizing that the news of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen obtaining the Foundation Establishment qualification certificates had spread throughout the city, especially with Oasis Group involved, Zhou Yang knew that he had lost the best opportunity to act against Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Without wasting much thought on how Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen managed to overpower Master Xiandu and pass the Foundation Establishment qualification exam, Zhou Yang’s first priority was to consider how to handle the aftermath.

“In that case… let’s try to mend relations first.”

Compared to continuing to fight them, or waiting for potential future retaliation, spending money now to avert disaster and further ease tensions seemed to be the best course of action.

So Zhou Yang also wanted to donate a sum of money to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, while also probing their attitudes.

Zhou Yang recalled his interaction with them earlier. After accepting his three million, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen appeared very friendly, seemingly holding no grudges at all.

“Previously, Zhou Chechen had already brought people to apologize and make amends to them.”

“This time, with my personal involvement, in the best-case scenario… they should no longer consider the Zhou family an enemy.”

“Unless… they hold a particular grudge, or they know about the evil deity behind me.”

“If they still wish to come after me after today, then they shouldn’t blame me for fighting to the bitter end.”

“However…” Thinking of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s current situation, Zhou Yang sneered inwardly. “They’re attracting so much attention now. They might just collapse on their own at any moment, so I don’t need to worry about it.”

Meanwhile, after Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen left the Family Zhou residence, the smiles on their faces gradually faded.

Zhang Yu slowly said, “It seems he wants to mend relations with us. How sincere do you think he is? Is he just buying time, or does he genuinely not want to fight us anymore?”

Bai Zhenzhen replied, “Logically speaking, he genuinely shouldn’t want to fight us anymore, but we can’t rule out contingencies.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Indeed.”

“Unless the Zhou family is eliminated, and everyone who knows about Fuhime’s existence is purged, I won’t feel at ease.”

Fuhime said, “At least for now, he’s willing to mend relations with you, so pretend to be at a truce with him.”

“Time is ultimately on your side.”

Just after Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen finished their discussion with Zhou Yang, they were immediately called by Yun Ni, the captain of the Patrol Team.

She claimed it was to reward them for their diligent work in the Patrol Team over the past year, and that the team intended to promote them to top-tier outsourced personnel.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were both slightly surprised to hear this. Heaven knew what diligent work they had actually done in the Patrol Team, having been on the payroll without real work for a year. They only noticed that after arriving at the Patrol Team’s office building, everyone was incredibly polite and friendly.

Zhang Yu couldn’t help but exclaim in his heart, “Ever since I became the top student in my grade, it feels like there are more and more good people at Songyang High School; everyone is so kind.”

“And after I obtained my Foundation Establishment certificate, it’s as if good people throughout Songyang City started multiplying.”

At that moment, Zhang Yu understood even more why people in Kunxu strive to study hard and excel in exams. This broken Kunxu truly is a place where the better your grades, the more hell can gradually transform into heaven.

After being promoted to an outsourced position, Yun Ni also brought him good news.

“You are now peak outsourced personnel, eligible to attend one cross-level meeting each month.”

“Conveniently, Pianpian has also secured a position on the second layer and can now communicate across levels…”

Zhang Yu quickly understood that this was an opportunity for them to communicate with Zhang Pianpian, using the cross-level meeting as an excuse.

So, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen proceeded to a private meeting room. As the dedicated network connected, a line of text appeared, met by their eager gazes.

“Zhang Pianpian, Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Talisman Department, Myriad Law University, is calling you.”

Zhang Yu’s heart jolted, yet he felt a slight sense of relief.

He thought, given Zhang Pianpian’s talent and strength, having been on the second layer for so long, it didn’t seem impossible for her to have obtained the Foundation Establishment certificate and then completed her foundation establishment.

“But isn’t this a bit too high-profile?”

Then, the screen flickered, and Zhang Pianpian appeared before them.

Seeing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen on the screen, Zhang Pianpian paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting them to be on the other end.

However, Zhang Pianpian quickly regained her composure, smiled slightly, and said with satisfaction, “It seems both of you have passed the Foundation Establishment exam. Has the Patrol Team started giving you special treatment?”

As Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen spoke, one after the other, they recounted their experience of passing the Foundation Establishment exam and also described the current situation in Songyang City to Zhang Pianpian.

Although Fuhime knew a great deal, both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen trusted Zhang Pianpian more and wanted to consult her about the upcoming university application process.

Zhang Pianpian nodded upon hearing this and said, “Although I previously said I’d wait for you at Myriad Law University…”

“...given your current situation, you could also consider other options based on the conditions offered by the admissions representatives.”

During their conversation with Zhang Pianpian, Zhang Yu asked about the long string of titles displayed in her communication.

Zhang Pianpian explained upon hearing his question, “You’ll understand when you reach the second layer. From the second layer onwards, throughout the second, third, fourth, and even the fifth and sixth layers, everything serves the universities.”

“Each university is like a city, and all companies and administrative bodies within that city are governed by the university.”

“Here, people are divided into different ranks based on their academic qualifications, university, department, and cultivation realm.”

“Even with the same academic qualifications and the same university, simply being in different departments can lead to significant distinctions. For desirable majors… even the toilet paper in their dedicated teaching buildings is of higher quality than the pages in textbooks for less prestigious majors.”

“Here, everyone assesses others first by their cultivation realm, then their academic qualifications, followed by their university, and finally their major.”

“University students can openly insult junior college students, and students from the top ten universities can walk all over those from other schools.”

“Everyone wishes they could tattoo their cultivation realm, academic qualifications, university, and major onto their foreheads, displaying them for all to see.”

“Even within the same university, prestigious majors grant access to better class resources, allowing students to sit several rows closer to the front during lectures.”

“For less popular majors, students might not even be able to register for desired courses, and I’ve heard they even have to queue further back for the restrooms.”

“Therefore, on the second layer, it’s only natural for one to display their status in detail and receive different treatment according to their rank.”

Zhang Yu nodded upon hearing this, yet felt no surprise. In his view, Kunxu was precisely the kind of place that would differentiate people by various ranks in this manner.

The situation described was entirely within his expectations; it simply seemed that people were distinguished even more precisely than on the first layer.

Zhang Pianpian continued, “By now, you should understand the importance of choosing a major. Even if you get into a good university, if you don’t choose a strong major, you’ll likely lead a relatively unsuccessful life.”

“Not to mention potential tenfold or even hundredfold differences in income, some majors even struggle to find employment.”

“However, since you both have Foundation Establishment certificates, your choice of majors should be quite broad. I can share some information I’ve gathered with you.”

“Taking Myriad Law University as an example, Finance, Artifact Forging, and Daoist Arts are the three top-tier departments.”

“However, the paths of Finance and Daoist Arts require extensive background and wealth, so I don’t recommend either of you choose them.”

“As for Artifact Forging, it’s a late-game option for you. Although the early stages are also difficult, you should have a chance…”

“Civil Engineering isn’t bad either; it’s suitable for building a foundation.”

“After all, you can start working and earning money immediately in Civil Engineering. It’s a good option to earn money for a couple of years, build a solid foundation, and then switch majors.”

“But whatever you do, don’t graduate with a Civil Engineering degree; once you have that diploma, it’ll be hard to ever escape that big pit…”

“Also, don’t apply for Archaeology. The better you are at this major, the deeper you’ll have to delve into Kunxu’s eighteen underground layers, excavating the ruins of sects that vanished in the past and researching those discarded by history…”

“Other fields like Security, Weapons, and Military are also good early-stage majors. You can advance quickly and earn money fast in the beginning, but you’re prone to being 'optimized out' as you get older…”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and asked, “Is Grandmaster Xinghuo an example of this?”

Zhang Pianpian said with a touch of emotion, “Precisely. If he had chosen a different major back then, he might have had a different life today.”

“Oh, and don’t apply for Medicine either. That major is currently dominated by the powerful families on the second layer; it’s filled with people from local aristocratic families, and outsiders won’t be able to make a name for themselves there…”

As Zhang Pianpian provided this overview, various pieces of information about majors and universities on the second layer appeared before Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, gradually giving them a rough outline for their future choices.