In the illusion, ten handsome men, each with different temperaments, varying builds, and unique outstanding qualities, appeared before Zhang Yu. A single glance revealed that each of them was a top-tier man, possessing exceptional skills. Yet, feeling the profound gazes of these ten men and watching them approach step by step, Zhang Yu felt a terror and despair far greater than facing ten Song Hailongs in an arena.

“Get lost!”

“Don’t come any closer!”

At that moment, Zhang Yu was filled with extreme panic and fury. He never imagined that someone in Kunxu would resort to such a method to insult him and force him to give up the Foundation Establishment examination.

“Damn it, I want to give up too!”

“At worst, I’ll just retake it next year…”

But as soon as this thought crossed his mind, Zhang Yu felt the chill return, realizing that the ritual simply wouldn’t allow him to quit.

In the office, Huang Zichou frowned and said, “He doesn’t want women, nor men. Could it be that he wants…”

Deng Bingding, standing nearby, said calmly, “It’s normal not to be interested in romance. Some people prefer money, power, or influence. But any intelligent person always has a price, a weakness, a vulnerability. Poor people are usually easy to figure out in this regard.”

With that, Deng Bingding casually pointed and said, “Huang Zichou, you’re responsible for those two poor individuals, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. Eliminate them quickly if possible, to avoid wasting our budget.”

Huang Zichou was slightly stunned and quickly said, “Uh, no…” In his opinion, these two poor students clearly wouldn’t achieve anything. Being solely responsible for their ‘Dao Heart’ tests would be the most useless task.

But Deng Bingding gave Huang Zichou no chance to object, waving her hand to stop him from speaking: “Everyone is working overtime on short notice, time is tight, and tasks are heavy. Any complaints can wait until later.”

Deng Bingding instructed again, “Remember, keep an eye on the illusions. Don’t let the illusions blindly escalate the bids. The key is to find their weaknesses and spend money where it counts, otherwise, throwing money around arbitrarily will lead to inflated valuations. If any of you get criticized during the review of this Foundation Establishment examination, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

All the gods present knew that the Foundation Establishment examination process would be reviewed, and if they randomly evaluated students, they would face repercussions. On the other side, Huang Zichou thought to himself, “Ugh, isn’t this giving me the most rubbish task of this project? Is Lord Deng intentionally making things difficult for me?” Although Deng Bingding seemed to assign him the task casually, he knew that a sixth-rank god like her wouldn’t do anything on a whim.

“Impossible, I put 5,000 coins into the charm for her favor. The four of us agreed before coming here to use a 3,000-coin charm for favor, and I even added an extra 2,000…” He couldn’t help but look at his three colleagues nearby, only to find them working diligently and attentively, with no intention of speaking.

Feeling a hint of frustration, Huang Zichou could only turn his attention to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, cursing his bad luck inwardly. “What are these two poor wretches doing taking the exam? Let’s quickly get their tests over with. Then I can go and assess some other good students…”

Just as Huang Zichou was eager to quickly eliminate Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, in various light screens, students gradually began to surrender during their ‘Dao Heart’ tests.

Deng Bingding swept her divine power over them, recording what each student accepted upon surrender, noting their respective valuations:
400 million to withdraw
600 million to withdraw
320 million to withdraw

Seeing these figures, easily in the hundreds of millions, Deng Bingding couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “After all, it’s an illusion. In reality, no one would pay such prices just to make them withdraw. The illusion also makes them unconsciously overlook many irregularities, purely to gauge their inner limits.” The numbers Deng Bingding recorded varied, simply because everyone’s background, strength, and wealth differed, and the temptations they faced were also distinct. The length of time spent in the illusion didn’t necessarily correlate to a higher valuation. Personal wealth had a significant impact, which Deng Bingding found normal, as wealth had always been a crucial source of immortal potential and resolve. First-year high school students, having two chances for the Foundation Establishment examination, often performed slightly worse than second-year students, mirroring the differences in Dao Heart, magical power, and physical strength between the two grades.

