Chapter 516: Maintaining a Personal Brand

Ziyun Zhen stared at the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill’s parameters over and over again, her breathing growing heavier each time.

She couldn’t help but reply: “Did you really make this all by yourself?”

Inwardly, she wondered, Was it Senior Sister Ye Xingli who helped him?

A civil engineering student... how could he possibly reach this level?

Facing her disbelief, Zhang Yu calmly replied, “Didn’t you see the maker’s signature on the artifact?”

Zhang Yu: “I completed it independently. Or are you saying I faked it?”

Accusing someone of falsifying their work was a mortal insult in the artifact refinement world—enough to ruin both life and livelihood. Naturally, Ziyun Zhen didn’t dare to form such a deadly grudge with someone favored by True Lord Magneto.

Ziyun Zhen: “I didn’t mean that.”

Ziyun Zhen: “I’m just surprised.”

Ziyun Zhen: “I never thought someone from the Civil Engineering Department could refine a Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill this well.”

Ziyun Zhen: “And you even advanced your Dragonvein Treasurecasting Sutra to Level 20.”

Zhang Yu replied matter-of-factly: “If I didn’t have peerless talent, how could True Lord Magneto have helped me transfer departments?”

Ziyun Zhen felt a wave of irritation at his arrogant tone, but after glancing again at the artifact’s parameters, she swallowed her anger.

After all, an artifact was the truest measure of a refiner’s skill—if the results were solid enough, no one could argue.

Zhang Yu asked: “So, Ziyun, do you still want me to cast your artifact with the Dragonvein Treasurecasting Sutra?”

Ziyun Zhen: “Yes.”

Zhang Yu: “What artifact? Send me the parameters so I can take a look.”

Ziyun Zhen hesitated, cheeks flushing, before sending: [Five Elements Banner].

Then she quickly added: “This isn’t my best work.”

Ziyun Zhen: “Just a temporary piece I use for testing.”

Zhang Yu: “Three spirit coins.”

Ziyun Zhen: “Deal.”

Seeing the price, Ziyun Zhen agreed immediately. That was why she had ordered through Ye Xingli in the first place—his rates were truly fair.

As a student of the Artifact Refinement Department, Ziyun Zhen had commissioned plenty of upperclassmen before.

Big companies produced artifacts that were affordable, stable in quality, and came with after-service guarantees in the Spiritual Realm—but when it came to personalized modifications, they were either inflexible or charged exorbitant fees.

That was where individual refiners came in—experts who could reforge and personalize an artifact to improve its strength, add extra functions, or upgrade its artifact spirit’s intelligence.

Even two identical artifacts of the same model could differ immensely after individual refinements.

After confirming the details, Zhang Yu and Ziyun Zhen finalized the order. She would send her artifact over, he would complete the reforging, and then return it.

After receiving the deposit, Zhang Yu reluctantly transferred 0.3 spirit coins to Ye Xingli as her intermediary fee.

Ye Xingli: “No need to pay anymore. You’ve already made your name in the Artifact Refinement Department—you don’t need me covering for you.”

Zhang Yu: “Senior Sister, you’ve been helping me find clients all this time. I’m still new in this department, so I’ll need your help getting more work.”

Seeing her finally accept the payment after his insistence, Zhang Yu let out a quiet sigh of relief.

My reputation’s still weak, and my past in the Civil Engineering Department doesn’t help. Without Ye Xingli’s introductions, I’d have a hard time finding clients here.

I’ll have to rely on her a bit longer.

And beyond business reasons, there was another motive—Ye Xingli’s Dao Seed.

For Senior Sister Ye to have placed in the Design Competition, her refining talent must be incredible. She’s likely carrying a Dao Seed herself.

Other than True Lord Magneto, she’s someone I should get close to—maybe even copy a Dao Seed from her someday.

…

A few days later, Ziyun Zhen received her artifact back from Zhang Yu. After a round of testing, she thought in awe, It really is a Level 20 Dragonvein Treasurecasting Sutra.

Unable to resist showing off, she posted the artifact’s data in her small group chat. Soon, messages flooded in.

“Ziyun, you finished refining your Five Elements Banner?”

“Did you have it infused with Dragonvein power?”

“This is top-tier work. How much did it cost?”

Ziyun Zhen smiled smugly and replied: “You’ll never believe it.”

Ziyun Zhen: “Zhang Yu refined it for me.”

#8 Rong Xuan: “Zhang Yu? That civil engineering guy? You’re joking, right?”

Ziyun Zhen glanced at her chat logs with Zhang Yu and the screenshot of the Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill. She wanted to show off her insider knowledge but decided against it—without Zhang Yu’s permission, it wouldn’t be proper.

Ziyun Zhen replied: “I talked with Zhang Yu. His artifact refinement skills are impressive.”

Ziyun Zhen: “Taiyi Liquid Gold Pill – Level 20, Dragonvein Treasurecasting Sutra – Level 20.”

Rong Xuan: “Impossible! How would he find time to study artifact refinement while working construction?”

Ziyun Zhen: “If he weren’t skilled, would True Lord Magneto have brought him over to our department?”

