Chapter 557: The School’s Top Fifty and the New Ocular Husk

Looking at the message from Yan Qianji, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. He hadn’t even realized how far he’d come until now.

The moment he entered the “Top 50 Students” group chat, the first message he saw came from the Finance Department’s number one student and the school’s number two overall—Jiu Tianliu.

Jiu Tianliu: Shan Congning, rules are rules. Handle it yourself.

Shan Congning: I’ll be back.

Immediately after that, Zhang Yu saw that the fifty-first-ranked Shan Congning had left the group.

Then Jiu Tianliu sent another message:

Jiu Tianliu: Everyone, we’ve got a new member! Let’s welcome the Artifact Refinement Department’s number thirteen, ranked forty-fourth in the school—Zhang Yu! [Confetti][Confetti][Confetti]

Seeing this, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “This Jiu Tianliu guy... wasn’t he the one who led the Finance Department’s blockade against me before? I can’t tell what kind of attitude he has toward me now.”

Following Jiu Tianliu’s lead, the group chat instantly lit up with messages welcoming Zhang Yu.

Most of the greetings came from students of the Artifact Refinement Department.

Yan Qianji: Congratulations, Zhang Yu.

Ye Xingli: Junior Brother, welcome to the group.

Even the Artifact Refinement Department’s number two, Bei Wufeng, sent a message:

Bei Wufeng: A warm welcome! [Fist salute]

While many from the Artifact Refinement Department spoke up, a few students from other departments also sent congratulatory messages.

Among them was the twenty-sixth-ranked Zhang Pianpian, who also offered her congratulations.

As message after message filled the screen, Zhang Yu replied to each one, adding many of the top students as friends.

Looking at the list of elites from the Refinement, Finance, Dao Techniques, and Sigil Departments, Zhang Yu knew these were valuable connections. Some might become his clients in the future—and some might consider him one.

After the wave of greetings quieted down, the top-ranked student in the entire school, Dao Qiankun, spoke.

Dao Qiankun: Welcome.

Just two simple words, yet the group instantly fell silent.

A moment later, all attention shifted toward Dao Qiankun.

Jiu Tianliu: Dao Bro, you’re out of seclusion?

Dao Qiankun: Mm.

Yan Qianji: Dao Bro, there’s a new Law Husk on the market—you should check it out.

Jiu Tianliu: Dao Bro, my company’s offering new installment plans for premium customers…

Xu Haixuan (Sigil Department #1): Dao Bro, the Spiritual Realm defense service just got an upgrade!

Watching the flood of messages, Zhang Yu felt like all these campus geniuses had transformed into gold-medal sales reps, orbiting around Dao Qiankun and trying to sell him everything imaginable.

Zhang Yu couldn’t help but ask his sister Zhang Pianpian and Ye Xingli privately: “Just how rich is Dao Qiankun?”

Ye Xingli: He’s number one in grades—and number one in wealth, too.

Ye Xingli: You know the school’s top brass have personalized cultivation programs for students likely to enter the Top Ten League, right?

Ye Xingli: Each student’s plan is tailored to their personality, talent, ability, and background—to help them maximize their earnings.

Ye Xingli: But Dao Qiankun? The school’s only instruction for him was to focus on cultivation under his teachers’ guidance.

Ye Xingli: The higher-ups think he doesn’t need to learn how to make money—at least not during the Foundation stage.

Zhang Yu: That rich?! [Shocked emoji]

Zhang Pianpian’s reply was even simpler:

Zhang Pianpian: Half of the spirit veins beneath University City belong to the Wanling Mana Production Group.

Zhang Pianpian: Dao Qiankun’s family holds major shares in that group.

Zhang Yu instantly understood. “If spirit veins are like oil in Kunxu, then this Dao Qiankun is basically a prince of oil.”

Looking at all the overpriced, possibly useless products people were pitching in the chat, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but laugh.

“Damn... they’re all just padding their sales numbers with this rich guy.”

Zhang Yu: Dao Bro, if you ever need artifact repairs, you can come to me.

Bei Wufeng: Zhang Yu, that’s not right. Dao Bro doesn’t repair artifacts—he buys new ones.

Bei Wufeng: No matter how good a repair is, an artifact can never return to its factory-state perfection.

Bei Wufeng: If you want peak performance, you’ve got to buy new.

Many Refinement Department students quickly echoed that sentiment.

But then Dao Qiankun replied:

Dao Qiankun: Sure, Zhang Yu.

Seeing that, Dao Qiankun thought to himself, “These people… always trying to sell me something.”

As for that nonsense about only buying new artifacts, Dao Qiankun found it ridiculous. He might be rich, but he wasn’t wasteful.

He’d only swap out his equipment before major tournaments—to maintain peak condition.

For daily cultivation, he preferred repairing his Law Husks and artifacts.

After skimming through the group chat a bit longer, Zhang Yu’s eyes began to feel slightly strained. Lately, his ocular husk had been giving him this kind of fatigue.

He knew this was because his Time-Wrecking Demon Pupil (时残魔瞳) was deteriorating with age.

Although he was an Artifact Refinement student, he hadn’t studied Law Husk construction in depth—let alone ocular husk manufacturing. His maintenance of the Time-Wrecking Demon Pupil had been subpar, accelerating its wear and tear.

