Aside from Ye Lingxiao, who was still undergoing treatment due to severe injuries and couldn’t attend, everyone else was present. This included Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, Yun Jing, as well as the four contestants from the Dao Heart and Dharma Power pathways.

Zhang Yu briefly observed the four contestants from those two pathways. He could immediately tell that two of them were brimming with excitement, practically writing “Foundation Establishment Certificate” on their foreheads.

As for why Zhang Yu knew, it was naturally because he felt the same way. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone he knew and show off his success in obtaining the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate!

On the other hand, the other two looked dejected and lifeless. The outcome was clear at a glance!

Zhang Yu’s gaze lingered on the two victors. He recalled that this man and woman had ranked 3rd and 5th respectively in the first round of the Foundation Establishment Examination.

Their ability to stand out among the many Immortal Capital students was undoubtedly extraordinary. However, Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing’s performance in the beginning had been too dazzling, overshadowing everyone else.

Later, due to the different pathways, Zhang Yu hadn’t paid much attention to the other top students in Immortal Capital.

Now, seeing that these two had obtained the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate, Zhang Yu estimated that even if their strength was inferior to Ye Lingxiao, they should still be at the top level of high school students in the first layer of Kunxu.

“Of course, compared to Zhenzhen and me, they are definitely far behind!”

After a burst of excitement, the two students quickly noticed that one person was missing.

The male student walked up to Yun Jing and asked curiously, “Where’s Ye Lingxiao? Did he run off with his Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate already?”

The male student, named Sheng Jie, had a well-proportioned physique and a head of azure hair that rippled like water, evidently a manifestation of some special physique. He was the winner of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate in the Dharma Power pathway!

Yun Jing glanced at Sheng Jie with a gloomy expression and said coldly, “How would I know where he went!”

“But you can ask him!”

Yun Jing looked at Zhang Yu and said indifferently, “He should be in the same group as Ye Lingxiao, right? Seems like he defeated Ye Lingxiao!”

“Defeated Ye Lingxiao? How is that possible?”

Upon hearing this, Sheng Jie revealed a hint of shock and turned his head to look at Zhang Yu.

As a top student in the 1.5th layer of Immortal Capital, Sheng Jie knew deeply how terrifying Ye Lingxiao was, and how powerful the perfect bloodline was.

After all, as classmates in the same high school, Sheng Jie had been suppressed by Ye Lingxiao since the day he enrolled. Ye Lingxiao was practically his life-long nemesis!

Moreover, from the moment they registered, Sheng Jie could tell at a glance that Zhang Yu was an outsider!

This was simply defying the natural order! An outsider actually came and snatched the Immortal Capital’s son’s Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate?

Sheng Jie looked at Zhang Yu and asked, “This… did you defeat Ye Lingxiao?”

Feeling the other party’s shocked gaze, Zhang Yu tried hard to control the corners of his mouth from turning up, trying to say with a calm expression, “Yeah!”

Bai Zhenzhen, who was standing beside him, glanced at him sideways and thought, “Yu, ah, Yu, your desire to show off is practically seeping out of your face. You really can’t hold it in at all!”

Seeing Zhang Yu nod slightly, Sheng Jie took a deep breath and asked again, “Then where is he now?”

Zhang Yu recalled the process of Ye Lingxiao being treated and said blandly, “It seems that the injuries were too severe. He won’t be able to recover in a short time, so he can’t come to the award ceremony!”

If Sheng Jie’s gaze towards Zhang Yu had been filled with admiration after hearing Zhang Yu admit that he had defeated Ye Lingxiao, then at this moment, his gaze towards Zhang Yu was as if he were looking at a monster!

He was shocked in his heart, “That Ye Lingxiao, he not only lost, but was also so seriously injured that even a True God can’t heal him in a short time?”

At the same time, the other contestants, upon hearing this, also looked over at him in unison. As Immortal Capital natives, they were also incredulous at what Zhang Yu said!

After all, which high school student in Immortal Capital didn’t know the extent of Ye Lingxiao’s strength?

They couldn’t imagine what kind of amazing high school student it would take to defeat Ye Lingxiao, and even injure Ye Lingxiao so severely in the competition that he couldn’t heal in a short period of time!

At this moment, Zhang Yu, in their eyes, was no longer an ordinary outsider, but a super outsider—an unfathomably wealthy outsider!

At the same time, another female student who had obtained the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate on the Dao Heart pathway had noticed that Yun Jing’s expression was gloomy and his condition was not good. She also asked at this moment, “Yun Jing, you… didn’t lose too, did you?”

Yun Jing glanced at the woman who asked the question!

