Magneto Lord: I heard your students did well in this military certificate exam.

Director Gao: Even you’ve heard?

Director Gao: Yes, they performed well.

Director Gao: It’s a pity there’s only one certificate.

Magneto Lord: Then you need to quickly make Zhang Yu your official disciple.

Magneto Lord: With so many people watching in the exam hall, if he performs well, many will likely try to recruit him.

Magneto Lord: You especially need to be wary of the other two directors in your department; they might have already made an offer.

Director Gao felt a sense of care from Magneto Lord as he read the reminder. He thought to himself, “Even though he sometimes seems unreliable, we’ve known each other for centuries. He still has my back when it counts.”

As for Magneto Lord’s warning, Director Gao had naturally already considered it.

If it were an ordinary student, and he offered to be their mentor, the student would likely be overjoyed, and the entire process would only require a single word from him.

Once he became a student’s mentor, he could assign courses, arrange internships, choose paths for master’s or doctoral studies… In short, as long as the student wanted to advance, the mentor held significant influence over them.

Beyond the influence stemming from the mentor-student relationship, many mentors and students also signed a contract.

This usually occurred when a student was exceptionally talented.

Mentors would invest in students but also needed to ensure future returns.

Director Gao replied: I understand. I’m already drafting the contract.

Magneto Lord smiled slightly at Director Gao’s reply, then turned to look at Zhang Yu in his arms, seemingly awaiting Zhang Yu’s response.

His second purpose in visiting Zhang Yu today, besides clarifying what happened during the military certificate exam, was to ascertain Zhang Yu’s thoughts, or rather, his aspirations.

Listening to Magneto Lord’s question, Zhang Yu paused slightly before saying, “Teacher Gao is a good person.”

“Yes, old Gao is good to his own,” Magneto Lord said indifferently. “But old Gao is too weak; he can’t protect you.”

Noticing Zhang Yu’s puzzled gaze, Magneto Lord continued, “A genius like you needs enough freedom to develop your talents.”

“The less you are constrained, the greater your room for growth.”

“Conversely, the more you are constrained, the more your potential is wasted, even leading to resentment and neglect of the immortal path.”

“It’s like a top salesperson in a company: the more autonomy and higher commissions they are given, the more motivated they become to generate maximum profits. Otherwise, it’s a lose-lose situation.”

“But old Gao… how much freedom can he give you?”

Magneto Lord said calmly, “This isn’t about whether he wants to; it’s an objective reality that won’t change based on your two wills.”

“After all, the less he constrains you, the harder it will be to prevent others from poaching you. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t leave if someone offered a high price; the ultimate way out for civil engineering students is to leave the construction site.”

“Conversely, the more old Gao restricts you, the more your talents will be suppressed, ultimately hindering your immortal path and making you resentful.”

“It will be difficult to find a balance between you.”

“Simply because old Gao is in the civil engineering department, beautiful flowers cannot bloom on barren construction sites.”

“The civil engineering department is also destined not to retain a student like you long-term.”

On the street, Zhang Yu, held in Magneto Lord’s arms, listened quietly to his words and had to admit that Magneto Lord made a lot of sense.

Zhang Yu: “Lord, do you want me to publicly acknowledge my connection with you and transfer departments sooner?”

Magneto Lord: This contract isn’t easy to draft, is it?

Director Gao: Ah, it’s a bit hard to manage.

Director Gao: Others must have made offers to Zhang Yu as well.

Director Gao: I can’t offer too little either, or even if he signs now, he’ll inevitably harbor resentment in the future, and his work and cultivation efficiency will significantly drop.

Director Gao: Besides that, I’m just afraid people from other departments will poach him.

In Director Gao’s view, Zhang Yu’s future advancement to Golden Core was a certainty, and he also had a good chance of reaching Nascent Soul.

Therefore, his goal was to cultivate Zhang Yu, grow the “cake,” and receive greater returns, rather than wasting his potential by consuming him at the Golden Core or even Foundation Establishment stage.

After all, to him, the value of a Nascent Soul cultivator far exceeded that of a Golden Core cultivator.

So, how to ensure his own interests in the contract without stifling Zhang Yu’s development… Director Gao had deliberated over this for a long time.

Magneto Lord: I’ll handle the Artifact Forging Department for you; I guarantee no one will try to poach him from there.

Magneto Lord: But it’s hard to say about the Finance Department.

Magneto Lord: Those financial vampires are too cunning and always throw money around. I’m afraid your student won’t be able to resist.

Director Gao sighed internally as he read Magneto Lord’s message. The thought of Zhang Yu possibly becoming a disciple of Director Lin or even the Finance Department made his expression grim.

Magneto Lord: I do have a solution.

Director Gao: What is it?

Magneto Lord: Never mind, pretend I didn’t say anything.

Director Gao: Don’t play games with me. We’ve known each other for centuries; what can’t you say?

Magneto Lord: How about I protect both you and your disciple?

Magneto Lord: We could form a company together, sign Zhang Yu, and with me protecting you all, no one would dare to poach him.

Magneto Lord: On second thought, never mind.

Magneto Lord: Your civil engineering department would surely say you’re sending talent my way.

Magneto Lord: It would look like I’m trying to steal your disciple.

