Wen Wuyaâs arrival through a Spiritual Realm Projection was anything but subtleâhis appearance immediately caught the attention of many at the gathering.
Those unfamiliar with Wen Wuya looked on in curiosity.
Those who
did
recognize him as a Nascent Soul Disciple from Heavenly Sword Sect University were visibly stunned.
Ma Xuanâs eyes flicked toward Wen Wuya, and he whispered to Su Yanyang beside him, âThatâs one of the two Nascent Soul disciples from the Flying Sword Tournament, right?â
Su Yanyang nodded, glancing between Wen Wuya and Mo Shangjin. He muttered, âMo Shangjin really is something else. Even managed to rope in Wen Wuya for this party.â
But the moment Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu started exchanging glances, Su Yanyangâs face showed surprise. He thought to himself, âWait...are they communicating?â
Ma Xuan messaged again: âWen Wuya...looks like heâs here for Zhang Yu?â
Su Yanyang gave a subtle nod. âMust be something going on.â
On the other side, Xiao Yunji was equally shocked. âWhat could Wen Wuya be talking to Zhang Yu about?â
She stood up. If Zhang Yu could talk to Wen Wuya, then surely she could too.
Ping Han, who had just left in disappointment, was also drawn back. His eyes flashed with interest. He was already thinking of roping Wen Wuya into his cryptocurrency scheme.
Gongshu Jin, meanwhile, was in the middle of a massage, but barely blinked at the sight of Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya together.
After all, heâd already witnessed Wen Wuya approach Zhang Yu directly at the end of the Flying Sword Tournament.
Watching the confused and curious expressions of the senior students around himâmany of whom ranked higher or had pricier Law HusksâGongshu Jin suddenly felt a flash of pride.
Because he alone knew that Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya were friends.
âTechnically, Iâm friends with Zhang Yu, whoâs friends with Wen Wuya. If I could get Zhang Yu to introduce me, maybe Iâd have a Nascent Soul disciple in my contact list too.â
The thought gave Gongshu Jin a strange sense of superiority, like
he
was the one standing next to Wen Wuya right now.
Elsewhere, Yu Xinghan had already snapped dozens of photos of Zhang Yu and Wen Wuya together.
He looked regretfully at the pixelated mess on his screen. âDamn rich kidsâspending money on Evil-Warding Sigils just to keep us broke students from getting a clean photo.â
Then, under everyoneâs gaze, a sudden shift occurred in the scene.
ââŠHow bold of you!â
Wen Wuya crushed the eavesdropping data embedded in Feng Tingtingâs EyeNet Husk, then started striding toward her.
With every step, talismanic code flashed around himâImmobilization Sigils, Reporting Sigils, and Freezing Sigils fired off in succession, freezing Feng Tingting on the spot.
Just then, two figures stepped forward to shield her.
Mo Shangjin gave Wen Wuya a faint smile. âWen, this is hardly worth summoning a Righteous God over, donât you think?â
Ye Xingli added coolly, âWen Wuya, this is Wanfa Sect University, not Heavenly Sword Sect. You donât get to throw your weight around here.â
Wen Wuya paused on Mo Shangjin, a stream of data appearing in his viewâranking lists, competition results, and more.
Then he looked at Ye Xingli, and similar statistics surfaced, including the identity of her master.
Wen Wuya said, âYe Xingli⊠I know you. Disciple of True Lord Magneto, top five in the last Law Husk Design Competition.â
Privately, Wen Wuya thought, âTrue Lord Magneto... Master said that man is extremely secretive. Most at Wanfa probably donât even know. If Wanfa produces a fourth Nascent Soul cultivator in the next twenty years, itâll be him.â
Still, Wen Wuya was only a projectionâlimited to Sigil Arts. Compared to Ye Xingli, his presence was already a head shorter.
He stared at her for a long moment. âWhereâs Yan Qianji? As the disciple of Myriad Transformation True Lord, doesnât he call the shots for the Artifact Refinement Department?â
âDoes he know youâre shielding students engaged in illegal behavior?â
Ye Xingli met his gaze unflinchingly. âMinor matters like these donât concern Senior Yan. And whether itâs illegal or not isnât for
you
to say. The Righteous Gods will investigate.â
Their eyes locked, and for a moment it felt like an invisible clash of intent was underway.
To the watching students, the two seemed to be dueling in some invisible arena.
A string of barely visible glyphs danced before Ye Xingliâs eyesâonly she could see them.
Wen Wuya:
Iâve saved the eavesdropping record.
Ye Xingli:
Are you sure you didnât make a mistake?
Wen Wuya scanned the captured fileâits contents were completely erased.
His gaze toward Ye Xingli grew more intrigued. âNo divine power fluctuation... was the deletion done through her Law Husk? Has Ye Xingli already reached this level in Law Husk manipulation?â
At that moment, he got a message from Bai Zhenzhen.
Bai Zhenzhen:
Wen Wuya, where are you?
Wen Wuya:
Handling a small matter.
Bai Zhenzhen:
Voice call. I need to talk.
Wen Wuya:
Okay.
Wen Wuya:
Give me a sec.
Wen Wuya:
Be right there.
He gave Ye Xingli and Feng Tingting a final glance and snorted, projecting,
I have other business today. When my true body meets you, weâll have a proper exchange.
