As the Dao Heart test concluded, Deng Bingding reported the results. While Zhang Yu’s assessment result was unknown, Deng Bingding believed this was primarily due to the simplicity of the Dao Heart test. The inflated results of other students were similarly attributed to this.

“In a real-life scenario, with genuine threats and inducements, they would never achieve such high valuations,” she mused. “However, since it was merely a test designed to weed out weaklings and identify promising students, this much was sufficient.”

Among the test results reported by Deng Bingding, in addition to the excellent performances of Zhang Yu, Ye Lingxiao, and Yun Jing, Bai Zhenzhen, who had a particularly unique performance, was also highlighted. Furthermore, some students with insufficient basic data or lower scores in the Dao Heart test were also marked, awaiting a decision from above regarding their elimination.

Soon after, the assembled deities saw the reply from above. It was a thumbs-up. This signified the superiors’ approval of their work, and the deities, who had been slightly nervous, immediately relaxed.

They then received a detailed reply from above. For instance, there were commendations for Zhang Yu, Ye Lingxiao, Yun Jing, and Bai Zhenzhen, intended as encouragement. Deng Bingding was slightly taken aback when she read this. While she had anticipated the commendations for the first three, Bai Zhenzhen’s commendation came as a surprise. After all, in her view, while Bai Zhenzhen’s performance was unique, it was far from as outstanding as the other three.

“Could it be that someone above… appreciated Bai Zhenzhen’s performance?” Deng Bingding continued reading the reply from above: “And are there a few other students to be eliminated?”

When Zhang Yu opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the registration office. The middle-aged woman who had registered him was sitting behind her desk, looking at him.

Deng Bingding spoke, “You should still remember the contents of the Dao Heart test, right?” After all, the Eightfold Pantheon now emphasized recording all work for later review. All data from the Foundation Establishment exam and Dao Heart test, including every memory of the students’ experiences in the illusion, were preserved. Zhang Yu nodded, finally confirming his suspicion: “So, everything I just experienced was some kind of illusion?”

Deng Bingding looked at Zhang Yu with an admiring expression and said, “You performed very well in this Dao Heart test. Your dedication to the immortal path, your grand aspirations, and your unwavering resolve are highly admired by both myself and the leaders above. Therefore, to encourage you, the superiors have specifically approved a bonus.”

Upon hearing the word ‘bonus,’ Zhang Yu’s eyes immediately lit up. Money was arguably the most scarce resource for him on his journey towards immortality. However, when he saw Deng Bingding flick out a red packet talisman from her fingertips, Zhang Yu’s expression abruptly changed. Was even the bonus a high-interest loan? Are these guys born to scam students like this? Zhang Yu couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Deng Bingding spoke again, “This is a 300,000 interest-free loan. After you receive it, you’ll repay 5,000 per month for 60 months.” Seeing the red packet talisman flying towards him, Zhang Yu immediately realized his previous thought had been shallow. He quickly and respectfully took the red packet. “Thank you, examiner. How should I address you?”

Deng Bingding replied calmly, “You can call me Deng Youshen. I am the examiner for your Foundation Establishment exam this year. Your performance this time caught the attention of the superiors. Cultivate diligently over the next year and strive to pass the Foundation Establishment qualification exam next time. Once you reach the second layer, your future will undoubtedly be promising.” Evidently, Deng Bingding, judging by Zhang Yu’s data in terms of magic power, physique, and martial arts, did not believe he could pass this year’s Foundation Establishment qualification exam.

Zhang Yu understood that this was true for most first-year high school students, and there was no point in arguing. At that moment, Zhang Yu respectfully said, “Thank you for your guidance, Deng Youshen.”

Deng Bingding nodded. “You may go.” The next moment, Zhang Yu felt a large hole open up beneath his feet, and he fell into it.

When Zhang Yu regained consciousness, he was back in a toilet stall at the station. Cautiously opening the door and stepping out of the restroom, he looked at the crowds of people passing by and thought to himself, “This time, it’s really over, isn’t it?”

A moment later, when Bai Zhenzhen emerged from the women’s restroom, and after they exchanged a few words, they finally confirmed that the Dao Heart test had truly ended. Bai Zhenzhen had also received a bonus: a 150,000 interest-free loan.

Bai Zhenzhen let out a sigh of relief, saying, “I can’t believe there’s a bonus for the test. This exam reform is truly excellent.” This bonus significantly relieved both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, whose savings had almost run out. However, they dared not linger in the high-priced Immortal City. Both had already boarded the train for their return journey.

While Bai Zhenzhen was in the restroom, Zhang Yu squeezed the bead on his chest. The next moment, Fuki’s voice, as if just waking from a dream, echoed in his mind: “Hmm? Is it over?”

Before coming to Immortal City for the Foundation Establishment exam, Zhang Yu had been somewhat hesitant about whether to bring Fuki with him. On one hand, while Fuki now appeared completely harmless to him, Zhang Yu vividly remembered her identity as an evil god and the process of his initial wish. He dared not let her out alone, giving her an opportunity to escape his control. On the other hand, participating in a competition overseen by righteous gods, he couldn’t help but worry about Fuki being discovered, or even the ritual power within him being exposed.