The other party was called Yan Shishan. She was also a native of Immortal Capital. Although her wealth and grades were a bit worse than his and Ye Lingxiao’s, everyone usually belonged to the same circle, except that she leaned more towards Ye Lingxiao and the Oasis Group’s side!

But thinking about the guy who used to chase after him, and how that guy had actually obtained the Foundation Establishment Certificate this time, while he didn’t, Yun Jing felt another wave of helplessness in his heart!

He knew that from this moment on, one side having a Foundation Establishment Certificate and the other not having one was like being in the top 10 and top 30 of the grade. They might never be able to sit at the same table to eat again!

Yun Jing took a deep breath, but he had no interest in hiding anything. Because these people would know in a moment, he simply said, “Yeah, I lost!”

Unlike Ye Lingxiao, who was completely suppressed by Zhang Yu’s strength and physique in the end, Yun Jing, although he lost to Bai Zhenzhen, had a strong sense of dissatisfaction and regret in his heart!

Because Yun Jing could feel that if they were to fight on raw strength, that woman would definitely be inferior to him!

“If I could have been more careful, if I had used a different strategy at the time…”

Every time he replayed the three battles with Bai Zhenzhen, Yun Jing became angrier and more regretful. He was confident that if he could fight again, he would definitely defeat her!

Just like the last question on the general knowledge exam that he got wrong due to carelessness, Yun Jing now only hated himself for not being careful enough, not being meticulous enough, and not paying enough attention to his opponent at the time!

Hearing Yun Jing’s words, the Immortal Capital natives present were once again taken aback. They didn’t expect that in addition to Ye Lingxiao, even Yun Jing had lost!

They should know that when the groups were assigned before, they had all assumed that the group where Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing were in must be the death group, and that everyone except them would inevitably be eliminated!

Therefore, they had all tried to avoid the pathways where Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing were, crowding the Dharma Power and Dao Heart pathways to compete for the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate, which was ultimately won by Sheng Jie and Yan Shishan!
At that moment, the gazes of several Xiantu students towards Zhang Yu shifted. Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes, in particular, took on a different light. The tattered outer garment, the threadbare athletic pants resembling rags, and the barely-there footwear that could only be called trash, all seemed profound and unfathomable at that instant!

Zhang Yu, noticing the slight blush on Bai Zhenzhen’s face, thought, “This Zhenzhen fellow, her face is almost flushed red and she’s still trying to maintain that aloof facade. How impatient!”

Bai Zhenzhen inwardly mused, “Blast it, I really want to post this on my Moments!”

However, the Xiantu students quickly recovered from their astonishment and began to consider the ramifications of this sudden turn of events.

Sheng Jie secretly pondered, “But Ye Lingxiao’s defeat might actually be a stroke of luck! Perhaps… perhaps I have a chance to take his place and serve the Oasis Group?”

Sheng Jie’s family, like the Ye family, intended to cooperate with the Oasis Group in instigating a revolution, so he knew some of the inside information!

Ye Lingxiao, with his superior achievements, had become the primary publicity target in their plan!

But now, Sheng Jie saw an opportunity. He too, desired to be a hound of that second-level Overlord from the Oasis Group who was about to descend!

The notion of being a hound held no burden for Sheng Jie!

As long as the money was sufficient, he’d bankrupt them by being their dog, but unfortunately, there’s never a free lunch.

Unlike these Xiantu Young Masters who had been born with silver spoons in their mouths, Sheng Jie hailed from a collateral branch of his family and had lived on Xiantu’s ground level since he was old enough to remember!

Because the floating city completely blocked the sky, he hadn’t seen daylight until he entered high school!

Outsiders who came to Xiantu often praised the Xiantu Young Masters, highlighting their advantageous cultivation conditions from a young age!

Every time Sheng Jie heard such words, he scoffed. Who said all Xiantu people were wealthy?

In his view, Xiantu had more poor people than any other city because it was the most competitive place on the first level of Kunxu, and the place where the most people were eliminated each year!

To him, many people on the first level were nothing more than dogs of the 1.5 level, and weren’t the people of the 1.5 level dogs of the second level?

In his eyes, Kunxu was like a massive dog farm where one was either using others as dogs or being used as someone else’s dog!

Only by learning to be a dog and train dogs could one climb upwards in Kunxu, just like he had climbed from the first level to the 1.5 level!

“No, that’s not right!”

Sheng Jie looked at Zhang Yu, thinking, “Could this guy also be recruited by the Oasis Group? Wouldn’t that mean I’d have to compete with him?”

Thinking this, Sheng Jie felt another wave of bitterness in his heart. How could he compete with this monster who could suppress Ye Lingxiao?

“But maybe…”

Sheng Jie knew Ye Lingxiao’s temperament, which he found too arrogant!

“Since this guy’s strength is greater than Ye Lingxiao’s, then his family background and net worth must be even more formidable!”

