You dare to cultivate without money?!
Chapter 190 - 190 159 The Summoning of the Joker's Seat

190: Chapter 159 The Summoning of the Joker’s Seat 190: Chapter 159 The Summoning of the Joker’s Seat At this moment, Dai Xingzhi heard Ye Lingxiao beside him say, “Your Dao Heart testing last time had an estimated value of unknown?”

Dai Xingzhi was slightly taken aback, then looked in the direction indicated by the speaker, and found Zhang Yu behind him…

The number on the person’s body was No.

55.

Upon hearing Ye Lingxiao’s inquiry, Zhang Yu was silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

Dai Xingzhi beside him said, “An unknown estimate, did you never give up until the end, even pushing the illusion to the limit…

So they gave it an unknown valuation?”

Zhang Yu helplessly said, “Hmm…

Pretty much.”

Hearing these words, Ye Lingxiao’s gaze became serious, and he looked at Zhang Yu with a new level of respect.

Ye Lingxiao mused to himself, “This guy could live through an illusion and make it explode?”

“How strong is his will?

Exactly how wealthy is he?

Is he richer than Yun Jing, richer than me?”

On the other hand, Dai Xingzhi’s brain was already furiously in action, “What is his background?

Is he the offspring of a board director from some company or the heir of a wealthy family somewhere?”

At the same time, more people noticed the No.

55 on Zhang Yu, realizing this outsider was the previous first place in the Dao Heart test.

And due to the uniqueness of this Dao Heart test, they realized this first-place person must be immensely rich.

As wealth is the most direct indication of Immortal Path potential, No.

55 who is wealthy must be powerful, definitely a strong contender for the Foundation Establishment qualification.

Ye Lingxiao looked at Zhang Yu, musing to himself, “Originally, seeing him pick up lucky tokens and hear what he said, I thought he was a poor man.”

“Turns out he is hiding his true abilities…

Is it because he is wealthy enough that he doesn’t mind picking up lucky tokens off the ground?”

“Looks like he even cares about what happens if poor people pick up lucky tokens…

Is he the kind of wealthy person who is naively inexperienced with society?”

As he pondered, Ye Lingxiao turned around and looked at Zhang Yu, his gaze becoming more solemn: “I look forward to competing with you in the future.”

At this moment, Zhang Yu, whose identity is mysterious and whose wealth is incalculable, has already become one of the main rivals in Ye Lingxiao’s eyes.

Dai Xingzhi and other students beside him watched the two individuals standing facing each other, feeling as though they were witnessing two beasts with billions in wealth collide fiercely.

Bai Zhenzhen witnessed this scene, looking at Zhang Yu while feeling secretly worried, “Yu Zi!

You’re putting on such a big show now, once the official competition starts, won’t you become what Lao Zhao calls a clown?”

Bai Zhenzhen is confident that both she and Zhang Yu have improved greatly in the past two months, definitely reaching the level of senior year students.

But she also knows that despite such progress, there is still a gap between them and those top Xiandu Masters.

Faced with the first-round exam, Bai Zhenzhen only hopes to pass.

As for catching up with or even surpassing those top Xiandu Masters, that should be the goal in the coming months, during the second and third-round exams.

Zhang Yu knows this as well, but once his number was listed as the first in the Dao Heart test, he realized he couldn’t explain it away.

He couldn’t claim it was the ritual’s influence that prolonged his stay in the illusion.

Much less could he reveal that he is actually a pauper, continually struggling to pay the interest on his loan next month.

So, faced with Ye Lingxiao’s piercing stare and the curiosity, probing, or hostile gazes from various competitors around, Zhang Yu felt like he was being hunted by a pack of observers, yet could only endure it.

“Dammit, shouldn’t I be pursuing them step by step under the disdain and disregard of the Xiandu Masters, finally gaining the Foundation Establishment certificate?

Why is everyone focused on me right from the start?”

“I said ranking things like this shouldn’t exist!

Why expose the contestants’ privacy so much?”

Facing imminent competition with these people, Zhang Yu felt Zhao Tianxing’s mention of clowns ringing true.

“Is there any way shortly to avoid embarrassment?”

“Forget it, if I really lose face, there’s nothing I can do.

Who told me my abilities aren’t strong enough yet.”

Not far away, Yu Xinghan, having just arrived, saw this unexpected scene.

“This Zhang Yu kid…” Yu Xinghan looked at Zhang Yu, feeling both curious and amazed, “How did he manage this?”

Considering Zhang Yu could sustain an illusion as a poor man to an unknown estimate, Yu Xinghan couldn’t figure it out.

He even felt an impulse to ask Zhang Yu directly but understood that the secret wouldn’t be shared.

And moments later, with all competitors gathered, Deng Bingding, as chief examiner, began outlining the exam process.

In summary, it is to understand the spirit of the Foundation Establishment exam reform, which besides the Dao Heart, will successively test the students’ mana, physical education, and martial arts.

As for why the Dao Heart isn’t being tested, it’s said the first round already eliminated those unqualified, thus no further testing is needed.

Of course, Little God Huang Zichou, standing by the side, knew that this decision is to cut costs by those above.

After all, compared to the other three subjects, Dao Heart tests involve the Spirit Realm environment, which costs the most in funds and resources.

