Moments later, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen each stepped into a stall in the men's and women's restrooms, respectively. They pulled out their phones and tapped the confirmation button on the webpage.
The screen flashed, and up popped a Kunxu First Floor High School Foundation Establishment exam Registration Form.
Zhang Yu silently filled out his information and clicked login.
Login fee: 1,000 yuan. Please confirm.
Zhang Yu cursed under his breath but clicked confirm anyway.
With the deduction of 1,000 yuan from his bank account, the air shimmered faintly with divine power.
The next instant, the floor beneath Zhang Yu vanished. A gaping hole opened where the toilet had been, and he plummeted straight down.
“What the hell?!”
As Zhang Yu's body disappeared, the floor sealed shut as if nothing had ever happened.
…Zhang Yu felt like he was passing through countless formless, indescribable layers.
When he came to, he found himself standing inside an office. A middle-aged woman was calmly staring at him.
“Here to register for the Foundation Establishment exam?” she asked.
Zhang Yu sensed faint divine power emanating from her and wondered, “Human? Or god?”
After he nodded, the woman handed him a contract.
“The registration fee is thirty thousand. These are the rules you’ll need to follow for the Foundation Establishment exam.”
“Once you’ve paid and signed this contract in the presence of the Divine Overseer of Contracts, you are bound to the exam rules. Break them, and you’ll never be allowed to take the Foundation License exam again in this lifetime.”
The woman added, “Once the contract is signed, no one will be able to trace your participation in this exam.”
“And if you withdraw midway, the registration fee is non-refundable.”
The thirty-thousand-yuan fee made Zhang Yu feel like his heart was bleeding.
Counting the train ticket and login fee, he was now left with just a bit over ten thousand yuan.
“I hope Ah-Zhen has enough. If not, she’ll have to borrow money to sign up too.” Sighing inwardly, Zhang Yu lowered his head and began reviewing the contract carefully.
There were plenty of restrictions: no disclosing exam details to outsiders, no sharing contestant information, no recording or taking photos at the exam site...
There was also a warning, which the middle-aged woman emphasized:
“The Foundation Establishment exam is highly valued by the Heavenly Court. It’s hosted by the Ten Great Academies to select cultivators worthy of Foundation.”
“Don’t even think about playing dirty or using underhanded tricks.”
“If the Eight Divine Officials catch you, both you and your accomplices will be severely punished—best-case scenario, you lose everything; worst-case, your Immortal Path is severed and all potential erased…”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. The message was clear: no cheating, no sabotaging other candidates.
After reviewing the rules in detail and clearing up a few doubts, Zhang Yu signed the contract under the Divine Overseer of Contracts’ gaze and reluctantly handed over the 30,000 yuan registration fee.
Once everything was confirmed, the middle-aged woman said, “All done with registration. Next is the entry-level test.”
“It’s a basic screening to filter out the weakest candidates so we don’t waste exam resources.”
She stuck a #55 exam number onto Zhang Yu’s chest.
Zhang Yu’s heart sank. He hadn’t heard Zhang Pianpian mention any kind of pre-test.
“I thought today was just for registration?”
The woman responded casually, “This year’s Foundation Establishment exam has been reformed. The pre-test is new.”
“But I thought the first round wasn’t until August?”
“I’ve still got two months to grow! This test can’t possibly reflect my real strength right now.”
She snapped, “You taking the test or not? If not, I’ll send you back now—but no refunds.”
Zhang Yu let out a helpless sigh. “Where’s the test site?”
She pointed to the large door behind him. “Out that door.”
Zhang Yu opened it, stepped through—and when he turned around, the door was gone, leaving only a blank white wall.
He walked down a corridor until he reached a large hall.
At the far end stood a metal gate, with a group of students gathered around it watching something.
As Zhang Yu approached, he spotted a familiar face glued to a phone.
Yu Xinghan was replying to a message from Li Xuelian: “Send me 100,000.”
Li Xuelian: “You sure you need that much?”
Yu Xinghan: “Can’t tell you what it’s for, but yes—100K or I can’t proceed.”
Li Xuelian: “Got it, must be a confidentiality clause.”
As the 100K transfer came through, Yu Xinghan grinned. “This Foundation Establishment exam is great.”
