No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

True Lord Tianxiang smiled slightly as he looked at Ping Han, who ranked first in construction output. Pointing to the light screen, he said, “Rankings, after all, depend on how you rank them.”

“If we go by kill count instead, the picture looks quite different.”

As he spoke, the ranking on the light screen shifted dramatically—from construction output to number of Yellow-Turban Enforcers defeated.

In an instant, Zhang Yu shot to the top, with Ping Han sliding to second place.

Many guests were surprised by the change. After all, Ping Han’s final mountain-lifting strike had been a spectacle in both momentum and might, seemingly superior to Zhang Yu’s. Yet the kill count painted a different story.

True Lord Tianxiang explained, “Ping Han’s final strike may have looked impressive, but it lacked Zhang Yu’s level of control. The actual lethality wasn’t nearly as high.”

With a thought, the light screen now projected images of the battlefield cleanup, overseen by the Righteous Gods.

In Ping Han’s testing ground, the Righteous Gods were seen dismantling and relocating the “small mountain” he had hurled moments before.

Beneath it, a large number of smaller Yellow-Turban Enforcers were buried in craters, still capable of fighting.

Director Gao, watching the scene, thought to himself, “Ping Han’s mountain toss crushed the larger Yellow-Turban monsters outright, but the smaller ones had time to dig and hide.”“Worse still, the mountain pressing down on the shattered corpses of the larger beasts created gaps between the ’mountain’ and the ground, allowing the smaller ones to survive.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu’s battlefield was also displayed.

Corpse after corpse of Yellow-Turban Enforcers was being cleared. Though they appeared largely intact, every single one had been precisely neutralized. The entire battleground was utterly cleared, not a single survivor.

Watching this, Deng Bingding felt even more stunned. “Zhang Yu’s just a third-year, right? He hasn’t even been in university for two and a half years. How has he already come this far?”

As the scenes of Zhang Yu and Ping Han’s battlefields unfolded, True Lord Tianxiang continued, “Zhang Yu achieved a higher kill count with a smaller construction scale—meaning a lower cost. Doesn’t that prove he’s better than Ping Han?”

At these words, many of the civil engineering experts present nodded in agreement.

After all, knowing how to cut costs is just as vital a skill in civil engineering as inflating them.

Geng Chenyin scoffed, “This is a civil engineering exam. How can you judge it by kill count? It should be based on construction scale and efficiency…”

True Lord Tianxiang countered without hesitation, “This is the Military License Exam for civil engineering. It determines the right to access military-grade techniques. How can we not consider the kill count?”

As the argument intensified, True Lord Qiyun, who had remained silent, turned to Director Lin and asked, “Old Lin, what do you think?”

Director Lin replied, “Ping Han has his strengths, and Zhang Yu has his brilliance. But Ping Han is in his final year…”

True Lord Tianxiang shook his head. “So what if it’s his final year? The military license is granted solely on merit. What, are we supposed to give it to whoever’s older?”

One guest proposed, “Why not just give the license to both of them?”

True Lord Qiyun shot that down. “The Heavenly Court only grants one slot. No way both can get it.”

Director Gao sighed quietly. He knew that to the Heavenly Court, no matter how outstanding a student was, their decisions were not easily overturned.

As one judge and guest after another gave their opinions, True Lord Qiyun summarized, “Both Ping Han and Zhang Yu have their merits.”

“Ping Han’s mana is powerful. He leveraged his Nascent Soul strength to command the forces of heaven and earth—his strike was nothing short of cataclysmic.”

“Zhang Yu, on the other hand, honed his martial path to perfection. With a desperate final blow, he cleared the battlefield—worthy of the phrase ‘battling the heavens and earth.’”

Even as he spoke, True Lord Qiyun recalled a recent conversation with True Lord Magneto.

During the debate, he had been carefully studying both candidates’ performances, paying particular attention to Zhang Yu—perhaps due to his connection with Magneto.

“Zhang Yu’s artifacts may look unremarkable,” he mused, “but they played a pivotal role.”

“If not for their support, his speed at processing construction materials would’ve been much slower, and he likely wouldn’t have had the residual power to wipe out the remaining enemies.”

This led True Lord Qiyun to message Magneto.

Qiyun: Magneto, what’s Zhang Yu’s level in artifact refinement?

Magneto: ?

Qiyun: (sends screenshot of Zhang Yu’s profile as an apprentice)

Magneto: Oh! I almost forgot I took that kid as a disciple.

Qiyun: I’m overseeing the Military License Exam. I need to know his artifact refinement level.

Magneto: If he were in the Artifact Refinement Department, he’d be top five in his class.

Startled by this, Qiyun asked, “Which of his artifacts did he refine himself?”

The memory of that chat flashed through his mind, and Qiyun silently thought, “This Zhang Yu is truly talented.”