Seeing that Director Gao was slow to reply, Magneto Lord didn’t rush. He turned to Zhang Yu in his arms and said, “There’s no rush to transfer departments.”

“Since you’ve already obtained the military civil engineering certificate, stay in the civil engineering department for now. Learn the ‘Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power’ first.”

“With this military-grade cultivation technique as your foundation, your physical body will become the finest natural treasure. Refining your own Dharma Skeleton in the future will bring many benefits, putting you a significant step ahead of others.”

“This technique also has many wonderful applications when combined with artifact forging. If you can combine techniques from both artifact forging and civil engineering in the future, it will be a tremendous advantage…”

Zhang Yu asked, “What about the military-grade cultivation techniques from the Artifact Forging Department, ‘Invisible Heart Weapons of Heaven and Earth’s Calamity’ and ‘Grand Void Divine Artifact Strategy’? Didn’t you previously tell me to transfer to the Artifact Forging Department sooner to have a chance to learn them?”

Magneto Lord said, “If you miss out on the ‘Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power,’ you’ll miss it forever. As for the military-grade techniques from the Artifact Forging Department, it won’t be too late to learn them when you pursue your master’s degree in Artifact Forging in the future.”

“It won’t take too much extra time. While you’re mastering the ‘Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power’ over the next two years, you can also complete your civil engineering credits early, graduate ahead of schedule, and then apply for a master’s in Artifact Forging.”

“Only coming to the Artifact Forging Department two years later in exchange for a military-grade martial art… it’s very much worth it.”

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Yu asked, “If I do this… will I have a chance to enter a sect later?”

“Hmm?” Magneto Lord looked at Zhang Yu in surprise and said, “You want to join a sect?”

Zhang Yu met Magneto Lord’s gaze directly and stated frankly, “If I am to ascend to the peak of the immortal path, how can I not join a sect?”

“A commendable ambition indeed,” Magneto Lord sighed. “I won’t hide anything from you, lest you resent me later.”

“In this era, it’s increasingly difficult to enter a sect. Not only do you need at least a doctoral degree and Nascent Soul cultivation, but even undergraduate awards must be from inter-school leagues, preferably the top ten leagues.”

“However, none of that concerns you right now. After all, a civil engineering bachelor’s degree is no different from an associate’s degree in the eyes of those arrogant sect members; they’d just glance at it and dismiss it.”

Magneto Lord said, “If you want to enter a sect, you’d have to transfer departments quickly by your third year.”

“But to be honest… by the time you graduate with your doctorate, the sect’s requirements will likely have risen even higher. This path…”

Magneto Lord considered for a moment, then finally said, “It’s not meant for ordinary people; it’s for the reincarnations of powerful beings.”

“Don’t ask for specifics. My advice to you, since there’s an opportunity, is to stay in civil engineering, first learn the ‘Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power,’ and broaden your horizons. If you achieve Nascent Soul in the future, you definitely won’t regret today’s choice.”

Magneto Lord didn’t elaborate, but his meaning was clear: he obviously didn’t think highly of transferring to artifact forging in the third year and trying to enter a sect.

Zhang Yu asked, “What if I master the ‘Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power’ in my third year and then transfer to artifact forging?”

Magneto Lord’s eyes flashed. “Impossible. Even if you could master it, just acquiring the ‘Seven Civil Engineering Marvels’…”

At this point, Magneto Lord paused slightly, then mused, “It’s not entirely impossible, though.”

Magneto Lord explained, “The university wars are intensifying, with more and more schools preparing. Various competitions are also gaining increasing importance due to students’ improved strength, and even the competition formats have changed annually in recent years.”

“Naturally, inter-school civil engineering competitions are also more valued than before.”

“This time, old Gao might arrange for you to join Mo Shangjin’s team and compete in the inter-school league.”

“Under normal circumstances, to be granted the ‘Seven Civil Engineering Marvels,’ even by passing the seven civil engineering trials, you couldn’t avoid various restrictions related to qualifications, years of experience, and overall scores.”

“However, by leveraging this inter-school league opportunity, it truly might be possible for the civil engineering professors to make an exception, lower their requirements, and give you a chance to learn all ‘Seven Civil Engineering Marvels.'”

Hearing Magneto Lord’s words, a thought also welled up in Zhang Yu’s mind: “Chaos is a ladder; this truly is my opportunity.”

Seeing the eager expression on Zhang Yu’s face, Magneto Lord calmly said, “Then go ahead and try.”

“But if you don’t succeed, then just stay comfortably in the civil engineering department and focus on mastering the ‘Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power’ first.”

Zhang Yu nodded firmly, then asked, “And Director Gao…”

Just then, a message flickered before Zhang Yu’s eye sockets; it was from Director Gao.

Director Gao: Zhang Yu, what do you think of Magneto Lord?

At this very moment, the surrounding spiritual realm was suppressed by Magneto Lord using the Nine Heavens Yuan Yang Pagoda. The flowing spiritual messages appeared with crystal clarity in her eyes.

Zhang Yu felt her body being tightly embraced by Magneto Lord, restricting all movement.

Then, Magneto Lord reached out and grasped the message from Director Gao that had appeared in Zhang Yu’s eye sockets. He then said with a smile, “Don’t move. Let me reply to him.”

Zhang Yu: Who is Magneto Lord?