Chapter 339: A-Zhen is Coming, Finals are Approaching, Mentor Selection

Zhang Yu nodded in agreement with Le Mulan's urgency. University students, especially those at Myriad Methods University, were indeed pressed for time. He extended his palm, placing it against Le Mulan's back, and a chilling stream of magic power flowed into her body.

As both were from the Profound Cold Lineage, Le Mulan found it increasingly easy to absorb Zhang Yu's magic power. However, the rapidly accumulating chill from their combined energies caused a visible bluish-purple tint to spread across Le Mulan's face. Zhang Yu realized that if they continued like this, the training session wouldn't last much longer. Forcing it would inevitably lead to severe frostbite for her, and the resulting medical expenses and recovery period would significantly set back her cultivation progress.

Zhang Yu, who was anticipating Le Mulan opening the second level of the Profound Cold Lineage, could not accept such a setback. Sensing the rapid drop in her body temperature, he had no choice but to channel his Vitality and press his other hand, radiating warmth, onto Le Mulan's other side of her back. "Zhang Yu, don't just touch my back; other parts of me are cold too," she murmured.

Feeling her body tremble as she leaned into him, Zhang Yu adjusted his position to better raise her body temperature. At that moment, he felt as if he were holding a delicate mass of ice and snow—cold, yet smooth and slippery. Suddenly, he frowned and said, "Stop twisting and rubbing, or I won't touch you anymore." Le Mulan immediately stopped moving her waist, nodded obediently, and with trembling, purplish lips, whispered, "Mmm."

Outside the door, Xuan Ge quietly listened to the sounds from the dorm room. Normally, Le Mulan struck him as cold and indifferent, rarely engaging with her classmates and possessing a rather reclusive personality. Especially after she became a Foundation Establishment Grandmaster, her classmates' attitudes towards her quickly changed, with even junior Qi Refining cultivators considering dual cultivation. Le Mulan responded by becoming even more aloof. Xuan Ge often saw her treating her classmates as if they were invisible, seemingly deaf and blind to the junior Qi Refiners. But at this moment, listening from outside the door, Xuan Ge felt he had discovered another side to Le Mulan.

"Dual cultivation truly builds character," Xuan Ge mused. "Le Mulan is developing quite a dual personality from it." Over the next few days, Zhang Yu continued his attempts at the journey of Spirit-Flesh Unity.

One day, as he opened his eyes in the spiritual realm, he recalled his identity for this particular experience. Zhang Yu was a test subject raised in a laboratory. From a young age, he practiced the Severed Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Incantation, solely to increase his endurance so the lab could collect more data.

However, on the first day of his official work, he found that the laboratory staff hadn't arrived. Instead, a group of unfamiliar people in uniforms appeared, opening cages and releasing all the test subjects. "The laboratory's responsible personnel have all been arrested for unauthorized cultivation of the immortal path by underage test subjects," a voice announced. "Your destinies will now be determined by your cultivation levels..."

Because of his low cultivation level, Zhang Yu was protected by the Mortal Protection Law, released from the laboratory, and granted freedom. Knowing nothing of the world, he aimlessly drifted through society, possessing nothing but the Severed Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Incantation in his mind. He stole, scavenged for food, and worked illicit jobs, continuously circulating the incantation. Eventually, he could keep the incantation running even in his sleep, allowing him to rest peacefully without fear of cold or pain.

But the very next moment, the entire world abruptly froze. Zhang Yu dazedly looked up to see two figures, radiating immense divine power, approaching him. "It seems high-intelligence spirit artifacts achieving Spirit-Flesh Unity is no longer an issue; now we just await the formal experiments in the material realm," one said. "Retrieve him first; don't let him escape into the spiritual realm's network." The other added, "As for the formal experiments in the material realm, well... the cost of high-intelligence spirit artifacts isn't coming down, so there's no point talking about it. We can only blame those soul cultivators for being so cheap and much more useful than any spirit artifact."

Zhang Yu removed his spiritual realm mask, muttering to himself, "This time, it felt like a high-level spirit artifact breaking through." "Why does it feel like these 'high-intelligence spirit artifacts' break through much more easily than humans?" He shook his head, trying to fully grasp the lingering sensation in his mind.

That evening, Zhang Yu initiated communication with Bai Zhenzhen, as was his custom. "Yu-zi," Bai Zhenzhen said, smiling playfully at Zhang Yu, "I have good news: I'm coming to Myriad Methods University next semester!" Zhang Yu's eyes lit up with surprise. "Really? You're coming?" Bai Zhenzhen replied, "Yes, I'm participating in the University Flying Sword Competition next semester. This year's competition is being held at Myriad Methods University."

