On the battlefield, Gongshu Jin moved forward quickly, never stopping amidst the bombardment, breaking through the overwhelming lightning and fire again and again. He carried Ying Xin on his left shoulder, Zhang Yu on his right, Yu Xinghan against his chest, and Li Xiao on his back. No matter how mangled, severely injured, or even breathless his four classmates were, he never considered putting them down. He knew that survival depended on relying on his comrades.

“On a perilous battlefield, students from the Civil Engineering department are the best protective talismans.”
“Thank you for protecting me.”

The Artifact Spirit nodded slightly: “Calm and decisive, swift in action, he showed no panic even on a perilous battlefield at a moment of life and death, demonstrating willpower commensurate with his Dao Heart level.”
“He can be recommended for the Spirit Realm competition next semester.”

Zhang Yu, newly rich, walked through the streets. With his savings exceeding 1000 Spirit Coins, he chose not to squander them. Instead, by displaying the number on his forehead, he instantly gained countless friendships and received wave after wave of gifts. He calmly evaded various scams that followed. The Artifact Spirit recorded: “When faced with sudden wealth, his core remained stable, and his self-control was exceptionally strong…” Looking at Zhang Yu’s various scores, the Artifact Spirit remarked: “As expected, his Dao Heart is still superior to Gongshu Jin’s and now on par with Ji Yuanxu’s.”

During the Mana Exam, students were being tested on their mana quantity, mana quality, and Gang Qi conductivity. As numbers appeared one by one, gasps of surprise occasionally rippled through the crowd. As a mana instructor, Li Mingbo naturally checked the students’ results with curiosity. In his eye-socket display, all students were ranked according to their social strata. As the students’ scores appeared, they generally showed a positive correlation with their strata.

“Based on the data completed so far, first place is Ji Yuanxu from the sixth stratum, second is Gongshu Jin from the fourth stratum, third is Ying Xin, and fourth…”

But at the next moment, his gaze narrowed slightly. He saw a name surge far ahead like a rocket, surpassing Gongshu Jin from the fourth stratum and reaching a level comparable to Ji Yuanxu from the sixth stratum.

“Zhang Yu.”
“From the first stratum.”

Li Mingbo remembered the name; he was the student who always sat in the back row with two other first-stratum individuals. “Last semester, his mana score barely kept up with Gongshu Jin’s. This semester, he’s already on par with Ji Yuanxu?” Li Mingbo was slightly stunned: “A student from the first stratum can actually catch up to the level of a sixth-stratum student?”

During the Physical Strength Exam, to everyone’s astonished gaze, two figures shot out like lightning bolts, unwilling to yield, intertwining and flashing back and forth across the complex simulated battlefield, neither able to shake off the other. One of them was Zhang Yu.

At this moment, his vital essence was boiling, and his blood surged like lava. The War Demon Meteor Longevity Art was unleashed to its maximum, directly increasing his physical strength by 1.5 levels, pushing Zhang Yu’s physical strength to a terrifying 17.38. Driven by such explosive physical power, his speed became unprecedented. Even with his entire body covered in #20 Secret Steel, it felt incredibly light to him. Simultaneously, he multi-tasked, controlling his body’s advance while also commanding several Formless Warriors. Aided by his Three-Eyed Divine Ability and Time-Remnant Demonic Eyes, he fended off various attacks on the simulated battlefield. But even under these circumstances, he found he still couldn’t surpass Ji Yuanxu ahead of him.

“This guy… he’s so fast.”
“He has too many magical skeletons for acceleration on his body.”
“It seems I still can’t beat him in this round.”

Zhang Yu, however, had grown accustomed to this. Speed was not his strong suit after all; his current high-speed movement was purely a result of his base stats and raw strength. Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The real outcome will depend on the construction exam. My construction skills, honed through a semester of relentless practice, are my greatest strength.” Zhang Yu had already inquired and knew that the final professional exam for the Civil Engineering department each academic year would be the most difficult, contribute the most to the overall score, and have the biggest impact on rankings.

Meanwhile, behind Zhang Yu and Ji Yuanxu, Gongshu Jin’s body surged with Gang Qi, his streamlined figure continuously tearing through the atmosphere. But even with all four of his magical skeletons specifically replaced with displacement acceleration suits, he could only watch helplessly as the two figures ahead pulled further and further away, their flashing rankings eventually disappearing from his sight. Gongshu Jin’s eyes were filled with unwillingness: “How is this possible… how is this possible?! How could the gap have widened even more?!” Over the past semester, he had maxed out loans and burned Spirit Coins, equipping himself with different sets of magical skeletons for mana cultivation, physical cultivation, and specific exam purposes. He had even meticulously planned every second of his daily training, wasting not a single moment. “Why? Why can’t I catch up to them, even with all this?! How much money did they even spend?”

