Chapter 289: Abnormal Exam Performance, Construction Site Invitation

During the Dao Heart class, the Foundation Establishment students sat upright, watching Feng Jiu on the stage. Feng Jiu calmly stated, “Willpower is the most direct manifestation of Dao Heart. Your upcoming test is very simple: immolation by fire.”

As the students put on their spirit realm masks, their consciousness instantly entered the spirit realm. Unlike seeing spirit realm projections in reality with eye-skeletons, this time they felt as though their spirits had truly entered the spirit realm. The next moment, as flames engulfed them, many students shrieked.

Simultaneously, Feng Jiu, as a tool spirit, had descended into the examination hall within the spirit realm, observing the students who had turned into fire figures. Her primary focus was Ji Yuanxu, the top student in the class. Ji Yuanxu, currently the only student in the entire class who had reached Dao Heart Level 12, remained calm even while being immolated by fire, as if it were merely a warm breeze rather than scorching flames. Ji Yuanxu’s gaze was serene as he thought, “I undergo similar spirit realm training for over two hours every day. This level is nothing to me now.”

Observing Ji Yuanxu, Feng Jiu, the tool spirit, silently noted: “Ji Yuanxu, extremely high Dao Heart potential, tentatively selected as a participant for next year’s spirit realm competition.”

Then Feng Jiu looked at Gongshu Jin, the second-ranked student. Gongshu Jin, the student closest to Dao Heart Level 12, slightly frowned but gritted his teeth, enduring the burning flames. Gongshu Jin thought, “After this exam, I’ll need to invest more spirit coins into spirit realm training. I’ll get a membership card when I go back to motivate myself.” Feng Jiu, on the other side, recorded: “Gongshu Jin, second in Dao Heart for the class, tentatively selected as a participant for next year’s spirit realm competition.”

After observing a few more students, Feng Jiu saw Zhang Yu and recorded: “Zhang Yu, suspected to have an earlier Foundation Establishment and higher cultivation technique level, with commendable Dao Heart talent. He is still a small step away from the spirit realm competition standard but is temporarily listed as a reserve candidate.”

During the Mana class, Li Mingbo watched everyone inputting mana into the testing devices in front of them, his gaze primarily on Ji Yuanxu and Gongshu Jin. “Looking at Ji Yuanxu’s mana purchase records, he buys both high-quality and low-quality mana in large quantities,” Li Mingbo mused. “It seems he uses high-quality mana to infuse his body, improving his mana quality. Low-quality mana is used for mana-skeletons through a spirit realm network cheat. His own mana is almost exclusively for cultivation… truly extravagant.”

Though Li Mingbo sighed with emotion, he was more delighted. After all, the other party’s large mana purchases on the Mana Treasure platform earned him a significant commission. “Gongshu Jin is also excellent. I heard he lives in the most luxurious high-grade dormitory and changes into mana cultivation-specific mana-skeletons as soon as he returns daily. No wonder his mana cultivation advances by leaps and bounds, only trailing Ji Yuanxu.”

“Hmm, Li Xiao’s progress has increased again. It’s a pity that students from the first tier often lack staying power.” Li Mingbo’s gaze swept over Zhang Yu, thinking, “This Zhang Yu too. If he can maintain this performance, breaking into the top 100 Foundation Establishment students in the Civil Engineering department in a few years shouldn’t be a problem. But the hard part is maintaining it.” The top 100 in the Civil Engineering department included Foundation Establishment students from all years. In Li Mingbo’s view, it was only possible for a first-tier student to reach this level through years of accumulation, likely in their senior years.

At the Body Refinement class examination venue, Lang Yougong addressed the students, saying, “Physical strength isn’t merely about numerical values; it’s not how you determine superiority. After all, your body’s tolerance to medicine, your control over your physique, as well as your reactions, agility, and techniques… these can only truly be demonstrated through practical application. The three months of basic courses have concluded. Today is the time to test the results of your hard work over these past three months…”

As Lang Yougong spoke, Zhang Yu glanced at the surrounding students and thought, “Hiding data is relatively easy with an anti-detection ritual. How should I perform in the upcoming practical tests? I can’t let my actual performance significantly exceed my data, can I? That would be too conspicuous.” Thinking this, Zhang Yu looked at Li Xiao: “This guy seems to be one rank below me. So, I just need to perform slightly better than him, right?”

In the strength test, shortly after Li Xiao roared and strained to lift the dynamometer, Zhang Yu also roared and lifted a slightly heavier weight than him. In the agility test, as Li Xiao put his utmost effort into dodging increasingly fast spheres and held on for one minute, Zhang Yu, not far away, managed to endure for 3 seconds longer.

Before the final speed test, Li Xiao took a package from the delivery person, thinking, “Zhang Yu… he really does see me as his biggest rival.” He could feel that in the previous two tests, Zhang Yu had occasionally observed him, and each time, shortly after confirming he had surpassed Li Xiao, the other party often reached their limit. “Clearly, my threat stimulated and motivated him, leading to his improved performance. Perhaps… to beat me, he even took some harmful stimulant drugs. But it’s the same, Zhang Yu, the same… you’ve also strongly motivated me.”

Swallowing the newly purchased potent medicine, he felt his body gradually heat up, then become scalding hot. Li Xiao thought, “Even if it means stopping cultivation for a few days, I must beat you in this next round!”

