Listening to Huang Zichou’s confidentiality requirements, Yu Xinghan bravely asked, “Does this contract come with remuneration?”

Huang Zichou didn’t speak, but his cold gaze swept over Yu Xinghan, instantly extinguishing all her courage.

Huang Zichou thought to himself, “I’m not even getting a cut, and you expect to?”

As everyone signed one by one, Ye Lingxiao, who was standing nearby, said, “Why would I casually disclose anything about the Foundation Establishment Exam? But regarding this contract, I need to discuss it with my family before I can sign…”

Deng Bingding twitched his lips, glared at him, and said, “Sign it now.”

Two minutes later, everyone had signed the confidentiality agreement, and the exam continued.

However, due to the extremely strong side effects of the Dao-unraveling Extended-release Capsule, each person was limited to one dose.

Zhang Yu, however, simply gave up on the Dao-unraveling Extended-release Capsule.

“Who knows how long this intelligence reduction will last? What if this crappy thing permanently lowers my IQ?”

So, Zhang Yu instead picked up other Dao-heart enhancing medications from the side, at least those with clearer adverse reactions, and gulped them down bottle after bottle.

While taking the medicine and cultivating, Zhang Yu felt a significant surge in his Dao-heart, magic power, and physical strength.

His score, which had initially lagged behind Ye Lingxiao’s, began to steadily close the gap as he frantically consumed more medicine.

On the other side, Ye Lingxiao watched Zhang Yu’s score draw closer and closer to his own. Consequently, he took two Imitation Phoenix Functional Elements within a span of just over ten minutes.

At this moment, his face was flushed, veins bulged across his skin as if he were about to explode, and his internal organs were wracked with cramping pain, as if his intestines and stomach were melting.

His only slight comfort was that Zhang Yu finally stopped.

“Has he finally reached his limit?”

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Zhang Yu raise his hand and ask, “Examiner, can I use the restroom? I feel too full, I want to go to the toilet and then continue eating.”

Yu Xinghan, listening nearby, was slightly stunned: “Fullness?”

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone, Zhang Yu, after using the restroom, once again took an Imitation Phoenix Functional Element, injected himself with a Magic Power Meridian Injector, and then picked up can after can of Dao-heart enhancing medications to drink.

Ye Lingxiao wanted to take another dose of miraculous medicine to maintain his lead several times, but feeling his body nearing its limit, he ultimately had no choice but to clench his teeth, reluctantly give up, and watch helplessly as Zhang Yu’s score surpassed his own.

As the one-hour medication consumption period ended, the first half of the physical track of the second round of the Foundation Establishment Exam concluded.

Ye Lingxiao looked at the current score rankings, seeing Zhang Yu in first place and himself in second, and a strong sense of unwillingness welled up in his heart.

“It’s fine… there’s still the second half. With my strength, I can catch up in the second half. But what if, with my strength, I can’t catch up in the second half?”

With a thunderous roar, five cylindrical tanks rose from the center of the examination hall.

Deng Bingding introduced, “These tanks are called Sea-Stabilizing Pillars. Although they are only 5 meters tall, the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water within them can simulate pressures from 1 meter to 10,000 meters underwater.”

“Now it’s up to those of you who have taken the medications to see how much pressure your physical bodies can withstand while enduring the drugs’ side effects.”

“Only with stronger pressure resistance, greater physical strength, and superior physical technique can you withstand deeper pressures within these Sea-Stabilizing Pillars.”

“The second half of the exam tests this comprehensive physical prowess.”

“The final score for today’s second-round exam will be a combined ranking of the first and second halves.”

“Everyone, into the water.”

Zhang Yu put on an oxygen mask and immediately jumped into a Sea-Stabilizing Pillar, completely submerging himself in the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water, sinking directly to the bottom of the pillar.

Although he was completely submerged, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of pressure; it was as if the surrounding water was as light as air.

“Is this the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water? How can it feel as light as air?”

But the next moment, as the exam officially began, the number “1 meter” appeared at the top of the Sea-Stabilizing Pillar.

Zhang Yu immediately felt a sudden tightening around his body; the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water, which had just felt weightless, now pressed in, surrounding his body like ordinary water.

Only the oxygen mask remained unaffected by the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water, providing Zhang Yu with the necessary oxygen.

Watching the numbers on the Sea-Stabilizing Pillar constantly change, gradually decreasing from 1 meter to 10 meters, and then moving towards 100 meters, Zhang Yu also gradually felt the increasingly heavy pressure coming from all directions, pressing down on his entire body.

Zhang Yu glanced at his Feather Book and thought, “Has my physical strength now reached level 9.91?”

“That No. 23 (Ye Lingxiao), as a top-tier Immortal Capital Lord, probably has a physical strength level of 10. He might also have cultivated more techniques than me, so his control over his body is likely superior to mine… He has a greater advantage in this round.”

“I hope this guy’s intelligence has dropped low enough for him to make a few major mistakes.”

“Wait… even if I lose this round to him, my score from the first half is enough to secure a spot in the top two today, advancing me to the next round of the Foundation Establishment Exam to compete for the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate.”

“Since that’s the case, and I’m certainly going to pass this round of the Foundation Establishment Exam anyway, I might as well use this opportunity to become even stronger.”

