CHAPTER 228: THE BURDEN OF THE LAW HUSK

When Zhang Yu activated the Law Husk Eyes for the first time and saw the exam hall’s true form, his first thought was that maybe going without them—missing out on a few ads—wasn’t such a bad thing.

But after a few more glances at the countless floating screens and the barrage of advertisements, he realized he’d been too naive.

A flood of information about Spirit Roots, Law Husks, and their prices surged into Zhang Yu’s mind.

“Former Divine Spirit Roots? Even military-grade Spirit Roots can get downgraded and sold on the civilian market?”

“And these prices… 4.99? 2.98?”

Zhang Yu was stunned. “Has the global cost of living shrunk by a factor of ten million while my money stayed the same?”

But such a ridiculous notion was quickly dismissed.

Soon, he noticed that some of the ads showed the price followed by the characters “spirit coins.”

“Spirit coins?” Zhang Yu thought. “Is that the currency used up top? Must be. Looks like these coins are really valuable if just a few can buy a Spirit Root…”

He let out a quiet sigh. “Even just these ads are brimming with information.”

“If you can’t afford Law Husk Eyes after getting into university, you won’t even see these ads, let alone any of the other valuable data. Compared to those who have them, the information gap will be massive…”

“If you’re that poor, you probably won’t even get a shot at turning your life around.”

Just the tip of this iceberg was enough to show Zhang Yu how crucial the Law Husk Eyes were.

But the next moment, a wave of discomfort rippled through his eyes.

He instinctively reached up, but felt nothing—no obstruction, no contact with his face.

“That’s right. My natural eye sense has been severed.”

“What I’m seeing now is fed to me by the Law Husk… is the Law Husk malfunctioning?”

The surreal disconnect—his fingers clearly touching his eyes, yet his eyes feeling nothing—unsettled Zhang Yu deeply.

It was as if his eye sockets were telling him: you don’t have eyeballs anymore.

But his brain, his thoughts insisted: you do. You’ve got eyes, and they’re high-grade Law Husk Eyes at that.

And when the Law Husk Eyes panned back and gave him a third-person view of himself lying on the operating table, the uncanny feeling grew worse.

The discomfort from the Law Husk Eyes intensified.

At that moment, two numbers appeared above Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao’s heads—representing their synchronization rates with their Law Husks.

Zhang Yu: 97%

Ye Lingxiao: 99%

At the same time, Huang Zichou spoke: “In the process of Body Refining, as your physical strength increases, your control over your body also improves. After repeated intense training, the body and the mind become tightly integrated.”

“When you grow used to the strength you carved out with your own sweat and blood, when you’re used to that full-body harmony, even the slightest disconnect between body and mind becomes deeply uncomfortable.”

Zhang Yu nodded quietly. Though this body used to belong to the original Zhang Yu, after a year of relentless training and pushing past his limits, he had fully adapted. Through countless Technique practices and surpassing boundaries, he had merged with it completely.

Huang Zichou continued, “The tighter your body-mind integration, the more jarring the mismatch when connecting with a Law Husk—and the more your synchronization rate drops.”

“As your synchronization rate falls, you may experience nausea, irritability, phantom pain, hallucinations—these are all normal.”

“It’s like now: your brain thinks your eyes are gone, but the Law Husk says they’re still there. Caught in this contradiction, your brain might conclude you’re injured, and generate phantom pain…”

Meanwhile, inside the Divine Power Network, the examiners were discussing the two candidates’ performance.

A minor god named Mu Guiyin said, “Zhang Yu’s body is certainly powerful. But precisely because he’s so strong, he relies too much on that strength—so it’s harder for him to adapt once he switches to a Law Husk.”

“Now take Ye Lingxiao. He’s been undergoing surgeries since he was still in the fetal stage. Who knows how many times his body’s been altered? He’s long accustomed to sudden bodily changes.”

“And once his Mana hit 100, given the Ye clan’s resources, he surely tried out many Law Husks. After all that experimentation, he returned to using his own body. His acceptance of Law Husks is naturally high.”

Mu Guiyin sighed. “This is what we call background. And that difference will only grow as the synchronization rate data rolls in, keeping Ye Lingxiao ahead.”

“Of course, there’s another major reason why Ye Lingxiao will ultimately win…”

As Mu Guiyin spoke, Huang Zichou muttered inwardly, “This guy’s been backing Ye Lingxiao since the last round.”

“How many shares of Oasis Group and the Ye family has he bought under the table?”

