As his eye-skull reconnected to the Spirit Realm and familiar messages appeared before him, Zhang Yu let out a long sigh of relief. Having grown accustomed to using his eye-skull, he found it truly disorienting to be completely cut off, unable to contact others or access information whenever he wished.

With the Spirit Realm’s restoration, order returned to the University City. The first thing Zhang Yu noticed was waves of divine light sweeping across the sky. The Righteous Gods appeared in the University City’s various layers with a speed and efficiency Zhang Yu had never witnessed before. Every now and then, a figure could be seen, their physical body disintegrating and soul extracted under the infusion of divine power. Witnessing this, Zhang Yu’s heart tightened. “Is the reckoning beginning?” he wondered.

Zhang Yu knew that the university’s high command and the Righteous Gods would inevitably conduct a thorough investigation into the various acts of destruction, losses, and crimes committed in the University City during the Spirit Realm’s disruption. For instance, after surveillance cameras reconnected to the Spirit Realm, the Righteous Gods would certainly review all the stored footage. Furthermore, the unknown number of people who had been swayed by the Demonic Cult would undoubtedly be a major focus for Ten Thousand Laws University. Zhang Yu thought to himself: ‘Many people must have secretly recorded videos with their eye-skulls during that time, and mass reporting is probably starting now.’ As for other matters like University City repairs, compensation for material losses, and the lawsuits and disputes arising from conflicts during the Spirit Realm’s collapse… just thinking about it, Zhang Yu knew how busy Ten Thousand Laws University would be in the coming days.

Just then, documents popped up in Zhang Yu’s vision. He received messages from the Righteous Gods titled “Learn Anti-Demonic Cult Knowledge!”, “Why Do We Oppose the Demonic Cult?”, “In-Depth Analysis of the Ascension Cult’s Evil Nature”, “Righteousness Endures, but Not for Long: A Re-evaluation of the Social Scourge, the Idleness Cult”, and “On the Dangers of Idleness”. Reading through these, Zhang Yu felt a sense of urgency.

Simultaneously, a divine light descended from the sky and then swept horizontally like a wall of light, scanning the bodies of individuals. As passersby were scanned, some showed no abnormalities, while others immediately triggered an alarm and were pinned to the ground by golden hands. Zhang Yu, watching this scene, felt a slight tension, but he knew running was impossible. He could only calmly accept the divine light’s scan.

As the divine light swept over Zhang Yu, an option appeared in his eye-skull, asking if he was willing to undergo examination by the Righteous Gods. Zhang Yu, of course, readily agreed. His injuries had already been treated, his eye-skull contained nothing illicit, and any information sent by the Demonic Cult had long since been thoroughly deleted. His other companions, Yu Xinghan, Le Mulan, and the rest, had also prepared thoroughly during the cleanup, including Xiao Qingxuan, who had re-expelled his external dan and reverted to the Foundation Establishment realm.

A moment later, as the examination concluded, the divine light dissipated from Zhang Yu. “Phew.” Zhang Yu breathed a soft sigh, thinking to himself: ‘The most basic check is over. There might be some inquiries later, but we shouldn’t be prime targets or undergo strict interrogation. It’ll probably just be a formality.’

With the Spirit Realm’s restoration, a flood of messages began to appear on Zhang Yu’s eye-skull. Many were messages sent after the Spirit Realm was hijacked, now delivered with a delay.

Mo Shangjin: Are you in your dorm?
Zhang Pianpian: The Spirit Realm is back, contact me.
Zhao Tianxing: Why are you all offline?
Grandfather Ying Xin: Can you see this? Is there a problem with Ten Thousand Laws’ Spirit Realm?

