In the heart of Songyang City stood the 333-story Central Tower.

Zhou Yang lay on a hospital bed, his lower body missing, staring out the window.

His gaze was fixed on the Oasis Tower, a construction project slowly surpassing the Central Tower in height. He felt as if he was witnessing the rise of the Oasis Group, an upstart challenging the old, established families.

“With the advent of synthesized foods, even synthetic meat has entered the market,” Zhou Yang mused. “Soon, the entire food market of the first Kunxu layer will be flooded with these products!”

However, he knew that technology alone could not guarantee market dominance.

Even the Oasis Group, despite possessing more advanced synthetic food technology, had to collaborate with local companies and families to enter Songyang City’s market.

Zhou Yang recalled the cooperation between the Oasis Group and the three major high schools, along with their affiliated companies, to develop three novel body refinement techniques.

“A step further, and they might synthesize human organs!”

“Rumor has it that prominent families in Xiandu are already combining bloodline techniques with the Oasis Group’s human technology.”

“If that’s the case, in the future, not only food but also the cultivation of future generations and body refinement training within these families will become inseparable from the Oasis Group!”

Zhou Yang understood that this didn’t mean the Oasis Group would dominate the first Kunxu layer. Instead, various local powerhouses and corporations would inevitably collaborate with them.

“The current infighting among companies and families in Songyang City is nothing more than a struggle to secure more shares and greater influence in future collaborations!”

“Some will gradually weaken and eventually disappear into the long river of history.”

“But the remaining families and companies, together with the Oasis Group, will form a behemoth spanning the entire first Kunxu layer, further monopolizing food, cultivation, bloodlines, and more!”

“Faced with such a monumental shift, if the Zhou family is to survive and I am to attain a better position, the best course of action is to enhance the power of the Heretical God!”

Zhou Yang could foresee that the power struggles in Songyang City would intensify, and the Zhou family, along with himself, would face an increasingly precarious situation.

This realization filled him with a sense of urgency.

However, the Zhou family ranked low among Songyang City’s sixteen prominent clans, making it difficult to compete directly with powerhouses like the Song and Yue families.

Especially after the Wanxing Group’s recent troubles, which also dealt a blow to the Zhou family and himself.

Compared to that…

“Rather than trying to compete with other powerful families, it would be better to deal with the weaker individuals, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, after the Foundation Establishment Exam, and seize the Heretical God behind them!”

Zhou Yang picked up his phone, examining the messages displayed on its screen. He exhaled slowly, thinking, “They’ve already departed?”

“Once the Foundation Establishment Exam is over, the Righteous Gods won’t protect you like that anymore!”

“Given the disparity in our wealth and information…”

Whether he acted personally, sent subordinates, or controlled them with leverage gained from their connection to the Heretical God, Zhou Yang believed that without the protection of the Foundation Establishment Exam, the situation would be simple!

“With the current unpredictable situation, we need to take care of these two as soon as the Foundation Establishment Exam concludes!”

Considering the current developments, Zhou Yang grew increasingly impatient, as if he could already see Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen in his grasp, ready to be molded and manipulated as he pleased!

On a train bound for Xiandu City!

As his phone vibrated, Zhang Yu was about to check the message when a video suddenly appeared on his screen!

He tried to close the video, but instead of closing, it redirected him to a shopping platform!

Seeing the “You Might Like” section filled with kidney-nourishing capsules, Zhang Yu frowned and finally managed to close the app.

“Damn it!” Zhang Yu thought. “Corporate wars are getting more intense, and this big data targeting is going too far!”

“Was that vibration a message from Yu Xinghan?”

Seeing the “Add Oil!!” message from Yu Xinghan, Zhang Yu smiled, knowing that Yu Xinghan knew he was heading to the Foundation Establishment Exam.

At the same time, inside a classroom at White Dragon High School!

Yu Xinghan looked at the smiling emoji sent by Zhang Yu and thought, “Zhang Yu is powerful, but he’s a year behind that Xiandu prodigy. Judging from the previous Foundation Establishment Exam, there’s still a significant gap between them!”

“Although he might not pass the exam this time, his chances of success in the next exam are very high!”

“By then, I’ll be in the same year as him. I must maintain a good relationship with this guy and take a different path!”

As Yu Xinghan pondered these thoughts, Zhang Yu on the train was thinking, “Based on what Yu Xinghan has subtly revealed lately…”

“He doesn’t think I’ll secure a Foundation Establishment Token this time, so he wants to maintain a good relationship with me and reach an agreement with me and Ah Zhen for the next Foundation Establishment Exam, to seize the tokens together!”

Regarding whether he could overcome his rival, Ye Lingxiao, in this Foundation Establishment Exam, Zhang Yu couldn’t guarantee absolute certainty.

After all, he didn’t know what advancements Ye Lingxiao had made in the past three months.

But he believed that as long as he gave it his all, his chances of success were not small!

Thinking of this, Zhang Yu subconsciously looked at his Feather Book.