Finally, Deng Bingding said, “…This round will only retain the top twenty students in total score, all others will be eliminated.

To encourage students, each of the top twenty will be rewarded with an expert-level cultivation technique…”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up slightly: “An expert-level cultivation technique for each?

So generous?”

Zhang Yu recalled last time when Deng Bingding granted him a bonus, it was interest-free loan.

But on second thought, he mused, “Behind the Eight True Gods are the Heavenly Court and Ten Major Sects.”

“For us, an expert-level cultivation technique costs tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.”

“But for them, it might just be a matter of permission.”

“After all, as long as they grant us the right to use it and send us the contents of the cultivation technique, that’s all…”

…

Soon, the mana exam officially began.

All students on-site lined up in the hall according to their numbers.

Then several examiners distributed a set of detection equipment and a box of spirit roots to everyone present.

Dai Xingzhi thought to himself, “This mana exam tests the control, explosion, and recovery of mana.”

He picked up a detection patch, thinking, “We need to output as much mana into it as possible within 30 minutes.”

“The faster and more mana output in 30 minutes, the higher the score.”

“This requires not only explosive force but also precise control over mana while simultaneously regaining mana through spiritual mechanism during output.”

Dai Xingzhi knew that this ability to maintain a long-term mana explosion is part of the Immortal Path curriculum learned in senior year according to the high school syllabus.

But since it’s a Foundation Establishment exam for high school students, it’s naturally not bound by the mere syllabus.

Dai Xingzhi opened the small box containing the external spirit root next to him.

In it, he saw a ring continuously emitting threads of spiritual mechanism, like a living creature breathing in and out.

Dai Xingzhi thought to himself, “External spirit root, Qi Sea is boundless.”

“A mid-range brand of external spirit root?”

Dai Xingzhi recalled what the examiner said earlier, knowing that using a unified spirit root like this is one of the reform contents of this Foundation Establishment exam.

He didn’t mind it; wealth was one of the potentials of the Immortal Path.

Rich people having more advantages was to be expected.

Why use something like a unified spirit root?

Just then, Deng Bingding reminded, “Before wearing the external spirit root, remember to turn off your own spirit root, or bear the consequences.”

As Dai Xingzhi was about to wear the external spirit root, Qi Sea is boundless, he suddenly heard a male voice.

“How do you use this external spirit root?”

Dai Xingzhi turned to see that it was number 55 speaking.

“They’ve actually distributed unified spirit roots?” Zhang Yu thought to himself: “But they didn’t even provide a manual for this external spirit root.

Who knows how to use it?”

“And if I ask such a question, those Xiandu Masters around might guess that I’m not actually that rich, huh?”

“It also gives me a way to lay the groundwork for myself…”

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen heard these words and thought, “Good job, Yu Zi.

By asking that question, I don’t have to ask.”

“And you’re starting to set the stage for yourself, slowly revealing that you’re not that wealthy.

Even if the results aren’t as good as everyone imagined, you can lose a little less face.”

When Dai Xingzhi heard these words, he thought to himself: “Never used Qi Sea is boundless before?”

Considering the unknown valuation of his top rank in the Dao Heart test, Dai Xingzhi thought, “Is it because Qi Sea is boundless is too low-end for him?”

“Damn it, for me, it’s already a regular cultivation spirit root.

This guy normally deigns not to use it?

What kind of spirit roots does he usually use, then?”

Dai Xingzhi thought: “Damn rich people, thank goodness this time the exam uses a unified spirit root!”

On the other side, the strongest high school student, Yun Jing, squinted at Zhang Yu with a flash of insight, thinking, “This outsider…

showing off wealth here?

Saying he hasn’t used Qi Sea is boundless?”

Yun Jing snorted coldly to himself and said, “I also don’t usually use this kind of spirit root; maybe the examiner could teach us.”

“So this spirit root isn’t much used even by rich people?” Zhang Yu thought to himself: “Tsk, troubling…

Why do I feel more eyes on me?”

Following the method introduced by the examiners, Zhang Yu injected mana, expanded the ring, and put it on his hand.

He felt the external spirit root pulsating with his breathing, as if it had become part of his body, and the surrounding spiritual mechanism surged forth.

Next, he put on the detection equipment and held the detection patch tightly.

With the countdown of 3, 2, 1, all the contestants on the scene simultaneously output mana into the detection patch.

Boom!

There seemed to be a loud noise in the air accompanying the operation of everyone’s mana.

At the same time, on the light screen in front of the hall, the mana output data representing each individual lit up.

It was a series of bar graphs, with the contestant’s numbers below each bar and the mana figures above.

At this moment, as everyone frantically output mana, each bar was continuously growing, sorted by the size of the mana output.

However, because the growth of two bars was too fierce, not only did they quickly move up to the first and second places, but their exaggerated growth made it seem like the other contestants’ bars were shrinking.

These two bars represented contestants number 11, Yun Jing, and number 23, Ye Lingxiao.

Both of their mana figures skyrocketed, the two bars entangled like two giant dragons, chasing each other in the first and second places.

Meanwhile, Dai Xingzhi looked at number 55’s bar: “Hmm?

Why is it ranked so far back?”