Sheng Jie looked at Zhang Yu, sensing the other’s aloof, faint aura, and inwardly mused, “His temperament is probably worse than Ye Lingxiao’s. He’s probably even more aloof and unwilling to serve the second-level Overlord of the Oasis Group. That way, I’d have a chance!”

“Anyway, after the Foundation Establishment Exam ends, examinee information will no longer be confidential!”

“I’ll immediately inquire about his background when I get back and see what his origins are, to see if I have a chance!”

Just then, with shimmering divine light, the five True God examiners cast their figures down!

Deng Bingding, as the chief examiner, first encouraged the many examinees present and delivered a barrage of platitudes before beginning to announce the results of the exam!

As the four recipients of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates stood forth one by one, Deng Bingding’s gaze lingered on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen for a moment longer before looking at the four with a slight smile and saying, “The four of you performed admirably, displaying the spirit of Kunxu’s first-level high school students with your indomitable will, exquisite skills, and fearless courage…”

“We will now award you the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates!”

Having waited for the long string of words to end before the awards were finally presented, Zhang Yu suddenly widened his eyes and, under Huang Zichou’s emcee duties, received a gold-embossed certificate with both hands!

Looking at the five large characters for “Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate” on it, Zhang Yu breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart!

At the same time, Huang Zichou reminded him, “Keep the certificate safely at home; it’s mainly for commemorative purposes! For regular use, the electronic version is the primary one!”

Zhang Yu asked, “Does it have special effects, like floating above my head?”

Huang Zichou smiled slightly and said, “That’s something you’ll have to research yourself!”

Nearby, Yun Jing and the other two losers stared longingly at the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates in the hands of the four, their yearning, envy, and jealousy almost materializing!

Next was the interest-free loan of three million, which all the students present received regardless of whether they won or lost!

Deng Bingding stretched out her hand, and a huge red envelope appeared above everyone’s heads, with the number 3 million written on it!

“Take it, and inside is the interest-free loan of three million!”

This was insignificant pocket change for Yun Jing, Sheng Jie, and others, but for Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, it was another large windfall, greatly alleviating their economic hardship and filling their already empty wallets!

The two happily accepted the red envelopes, and seeing their account balances skyrocket, they had already started planning how to spend it!

As for using it to repay previous loans… that’s not the style of us Kunxu people!

Next was the reward of an expert-level cultivation technique. Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had spent the past few months selecting various cultivation techniques and had already planned what they needed next. At this moment, they quickly reported the cultivation techniques they wanted and would soon receive the usage rights and electronic versions of the techniques!

Finally, there was the university’s designated teacher!

Deng Bingding looked at the four and said, “This reward will be given to you after you enter university!”

“When you ascend to the second level and enter the university city, the local True God will contact you and designate a teacher for you!”

“You will need to find out more about which teacher is designated at that time!”

Speaking of this, she paused and reminded them, “After entering university, choosing the right teacher is very important. If it is difficult to decide for a while, you can choose not to choose first and wait until you have enough understanding and confidence before choosing!”

“Also, after this Foundation Establishment Exam ends, the information protection for examinees will no longer continue. After you go back, you will likely encounter early recruitment from various universities and companies!”

“My advice to you is, do not easily agree to any conditions!”
Hearing Deng Bingding’s words, Zhang Yu couldn’t shake the feeling that he kept glancing at him and Bai Zhenzhen, as if his words were specifically directed at them!

“However…”

He quickly considered that the immortals all around likely already knew about this matter. In comparison, he and Bai Zhenzhen truly lacked understanding of it!

Remembering Deng Bingding adding him as a friend and suppressing the Zhou family, Zhang Yu felt that this deity harbored a subtle goodwill towards him!

Zhang Yu mused internally, “I didn’t slip him any charm talismans…”

With the Foundation Establishment Exam completely concluded, the examinees departed the examination grounds one after another!

Deng Bingding gazed at the empty examination grounds before her, understanding that the results of this Foundation Establishment Exam would likely not be as uneventful as previous years!

After all, the Oasis Group and several immortal families of the capital had decided to jointly initiate a transformation, and they were using this Foundation Establishment Exam as a tool for promotion!

“Even if Ye Lingxiao failed, they’d simply switch to another propaganda target!”

Deng Bingding knew that the impact of this exam would soon spread, but she couldn’t foresee the ultimate consequences!

“The Divine Department hasn’t reacted yet to the Oasis Group’s massive interference in the First Layer, or even to the integration of local powerful clans across the First Layer? Are they wary of someone from the Nether Palace behind the Oasis Group?”

Suddenly, images of Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Zhang Pianpian flashed through Deng Bingding’s mind!

“Or have the Great Gods already made their move in this exam?”