“Perfect time to get a new ocular husk,” Zhang Yu thought. “And now that I know so many Refinement geniuses, I can ask one of them.”

Learning to craft one himself from scratch was possible—but not realistic. He was short on time and needed to raise his strength within half a year to compete at the Top Ten League level. He couldn’t personally handle every tiny task.

“Who should I ask?”

He decided to message Ye Xingli.

Ye Xingli: In our department, Yan Qianji’s good with puppets, Bei Wufeng specializes in flying swords. As for ocular husks—

Ye Xingli: I’m actually decent at Law Husk-type crafting. If you’re not picky about big brands or fancy Spiritual Realm services, I can make you a pair.

Mid-sentence, Ye Xingli glanced at her Poor People Simulator, frowning.

Poor People Simulator: User is bonding closely with her junior brother—similar to traditional master-disciple emotional investment systems of ancient sects. Those relied on emotional capital and barter-based reciprocity to build resilience against random external risks.

Poor People Simulator: Given the user’s previous research into the needs of the poor for various artifacts and resources, it is likely she intends to provide her junior brother with material aid.

Poor People Simulator: Recommended options: (1) gift the ocular husk directly, or (2) sell it at cost…

Ye Xingli rolled her eyes. “What nonsense is this? How can you make Law Husks without profit?”

Magnetic True Lord had once advised her to strengthen bonds efficiently—but selling at cost violated her personal code as a businesswoman. That was absolutely unacceptable.

So she ignored the simulator entirely.

Ye Xingli: I’ll charge you a 10% profit margin. Pick one.

Soon after, she sent Zhang Yu a catalog of ocular husks she could craft.

“They’re much cheaper than brand-name models,” Zhang Yu thought, “but just as capable.”

He scanned through the list.

“Taixu Eye — built-in motion simulation system, predicts material behavior and trajectory.”

“Xuan Magnetic Starmote Eye — equipped with a magneto-fluid module capable of releasing Magnetic Divine Thunder to temporarily paralyze Law Husks. However, most military-grade units have anti-magnetic protection, so its effect may be limited.”

“Nine Nether Demon Eye — paired with a River of Forgetfulness system and soul-sensing module, able to detect and trace soul cultivators, even briefly freezing their thoughts.”

Zhang Yu’s gaze lingered on the Nine Nether Demon Eye. “It even comes with a transcendence feature that can directly trace and report soul-cultivator corporations. Useful.”

He nodded slightly, realizing how valuable this would be for him.

As his artifact refinement level grew, so did his arsenal of artifacts—especially once he mastered the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype (天日煌神雏形机), a military-grade Law Husk. His need for Spiritual Realm security was becoming more urgent.

For Refinement specialists, large-scale artifact construction—and even large-scale artifact warfare—was inevitable.

Once the number and scale of artifacts increased, any weakness in Spiritual Realm defenses could lead to disaster. If someone hijacked his systems, all his artifacts would be lost.

Among the many Spiritual Realm threats, soul-cultivator attacks were the most basic—and the Nine Nether Demon Eye perfectly covered that weakness.

Zhang Yu: I’ll take the Nine Nether Demon Eye.

Ye Xingli: Twenty-one spirit coins. Delivery in three days.

After confirming the order, Zhang Yu returned to checking the Top 50 group chat, replying to congratulatory messages.

Then he began hopping through other group chats.

Of course, his goal wasn’t to boast about his double military certifications or top-fifty ranking—it was to promote his services.

Civil Engineering Class Group

Zhang Yu (Rank 44, Wanfa University): Hey everyone, I’ve made some progress in artifact refinement. If anyone needs refinement services, come find me.

Yu Xinghan: Zhang Bro just earned his Military Artifact Engineering License—making him a dual-certified engineer in Civil and Refinement disciplines!

Ying Xin: Even with his busy schedule, Zhang Bro’s offering his services—don’t miss out!

Gongshu Jin: Zhang Bro, from now on, I’ll come to you whenever my Law Husk gets damaged.

Seeing the lively responses, Zhang Yu smiled and switched to another group—the Songyang Hometown Chat.

Zhang Yu (Rank 44, Wanfa University): [Military License] Just got another one!

Le Jingchen: Double-certified now? [Shocked emoji]

Lan Ling: Salute to our Wanfa Refinement Master!

Lan Ling: Songyang High has produced a true genius!

Qian Shen: Ranked forty-fourth as a senior? You’ll probably make top ten in a few years.

Chu Qiuhe: Zhang Yu, remember back in freshman year when you stole my martial tournament ranking?

Zhang Yu: Haha, yeah—I remember you got carried out on a stretcher, didn’t you?

After chatting for a bit, Zhang Yu added:

“Anyway, if anyone needs artifact work, just come to me.”

Hu Yuntao: I’ve used Zhang Bro’s artifacts—they’re great. Highly recommend.

Zhao Tianxing: Recommend!

Mo Tianyi: Recommend!

Lian Tianji: Zhang Yu, do you refine Yin Artifacts?

Reading Lian Tianji’s message, Zhang Yu didn’t expect that his first inquiry after earning his Military Artifact Engineering License... would be something he had to answer with “No.”