Within the Dao Heart lesson, the Foundation Establishment class students sat upright, their gazes fixed upon Feng Jiu on the platform.

Feng Jiu spoke indifferently, “Willpower is the most direct manifestation of Dao Heart. The content of your upcoming examination is simple: it is to endure the torment of blazing flames.”

As the students donned their spirit interface masks, their consciousnesses were instantly transported into the Spirit Realm.

Unlike the projection of the Spirit Realm seen by those with Spirit Eyes, they felt as though their spirits had truly entered the Spirit Realm.

In the next instant, as waves of fire engulfed them, many students cried out in agony!

Simultaneously, Feng Jiu, as a spirit artifact, descended upon the examination ground within the Spirit Realm, her gaze sweeping across the students, each a figure engulfed in flames!

Her initial focus landed upon Ji Yuan Shu, the class’s top student!

Despite being engulfed in flames, the only student in the class to have reached Dao Heart Level 12 remained composed, as if he were merely experiencing a warm breeze rather than scorching fire!

Ji Yuan Shu’s gaze was calm as he mused inwardly, “I undergo similar Spirit Realm training for over two hours every day. How could this be considered anything at all?”

Observing Ji Yuan Shu, Feng Jiu, the spirit artifact, silently recorded, “Ji Yuan Shu, possesses exceedingly high Dao Heart potential. Provisionally selected as a participant in next year’s Spirit Realm Competition!”

Then, Feng Jiu turned her attention to Gongshu Jin, the class’s second-ranked student!

Although he furrowed his brow slightly, this student, closest to reaching Dao Heart Level 12, gritted his teeth and endured the burning flames!

Gongshu Jin thought to himself, “After this examination, I’ll need to invest more spirit coins in Spirit Realm training!”

I’ll get a membership card and give myself a boost!

On the other side, Feng Jiu recorded, “Gongshu Jin, second-highest Dao Heart in the class. Provisionally selected as a participant in next year’s Spirit Realm Competition!”

After observing a few more students, Feng Jiu spotted Zhang Yu and noted, “Zhang Yu, suspected to have high Dao Heart aptitude due to earlier Foundation Establishment and a higher level cultivation technique. Falls slightly short of the Spirit Realm Competition standard, temporarily listed as an alternate!”

Within the Essence lesson!

Li Mingbo watched as everyone poured their essence into the testing devices before them, his gaze primarily fixed upon Ji Yuan Shu and Gongshu Jin!

“Judging from Ji Yuan Shu’s essence purchase records, he’s purchasing both high-quality and low-quality essence in large quantities!”

“It seems he’s using high-quality essence to infuse his body and improve the quality of his own essence!”

“The low-quality essence is likely used through the Spirit Realm network add-on to power spirit constructs!”

“He hardly uses his own essence for anything besides cultivation. Such extravagance!” While Li Mingbo sighed, he was primarily filled with joy! After all, the student’s massive essence purchases on the essence platform earned him a tidy commission!

“Gongshu Jin is quite impressive as well. I heard he resides in the most lavish upper dorms, and the first thing he does upon returning each day is replace the spirit construct he uses for essence cultivation. No wonder his essence cultivation is advancing so rapidly, only falling behind Ji Yuan Shu!”

“Hmm, Li Xiao’s progress rate has increased again. It’s a pity he’s a first-level student. I fear he may lack staying power!”

Li Mingbo’s gaze then swept over Zhang Yu, thinking, “This Zhang Yu as well, if he can maintain this performance, he should have no problem breaking into the top 100 Foundation Establishment students in the Earth and Wood Department in a few years!”

“But the difficulty lies in maintaining it!”

The Earth and Wood Department’s top one hundred encompassed Foundation Establishment students from all grades, and in Li Mingbo’s view, a first-level student could only achieve this through years of accumulation, reaching that point in their later years!

In the Body Refinement exam ground!

Lang Yougong addressed the assembled students, “Physical strength cannot be solely determined by raw power numbers!”

“After all, your body’s tolerance to medicinal substances, your control over your physique, and aspects such as reaction speed, agility, and technique!!! These can only be truly demonstrated in practical application!”

“The three-month foundation course has concluded, and today is the day to assess the fruits of your labor!”

As Lang Yougong spoke, Zhang Yu glanced around at the other students, thinking inwardly, “Hiding data is manageable with anti-detection rituals!”

“But how should I perform in the upcoming practical tests?”

“I can’t possibly perform far beyond my data, or I’ll attract too much attention!”

With this in mind, Zhang Yu’s gaze fell upon Li Xiao, “This fellow seems to be ranked just below me. So, I simply need to perform a little better than him, right?”

In the strength test, after Li Xiao roared and strained to lift the force meter, Zhang Yu followed suit with a loud cry and lifted a slightly heavier weight!

In the agility test, as Li Xiao exerted every ounce of strength to evade the increasingly rapid projectiles, enduring for a minute, he saw Zhang Yu not far away manage to endure for a mere three seconds longer!

Before the final speed test, Li Xiao received a package from a deliveryman, thinking to himself, “Zhang Yu! He truly sees me as his greatest rival!”

He could sense that in the previous two tests, Zhang Yu had been observing him periodically, and after confirming that he had surpassed him, the other party would often reach his limit!

“Clearly, my threat has stimulated him, encouraged him, and enabled him to perform even better!”

“Perhaps!! To defeat me, he even consumed some body-damaging, fierce and potent elixirs!”

But likewise, Zhang Yu!! You have also greatly inspired me!

