Chapter 519: Solving the Thunder Pole

Startled by Magnet Pole True Lord's sharp rebuke, Thunder Pole True Lord truly began to feel afraid.

In his experience, his senior sister always kept her emotions hidden, rarely resorting to such an outburst of shouting and physical action.

After all, in Kunxu, acting impulsively was considered undignified.

Thunder Pole True Lord recalled that after his senior sister's rare outbursts of rage, many people would disappear each time.

Some left the university town, others left the entire Myriad Law University, and still others left the university realm altogether.

Every outburst was a release of emotion. Once the emotion was vented, all that remained was a calculation of gains and losses: what should be sacrificed was sacrificed, what should be abandoned was abandoned, and what should disappear disappeared!

And this time, it seemed the one to disappear would be his own disciple!

Listening to Magnet Pole True Lord, Thunder Pole True Lord meekly asked, "Ghost? Who's the ghost?"

Magnet Pole True Lord continued, "Was that your disciple in the video? Were you aware of what he was doing? Is the problem with you?"

Thunder Pole True Lord struggled to say, "He! He signed a master-disciple contract with me!"

Magnet Pole True Lord said coldly, "What good is a contract? Which of the Top Ten didn't tear up countless contracts on their path to rising power?"

"If contracts could control everything, what would the Heavenly Court be for?"

"It's not him, and it's not you, so is it me? Am I the one with the problem? Am I the ghost, is that it?"

Thunder Pole True Lord lowered his head and remained silent, his projection shrinking further, appearing even smaller and more helpless.

Magnet Pole True Lord then pointed at Zhang Yu and said, "Or is he the problem? Did my disciple betray you?"

Thunder Pole True Lord whispered, "How could it be your disciple, Senior Sister? He just works in civil engineering on a construction site, and he's only at the Foundation Establishment stage. How could it be him?"

Magnet Pole True Lord glared coldly at Thunder Pole True Lord. "So working in civil engineering means no problem? Foundation Establishment stage makes it impossible? When I was at Foundation Establishment, I had already dealt with Nascent Souls."

With that, Magnet Pole True Lord took a deep breath, and the entire office immediately fell silent, no one daring to speak.

As the atmosphere grew heavier, Magnet Pole True Lord, with a blank expression, spoke again: "Besides your disciple, write down the names of five more of your subordinates and push all the blame onto them!"

"And whatever money you've taken over the years, return half of it!"

"Right now, everyone's eyes are on this matter. We must settle this today and put an end to it!"

Hearing Magnet Pole True Lord's words, Thunder Pole True Lord's heart twinged once more.

Handing over another five people... that was fine for him. But the thought of having to give up half of the hard-earned money he had accumulated bit by bit over the years made Thunder Pole True Lord feel as though the spiritual energy circuits in his body were about to short-circuit.

Thunder Pole True Lord painfully said, "Senior Sister, that's my money for retirement and extending my lifespan!"

Magnet Pole True Lord laughed. "Do you know how many people, both inside and outside the university, don't want your Senior Sister to achieve the Soul Transformation stage?"

"You don't want to pay? No problem. Then you come forward and take responsibility for this!"

Thunder Pole True Lord lowered his head and remained silent, his form shrinking again, becoming even shorter than Zhang Yu.

Magnet Pole True Lord said coldly, "Alright, I'll give you an hour to sort this out!"

"From now on, go back to your laboratory and don't interfere with department affairs!"

Watching Thunder Pole True Lord's spiritual realm projection gradually disappear, Magnet Pole True Lord sighed with a complex expression.

While gently rubbing Zhang Yu's head, she said softly, "This junior brother of mine truly becomes more muddled with age!"

"When he was young, he was also a well-known genius, taking not much more time than me to reach Nascent Soul."

"But after reaching Nascent Soul, he gradually grew complacent!"

"Although he was reinvigorated for a period after entering the university, after repeated failures in competition, the university allocated fewer and fewer resources to him. He gradually became disheartened, stopped learning the latest artifact refinement techniques, stopped going to the laboratory, and spent his days scrambling for petty gains, ultimately ending up like this!"

"He might be at ease, but he never considered how difficult he made things for me!"

Magnet Pole True Lord sighed, "But if I deal with him, what would the other veterans who have struggled with me all this time think?"

"If I don't protect him over a small incident, many people would think I've lost influence, that I'm no longer capable!"

"Even when I put him in a place where he's least likely to make mistakes, he still manages to cause trouble for me..."

Listening to Magnet Pole True Lord's lament, Zhang Yu earnestly said, "Teacher, I will never slack off. I will work hard to climb higher and stay close behind you!"

"Good!" Magnet Pole True Lord smiled at his words, stroked Zhang Yu's head, and pulled him into an embrace. "Remember what happened today, and don't ever be like your Martial Uncle in the future!"

Meanwhile, the recorded video footage kept replaying in Magnet Pole True Lord's mind.

The video had been shot from an extremely tricky angle, as if the camera had closely followed everyone, capturing them from nearby.

Yet, subsequent investigations found no traces left by the cameraman at the scene.

All of this indicated the cameraman's exceptional skill!

"Whose person was that?"

Names flooded Magnet Pole True Lord's mind, from both within and outside the university.

"Golden Pagoda Divine Lord?"

"Or was it Immortal Soldier University? Vajra University?"

