## Chapter 592: Pre-Tournament Ad Placement

Initially, Zhang Yu, flush with cash, had dedicated all his energy to the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ.

Therefore, in the last month before the Top Ten Leagues, he had no interest in returning to the construction site.

However, this time it was Director Gao who sought him out. Mò Shāngjìn had been busy preparing for graduate school recently, and with the increasing number of large projects at the construction site, he was swamped. So, Zhang Yu was needed to fill in for half a day.

Since Director Gao personally requested it, Zhang Yu naturally wouldn’t refuse.

And because the construction team consisted of Yāoyì, and to ensure their cooperation and prevent any Yāoyì from acting irrationally due to discrimination, potentially wasting his time, Zhang Yu decided not to be too gentle.

According to some of his Yāoyì friends, to make low-level Yāoyì obedient, ferocity is far more effective than politeness; the more you scold them, the more obedient they become.

But to avoid causing any incidents of discrimination, Zhang Yu enlisted Shī Yúnxiáng’s help.

A Rat Demon glared furiously at Shī Yúnxiáng and roared, “Lion Demon! We are all Yāoyì; how can you help outsiders bully our own kind?”

“Our own kind?” Shī Yúnxiáng sneered, thinking to himself, “Forget whether Rat Demons and Lion Demons are considered the same kind. Even if you were all Lion Demons, all my own kind, even born from the same mother as me…”

“But Zhang Yu and I pulled off an earth-shattering scheme together, and fought a deathmatch against a Mójiao Jindan.”

“Plus, he even gave me a raise!”

Zhang Yu, standing nearby, said, “Everyone…”

Shī Yúnxiáng glared at the demons and then said, “You little brats!”

Zhang Yu: “Let’s start working.”

With two major military credentials, the prestige of being top-ranked in the entire school, and Shī Yúnxiáng’s assistance, as Zhang Yu activated the Tiānkūnlún Yíshān Shénlì, the Yāoyì on site cooperated completely. In the end, no unexpected problems arose.

After smoothly finishing work, Zhang Yu grabbed through the air. With the activation of the Tiānkūnlún Yíshān Shénlì, he swiftly flew with Shī Yúnxiáng towards University Town.

Flying without a trace, Zhang Yu looked at the serene land under a cloudless sky and the bustling university cities he passed. He thought to himself, “The scars left by the last economic crisis are gradually being erased.”

“Wànfǎ University’s finance department has also been temporarily suppressed by the teachers.”

“The Yāoyì are not as unruly anymore.”

“The Shuāngxiū Jiào’s conspiracy was thwarted, swept away by joint operations across regions, and tests for the Shuāngxiū virus are gradually becoming routine.”

“The civil engineering department’s projects are increasing, and business is growing.”

“The Top Ten Universities have controlled the intensity of conflicts, and no more Huàshén wars have occurred.”

“The evil gods have no plans for action for now, all are lying low…”

Zhang Yu felt that everything seemed to be developing in a positive direction, and the entire second layer of Kūnxū had become calm.

Having experienced the economic crisis caused by the Huàshén, Zhang Yu felt even more deeply how important opportunities for peaceful development were.

“I hope this calm can last a little longer.”

Time flew by to late August.

A glint of light seemed to flash in Zhang Yu’s eyes; he had withdrawn from the Tàiqīng Realm.

After this period of intense study and artifact-refining simulations, he had mastered all the knowledge and techniques required to refine the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ.

“Besides enhancing physical performance, the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ’s greatest ability is to condense water vapor, form a water field, create floods, and rapidly breed demon beasts in the floods, creating an aquatic army.”

“If this were ancient times, wearing this Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ would be equivalent to carrying an aquatic army that can fight and flee, ready to engage at any time.”

“In modern terms, these rapidly bred demon beasts aren’t suitable for combat, but they are suitable for selling.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “This Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ is a portable farm, isn’t it?”

“Aquaculture, I wonder if it’s profitable.”

Zhang Yu was unfamiliar with aquaculture, but he could sense that the cultivation method contained within the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ was hidden in this technique of rapidly breeding aquatic armies.

However, he still couldn’t extract it and form a complete cultivation method.

“Is my understanding still not enough?”

Zhang Yu looked at the content of the design drawings, secretly speculating with his current knowledge and techniques, “Perhaps I need to master the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ blueprint to level 20, or truly refine the armor, wear it, and participate in the armor’s operation with my body… only then will I have a chance to extract the cultivation method from the technique.”

“Then let’s begin.”

Zhang Yu glanced at his prepared assistants, Liǔ Xiāngqiǎo, Zǐ Yúnzhēn, and others, walked over, and began refining the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ.

In the following days, Zhang Yu either simulated and practiced the artifact-refining techniques of the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ in the Tàiqīng Realm or refined the Bǐshuǐ Jīnjīng Jiǎ in reality. With the rapid improvement of his artifact-refining skills, a magnificent armor was gradually taking shape.

Early September.

In a conference room in the Língjiè.

The school team’s coach, Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn, was introducing the current school team members to the merchants.

“Zhang Yu, disciple of Cíjí Zhēnjūn, defeated Běi Wúfēng, who was second in artifact refining, in a sword duel. He cultivates both artifact refining and civil engineering, and specializes in empowering civil engineering with artifact-refining techniques…”

As Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn introduced him, he could feel the merchants’ lack of interest in Zhang Yu.