The Chain-Law Diagram could accommodate ten techniques. After Zhang Yu replaced eight of them, his original High School Saint Body had transformed into a Martial Dao Saint Embryo!

Because he could only equip ten techniques at most, and the High School Saint Body and Martial Dao Saint Embryo required six techniques each to activate, only one could be active at a time.

[Initial-Stage Martial Dao Saint Embryo (6/6)]: Saint Embryo Formed, Greatly Increases Resistance to Impact and Self-Healing of External Injuries!

[Advanced-Stage Martial Dao Saint Embryo (8/8)]: Saint Embryo Partially Formed, Greatly Increases Physical Endurance and Self-Healing of Internal Injuries, Body Gains Overload Capacity!

The second effect of the Martial Dao Saint Embryo greatly enhanced Zhang Yu’s physical endurance and self-healing of internal injuries!

Zhang Yu thought, “The increased endurance allows me to unleash my physical strength beyond limits without worrying about damage or collapse of muscles and bones, increasing my peak power and stamina!”

“Plus this overload capacity, and my bursts of power will be even more terrifying!”

“The increased self-healing of internal injuries, combined with the previous self-healing of external injuries, provides another layer of insurance for my medical expenses!”

“Wait, I don’t even have the money for medical insurance now?”

The reason Zhang Yu couldn’t afford medical insurance was not only because he had spent all his money on purchasing techniques but also because his insurance premiums had become too high!

As his cultivation and body refinement intensified, the cost of treating his injuries increased, leading insurance companies to constantly raise his premiums, making insurance even more unaffordable!

Zhang Yu had previously heard Fu Ji say that some Foundation Establishment and even Golden Core cultivators were afraid to speak loudly to anyone because they couldn’t afford medical insurance.

If a conflict arose, these individuals couldn’t afford either the other party’s medical expenses or their own!

Such immortal cultivators were jokingly called “glass cannon experts,” implying they would go bankrupt with a single hit, lacking solid foundations and being incredibly fragile!

Zhang Yu thought, “But now, with the enhancement of the Martial Dao Saint Embryo, I’m not afraid of most injuries, even without insurance!”

“If I have to talk about my current biggest weakness…” Zhang Yu looked at the data on his Feather Book!

[Dao Heart: Level 8 (89/100)]

Although it had improved significantly compared to before, Zhang Yu’s Dao Heart was still lacking compared to his magic power and physical strength, which had both reached the limit of Qi Refinement.

But there was nothing he could do. He had invested most of the millions he earned from tutoring in purchasing techniques, which was just enough to assemble the eight techniques for the Martial Dao Saint Embryo.

The extra means to improve Dao Heart relied on the Wraith Spirit Root and the school’s Spiritual Realm quota, reaching the current Level 8 (89/100), which was already the limit!

However, Zhang Yu knew that there was no need to dwell on these thoughts. He had done all he could to prepare, and all that remained was to perform to the best of his ability during the exam!

Speaking of Dao Heart levels, Bai Zhenzhen, on the other hand, had already raised her Dao Heart to Level 10, becoming an existence whose Dao Heart, magic power, and physical strength had all reached the limit of Qi Refinement!

Zhang Yu thought, “After all, Ah Zhen doesn’t have to purchase as many techniques as I do to assemble a Chain-Law Diagram set, so she can invest more money into her Dao Heart!”

But Zhang Yu knew that while Bai Zhenzhen didn’t possess as many techniques as him, having only learned two new ones in the past three months, her True Spirit Root’s deduction ability allowed her techniques to gain even more powerful Level 10 effects!

For example, the Myriad Sword No End Art, learned during the Foundation Establishment Exam, could be accelerated with thunder magic power after deduction, each sword strike faster than the last, breaking the sound barrier on the 12th sword, unleashing a supersonic sword technique!

Moreover, the two newly learned techniques were extremely proficient in arena battles, preparations Bai Zhenzhen made for the Foundation Establishment Token competition!

Looking into the distance, at the floating city gradually appearing in his vision, Zhang Yu thought, “We’re finally here!”

“The final round of the Foundation Establishment Exam!”

Thinking of his struggles over the past year, the countless battles, the approaching final result, Zhang Yu felt his blood surging, filled with an unprecedented sense of excitement and nervousness!

After disembarking at the Xiandu City train station!

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen didn’t dare to visit any restaurants or beverage shops!

Nor could they sit on the massage chairs that emitted piercing alarms if one didn’t pay!

They could only find an empty space in the station to rest, waiting for the start of the Foundation Establishment Exam!

It was still the familiar restroom, the familiar website. As Zhang Yu entered, he felt his body plummet. When he regained his senses, he was already in a vast plaza!

What surprised him was that besides the five Righteous God examiners surrounding the plaza, there were also tiers of spectator seats, and the figures in the seats were all looking at him!

“Spectators?” Zhang Yu looked at the surrounding stands in shock, thinking, “The final round of the Foundation Establishment Exam actually has spectators? And so many?”

“What exactly is going on?”