The next moment, as Deng Bingding’s gaze shifted, she saw Yu Xinghan’s illusion.

In the illusion:
“This is Xianyun High School in Xiandu City. How do you like the environment? To establish this school, the corporation specially relocated an entire spiritual vein here, just to provide the best learning environment for high school students in the ‘first and a half’ tier. Here is the admission application. If you agree, you can study here from now on.”

Yu Xinghan took a deep breath of Xianyun High School’s air, feeling it was the best air he had ever breathed in his life. But upon hearing what the other party said, he gritted his teeth and chose to refuse.

“What about Xiandu City citizenship? Don’t you want to live here? And a formal job at Oasis Group? This is something countless people dream of, yet struggle their whole lives to obtain!” Yu Xinghan refused one request after another, not because he wasn’t tempted or didn’t want them. Rather, his extensive experience in demanding money told him that this wasn’t their final offer, and he could ask for more.

Until the other party uttered a sentence that truly shook him.

“We can pay to buy you back from True Lord Xinghuo.”

Yu Xinghan’s expression visibly changed upon hearing these words.

“We can pay to transfer your contract with True Lord Xinghuo to Oasis Group. The new contract will offer better terms and be very flexible; you’ll gain true freedom. This is our highest offer. If you don’t accept this, there’s nothing more to discuss.”

Yu Xinghan didn’t know if this was truly their highest offer. But he knew this was a lifebuoy floating before him. The first lifebuoy he had encountered on this vast, dark ocean. If he let go, he might never have such an opportunity again in this life. So, he unhesitatingly reached out and seized the opportunity before him.

Yu Xinghan: “My… my penalty for breach of contract is very high.”

“Everything in this world has a price, and there’s no upper limit on breach of contract fees.” The other party smiled: “You’re just at the Qi Cultivation stage now. Ultimately, how much could you truly be worth in True Lord Xinghuo’s eyes?”

In the office, Deng Bingding watched Yu Xinghan’s subsequent rapid collapse, thinking to herself, “Heh, once a true spiritual weakness is probed, a series of fierce assaults will lead to a complete rout. Hmm, according to the data, True Lord Xinghuo has likely invested around 80 million in Yu Xinghan so far. Considering True Lord Xinghuo’s situation, the final estimate for transferring the contract would be over ten times the initial investment, plus other additional conditions, resulting in a final valuation of 1.3 billion? Hmm, given True Lord Xinghuo’s appetite, earning so much from reselling a Qi Cultivation disciple and then finding another to cultivate would indeed be about right.”

Of course, Deng Bingding knew these were merely estimates made by the righteous gods based on available data. If such events truly occurred in reality, the price would certainly differ, but for the purpose of this test, it was sufficient for evaluation. Deng Bingding mused, “I didn’t expect this student from Songyang to be quite resilient. But ultimately, his vulnerability is very clear. Success by Golden Core, failure by Golden Core. True Lord Xinghuo can make him, and also break him. Especially as True Lord Xinghuo invests more and more in him in the future, the shackles on him will inevitably multiply. This is the greatest flaw in his Dao Heart, and it will eventually become a major obstacle on his future path of immortal cultivation.”

After casually recording the situations of Yu Xinghan and the next few students, she curiously looked at the other two students from Songyang City.

“Those two poor ones haven’t given in yet?” Deng Bingding was somewhat surprised, so she looked over.

In the illusion, Bai Zhenzhen faced temptations very similar to Zhang Yu’s. However, due to her sterilization surgery, the illusion did not present her with various romantic temptations. Living in a house in the most central part of the ‘first and a half’ tier, enjoying the most luxurious cultivation conditions, Bai Zhenzhen felt herself increasingly unable to resist. Both the illusion itself and Huang Zichou, who was manipulating it from outside, clearly sensed Bai Zhenzhen’s wavering. Consequently, the illusion slowly stopped raising its offers, even stating that Bai Zhenzhen’s demands were too high and threatening to halt negotiations. After some back and forth, Bai Zhenzhen proactively stated her final request.

