At Xianbing University, Wanggou Xuan looked at the teacher in front of him, his face filled with surprise. “Teacher, are you serious?” he asked.

The teacher nodded, gazing at the giant puppet not far away. “Indeed,” he said. “All repair costs after the competition will be reimbursed. For your next match against Wanfa University, no matter the extent of the Earth Surge God’s damage, the school will cover the expenses.”

Upon hearing this, Wanggou Xuan’s heart instantly surged with excitement. He wished he could make the giant puppet in front of him self-destruct on the spot, get it reimbursed immediately, and replace it with a new one.

The giant military-grade puppet before them, the Earth Surge God, was the military-grade powerhouse of Xianbing University’s Civil Engineering Department.

After years of maintenance and upgrades, the Earth Surge God had been repeatedly utilized by generations of Civil Engineering students who had obtained their military certifications. Its construction capabilities were undeniable; from its internal Dantian, which contained a full 10,000 units of mana, to its Earth Vein Oscillation Joints capable of altering terrain, and even the Gen Meridian Dharma Form newly installed last year to secure a spiritual vein migration project—all these features endowed the Earth Surge God with terrifying work efficiency, far surpassing that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Such a colossal military-grade puppet should have been a strong contender for first place in inter-university civil engineering competitions. However, constrained by repair costs, Wanggou Xuan had never dared to use the Earth Surge God to its full potential. In past matches, he even frequently used his teammates as human shields for the Earth Surge God, as repairing teammates was often far cheaper than repairing the puppet.

He often lamented to himself, “My lack of Immortal Path potential is what limits the Earth Surge God’s performance.”

But now, with the repair costs for the upcoming match fully reimbursed, Wanggou Xuan felt his combat power surge wildly! It skyrocketed! It became monstrous! He felt so powerful it was unfamiliar even to himself.

This battle would not only completely unleash the Earth Surge God’s power, but the more intense the fight and the more severe the damage, the more new components could be replaced after the match, making it even stronger and allowing him to earn more money in the future!

Just then, the teacher, noticing the change in Wanggou Xuan’s expression, quickly reminded him, “Intentional damage will not be reimbursed. Just suppress Zhang Yu during normal combat, understand?”

Wanggou Xuan inwardly sighed, “What a shame,” then nodded and said, “I understand.”

The teacher continued, “Also, you’re clear on what you’re supposed to do during the match, right?” Wanggou Xuan’s lips curled slightly into a cruel smile. Slowly, he said, “I’ll use the competition as an opportunity to viciously *violate* that Zhang Yu on the field!”

The teacher frowned, correcting him, “What nonsense are you talking about? It’s not just you; it’s your whole team. Remember, after thoroughly suppressing him, collect his bodily materials, and test his physical body according to the methods the professor taught you…”

Wanggou Xuan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. With 100% reimbursement for repair costs, he was fully confident he could accomplish all of it.

The only problem was, what if his opponent didn’t participate in the next match? At this moment, Wanggou Xuan feared nothing more than Zhang Yu’s absence from the competition. “Zhang Yu, you *must* continue to participate!” he thought. “I can’t wait!”

***

Wanfa University. Pinghan gazed at the familiar streetscape and the bustling crowd, a hint of emotion in his heart. “I never thought I, Pinghan, would return someday,” he mused.

Just then, someone touched Pinghan with a hand. “You remember your mission, right?” they asked. Pinghan subtly vibrated, indicating he fully remembered.

Fu Xinyao, who hailed from Huanhuan University, nodded slightly. Holding Pinghan firmly beneath her abdomen, she said, “So, don’t do anything unnecessary. Our only task here is to determine the location of the Divine Transformation Yin Artifact. We don’t need to do anything else. Whatever thoughts you have, whatever regrets, debts, or hatreds… forget them all.”

Pinghan quickly replied, “I know. I’m just the Qiongjiang Divine Lord’s Yin Artifact.”

He understood that being sent as a Wanfa spy to guide the people from Huanhuan University was merely a casual move for the Qiongjiang Divine Lord; its success or failure would not significantly matter, and the Divine Lord could even dismiss him with a single thought right now. But for Pinghan himself, success or failure concerned his future destiny.

Pinghan proactively suggested, “I’ll take you to Zhang Yu first. Since he participated in the Yin Artifact experiment, we’ll surely find the laboratory by following him.”

However, a moment later, Pinghan helplessly said, “No, you don’t have a Wanfa University student ID. There are too many places you can’t access.” It was then that Pinghan suddenly realized that while he had freely moved about the university city in the past, there were in fact various strict restrictions for non-Wanfa University students—something he had never noticed before.

Fu Xinyao wasn’t surprised. It would have been truly incredible if a prestigious institution like Wanfa University allowed her to roam freely and easily find a crucial target. Before coming, she had already prepared for this trip to take a considerable amount of time. After all, without this opportunity, how could she possibly borrow the Qiongjiang Divine Lord’s Divine Transformation-grade Dharma Skeleton?

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of excitement. She touched Pinghan and mused inwardly, “This journey to Wanfa is the perfect chance to test the power of this Divine Transformation Dharma Skeleton and prove my Huanhuan divine abilities.”