Then he turned sharply to Zhang Yu and messaged:
What kind of sterilization does Bai Zhenzhen like?
Zhang Yu:
Ah-Zhen likes... the extreme kind.
Wen Wuya:
Like... gender transformation?
Wen Wuya:
Or sword-body fusion?
Zhang Yu thought, âBro⊠thatâs way too extreme, isnât it?â
Wen Wuya:
Whatever, theyâre all easy. Iâll try everything.
After a brief exchange of glances with Zhang Yu, Wen Wuyaâs projection shimmered and vanished.
But the moment he sent the call request, Bai Zhenzhen rejected it.
Bai Zhenzhen:
Why are you so late? Iâve started sword training. Just message me.
Wen Wuya sighed. Shouldâve canceled the projection earlier.
Back at the party, Zhang Yu watched the messages between Wen Wuya and Bai Zhenzhen and thought, âThis guyâs a handful. Only Ah-Zhen can suppress him.â
Su Yanyang, who had watched the whole thing, was awestruck. âHeâs just a projection, and yet has
that
much presence. No wonder heâs a Nascent Soul disciple.â
âHis clash with Ye Xingli probably continued in the Spiritual Realm. Otherwise, he wouldnât have left so decisively.â
âIn the end, itâs clearâprojection or not, he still lost ground to Ye Xingli.â
Ma Xuan messaged:
Senior, I feel like Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu are... pretty close?
Su Yanyang frowned at that, recalling their earlier glances. He couldnât help but feel puzzled.
Meanwhile, Ping Han was back at Zhang Yuâs side, trying to pull him into crypto againâthis time with Wen Wuya onboard.
Students from the Civil Engineering Department looked at Mo Shangjin with newfound admiration, spreading the word about how heâd singlehandedly defused a conflict between a Nascent Soul disciple and the Artifact Refinement Department.
Speculation about Zhang Yuâs mysterious connection with Wen Wuya began circulating through student chat groups, quickly becoming one of Wanfa Universityâs juiciest bits of gossip.
Mo Shangjin smiled at Ye Xingli beside him. âJunior Ye, good thing you were here today. Otherwise, that Nascent Soul disciple might not have backed off just for me.â
Feng Tingting chimed in, âSenior Sister, did you really force him back in the Spiritual Realm just now?â
Ye Xingli frowned. âHeâs a Nascent Soul disciple, with deep pockets. Even if he can only use Sigils, stirring things up wouldâve been troublesome. Especially since I sensed a fighting spirit in his mind just before he left⊠I doubt I was the reason he backed down.â
Feng Tingtingâs heart skipped.
She recalled the exchange between Zhang Yu and Wen Wuyaâthe glances, the private chatsâand thought, âCould it be... Zhang Yu persuaded him to leave?â
âIf thatâs true, then Zhang Yuâs status in Wen Wuyaâs eyes is even higher than I assumed.â
Seeing Feng Tingtingâs expression shift, Ye Xingli asked, âWhatâs wrong?â
As Feng Tingting hesitated, and Mo Shangjin looked on curiously, Ye Xingli started a group chat and messaged:
Tingting, what do you know?
Feng Tingting:
Wen Wuya and Zhang Yu might be in a dual cultivation relationship. Could it be Zhang Yu who made him leave?
Reading this, Ye Xingliâs heart lurched.
Seriously?
She turned to look at Zhang Yu, her mind racing.
Whatâs he got going for him? What kind of benefits does dual cultivation with him offer? Enough to attract a Nascent Soul disciple?
Then she remembered Director Gaoâs plan to transfer Zhang Yu to the Artifact Refinement Department, and her curiosity deepened. Could there be a connection?
Mo Shangjinâs thoughts raced too.
So thatâs it. There were rumors that Director Gao had ties to Heavenly Sword Sect⊠maybe Zhang Yu is the link between them?
At that moment, both Ye Xingli and Mo Shangjin looked at Zhang Yu with entirely different eyes.
âŠ
As the party ended, Zhang Yu returned to his usual hectic schedule.
Before long, it was already the end of December.
Zhang Yuâs Dao Heart reached Level 16 (65.5%), Mana reached 891.3, with a quality rating of 181%, and his Body Strength climbed to 16.95.
With these improvements, his Martial Qi Conductivity hit 68%, and the max transmission distance reached 69 meters.
His martial techniques advanced tooâhe pushed the second move of the Civil Engineering Seven Absolutes, Desolate Earth Mountain-Moving Force, to Level 20.
The seventh technique of his Martial Saint Body also reached Level 20, letting him begin training in the eighth.
But what made him happiest was the progress from the Greenlotus Sword Embryo.
After repeated tests and adjustments, Zhang Yu discovered that as the Divine Spirit Root reshaped his body, he could retain about 1% of the effects of techniques like University Saint Body, Earth-Wood Saint Body, and Mana Pulse Flowing Streamâeven without wearing the Chain Diagram suit.
Just 1%, but Zhang Yu hadnât forgotten that the Greenlotus Sword Embryoâs Adaptive Enhancement was a long-term, cumulative process.
âIn just one month, itâs grown to 1% alreadyâŠâ That thought filled Zhang Yu with hope for future growth.
As for using it the way Bai Zhenzhen did in combatâZhang Yu didnât dare try that just yet.
With the new year rolling in, Director Gaoâs next construction site assignment for him also arrived.