Chapter 473: A Golden Opportunity

At the suggestion of Daoist Tianzhang, Zhang Yu activated his internal mana and infused it into the Nascent Soul Yin Artifact in his hand.

The rhombus-shaped crystal gave a faint tremble. After a moment of mana cycling, it abruptly returned all the mana Zhang Yu had poured in, sending it back into his body.

When Zhang Yu attempted a second infusion, the artifact rejected it outright, as if sealing itself off and completely blocking any further mana input.

Seeing this, Daoist Tianzhang's eyes narrowed slightly.

“Mana rebound again. As expected, this Nascent Soul Yin Artifact from Divine Lord Nectar isn’t something that just drains Zhang Yu's power one-sidedly,” he mused. “But the sudden refusal to accept mana afterward… what could that mean? Is there some kind of restriction?”

He glanced at Zhang Yu and asked, “Well? Do you feel anything unusual? Any improvements to your martial skills?”

Zhang Yu hesitated immediately.

Should he take this chance to make it seem like his martial strength had increased again?

But if he kept exaggerating his cultivation level, wouldn’t that attract too much attention? What if he got exposed later?

The fact that even the Nascent Soul realm principal of Wanfa University was monitoring the Yin Artifact project made him hesitate even more.

Observing Zhang Yu's hesitation, Daoist Tianzhang assumed the changes simply hadn’t manifested yet. He consoled, “No worries. The fluctuations were minor, so the effect might just be subtle.”

“Get a check-up in a bit, then go home and keep an eye on your condition. Any changes—physical, mental, spiritual—you can report them to me anytime.”

…

On the way out of the lab, Zhang Yu was still mulling over how to handle his involvement with the Yin Artifact project.

He thought to himself, “Fu Ji, do you think I can use this artifact project to boost how others perceive my martial strength—make it look like I’ve officially cultivated my way up and clear my record? Would that work?”

Fu Ji replied, “In the short term? Absolutely.”

“From what I’ve seen, both Daoist Tianzhang and even your teacher, Daoist Magneto, don’t have full control over this artifact.”

“Highly likely… this isn’t even their original tech. They probably stole it from somewhere and are still trying to decipher how it works.”

“In this kind of situation, as long as they haven’t cracked its secrets, you can use it as cover to whitewash your cultivation—and no one will be able to prove otherwise.”

Fu Ji chuckled. “In fact, with the ‘results’ you’ve shown so far, this project might even attract more investors. Once it becomes popular and floods with spiritual coin investments, even if Daoist Tianzhang or Daoist Magneto discover it was all fake, they might help you keep the lie going.”

“And who knows? This whole thing might balloon into a full-on scam—millions of spiritual coins drawn in, maybe even a fake company that goes public but never delivers a single product. Not impossible.”

“Of course, high risk means high reward. And since you’re a key figure in the project, you’d surely benefit from the fallout.”

Zhang Yu frowned. “That might bring me some benefits, but wouldn’t it eventually spiral out of control?”

Fu Ji, ever the seasoned schemer, said, “The real key to scams like this lies in whether you can contain the mess in the end.”

“And whether you can contain it comes down to two things.”

“First: how long can the scam last? A few months? A few years? A decade?”

“Second: how far can you grow during that time? Your strength, your network, your backing—how much can you build up?”

Fu Ji chuckled again. “Handle it right, and the project crashes quietly. Everyone walks away rich, no one gets punished.”

“Handle it wrong, and you become the scapegoat—drowning in debt you can never repay.”

Zhang Yu’s frown deepened. “You’re right. But those two factors—especially the first—are hard to gauge.”

“How long can this scam be stretched out? I can’t estimate that.”

He asked Fu Ji, “You’ve got experience with this kind of thing. Any guess?”

Fu Ji replied, “This has nothing to do with experience. It’s about information.”

“We don’t know nearly enough about this project. Any judgment we make would just be a shot in the dark.”

“So your first step,” she advised, “is to gather intel.”

“And your sister is a great place to start.”

“Didn’t she message you during the experiment? Gave you some warnings too?”

Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up at the reminder. He recalled the messages Zhang Pianpian had sent during the test—subtle reminders that now made more sense.

Fu Ji had seen those messages too, having read them from his Law Husk’s communication system.

Without delay, Zhang Yu messaged Zhang Pianpian: “Senior, how much do you know about the experiment?”

Zhang Pianpian replied: “Wait until you’re back in the dorm.”

…

That night, while Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan were working late, Zhang Yu used the chance to meet with his sister and ask about the Yin Artifact project.

