In the laboratory, golden flames erupted from every part of the Tianri Huangshen, circling its body like rays of light, allowing the puppet to float in mid-air.

“Yunzhen, record the following tests carefully.”

Listening to Zhang Yu’s instructions, Zi Yunzhen, standing nearby, nodded repeatedly.

The next moment, the Tianri Huangshen contracted sharply, shrinking to one-third of its original size in an instant, then began to expand dramatically.

While filming, Zi Yunzhen wrote down her notes: This is the Tianri Huangshen’s “As-You-Wish Transformation” ability. Currently, it can shrink to a minimum of one-third its original size and expand to a maximum of three times its original size.

Immediately after, Zhang Yu directed several force blasts towards the Tianri Huangshen.

Amidst crackling explosions, visible ripples erupted on the Tianri Huangshen’s surface, deflecting the incoming force blasts.

Zi Yunzhen continued to record: “Shadowless Sonic Thunder,” which uses directed sonic waves to form a defensive barrier against kinetic attacks.

Immediately after, the Tianri Huangshen shrank again, while several streams of true fire erupted from the experimental platform on the other side.

The next moment, the Tianri Huangshen flickered and darted rapidly amidst the true fire streams.

Zi Yunzhen recorded: “Fire Escape Transformation,” allowing the Tianri Huangshen to convert parts of its body into true fire form and use the flames for high-speed displacement.

A moment later, Zi Yunzhen stood beside Zhang Yu, assisting him with the tests, checking the efficiency of Zhang Yu’s control over the Tianri Huangshen and the information exchange between them.

Watching lines of data appear in her eye-implants, Zi Yunzhen thought to herself, “The ‘Tianri Synesthesia’ ability involves a massive exchange of data every minute, every second, transmitting all of the Tianri Huangshen’s sensory data to the human body. This information transfer efficiency is almost comparable to dual cultivation; it’s practically like continuous dual cultivation…”

Meanwhile, under the influence of Tianri Synesthesia, Zhang Yu felt as if he had gained an additional body.

This sensation was incredibly profound. The Tianri Huangshen and his original body were now like his left and right hands, respectively. Zhang Yu could control both simultaneously and feel the visual, auditory, and tactile sensations transmitted from both.

After completing the tests, Zi Yunzhen excitedly exclaimed, “Boss, all the basic attributes and functions have reached the Level 11 limit, achieving Foundation Establishment stage proficiency!”

“Should we report it now?”

Zhang Yu shook his head, saying, “No rush. Let’s spend another half a month continuing to raise its level.”

Although Level 11 met the minimum requirement for obtaining a military license, Zhang Yu didn’t want to risk barely passing with the bare minimum. What if it failed? Would he have to wait another year?

This was a consequence of failure Zhang Yu couldn’t accept.

Zhang Yu decided to spend another half a month raising its level, aiming for a higher success rate in the military license review.

So, in the following days, Zhang Yu continued to refine the Tianri Huangshen, gradually improving its performance and adding more functions.

One day in the laboratory.

Zhang Yu, who was conducting simulated training within the Taiqing realm, was also browsing various news feeds from the Spirit Realm.

When he saw a few videos shared in the alumni group, a hint of curiosity appeared on his face.

Lan Ling from Shanhe University: [Video]

Lan Ling: Too bad I’m broke, otherwise I’d definitely support Ye Xingli.

Lian Tianji from Hehuan University: These influencers are all frauds; you can’t really get close to them even if you pay. You might as well give that money to our Hehuan University influencers; they can do dual cultivation meetups.

Lan Ling: You don’t understand, Ye Xingli is especially good to her fans; she doesn’t even discriminate against vocational college students.

Mo Tianyi from Fengdu University: Exactly, exactly. Even if a fan is poor, she won’t look down on them.

Chu Qihe from Jingang University: She really is different from other influencers.

Scanning the messages, Zhang Yu noticed that many students in the alumni group were actually fans of Ye Xingli.

He opened the video link shared by Lan Ling and found it was a clip from Ye Xingli’s live stream.

Ye Xingli’s long legs, shimmering with starlight, were seen stepping onto a flying sword.

At the same time, countless other flying swords circled around her, vying to gather beneath her feet.

“Is she selling flying swords through product placement?”

Zhang Yu watched for a while before realizing this wasn’t ordinary product placement.

Because, if viewers paid, they could mentally connect to the flying swords at the scene, manipulating them like sword spirits and testing their various functionalities in the process.

For example, being stepped on by Ye Xingli to experience the product’s capabilities in sword-riding flight.

Watching the scene of countless swords gathering beneath Ye Xingli’s feet, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel at how much influencers earned.

The content of the video also reminded Zhang Yu of the training the school had been providing Ye Xingli recently.

For a prodigy like her, ranking 3rd in the Artifact Forging Department, 10th in the entire school, and set to participate in the Top Ten Leagues, what kind of cultivation approach would be best?

Bringing her into advanced labs to accumulate artifact-forging experience? To hone her skills?

Guidance from renowned masters to enhance her abilities in various aspects?

Joining a company to be tempered and refined amidst extreme pressure and life-or-death situations?

Perhaps students from ordinary universities would think this way.

But Zhang Yu knew they were all mistaken.

Only ordinary universities would focus on teaching students how to improve their abilities, with their vision limited to mere professional techniques.

However, top universities like Wanfa University, when cultivating prodigy students, naturally spare no effort in guiding them to develop their money-making abilities, aiming to significantly boost students’ income and assets, and providing them with the broadest possible development space.

