Chapter 240: Professional Intel

Zhou Family Manor.

Zhou Chechen flung off his school jacket and rushed inside. The moment he got out of school today, he came straight home. He needed to ask the elders something—what was this Foundation License exam in Xiandu all about? Why had he heard nothing about it until now?

But just as he passed the main hall, Zhou Chechen slowed to a halt. His eyes widened in surprise at the guests seated in the parlor.

“Chechen, you're just in time,” called Zhou Yang, waving him over. “This is your Uncle Zhang and Aunt Bai.”

“They’re both incredibly talented with limitless potential. I consider them peers. From now on, just call them Uncle Zhang and Aunt Bai when you see them.”

Zhou Chechen stood frozen, seemingly too stunned to respond.

Zhou Yang shot him a glare. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know how to greet people?”

Zhang Yu laughed heartily. “You're scaring the kid.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. We’re all classmates here. Just call me Brother Yu and call her Sister Zhenzhen. We’ll call you Little Zhou from now on.”

Bai Zhenzhen gave Zhou Chechen a once-over. “This child—why no greeting or offering when meeting elders?”

Zhou Yang smiled wryly. “His father spoiled him rotten. No sense of decorum.”

Then, turning to Zhou Chechen, he said, “You meet your Uncle Zhang and Aunt Bai and don’t even give a red envelope? Hurry up and send a gift. Transfer ten thousand. Did you hear me?”

Under Zhou Yang’s stern gaze, Zhou Chechen reluctantly transferred ten thousand each to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

Bai Zhenzhen smiled and said gently, “Good boy, Little Zhou. Go off and play—we still have business to discuss with your Uncle Zhou.”

Under pressure from Zhou Yang’s watchful eyes, Zhou Chechen finally clenched his teeth and mumbled, “Brother Yu… Sister Zhenzhen.”

On the way out, Zhou Chechen felt something inside him shatter into pieces. At this moment, he truly felt the yawning gulf that had formed between himself and Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen—a gulf carved by overwhelming academic disparity.

He thought to himself, “I’m still just a pawn on the board, but they’re already stepping off it… jumping to a larger chessboard altogether.”

After Zhou Chechen left, Zhou Yang said, “The house will get crowded later tonight. Let’s continue this in my study.”

Not long after Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen departed, Zhou Yang sat alone, replaying the day’s events in his mind.

When news spread that Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had obtained their Foundation Licenses—and that the Oasis Corporation was involved—Zhou Yang knew it: he’d missed the best chance to make a move against them.

He didn’t bother to dwell on how they had managed to outmaneuver the Xiandu officials and pass the Foundation License exam. His first thought was: how to handle cleanup now?

“Let’s try… mending the relationship first.”

Compared to continuing the conflict or bracing for possible retaliation, spending a little money to ease tensions seemed like the most sensible route.

So Zhou Yang decided to offer Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen a “donation,” to test the waters.

He thought back on their exchange. After accepting his three-million donation, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had acted very graciously, showing no signs of bearing a grudge.

“Last time, Chechen already apologized with gifts.”

“This time, I came in person. If everything goes well… maybe they won’t hold a grudge against the Zhou Family anymore.”

“Unless… they’re unusually vindictive. Or unless… they already know about the Evil God behind me.”

“If they still come after me after today, then I won’t hold back either. We’ll go down together.”

“But…” Zhou Yang sneered to himself, “With the spotlight on them now, they might implode on their own before I ever need to lift a finger.”

…

Elsewhere, as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen walked away from the Zhou residence, the smiles on their faces gradually faded.

Zhang Yu said quietly, “Looks like he wants to patch things up. But what do you think—genuine peace, or just buying time?”

Bai Zhenzhen replied, “Rationally speaking, I think he does want peace. But we can’t rule out other motives.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Exactly.”

“The Zhou Family can’t be allowed to remain. Anyone who knows about Fu Ji must be erased. Only then will I have peace of mind.”

Fu Ji’s voice chimed in, “At least for now, he’s pretending to play nice. So you two should pretend to play along too.”

“Time is on your side.”

No sooner had their talk with Zhou Yang ended than Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were summoned by Yun Ni, the Patrol Squad Captain.

She claimed it was to reward them for their diligent service over the past year. The Patrol Squad was promoting them to top-tier external contractors.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen exchanged confused glances. Who knew what “hard work” they had supposedly done this past year, while basically collecting a paycheck for nothing? Yet the moment they stepped into the squad’s office building, everyone was all smiles and full of courtesy.

Zhang Yu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, “Ever since I became top of the grade, Songyang High’s full of nice people. Everyone’s just so kind.”

