Chapter 514: Personal Brand Maintenance

After reviewing the parameters of the Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill several times, Zi Yunzhen found her breathing quickening.

She couldn't help but ask, "Did you really make this all by yourself?"

She wondered to herself, "Did Senior Sister Ye Xingli help him make it? How could a civil engineering student possibly achieve this level?"

Facing Zi Yunzhen's question, Zhang Yu calmly replied, "Didn't you see the creator's signature on the artifact? I completed it independently. Or are you implying I faked it?"

In the world of artifact refining, accusing someone of faking their work was an unforgivable offense, one that could lead to ruin or worse. Zi Yunzhen naturally didn't dare to easily incur such animosity from someone highly regarded by True Monarch Magnetic Pole.

Zi Yunzhen quickly clarified, "That's not what I meant. I'm just incredibly surprised. I never imagined someone from the Civil Engineering Department could refine the Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill to such a high standard, and even advanced the Dragon Vein Treasure Casting Art to Level 20."

Zhang Yu replied as if it were obvious, "If I didn't possess extraordinary talent, why would True Monarch Magnetic Pole help me transfer departments?"

Zi Yunzhen felt quite annoyed by Zhang Yu's somewhat arrogant response, but after reviewing the artifact's parameters, she had no choice but to swallow her irritation. After all, the quality of a magical artifact was the most undeniable proof of an artifact refiner's skill; solid results could silence any doubts.

Zhang Yu then asked, "Classmate Zi, do you still require the Dragon Vein Treasure Casting Art service?"

"Yes," Zi Yunzhen replied.

"What artifact?" Zhang Yu asked. "Please send me the parameters so I can review them."

Zi Yunzhen glanced at the formation banner she intended to imbue with dragon vein power. Her face suddenly flushed, and after a moment of hesitation, she sent the name: "Five Elements Banner." She quickly added, "This Five Elements Banner isn't my best work. I'm just using it temporarily to assist with experiments."

Zhang Yu replied, "3 spirit coins."

"Okay," Zi Yunzhen agreed.

Seeing the quoted price, Zi Yunzhen immediately agreed. This was precisely why Zi Yunzhen had placed the order through Ye Xingli; the price was truly reasonable. As a student in the Artifact Refining Department, Zi Yunzhen had sought out custom services from numerous senior students. While artifact products from large companies offered good value, stable quality, and various spiritual services, many personalized customization needs were either difficult to meet or prohibitively expensive. In such cases, it was necessary to find skilled artifact refiners for secondary refinement, achieving effects like increased artifact strength, expanded functions, or enhanced spirit intelligence. Artifacts of the same brand and model could show significant differences after personalized refinement.

After some negotiation, Zhang Yu and Zi Yunzhen successfully concluded the deal. All that remained was for her to send the artifact to him, for him to complete the secondary refinement, and then for him to return it.

After receiving the deposit, Zhang Yu, though extremely reluctant, still transferred 0.3 spirit coins to Ye Xingli as an intermediary fee.

Ye Xingli replied, "No need to transfer it. Now that you're in the Artifact Refining Department, you'll make a name for yourself and won't need my cover anymore."

Zhang Yu responded, "Senior Sister, I've always relied on you to bring me business. I'm new to the Artifact Refining Department and unfamiliar with the place, so I'll still need to trouble you to introduce more clients to me."

Zhang Yu felt relieved when Ye Xingli finally accepted the intermediary fee after his persistence. "After all, my reputation isn't prominent, and with my civil engineering background, it would likely be difficult to secure orders in the Artifact Refining Department without Ye Xingli's help. I'll still need Senior Sister to bring in more business for me!"

Beyond business considerations, Zhang Yu also had another thought: the Dao Seed that Ye Xingli possessed. "Senior Sister Ye was able to secure a place in the design competition so early; her artifact refining talent must be formidable. She probably also possesses a Dao Seed!" Besides his teacher, True Monarch Magnetic Pole, Zhang Yu also intended to interact more with Senior Sister Ye Xingli, hoping to replicate a Dao Seed from her.

Several days later, Zi Yunzhen received the artifact Zhang Yu had returned. After a series of tests, she couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, "It truly is a Level 20 Dragon Vein Treasure Casting Art!" Eager to show off a bit, she quickly sent the artifact's information to a small group chat. Soon after, classmates began to reply.

"Yunzhen, is your Five Elements Banner refined?"

"You must have had someone imbue it with dragon vein power, right?"

"This level is quite high. How much did it cost?"

Zi Yunzhen's lips curled into a slight smile as she replied, "You definitely won't believe it if I tell you. Zhang Yu refined this for me."

Molten Xuan, ranked 8th, responded, "That civil engineering dog, Zhang Yu, refined it for you? You must be joking."

Zi Yunzhen glanced at her chat history with Zhang Yu, which included screenshots about the Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill. Although she wanted to share them to demonstrate how well-informed she was, she decided against it, realizing she shouldn't without Zhang Yu's permission.

Zi Yunzhen immediately replied, "I've spoken with Zhang Yu, and his artifact refining skills are quite high. The Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill is Level 20, and the Dragon Vein Treasure Casting Art is Level 20."

Molten Xuan questioned, "How is that possible? Does he have time to learn artifact refining while working at a construction site?"

Zi Yunzhen replied, "If he didn't possess some skill, why would True Monarch Magnetic Pole recruit him into the Artifact Refining Department?"

Someone else replied, "Perhaps it's an experimental result from the Deification Dharma Skeleton project."

Another person added, "Yunni, he might just snatch your first-place spot now."

Su Yunni, who held the top rank in the class, watched the messages in the group chat, her gaze sharpening slightly. As the consistent class leader from freshman to junior year, Su Yunni had long focused her attention on the departmental rankings, paying little mind to her class standing, confident in her ability to maintain the top spot. However, she had never expected a transfer student from the Civil Engineering Department to immediately seize the second rank in the class, and now it seemed he even had the potential to threaten her position.