"Or perhaps Netherworld University?"

There were simply too many people who might want to prevent her from reaching the Soul Transformation stage. Magnet Pole True Lord couldn't be sure which faction was behind this incident, but she felt increasingly vigilant and more keenly aware of the arduous obstacles on the path to Soul Transformation.

Over the next few days, Thunder Pole True Lord voluntarily resigned from his managerial positions, and his disciple Bian Hao along with five subordinates all disappeared without a trace.

The Artifact Refinement Department remained outwardly calm, and the students were even more oblivious to everything that had happened.

If Zhang Yu hadn't been observing everything, he might have believed that nothing had happened at all.

Then one day, as he walked out of the laboratory, he received a message from Thunder Pole True Lord.

Thunder Pole True Lord: Junior Nephew, how have you been lately?

Zhang Yu: True Lord, within the university, it's probably best if we don't address each other by our sect titles. I'm afraid my master might think it creates a bad impression.

Reading Zhang Yu's reply, Thunder Pole True Lord felt a violent tremor in his spiritual energy circuits.

"A small person's triumph!"

Thunder Pole True Lord ultimately suppressed his anger. After all, his current situation was already extremely dire.

The money he had to return significantly impacted his lifespan extension plan; his originally projected lifespan was considerably shortened.

His lost positions and disciples meant he saw no possibility of income growth in the coming years, and his estimated lifespan decreased day by day.

From his observations during his last visit to the laboratory, Thunder Pole True Lord realized that Zhang Yu was currently in high favor with Magnet Pole True Lord.

"My Senior Sister buries herself in the laboratory all day, knowing it better than her own dwelling. She studies her experimental disciples daily, naturally forming a close bond with them!"

"If this Zhang Yu is willing to put in a good word for me on the experimental platform, it might make my Senior Sister remember some good about her junior brother!"

With this thought, Thunder Pole True Lord suppressed his vexation and continued to communicate with Zhang Yu.

Thunder Pole True Lord: Student Yu, you have a point.

After exchanging a few messages with him, Zhang Yu understood his intention.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "He wants me to put in a good word for him without paying?"

"The old fool is getting more muddled with age!"

He simply set the contact to receive messages without notifications and went about his own business.

Not long after, Zhang Yu received a message from Gathering Star True Person.

Gathering Star True Person: Hello, Zhang Yu. I'll be temporarily taking over Thunder Pole True Lord's work.

Gathering Star True Person: From now on, if you have any issues with projects, just hand them over to me!

After greeting him, Zhang Yu was added to a work group by Gathering Star True Person.

The True Person immediately posted in the group: "Everyone, I'm a bit different from Thunder Pole True Lord. I focus on work and detest any messy affairs."

Gathering Star True Person: "As long as everyone works diligently on their projects, there will be no improper practices under my watch."

Gathering Star True Person: "Also, absolutely do not think about bribing me."

Gathering Star True Person: "I despise that kind of behavior the most. Anyone who tries it with me should not blame me for being ruthless."

Someone immediately replied: "Gathering Star True Person is here, and justice will prevail!"

After reading the group messages for a while, just as Zhang Yu secretly wondered if the True Person was truly as upright as he claimed, he received a friend request from Gathering Star True Person's disciple.

Only then did he learn that if he was willing to spend 1 spirit coin at a designated online store, his project funds would be quickly deposited.

"1 spirit coin? Only 1 spirit coin!"

Zhang Yu exclaimed, "Indeed, a truly incorruptible official!"

Fuji said, "It's always like this at the beginning. After all, Thunder Pole True Lord just stepped down, so he wouldn't dare to take much money!"

"But not taking anything won't work either. If he doesn't take it, how will his superior take it? And if his superior doesn't take it, how will Magnet Pole True Lord take it?"

"However, given time, in a few years, he'll probably start taking more and more!"

Zhang Yu said, "We'll worry about the future when it comes. In a few years, when he starts taking more, who knows what the situation will be then!"

Zhang Yu knew that his focus was on the next few years as he aimed for the Top Ten League, and he didn't have the luxury to consider very long-term matters.

With the first project payment received, Zhang Yu's account balance instantly exceeded 30 spirit coins!

Although a significant portion would be deducted for salaries and taxes later, this still represented a positive increase in funds.

As days passed, the projects ran steadily. Besides spending a few days each month personally visiting the construction sites, Zhang Yu's company employees brought him passive income daily.

While continuously spending money to improve his artifact refinement techniques, Zhang Yu gradually became capable of taking on more diverse artifact refinement orders.

With both artifact refinement and civil engineering progressing simultaneously, Zhang Yu gradually managed to save 20 to 30 spirit coins per month, preparing for the construction of future military-grade artifact prototypes.

Mid-May

In the dorm room that day, Zhang Yu rarely infused Jade Star Cold with spiritual energy, boosting her spiritual energy level and quality.

With the breakthrough of the final barrier, Jade Star Cold's spiritual energy finally reached the 1000 mark, the limit for the Foundation Establishment stage.

Feeling the abundant spiritual energy within her, Jade Star Cold's heart suddenly stirred the next moment, and she noticed the third eye in her mind vibrating, as if it had begun another phase of development.

And Zhang Yu also observed that Jade Star Cold's Dao Seed Three-Eyed Divine Ability had leveled up from Stage 2 to Stage 3!