Bai Zhenzhen's projection moved closer, leaning in front of Zhang Yu, and she smiled brightly. "Then, my son and I can finally see each other again!" Happily ending the call with Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen grew even more excited for the Flying Sword Competition. The next day, Zhang Yu logged into Hammer Heart Residence once more.

Opening his eyes this time, he saw numerous Qi Refining cultivators in long robes and sleeves before him, realizing he was leading them to demand their wages. Zhang Yu took out a small box from his sleeve, opened it, and displayed several golden pellets inside. "Ever since the Divine Firmament Sect split during the Sect Wars, its army's weapons have circulated everywhere. These are the Grand Unity Sky-Shattering Thunderbolts, some of those very weapons."

"Those Dao officials sent by the Myriad Methods Sect are bleeding us dry. Only these Sky-Shattering Thunderbolts can help us fight back and unleash the grievances festering in our hearts." "Let's all chip in, and I'll find you the suppliers. As long as you have enough spirit stones, what magic artifact can't you buy?" Under Zhang Yu's incitement, various magic artifacts and flying swords, relics from former armies, were distributed among the crowd.

A single Grand Unity Sky-Shattering Thunderbolt exploded, killing a Dao official in the yamen, and a fierce battle erupted. Zhang Yu fell to the ground in the first wave of fighting. Much later, he emerged from his feigned death, abruptly opened his eyes, and secretly left the battlefield.

Zhang Yu found his superior and reported, "Mission accomplished. Where's the next order?" Zhang Yu was an arms dealer. He traveled through the territories of various sects, and wherever there was war or rebellion, he would sell weapons directly. If there was no conflict, he would use his exceptional abilities to instigate riots and wars, and freely sell cultivation techniques, magic artifacts, and flying swords that had leaked from military sources.

His motto was: "What our enemies oppose, we support; what our enemies support, we take a thirty percent cut." In an era before the internet and with an underdeveloped righteous deity system, his business thrived. Many others were like him; wars and riots were rampant throughout the world.

However, Zhang Yu understood that all wars and riots were merely the will of the immortals. Later, when the immortals decided to cease hostilities, regulations on military-grade powers were introduced, making it increasingly difficult for Zhang Yu to earn money, and his own life became more perilous. Eventually, through restless sleep and anxious rest, he unknowingly advanced his mental cultivation technique to the realm of Spirit-Flesh Unity.

Zhang Yu removed his spiritual realm mask, recalling the scenes of slaughtering Dao officials from the sects. He felt the mental cultivation technique in his mind growing more turbulent. "It seems I've made some progress again." Reflecting on his experiences within the simulated environment, Zhang Yu had only one realization: "Immortals don't care about riots or resistance. In fact, they create the riots themselves, and even the data from wars can be sold."

In the following days, Zhang Yu continued his daily journey of Spirit-Flesh Unity. Although he felt progress after each session, and the white ox he visualized in his mind became increasingly vivid, almost coming to life, he sensed himself drawing closer to Spirit-Flesh Unity—yet it always felt just out of reach. Just that tiny bit.

Time quickly moved into August. Less than a month remained until the final exams. On this particular day, a righteous deity suddenly contacted Zhang Yu, asking if he had chosen his mentor, as the deadline for the academic year was approaching.

Zhang Yu had, of course, been prepared for this. After the Foundation Establishment exam for high school students on the first layer, as the winner, he had earned the right to select a mentor at the university. A university mentor represented one's future faction within the university and influenced a student's entire academic path through undergraduate, master's, and doctoral studies. Zhang Yu had naturally been extremely cautious about this, especially since he intended to transfer to the Artifact Forging Department, making the choice of mentor even more crucial. He had also consulted Zhang Pianpian about it.

Zhang Pianpian told him, "If your goal is to transfer to the Artifact Forging Department in your third year, then the stronger the mentor, the better. While the Artifact Forging Department and the Civil Engineering Department have a decent relationship, to transfer successfully after ranking in the top 20 of your entire department, a powerful mentor can significantly reduce complications. However, the more powerful the mentor, the higher their demands on students, and as the Artifact Forging Department is a flagship major, its powerful mentors have even higher expectations. Given your situation of transferring from Civil Engineering... even if they are obliged to accept you as a student due to regulations, they likely won't be very welcoming. The worst-case scenario when choosing a mentor is picking an uncooperative one. If they're unwilling to teach you, accepting you as a student is meaningless and will only cost you the opportunity to truly receive guidance from a mentor."

"I think if you want to transfer, it's better to take your time and do it when you apply for graduate school after graduating from Civil Engineering." Zhang Yu knew Zhang Pianpian was right; in terms of transfer success rate, applying for graduate school clearly had the highest chance. However, he knew that under the pressure of the Evil God Ritual, he needed to enter one of the Ten Great Sects as quickly as possible, before their pathways completely closed.