He mused, “Besides learning how to save money, the real key to going far on the Immortal Path is knowing how to make money. You’ll never get far without it.”
Then he thought of Zhang Yu. “Too bad, Zhang Yu. I taught you the way of saving, but not the way of making money.”
“Not your fault though—my Gold Core master’s just too broke to support two disciples. Of course he picked the stronger one…”
At that moment, Yu Xinghan noticed a familiar face and blinked.
He rubbed his eyes. “Zhang Yu? What are you doing here?”
Zhang Yu glanced at his exam number and smiled. “Taking the Foundation Establishment exam. You too?”
He’d read the rules thoroughly and asked questions. Candidates weren’t forbidden from talking to each other—just from external interference. It was just like any other competition.
In fact, given the vibe, Zhang Yu strongly suspected they wanted contestants to interact and ramp up the competition.
“You—!” Yu Xinghan was stunned. At first, he panicked about being seen here by someone he knew—but then he realized Zhang Yu was a candidate too. That calmed him down.
Still, he couldn’t fathom how someone like Zhang Yu could show up here.
This place was supposed to be a gathering of top-tier high school students—elite Gold Core Disciple-level competitors.
Yet here was this broke nobody?
Sure, Zhang Yu was talented and had good grades—but he was still broke! And Zhang Pianpian had stopped helping him too!
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen walked up beside Zhang Yu, patting his shoulder. She looked at Yu Xinghan and blinked. “Huh? You’re here too?”
“Bai Zhenzhen too? Did I come to the wrong place?” Yu Xinghan was starting to question everything.
He was now learning a red envelope sigil, the gateway to the Favor Charm.
Just as he was concentrating, a voice spoke beside him.
“Hey, I picked up your red envelope.”
Ye Lingxiao looked up at Zhang Yu, puzzled. “Hm?”
Zhang Yu asked, “Are you just giving out money? Want to just transfer it to my bank account instead?”
Ye Lingxiao shook his head. “I’m practicing the Red Envelope Sigil. Haven’t broken through yet. Max amount it dispenses is 1,000 yuan.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. So this was what the rich kids on Kunxu’s top floor did—train by throwing money around?
Forget Yu Xinghan, forget Song Hailong. This guy—whoever he was—was a real friend.
Zhang Yu slapped his chest. “No problem! Use me for practice! Practice away!”
Yu Xinghan, watching nearby, couldn’t help admiring what he saw.
“Looks like I was wrong—Zhang Yu’s already mastered the way of making money. He’s as good as I am.”
He walked up and said cheerfully, “Ah Yu, who’s your friend? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“I hear you’re practicing sigils? Use me too!”
Ye Lingxiao looked at them strangely. “You’re both sure?”
Zhang Yu: “Absolutely!”
Yu Xinghan elbowed Zhang Yu aside and whispered, “You already got a few thousand, didn’t you? My turn!”
Ye Lingxiao said calmly, “You guys are weird. Nobody ever wants to take my Red Envelope Sigils. You don’t mind the interest rate?”
Yu Xinghan froze. Interest?
Zhang Yu was confused. “Interest?”
Ye Lingxiao explained, “The Red Envelope Sigil is the prerequisite for the Favor Charm.”
“Recipients borrow from your Finance Ministry backup funds.”
“You son of a—” Zhang Yu cursed. “Why are you throwing that crap around? You got no sense of public decency?! What if that hits a poor guy?!”
Ye Lingxiao blinked. “Wait, there are poor people here? I didn’t think anyone here would pick up money off the ground.”
Zhang Yu fumed. He felt insulted again.
Bai Zhenzhen warned, “Yuzi, hurry up and pay it back! The interest’ll kick in soon!”
Zhang Yu quickly pulled out his phone, logged into the Finance Ministry’s website, and paid it back.
After hearing Ye Lingxiao’s explanation, the other candidates quietly stepped away from him, leaving him in an empty circle.
But Ye Lingxiao didn’t care. He kept drawing sigils—and another red envelope popped out and landed nearby.
This time, a hand gently picked it up.
But no matter how hard it squeezed or twisted, the envelope didn’t vanish.
Ye Lingxiao’s eyes lit up in surprise. “The Red Envelope Sigil didn’t work on you?”