As the exams progressed, Ji Yuanxu and Zhang Yu gradually became the focus of all the students in the class. Particularly, witnessing their repeated neck-and-neck performances in the exams, or watching Zhang Yu repeatedly pursue Ji Yuanxu’s figure, made the students realize that the top spot in the freshman class would be decided between these two. And currently…

Ying Xin analyzed: “I’m afraid Ji Yuanxu’s win rate is much higher. After all, at the end of last semester, his overall score was 27 points ahead of Zhang Yu’s. Even if he doesn’t lead Zhang Yu by much in this final exam, it will be difficult for Zhang Yu to surpass him.” Yu Xinghan, seeing Zhang Yu ultimately fail to surpass Ji Yuanxu in the speed exam, breathed a slight sigh of relief: “Good, good, Zhang Yu didn’t surpass Ji Yuanxu. You scared me, I thought he was really going for the top spot in the class.” Yu Xinghan couldn’t even imagine how upset she would be if she saw Zhang Yu defeat Ji Yuanxu and leave her so far behind. It would be many times worse than seeing her good friend use the Time-Remnant Demonic Eyes.

Compared to the students’ vague conjectures, the teachers, who could see the backend scores in advance, had a much clearer grasp of the situation. Tuli Shan had been monitoring their scores after each exam, calculating the changes in their overall scores. As he calculated, he muttered, “Overall, Zhang Yu’s basic stats are actually approaching Ji Yuanxu’s? Truly incredible.” However, considering the amount of medicine Zhang Yu had consumed this semester, he had to admit that Zhang Yu’s survival itself was already remarkable. “His physique is even more impressive than he claims; he’s definitely worth focusing on for development. Ah, what a pity. If he were from a higher stratum, even just a second stratum individual, he might have been able to defeat Ji Yuanxu in this exam.”

Ji Yuanxu also sensed the situation that Tuli Shan had observed. Looking at the notifications from his Luck Monitor, and seeing his win rate steadily increasing, Ji Yuanxu seemed to envision the throne of first place in the year already beneath him. However, he had always considered defeating Zhang Yu to be a matter of course. After all, under the Luck Monitor, he could always see the opponent’s extremely low win rate. What concerned him wasn’t defeating Zhang Yu, but whether he needed to make additional investments now that victory was assured. After all, there was still a significant gap between his current score and his master’s requirement of a 100-point lead. “Others fear, I am greedy.” Recalling the famous proverb from the Finance department, Ji Yuanxu made up his mind in an instant. “This is precisely the moment when Zhang Yu, Gongshu Jin, and all our classmates are thoroughly intimidated by my strength and gripped by fear.” Ji Yuanxu knew that accumulating luck was not easy, especially for a freshman like him. “I should seize this opportunity to further consolidate my luck, solidify my position as class top student, and lay the groundwork for future cultivation of Luck Dao Arts. At the same time, it can further enhance my strength. Even if I can’t exceed by 100 points, every point counts.”

So he tagged Zhang Yu and Gongshu Jin in the group chat again. Ji Yuanxu: “You two, for the remaining exams, unleash all your potential and make it more enjoyable for me.” As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Yuanxu felt wisps of luck flowing towards him from different directions. It was the confidence that student after student had in him. With each exam today, he was like a victorious general, anchoring the belief of inevitable triumph in the students’ hearts through repeated victories. This was the convergence of hearts, where luck resided. A copper coin artifact in his Sea of Consciousness gently vibrated, suppressing all the collected luck within his Sea of Consciousness and beginning to enhance his various attributes.

“The Dao of Luck is about flowing with the current. Then, through methods like showing off, pressuring, and hyping, one guides people’s minds and borrows luck. Cultivation aids momentum, and momentum, in turn, feeds cultivation. Continuously growing through mutual cycles. Ultimately… becoming the momentum itself.” And Ji Yuanxu believed that by claiming the top spot in the class, he had now become an unstoppable force. As for a backlash of luck? Ji Yuanxu couldn’t conceive of defeat. Because even before the final exam, he still led Zhang Yu and Gongshu Jin in overall scores. “They no longer have a chance. I will get an even higher overall score in the final round.”

Inside the simulated construction site, all the Foundation Building class students arrived, ready for the day’s final exam. Tuli Shan stood before them and announced: “To objectively test your professional skills based on practical application, the department reformed its exams starting last year. Today, we’ve decided to integrate all professional skill tests into one, using a practical scenario to assess your engineering array drawing, architectural blueprint reading, building materials knowledge, construction engineering surveying… and your overall construction capabilities. After all, practical ability is the most crucial aspect of our Civil Engineering department. Today is the time to test the results of your first year of study.”

As he spoke, everyone’s eye-socket displays simultaneously received a set of blueprints. Tuli Shan then pointed to the left side of the simulated construction site and said: “On the left are all the building materials provided for this exam. You have half an hour to select and transport the materials you need from here. On the right are your individually assigned construction sites. Within half an hour, you can select and transport materials to your sites to the best of your ability. But after half an hour, you will not be allowed to leave your construction sites. Next, you will have three hours to carry out construction according to the blueprints. After three hours, everyone, regardless of completion, must immediately stop work and leave the site. Subsequently, your work will be graded on its completion. Then, all construction sites will uniformly endure 10 waves of attacks. The performance of your work during these 10 waves of attacks will also determine your score for this exam.”