Many messages came from soul cultivators within the company. After all, losing Spirit Realm connection within Ten Thousand Laws University meant, for these cultivators, that everyone from Ten Thousand Laws University was simultaneously offline, and the university’s Spirit Realm, along with countless messages, vanished—as if a large chunk of the world had suddenly disappeared. For Zhao Tianxing, Che Yufei, Hu Yuntao, and others still facing economic hardship, nothing was more terrifying than waking up to see their boss’s avatar greyed out. This naturally made them worry if something had happened to Zhang Yu, and if the company was on the verge of collapse. And after the Spirit Realm’s recovery, with Zhang Yu back online, many more messages naturally poured in.

True Lord Magnetic Pole: Come find me in the lab. We’ll discuss everything when you’re here.
Director Gao: Go find your master quickly.
Zhao Tianxing: Boss Zhang, are you alright?
Ye Xingli (Pauper Simulator): Junior Disciple Brother, are you alright?

Seeing the continuous stream of messages, Zhang Yu replied to a few of the more important ones before heading to the laboratory. However, as soon as he entered True Lord Magnetic Pole’s office, Zhang Yu’s vision darkened, and then the figure of the Idle Elder suddenly appeared, smiling as he said, “Magnetic Pole, is this your new disciple?” Zhang Yu was greatly startled by this sight, then heard True Lord Magnetic Pole calmly say, “Zhang Yu, I specially invited this elder here to welcome you into the sect.” With a look of astonishment, Zhang Yu said, “Master, how can this be? We can’t join the Demonic Cult!”

After True Lord Magnetic Pole repeatedly urged him, observing Zhang Yu’s fear and reluctance to join, he finally retracted the Idle Elder’s projection and calmly stated, “You’re smart.” Zhang Yu let out a sudden breath of relief, his face showing lingering fear. ‘Was Master testing me just now? I almost died of fright,’ he thought. At the same time, he secretly thought: ‘Good… from the previous conversations with the Evil Gods, Master probably hasn’t joined the Demonic Cult.’ Because he had confirmed this, Zhang Yu quickly realized, beyond his initial surprise, that True Lord Magnetic Pole was testing him.

True Lord Magnetic Pole looked at Zhang Yu and said, “The two major Demonic Cults caused a great disturbance in the University City this time. We don’t know how many people were swayed. The higher-ups are determined to conduct a thorough investigation, and someone will come to question you later. If you have anything to tell me, do so now, and I’ll help you resolve it. I don’t want to hear about your issues from others later on.” Feeling True Lord Magnetic Pole’s sharp gaze, Zhang Yu immediately said firmly, “Master, please rest assured, I absolutely did not join the Demonic Cult. After the Spirit Realm disconnected, I went with Mo Shangjin and the others to the office area. Later, we encountered a Golden Core-level battle and were scattered. After that, I hid with my classmates until the Spirit Realm was restored.”

Watching Zhang Yu recite his pre-prepared story, True Lord Magnetic Pole smiled faintly, ruffled Zhang Yu’s head, and said, “It’s good that you’re alright. Zhang Yu, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but the Demonic Cult is full of schemes and excels at swaying hearts. I’m just afraid you might have been careless and fell into their traps. Remember, I am your master. You can tell me anything at any time, and I will definitely help you. But if you wait until the Righteous Gods discover an issue, then I won’t be able to help you even if I want to.”

Zhang Yu listened with a moved expression, nodding occasionally to show his understanding. However, he knew in his heart that he could only trust half of True Lord Magnetic Pole’s words at most. Zhang Yu secretly thought: ‘For ordinary matters, Master would indeed take responsibility for me. But if I were to truly reveal everything that’s happened to me, concerning the Evil Gods, it’s hard to say how Master would deal with me.’

Meanwhile, True Lord Magnetic Pole recalled the Demonic Cult’s various actions this time: their inquiries about the laboratory, their attacks on him and Tianzhang, and finally their siege of the research department. It was highly probable that the Demonic Cult was interested in the cultivation method for the Divine Transformation stage. This was precisely why True Lord Magnetic Pole considered whether Zhang Yu, as the experimental subject, had also encountered the Demonic Cult. Besides Zhang Yu, True Lord Magnetic Pole also intended to speak with her other subordinates one by one to confirm if they had any issues, preventing future revelations that could affect her path to Divine Transformation.