“And after I got my Foundation License, it’s like the whole of Songyang City turned into Good People Central.”

For the first time, Zhang Yu truly understood why Kunxu students worked so hard to study and pass exams. This damned place really did start turning hell into paradise the moment your grades got good enough.

After their promotion, Yun Ni had more good news.

“You’re now peak-level contractors. That means you’re eligible for cross-tier meetings once a month.”

“Just in time—Pianpian has secured a position on the second floor too. You’ll be able to communicate cross-tier now…”

Zhang Yu quickly realized what she meant. The so-called “cross-tier meeting” was just an excuse—a way to let them reconnect with Zhang Pianpian.

So Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen entered a private conference room. As the secured network activated, a string of words appeared on the screen:

“Wanfa University, Department of Talismans, Foundation Cultivator Zhang Pianpian is now in communication with you.”

Zhang Yu’s heart skipped a beat—but then he relaxed.

Given Zhang Pianpian’s talent and power, getting to the second floor, passing the Foundation Exam, and advancing to Foundation wasn’t that surprising.

“Still… isn’t she being a bit too flashy?”

The screen flickered—and Zhang Pianpian appeared before them.

She blinked in surprise, seemingly not expecting to see Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen on the other end. But she recovered quickly and smiled warmly.

“Looks like you two passed the Foundation Exam. The Patrol Squad’s starting to treat you differently now, huh?”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen began explaining how they passed the exam and the current state of Songyang City.

Though Fu Ji knew a lot, both of them trusted Zhang Pianpian more when it came to planning for university. They wanted her advice on how to pick the right school.

Zhang Pianpian nodded. “I said I’d wait for you at Wanfa University.”

“But with your current standing, you might want to consider other schools depending on the offers from their admissions officers…”

During the chat, Zhang Yu pointed at the long string of titles in Zhang Pianpian’s communication label and asked about it.

Zhang Pianpian explained, “Once you get to the second floor, you’ll understand. From here on—on floors two, three, four, and even five and six—everything revolves around the universities.”

“Each university is its own city. All companies and administrative bodies report to the school.”

“From now on, everything—cultivation rank, education, university, major—these things determine your status.”

“Even students from the same university but different departments are divided into castes. In good departments… even the toilet paper is better than the textbook paper in bad ones.”

“From top to bottom, people judge you first by your realm, then your degree, then your university, then your major.”

“University students get to look down on vocational students. Students from the Top Ten get to step on everyone else.”

“Everyone wants to tattoo their cultivation rank, degree, university, and major on their forehead—just so they can flaunt it.”

“Even within the same university, better departments get better resources, better seats in class…”

“Lesser departments can’t even register for electives. I’ve heard people have to line up just to use the toilet.”

“So on the second floor, it’s only natural that your rank is displayed and that you’re treated accordingly.”

Zhang Yu nodded. He wasn’t the least bit surprised. This was Kunxu. Of course people would be sorted, graded, and ranked in finer and finer detail.

Compared to the first floor, the class stratification here was simply more precise.

Zhang Pianpian continued, “So now you understand how important your major is. Even if you get into a good university, if you end up in a weak department, your life’s basically set to be mediocre.”

“Some majors earn ten or a hundred times more than others. And some can’t even find jobs.”

“But with your Foundation Licenses, your options are broad. I’ll share what I know.”

“Take Wanfa University, for instance. Finance, Artifact Forging, and Dao Techniques are the three peak departments.”

“But Finance and Dao Techniques both require deep pockets and strong backing. I don’t recommend them for you.”

“Artifact Forging is more of a long-term choice. It’s tough at the start, but doable for you two…”

“Civil Engineering is also a decent starting point. It gets you working right away, so you can make money while laying your foundation. You can always switch majors later.”

“But don’t study Civil Engineering all the way to graduation. That degree’s a dead end—you’ll never escape that pit.”

“And don’t pick Archaeology either. The better you do, the deeper you have to dig—literally. Down to the eighteenth subfloor of Kunxu, excavating ruined sects and ancient relics.”

“Other majors like Security, Weaponry, and Military Studies are also strong early on. Fast growth, quick money—but you get ‘optimized’ when you’re older…”

Zhang Yu nodded and asked, “Is that what happened to Xinghuo Zhenren?”

Zhang Pianpian sighed. “Exactly. If he’d chosen a different major back then, maybe his life would’ve turned out differently.”

“Oh, and definitely don’t choose Medicine. That department is controlled by the local aristocratic families. Outsiders get buried.”

As Zhang Pianpian laid it all out, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen began to sketch a clearer picture of the road ahead.