“The terms you’ve offered me, I want an identical offer to be made to Zhang Yu.”

Ever since she began preparing for the Foundation Establishment examination, a fear had always lingered in Bai Zhenzhen’s heart—a fear she often deliberately ignored, often dared not think about. That was… what if Zhang Yu ultimately failed to pass the Foundation Establishment examination, failing both the first and second attempts, and eventually didn’t get into the Top Ten? What then? There was once an opportunity to enter the Prodigy Class of Ten Thousand Laws University, placed before Zhang Yu by Zhang Pianpian. If he chose to stay with her but ultimately couldn’t get into the Top Ten, would Zhang Yu regret it?

“In that case, how would I face Yu Zi?” She could only tell herself that wouldn’t happen, that with Yu Zi’s performance and his True Spiritual Root, he would definitely pass the Foundation Establishment examination. However, after witnessing the performances of Ye Lingxiao, Yun Jing, and others during the Foundation Establishment test, Bai Zhenzhen once again had doubts about whether she could pass the examination. And now, by sacrificing one of her own examination opportunities, she could help both herself and Zhang Yu gain a large amount of immortal cultivation resources, greatly increasing their chances of passing the Foundation Establishment examination… This seemed like the most rational, profit-maximizing decision.

“I can withdraw from the Foundation Establishment examination, but the terms you promised must not only be for me but also for Zhang Yu… and Zhang Yu doesn’t even have to withdraw from the examination.”

In the office, Huang Zichou, observing the illusion, frowned, his expression very peculiar. “It’s for a friend… this kind of request?” While not entirely unheard of for such a request to appear in an illusion, Huang Zichou considered it extremely rare. After all, in most people’s illusions, they only need to continuously satisfy their own desires; very few would think of others. If he encountered such a person in reality, Huang Zichou would merely curse them as an idiot inwardly. But looking at Bai Zhenzhen in the illusion at that moment, Huang Zichou secretly thought, “Fools have their foolish luck.”

Deng Bingding, standing by, glanced at the final result and recorded: “Bai Zhenzhen, final valuation 600 million multiplied by 2. That’s 1.2 billion. I didn’t expect a student from Songyang City to reach this figure; it’s already much higher than many first-year high school students from Xiandu. For someone of her background to persist to this extent is truly rare. If she can catch up with Xiandu students in other aspects next year, she could indeed be an excellent candidate for Foundation Establishment.”

Next, under Deng Bingding’s observation, more and more students finished their ‘Dao Heart’ tests, and before she knew it, only three remained. Ye Lingxiao and Yun Jing’s presence among them was not unexpected, but Zhang Yu’s persistence was something she couldn’t understand. Just then, Yun Jing also concluded his ‘Dao Heart’ test.

In the illusion, Yun Jing looked at the contract before him, a hint of regret in his eyes. The Yun family, which appeared incredibly prosperous, had actually been declining in recent years. Particularly with the reforms in body refinement techniques, the Yun family failed to keep up due to investment errors, and this decline became even more apparent due to their failures in internal company struggles. Although their assets remained immense, their liquid capital was becoming increasingly stretched. After signing this contract, the Yun family, with this influx of liquid capital, would undoubtedly be revived. The cost was that he would give up his high school Foundation Establishment qualification certificate.

“But it doesn’t matter. Even without a high school Foundation Establishment qualification certificate, I can still get into the Top Ten. And once the Yun family returns to its peak, more Yun family descendants will surely be able to obtain Foundation Establishment qualification certificates in the future.”

In the office, Deng Bingding’s own long-held words echoed in her mind: “Every person has a price, a weakness, a vulnerability. This Yun Jing, having been educated by his family since childhood, possesses immense loyalty and gratitude towards them. Hmph, such feelings are good for the family, but on the path of immortal cultivation, they are merely an impediment. If one isn’t self-centered enough, isn’t selfish enough, how can they courageously ascend to the peak of the immortal path?” Deng Bingding shook her head and recorded the student’s valuation: “Yun Jing, valuation 5 billion.”