Chapter 466: Matching Degree Explodes?

When Zhang Yu arrived in front of the designated research institute, he noticed a timid figure also approaching.

"You!" Zhang Yu exclaimed, pointing at Yu Xinghan. "Didn't you say you were working overtime today?"Yu Xinghan, startled by having his presence revealed, quickly retorted, "And didn't *you* say you were going to the construction site?"

The next moment, they exchanged knowing smiles.

"The class advisor contacted you, right?" Zhang Yu asked. "Why haven't you gone in yet?"Yu Xinghan smiled faintly. "You're first in the class, you go ahead!"Zhang Yu waved his hand. "We're old classmates, you first!"

After some mutual polite refusal, Zhang Yu understood Yu Xinghan's intentions. "This kid," Zhang Yu thought scornfully. "He's interested in dual cultivation experiments, but he's also worried the content won't suit him. He doesn't have an ounce of dual cultivation talent, so why even come to this experiment?"Yu Xinghan mused to himself, "Zhang Yu is so particular about gender. He clearly wants me to go in first, gather information for him, and then he'll decide whether to participate."

Ultimately, they entered the institute together and discovered that, besides themselves, many other students from the Civil Engineering department were also present. These included their classmates Gongshu Jin and Ying Xin, as well as outstanding senior students like Xiao Yunji, Su Yan Yang, and Ma Xuan, all waiting there. Seeing Ying Xin and Xiao Yunji, Zhang Yu's heart stirred. "There are both males and females. What kind of experiment is this?" Unfortunately, Zhang Yu couldn't get any information before the experiment officially began.

Yu Xinghan remarked, "So they've rounded up all the elites from our Civil Engineering department? What kind of dual cultivation experiment requires students from our department?" A sense of unease flickered in Zhang Yu's heart as he heard Yu Xinghan's words.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind them. "Don't worry, it's a good thing!"Zhang Yu turned to see that it was Ye Xingli from the Artifact Forging Department. Ye Xingli nodded slightly at Zhang Yu, then explained, "Our Artifact Forging Department and Talisman Department have jointly developed a new product. It can use the principles of dual cultivation to enhance students' cultivation levels! However, this product still has flaws, so we need to conduct experiments to collect data and determine the next steps for improvement."

Yu Xinghan exclaimed, "Our school is developing dual cultivation products?"Ye Xingli nodded. "Exactly. It's a brand new product, 100% original to our school, developed purely with our own technical expertise, without any outside technology!"

Meanwhile, Ye Xingli was reflecting on the development difficulties they had faced recently. "Since the experiments began, we've recruited excellent students from all departments to participate, but unfortunately, almost none of them succeeded! The Divine Being Qiongjiang's Nascent Soul Yin Artifact clearly holds mysteries we don't yet understand, which is why it hasn't truly functioned properly. If all the previously selected students hadn't failed the tests, it wouldn't even be the Civil Engineering department's turn!" Ye Xingli sighed inwardly, "If the Civil Engineering and Security departments fail too, we might have to resort to brute-force methods to try and crack it."

As Ye Xingli was explaining to Zhang Yu, a staff member stepped forward and began to outline the basic procedures to the assembled students, also distributing confidentiality agreements regarding the experiment's content. As everyone signed the agreements one by one, they were led into the laboratory in sequence. Watching students enter in batches, starting with the seniors, Zhang Yu's curiosity about the experiment's contents grew stronger. He thought to himself, "Dual cultivation and a *product*? Could it be a dual cultivation product that can be used by a single person? Wouldn't that be a shortcut to ascending to immortality?"

As the senior students emerged, Zhang Yu observed their expressions. He noted Xiao Yunji's surprise, Su Yan Yang's regret, and Li Zhen's peculiar expression. Zhang Yu's curiosity intensified.

While Zhang Yu waited with a mix of curiosity, anticipation, and excitement, he, Yu Xinghan, Gongshu Jin, and Ying Xin, along with their other classmates, finally entered. Upon entering the lab, Zhang Yu saw a diamond-shaped crystal floating in mid-air, emitting faint, inexplicable rays of light. At the same time, a male professor nearby addressed them. "Hello, I am True Monarch Tianzhang from the Talisman Department, and I will be overseeing your experiment today! Next, I will explain the specific details of the experiment." With a light touch of his fingertip, divine energy illuminated the diamond-shaped crystal, highlighting it. "This is our newly developed product: a dual cultivation Yin Artifact!"

Upon hearing the words "dual cultivation Yin Artifact," both Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan felt a sense of calm settle over them, their initial unease dissipating. "So it's a Yin Artifact!" Zhang Yu crossed his arms, thinking, "Though I've never used one, I feel this might be a field I'm naturally good at!" Beside him, Yu Xinghan also revealed a confident smile. "Years of diligent practice, years of accumulating experience in these extracurricular projects—the day has finally come for me to shine and show what I've got! My master was right: 'Starlight doesn't fail the traveler, time doesn't fail the dedicated, and effort won't fail me!'" Gongshu Jin and Ying Xin, on the other side, seemed to sense the strong confidence radiating from the two. Gongshu Jin thought, "I understand Zhang Yu's confidence, but what does the guy who's fourth in the class have to be so confident about?"