Clearly, Zhang Yu valued long-term strength more than a temporary victory or defeat.

With this in mind, Zhang Yu slowly began to twist his body within the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water.

He intended to take advantage of the current simulated depth, which wasn’t too low, and use the still surging medicinal power within him to continue cultivating the Spring and Autumn Endless Zen, further enhancing his physical strength.

While Zhang Yu was cultivating, the entire examination hall was silent, with all other candidates silently conserving their energy as they resisted the pressure from the Profound-Abyss Heavy Water.

Just then, the expressions of Deng Bingding, Huang Zichou, and the other Divine Officials subtly shifted.

They all simultaneously noticed a change in another arena.

In the Martial Arts Arena.

Before the massive ring.

Dai Xingzhi was slowly moving his limbs, doing warm-up exercises, while his gaze constantly swept towards Bai Zhenzhen at the other end of the ring.

At the same time, a row of numbers was displayed above each of their heads.

Dai Xingzhi’s was 1 million, and Bai Zhenzhen’s was also 1 million, representing their medical insurance amount for the next ring match.

This medical insurance amount was provided by the examiner Divine Officials, such as Deng Bingding, for the five candidates in the martial arts competition.

In today’s martial arts exam, all candidates would receive this 1 million medical insurance amount provided by the Divine Officials, and it would be reset before each ring match.

During the exchanges in the ring matches, every injury sustained by the participating candidates would be instantly healed by the divine array set up on the ring, consuming their medical insurance quota.

This meant that as long as the 1 million medical insurance quota for each match wasn’t exhausted, both combatants in the ring would remain in peak physical condition.

However, once either combatant’s medical insurance amount was depleted to zero, they lost the match.

If a contestant was knocked down or knocked out, even if immediately healed, it would still result in a loss, just like being knocked out of the ring.

Each ring match had a total duration of 10 minutes. If no clear winner was decided after 10 minutes, the contestant with the higher remaining medical insurance balance would win.

At this moment, Dai Xingzhi looked at Bai Zhenzhen, and a trace of fighting spirit emerged in his eyes.

As an inner-ring prodigy from the 1.5th level of Xian Du, Dai Xingzhi had always looked down on outsiders.

However, Bai Zhenzhen, standing before him, was an exception.

On one hand, it was because her performance in the previous Foundation Establishment Exam had been remarkable.

On the other hand, during the consecutive ring matches just now, she had successively defeated two opponents.

Dai Xingzhi secretly thought, “This woman has already defeated all candidates except for me and Yun Jing.”

“Considering that Yun Jing will certainly take first place… then the outcome between her and me will determine who gets second.”

Although even if he secured second place, Dai Xingzhi didn’t believe he could defeat Yun Jing in the next round of the Foundation Establishment Exam and seize the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate.

But Dai Xingzhi was certain that if he got second place, the rewards for the next round of the exam would definitely be more generous.

“From the previous fights, this woman is very fast, and her fighting style leans towards using high-speed sword techniques.”

In terms of speed, Dai Xingzhi had always been very confident.

As for why… it was naturally to save money.

Although he was an Immortal Capital Lord, money was never enough for Dai Xingzhi.

Therefore, when choosing his direction in martial arts cultivation, compared to power-type or body-hardening styles that incurred massive medical expenses in real combat, Dai Xingzhi chose a speed-type approach, specifically specializing in evasion.

This was both his personal choice and a family tradition.

Encountering a fight, first evade; if you can’t evade, run; if you can’t outrun, wear them down. Not getting injured is better than not losing. If you lose, you can try again, but if you’re broke, it’s hard to recover… This was the philosophy passed down through generations of the Dai clan.

Therefore, to avoid injury in countless battles, the first martial art Dai Xingzhi learned was footwork.

And to enhance his agility in combat and improve his evasion skills, his private sparring partners were almost exclusively speed-type martial arts masters.

Furthermore, dodging hidden weapons, ambushes, and group attacks were all part of his daily training regimen.

As a result, in the three ring matches just now, he had consistently consumed the least amount of medical insurance.

He didn’t even consume any medical insurance in his fight against Yun Jing… because he simply chose to surrender.

Dai Xingzhi had realized one thing: “If I sustain an injury that even 1 million medical insurance can’t heal, I’ll have to enter the next match with that injury.”

“So, facing Yun Jing is a guaranteed loss anyway… it’s better to just concede directly to avoid affecting the next match.”

“Now, as long as I defeat this woman, I’ll be in second place.”

Following the Divine Official’s call, Dai Xingzhi and Bai Zhenzhen both walked onto the ring.

With each step, an illusion would appear around Dai Xingzhi, making his figure increasingly elusive, as if he had split into several clones moving in unison.

But to Dai Xingzhi’s surprise, Bai Zhenzhen, on the other side, simply sat down on the ring after stepping onto it, as if she had no intention of fighting at all.

“This woman…”

Dai Xingzhi’s figure flickered repeatedly around Bai Zhenzhen, but he found that she didn’t even glance at him.

Just then, Bai Zhenzhen spoke, “You people from Xian Du are just lucky to have been born here. You can just casually study and get into university. If it were in our area… I don’t think you’d even pass the high school entrance exam.”