Su Yunni could barely imagine the ridicule she would face from other artifact refining students if this civil engineering student surpassed her and claimed the top spot. Her personal brand value would plummet, and her company's income would consequently suffer. A fierce determination surged within Su Yunni at this thought.

"I absolutely cannot let this civil engineering student surpass me! For this semester's final exam, I must ensure nothing goes wrong!"

With this in mind, Su Yunni immediately adjusted her cultivation schedule, slightly reducing the time allocated for advanced learning and increasing the portion dedicated to consolidating and reviewing her third-year courses.

Zhang Yu, naturally, was oblivious to the thoughts of his classmates. As for this semester's final exams, he wasn't particularly concerned. On one hand, he had already completed the first three years of the Artifact Refining Department's curriculum and passed True Monarch Magnetic Pole's examination. On the other hand, his primary focus was currently on "Artifact Prodigy"; once that was complete, he would move on to the prototype of the "Heavenly Sun Radiant God Machine." Final exams were merely an afterthought, something he could handle with ease.

That day, upon returning to his dorm, Zhang Yu saw his elder sister, Zhang Pianpian, for the first time in a while. Ever since joining the Deification Dharma Skeleton experimental project and elevating her Grand Purity Realm to Level 2, Zhang Pianpian had become increasingly busy. With Zhang Yu also becoming busier, they rarely had the chance to meet.

Seeing the ranking of Zhang Pianpian, now 10th in the Talisman Department, Zhang Yu exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Sister, your ranking has risen again!"

Zhang Pianpian nodded, "I recently participated in a competition to improve my performance, which will make it easier to qualify for the Top Ten Leagues!" With a smile, Zhang Pianpian added, "So, you've transferred to the Artifact Refining Department? That's good. In another two years, you'll be able to participate in the Top Ten Leagues too, won't you?"

Witnessing his sister's progress, Zhang Yu's slight complacency immediately vanished. He redoubled his efforts to earn money and cultivate, determined to qualify for the Top Ten Leagues as soon as possible.

Several days after his department transfer, Zhang Yu messaged True Monarch Magnetic Pole, "Teacher, have the Financial Department's sanctions not been lifted yet?"

True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied, "I cannot control the Financial Department's sanctions. Alright," True Monarch Magnetic Pole continued, "stop bothering me. There's a project at the factory complex; let your company take it on."

"Thank you, Teacher," Zhang Yu replied.

"Hmm?" True Monarch Magnetic Pole hummed.

Zhang Yu immediately sent "1 spirit coin" and added, "Thank you, Teacher."

"Mm," True Monarch Magnetic Pole acknowledged.

Zhang Yu, looking at the chat history, thought to himself, "It seems that after taking on civil engineering projects from the artifact refining side, I'll have to give my teacher a kickback for all of them!"

Upon arriving at the factory complex True Monarch Magnetic Pole had mentioned, Zhang Yu learned it was an expansion project for a subsidiary factory, undertaken by the Myriad Dharma University's Artifact Refining Department. Unlike the large-scale projects handled by the Civil Engineering Department, these factory construction projects from the Artifact Refining Department were not extensive. The portion assigned to Zhang Yu could largely be completed by his company's employees alone.

"I can get a total of 20 spirit coins for this project," he mused. "While it's not as much as those large civil engineering projects, it takes far less of my time!"

Zhang Yu calculated that he would only need to be present for a few days to activate the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power; the rest could be handled by Grandpa Yingxin, Zhao Tianxing, and his team. Later, Zhang Yu researched the situation and found that while the Artifact Refining Department didn't have many massive projects, there was a constant flow of smaller, similar ones. This suited his current state perfectly, allowing him to devote more energy to his artifact refining pursuits.

"The only issue," he thought, "is when the project payment will be disbursed! As long as the first payment comes through, everything else will be smooth sailing!"

Zhang Yu checked his savings. Although he had taken on a few artifact refining orders recently, he also had to cultivate techniques daily and front money for civil engineering projects. His spirit coins were always depleted quickly, and his savings still hovered around 10 spirit coins.

As the days passed, it was mid-March in the blink of an eye.

True flames glowed with an incandescent light, flitting back and forth according to Zhang Yu's will. On this day, Zhang Yu finally advanced the Imperial Fire God Mirror to Level 20.

"Whew," he thought, "I can now cultivate the fourth technique of 'Artifact Prodigy'! And with the Imperial Fire God Mirror at Level 20, I can now repair artifacts by refining materials!"

This realization invigorated Zhang Yu. Artifact repair involved many different aspects, such as repairing outer shells, components, spiritual energy circuits, and intelligent spirits, all of which required distinct techniques. The Imperial Fire God Mirror, with its ability to re-refine materials at high temperatures, was particularly well-suited for repairing the outer shells of artifacts.

"There are quite a few people who need artifacts repaired," he thought. "This should bring in a good amount of income!"

Just then, Zhang Yu received an image from Wen Wuya. After skillfully parsing the file, Bai Zhenzhen's video popped up.

Bai Zhenzhen was smiling as she said, "Yu Zi, you successfully transferred departments! That's wonderful! Now you're part of the Artifact Refining Department, not Civil Engineering. Not only will it give you more prestige, but it will also make it easier to participate in the Top Ten Leagues! Things are going well here; the management is becoming increasingly lax. I might be out soon, and when that happens, I'll come find you..."

Just as Zhang Yu watched Bai Zhenzhen's smile in the video and slowly began to smile himself, the video before him underwent a sudden transformation of light and shadow, and streaks of colorful brilliance abruptly emerged!