Just then, Zhang Yu saw True Lord Magnetic Pole’s brow furrow, as if she had seen some message in her eye-skull, and a displeased expression appeared on her face. Zhang Yu asked curiously, “Master? What happened?” True Lord Magnetic Pole scoffed, “Do you remember Feng Yuhan from the research department?” Seeing Zhang Yu nod, True Lord Magnetic Pole continued, “The research department was besieged by Demonic Cultists, and that fellow fought the horde alone, protecting a large amount of university assets. He’s made a great contribution.” Hearing this, Zhang Yu’s heart stirred again: ‘Fought the horde alone? It seems the Evil Gods really believed the intelligence provided by Fujihime and sent people to deal with Feng Yuhan. But did Feng Yuhan truly fight them alone? Or has he been secretly controlled by the Demonic Cult and staged this whole act? Next time I go to the Dark Spirit Realm, I can try to find out the truth.’

Soon after Zhang Yu left, Director Gao sent a message to True Lord Magnetic Pole.

Director Gao: Are you alright?
True Lord Magnetic Pole: For now, there seem to be no issues. We’ll continue to observe.
Director Gao: Sigh, after these two major Demonic Cults caused trouble this time, everyone in the University City is on edge. We don’t know how many people have been controlled by the cults.
True Lord Magnetic Pole: I’m afraid that even before this incident, Nascent Soul-level figures were already cooperating with the Demonic Cult.
Director Gao: Nascent Soul-level?
True Lord Magnetic Pole: The divine path techniques the Demonic Cult used this time were powerful, and the involvement of two Divine Transformation-level Divine Monarchs surprised everyone. However, even so, it would have been impossible to hijack the Spirit Realm inside and outside the University City so easily without internal collaborators.
Director Gao: Who do you think it might be?
True Lord Magnetic Pole: Hard to say.
True Lord Magnetic Pole: In any case, it’s best to be careful.

Reading True Lord Magnetic Pole’s message, Director Gao secretly sighed, as if he could already see a hidden figure, silently plotting something in the shadows of the University City.

Meanwhile, not long after Zhang Yu left the laboratory, he was summoned for questioning by the Righteous Gods. As his consciousness entered the depths of the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yu began to answer the Righteous Gods’ questions, one after another. However, just as he had anticipated, he was not a primary target, and the simple questioning concluded quickly. Yu Xinghan, Shi Huaiyu, Le Mulan, Xiao Qingxuan, and the others also firmly insisted they had hidden with Zhang Yu until the incident was over. The seven of them corroborated each other’s stories and ultimately emerged unharmed, letting them all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

While Zhang Yu and the six others smoothly cleared their checks, Mo Shangjin, on the other hand, was reportedly taken by a Golden Core-level Demonic Cultist but returned safely afterward, making him a prime subject for surveillance. Su Yanyang, who had hidden alone and slept through the entire incident in a graveyard, was also suspected of being influenced by the Demonic Cult and sent to a disciplinary retreat for anti-Demonic Cult training.

After rounds of inspections, when the ranking scores were updated that evening, Zhang Yu was surprised to find his departmental ranking had risen by one place, reaching 38th. Zhang Yu wondered: ‘Did something happen to someone ranked above me in the Artificing Department? I wonder if they were killed by the Demonic Cult during the Spirit Realm disconnection or if the Righteous Gods found issues with them afterward.’ It wasn’t just Zhang Yu; all students who successfully survived in the University City now saw their rankings increase to varying degrees. It was as if, after a cleansing ordeal, the surviving students felt their path to immortality had broadened somewhat.

Meanwhile, as Ten Thousand Laws University dealt with the aftermath, the Top Ten Leagues on the other side also reached their conclusion.