“Wanfa University’s departments are all pieces of one board. The intercollegiate competition may be crucial for the Civil Engineering Department, but in the grand scheme, the Artifact Refinement Department holds greater weight.”

“Supporting Magneto and Zhang Yu could allow him to master the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might before transferring majors… and become a cross-disciplinary talent in artifact refinement.”

“If he then gives back to the Civil Engineering Department, it could further bind it to the Artifact Refinement Department—and serve as a counterweight to the Finance Department’s dominance, even weakening the campus crypto-trading craze…”

“Old Gao would definitely support this.”

Though outwardly True Lord Qiyun never opposed students trading Nectar Coins, deep down he certainly resented watching his students’ savings get reaped by the scythes of Pleasure and Harmony University.

He could already picture the trend that would arise if Ping Han won the license—how it would fuel more speculative frenzy in the Civil Engineering Department.

Of course, all these department-level politics and trading psychology revolved around one truth:

Zhang Yu was actually stronger—at least from certain angles.

Without that, True Lord Qiyun wouldn’t even be considering all this.

His thoughts racing like lightning, True Lord Qiyun continued aloud, “…Though Ping Han’s strike commanded great power from the heavens, his lack of control left flaws and openings.”

“Zhang Yu fought for every ounce of strength on his own. With unmatched willpower—flesh, ash, and digested matter—he built the most lethal ironclad line of defense at the lowest possible cost. To me, that is the true spirit of civil engineering.”

“But of course, my assessment is just mine.”

“I’ll report the full exam data and everyone’s opinions to the Heavenly Court. The final decision rests with the deities and immortals there.”

Geng Chenyin muttered inwardly: Those lofty sect immortals won’t care about these mundane exams. The real decision will be made by the deities under them.

And those deities won’t spend too much time either—they’ll most likely just compile and weigh the current panel’s views.

“Usually, the Heavenly Court won’t overturn the recommendation from the exam panel. Judging by current trends, with both True Lord Qiyun and True Lord Tianxiang backing Zhang Yu, the military license for the Civil Engineering Department is almost certainly going to him.”

Geng Chenyin sighed. “What a shame for Ping Han. If he’d won, it would’ve sparked a big rally in Nectar Coins.”

The others at the scene thought the same. It was now clear: the military license was almost surely going to Zhang Yu.

Of course, procedurally, it still had to be submitted and approved. The Heavenly Court had the final say.

Until they formally issued a result, none of the professors or experts present were going to leak anything early.

Meanwhile, Director Gao, who had quietly listened to the whole debate, wore a complicated expression.

To him, it was a loss no matter which of them didn’t win the license.

Hearing that Ping Han had lost, the sense of regret deepened. Even the joy of Zhang Yu’s likely success was muted.

Because he knew—this was Ping Han’s last chance.

…

Outside the exam hall.

Su Yanyang walked out, looking pale and drained, regret lingering in his eyes.

Especially the thought of selling off his Nectar Coins early—it gnawed at him the more he thought about it.

Just then, he spotted Zhang Yu, bloodied and broken, being carried out and treated by the Righteous Gods.

Seeing him so battered, Su Yanyang suddenly felt a lot better.

“Took that much damage from a few Yellow-Turban Enforcers?”

“Arrogant fool—trying to take the Military License Exam as a third-year?”

“Serves you right,” he muttered.

A wave of murderous intent swept past him, startling Su Yanyang.

He turned and saw it was Xiao Yunji, back in human form, striding toward him.

Her face was twisted in rage, teeth clenched, her Law Husk twitching now and then like it had a will of its own.

Su Yanyang quietly took a few steps back, distancing himself from her.

He thought, “Did… did she sell off her Nectar Coins too?”

At that moment, Ping Han also walked out, calm and unscathed under the eyes of the crowd.

Su Yanyang couldn’t resist asking, “Did you sell your Nectar Coins?”

Ping Han smiled lightly. “Join the advisory group and you can see my full position.”

“But since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll show you for free.”

As he spoke, screenshots from Ping Han’s EyeNet feed appeared in Su Yanyang’s vision.

Su Yanyang sighed. “This guy… hasn’t wavered in the slightest.”

Ping Han said, “Junior Su, if you want to play the coin game, you won’t succeed without going through multiple losses and repeated tempering of your Dao Heart.”

“If you’re interested, join the advisory group. I share strategies and screenshots daily.”

As Su Yanyang stared at the profit charts Ping Han posted, he began to seriously consider joining.

On the other side, Xiao Yunji had no interest in crypto anymore. She looked Ping Han in the eyes and asked coldly, “What was your formation core integrity at the end?”

Ping Han replied casually, “One hundred percent.”

Xiao Yunji’s eyes dimmed. She knew her chances of winning had just dropped to zero.

The other examinees who heard this looked at Ping Han with envy. This genius who profited handsomely off crypto might just walk away with the military license, too.