He needed to transfer to the Artifact Forging Department as soon as possible, take the graduate entrance exams early, and find a way into the Ten Great Sects without delay. Thus, at Zhang Yu's insistence, Zhang Pianpian also helped gather information, and they ultimately decided on True Monarch Magnetic Pole from the Artifact Forging Department. This Nascent Soul stage deputy director was highly likely to become the head of the Artifact Forging Department in the future. He was arguably one of the most promising mentors in the department, and with his support, Zhang Yu would have no trouble transferring, provided his grades were sufficient.

However, such a prominent figure in the Artifact Forging Department naturally wouldn't pay much attention to a Civil Engineering student like Zhang Yu. If Zhang Yu were directly assigned to him through a righteous deity, the True Monarch might accept him but essentially ignore him, leaving Zhang Yu in a situation where having a mentor was equivalent to having none. Fortunately, Zhang Yu found help from a good friend. A message appeared in his eye socket.

Deng Bingding: Hello, Zhang Yu. Long time no see.

Thanks to his contributions on the first layer, Deng Bingding successfully ascended to the second layer and obtained a new position within Myriad Methods University. After arriving on the second layer, Deng Bingding remained dormant for a while, observing and listening more than speaking, continuously gathering information and assessing the situation. In this process, he confirmed some of his long-held suspicions.

"Zhang Pianpian might have a great deity-level figure from the Myriad People Department backing her." "Zhang Yu should also be from this faction, which is why he was tasked with disrupting the Underworld Palace's activities on the first layer." "These two are worth helping."

With Deng Bingding's assistance, Zhang Yu finally managed to add True Monarch Magnetic Pole as a friend on the spiritual realm network before officially selecting a mentor.

Zhang Yu: Teacher, I don't know if Daoist God Deng has mentioned my situation to you.Zhang Yu: I wish to transfer to the Artifact Forging Department in my third year, and therefore, I wish to become your disciple.

After a long wait, just as Zhang Yu thought the True Monarch might be ignoring him, True Monarch Magnetic Pole finally replied with a simple "Mm." After waiting for a long time with no further message, Zhang Yu reluctantly sent a digital red envelope containing 0.1 spirit coins, following Fu Ji's advice. The red envelope was instantly accepted, and True Monarch Magnetic Pole's reply followed: I do not recommend you do this.

Zhang Yu, left with no choice, called upon Deng Bingding again. The righteous deity added both of them to a group chat and said, "I have a proposal." Next, Deng Bingding presented a plan he had previously discussed with Zhang Yu.

Deng Bingding: Director, I know the requirements for transferring to the Artifact Forging Department are high, and I know your personal standards are even higher.Deng Bingding: However, Zhang Yu truly possesses great talent.Deng Bingding: How about this: after he's officially assigned to you as a mentor, you don't publicly announce it. No one needs to know he's your student. You just need to offer him a little guidance.Deng Bingding: If, by his third year, he can barely meet your standards, then he will truly become your student.Deng Bingding: If he doesn't meet your requirements by then, then we'll simply consider that nothing ever happened.

Seeing no response from the True Monarch for a long time again, Deng Bingding nudged Zhang Yu in the chat. Zhang Yu, resigned, sent another 0.1 spirit coin red envelope.

True Monarch Magnetic Pole: Interesting.True Monarch Magnetic Pole: Then, by your third year, if you not only enter the top 20 of the Civil Engineering Department but also complete the first three years of Artifact Forging Department courses and pass the Artifact Forging Department's third-year final exams, then I will acknowledge you as my student.

Zhang Yu's eyes brightened. With clear requirements and standards, things would be much easier for him. Thus, with Deng Bingding's help, True Monarch Magnetic Pole was provisionally designated as Zhang Yu's mentor. However, Zhang Yu had never met this mentor, and no one else in the university knew of this arrangement, apart from the few directly involved. After the matter was settled, Zhang Yu thanked Deng Bingding again.

Deng Bingding declined Zhang Yu's red envelope and chuckled, "For me, it was just a few words, an easy favor." "Work hard, Zhang Yu," he added. "I'm sure you'll be able to enter the Artifact Forging Department and become True Monarch Magnetic Pole's disciple."

With his mentor temporarily secured, Zhang Yu continued to dedicate his energy to studying, cultivation, and part-time work. As time flowed on, and the final exam deadline drew nearer, Zhang Yu finally mastered the last layer of the Qi Pulse Ever-Flowing technique. Yu Xinghan's Three-Eyed Divine Ability also finally advanced to Level 2. The realm of Spirit-Flesh Unity finally manifested before Zhang Yu, allowing the Severed Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Incantation to reveal even more of its profound mysteries to him.