Though he grumbled internally, Huang Zichou had to admit Mu Guiyin wasn’t wrong. Ye Lingxiao had a huge advantage in this phase.

Once Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao had adjusted a little to the “Far Sight” Law Husk, Huang Zichou brought out the second Law Husk for this round.

A pure-white, eerily lifelike arm floated before him.

“This,” he said, “is a professional-grade arm-type Law Husk from Tianwu Corporation—Sword Tomb.”

“Tianwu is a long-established company specializing in combat Law Husks. This lightweight ‘Sword Tomb’ incorporates the best features of its previous models, making it ideal for Foundation Establishment cultivators.”

“It’s made of high-strength materials to withstand Foundation-level power. Infused with Mana, it converts it into high-energy Sword Aura.”

“Inside, it can store a level-20 sword technique.”

“Tianwu’s online store has thousands of sword techniques available. Just order, download to Sword Tomb, and install. You’ll instantly have a level-20 sword technique at your disposal.”

“Simply focus your thoughts, and Sword Tomb will execute your pre-programmed tactics. Its built-in Artifact Spirit assists in combat and adjusts your swordplay in real time…”

As Huang Zichou explained, screens lit up all around them, showing a user wielding the Sword Tomb and unleashing waves of Sword Aura.

Watching this, Zhang Yu thought, “So this is a Foundation-level Law Husk?”

“It can even store sword techniques…”

The more he saw, the more Zhang Yu felt that at the university level, wealth’s influence on cultivation only grew stronger.

But he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. The task at hand was the Foundation Establishment exam.

“Did they pick this because Qi Refinement-level Law Husks wouldn’t cut it for this test? Or are they just using this chance to run ads?”

He knew that even at the same professional grade, a Foundation-level Law Husk was much stronger—and came with greater burden—than one for the Qi Refinement Realm.

Just like how an advanced Technique for Foundation Establishment would be far more powerful—and far harder to master—than its Qi Refinement counterpart.

He thought, “This Law Husk must be quite a strain…”

Perhaps sensing the candidates’ concern, Huang Zichou reassured them. “Although Sword Tomb is designed for Foundation-level use, we’re not actually implanting it.”

“Your blood circulation, muscle strength, bones—none of them are really connected to the Law Husk.”

“You won’t need Mana to power it, no need to worry about material rejection or cellular mismatch…”

“We’re simply routing your neural signals to the Law Husk. It’s just a simulation. So you can handle multiple Law Husks—even those meant for the Foundation Realm.”

Zhang Yu understood now. This exam was really about testing their bodies’ adaptability to unfamiliar Law Husks through neural interfacing—still a step away from actual implantation.

Moments later, Huang Zichou finished his explanation and, just like before, used a Health Ministry sigil to sever Zhang Yu and Ye Lingxiao’s connection to their right arms.

Instantly, Zhang Yu felt a hollow emptiness from his shoulder down—no sensation at all in his arm.

But after just ten seconds, he began to sense the presence of the new arm.

He watched the Sword Tomb hover midair under divine power, then follow his thoughts: clenching, bending, flicking… mimicking every motion.

But the more he tried to adapt, the more off it felt. Even the movements of the Sword Tomb seemed delayed—just a hair slower than his intent.

Then, it stopped altogether. No matter how Zhang Yu willed it, it wouldn’t budge.

Startled, he thought, “My sync rate dropped too low? I’ve lost the connection?”

Right then, a voice echoed from inside the Sword Tomb: “Your free trial has expired. Please watch a video to receive more usage time.”

At the same time, he noticed Ye Lingxiao’s Sword Tomb had also stopped and was playing the same alert.

Are you kidding me… Zhang Yu cursed silently. “During the exam? You really want me to watch an ad video now?”

Beside him, Huang Zichou quickly clarified, “Probably used up the free time during testing by accident.”

“For regular use, just become a Tianwu Mall member and you can skip the ads.”

Zhang Yu stared at him as he turned to address the audience, and thought, “He’s not talking to us test-takers. He’s pitching to potential customers.”

“And seriously… you’re not worried about the disruption to the exam. You’re worried about the user experience of your product.”

Meanwhile, on the internal network, Huang Zichou said, “Guys, use the link I sent you. Let’s split the videos. If each of us watches one, we’ll have enough free time to finish the test.”

And so, the five Divine examiners collectively spaced out, logging into the divine network to watch ad videos.

As for directly buying a membership? Who was going to pay for that? Under what budget? How would it get reimbursed?

Faced with those questions, all five gods decided it was best to just watch the ads like good little mortals.