On the speed test track, Li Xiao shot forward like an electric current, accompanied by the sound of air bursting, surging like a bolt of lightning… sticking closely behind Zhang Yu. His heart pounded faster and faster like a drum, his limbs rapidly swinging, propelling him forward. But as Li Xiao continuously accelerated, Zhang Yu also sped up, making it impossible for Li Xiao to ever surpass him, no matter how hard he pushed. Watching Zhang Yu’s back in front of him, Li Xiao felt as if he was looking at the gate of a construction site, just one step away from entering, yet always falling short by a tiny bit. “Damn it… why! Is it so hard for me to get into a construction site?”

Controlling his speed the whole way, Zhang Yu crossed the finish line just ahead of Li Xiao, thinking, “This should be fine, right?” Feeling Li Xiao’s indignant gaze, Zhang Yu thought, “I only beat you by one rank, no need to be so angry, is there?”

But the next moment, as the test scores appeared, Zhang Yu thought, “Huh? I’m fifth in the physical test?” Zhang Yu frowned, looking at Li Xiao, and thought, “This kid… did he usually hide his strength too? I should have known not to use him as a benchmark. But it’s fine, my previous physical performance wasn’t bad. A slight ‘overperformance’ this time is still reasonable, right?”

Lang Yougong looked at Zhang Yu in front of him and smiled, “Keep up the good work. If you continue cultivating at this pace, you should be able to participate in the Civil Engineering department’s competition next year.”

Meanwhile, several high-ranking individuals had been observing the competition between Li Xiao and Zhang Yu. One person sighed, “They’re secretly competing, aren’t they? They can stimulate and encourage each other.” Another exclaimed, “They ranked so high in the physical test?” Ying Xin chuckled, “To maintain that performance, Li Xiao might not have enough money. Let’s see which of these two first-tier individuals runs out of funds first. After all, many first-tier individuals struggle to adapt to university life, spending money extravagantly, making rapid progress early on, but then plummeting in performance later… there are plenty of such examples.”

It turned out Ying Xin had long noticed that Li Xiao was constantly taking out loans to keep up with their cultivation. She secretly found it amusing, waiting to see when a first-tier individual would fail to repay their debts. Seeing Li Xiao walk over, somewhat disheartened, Ying Xin smiled and greeted him, “Old Li, let’s go to a training room to cultivate after the exam.” Li Xiao nodded with difficulty, forcing a faint smile, and said, “Okay.”

During the elective course exams, courses like Engineering Array Diagramming, Martial Arts Vigor Studies, and Construction Techniques included both written exams and cultivation technique tests. Zhang Yu had already learned cultivation techniques like Digging Palm, Crane Claw, Racer Leg, and Elevator Rise, mastering all of them to Level 10. However, Zhang Yu simply didn’t have the time for diligent practice of specialized Civil Engineering cultivation techniques such as Concrete Aura, Lifting Force, and Mountain-Back Stride. He only managed to barely grasp them through classroom exercises. After all, most of his time and energy were dedicated to cultivation techniques related to the Sacred Civil Engineering Body. But within three months, the teachers hadn't expected students to master these specialized techniques to any great extent, so Zhang Yu's performance wasn't particularly conspicuous.

Gongshu Jin observed Zhang Yu’s performance and thought, “My friend here really isn’t cut out for martial arts. However, his basic stats, while not growing as fast as mine, are still quite good. He must have invested a lot of resources.”

That evening, all exam scores were calculated.

6th place: Zhang Yu, total score 6887th place: Li Xiao, total score 682

Looking at the final rankings after three months, a hint of confusion flashed in Li Xiao’s mind. Just as he thought his opportunity at the construction site had been taken by Zhang Yu, a call from Tu Lishan brought him back to life.

“Li Xiao, not every student can get into the construction site right at the beginning of the semester. This single opportunity was something I specifically fought for on behalf of outstanding students,” Tu Lishan said. “Ah, I know you’ve been working very hard, and I truly admire you. Your scores are a bit lower than Zhang Yu’s, but I have faith in you. The first time I saw you, I knew you were a ‘site person’. How about this: you pay 20% of your monthly earnings from the site into my account, and I’ll help you pull some strings to ensure you get in.”

Inside the dormitory, Zhang Yu showed his 6th place ranking and asked Zhang Pianpian, “Sis, I overperformed. Is 6th place a bit too high-profile this time?” Zhang Pianpian replied helplessly, “A little, but it’s still acceptable. Why did you overperform in this exam?” Zhang Yu sighed helplessly, “Alas, I had bad luck and chose the wrong benchmark. Li Xiao, whom I chose, probably hides his strength in general. He might have chosen me as a benchmark, intending to follow closely behind me. But I chose him as a benchmark, intending to run ahead of him. As a result, one chasing and one running, we unknowingly pushed up each other’s ranks.” Zhang Yu lamented, “The Top Ten truly hides many talented individuals; I’m not the only one with extraordinary potential.” Zhang Pianpian nodded slightly upon hearing this: “In that case, there’s nothing to be done. Fortunately, sixth place isn’t too conspicuous. For now, try to maintain this rank and don’t significantly improve your ranking too easily.”

Just then, the dormitory door opened, and Yu Xinghan walked in with a proud expression, holding the 11th place rank in the class. Yu Xinghan asked, “Zhang Yu, did Teacher Tu talk to you about the construction site?” Zhang Yu nodded, “He told me to report in a few days.” Yu Xinghan: “And did he talk to you about paying him?”