In his opinion, this was normal, after all, only players with higher potential for results in this Top Ten Leagues were sought after by merchants.

Figures like Dào Qiánkūn, Jiǔtiān Liú, Yǎn Qiānjī… were the main targets of the merchants this time.

“Yè Xīnglí is the third-ranked student in the artifact refining department, specializing in法骸 (fǎhái) design and live streaming for sales. Currently, after our investment and guidance, she has 8 million followers…”

After Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn began introducing Yè Xīnglí, he could feel the merchants’ attention clearly focusing much more.

Setting aside Yè Xīnglí’s potential results this time, those 8 million followers alone were enough to spark a lot of their interest.

However, upon discovering that the 8 million followers primarily consisted of junior college students and lower-tier school students, the merchants’ interest quickly dissipated.

Yè Xīnglí walked through the artifact-refining factory.

Accompanied by a surge of spiritual power, cylindrical structures rose, then dramatically unfolded, revealing sets of Fǎhái within.

Looking at these sets of Fǎhái, a satisfied expression appeared on Yè Xīnglí’s face.

In her view, the struggle for immortal dao… was a struggle of Fǎhái.

As long as one defeated the opponent’s Fǎhái, one could defeat the opponent.

She continuously filmed videos, live-streamed sales, and earned money, finally completing the refinement of these sets of Fǎhái before the competition.

Yè Xīnglí thought to herself, “My military-grade magic artifacts and Fǎhái have reached their control limit.”

“To unleash stronger power and achieve better results, I need to equip different Fǎhái tailored to the different opponents from the Top Ten Universities and their different types of Fǎhái.”

“In this Top Ten Leagues… I will absolutely not lose in terms of Fǎhái competition.”

“This will be an opportunity for my followers to once again surge.”

In the Língjiè conference room.

Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn continued his introduction, “Yǎn Qiānjī, the strongest student in the artifact refining department, a direct disciple of Wànhuà Shénjūn, and a member of the Tiānrì Huángshén update team for three consecutive years…”

As Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn introduced him, the merchants’ eyes seemed to light up one by one.

Someone immediately shouted, “I’ll take the chest ad!”

Someone else chimed in, “I want the top of the head!”

One person, while contacting their superior, said, “What about the Tiānrì Huángshén’s co-branding? We’ll take it at any price.”

In front of the puppet production line.

The Tiānrì Huángshén, emanating unique black flames, stood proudly.

Yǎn Qiānjī sat on Tiānrì Huángshén’s shoulder, watching the various puppets rapidly appearing on the production line, a satisfied smile on his face.

“This Top Ten Leagues is truly amazing.”

“If it weren’t for the school’s additional investment, my puppet production line wouldn’t have been completed so easily.”

In the Língjiè conference room.

Jiǔtiān Liú’s projection appeared directly.

He looked at the merchants and smiled slightly, “For my ad space, I will negotiate with you personally.”

Facing the extremely enthusiastic merchants, Jiǔtiān Liú said, “A fixed price is impossible.”

“Every one of my ads will come with a link.”

“In addition to the ad placement fee, there must also be a tiered commission…”

Although Jiǔtiān Liú’s demands were incredibly stringent, they did not dampen the merchants’ enthusiasm in the slightest.

After all, in the predictions of many companies, Jiǔtiān Liú had the potential to be in the top ten of this Top Ten Leagues, making him a highly sought-after target for merchants.

And when all of Jiǔtiān Liú’s ad slots were sold, and his figure disappeared, many merchants eagerly turned their attention to Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn.

“There’s only one left.”

“Only Dào Qiánkūn remains, right?”

“We’ll bid any amount for it!”

If Jiǔtiān Liú was considered a guaranteed top-ten contender in the eyes of many companies, then Dào Qiánkūn was a guaranteed top-three, with the potential to compete for first place.

In the budgets of many merchants, the advertising fees allocated to Dào Qiánkūn could be ten times that of Jiǔtiān Liú!

But facing the hungry gazes of the many merchants, Ān Zhèn Zhēnjūn let out a wry smile and said helplessly, “My apologies, everyone.”

“Dào Qiánkūn refused to sell his ad slot.”

“He said…”

“He doesn’t need spiritual currency.”

In the cultivation chamber.

The cold voice of the artifact spirit sounded.

“The 9876th attempt to break through to Jindan begins…”

As spiritual energy circuits opened one after another, tangible spiritual energy surged forth, converging towards Dào Qiánkūn’s location.

With a cracking sound, like bursts of thunder, dazzling golden light gradually receded from Dào Qiánkūn’s body.

The artifact spirit calmly reported, “Jindan breakthrough failed.”

Dào Qiánkūn casually tossed out a dull black orb, saying lightly, “This one has been used for so long, it can’t hold up anymore. Have someone replace it.”

Letting the puppet retrieve the discarded Jindan, Dào Qiánkūn looked at his new record.

“Very good. Before the Top Ten Leagues, I will complete a record of 10,000 Jindan ‘inch-stops’.”

“I… will be the strongest below Jindan!”

“Kuáng Tiānqīng…”

His gaze turned to the Jindan direct-point before him, to the top spot on the simulated score rankings.

Currently, on the Jindan seed list, he surpassed Kuáng Tiānqīng with a high score of 520,000, reigning supreme.

But Dào Qiánkūn knew that this was by no means their true strength. Kuáng Tiānqīng at this moment must also be like him, constantly surpassing himself with the full support of his school.