In front of them, True Monarch Tianzhang continued, "You should all have some understanding of Yin Artifacts, so I won't go into too much detail. Today's experiment with the Yin Artifact focuses on its usage. We will activate the Yin Artifact to scan and identify students who match its parameters. Then, we will collect data during the student's usage to prepare for future improvements. Of course, it's also possible that none of you will match, and thus won't meet the Yin Artifact's activation criteria. Oh, and remember to report any magical bones you have on you!"

As the students reported their magical bones, Ying Xin couldn't help but ask, "Why do we need to report our magical bones? Are you worried they might conflict with this Yin Artifact?""This Yin Artifact has basic intelligence and generally won't conflict with anything," True Monarch Tianzhang explained blandly. "The main concern is that you might not be able to bear the load of this Yin Artifact!"

Gongshu Jin asked, "What do you mean 'unable to bear the load of this Yin Artifact'?"True Monarch Tianzhang gave him a bewildered look. "Don't you need to consider the load when equipping a magical bone? It's not...!"Zhang Yu exclaimed in shock, "Equip a magical bone?!"True Monarch Tianzhang replied as if it were obvious, "The Yin Artifact *is* a magical bone, so it's an experiment in using a magical bone! Don't we just equip it and see how it functions?" With that, he offered a gentle, benevolent smile. "Don't worry, once it's successfully equipped, I'll conduct the experiment for you. You won't get hurt! And if it's not successful, we won't charge you!"

However, what True Monarch Tianzhang considered a gentle smile appeared to Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan like the roar of a beast. They had never imagined that today's experiment would involve equipping the Yin Artifact onto their bodies! Zhang Yu screamed in his mind: *Run! This isn't home!*

Just as both of them simultaneously took a step back, intending to shout their withdrawal from the experiment, the Yin Artifact activated, emitting rays of light that enveloped several students.

Meanwhile, in the Spirit Realm observation room, numerous staff members were observing the situation inside the laboratory. Yan Qianji, the foremost figure of the Artifact Forging Department, stood among them, gazing at the Nascent Soul Yin Artifact in the lab as if it were a perfect work of art. "Heh heh, the world believes that Divine Being Qiongjiang's Yin Artifact only serves one purpose: dual cultivation with her. But they don't realize how simple a Nascent Soul Yin Artifact is truly meant to be! Especially as a magical bone, its greatest function is when it's equipped!" Yan Qianji sighed inwardly, "Once this Nascent Soul Yin Artifact is activated, cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage will likely be powerless to resist and will be forcibly equipped with it! This means that with this Yin Artifact in hand, one can treat countless beings in the world as female, and with a single sweep of the Yin Artifact, they can be forcibly cultivated from! If combined with Divine Being Qiongjiang's Yang Artifact and cultivation techniques, one could forcibly devour an opponent's magical power, cultivation, and even knowledge!" Yan Qianji envisioned Divine Being Qiongjiang, with a Yin Artifact in one hand and a Yang Artifact in the other, instantly cultivating from all beings in the world. The more he participated in the work of deciphering the Yin Artifact these days, the more he marveled at Divine Being Qiongjiang's formidable power. "To cultivate from the world through the Great Dao of Yin and Yang—that is Divine Being Qiongjiang's true power!"

At the same time, True Monarch Ciji, on the other side, was also observing the laboratory. Recalling the experiments of late, she thought to herself, "What kind of settings did that Divine Being Qiongjiang put on her Yin Artifact? So many excellent candidates, yet none could activate it! It makes no sense. Based on the activation criteria we deciphered, many of the previous test subjects should have met the requirements! Sigh, if it still doesn't work, we'll just have to brute-force it!" When True Monarch Ciji saw Zhang Yu among this batch of test subjects, her heart stirred slightly, and she said to True Monarch Tianzhang, "Tianzhang, let me take over in a bit!"True Monarch Tianzhang was surprised. "You want to personally intervene? I'm afraid they might not be able to afford it!"True Monarch Ciji replied, "It's fine, I know what I'm doing."

Just then, as the Nascent Soul Yin Artifact's light shone, its detection function began operating, and a large amount of data started to appear. In the Spirit Realm observation room, the Nascent Soul Yin Artifact's detection data was intercepted one by one, instantly appearing before everyone: Zhang Yu, Yu Xinghan, Gongshu Jin, Ying Xin! The detection results for each student were displayed, with several columns of data accompanying each name, seemingly evaluating them from various aspects. Unfortunately, the project team had yet to figure out what these numbers actually meant. Looking at the columns of data, Yan Qianji was shocked. "What's going on with this last data point? Gongshu Jin and Ying Xin have zero in this category. No, I should say most students have single-digit numbers in this category! But why! Why did Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan break past 1000 in this category...?" Looking at this astonishing number, Yan Qianji felt as though Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan were suddenly shrouded in an inscrutable mystery. "Could it be that they have an astonishing compatibility with this Yin Artifact?"