Someone else chimed in: “Maybe he’s the result of a Nascent Soul Law Husk experiment.”

Another added: “Yun Ni, looks like he’s coming for your #1 spot.”

The class’s top student, Su Yunni, frowned at the screen.

She had been first in her class from freshman to junior year and had long since focused on the department rankings. She rarely cared about her classmates anymore—she was that confident in her dominance.

But a transfer from the Civil Engineering Department—someone who had immediately taken #2 in class—might actually threaten her #1 spot?

If she lost to a civil engineer, she would become a laughingstock. Her personal brand would plummet, and even her company’s income would take a hit.

The thought sparked a fierce determination.

I can’t let that civil engineer surpass me.

This semester’s finals—I must be flawless.

She immediately adjusted her cultivation plan—reducing her advanced-study schedule to focus on solidifying her third-year curriculum.

…

Zhang Yu, of course, had no idea what his classmates were thinking.

As for the semester finals, he wasn’t too concerned.

He had already completed all three years’ coursework in the Artifact Refinement Department and even passed True Lord Magneto’s personal examination.

His real focus now was on the “Artifact Prodigy” project—and once that was done, he’d move on to developing the prototype of the “Heaven-Sun Radiance Machine.”

Exams? Just a side task.

That evening, back at his dorm, he finally ran into his older sister, Zhang Pianpian.

Ever since she joined the Nascent Soul Law Husk experiment and advanced her Supreme Purity Realm to Level 2, she had been increasingly busy. Between both their packed schedules, it was rare for them to meet.

Seeing the glowing “#10 in Sigil Department” over her head, Zhang Yu exclaimed, “Senior Sister, your rank went up again?”

Zhang Pianpian nodded. “I joined a competition recently to boost my score—makes it easier to qualify for the Top Ten League.”

Then she smiled. “You transferred to the Artifact Refinement Department, right? Not bad—maybe you’ll be in the Top Ten League yourself in a few years.”

Seeing her progress instantly deflated Zhang Yu’s brief smugness. Reinvigorated with resolve, he threw himself back into work—earning more spirit coins, cultivating harder, and aiming to qualify for the League himself as soon as possible.

…

A few days after the transfer—

Zhang Yu messaged True Lord Magneto: “Teacher, the Financial Department’s sanctions haven’t been lifted yet?”

True Lord Magneto: “I can’t control the Financial Department’s sanctions.”

True Lord Magneto: “Anyway, stop bothering me. There’s a project at the factory zone—have your company take it.”

Zhang Yu: “Thank you, Teacher.”

Zhang Yu: “[1 spirit coin] Thank you, Teacher.”

True Lord Magneto: “Hmm.”

Looking at the chat log, Zhang Yu thought, Looks like for every engineering job I get through the Artifact Refinement Department, I’ll need to send my teacher a kickback.

Arriving at the assigned factory zone, he discovered it was an expansion project for one of Wanfa University’s affiliated factories.

Unlike Civil Engineering’s massive construction works, projects under the Artifact Refinement Department were smaller in scale. The part given to Zhang Yu could be handled mostly by his own company staff.

“I can make 20 spirit coins from this job. Not much compared to Civil Engineering projects—but it takes way less time.”

He calculated that he’d only need to spend a few days using the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Might himself, leaving the rest to Ying Xin’s grandfather and Zhao Tianxing.

Later, Zhang Yu learned that while the Artifact Refinement Department didn’t have many large-scale projects, it had a constant stream of smaller ones—perfect for his current situation, letting him focus more on his refining work.

“The only problem is when the payment actually comes through.”

“As soon as the first installment arrives, everything will be smooth.”

He checked his balance. Though he’d picked up a few refinement commissions, his constant cultivation and investment in materials meant his savings still hovered around 10 spirit coins.

…

As days passed, mid-March arrived.

Blazing true flames filled the air, shining white-hot as they danced under Zhang Yu’s precise control.

That day, he finally advanced his Divine Fire Mirror to Level 20.

“Phew… time to train the fourth Technique in the Artifact Prodigy series.”

“With the Divine Fire Mirror at Level 20, I can now repair artifacts by refining their materials.”

Artifact repair involved many disciplines—outer shell repair, component repair, mana circuit restoration, even artifact spirit healing—all required different techniques.

The Divine Fire Mirror specialized in high-temperature remelting, perfect for restoring an artifact’s external structure.

“Plenty of people need artifact repairs… this could bring me good income.”

Just then, he received an image from Wen Wuya.

He quickly decoded the file—and Bai Zhenzhen’s video appeared.

She smiled brightly. “Yuzi? You really transferred departments?”

“That’s amazing! Now you’re officially part of the Artifact Refinement Department—not the Civil Engineering Department. Sounds better and helps with Top Ten League qualifications, too.”

“I’m doing fine here. Supervision’s loosening up bit by bit. Maybe soon I’ll get out—and when I do, I’ll come find you…”

Watching her smiling face, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but smile back.

But then, the light in the video suddenly distorted—rays of seven-colored brilliance erupted from the screen.

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