Specifically for Ye Xingli’s situation, especially given her Artifact Forging major and influencer status, the school continuously directed traffic and invested in her, requiring her to live stream for over 8 hours daily in addition to filming videos.

In just over a month, Ye Xingli’s follower count surged from 3 million to over 6 million. Her strength, financial resources, and immortal cultivation potential all skyrocketed, making Zhang Yu incredibly envious.

“As expected of Wanfa University, they’ve truly mastered the art of ‘teaching for wealth.’ Isn’t the best education in Kunxu supposed to teach you how to make money?”

“If I could also join the school team and become a key cultivation target for the school, I wonder how they would cultivate me?”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Give me more construction projects? Probably not; I’ve already transferred to artifact forging, after all.”

“Will they allocate more artifact forging outsourcing projects to me?”

“Or… because of my reputation as a dual cultivation genius, they’ll make me dual cultivate madly?”

Thinking this, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but worry, “How would I refuse then? And what kind of trials might I encounter?”

While Zhang Yu was engrossed in refining the prototype machine in the laboratory,

the research of True Monarch Ciji and several other Nascent Soul True Monarchs was also stirring up waves.

Feng Tingting: This experimental competition is really intense. Three students from True Monarch Beihai’s project group somehow got involved with “dual cultivation” and even joined a dual cultivation cult.

Feng Tingting: A paper by True Monarch Yuanmo was proven to be fraudulent, and he’s now embroiled in lawsuits, so he voluntarily withdrew from the project.

Feng Tingting: True Monarch Jindeng was reported for tax issues and is currently under investigation; it’s uncertain when he’ll be able to resume normal work.

Feng Tingting: True Monarch Dongming got caught up in a counterfeit goods scandal, and his social media accounts have been inactive for half a month. Of the five great Nascent Soul True Monarchs, only True Monarch Xianyin can still compete with True Monarch Ciji.

Zhang Yu: How are you still so well-informed about news from the Artifact Forging Department?

Feng Tingting: Don’t underestimate my connections in the Artifact Forging Department [smug emoji]! Besides, it’s the revival of the Civil Engineering Department now; being good at civil engineering is no worse than artifact forging.

Zhang Yu secretly thought, it seems Feng Tingting has regained her wealth after the rise of civil engineering, and thus her connections in the Artifact Forging Department have largely recovered.

Regardless, True Monarch Ciji pushing out four competitors in a row was also good news for Zhang Yu; it would at least reduce his related workload, allowing him to focus more on the Tianri Huangshen prototype project.

Another week passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Zhang Yu was adding the “Nine Luminaries Thunder Shuttles” function to the prototype. Streams of thunder shuttles could be seen circling the prototype’s body, with electric currents intertwining occasionally.

Just then, Ye Xingli walked into the laboratory, greeted Zhang Yu, and began designing and verifying a magical artifact.

Initially, Zhang Yu didn’t pay much attention. After all, spending more time with Ye Xingli could help him replicate her Dao Seed.

A few days later, he finally met the requirements to replicate Ye Xingli’s Dao Seed.

“From last year until now, has it finally happened?”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The replication requirement for the ‘Spiritual Rhyme Artifact Heart’ is to complete the design of an artifact-forging product above Level 11 together with the other party.”

Zhang Yu then looked at the ‘(Dao Heart)’ annotation next to ‘Spiritual Rhyme Artifact Heart’ and secretly thought, “Senior Sister’s Spiritual Rhyme Artifact Heart, like Master’s ‘Heavenly Craftwork,’ both fall under the Dao Heart category. They probably both offer bonuses to artifact forging.”

If he hadn’t obtained the Heavenly Craftwork before, Zhang Yu would surely have slowly figured out a way to complete the product design with Ye Xingli.

But with Heavenly Craftwork, Zhang Yu now merely activated the power of this Dao Seed slightly, and felt his brain accelerate furiously, as a vast amount of information merged, assembled, and generated within his mind…

“I need to design a magical artifact suitable for Ye Xingli.”

As if by instinct, design blueprints already materialized in his mind.

Simultaneously, his Dao Heart’s level regressed to 19 (84) due to the intense operation of Heavenly Craftwork.

Looking at the stockings on the design blueprint, Zhang Yu thought, “No… why are they stockings?”

“Perhaps it’s because True Monarch Ciji and I share Heavenly Craftwork; Master’s years of accumulated knowledge caused all this, influencing my design results.”

As Zhang Yu thought about this, he couldn’t help but secretly nod: “After all, his accumulation is countless times greater than mine, so it must be key to influencing the design direction.”

Suddenly, Zhang Yu also remembered that besides the immortal cultivation knowledge obtained from Kunxu, his mind also contained a good deal of knowledge from Earth.

Zhang Yu secretly thought, “Master possesses far more knowledge and information than I do; the two are not even on the same order of magnitude.”

“Earth knowledge mixed into Heavenly Craftwork… it shouldn’t have too much impact.”

“Shouldn’t… right?”

Suddenly, Zhang Yu thought again, “Wait… the design goal I set was a magical artifact suitable for Senior Sister Ye Xingli. Master’s understanding of Senior Sister must be superior to mine, so these stockings must still be Master’s idea.”

“It can’t be that my tiny bit of knowledge polluted Heavenly Craftwork, can it?”

Zhang Yu shook his head and walked towards Ye Xingli, intending to discuss the design blueprint with her.