Swallowing the newly purchased fierce drug, feeling his body gradually heating up, Li Xiao thought to himself, “Even if I must cease cultivation for a few days, I must win in the next round!”

On the speed test field, Li Xiao shot forward like lightning, with the sound of air shattering, charging ahead like a bolt of lightning!! He doggedly followed behind Zhang Yu!

As if drumming, the pace grew faster and faster, his limbs moving rapidly!

But as Li Xiao continued to accelerate, Zhang Yu accelerated as well, preventing Li Xiao from ever surpassing him, no matter how hard he tried. Looking at Zhang Yu’s back before him, Li Xiao felt as if he were staring at the gates of a construction site, so close that he could step right through, but always falling short!

“Damn it, why is it so difficult for me to get into the construction site?” Maintaining a consistent speed, leading Li Xiao to the finish line, Zhang Yu thought, “This should be fine, right!”

Sensing Li Xiao’s aggrieved gaze, Zhang Yu thought, “It’s just one position ahead, no need to be so angry, is there?”

But in the next moment, as the test scores appeared, Zhang Yu thought, “Ah, I’m fifth in the physical test?!”

Zhang Yu frowned, looking at Li Lei, and thought, “This kid!! Has he been hiding his strength all along? I should have known not to choose him to compete with!”

“But fortunately, my previous physical performance wasn’t bad. This little bit of “overperformance” should be reasonable!”

Lang Yougong looked at Zhang Yu and smiled, “Keep up the good work, if you continue to cultivate at this pace, you should be able to participate in the Earth and Wood Department’s competition next year!”

On the other side, several higher-ups had been watching the contest between Li Xiao and Zhang Yu!

Someone sighed, “Those two are secretly competing, it can stimulate and encourage each other!”

Someone exclaimed, “Their physical tests are ranked so high?”

Ying Xin smiled, “To maintain this level of performance, Li Xiao’s money may not be enough. Let’s see which of these first-level students runs out of money first!”

“After all, many first-level students don’t adapt to university life, spending money lavishly, making rapid progress in the early stages, and then plummeting in the later stages… there are many such examples!”

It turned out that Ying Xin had long seen that Li Xiao was borrowing money to cultivate with them, and she always had a sense of schadenfreude, waiting to see when the first-level student would be unable to repay the debt!

Seeing Li Xiao walking over with a somewhat lost look on his face, Ying Xin smiled and greeted, “Old Li, the exam is over, let’s go open a cultivation room to practice together!”

Li Xiao nodded with difficulty, managed a smile, and said, “Okay!”

In the major course exam!

Courses such as engineering formation drawing, martial arts mechanics, and construction technology include both written and martial arts exams!

Zhang Yu had already learned digging palm, crane claw, race car leg, elevator vertical and other skills, and had all practiced them to level 10!

However, Zhang Yu had no time to practice hard with some of the Earth and Wood Department’s professional skills, such as concrete gangue, hoisting strength, and back-carrying fast walking. He only managed to get started with them by practicing in class! After all, most of his time and energy were spent on the Earth and Wood Holy Body-related skills!

However, in three months, the teachers did not expect the students to practice these professional skills to any extent, so Zhang Yu’s performance was not too conspicuous!

Gongshu Jin looked at Zhang Yu’s performance and thought to himself: “My friend’s martial arts talent is really not good, but in terms of basic data, although the increase is not as good as mine, it can be regarded as excellent!”

“I’m afraid he spent a lot of resources!”

That night, all the exam results were calculated!

6th place, Zhang Yu, total score 688

7th place, Li Xiao, total score 682

Looking at the final ranking after these three months, Li Xiao had a trace of confusion in his heart!

Just when he thought that Zhang Yu had snatched away the opportunity at the construction site, a communication from Tu Lishan revitalized him!

“Li Xiao, not every student can enter the construction site as soon as they start school. This one-time opportunity is specially for outstanding students!”

“Alas, I know you have been working hard during this period, and I really appreciate you!”

“Your grades are a little worse than Zhang Yu’s, but I’m optimistic about you. The first time I saw you, I knew you were a construction site person!”

“How about this, you send 20% of the money you earn at the construction site to my account every month, and I will help you dredge the relationship and ensure that you can get in!”

Inside the dormitory!

Zhang Yu showed his 6th place ranking and asked Zhang Pianpian, “Sister, I underperformed, will this 6th place be too high-profile?”

Zhang Pianpian said helplessly: “A little bit, but it’s okay! How did you underperform in this exam?”

Zhang Yu said helplessly: “Alas, it’s my bad luck, I chose the wrong reference object!”

“The Li Xiao I chose probably hid his strength at ordinary times!”

He may have chosen me as a reference target and just wanted to follow behind me!

“But I chose him as a reference target and wanted to run ahead of him!”

“As a result, one of us chasing and one of us running, we unconsciously increased our ranking again!”

Zhang Yu sighed: “The top ten are really crouching tigers and hidden dragons, and I’m not the only one with extraordinary talent!”

Zhang Pianpian nodded slightly when she heard this: “Since this is the case, there is no way, fortunately, the sixth place is not too conspicuous. You should maintain this ranking for the time being and don’t easily increase your ranking significantly again!”

At this moment, with the opening of the dormitory door, Yu Xinghan, with a class ranking of 11th, walked in with an arrogant look on his face!

Yu Xinghan asked, “Zhang Yu, did Teacher Tu tell you about the construction site?”

Zhang Yu nodded: “Let me report in a few days!”

Yu Xinghan: “Then did he tell you about paying the money?”