However, just as Zhang Yu was wavering, Fuki suggested that he could bring her along, stating, “If I were to speak with you or probe the outside world, my presence might indeed be detected. But if I withdraw my consciousness and thoughts, actively relinquishing all probing of the outside world, I would be akin to a dead object, more than sufficient to evade detection during a Foundation Establishment exam. We are in the same boat now; if something happens to you, I’m finished too. I certainly wouldn’t lie to you. Righteous gods have talismans, while we evil gods have rituals. In terms of making money, we might not be as adept as righteous gods, but when it comes to concealing our presence and evading detection, how can righteous gods compare to us evil gods? Otherwise, all the evil gods who infiltrated Kunxu would have been caught long ago…”

Fuki was willing to say all this to Zhang Yu for a reason. Firstly, she knew that Zhang Yu still didn’t fully trust her. Persuading him to leave her outside would only deepen his suspicion and undermine the fragile trust they had managed to build during this time. Secondly, Fuki now viewed Zhang Yu as a ‘bull stock’ with immense potential.

“Based on my many years of investment experience,” she thought, “putting all my effort into dealing with Zhang Yu now and causing internal conflict… would be like selling a bull stock shortly after buying it and before it has risen significantly. That’s a major investment taboo. For such a bull stock, one must be patient and hold on tightly… Just like with Zhang Yu, now is the opportunity to lend him a hand, further gain his trust, and together, make the ‘cake’ larger. Only after he has truly grown is it time to consider the harvest. Besides, he and I have already completed the ritual, giving me a decisive advantage in this regard. Why engage in internal strife so early? There’s plenty of time ahead…”

On the train at this moment, the awakened Fuki said, “Although I wasn’t detected this time, there was a period when I felt my sea of consciousness tremble, and it seemed as if divine power was surging outside. The Foundation Establishment exam you participated in had quite a high standard.” Fuki sighed, “If you truly obtain the Foundation Establishment qualification certificate, you will certainly attract even more attention from the righteous gods. To ensure safety and hide me and the ritual deeper, you still need to help me hunt my colleagues sooner. When I recover some power, my concealment abilities will be stronger, and your potential can be further stimulated. The boss behind Mo Tianyi must be related to one of my colleagues. You can deal with him first.” This was another one of Fuki’s objectives: to use this opportunity to once again urge Zhang Yu to hunt evil gods.

Although Zhang Yu didn’t reply, he was already quite moved inwardly. Of course, it wasn’t just Fuki’s persuasion, but also the gap he felt when observing the second-year high school students in Immortal City this time.

“In this Foundation Establishment exam, the strongest second-year high school students were already approaching the limit of Qi Refinement,” he thought. “In another six months, I fear even more students in this exam will have cultivated their Dao Heart, magic power, and physique to the limit of Qi Refinement.” Zhang Yu knew that to contend with such peak high school students, he would need to push his own various attributes towards the peak of Qi Refinement. “Unlocking potential, upgrading the Feather Scroll… how could I not want to do such things?”

However, the ‘Poor Leader’ was most likely a second-year student from White Dragon High School. Yet, backed by an evil god and having won competition rankings, his strength was probably already at a third-year high school level. Before he could even consider engaging with him, Zhang Yu would first need to ensure his own strength reached the level of a third-year high school student.

“Strength… ultimately, I still need more strength,” he mused. “And to gain more strength, besides upgrading the Feather Scroll, there’s only money. Do I have to spend time making money again?” Zhang Yu hesitated. He had already spent too much cultivation time working to earn money. Although he now had a 300,000 interest-free loan, it wouldn’t last long compared to the various costs of cultivation.

Just then, Bai Zhenzhen, who had returned from the restroom, looked at Zhang Yu and asked curiously, “Yuzi, why are you staring blankly at your phone?”

Zhang Yu said, “Ah Zhen, the more I work, the more I understand one thing. Working a job won’t make you rich. Especially if we want to pass the exam, the money we earn from working is simply too slow.”

Bai Zhenzhen replied, “That’s obvious, isn’t it? If working a job could make you rich, why would we still be doing it?”

Zhang Yu continued, “To earn significant money, we have to rely on loans. Borrowing is the fastest way for young people in Kunxu to make money.” If Zhang Yu had previously wanted to accumulate strength without relying on loans, after witnessing the skill level of the Immortal City elites this trip, he felt even greater pressure. There was also the urgency of hunting evil gods. All of this required him to significantly increase his strength within the next six months and further accelerate his cultivation. The first method he thought of, and also the most common one in Kunxu, was borrowing money.

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu seriously and said, “Yuzi, what you just said truly resonates with me. After seeing so many Immortal City elites at the exam this time, I realized we weren’t pushing ourselves hard enough before. If we continue to work and cultivate for 24 hours, continuing to ‘lie flat’ like this, how can we compete with the Immortal City elites? Let’s do it, Yuzi! Our credit ratings must have increased in the past few months, and our loan limits should have gone up quite a bit too.” Bai Zhenzhen also took out her phone, opened the platform, and took a deep breath, saying, “Let’s just loan out all our immortal potential in one go!”

The next moment, as both of them tapped away on their phones, the numbers in their bank accounts suddenly changed. At that instant, Zhang Yu felt as if he was witnessing rivers of money flowing across and pouring into his body, furiously boosting his immortal potential.