Fu Xinyao then asked, “Do you know anyone here?” A moment later, after dozens of attempts, Pinghan found that literally no one hadn’t blocked him. Fu Xinyao sighed, “Useless.” She then asked, “Let’s take it one step at a time. Where are Civil Engineering and Security Department students usually found?”

Pinghan struggled to say, “Can we… not look for Civil Engineering students?” *Crack!* With a sharp sound, electricity from Fu Xinyao’s fingertip pierced Pinghan’s body. She let out a soft laugh and said hauntingly, “It seems you haven’t been trained well enough; you have no awareness of being an artifact spirit. Do you think you’re still a Civil Engineering student at Wanfa University? You don’t want to help me deal with the Civil Engineering Department? Then I’ll specifically look for Civil Engineering students—the poorest, the worst-performing, and the ugliest ones…”

*Croak!* Pinghan cried out in pain inwardly, his body twitching, but he clamped his mouth shut, not daring to utter any more objections.

***

Amidst beeping warning sounds, Zhang Yu stared incredulously at the red alerts appearing before him. “What’s going on?” he wondered. “What do you mean I’m not allowed to leave Wanfa University?”

Seeing the warnings formed by these Spiritual Realm projections, Zhang Yu immediately connected to the Spiritual Realm address provided below the alerts. He was met with stacks of manuals he was required to read and review.

Thinking of the unfinished engineering projects and the pending payments… Zhang Yu grew more irritable with each search. His Divine Spiritual Root within his Dantian began to vibrate slightly under this emotional turmoil. Simultaneously, the four-headed white ox in his mind roared ferociously. He could even vaguely perceive a fifth ox head rising beneath his skin, as if about to burst forth. Zhang Yu’s flesh and blood all over his body became agitated with the white ox’s roar, as if each piece had gained consciousness and was about to tear itself from his body at that very moment.

*Whoosh…* Zhang Yu gently exhaled, calming the agitation in his heart. While testing his Divine Spiritual Root’s emotion-amplifying ability, Zhang Yu had discovered that besides enhancing the effects of his chain-artifice diagram set, this ability also influenced his Dao heart, seemingly increasing the efficacy of the Maimed Ox Self-Sacrifice Heart Art and the Limitless Inner Dharma Body. As Zhang Yu’s emotions settled, his previously turbulent Dao heart also regained its stability.

“How long am I supposed to keep checking like this?” Zhang Yu, having suppressed his emotions, quickly brainstormed, and soon some theories emerged in his mind. He recalled what Tianzhang True Lord and the visiting teacher who toured the lab had said, surmising that this matter was likely 80% related to the Yin Artifact experiment. So, Zhang Yu directly contacted Magnetic Pole True Lord and informed him of the blockade he was experiencing.

***

While Zhang Yu was being intercepted, in the Wanfa University Research Department office, Feng Yuhan nodded slightly upon seeing the confirmation that Zhang Yu had been successfully blocked. “Hmph, good thing I prepared early. Otherwise, wouldn’t the school’s assets just easily slip away?” he mused. “Do they really think other universities are blind, or that the Qiongjiang Divine Lord would just quietly endure this?” “Sigh, prohibiting departure from the university city is just the most basic measure, and I still have to handle it.”

After glancing at the surveillance footage from Zhang Yu’s vicinity and confirming he was heading back, Feng Yuhan began to consider his wording, preparing to submit the next application.

“The risks outside the university city are too great, but aren’t there risks within the university city itself?” Feng Yuhan thought to himself. “Right now, there might already be commercial spies from other universities inquiring about the experiment’s intelligence and searching for Zhang Yu’s location. The Divine Transformation Yin Artifact is of immense importance; neither its inherent technical value nor its origin from Qiongjiang must ever be disclosed. Experimental results like Zhang Yu’s should be kept constantly confined within the laboratory, just like the Divine Transformation Yin Artifact. As for studying and cultivation, those can also be handled within the lab.”

As he pondered, organizing his wording and drafting the document, Feng Yuhan couldn’t help but sigh upon finishing. “Ah, if it weren’t for me, with Magnetic Pole True Lord’s approach, who knows how many assets the school would lose.” “The risks here are too great; I need to get the leaders to pay attention as well.” Thinking this, Feng Yuhan simultaneously sent a copy of the document to the Vice Principal for review when he sent the main file.

Not long after Zhang Yu returned to his dormitory, Magnetic Pole True Lord’s Spiritual Realm projection descended, appearing before him.

Looking at Zhang Yu, Magnetic Pole True Lord began, “I’ve looked into the situation. Feng Yuhan from the Research Department submitted an application to restrict you, requesting that you not leave the university city.” “Wan Hua Divine Lord has already approved it.” “Ah?” Zhang Yu exclaimed in surprise. “The Divine Lord agreed?”

Magnetic Pole True Lord said calmly, “A Divine Transformation Divine Lord is busy with myriad affairs every day. To him, this is an incredibly minor matter. If it seems reasonable, he approves it; if there’s an issue, he can revoke it at any time. I’m here now because I want to ask for your own opinion on this.”