Zhang Pianpian first checked the dorm’s spiritual network, then took Zhang Yu into the Supreme Purity Realm.

As the clouds drifted in the distance of the Supreme Purity Realm, she said, “This Yin Artifact wasn’t developed by Wanfa University. It came from Divine Lord Nectar.”

Zhang Yu’s heart jolted. “This Yin Artifact… belongs to Divine Lord Nectar?”

The realization that he’d been communicating with the Law Husk of a Nascent Soul Divine Lord made his heart race with excitement.

“But how did Divine Lord Nectar’s artifact end up here?” he asked.

Recalling various rumors, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but suspect Wanfa University had a hand in the crash of the Nectar Coin.

Zhang Pianpian said, “They say the Yin Artifact fled from Pleasure and Harmony University. Someone from Wanfa University picked it up.”

Zhang Yu twitched at the ridiculous tale. “That sounds absurd.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Zhang Pianpian said, waving her hand. “But this involves a Nascent Soul cultivator. Don’t dig too deep. Just know it was created by Divine Lord Nectar from Pleasure and Harmony University.”

“Wanfa University’s technology lags behind theirs. They haven’t cracked the secrets of this artifact yet.”

“Worse still, the artifact spirit inside has been corrupted by the Rest-and-Relaxation Cult. It’s gone completely mad.”

“To keep it from affecting the outside world, Daoist Magneto sealed most of its consciousness and blocked it from sending messages.”

Mad? Zhang Yu thought. Even an artifact spirit can go insane?

To him, artifact spirits were like artificial intelligence. How could they go crazy?

Inside the Hall of Supreme Purity, Zhang Pianpian looked at the hazy statue in the main hall and said, “Imagine going home and your furniture suddenly starts yelling for vacation. What would you think?”

Zhang Yu paused, then said slowly, “The furniture’s gone crazy.”

Zhang Pianpian sighed. “The higher the intelligence, the more likely it is to develop desires and emotions. And with emotions come feelings.”

“Some Immortal once said that emotion is an inevitable byproduct of wisdom. There is no such thing as a purely rational, emotionless intelligent life.”

“How to create a high-level artifact spirit that stays sane without emotion or desire, yet can still think and work at full capacity—that remains one of the industry’s greatest unsolved problems.”

Zhang Yu nodded, then explained his plan and asked, “Sis, do you think I can use this opportunity to pass off my real cultivation as a project result—and maybe benefit from it too?”

He hesitated. “I’m worried the project might collapse eventually and cause serious problems.”

Zhang Pianpian already knew her younger brother was hiding his strength, just like she was.

She nodded slightly at his plan, showing her approval.

But hearing his concern, she chuckled and looked out at the drifting sea of clouds.

“Project collapse? Serious problems?”

“Do you even know how many projects Wanfa University runs each year?”

“How many departments, divisions, and researchers are churning out total nonsense every day?”

“All those ‘expert reviews,’ ‘academic forums,’ and ‘technical reports’—they’re just ways to scam funding. You think this sort of thing is rare?”

“Even those professors in the Nascent Soul realm—how many of the papers under their name do you think they actually wrote? Most of the time they just sign off and collect a check.”

Zhang Yu was stunned. “Really? But this project—Divine Lord Wanhuan is paying attention to it.”

Zhang Pianpian shook her head, smiling. “Just because a Divine Lord is watching doesn’t mean it won’t fall apart. And even if it does—so what, as long as it brought in money?”

“With this Nascent Soul Yin Artifact project, as long as you churn out some flashy ‘results’ now and then, and hype it up from time to time, it can easily drag on for seven or eight years.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's mind began calculating.

Seven or eight years? That’s long enough for me to join a major sect…

Zhang Pianpian fixed her gaze on him.

“This road has potential. But it’s not without risks.”

“All it takes is one accident, one crisis, and the mess could explode early. And that would put you in serious danger.”

“Think it over carefully.”

…

After returning from the Supreme Purity Realm, Zhang Yu discussed everything with Fu Ji.

She sighed first. “Looks like the corruption and monopoly in Immortal Dao research is even worse than I thought.”

Then she laughed.

“Let’s do it, Zhang Yu. Seven or eight years should be enough for you to grow into a towering tree in the Artifact Refinement Department—powerful and well-connected.”

“If you want to fast-track your way into the sects, then you need explosive momentum. And for a broke student in Kunxu, there’s only one path.”

“Scamming for research funding is the greatest Immortal opportunity a university cultivator can get!”